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Fresh Face
“Men! Listen up!”
Dammit. Nishida’s almost done counting up the day’s profits when Majima’s voice interrupts the calculation he’s balancing in his head. It’s not even his job, but it’s work he likes—or, at least, doesn’t mind doing—so he volunteered to take over for Kurata when the Majima Family accountant fell ill. Nobody had even questioned leaving arguably the most important job in Nishida’s hands; his impeccable reputation spoke for itself.
If only he had just… a few more… minutes.
“Oi!”
Looks like he’ll have to start over on this one. He turns his attention to the boss, leaning on the door frame and pointing at a sleeping chinpira on the couch. Someone rushes over to wake him up.
“This here’s Minami,” says Majima, turning around. “Get over here!”
Ah. The new guy. Nishida isn’t sure what he was expecting. Or what he should’ve expected to begin with. The person who steps out from behind Majima is… well, looks like your average punk off the street. Which, he figures, must be the point. Newbie and all. He just thought the boss would be a little more discriminating about who he brings on. Nishida shakes his head. It’s not like it’s his place to judge. Who knows, this guy might have something more interesting up his sleeve beyond his... lack of sleeves. Or shirt, even.
Nishida watches as Minami makes his rounds, greeting everyone in the room with a bow, a handshake, or both, depending on the introduction Majima gives. His face is stuffed full of piercings and he’s no stranger to tattoos, but they’re nothing to write home about: a couple of faded roses and some Western-style scribbles. Nishida doesn’t get it.
“And this is Nishida!” Majima exclaims. “Keeps this whole damn place runnin’ like a well-oiled machine!”
Nishida knows there’s a grain of truth to it, yet his cheeks still heat up at the compliment anyway. He likes his job and he likes the boss, but most of all, he likes it when the boss recognizes that. That’s all. No embarrassing crushes or anything like that involved. Not anymore, at least.
“Nice to meet ya, aniki! ” shouts Minami.
Nishida nods. “Welcome.”
“Show him ‘round, will ya?” says Majima, clapping Nishida on the back a little too hard.
“But boss… I have to finish the– er, can’t someone else do it?” he protests.
Majima’s bat joins the conversation. “Gotta show some hospitality, Nishida,” Majima says, aiming it at a particularly fragile spot on Nishida’s arm. “Ain’t like we get someone joinin’ up every day.”
Right. “Of course, boss. Let’s go,” says Nishida, pulling the newbie out the door and upstairs.
They perform a quick peek into every room on the fourth floor and then again into every room on the third floor, while Nishida spouts off more Majima Family lore and history than this punk probably ever wanted to hear. The Family is still relatively new, but there’s no shortage of stories to tell. These four walls have already witnessed a lot. Too much.
Minami takes it all in with big, stupid eyes and a gaping mouth, and Nishida doesn’t know what to make of it.
They almost make it back down to the second floor before an unfortunate misstep sends Minami tumbling down the stairs, right into someone’s feet.
Shined shoes. Clean, double-breasted suit. Ugliest mug in all of Tojo.
Dammit.
Shimano.
Before anyone else has the chance to get their bearings, Nishida grabs Minami by the arm; he drags him away from Shimano and away from Majima’s narrowed eye, down to the first floor. They wait around the corner until the footsteps die down, then sneak back up to the third floor, where the first aid kit resides. (Because of course Minami’s bleeding.)
Nishida cleans the wound just like he always does, whether it be for the boss, one of their countless family members, or even himself on a rare occasion. Minami’s injury is deep enough that it’s going to hurt, but it’s still firmly within ‘just a scratch’ territory, considering the full spectrum of workplace hazards that Majima Family men risk every day. Minami doesn’t seem to mind.
“Is the boss always that cool?”
Nishida rolls his eyes.
Fresh Ink
Nakamura, the apprentice tattoo artist, does all of Nishida’s touch-ups. Her bedside manner is remarkably gentle and she explains everything she does in advance, which usually does just the trick to soothe the nerves of jittery first-timers.
Unfortunately, none of this seems to work on Minami.
“If this hurts, I’m gonna make ya regret it!” he grumbles from the table.
“Ignore him, Nakamura-san,” mutters Nishida, a little embarrassed. “He’s new.”
The artist doesn’t seem to mind. She gives Nishida a knowing smirk and he feels a bit stupid for not realizing how often she must have to deal with this kind of thing, given the steady stream of newbies she gets from Shimano subsidiaries.
