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Neither of them had been the biggest fan of parties. Growing up the way they did, social gatherings weren't usually their main priority or one of the prominent factors in their lives. Of course, there was always the occasional gala that they'd have no other choice but to attend in order to make a deal or to catch some guy who wouldn't hold up his end of one, but aside from that their lives were simple. Well, as simple as life could be for two members of the mafia.
Here they were, though, at a social gathering full of their peers and sticking beside each other because they'd rather not go off and talk to anyone they didn't know. His father had made them come. He'd made Fuyuhiko go, anyway. Peko was just along for the ride as always, observing her surroundings like a hawk waiting to strike. They'd both been hesitant, Fuyuhiko more so than the latter, but they had no other choice but to attend. His father thought it'd do some good for him to meet potential colleagues and maybe form some bonds. Bullshit. Like hell was that going to happen.
He didn't care for anyone here. He didn't give a shit what happened to any of them. They could be shot up for all he cared. He'd let it happen. He glanced over at Peko. Her expression, or lack thereof, was just as blank as usual, but he knew she couldn't stand all of the noise. She'd much rather prefer to be at home in the quiet dojo meditating and collecting her thoughts than to be standing here next to him in a crowded parlor of teenagers. He didn't care that they were his age. Honestly that only made things worse.
They all knew who they both were. That, perhaps, was the worst part about it. They'd avoided them like the plague up until now, fully aware of Fuyuhiko's position and Peko's sword, but it didn't seem like it would last too much longer, because now they were herding everybody up into a circle for a game. Great. That was fucking great. Who didn't love sitting in a circle full of people they didn't know while the room reeked of sweat and teen angst?
Not too long after the circle had been formed, one of the remaining teenagers on their feet approached the two, a slight nervousness in his smile. Peko eyed him warily as Fuyuhiko glowered in response.
"Hey, guys," the boy started with a slight stutter. "We're gonna play some games, if you wanna join."
Fuyuhiko scoffed and growled, "Games? Yeah. Hard fuckin' pass on that one."
The boy took a small step closer and shot a worried glance over at Peko. He tried for a bigger smile. "Come on, it'll be fun." His hands were shaking visibly as he reached out to grab the yakuza's wrist.
No one was faster to react than Peko. There were several girlish shrieks that echoed throughout the room, but Fuyuhiko couldn't tell whether they actually came from girls or not. What he did know was that Peko had the boy in an armlock, though she remained on her feet, and she showed no sign of letting go.
Fuyuhiko didn't really care, but the unbalanced amount of people either staring or averting their gaze bothered him. Clearly they'd all be too terrified to approach either of them again. He figured that got the message through that he was a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately the only two choices he had were to stand around and watch for another two hours or to take part and participate, and he had no desire in doing either of those. The latter just so happened to be the lesser of two evils.
"Peko," Fuyuhiko commanded, sparing the girl a sideways glance. She looked a tad bit aggressive under the pale lights that hung from the ceiling, but he chalked it up to her defenses being so high. "Release him."
Peko did as she was told without a second thought. She dropped the boy's arm and let him collapse onto the ground. "Yes, Young Master."
Fuyuhiko stepped forward and gave the crowd of teens a snide smirk. "Okay. We'll play your stupid game. But take your friend," he jutted a thumb over at the moaning boy on the floor, "as a word of warning. Don't fuckin' cross me."
The others shifted uncomfortably. They understood perfectly well, because they knew they'd regret it if they forgot.
Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue with a slow shake of his head. He made his way over to find a seat, which proved not to be difficult considering how quickly the group parted like the Red Sea. Peko sat beside him, keeping a respectful distance in order for him to have room.
"What game are we playing?" asked one of the girls, a small blonde, from the further end of the circle. There was a low hum of mumbling until another girl, tall and dark-haired, pulled out a box from her bag. She grinned and raised the box above her head. "Pocky!"
The requisition was met with several groans and several whoops as others shuffled in their seats. Fuyuhiko's scowl returned almost immediately. Fucking Pocky. Out of everything it could have been.
"Who's going first?"
"I vote we spin the bottle!"
"I second that notion."
Voices all chattered together at once as everyone took turns passing around the box and pulling out their own icing-covered biscuit stick. When the box reached Peko, the girl handing it to her hesitated. The hitman gave the girl a blank look as she took the box from her trembling hands. After taking her own from the box, she passed it along to Fuyuhiko, who was still scowling as he took it.
After each person had pulled from the box, the girl who had brought it cleared her throat and proposed, "Okay, so does everybody know the rules?" Out of nowhere they had produced a soda bottle and placed it in the center of the circle. Fuyuhiko could already tell that this wasn't going to end well. Most people nodded to confirm that they understood how to play. Unfortunately there had to be that one person that didn't know. That one person was Peko.
"If I may ask, please pardon me, but I'm not sure how this game works."
Fuyuhiko pinched the bridge of his nose. Dear god. He wished he could ask Peko to punch him in the face right there, or maybe kill him even, but the last thing he needed was her to lose part of her pinkie.
