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Toman had changed through the years. After Draken's death during that fateful night, everything went to shit, they all fell into such a deep abyss that now, even if they wanted, they couldn't crawl out of it.
Chifuyu had stayed because Baji did. No matter how much they hated having to follow Kisaki's orders, they couldn't let Kisaki have free reign over Mikey. Someone had to keep Mikey's head up the water, even if it was obvious the darkness inside of him grew bigger day by day.
But they weren't hypocrites, no one in Toman had been spared by those dark impulses. Their hands were coated by the blood of those they had killed, tortured, kidnapped. They did all sort of bad things without beating an eye. Did they regret it? Chifuyu did, every single one of them, from that disastrous night where everything went to shit against Moebius to how yesterday he splattered a man's brain on the floor after they had found out he had been selling information to the cops, but with time even that guilt had dampened. After years of seeing all that violence, Chifuyu had grown used to seeing his hands dirty with gunpowder and blood.
“Fucking Kisaki deciding everything on his own like always… bastard.” Baji growled as he took out a cigarette in frustration. Chifuyu lightened it up instinctively, his hands never faltering when Baji needed it.
His captain nodded in thanks and took a long drag before he harshly exhaled the smoke that dispersed into the air. “Mikey doesn’t give a shit since we are going to get profit… fuck, what the hell is he doing?”
Chifuyu understood Baji’s frustration pretty well.
Lately Mikey seemed to listen only to Kisaki’s words, completely discarding his other executives opinions as he allowed his right hand man to do anything he wanted with Toman. No one liked it, but it was true that Kisaki knew how to do his job. With him and Kokonoi taking care of the financial part of Toman, they had become richer and richer every year.
But at what cost?
“Fuck, I hate this shit.” Baji growled in frustration and threw the cigarette butt on the floor before stomping on it harshly. “Chifuyu, go grab the car. We’re going to see if Pah-chin has some work for us to do.”
“Of course, Baji.” Chifuyu bowed his head and took out his car keys.
In the back of his mind, the memories of happier, younger times began to play. Chifuyu privately mourned their loss as he watched Baji punching a man to death in front of him.
Pretty.
That was the first thing Chifuyu thought when he met Kisaki’s whore.
It wasn’t planned, he and Hakkai were hanging out together like they did sometimes in the shopping district, hoping to see something that would catch their eyes, but every jewel or piece of clothing looked dull to them. They had enough money to get anything they wanted, every whim they had could be fulfilled in the exact moment it came to them. They didn’t know what it meant to yearn for something anymore, Chifuyu never would have thought he was going to miss being poor.
“So how’s Baji?” Hakkai asked, a cigarette dangling between his lips as they watched a swarm of people walk in front of them. They decided to stop in one of the exclusive bars there, hoping that a drink would cheer them up and made them forget their positions, at least for a few hours.
“Same as always.” Chifuyu breathed a puff of smoke, his body enjoying the warmth of the cigarette. “Mitsuya?”
“Like usual.” Hakkai shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against his chair. “He is pissed off at Kisaki, but he won’t say it.”
Chifuyu snorted inelegantly. “Aren’t we all?”
Hakkai laughed and a comfortable silence settled around them as they enjoyed the drinks the cute waitress had brought them. They didn’t get a lot of peace time, so they had to enjoy it now that they could.
“Hey.” Hakkai sounded shocked enough to make Chifuyu raise an eyebrow at him, but Hakkai’s eyes were looking in a totally different direction. “Isn’t that Kisaki ?”
Chifuyu almost spit his drink. Alarmed and ready to take out his gun if he needed to, he turned his head swiftly in the direction Hakkai was pointing at. Holy shit, talking about the devil-
Kisaki was walking around, looking at the shop with an uninterested gaze, his suit fitting around him and had an expensive overcoat on it. Was that a Gucci or maybe an Armani ? Chifuyu hated that Kisaki had a decent fashion sense. Kisaki hadn’t seemed to notice them, they were sitting too far away to be seen anyway, but the people around Kisaki kept their distance from him, seemingly to instinctively be able to understand that that man was bad news. Chifuyu didn’t blame them, he wouldn’t get close to Kisaki either if he had the choice.
Only one person was different. They stood really close to Kisaki no, Chifuyu realised in horror, they were hanging from Kisaki’s arm, chatting about something that Chifuyu couldn’t hear from where he was.
“Holy shit.” Hakkai said exactly what Chifuyu was thinking, but he was too busy looking at the… man ? Yes, it was a man, even if the frame was slender and he was wearing a tight dress with a pair of leggings under it to shield him from the cold, Chifuyu could recognise a man when he saw one. Yes, it was an extremely pretty man with a mop of black hair framing a heart shaped face with the most brilliant blue eyes Chifuyu had ever seen, but a man nonetheless. Chifuyu didn’t even know Kisaki was into men until then. Talk about surprises.
