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Right at the crack of dawn, the sound of metalcore starts to fill the humble abode of a certain greenette. Mixtures of rosy and golden shades from the sun's morning rays peek through the slim openings of the window blinds, alerting the half-conscious owner to get ready for the day.
Kuramochi Youichi lets out a deep grunt as he slowly sits upright, his duvet falling to reveal his inked torso.
Different varieties of colours accommodate his bronzed skin – several designs made exclusively by himself while the other few were created by his friends. Onyx branches of cherry blossoms stretch across from his hip and all the way towards his sternum; a few stray ones lingering around his well-earned abs. Diagonally from that, a monochromatic design of an entire dragon – with hints of fiery red for its eyes and underbelly – extends from his pectoral and all the way down to his wrist.
As he gets up from his comfy bed to roll up the blinds to bring more life into his room, more ink surrounding his legs reveals. His cheetah-printed claw marks on his strong thighs tend to bulge and stretch every time he shifts his weight on either leg. He also has a skeletal version of the King of Spades on his unmarked, toned bicep while having a cheetah curling around one of his calves.
He walks out of his room with his phone in hand while ruffling the tufts of his unruly basil hair, and heads to his open-space kitchen to make coffee like clockwork. As he waits for his mug to fill up, he unlocks his phone to see his latest notifications. There were hundreds of messages in the group chat that he made a long time ago, after the official launch of his tattoo parlour slash barber salon with his friends and colleagues – both from high school and university.
While in the midst of finding his passion and a little bit of soul searching during his final year in junior high, he came across a public art exhibition and it’s so rejuvenating to witness – especially when he got to see the artist busy starting on another art piece on the spot.
He came slightly closer, his interest already piqued, and was mesmerized by the slow yet swift flicks of their brush strokes. He was left stunned after witnessing such simple strokes manifesting themselves to become an extraordinary masterpiece.
Ever since that fateful day, something had ignited itself within him and soon enough, he began to immerse himself with different kinds of art – specifically more on sketching and painting.
He sips his coffee gingerly as his thumb taps on their app, and the home page of their outlet greets his attentive eyes. He checks the appointments tab and scrolls through the bunch of slots taken. He hums, exhaling through his nose as the list goes on and on until he finally reaches the end of it.
He quickly washes his mug before heading to his bathroom to finally get ready.
While tying his shoelaces, he dials the group chat since it’s easier, and besides, he ain’t got the time to type. As soon as the third ring ends, different tones of voices blast through his eardrum and if it weren’t for his usual morning routine, this could be his morning wake-up call instead.
“Morning dudes, today’s gonna be another hefty day for the tattoo squad mostly. There’s gonna be several morning slots for the piercing squad, and few afternoon ones for the barber squad.” Kuramochi informs while locking up his apartment door, making sure his shoulder is hunched up high so his phone wouldn’t fall.
“Make sure your stations are sterilized to the damn max! Tetsu and I are on the way now!” Jun exclaims, which led to a chorus of groans since it’s still way too early for his loud tone.
“Roger that. Tattoo squad, everyone in for today?” The greenette asks, walking down the street while admiring the morning sky now and then. The cool breeze flows at his face and exposed neck as he waits for the light to turn green for the pedestrians to cross. Luckily, he’d decided to wear his bomber jacket today.
“Nabe and I just slid in!” Miyuki said with a slight lilt, making Kuramochi’s brow twitch just by hearing that nasal voice in the morning, as always.
“Ahhh, I’ll be slightly late! Sorry, Mochi!” Zono cried through the line, struggling for breath.
Kuramochi lets out a soft chuckle before reassuring his friend that it’ll be okay if he were to run faster and make use of those ridiculous leg muscles.
Ryousuke’s deep chuckles echo through the line as he too teased Zono for being late. The former wouldn’t have to worry about being late since he’s already coming through the door. He turns his head just in time to catch Kuramochi turning the corner and leans his back against the door to wait for him.
"Morning, Ryou-san!" He chirps, and the older merely nods with a smile.
Just when Kuramochi enters the shop, both Shirasu and Nori are busy preparing their respective workstation. Their heads turn just in time to greet him. The feedback from his phone comes out a tad bit louder.
“Reporting for duty, Mochi!”
