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Chapter Text

Akutsu groaned as light hit his eyes. He could feel things in him; small needles poking into his arms. Most people would think someone as big and hard as Akutsu couldn’t feel most things, but the man was surprisingly sensitive. He felt those bullets when he’d gotten shot, thought he was a goner for sure. He remembered his whole world turning dark. 

“Hey,” Akutsu turned, eyes bleary and barely able to remain open. He saw Yagami sitting on a chair, a book in his lap. Kaito stood right behind the chair, arms crossed over his chest and eyes planted firmly on Akutsu. “You’re awake, Akutsu-san.”

“Thought I died,” Akutsu muttered, coughing. He knew too much and had outlived his usefulness to Soma despite the time, effort, and energy put into doing whatever the older man had asked of him. He did everything for Soma and in return he received nothing but gunshots.

Too bad he was tougher than that. 

He opened his eyes more as he adjusted. The tiled ceiling and sterile white told him he was in the hospital, and the IVs that he was attached to confirmed it. 

“We thought just as much,” Yagami said. He got up, moving closer to the bed. Kaito remained where he was, eyes glued on Akutsu in case he tried something. “You lost a lot of blood, slipped into a coma. But you’re up now, and you should be able to recover without too much issue. Do you remember your name?”

“Yeah,” Akutsu felt like he remembered too much. He’d been loyal to Soma, did whatever the man asked of him, didn’t complain when he even was made to do basic shit because Soma was too important and delicate to do it himself. He also remembered he was close to killing Yagami, who was speaking too kindly to the man despite everything he’d done. “You guys get that sniffly bastard?”

“Ta-bou got him, we all had a blast fighting your guys,” Kaito grinned. “Bastard’s in jail, hopefully sniffing up that dirty cell and getting his allergies fucked with.”

The doctor checked in with Akutsu, explained to him everything that had gone on in the couple of months since he’d been out. Akutsu barely took it in, just nodded and hummed so the doctor knew he was still up. 

Yagami and Kaito visited nearly every day as Akutsu recovered, probably to make sure he was doing okay, but part of Akutsu felt like it was to make sure he didn’t wreak havoc on the poor, underpaid staff. They filled the man in on everything that had happened while he was down. Akutsu felt like some abandoned dog; he was loyal to his master and had nowhere to go, didn’t even know what to do with himself.

He thought he’d live and die in the RK. 

When he got out of the hospital two weeks later, Sugiura and Yagami waited in front of the younger man’s white van. Akutsu was shocked but got in the back seat. Sugiura stared for a minute, unsure of what to even think of this man. He’d attempted to kill Yagami, so it didn’t place Akutsu high in his book, but Yagami told him it was in the past and Akutsu was no longer a threat.

Akutsu was a fucking monster and didn’t seem like he cared for anyone’s well being, even enjoyed torturing people, but Sugiura digressed. People could change.

“No smoking in the van,” he said as he started driving. Akutsu laughed.

They got to Charles quickly. Higashi was behind the counter, eyes glued to his phone because the place was dead. He froze the second he saw Akutsu trailing behind Sugiura.

“For the love of… why are you here?” Higashi asked. He glared at Yagami, who shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Sugiura joined Higashi behind the counter. “Why are we all gathered here? We’re done with the investigation.”

Higashi was happy to help Yagami when Kaito’s life had been put on the line; when he heard the details about the case, he was ready to kick ass and get revenge for Kaito. He knew enough about Akutsu, was unfortunate enough to witness him get shot and assumed him dead, but now the man who had nearly murdered Yagami was standing free in the arcade looking just as confused as Higashi was. 

“You have openings for sad, jobless ex-criminals, right?” Sugiura asked, laughing. He looked at the man and smirked, gave a sly wink.  

“No!” Higashi exclaimed. “Do I look like I run a charity? It’s me and Suzuki most days, we’re enough. You hire him.”