The man was pointing at the various shops and talking to Kisaki, thugging his arm gently but not in a needy annoying way. Kisaki didn’t seem to mind being dragged back and forth from the various shops, he wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t have his usual frown on his face or his trademark arrogant expression. He was uncharacteristically relaxed, it was a part of Kisaki Chifuyu had never seen.
But what made Chifuyu pause was the unknown man’s smile. He looked happy, his plump lips were stretched up in a joyful expression, yet-
His eyes weren’t smiling. The vibrant colour hadn’t made Chifuyu notice it before, but now that he observed him a little more, he could see that this man’s gaze was miserable, one step from crying in the middle of the street.
Chifuyu wondered if that was Kisaki’s presence or something else.
“Damn.” Hakkai muttered, which made Chifuyu turn his head towards him. “I hate to say this but Kisaki really has a good taste in whores. That one is gorgeous . Wonder how much Kisaki is paying him.”
Chifuyu nodded absently, but when his eyes moved to search for the couple again, they had already disappeared from sight.
For some reason, that meeting stayed on Chifuyu’s mind for weeks.
He couldn’t help it, even if it was only brief, Chifuyu’s thoughts kept going back to the unknown man’s fake smile and his vibrant, sad eyes. He felt so pathetic for pining behind a whore like one of the manga protagonists he used to read as a teen. He was so embarrassed about this, he refused to confide this new obsession of his to anyone. He knew they would laugh behind his back anyway.
Chifuyu blamed the fact he had been single most of his life and the longest relationship he ever had was the one time he got so wasted he spent two nights with the same girl.
Checking his phone, he realised it was eleven in the night and Baji was still busy with the captain’s meeting. Mikey had decided to call all the captains in a short period of time and Chifuyu had been the unlucky soul that had to bring Baji there. He was bored, it had already been an hour since it started, but Chifuyu was sure it would take at least two more hours. Fuck his life.
“Sorry, do you have to change?” A soft voice snapped Chifuyu out of his thoughts and he unconsciously raised his head.
He felt his breath itch at the sight.
It was him , the unknown pretty man with ocean eyes. Kisaki’s whore .
“Excuse me…? The change…?” The man looked so uncomfortable as he shifted in the very short dress he was wearing. Chifuyu tried not to stare at those nice legs for too much, forcing his gaze to go up. The man was well groomed, a pair of beautiful earrings falling from his ears - Chifuyu was pretty sure those things cost at least fifty thousand yen each - with a matching pendant of the same shade as his eyes. Again, fuck Kisaki’s good taste.
“Uhm- yeah. Change?” Very smart thing to say, Chifuyu, great first impression.
He searched in his pants but only took out two coins of a hundred yen each. Not near enough. He sent an apologetic look to the man, who sighed in defeat and took a step back.
“Ah, pity… I wanted a coffee but the machine only accepts coins.”
Chifuyu’s mouth ran before he could think about it. “I’ll offer one to you. I was thinking of getting a cup myself anyway.”
The man’s eyes got impossible wider which made the colour spark even brighter. “But, I can’t pay you back-”
Chifuyu laughed and shook his head. “It’s only a hundred yen. I’ll live without it.”
The man gave him a timid smile before he followed Chifuyu to the electronic machine, the heels he was wearing resounding in the empty corridor.
While they waited for the coffee to be done, Chifuyu ignored every voice in his head that was telling him to stay away from the man beside him. “I’ve never seen you here before. Are you new?”
The man stilled. “I… not exactly. I’m not a, uhm, member… the meeting caught us off-guard and we didn’t have the time to return home...”
Chifuyu hummed as the machine made a sound signaling that the coffees were ready. “You’re here with Kisaki?”
If the man had the coffee in hand, he would have dropped it. Scared eyes met with Chifuyu as the unknown man took a step back, his gaze going left to right in search of an escape route. He looked terrified, like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
Such an expression didn’t belong to that pretty face.
“Wait! Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you!” Chifuyu raised his hands in defeat. “I’ve seen you with Kisaki before, sorry. I won’t do anything to you. I can go away if I make you uncomfortable.”
Chifuyu took the cup of coffee and held it in front of him. “Take your coffee before I go though.”
“I-” The man stared at him with dubious eyes, but then he made a decision as he took a step forward. “No, it was me who overreacted… you can stay. Sorry, I’m not used to being out so often. You caught me off-guard.”
It was a particular choice of words, one that Chifuyu filed for later. Instead of commenting on it, he smiled and allowed their fingers to brush for a single instant. “Don’t worry. I’m Chifuyu by the way.”
“Takemichi.” The man - Takemichi - smiled before he took a sip of coffee and his face immediately turned into one of disgust.
Chifuyu laughed. “Terrible, isn’t it? Sorry, I’m so used to it, but yeah, it sucks so much.”