The dark-haired girl gave a small, anxious smile from the other side of the room. "Two people play at once," she started to explain. "Each person takes an end of the stick in their mouth and they both bite it until they reach the middle. Usually..." She paused to wiggle her eyebrows and a few people laughed. "Usually it ends with a kiss. The first person to break the kiss or drop the pocky stick loses."
Peko's expression hadn't changed. She honestly just looked bored and unamused, but it wasn't far from normal. It was just her resting face. "Okay." Fuyuhiko managed to catch the awkward side glance that she shot him. As much as he'd wanted to take it as a call for help, he didn't really think that's what it was.
"Okay!" exclaimed the girl who seemed to have played this game one too many times. "Who's starting? Ah! Alright, Akeno, you spin first!"
One by one each person spun the bottle, and one by one each person played a round with a fellow friend. There was laughter from all corners of the room and squeals of delight or false disgust that were emitted from girls as they landed on close associates or foreign strangers. The next person to spin was Eiichi, a fairly handsome but scrawny boy that Fuyuhiko had seen around before. They must go to the same school, he figured. It'd only make sense.
Eiichi was one of the more popular boys in the room, and you could easily tell by the way the girls fawned and shouted over him. It'd always been that way. He was slim figured, but he was approachable and soft spoken, yet outgoing. For some reason that was something the girls found attractive. Some of the guys did too. Others were just jealous of him. It was the classic popular boy stereotype and it pissed Fuyuhiko off. He wished someone could knock him down a peg, just for the hell of it.
Some of the girls crossed their fingers behind their backs as the bottle spun rapidly, debating on who it would choose as its next victim. Most of the room watched eagerly as the bottle slowed to an eventual stop. Everyone was in awe, and whether that was a good or a bad thing was left up in the air for further evaluation. The bottle had landed directly on Peko, who looked just as stricken with confusion as anyone, if not more.
"Her?"
"Seriously?"
"Jesus Christ! She's going to kill him!"
The corners of Peko's mouth curved downward in a slight frown. She looked over at Fuyuhiko momentarily as if searching for an answer as to why or how. A good portion of her gaze sought permission. Fuyuhiko stared at her until he looked down to hide his scowl. He lifted his shoulder. "Go ahead. I don't fucking care."
Peko still seemed uncertain, but she took this as her little nudge to obey. She scooted forward and folded her hands politely in her lap as she looked up at the boy. She bowed her head. "It is my understanding that you and I have been chosen to participate in this... party activity. Would you like to begin?"
Eiichi was clearly on edge, but it was obvious that he wasn't going to let the girls in the room know it. Unfortunately for him, Peko had been groomed from a young age to pick up on that. She could sense his anxiety and Fuyuhiko knew that. He wondered if she found it amusing or just plain annoying. If he was honest with himself though, she probably didn't care. He wished she wouldn't seem so dependent all the time. He wished she'd have her own opinions instead of looking to him for commands like a trained dog.
Eiichi watched Peko cautiously and spoke slowly as if he were walking on glass. "Uh... Yeah. Yeah, we should probably start. Do you remember how to play?"
"It may not strike you as such, Eiichi Nakashima, but I am a fast learner."
Eiichi seemed slightly taken aback by the fact that Peko knew his last name, but Fuyuhiko wasn't surprised. Peko Pekoyama knew everybody. She was sure to do extensive research when it came to being immersed in a social position. That way she knew who to watch out for.
"Uh, okay. So let's just..."
Eiichi started fidgeting with the pocky stick, trying to position it correctly in his mouth, his face flushing a bright shade of red as he realized Peko was watching with dull, unenthusiastic eyes. "Do you need help?" she questioned halfheartedly.
"No, I've got it."
Fuyuhiko was getting bored just watching this guy. He was like a fish out of water as he floundered around to get things right. What the hell was taking him so long? "Hurry the fuck up, you greasy snail, people have places to be."
Some of the others seemed troubled by his statement, but no one dared say anything back in retaliation. They didn't want to face the wrath of his body guard's armlock, or worse. They knew she was armed. They weren't about to test their luck.
When everything was finally in place, Peko, with the same indifferent look on her face, took the opposing end of the biscuit in her own mouth. Fuyuhiko could tell she was uncomfortable, and fuck, it made him uncomfortable too, but if it made her feel like a normal teenage girl at least for a few minutes, he'd let her have it. Yet, there was still a weird pit in the bottom of his stomach that twisted and turned like knots and gears. It made him sick, but he forced the feeling down and looked away.
There was something that struck him as odd as he spared the occasional glance back over at the two. They were both tense, but for two different reasons. Eiichi didn't want to have his reputation ruined by chickening out of kissing a girl strong enough to break him in half. Peko didn't want to be seen as weak and submissive in front of the boy that she was sworn to protect. Both of their reputations were on the line, and they both were contradictory toward each other, which ironically drew the both of them in closer.
Fuyuhiko was practically seething by the time the two had reached the middle, and as much as he tried to force himself to look away, something drew him to look on as they met with a kiss. Damn it. He knew what that pit in his stomach was now. He just wasn't about to admit it. It was rage. It was tension. It was jealousy. It was envy.