Akutsu walked to the counter, grinned at Sugiura. He first saw him when he and Kaito busted in to to save Yagami, though he wore a mask at the time. Sugiura reminded him of Soma; good looks and lithe frame, but Sugiura wasn’t as devious and self-important as Soma, and he actually seemed loyal to people. He seemed so small to Akutsu, who towered over him and was pure muscle. He had to admit that also much like Soma, Sugiura was a feast for the eyes and Akutsu felt pure physical attraction. 

He and Soma had fucked around when Soma was bored and Akutsu knew it had no meaning to the older man, but it was nice to blow off steam. He knew they hated each other and Soma didn’t even seem to have much faith in Akutsu most of the time; perhaps that’s what made the sex so good. He wondered how Sugiura was in bed.

“Don’t fucking look at him,” Higashi growled. 

“Higashi-san, he’s not gonna do anything,” Yagami said, putting a hand up. Higashi was like a dog when it came to those he cared about and he had a good sense when it came to people’s intentions. Higashi was not enjoying the way Akutsu looked at Sugiura.

“You don’t get it because you’re a good guy,” Higashi hissed, glancing at the detective. He was sure Akutsu wouldn’t do anything because he’d have to take on all of them and the brute had already gotten rinsed by Yagami multiple times, but he wouldn’t take his chances. “Go literally anywhere else with this asshole. I only take on my own men.”

“He helped us out,” Yagami said, as if that would really change the other man’s mind. 

“And he tried to kill you,” Higashi argued. 

“And I’m standing right here, so you both can act like it,” Akutsu chimed in. Sugiura watched quietly, excited over this back and forth. He was always amused by how much Higashi acted like he didn’t like Yagami, but he knew the man was actually nice and just too stubborn to admit he cared and would always help the detective. “I don’t need your pity, Yagami. I can do better than some shitty arcade.”

“Oh, I’m sure recruiters will be knocking at your door with such a great resume,” Higashi said. “That is if you still even have a door for them to knock on.”

“And what do you have other than some shitty arcade?” Akutsu asked. 

“More than you,” Higashi argued. He instinctively put an arm around Sugiura and Akutsu couldn’t help but think he was showing off. Higashi had a sad shitty arcade and a cute little detective. So what? Higashi turned to Yagami. “If it’s so important to you that this guy finds work, you hire him.”

“You know we can’t afford him. I’m lucky Kaito-san still stays with me,” Yagami explained. 

“He stays because he’s loyal even though you kind of suck and can barely pay your own rent, let alone his,” Higashi was on a roll, but Yagami laughed anyway. He was used to Higashi’s sharp tongue, even kind of liked it in a weird way. 

“I thought the plan was for me to hire him,” Sugiura said. Higashi and Akutsu looked at him. “I need to talk it over with Tsukumo-kun, and you’ll have a huge probationary period, but we have a lot of stuff coming in and we can’t do everything in a timely manner. It’d be nice to have another person helping out.”

“Damn, your little detective likes me,” Akutsu smirked at Higashi, like he’d won something. 

“He’s not something to be owned,” Higashi stated. Unlike Akutsu, Higashi didn’t claim people. He and Sugiura had a good thing going, had been quiet about it for the past eight months even though it’s not like anyone was paying attention, but he would never do something like put ownership on the man. He trusted his place with Sugiura. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re a shitty person who thinks too highly of himself and likes violence and hurting people too much, and Yokohama 99 is too good for you,” Sugiura smiled at Akutsu, perhaps a little cocky because he knew Higashi would turn on Akutsu in a second if things got bad. “But I also think people can change and you’re feeling lost and betrayed by someone you looked up to.”

“I didn’t look up to that fuck,” Akutsu spat out. 

“And yet you never questioned him, nor did you fight for control when he made it clear he ran the show,” Sugiura responded. He looked Akutsu up and down. “I’m sure even when you two were sleeping together, he always had say over everything down to how you dicked him around.”

“Sugiura!” Yagami snapped. Even Higashi was blushing. Sugiura didn’t feel bad and the glare he received from the former RK member told him that he had hit a sensitive topic. He really couldn’t care less; he was being nice because Yagami asked him to consider taking Akutsu in if his first plan of asking Higashi to help didn’t pan out.