“Can see that, thanks, guys. Chris, you there?” He asks, nodding his head at Nabe, who’s now seating at his place to check on their new bunch of appointments.
“Walking down the street with Jun and Tetsu now, Mochi.” Chris’s calming voice soothes his eardrum as he makes his way upstairs to where both the tattoo and piercing stations are at.
“Alright, we have full strength for today. Happy working.” He finally hangs up, massaging his aching ear with a pout before starting the sterilization of his workstation.
Right then, another day has started for the Kings of Spades.
Kings of Spades had been established about 2 years ago and initially, it had only been a tattoo parlour. However, that was before both Kuramochi and Miyuki met their senpais - Tetsu, Jun, Chris, and Ryousuke.
Turns out, all of them had been enrolled in the same university; just in different departments. After getting to know one another more, it's safe to say that being shocked was a literal understatement since each of them had an interest in the duo's business for quite some time then.
Tetsu and Jun were the ones who came up with the idea of adding a piercing service into their business, whereas Chris added in his input about having a barber salon to mix things up a little.
Ryousuke mentioned how it could be efficient in having these aspects since it'll create a refreshing feeling for their customers. What sealed all of their doubts away was the fact that they'll be breaking the typical stereotype in this specific industry.
He also said that he needed the job if they were hiring at that moment; Tetsu, Jun, and Chris adding themselves into the mix, and in a heartbeat, the duo decided to hire all of them. Not only that, they all had played and had a love for baseball back in their day so it was quite a coincidence.
Kuramochi and Miyuki added their bunch of friends into the business as well, and soon enough, within months of pure determination and effort, they're able to start taking in customers at the start of the new year. With Nabe's expertise in Marketing, their business had managed to reach a wide range of audiences within hours.
With Kuramochi's strong connection with his baseball coach, Kataoka Tesshin, the latter had managed to snag a great location for their business to grow further in the near future, and with Nabe creating an app for their shop, their reputation had grown quite immensely. It's almost every day that they're constantly grinding and being loaded with appointments, but they wouldn't change a thing since they're making bucks after bucks.
Besides, they're satisfied as long as their customers - new or loyal - leave their shop with big smiles and awesome reviews. Maybe, a couple of tips in the jar now and then.
Head-banging and quick beats of drums flood the second floor of the shop, well fitted with the entire interior design. The upper space is entirely different from the bottom; emphasizing the dark brick walls and glossy, light hardwood floor and comfortable, leather mahogany seats. The tattoo section was situated on one side of the space while the other was meant for piercing.
Each tattoo artist had their own unique flair and expertise; their well-loved works being framed on their respective wall sections.
The bottom space - the reception and barber salon - was in huge contrast with earthy tones to welcome their customers. Sometimes, it could cause some confusion since they could clearly see a barber salon, instead of a tattoo parlour or a piercing shop.
Either way, it made both Nabe and the barber squad feel utterly amused whenever they got questions from customers if they were in the right place.
The continuous buzzing from each of the tattoo machines echoes throughout the room as the busy artists focused on their clients. Kuramochi's client wanted a mixture of both a dragon and a tiger on her back. She also mentioned how she wouldn't mind if he wanted to put his flair on the design, and with that, he quickly went to work on his sketch before showing it off to her, to which she agreed wholeheartedly.
The greenette explains about the aftercare procedure as usual after snapping a photo of his work for the shop's Instagram, and once his client had truly understood the importance of it - since hers was a tad bigger so it'll heal longer - he went to apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment over the tattoo and then cover the area with a plastic wrap.
He bids the lady goodbye and starts to sterilize his station once more. It's quite therapeutic for him to do so after all these years. Besides, it's a huge boost to their reputation as one of the most hygienic tattoo parlours in the region.
As soon as he finishes, Miyuki's done with his respective client as well. Despite them being focused, conversations tend to flow easily in the room and obviously, not all of them are deaf.
You would be surprised with all kinds of different stories being told by their dear clients, but discretion is in their dear policy.
Turns out, Miyuki's client had been dared to get a tattoo and he had to get it on his ass. Not only that, but he had to get a lewd design out of all things. What's even worse was the guy's married.
Miyuki sends a charming smile at his client to help reassure him as he wraps his client's ass with the plastic wrap, before bidding him good luck. Once the guy had left hastily with a shadowed face, their eyes met and they couldn't hold in their laughter any longer.