He managed to look away again. He wasn't about to let a stupid kiss get the better of him. Besides, it didn't mean anything. Peko didn't even want to be here, let alone kiss a strange boy she hadn't known until now. They'd both move on with their lives like nothing had happened. Wouldn't they? Fuck. He'd still have to see Eiichi's stupid face at school. It'd probably be okay, he thought. He'd just bash his face in the next chance he got.
Why was the kiss still going? Why were they holding out for this long? Fuyuhiko already knew why. As much as Eiichi wanted to show off for the girls in the room, there was no way he was going to beat Peko. She was competitive as hell and a real tough competitor at anything. If she put her mind to it, she'd make sure she won and accept defeat if it happened. But this wasn't a time that she was going to lose. She just needed to hold out long enough.
In the end, she did win. Eiichi ended up pulling away for air and Peko straightened her posture with a bow of her head. "A fair game, Nakashima. Thank you." Without a word more, she scooted back in to her place beside Fuyuhiko.
The first girl to spin, Akeno, spoke out. "Pekoyama, it's your turn to spin."
"I've already gone."
"No, Nakashima went. Now you go. Everyone goes twice. It's why we all have our own sticks."
"Oh." Peko glanced down at her hands, then at the bottle. "Okay." She got up and went over to give the bottle a nudge. Once it got going she went back to her seat. Fuyuhiko had been lost in his own enraged thoughts until he zoned back in and realized that the neck of the bottle was directed at him. Peko was silent. The entire room was silent. So much for Peko keeping her reputation.
Peko avoided his gaze by staring down at her hands and twiddling her thumbs. She dared not speak. She didn't believe that it was her place to. Fuyuhiko furrowed his brow. "What're you fuckers staring at? Don't you have better things to do?"
One of the guys had decided to take advantage of Peko's vulnerable state. She couldn't hit him while she was taking a hit herself. "Dude, you should see your face right now! It's red as fuck!" This only made Fuyuhiko's face redder of course, but Peko was in a weird phase of disbelief and couldn't exactly do anything about it. This sort of annoyed Fuyuhiko. As much as he wanted to give her time to comprehend things, he wanted to get out of here even more. "Peko, can we just get this over with?"
Peko looked up almost immediately. "Young Master, if you are uncomfortable-"
"I'm not uncomfortable. Let's just get it over with, for crying out loud." He was uncomfortable, but the pit that had lingered in the bottom of his stomach had risen to his chest now, and he felt compelled to take action. He wasn't going to let this go. It was just a game, anyway. No matter what happened, it was just a game.
Peko picked up her pocky stick and lifted her gaze slightly to the side of Fuyuhiko's head. As much as she wanted to, she was too embarrassed to look him in the eyes right now. "Are you ready?" she asked softly.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"You're certain you want to-"
"For Christ's sake, Peko, I'm certain!"
"My apologies, Young Master. Please forgive me for not taking your word for it."
Peko lifted the treat to both their mouths and each took a side. Now came the difficult part. This was going to be painstaking. Or so they both thought.
About halfway through Fuyuhiko's side, the stick broke and ended the game for either of them. That meant Peko had won again without even trying to this time. No doubt she would have let him win in the end, but now he didn't have to worry about it. He could tell that she was just as relieved as he was.
There were some groans from their captivated audience. Some people had probably been willing to make bets on who would chicken out first. The idea of a yakuza heir and his hitman playing a silly party game that resulted in a kiss was a strange one and practically unheard of. The joke was on them though. They'd both won in the end.
The rest couple of hours of the party dragged on just as miserably, but at least the ice had been somewhat broken. The two yakuza still lingered off to the side beside each other, occasionally mumbling some small talk to the other. A few times Fuyuhiko had managed to get a light but sincere chuckle or smile out of Peko, and a few times Peko had somehow managed to do the same. They spoke as if nothing awkward had happened between them just an hour or so ago, and when the time had finally come to leave they couldn't be happier. They'd blown their only chance of relief of being away from home and as soon as they entered the property, they'd be put back to work. So much for being a normal teenager, at least for a few hours. But they didn't seem to care much. At least until then they could still talk to each other freely and normally, even though Peko still kept her boundaries. If the party had taught them anything it was that Peko could hold her breath for a pretty long time. That seemed to satisfy them enough.
As they exited the parlor, it wasn't difficult to spot the limousine waiting around the corner for them. The two of them made their way toward it, Peko trailing slightly behind as usual.
His father had sent them there with the hopes of having his son acquire a feel for business and relations, as well as newfound strengthened social skills. What resulted was a stronger bond with his hitman, the supposed "tool" that was meant to keep him safe. He was fine with that. Nobody needed to know. He'd just bullshit his way through the story about the party when telling his dad.
Peko hadn't said anything about it since the party, and perhaps she never would. It wasn't her place to anyway. But the two of them knew what had happened, and they intended to keep it that way. Just the two of them. It'd be their special secret. Their little memory to joke over now and then when they were alone. It gave them something to talk and chuckle about in needed times. That memory was theirs, and no one else's. Besides, what made a secret special if everyone knew?
They went to bed that night, both in separate rooms and quarters, but with the same thought in mind: What might have been?