“Would have appreciated a warning…” Takemichi mumbled under his breath, making Chifuyu laugh harder.
“Come on, let’s sit down.” Chifuyu said between chuckles, ignoring the indignant look on Takemichi’s face.
Takemichi was not who Chifuyu thought he was. He was open with his expressions, he laughed and raised his voice, he was pleasant to have around. Chifuyu didn’t remember what they talked about, he was too busy staring at Takemichi’s smile. It was so bright, so different from the one he had shown to Kisaki, Chifuyu felt proud of himself for being able to make Takemichi laugh like that.
He pointedly ignored his heart beating faster every time Takemichi’s eyes met his.
“Is the meeting going to end soon? We’ve been here for hours…” Takemichi asked suddenly, sending a look to the clock on the wall that showed that it was one in the night.
Just then, Chifuyu noticed how Takemichi looked utterly exhausted. He was trying to hide it, but it was obvious it was getting difficult for him to keep his eyes open.
“Our boss is… peculiar.” Chifuyu cringed at his own choice of words. “But I think they will finish soon.”
“I see.” Takemichi was wearing a conflicting expression, like a weight had just dropped on his shoulders.
Feeling that they had grown close in these two hours they spent together, Chifuyu found the courage to ask what was on his mind. “Don’t want to go home?”
Takemichi’s head snapped towards him. He eyed Chifuyu suspiciously, weightening his options, before he let out a tired sigh. “More like, I don’t know when I’ll be out again. I’m going to miss the feeling of fresh air.”
Chifuyu raised an eyebrow at that. Something unpleasant tightened in his stomach. He knew he shouldn’t keep asking, but his mouth was working against him. “What do you mean? Do you live with… Kisaki?”
“I have been for five years.” Takemichi muttered, his fingers playing absently with the bracelet around his wrist that cost more than an apartment in the centre of Tokyo. “I’m a little lonely there. And there’s nothing new on tv nowadays.”
He was trying to play it cool, but Chifuyu could see how uncomfortable Takemichi was, so he tried to joke to disperse the tension. “You sound like a prisoner.”
Takemichi stopped moving. Chifuyu blinked confused before he saw Takemichi’s face. The other man had paled several shades, looking like he had been hit by a baseball bat.
The bad feeling in Chifuyu’s stomach intensified. “Are you-”
“You can say I’m something like that.” Takemichi cut him off. The previous warmth in his eyes had disappeared, leaving a coldness behind that chilled Chifuyu to his bones. “Kisaki doesn’t allow me out often because he thinks I’ll run away. Like I won’t be caught immediately if I tried.”
The bitterness in Takemichi’s tone was so clear it honestly surprised Chifuyu, who was still processing what had been said to him. “Won’t… won’t you get in trouble telling me this?”
Takemichi’s cold gaze shut Chifuyu up. “Why? Kisaki is more powerful than you, right? What can you do against him? Can you save me?” Takemichi’s body fell back on the couch boneless. “No, right? And you’re a criminal too, stories like mine aren’t that rare…”
Takemichi was frustrating right. There was nothing Chifuyu could do to help him. Kisaki had everyone in Toman under his thumb, his power spread all over the city. With one order, he could kill anyone he wanted and he wouldn’t face any consequence. That was why even Baji held his tongue in his presence (well, most of the time, his captain had his limits).
And honestly, who in their right mind would stick out their neck for someone they had just met?
(A voice in his mind told him that he would. For this man, for Takemichi, Chifuyu could do anything.)
“I’m glad I was able to meet you, Chifuyu. It was fun. But this is enough.” Takemichi said as he got up, his expression returning neutral like he hadn’t just revealed Kisaki’s twisted hobby to him.
Chifuyu was confused by the sudden change and opened his mouth to ask Takemichi what was wrong when he noticed familiar figures approaching them.
Chifuyu scrambled up and bowed deeply at the captains. He was ignored, as the captains themselves were exhausted and irritated but Chifuyu diligently kept his head down.
With the corner of his eye, he noticed Kisaki approaching Takemichi, placing a possessive hand on his waist. Takemichi smiled at him and leaned his head against Kisaki’s shoulder in search of comfort, his body relaxing in the other man’s arms.
“Let’s go home.” Kisaki muttered to him, but not before turning around to look at Chifuyu. Chifuyu held his breath as Kisaki stared at him, but instead of saying anything, Kisaki simply smirked and led Takemichi away. Chifuyu felt something twisting inside of him.
Only after he had disappeared from his sight was Chifuyu able to breathe again.
“Who was that?” Baji asked disinterested once the other captains had dispersed. “He had a nice ass.”
Chifuyu took a moment before he answered, his heart heavy in his chest, tasting hiw own bitterness in the back of his mouth. “Kisaki’s whore.”
“Well shit.” Baji took out his pack of cigarettes and placed one on his lower lip. “Hate to admit it, but Kisaki has a good taste in whores.”