Chapter Text
- Tokyo -
It all started one winter,
“Send your reports later and remember to double-check them," a man in his early-twenties reminded his executives before concluding the dull meeting. He yawns softly and leaned his lithe body against his seat. It’s still pretty early, and his body was already worn out.
Koko bought him the seat a few months ago after noticing the back pain he was having. It took a few try and errors to find the perfect one.
Not sleeping for more than two days caused his muscles to ache. The thick layer of concealer on his face doing a bad job at hiding the eye bags. The others had also pushed him into resting, arranging their schedules to cover-up their leader’s dozen stack of paperwork.
He wriggled his feet as he stared at the wall blankly, hands fiddling with the armrest, a habit he had since 17. The rest were cleaning after the piles of paperwork on the table, murmurs of their conversations filling the room. The Haitani brothers were messing with his right hand man as usual, eliciting some weird screeching noise out of the latter.
A certain long haired man was discussing some business deal over his phone at the corner of the room, his voice getting higher and higher from irritation, most probably because of the client’s ridiculous demands. Kakucho, the group’s mediator, was out of the country for a business trip.
If looked at closely, you will notice their gaze flickering towards their leader once in a while as if making sure that he won't do anything that will harm himself (or anyone).
Contrary to what most people anticipated him to look like, Mikey looked more like your typical Japanese worker, with heavy bags under his eyes and a slouched posture, which was normal for a country that’s full of overworked people. The rumors about him were not exactly nice to the ears, though most of them were pretty much exaggerated, which caused quite a lot of misunderstanding. Like seriously, ‘if you meet the Invisible Mikey you will never escape his beatings’ what kind of nonsense is that?
He may not be the nicest person in the room, but he’s not that stupid.
Most of the time, he’ll wear a pair of worn-out slippers, but since the weather was too cold he’s forced to wear the expensive boots that his executive bought. He donned on a plain black hoodie with sweat pants instead of the luxurious suits the other members wore. He likes wearing them, it’s much more comfier. They hide his scars. It also make him look harmless, perfect when doing covert missions. Who would attack a malnourished man anyway?
Though the gun in his pocket said otherwise.
He preferred not to use weapon when fighting, but the members ( Sanzu ) make sure that he keep one near him all the time. He’s not the only one though, Senju, Brahman’s boss, carried one by her side though she preferred a knife over a gun. Both of them have high bounties over their heads, so it’s not surprising for an assassination attempt to happen.
They don’t kill unless they have to. It’s a rule he made when they formed the group. There were also protocols for the members to follow whenever his dark impulses started lashing out. It did tone down a little did it? after they defeated the South during the deity’s war, but it’s still dangerous to be near him when he’s emotionally unstable.
Don’t want that to happen again.
Despite being a criminal organization, they never really do criminal stuff. They grow to avoid prostitution and drugs most of the time when running their business. They also avoid conflicts with other gangs as long as they weren't disturbed first. The only reason why they never appear on the news was because of a deal made with the police. They mostly hide their illegal work under the pretense of a legal company. Talk about dirty money huh. The criminals they deal with were sent to the police in exchange for their freedom.
The clothes that he’s wearing right now were not exactly cheap either, thanks to a certain executive. Koko handled most of the money and assets after seeing how his boss took care of himself when nobody is there to supervise him. He became sort of the mother hen throughout the years as more members join.
Their relationship becomes closer since Toman disbanded and the formation of their new gang.
The only indication that he’s Bonten’s leader was the Manji-shaped tattoo on his nape, which was usually covered with a hood. He had another one on his chest as a sign of their alliance with Brahman. Only the leaders carried the tattoos. His was the Brahman flower symbol while Senju’s were their symbol on her wrist. She didn’t keep her group’s signature flower as a tattoo, opting to have the pattern on a pair of earrings instead.
Small organizations and rookies often targeted him, thinking that he’s some low-ranking member to get information from. It’s because of his small physique and choice of clothing. Big groups generally avoid confrontation with Bonten, knowing how violent the members can be. Their alliance with Brahman only added fuel to the fire, knowing the leaders' reputations. Both group influence most of the underground transactions happening in their country. They also expanded outside a few years ago.
His nickname ‘The Invisible Mikey’ was still popular, one that many feared. Though now they claim him as the underground king for some reason.
"Want me to bring your snacks?" Koko asked, noticing that it’s Mikey’s usual snack time when he took a glance at the clock in the room.
“I'll get them myself today”
"Want me to escort you?" the ever so loyal Sanzu asked.
"I'll bring Rindou with me. You... continue the punishment for last week” Mikey replied with a displeased expression on his face as he twirls his chair around. The action calmed his mind sometimes when he’s tired or bored. Though it seems to be the latter this time. He’s still mentally exhausted though.
Sanzu sulked as his boss ignored his whining, leaving the meeting room with Rindou snickering behind him. The others in the room can’t help but sigh at the sight of them bickering like some five-year-old child.
"That's what you get for wrecking the game room when you're drunk," Rindou added with a smirk before fleeing, cackling like a madman when he hears the other’s colorful curses as they chase each other. Their footsteps echoed through the silent hall.
.
.
.
.
.
“Haah…”
He breathes in, enjoying the view outside of the tall building as he waits for Rindou. The wind blew his soft bleached hair as he shivered a little from the cold weather. He decided to bleach and cut his hair for some reason when forming the group. Maybe he’ll dye it another color next time.
‘Should’ve worn more layer’ he thought, before sneezing.
He recalled passing out halfway through a meeting with Brahman a few weeks ago. That alarmed everyone about his health when they called for a doctor. Much to his dismay, his members have been very careful with him, making sure there's at least one of them with him when he’s alone, especially when in public. He’s coddled like a baby for the rest of the week.
‘Boss, do you want more Taiyaki?’
‘Boss~ don’t gooo! Let’s cuddle~’
There’s also Senju barging into his room (without permission) with food, stubbornly staying there until she’s sure that he ate and finished his medications. He recalled both of them arguing about his condition and recklessness after that. She made sure to ask Sanzu to take extra care of him.
By extra care, she meant having her brother pester him the whole week as payback for not taking care of himself.
"Let’s go, boss?” Rindou joins him outside, handing him a silver scarf.
"Hm."
As they make their way to the shop, Rindou talks over his schedule for the week.
"Do I have any meetings left?" Mikey leaned his head against the car’s window as he looked at the passing buildings, staring blankly at the colorful advertisings hanging over them.
"You have one with Brahman at the hideout this Saturday, about the new project.”
‘She’ll be there too' Mikey grimaced, thinking back about their never-ending arguments.
Catching a glimpse of Mikey's reaction to the word ‘Brahman’, Rindou asks if he wanted to skip the meeting.
"Nah, she’ll barge into my room and drag me out if I skip it" he sighs.
‘Why don’t you stop her then?’ Rindou thought, exasperated by his boss. Escorting him outside when they arrived at their destination.
Before entering, they make sure that the shop has few customers, not wanting any attention from the public. It never hurt to be careful anyway. The shop that they frequently visited was one of the few food places that Bonten protected. It’s one of his favorite snack shops that he used to visit when he was still running Toman. The owner, an old woman from his neighborhood, always saves some snacks for him and the members whenever they finished a meeting. Mikey picked whatever treats that he found before waiting outside as Rindou paid, greeting the owner as he walked.
That's when something small barreled into his legs. He looked down and his eyes widened slightly.
"Are you my dada?" familiar dark eyes gaze into his own.
'What the hell?!’
Hope you enjoy it!