“What, do you want me to be nice about it? Like he was so nice when he was recording what was nearly your murder?” Sugiura’s tongue was surprisingly sharp today, even Higashi was shocked. Though to be honest, it did rub him the wrong way how nice and nonchalant Yagami was acting about everything. “You can’t just tell us you want to help this guy out and expect us to just act like we’re all friends. You can’t be friends with everyone, and you can’t save everyone either.”

Akutsu let out a hearty laugh. Sugiura and Higashi were so biting that it was refreshing. Yagami had a deep heart and Akutsu respected it because he knew he could never be so soft, but the men that the detective associated with had no problem calling him out and Akutsu had mad respect for it as well. Truthfully, Akutsu hated that despite his confidence and prowess, he never felt big enough to question his leader. Though perhaps if he had, he wouldn’t have been so lucky to just fall into a coma. 

“I’m down to try some detective work,” Akutsu finally said. It was something new and Akutsu had to admit that maybe it would be nice to not feel like he was constantly under scrutiny. “What’s the leader’s name? Tsukumo? I’ll charm the pants off of him.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Sugiura stated. He looked at Higashi, whose eyebrows were furrowed. “Higashi-san, don’t be so mad. You even told me to hire him.”

“I didn’t think you’d do it. You never listen to me,” Higashi replied. 

“I always listen to you. It doesn’t mean I follow through with whatever you talk about,” Sugiura smiled. Higashi was a confident and strong man, but Sugiura knew that sometimes, all it took was one smile and the man was weak. He tried not to use it against him too much. “Yagami-san and I talked about it anyway. He figured you wouldn’t wanna hire him and that perhaps Yokohama 99 could use an extra hand and lots of strength.”

“Well, I’m going in for the job interview then,” Higashi said. Akutsu glared at him. “You think I’m leaving Sugiura alone with the likes of you? Please.”

“You think he needs a bodyguard?” Akutsu asked. He didn’t blame Higashi; Akutsu could barely be trusted when he got someone in his sights. Truthfully, he just liked getting under Higashi’s skin. He knew about the man, knew he was usually cool and level-headed. Sugiura and Kaito were clearly his two weaknesses, and Akutsu would keep that information in the back of his head.

“Of course not, you seen him in a fight?” Higashi smirked. “But I don’t always listen to him either and I always make sure I have his back even when he tells me he’s fine.”

“Guess it’s settled then,” Yagami shrugged his shoulders. He expected more fight from Higashi, less roughness from Sugiura. He supposed his past with Akutsu was a bad one, and Sugiura would have no reason to be friendly with the man even when Yagami told him it was fine and Akutsu was no longer a threat. 

Truthfully, Yagami had no idea if Akutsu was truly onboard, but at the very least, the man had said he had no reason to even bother hurting Yagami. Only time would tell how everything would go.

As it turned out, Akutsu did not like Sugiura and Higashi all that much. They practically ignored him during the whole drive to Ijincho in favor of catching up with each other. Higashi had plans for another shitty arcade and Sugiura was thinking of getting an ice cream maker. For the kinds of people they were, they seemed so boring and vanilla. 

They finally pulled up to Yokohama 99 and Akutsu nearly jumped out of the van. He barely had time to properly assess Ijincho when he’d been around before; he was excited to see what this humdrum little city had to offer. 

“Let’s go!” Sugiura exclaimed, smiling. He led the men into the elevator, hitting a button. The three stood in silence, Sugiura checking his phone. “Oh, shoot. Tsukumo sent me some messages while I drove.”

“Well, you do need to be safe,” Higashi said. Sugiura smiled as he read through the messages. He snickered and glanced at Akutsu before his fingers shot a reply lightning fast. 

Akutsu didn’t know this guy he’d be meeting; barely knew much about Yokohama 99 itself, but he had high hopes. Akutsu could say he was good looking, charming, and could get a job done well. His choice in company was questionable, but you just needed to spice things up sometimes. 

His hopes were dashed when they got into the office. Akutsu didn’t know what he expected of Tsukumo. Maybe someone like Yagami; spoke his mind, trusting yet jaded, and fucking hot with fighting moves to match. Tsukumo was… definitely not that.