“Oi,” protests Minami. “Whose side are ya on, aniki ?” His accent has changed since the day Nishida first met him. The Kamuro punk who walked into the Family office last month is beginning to sound like a Sotenbori punk, though it’s still a far cry from Majima’s seasoned Kansai-ben, which is the all-too-obvious inspiration here.
“Minami…” ventures Nishida.
“Huh?”
“Don’t you, um, already have tattoos?”
“Yeah, so?”
“So you know what to expect?”
“Yeah. So?”
Nishida does his best not to roll his eyes.
“…Ouch! Ouch, watch it!” yelps Minami.
“I haven’t done anything yet,” Nakamura says.
Minami grimaces back at her, but Nishida can see that his hands are shaking a little. He almost feels bad for him, but it’s not as if he didn’t know what he was getting into; he could have joined some mafia instead — already has more than enough tattoos for that.
“Thought you would be used to it by now, that’s all,” mumbles Nishida.
“There’s just. There’s so much more… stuff in this one.”
“What if you don’t get the sleeves. Just do the back?” asks Nishida, trying to offer a solution.
Minami’s head whips around to look at him. “No way! The boss’s are too damn cool.”
Of course. Nishida doesn’t know why, but all this Majima-worship is beginning to get on his nerves. He can handle the boss—in fact, within the Family, he’s notorious for it—but having to deal with the same attitude from an underling? One’s enough.
When Nishida’s thoughts drift back to the present, Minami’s quiet. Too quiet. The artist has started on the outline and Minami lies on the table stick-straight, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists.
“You okay?” Nishida asks, against his better judgment.
“No. I dunno. Hold my hand.”
“W-what? Why?”
Minami takes a sharp inhale instead of giving him a proper answer, and before Nishida knows it, he’s coming over to the table to take his hand. He hates seeing anyone in pain. Besides, if this kid plans to stick around, Nishida should probably make more of an effort to get along with him.
“Thanks,” mumbles Minami, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
“No problem,” says Nishida.
It’s really not. He even helps him moisturize.
Fresh Breath
“Ya shoulda seen her!”
Nishida tunes out somewhere around ‘tits the size of yer head’. He’s not interested in listening to Minami recount his escapades to their newest recruit, so he shifts his attention back to the paperwork and tries to focus. Everyone else is already done for the day, but he figures he’ll unwind later, either with a good book or a few rounds at Orchid Palace with the other regulars. It’s Thursday, which means Sato might be in; he owes him a rematch after last week’s disaster of a game.
Problem is: Minami’s loud .
Nishida’s attempts to concentrate must not have been all that successful, he realizes, noticing just how much of Minami’s rambling he’s unconsciously processed in the back of his mind.
Not an escapade, then. Porn.
“So then ,” continues Minami, “she takes out all this… stuff and starts doing this fire breathin’ trick? It was un-fucking-real!”
“Wow…” The newbie listens with rapt attention.
“‘Course, I had to go and try it for myself — practiced all night! I think I’m gettin’ somewhere, look–“
This is beginning to sound like something Nishida might have to pay attention to, so he puts down his pen and turns around. He’s a little too late.
There’s a splash, and then a spark, and then what looks like an actual goddamn fireball in the middle of the Majima Family office.
And then there’s Minami, tripping and stumbling directly into it, as he does. “Aw, FUCK! Fuck, fuuuck!!!”
Nishida will have to buy Ishikawa a drink for thinking fast enough to grab the fire extinguisher.
It takes a few minutes for the commotion to die down, and thankfully, when Nishida finally finds Minami on the floor, he’s still in one piece.
Well, save for an eyebrow or two.
“They’ll grow back,” says Nishida, in an attempt to offer some comfort. “Well, they should, at least.”
“Whaddaya mean ‘should’!?”
Minami is inconsolable until Nishida promises to take him to the best doctor he knows. He only knows one doctor, but he doesn’t mention that part.
Fresh Eyes
Oh no, he’s hot.
Nishida regrets the thought as soon as he thinks it. It can’t possibly lead to anything good. Or remotely acceptable. Or something. It’s probably not even true! Just an illusion brought on by Minami’s unexpected change of clothes. (Well, maybe not unexpected per se. Nishida was the one demanding that he stick to the dress code, after all.)
The outfit isn’t even anything special — just your standard wardrobe for Tojo HQ, where a new family is going to be initiated today in the usual day-long ceremony. The not-so-usual part is Minami’s attendance in and of itself. Thanks to his recent promotion, he's now high enough on the food chain to hold a standing invitation to all big happenings at HQ.
“How’s it lookin’?” asks Minami with an exaggerated twirl.
