Chapter Text
The fact that Kanda kept Daigo and the rest of the officers waiting at their executive meeting is no surprise. Kanda being bloodied and out of breath is unusual, but frankly seems in character. However, his flinching away from Daigo and loud proclamations that everything is fine when no one asked is one of the most suspicious things Daigo has ever seen. And he grew up around Kamurocho.
“Kanda, it is clear you’re in distress. Could you explain what happened?” Daigo is surprised that it doesn’t take more persuasion, but the situation has obviously left Kanda shaken and impulsive. He trips over himself to describe how he and Mine were attacked on the way to headquarters by the Second Acting Chairman of the Nishikiyama Family. As for why the Second Acting Chairman would be targeting them, Kanda also spills how he and Mine had set him up to take the fall for gun trafficking in retaliation for another attack.
The leather on Daigo’s chair squeaks audibly as his grip tightens with each new fact revealed by Kanda. He wanted Mine to be more careful, so Daigo had made sure to warn him of the worst-case scenario to convince him to shape up. But he didn’t think the worst-case scenario would happen this fast! He has to ensure Mine’s safety, if he can, but how? His first instinct is to grab a gun and head down there himself, but there is a good chance that ends with a pile of Tojo bodies. The Second Acting Chairman doesn’t care much for Daigo’s authority, so he could hardly expect an order to stand down to be followed.
Kanda, still sweating and visibly nervous, seems to assume that Daigo’s pause is due to him contemplating an appropriate punishment. To preempt him, Kanda opens his briefcase as he shouts “Don’t worry, Chairman! I have this month’s payment! 700 million yen! I made sure to keep it safe and bring it to ya! I hope this shows my use to the clan!”
In addition to convincing Daigo that Kanda is incapable of reading a room, his declaration also gives Daigo an idea. He remembers one of Kiryu-san’s ridiculous stories- his boss had once paid a billion yen to ensure his protection from the Tojo Clan. If the Second Acting Chairman is looking for the funds to escape Japan, maybe something like that will work again.
“I see. Officers, I ask that you allow me to take this month’s payment as a means to rescue Mine-san.” Right on cue, the simmering resentment for Daigo erupts into passionate protests. Kashiwagi-san looks briefly surprised before focusing on Daigo with furrowed brows, like he’s trying to read his mind and figure out what the hell Daigo’s actual plan is.
It is hard to differentiate the reactions of the other officers or their shouts, though the words ‘irresponsible,’ ‘ridiculous,’ and ‘idiot’ are popular. Even the always supportive Kashiwagi-san seems highly skeptical. Daigo stands in an attempt to recapture everyone’s attention before raising his voice to continue, “I understand that I am asking for the hard-earned profits of your families. However, I have faith that the Tojo Clan will make that money again. The lives of our men, on the other hand, cannot be replaced.” While the room quiets down slightly, the protests continue. Every minute they spend arguing decreases Daigo’s chances of reaching Mine alive. Luckily, a combination of principled pleas from Daigo, rational arguments for how this could benefit morale from Kashiwagi-san, and some measure of just going to do it anyway allows Daigo to leave with about one billion yen. He just hopes it’s enough to cover inflation since it last worked for Kiryu-san.
Luckily, the sketchy warehouse Kanda described is both familiar to Daigo (don’t ask) and close to headquarters. As soon as he arrives, he jumped out of the car and is relieved to see Mine on the ground, but still breathing. “Mine, there you are!”
The (former) Second Acting Patriarch and Mine both whip their heads around to look at Daigo. They seem understandably surprised by Daigo’s sudden appearance. It’s Mine who asks, “Chairman Dojima, why are you here?” Daigo explains that after arriving at the meeting, Kanda revealed that Mine was in danger.
When Mine haltingly asks again, “Here, you, what are you doing here?” Daigo realizes that his question wasn’t, ‘How did you know to be here?’ but, ‘Why bother to come?’ He got the sense that Mine wasn’t doing great¸ but that fact that his first reaction to a rescue is confusion makes Daigo want to give him a hug.