His hair was messy, his sense of fashion was atrocious, and his glasses looked really fucking stupid. Disappointment was an understatement. Sugiura was practically a model, so Akutsu just assumed Tsukumo would be similarly good looking, or at least have something going on. Yagami and Kaito were entirely different looks-wise, but both still looked delectable if you asked Akutsu, though he couldn’t say Kaito was his type. 

He wouldn’t say no though. If it came to it, he’d wrestle Kaito for dominance. 

Sugiura elbowed Akutsu when he stared a little too long. When they’d gotten in, Tsukumo had gotten up from his desk and bowed to the taller man, though the look on his face said he was intimidated. Tsukumo was on the shorter side; Akutsu already thought Sugiura was small, and he had inches on Tsukumo. He kind of reminded Akutsu of a sloth. 

“So I’d like a job?” Akutsu didn’t mean for it to come out so casually, but he was too busy assessing Tsukumo to put words together. 

“We’re not really looking to hire right now,” Tsukumo said as he rubbed his hands together. He was nervous. This man looked intimidating in a way Kaito never did. Akutsu stared at Tsukumo's hands, noticed stiffness in his left hand.

“Break a finger or something?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Tsukumo said. He looked at his hand. His pinky didn’t actively hurt as much, but it kept a dull ache. He didn’t bandage it as much; tried to give it room to breathe. “Some men broke in and broke my pinky during the case a few months ago.”

“Oh,” Akutsu stared at Tsukumo. He just seemed so plain, but he was nice enough. Akutsu couldn’t see anyone wanting to hurt someone like Tsukumo; he seemed so sweet and harmless. “Well, if you hire me, I can keep you safe.”

“Well thanks,” Sugiura commented. 

“I mean, you didn’t stop his pinky from being broken. Poor babe suffered badly,” Akutsu winked at Tsukumo. He was laying it on thick because even though his impressions were soured, he could have some fun busting heads in Ijincho if given the chance. 

“You know, Sugiura wasn’t exactly in a place to do much. He got blind-sided and didn’t exactly come out of it fine,” Higashi said. Sugiura tapped his arm.

“Forget it,” he muttered. He sighed and looked at Tsukumo. “I know it’s out of the blue Tsukumo-kun, but I also know how many people have been asking us to help them out lately. Another set of hands can’t hurt. We can give him a few weeks, see how it goes. We can have Higashi-san and Kaito-san come get him if he’s really being bad.”

Tsukumo looked at Sugiura, then at Akutsu. Yagami filled him in on the details when he was over to retrieve Sugiura, but Tsukumo was unsure about the plan even then. The extra help couldn’t hurt and Tsukumo had to admit that sometimes he felt nervous sending Sugiura out alone on riskier cases. He trusted his partner, knew he had skill and experience, but he also saw how big some of the nastier guys in Ijincho were. Speed didn’t matter if Sugiura was caught by surprise by some hulking mass.

“Don’t be rude, follow our protocols, and we can get you up to speed,” Tsukumo said. Akutsu smiled. No malice, no deviousness, a true smile. Despite his harsh words and quickness to judge, having a normal boss that didn’t feel like he thought less of him would be nice. 

And he had to admit, Tsukumo was the most normal person Akutsu felt like he’d ever met. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad having some new blood and a new environment to poke at.

Chapter Text

When Akutsu woke up the next day, his back and neck were killing him. He was too big for the agency’s couch, but Tsukumo was kind enough to offer it to him for the night and the man accepted. He could hear chatter; Sugiura and Tsukumo were at Tsukumo’s desk discussing something. Akutsu got up, made his way over. 

“Good morning,” Tsukumo greeted. He handed Akutsu a mug of coffee, his hand shaking a bit. Akutsu laughed, but took the mug. He knew Tsukumo was just intimidated, but he was clearly trying his best despite it. Akutsu couldn't blame him; he had kidnapped and nearly murdered his friend with a chainsaw. But he felt like they could move past it with time.