The suit itself looks fine. Great, even, Nishida thinks nervously. What looks off about it is, well… everything else: the shirt buttons are mismatched, the tie looks like it was tied by a seven-year-old, and… are those sunglasses peeking out of the pocket?
“It’s… good. Well, uhm, almost,” says Nishida. “Let me just–“ He comes over to Minami and begins to undo his tie.
“Whoa, aniki! What’re ya doin’? I worked hard on that!” Minami yelps.
“It’s just– I’ll do a better knot for you. One of the fancy ones, if you want.”
That seems to spark his interest. “How fancy?”
“Whichever one you want. I know a handful.”
“Can ya do one like the boss had last week?”
Again with the boss. “Yeah, if that’s what you want. But I was thinking something more dressed up.”
“More ?” asks Minami, visibly intrigued.
Nishida finally untangles the unnecessarily complicated knot and puts the tie aside, then gets started on unbuttoning the shirt.
“Hey! What’s wrong with the shirt?” protests Minami.
“Ah–The buttons are mismatched.”
“Oh. Okay.” He makes no further objection as Nishida’s capable fingers undo the rest of the buttons and then get started on doing them up again.
For some reason, Nishida’s hands shake a little as he makes his way up, and he can’t bring himself to look Minami in the eye. He doesn’t even know why he’s nervous; it’s not like Minami ever wears a shirt to begin with.
Once the shirt is good to go and Minami has tucked it back into his slacks, Nishida gets started on the tie. He decides to go for an Eldredge knot. He’s never worn it himself, but he’s practiced it at home a few times just for kicks, and he’s positive that he can pull it off again. While its over-the-top style might be a little too much for Nishida to brave, it seems like it would be right up Minami’s alley. If he has to cover up all of his distinguishing tattoos, he might as well spruce up the look a little. Not that he needs help being the center of attention as it is. Fire breathing and all.
“How does it look?” asks Nishida, once he has tucked the small end of the tie in place to finish off his handiwork.
Minami turns to look in the mirror. “Oi, aniki …”
“You like it? Or do you want something different?”
“ Aniki ! It slaps !”
“It what?”
“Slaps!” yells Minami. He twirls around again, this time with more enthusiasm than before. “Still uncomfortable as shit , but now I look damn good!” He pulls Nishida into a bone-crushing bear hug—when did he get this strong?—and then spins him around, ignoring his protests.
“Stop, you’ll–“
Minami sets him down and runs right over to the mirror again. “Aw, man…” He turns back around. “It’s all messed up now.”
Nishida helps him fix it.
It’s certainly worth the effort.
Fresh Air
It’s just the two of them left now, and even though they didn’t start out like this, Nishida almost likes it better this way. It’s his birthday, after all.
The celebration kicked off at a glitzy rooftop bar with a large group of family men led by their patriarch himself. Nishida was endlessly thankful that the boss organized such an extravagant night out just for his sake. With it being a weeknight, however, their numbers dwindled more and more as they went from hostess club to cocktail bar to countless other establishments, until everyone had gone home and only Minami and Nishida remained standing.
Well, somewhat standing. It counts, thinks Nishida, leaning almost the entirety of his body weight onto a vending machine from which Minami is retrieving a Pocari Sweat.
“You’d think …” Nishida struggles through the fog in his head to find the right words. “You’d think … they’d stay out later, y’know… being YAKUZA ’n’ all…”
Minami waves a drunken hand at him. “ Aniki , shhhhhh…”
As if it’s not clear as day that they’re family men. Well, Minami at least. Alone, Nishida has the rare ability to blend in with even the most monotonous flocks of salarymen. It’s probably not something to be proud of, but he decides to take it as a good thing anyway. Yeah. It’s his birthday.
“‘Sides,” says Minami. “Didn’t think I’d catch ya complainin’ ‘bout people goin’ home early ! We’ll make a party animal outta ya yet!”
“I’m not– ‘m not complaining. ’S just different when it’s a special occasion. Yanno?”
“Mm.” Minami takes a big gulp of his drink.
“Guess I’ll go home, then,” Nishida mumbles to no one in particular.
Minami jumps and nearly drops his bottle. “What? Why? Thought ya’d wanna keep goin’?”
“Don’t you–“ Nishida hiccups violently. “Don’t you wanna go home? Since the boss’s left?”
“Haw? Why? ’S not his birthday…” Minami scrunches up his forehead. “…Or is it? Oh my god, aniki –“
Nishida shakes his head. “’S not, ’s not, don’t worry.”
“Phew… What were we talkin’ ‘bout?” asks Minami. “…Right! Karaoke. Let’s go!”