"Bro, I hope he doesn't get a divorce 'cause that would've sucked ass." Kuramochi snickered, already feeling tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.
"If it weren't for my shitty ass vision, that would've caused my poor eyes to bleed." Miyuki snorts at his corny pun as he begins to sterilize his own station.
"Oh, please. I would rather have shitty ass vision than to witness these damn piercing ideas from my clients!" Jun cries from his piercing station, pinching the bridge of his nose as he questions his life decisions on becoming a piercer.
"You had a choice in becoming a full-time tattooist, you know, and since you said you needed the money, you decided to go double service, and guess what? That backfired your stubborn ass, after all." Ryousuke points out nonchalantly as he reclines in his seat with crossed arms behind his ponytail.
Tetsu tries his best to comfort his friend by patting his back continuously, determination clouding his face. Jun glares softly at the former, already feeling slightly better since it's Tetsu.
Mochi, Shirasu, and Miyuki made eye contact with such knowing looks. They always had a hunch about both of their senpais, but they wouldn't pry unless they decided to voice it out, in the end.
It's already noon, and it's the tattoo squad's turn to buy lunch.
"Hey, Ryou-san! Your little brother's in the list." Nabe remarks casually, busy typing away on his keyboard to put in today's load of appointments.
Ryousuke just happens to be a part of the lunch team so once Nabe notices the pink head, he has to tell him.
Thank god, he did.
Nabe merely watches as Ryousuke stops in his tracks, hands still shoved into his denim pockets. His back isn't rigid or anything once the information starts to process in his mind, and his movements don't falter when he turns his head to smile at Nabe.
"Really now? What an interesting day indeed." The pinknette merely says with a relaxed expression, before heading out.
Nabe slowly blows out a heavy exhale while maintaining his casual expression, feeling a slight shiver trickle down his spine afterward.
"Well, well dear Haruichi. What's been going on with ya?" Nabe merely smiles to himself, feeling utterly curious as his eyes stay on the younger Kominato's name being displayed on his curved monitor.
Mochi decides to stay behind as his tattoo squad heads off to buy lunch for everyone. It's not like he doesn't want to come along. He does want to, but since he's the owner, he has been dealing with quite a hefty amount of appointments, more so than his other mates for years now.
Not to toot his own horn, but being known as the owner, helps boosts his overall chances and reputation of getting more loyal clients to showcase his new works. Not to mention the heavy bucks on his side.
That's one of the reasons why their business can still stay competitive, especially when they're dealing with shitty bills so their outlet wouldn't be taken away by the authorities for unnecessary debts.
Thus, he decides to stay back. Besides, he has another appointment in half an hour so he can kill time by making sure his station looks presentable and prepared as always.
After posting an update on their Instagram page with his hashtag, he goes to Twitter to retweet a few things while fiddling with his dangling helix piercing. At that moment, he feels like he should get another piercing.
You could clearly tell how high his pain tolerance is.
As he contemplates about that new piercing, a message from Nabe in the group chat slides into his phone screen.
"Mochi Appointment at 1:30 pm."
He quickly types an "Okay," and starts to stretch his whole body. His ears are also on alert for his client trudging their way up their spiral staircase.
When the clock hits 1:25 pm, he could make out the soft clink of the front door being pushed open. He cracks his neck and back to prepare himself for another body-conditioning before his ears start to pick up the hurried footsteps.
He chuckles to himself as he adjusts his black latex gloves, thinking that his client must've been excited about their appointment, or they could be in a rush.
The door swings open and he's stunned to see a familiar pinknette coming into the room with a confident stride.
"Yo, Haruichi! It's been a long time, huh? Is this your friend?" He starts up a casual conversation while opening his sketchbook to start his session.
He twirls his pencil with his fingers mindlessly as his eyes keep shooting glances at the - what seems to him - anxious and jittery companion of Haruichi.
"Yeah, this is Sawamura Eijun, my classmate! Eijun-kun, this is Kuramochi Youichi, the owner of Kings of Spades."
Mochi nearly couldn't resist his snort since it's kinda rare to see Haruichi be all confident since there's Ryou-san, or maybe it's the fact that his older brother isn't present at the moment.