The coffee felt weird going down, but it tasted pretty good. Akutsu’s appetite still wasn’t fully back after being down for so long, but he knew eventually he had to eat properly. He figured he could start by checking his capacity for drink later on.

“You’re with me today,” Sugiura said. He grinned, flashed some papers quickly in front of Akutsu. “We’ve got some small cases, so just follow me around and you’ll figure it out. It’s nothing particularly difficult.”

“Okay,” truthfully, Akutsu didn’t really know what detectives did. They looked into stuff, but what? It would be a learning experience, though he wasn’t sure how he felt working with Sugiura. He was gorgeous, definitely Akutsu’s type, but fuck he was also just kind of boring and a little too commanding and sly for Akutsu. He turned to the other man. “You doing anything while we’re gone, Tsukumo?”

“We’ve gotten some interest from locals, so I’m setting up meetings and supplying details for what exactly we do,” Tsukumo explained. “I also need to look into getting you a place to sleep.” 

“Really?” Akutsu wasn’t gonna complain, that couch was total shit and he felt horrible, but he really thought he would’ve been okay dealing with it until he could find an apartment or something. The couch was probably fine for Tsukumo, who was average height, but Akutsu was big and tall; the narrow couch never could have done much for him. 

“I saw you tossing and turning through the night. Your neck was folded oddly and you couldn’t get comfortable with how far out your legs went past the arm of the couch,” Tsukumo stated.  

“Watching me?” Akutsu grinned. Sugiura rolled his eyes and Tsukumo took his own sip of coffee. 

“I told you last night, I had to work late, so I could hear you move around,” Tsukumo stated. “Until you can do cases by yourself, I can’t see money being that easy for you, so I don’t mind having the agency pay to have you staying comfortable in a hotel for a while. Please do keep an eye out for apartments, though. I can pay for the first month of rent.”

“Really?” it seemed so nice. Akutsu barely had a place to call his own before; a shitty little hole in the wall that Soma dumped him in because Akutsu caught a cold once when RK was still new and the older man couldn’t risk him working under conditions that would cloud his judgment, even went so far as to tell Akutsu he didn’t need sloppier work than usual. It was small and shitty, but Akutsu got used to it. Soma complained about the smell and everything else under the sun, but it never stopped him from coming over to fuck. It was good enough for Akutsu; it’s not like he had much time to himself under Soma’s watchful eye. “You guys must be loaded.”

“We make do,” Tsukumo replied. It sounded way better than how Yagami talked about his own agency. “But it won’t be forever. Once I know you’re good to make your own rent, you’ll be responsible for covering it.”

Sugiura cleared his throat. He wanted to go. Akutsu finished his coffee before putting it down on a table and following Sugiura out the door. 

They were looking for a stuffed animal. Some kid had lost hers, and of course the parents had no time to look for it, so it was up to Akutsu and Sugiura to track it down. Some elephant or shit; Akutsu wasn’t paying much attention to what Sugiura was saying after he heard what the job was, honestly. 

“Can’t they get her a new one?” Akutsu asked. He was crouched by some soda machines while Sugiura checked a parking lot close by. 

“Nah, she’s bonded with this one. She’ll know,” Sugiura said. 

“Kids are fucking stupid, she won’t notice,” Akutsu replied. Sugiura narrowed his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest. Akutsu laughed; Sugiura didn’t look threatening in the slightest. “If she lost it in the first place, how do we know she’ll notice? Can’t care that much if she couldn’t keep it with her.”

“Maybe the circus was in town and in her excitement, she dropped it,” Sugiura guessed. Did the circus even come to Ijincho? Akutsu knew Kamurocho like the back of his hand, and the time he did spend in Ijincho, Soma barely gave him time to breathe before he was running all the man’s errands, so he wasn’t sure what exactly happened in this new city. “Either way, it’s not for us to decide what the parents do. We just do their requests to the best of our ability.”

Akutsu thought it was silly, but if it meant they got paid, he could get behind it; shit was easy cash and if the worst thing was that Akutsu got his hands and knees dirty for some money, he’d deal with it. He’d gotten dirty for worse things.