Instead of that likely baffling and uncomfortable display of affection, Daigo asks the Second Acting Patriarch if he can forgive Mine. “Not for free. I have prepared one billion yen you can use to fund your escape. You need money, don’t you?”
That seems to shift the mood somewhat from confusion to shock. The Second Acting Patriarch repeats, “A billion?” while Mine asks, “Chairman, that money is…?”
“I was able to persuade the officers to let me take this month’s payment. As you can imagine, there were vehement protests.” Mine looks like he might be sick at the idea that Daigo had to argue with a group of men in suits to save him. “But I can’t replace your life.” Mine’s jaw fully drops at this, like it’s the last thing he expected to hear.
The tension is palpable as the silence drags on. Finally, the Second Acting Patriarch nods to Daigo. With that he can finally relax, letting out an exhale and the phrase, “Oh thank god.” Daigo begins to talk to himself about how this is going to piss off the patriarchs again before remembering that the Second Acting Patriarch is still there. Diago tossing him the keys to the car, which holds the cash safely in the trunk. The man lights up like a teen discovering a dirty magazine when he lays eyes on the money, so Daigo moves to seal the deal, “Now you can forget about Mine, right?”
That makes the Second Acting Patriarch turn to address Daigo, hopefully to confirm the deal before going on his way. “Chairman Dojima, I am very grateful for this money.” And now he’ll forgive Mine, good. “However,” Oh shit. “He’s caused me a lot of trouble. Because of him I’m a murdered on the run! I’ll never see my wife and kids again! I have to kill him, I’m sorry!”
The apology does nothing to make Daigo feel better as the Second Acting Patriarch turns his gun on Mine. Daigo yells for him to stop as he moves closer, putting himself between Mine and the gun. Three gunshots echo off the concrete. Daigo feels one impact at his side, but doesn’t know where the other two bullets went. He looks at the still overwhelmed Mine and asks, “Are you alright?” Mine doesn’t respond, still gawking and now looking rapidly between Daigo’s eyes and the blood starting to show through his suit.
“Ohhhh no. Oh shit. I shot the Chairman…” The Second Acting Patriarch is working himself up to a decision. Daigo isn’t sure he can rely on this coin flip to land in his favor given his luck for the last… 30 years. “Now I have no choice but to kill you both!” Sometimes Daigo hates how predictably shit goes wrong.
Daigo doesn’t feel that injured, all things considered, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be of any use in a fight once the adrenaline wears off. If he had just fucking thought this through he would have brought some bodyguards, or Kashiwagi-san, or someone. Mine seems to be alright, and he certainly looks muscular, but how many fights could a venture capitalist possibly get in? There’s nothing the people of Kamurocho line up for like a fight, but still-
Mine’s furious snarl makes it clear that whether he can fight or not, he’s going to try. “You bastard, what do you think you’re doing!” Mine closes the distance with impressive speed, before punching the Second Acting Patriarch hard enough to send the gun flying out of his hand. Mine keeps punching him, not giving the man a chance to recover, until he’s unconscious on the ground.
Seemingly satisfied with that, Mine runs back to Daigo, still looking surprisingly presentable after beat the shit out of a veteran yakuza. Daigo’s brain catches up slightly as he lamely says, “I got shot in the side.” Mine’s panic returns as he fumbles to get his phone out of his pocket to call an ambulance. In the meantime, Daigo drags out his own phone and hits Kashiwagi-san’s number on speed dial. Daigo cracks a smile as he updates Kashiwagi-san, met with familiar tense silence on the other end. By now, Daigo knows that just means he’s worried about him and trying desperately not to show it. Mine’s still looking at Daigo like he’s terrified he’ll die on the spot as he’s loaded into the ambulance. Daigo is confident that once he’s out of sight, Mine will be able to shake himself out of his current state and keep an eye on the Second Acting Patriarch until more men show up. So Daigo finally relaxes, congratulating himself on managing not to let anybody get kill this time.