“But Minami…” Nishida remains leaning face-first into the vending machine. “We’ve already been three times…”
“So? What’s one more?”
Nishida can’t argue with that — the logic checks out. He peels himself away from the machine and stumbles after Minami, miraculously crossing the street in one piece and floating onwards in the direction of Karaokekan. Somewhere along the way, the appeal of Club Sega photo booths proves to be too hard for them to resist. Minami pulls him inside after longingly rubbernecking a couple of high schoolers walking out of the arcade with freshly-printed photos.
“To commemorate!” he yells, startling a drunken couple hunched over a UFO Catcher.
Sounds good to Nishida. He wipes his face on his sleeve in an attempt to make himself look somewhat presentable, and then joins Minami behind the little plastic curtain to the photo booth. Hmm. He doesn’t look half bad, he thinks, inspecting his appearance on the screen in front of him. Maybe this was a good idea—
There’s a sudden flash of light in his face, before an image of his unfortunately timed grimace and Minami’s usual one floats up on the screen.
The next two attempts don’t go much better, but Nishida tries to make peace with the outcome. He flips through the sticker-picture prints, trying to select his favorites as Minami drags him back outside, letting go of Nishida only briefly when an inviting row of MesuKing machines draws his attention. As is usual for Kamurocho, they don’t even make it around the corner before a particularly bold tout shoves a flier for a popular izakaya into Nishida’s hand.
“Gentlemen!” he starts.
Minami doesn’t let him finish. “Ohhh! Looks good!”
Before Nishida can protest, he’s being pulled along to a bar on the fourth floor of a building on Nakamichi. “C’mon, Minami… Haven’t we had enough to drink?”
“Sure have! That’s why we need food!” Minami taps himself on the head. “ Someone ’ s gotta be the brains of this operation!” he says, stepping onto the tiny elevator.
Nishida follows.
The pub is loud and a little disorienting, but Nishida finds something relaxing in its chaotic atmosphere. He tunes most of it out, instead focusing on the big glass of cold tea in front of him and Minami’s comforting and uncharacteristically quiet presence on his left. It’s been a fun birthday. The boss has always taken good care of him in that respect, but this time it was Minami who really came through to make it one of the best he’s ever had. He’s not sure why — it’s not as if Minami has even done anything, other than be there with Nishida, by his side.
Right here. Nishida scoots closer to lean his head on Minami’s shoulder. Maybe this will get the room to stop spinning.
“Oi, aniki … Doin’ okay?” asks Minami in an unexpectedly soft voice.
“Mm.” Nishida nods. “Tired…”
They sit like that a little longer, snacking on chicken skewers and assorted small dishes, until Nishida’s eyes start closing again and he nearly falls down onto the table.
“Let’s keep movin’.” Minami throws a large bill onto the table and pulls Nishida outside again.
The late night breeze is refreshing. Nishida wants to drink it in more, but he can’t deny that sleep is calling.
“Sure ya don’t wanna go for some mahjong?” Minami asks, swaying a little on his feet.
Mahjong! Nishida loves mahjong. He never thought he’d find himself saying no to a game, but he’s been around the block enough to know when to stop. “’S too late,” he says. “And they’re closed.”
“How d’ya know?”
“I just do.”
“Hm.”
“Let’s call it a night?” Nishida asks with a yawn.
Minami nods, so Nishida grabs his hand and pulls him in the direction of the same vending machine from before. Water. They need water.
Mahjong will be there tomorrow.
* * *
When Nishida wakes up the next morning, he’s feeling refreshed and pleasantly sore from all the running around the night before. It really had been a good birthday, and he can’t keep a smile off his face as he goes about his morning routine, albeit, hours later than he normally would.
Minami, on the other hand, did not escape unscathed. When Nishida walks out to his living room, he finds him curled up into a ball on the couch, facing away from the sunlight streaming in through the single big window.
“ Aniki … I don’t feel so good.”
No surprises there.
Nishida whips him up the best hangover regimen that he knows of — the boss’s special elixir and an acupressure sequence that seems to do just the trick to get Minami past the worst of it. He spends the rest of the day reading with Minami sprawled across his lap in a fitful sleep, and despite all the tossing and turning, it ends up being one of the most relaxing days off Nishida’s had in a while.
If only it wasn’t at the expense of Minami’s suffering.
Fresh Start
Crrrack.
The pain is so overwhelming, that for a second, Nishida feels like he’s gone blind. He can’t even tell where it’s coming from. Is he having a heart attack? Or is this what a stroke feels like?
After the initial wave subsides, Nishida’s able to gather his bearings enough to notice that the pain is coming from his leg.