“Hey, Sugiura, that’s the missing cat, right? Mittens?” Akutsu stared up at the soda machine where a cat was curled up, asleep. He smiled, grabbed his phone and snapped a quick picture before Sugiura came over. Sugiura checked his phone.

“Good eye, Akutsu-san!” he smiled at the older man. Ugh. He was gorgeous. His smile could light up a room. Soma’s smile couldn’t even light a candle, but Akutsu appreciated it because of how rare it was. Soma had a good professional smile, but the rare, warm smile was beautiful. “Tsukumo-kun’s calling the owner so he can get her. If you keep looking for the elephant, I’ll deal with the client.”

“Got it,” Akutsu said. He turned down a street to keep looking for that fucking elephant. He still thought it was silly to not just get a new one, but he felt proud of finding that cat, so he could let it go and just do what he was told. 

It's what he was good at anyway.

They got back to the agency in the afternoon. With Akutsu helping out, it took less time for Sugiura to finish all the cases he had grabbed. The clients paid and it meant Akutsu had some money in his pocket. Nothing grand, the small cases only had a nominal fee, but enough for him to go drinking at least. 

Food still felt weird to eat, but he was sure booze could go down no problem if the coffee earlier was anything to go by. 

“I’m gonna go talk to Seagull Cinema about their burglary problem,” Sugiura announced. Akutsu looked up from his spot on the couch, phone in hand.

“You want me coming too?” he asked. A burglary sounded exciting. He could knock some teeth in and make sure whoever did it would never come back. 

“I’m good. You still need to get experience under your belt,” Sugiura said. Akutsu narrowed his eyes. He’d been a yakuza for half his life and did a pretty great job in the RK, yet he couldn’t help solve a burglary? 

Sounded like some grand old bullshit to him.

“Hey, the boss agrees with me. You can’t just waltz in here and expect the good jobs right away; you’re kind of on probation. Other jobs do it too,” Sugiura explained. He walked over, put a hand on Akutsu’s shoulder. “You can’t run if you haven’t learned to fully walk.”

He smiled, pat Akutsu on the shoulder and waved before leaving. Akutsu dropped his phone on the couch next to him and walked over to Tsukumo, threw an arm on the back of the chair.

“Do you have anything for me, Tsukumo?” he was bored. For all the bullshit Soma always had him doing, he kept the man busy. And he couldn’t say the laidback attitude of Yokohama 99 wasn’t appreciated, especially considering this was day one and he needed time to see where it would go, but he wasn’t incapable. 

“I got you a week at the Hotel Grande Blue Marino,” Tsukumo said. He pulled up a website, showed Akutsu some images. It looked nice, way better than the shitty hotels he’d stayed in when he was last in Ijincho. “I’ve been looking into some apartments that can be rented right away as well. I sent the information to your phone, let me know if any of them work for you. I also sent what you need to check into the hotel.”

“Damn, yesterday you even said you weren’t looking to hire, now you’re looking into all this stuff for me and paying until I’m making decent wages,” Akutsu smiled. Tsukumo laughed nervously. Akutsu knew with how little he got, it might be a while before he could really stand on his own two feet, but at least he felt like he had some security. 

“Well, you helped us to clean up some cases already. The least I can do is give you the stepping stones you need to be in top shape for work,” Tsukumo explained. Akutsu had only really worked two jobs in his life, but Tsukumo was really heading toward the title of favorite boss. 

Though truth be told, there were some things Akutsu really didn’t think Tsukumo could do that would top Soma as boss. He hated to really compliment Soma at all, but the man just did things for Akutsu that he wasn’t ready to let go of. Soma placed Akutsu high up among the ranks, let him beat on whoever he wanted, and gave him full reign of several clubs. Made him feel pretty important, something he'd never felt at Nikkyo Consortium. 

Right now, Akutsu just felt like he was at Yokohama 99 to do all the shit work. 

“Thanks,” he had to pull himself out of his thoughts. He removed his arm from the seat, turned to walk out. “If there’s nothing else to do, I’m out.”