-
Turns out Daigo was right- the bullet wound wasn’t that bad. He knows he’s not Kiryu-san, but if that guy can take two shots to the chest and still kick Ryuji’s ass, Daigo doesn’t have to worry about a bullet that basically grazed him. As much as he enjoys the thought of Mine waiting on his knees in Daigo’s office with his puppy dog eyes, he should probably just ask Mine to come pick him up from the hospital.
When Mine enters the room, Daigo starts to wonder if Mine really just has two facial expressions: intentionally blank and perpetually distraught like a dog waiting to get kicked. He greets Mine warmly with, “Thank you for coming. They’re already letting me leave. The bullet only grazed me- I got away pretty lucky.”
Mine won’t look at him. Instead, he quietly says, “Why?” to Daigo’s shoes.
“Why…?” Daigo recognizes that self-deprecating ‘I don’t deserve nice things’ tone of voice, but he also knows that assuming that will only make it worse.
“Why did you, the Sixth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, save a single member like me? Not to mention the large sum of money you prepared…”
Daigo thinks for a second, trying to figure out if there’s any way to make this guy understand that Daigo doesn’t feel like he’s done anything that extraordinary. If he’s this impressed by newly sober-ish, barely Chairman Daigo, he should really meet Kiryu-san.
Daigo eventually settles on, “Hey, Mine.” He pauses until Mine’s deep amber eyes meet his. “Is it so strange to protect a friend?” Daigo can still see Mine running calculations behind his eyes, so he continues, “Isn’t that a natural response? That what I believe, at least.”
Mine, his whirling thoughts still clearly displayed on his face slowly answers, “That may be the case, but to go so far as to risk your own life? I-” He pauses and lets out a shaky breath before continuing, “I have been betrayed many times. By people I’ve trusted. And to you I must look like a problem child who wouldn’t even listen to your warnings. I don’t understand why you’d risk your life for me.”
As a nearly professional problem child until a few months ago, Daigo knows that feeling. Like you’ve disappointed everyone who even vaguely cares about you so many times that they must be rightly disgusted by the idea of ever reaching out to you again. But as Daigo has seen more and more lately, that’s not really how it works.
“Mine, I thought I already told you. The members of the clan are my family. So, as the chairman, it’s my duty to protect that family. You’re not an exception to that.” Even if Daigo does feel like there are a few members who he wouldn’t have tried quite so hard to protect, he keeps that to himself for now. Hopefully in the future he can be someone who means it completely.
Mine has finally transitioned from bewildered to puzzled, saying, “I’m family?”
“Yes. I think so. So, everything I did was reasonable.” Mine seems to be coming around, so time to bring it home. “Well, Mine, is that really so strange?”
While Daigo waits to see if Mine has another set of defenses for him to knock down, Kanda bursts into the room. “Chairman, are you okay?!” He noticeably pales when he sees Mine, before starting to giggle to himself in a slightly upsetting way. “Hehe, you’re looking good, Mine.”
Mine’s very good poker face returns and he bows and says, “Kanda-san, you saved my life.” Now it’s Kanda’s turn to look confused as Mine continues, “You pretended to run away so you could inform headquarters I was in danger. Right?” The emphasis on that last word is a dead giveaway that Mine is trying to save Kanda’s ass, but Daigo lets it slide.
“Uhh, right! That’s right! Mine, ya figured it out! Just like I expected from my kyodai!” With the springboard of that tactless display from Kanda, Mine launches into a frankly masterful argument for why he should have his own family. The undercurrent of threat to Kanda that Mine could reveal that he’s exactly the tremendous, self-serving coward he looks like certainly helps. As does the fact that Kanda seems like he could probably be beaten in a debate by a particularly persistent pigeon.