The leg that’s currently sandwiched between a steel beam and a pile of plastic tubing. He thinks it’s stuck, but it’s hurting far too much for him to make any attempt to get it out. He can barely breathe, much less call out for help, but there’s bound to be someone nearby… right?
Then, there’s a familiar voice on the other side of the door that floods Nishida with relief.
“M-Minami?” His voice comes out as a pathetic croak, but a few seconds later, the door opens and Minami pops his head in.
His mouth drops open at the sight of Nishida, but he wastes no time. He turns around to roar “get the boss!” at someone on the other side of the door, and then runs over to kneel at Nishida’s side. “ Aniki … you okay? I mean, no, no, you’re not… I mean… Shit, aniki …”
Nishida almost feels sorry for him — he looks genuinely upset. He doesn’t want Minami to be upset on his behalf, but he doesn’t know what to say.
“Aniki … are ya bleedin’ anywhere?”
Nishida shakes his head. “It’s just–nnh.” His voice trembles and he can’t even get the rest of the sentence out; the pain is just too much.
Minami doesn’t say anything else, but gives him another worried look, eyebrows knit in frustration. Then, he turns around again. “Oi, Sakamoto! Bring some ice packs!” As usual, his voice seems to carry across the whole construction site, and for once Nishida’s thankful for it.
He takes shallow gasps to get some air into his lungs, but instead of relaxing, his body seems to only get more tense with each passing second. He barely even notices when Minami comes closer and leans over him in a protective hunch, taking both of Nishida’s sweaty hands into his own.
“It’ll be alright, aniki. I’m here,” he declares.
That gets a nod of acknowledgement from Nishida. The little bit of skin contact goes a long way to ground him to reality, and suddenly Nishida knows it will be fine. He just has to get through the hard part.
And Minami’s here with him. Just fine.
A younger yakuza runs into the room with an ice pack and Minami shouts more orders at him—Nishida doesn't process what they are—all without letting go of Nishida’s hands. The newbie leaves and Minami busies himself with the ice pack, looking for a good spot to place it on Nishida’s leg with a gentleness that Nishida doesn’t recall ever seeing from him.
“Minami…” Nishida finally finds his voice again.
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have to, uh…” He’s not even sure what he’s trying to say, so he settles for a vague nod at the door.
“Yeah, I do. ‘Course I do.” Minami slides closer and looks down at Nishida with a grimace.
It’s so intense that Nishida has to look away.
“What would I do without ya, aniki ? You always know what to do and how to do it. And you’re… you–” He grips Nishida’s hand so hard it almost hurts. “You’re amazing. So amazing.”
The pain that's been fighting for dominance with the butterflies in Nishida's stomach ceases its assault long enough for him to focus, and he meets Minami's eyes again. There’s a smoldering intensity in the way he’s looking at Nishida that threatens to overwhelm him, but Nishida pulls himself together. He’s not entirely sure what he’s about to do, but he’s already made up his mind to do it.
Then he makes his move and leans in to kiss Minami directly on the mouth.
This could turn out to be the biggest mistake Nishida’s ever made, but he finds that he can’t bring himself to care. It feels like the right thing to do, and for once in his life, he trusts that it will work out.
Minami freezes for a second, then grabs Nishida’s head to kiss him back until a few moments later they part, both breathless and staring wide-eyed at each other.
A slow, bewildered smile floats up onto Minami’s face. “Aniki … are y– aniki , are ya sure…?”
“Of course I’m sure,” says Nishida. He is. He’s still light-headed and struggling to get himself under control, but it’s no longer because of the pain. He just wishes he knew whether Minami was sure. As if sensing his thoughts, Minami wraps himself around Nishida’s upper body in an embrace; he takes special care not to disturb his leg, and despite his pounding heart, Nishida knows it will be okay. All of it.
Maybe it does pay to trust his instincts every once in a while.
The moment is interrupted when Majima walks in, already on the phone with Doctor Emoto. If he finds anything out of the ordinary about the two of them, he doesn’t mention it, and Nishida is secretly thankful.
Before long, the ambulance arrives, and with Minami’s help, the paramedics get Nishida settled in the back. The pain refuses to let up, and he feels a little dazed from the shock of everything that’s happened within the span of half an hour, but he stays awake long enough to witness the boss intimidating the EMTs until they agree to let both Minami and himself come along.
In the end, broken leg aside, Nishida can’t help but feel profoundly lucky. Majima sits to his left, looking out the window, and Minami is on his right, leaning in as close as the paramedic will allow with a relieved smile on his face.
Yeah. It will be fine.