Tsukumo didn’t say anything or try to stop him, so Akutsu gave Ranpo a pat on the head. Ranpo was apparently some student’s dog that Tsukumo and Sugiura, thought mostly the latter, took care of. Akutsu never had a pet, but he liked Ranpo. She was cool and loyal. Akutsu could relate. 

He got on the elevator, wondered if he should check out the local drinking scene. Now that he was off the clock, he was free to do what he wanted. And if he was going to live in Ijincho, it was good to know the best place to drink.  

Chapter Text

It had been a week since joining in the ranks of Yokohama 99 and Akutsu was looking for a cat. He had finally worked up to his own case, and it was for a cat. And it’d be fine because secretly, he loved them, but unlike Kamurocho, Ijincho was littered with cats. They were mostly strays, so when one went missing, it was an all day ordeal trying to get the right one because they were scattered everywhere and a lot of them looked so similar.

The cat he’d found on his first day was a fluke; sometimes he and Sugiura were gone for hours for one dumb cat. And the pay was shit as far as Akutsu was concerned, but Tsukumo always talked about it being their duty to help the fine people of Ijincho no matter what. It seemed like a massive waste of time, but Akutsu wasn't going to question it if it meant he made some money and got him closer to getting the good jobs.

Sugiura found Akutsu prowling the streets, slightly bent over and the faintest of psppsppsp escaping his lips. If Sugiura were a cat, he’s pretty sure the man would be terrifying, but because he was human, it was a funny sight and Sugiura debated taking and sending pictures to Tsukumo, but he felt it would be too cruel to do so. Akutsu had his pride and life ripped apart before getting shot down, Sugiura didn’t want to share because it was funny. Tsukumo would give him a whole spiel anyway.

“The hunt going well, Akutsu-san?” Sugiura asked, walking up to the man. Akutsu growled and stood up, looking down at Sugiura. His eyebrows were furrowed. “You want some advice?”

“Oh king Sugiura, please help me on my time of need,” Akutsu replied. Sugiura got the good jobs; tailing suspicious people, looking into strange happenings and small crimes around town, and fuck he even got into a scrap now and then. Sugiura rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. 

“You need to be patient with cats,” he said. Akutsu wanted to punch this man. He always thought Sugiura’s smile on a daily basis would be nice to look at, but it just seemed so snarky now. Most of the time he just seemed annoyed with Akutsu, and the older man was trying to do what he could for the agency. “You’re a big, imposing guy hunched over scaring them. Be gentler. Give them food, try and talk to them, show them why they should trust you.”

“Thanks,” Akutsu grumbled. Fuck, the advice just sounded so dumb. Be patient? No shit! He sighed, knew he should be nice.  “You uh, find the guy?”

“What?” Sugiura asked. Akutsu narrowed his eyes. “Do you even know what case I’m on, Akutsu-san?”

Nope. No he didn’t. The moment he got in, Tsukumo gave him a rundown on how they dealt with all the cases that were put on the board and the proper procedure for how Akutsu would finish a case now that he was doing things by himself. It was kind of nice, really. A lot of it went right through Akutsu’s ears, but he remembered the important stuff. He remembered Sugiura coming in, having a quick exchange with Tsukumo, taking a case, and leaving with a wink and a wave to the both of them.

Sugiura was beautiful to Akutsu, but he just… had a thing about him. Like he was too arrogant and cocky. Akutsu hated it. 

“You know, it’s a good first case. Ours was bullying at a middle school,” Sugiura said. “Ended a little better than our last bullying case, at least. The teacher who hired us lived.”

“You think I knew that woman would get killed?” Akutsu asked. He knew Sugiura was referring to that English teacher, Sawa. Soma had ordered Akutsu to go in and take all the guys with him to Sawa’s apartment. Akutsu thought it was overkill; one small, pretty little lady didn’t need that kind of pressure if they wanted to use her as bait. But it was Soma and he had a thing for theatrics. Truthfully, he was a masterful artist in Akutsu’s eyes. Akutsu couldn’t appreciate art, but somehow he just got Soma’s.

He hated that he still thought well of some of the moves Soma made as a leader. It was never for the RK, but for that stupid police force.