-
The groundwork from that conversation has been laid for several days before Mine comes to Daigo’s office to finalize his position as the leader of a new family. Mine arrives precisely on time, as always, before they discuss the details of the plan. “Hakuho Clan, huh? It’s good name, Mine.” Daigo is proud of Mine and more than a little relieved to know that Mine’s brilliance won’t be financing any of Kanda’s future bad ideas. Though he’s only recently become aware of Kanda, he’s already caused more trouble than most. Which is saying something, considering the current state of the clan.
“Thank you very much, Chairman,” Mine responds with an unnecessary bow.
“Anyway,” Daigo continues, trying to shake off his wish for Mine to refer to him as anything less impersonal, “I can’t believe Kanda agreed to let you go.” For what little Daigo knows of him, he can’t imagine him willingly giving up anyone he thinks he could profit from.
“Well, it seems Kanda-no-aniki had some plans of his own.” Mine trails off and his eyes grow distant, clearly deep in thought before snapping himself back. “But his plans are his own. I’m sure he intends to treat me as a subordinate.”
Daigo cracks a smile. “I’m sure he does. Don’t let him push you around too much.”
Mine agrees before going quiet again. Daigo can practically feel Mine thinking as he looks at the rug at their feet before timidly asking, “Are you positive this is alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“All of a sudden, I’m to lead a direct subsidiary of the Tojo Clan. It seems much too early to put a newcomer like me in such an important position on.”
The irony of Mine saying that to Daigo is not lost on him. He chuckles before teasing Mine with, “Then what am I doing here?” At that, Mine’s eyes go wide and his cheeks flush before he bows again, apologizing rapidly for his unacceptable comments about the Sixth Chairman. “Mine.” Daigo ducks his head down, trying to catch Mine’s eyes. “That was a joke.” He feels himself smiling reassuringly as Mine slowly relaxes. Poor guy, Daigo must make him so nervous. He can’t remember the last time he managed to intimidate someone in the clan on purpose, let alone on accident.
Daigo continues to reassure Mine, saying, “Considering what you’ve already done for the Clan, there’s nothing inappropriate about giving you this new role.” Something about that word, inappropriate, combined with Mine’s sincere, handsome face sparks a wicked part of Daigo’s brain he’s recently gone from indulging 24/7 to being too fucking tired to even seriously consider. Mine is a good guy. Loyal, brilliant, hot in a very clean-cut way. Daigo feels comfortable around him. Like maybe he can have a little fun.
Daigo leans his ass back against his desk and puts his hands on its edge, trying to project an image into Mine’s mind of how easy it would be to close the distance between them and press his mouth and body against Daigo’s. “Besides, you’ve proven that you can be a little dangerous.” Daigo slowly looks Mine up and down, purring as seductively as he can, “I better keep a close eye on you.”
If Mine picked up any of the flirting Daigo was just attempting, he doesn’t show it. “I apologize for my previous actions. I will be different from now on.”
That response immediately extinguishes any heat in the room and brings Daigo back to the rational part of himself. Mine is a good guy. He doesn’t have to condemn himself to this life in the shadows, surviving on the fringes of society. Lots of men join the yakuza because they have no choice. But Mine does.
“Mine, this is important.” That gets Daigo some very serious eye contact from Mine before he continues. “Are you sure you want this? You can still go back to your life. You don’t have to become a yakuza if it’s not what you want.” Daigo wants Mine to stay. He knows instinctively that Mine is good for the clan and its chairman, but it turns out, caring about people means putting what they need first.
Mine manages to straighten up even more and continue to meet Daigo’s eyes. “I understand. But I’ve already made up my mind. I’ve finally found exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
The unexpected heat and confidence in Mine’s gaze make Daigo wonder if he’s talking about the Tojo Clan or Daigo. Either way, it means Mine is staying. Daigo smiles and ushers Mine along to the ceremony to cement their bond before Mine loses confident in himself and gives Daigo an excuse to reassure him all over again.