Either way, it amuses him to see this certain brunette shooting glances here and there as he slowly takes in his surroundings. After that, he finally meets his eyes and he has to admit, this guy's a literal cutie.
"Woah. You're so damn hot." Sawamura blurts out mindlessly, his honey eyes glistening in pure awe at the whole array of ear piercings he has.
Being taken aback is quite an understatement, honestly. The glow residing in his eyes has come back to life once more, his chest blossoming with pride. He knows he's hot, but damn hearing it from a cutie like Sawamura is more rewarding.
"Hyaha! I like you already, kid. I'm assuming you two are here for some fresh ink? It's about damn time, really!" His skin prickles with total anticipation when he sees the coy smile from Sawamura, unlike Haruichi's assured one.
"Alright then. Haruichi, you wanna go first or would you want your brother to do yours instead?"
He may sound like a jerk, but he's quite relieved to know that Haruichi would go for his brother. When he saw those honey eyes, he knew he had to do him.
"It'll be alright, Eijun-kun 'cause I know You-san's very skilled in what he's doing. You've seen his works anyway so I know he'll do great. I put my utmost trust in his ability!" Haruichi reassures his friend, patting his shoulder gently.
Kuramochi merely watches how Sawamura takes a deep breath before pursing his lips and turns to face him, his wild eyes already blazing. Somehow, he could foresee those eyes making their mark in his future dreams.
"This Sawamura Eijun will be in your total care from now on! Thank you!"
Kuramochi winces slightly at the sudden boisterous tone coming from the now not so timid boy, and he feels like the next couple of minutes will be interesting.
"So, you got any ideas in mind for your first tattoo? It can be based on your interests or hobbies and etcetera."
At the moment, the upper floor is packing with people once more to get their skin inked up. Ryousuke can admit he's lowkey impressed with his little brother for making such a drastic decision. Not to mention that he came up with the idea of him and his friend, Sawamura, getting tattoos once they got into uni.
"Hmm, well I had something in mind but I don't know how to make it look more--" Sawamura hesitates as he cocks his head to the side, causing his bangs to shift and that shouldn't be as adorable as Kuramochi thinks.
"More badass?" Sawamura shifts his head quite abruptly before nodding eagerly.
"Exactly! You see, Harucchi and I wanted to try out for the baseball team and I just know, deep down, that I'm gonna be the ace! So, I was thinking about a design that could relate to that!"
Kuramochi nods attentively, tapping the end of his pencil against his sketchbook while contemplating.
Since Sawamura's being quite passionate about his dream, he feels that the design should be visible for both him and the people to see as well. Plus, with a visible tattoo, it could help boost Sawamura's morale - for his own sake and the team's.
The gears in his head instantly crank to life as he makes quick, swift strokes across the blank canvas.
"Alright, I have something in mind for ya."
Once he's in the zone, his hand never stops until he's actually done. If looks could burn, his sketchbook would be on fire right now as his vision slowly manifests on the blank page.
It's like everything just fades into white noise as he works and it's just him and his sketchbook. Thus, he never notices just how smitten Sawamura is by gawking at him like a hawk.
Though, his buddies do notice the refreshing scene that's unintentionally coming from their owner.
The greenette finally perks up, an ignited spark residing in his hazel eyes, reminding Sawamura of a breath-taking sunset in the middle of the forest.
"What do you think of this?" Kuramochi's eyes keep shifting from his sketch and to Sawamura back-to-back, fully anticipating the brunette's reaction since he does want to impress him.
He feels his wild heart doing somersaults and his gut currently wrenching when he sees the sheer happiness forming on his face, at last.
"I love it so freaking much! The skeleton hand already looks badass and those are 4 aces he's holding, right? That's so freaking awesome! I also love how the hand and the cards are inside the diamond! It's kinda like a baseball pun!"
Sawamura's infectious laugh resounds in the busy space, and it is literal music to his ears.
He doesn't notice how his eyes go soft as he continues to observe Sawamura. He doesn't realize how his strong gaze had already pierced through the brunette's heart, right from when their eyes had met.
They don't realize how their heartbeats have synced together as their budding feelings swim within the confines of their hearts.
Sawamura Eijun might not be his queen, but he's undeniably his royal flush.