“I think you’re stupid if you didn’t think it was a possibility,” Sugiura replied. Akutsu sighed, couldn’t even think of a clever retort. It was fitting that Soma would get captured by his own stupid fucking plan. 

Soma always chastised Akutsu, acted like the man wasn’t trustworthy and couldn’t get anything done, but look what happened when Soma had to actually do something by himself. 

Piece of shit deserved everything that happened. Akutsu hoped Soma was choking in his cell.

“Don’t you have a case to do?” Akutsu wanted to get back to his work. Sugiura chuckled. “Is this funny to you?”

“I’m just trying to help and you’re acting like I’m a pain in the ass. Who do you think has been doing this longer, Akutsu-san?” Sugiura asked. “You can’t just be mad all the time because you think this is beneath you. How do you think you can get the more involved cases if you’re acting like this is such a hassle?”

“I get it,” Akutsu said. If he botched a simple cat rescue mission, no shit Tsukumo would never let him do bigger things on his own. He was well aware. But it still fucking sucked. He’d done all kinds of advanced shit with Soma back in the day, they had to stake out and take down men who tried their damndest not to be seen, and they did their jobs beautifully. He felt like he was more than capable of doing tough shit.

“Then stop being such a sourpuss about it if you get it. Attitude gets you nowhere,” Sugiura shrugged his shoulders and turned, disappearing immediately. Good riddance as far as Akutsu was concerned. 

He sighed and went into a nearby Poppo. Maybe some cat food could wrangle the cat.

Akutsu was back at the agency. He’d found the cat asleep in a parking lot near Chinatown, messaged Tsukumo to confirm it was the right cat. The client met up with Akutsu, happy to have her cat back. Tsukumo waited in one of the chairs, working diligently at his laptop.

“Back,” Akutsu mumbled, sitting down on the couch. He didn’t know the protocols for a case, wasn’t sure how Tsukumo determined how good a job he did. Soma always stared Akutsu down, as if he was reading the man’s soul. It was always horribly intimidating, but Akutsu just let him do it so it would be over with. 

“Our client was very happy,” Tsukumo was typing furiously at his keyboard, not even so much as glancing at the older man. Akutsu hummed in response, glanced briefly at the case board. The first day, Sugiura had taken on some minor cases, had Akutsu just follow and back him up to get an idea. 

Honestly, it seemed stupid and unnecessary. It was all easy work; find cats, look for shit, maybe even find some rare statue or whatever someone was too lazy to do themselves. Regardless, they were able to knock out a few cases relatively quickly with Akutsu in tow, so he at least felt good about it. He’d gotten some money, felt good to actually see returns on his hard work.

When he and Soma used to do jobs together, he constantly complained about putting in all the effort just for the guys higher up to reap the rewards. Soma never seemed that upset by it, and at the time Akutsu just thought he was a patient man that was just happy not to get beaten for breathing the wrong way. He felt like he should’ve known it never meant anything to Soma.

Nothing ever did.

“So what’s got you away from the computer?” Akutsu asked. It was his first week of living in the city, the first few days being filled with lots of walking and explanations. He didn’t know much about his new boss other than he was very smart and a wizard with technology. Akutsu loved his phone, felt like he’d die without it, but Tsukumo was on an entirely different level. 

“Yagami-shi’s coming over,” Tsukumo said simply. Akutsu’s eyebrows furrowed. Why? Yagami had his own agency in Kamurocho, didn’t he have work to do? Though from what he mentioned about barely getting paid, it seemed like Tsukumo and Sugiura truly had it good and were thriving. It surprised Akutsu; he thought people in Kamurocho would be knocking down a detective’s door to do all kinds of shit, but maybe they liked suffering with their problems.

“Is he checking in?” Akutsu asked.

“Most likely, yes,” Tsukumo looked at Akutsu. “He’s taking time out of his busy schedule to make sure it’s all going smoothly. Kaito-san’s coming too”

“Really?” that changed the visit completely. Akutsu liked Kaito; he was strong, funny, charming, and really seemed like he enjoyed a good time. Akutsu was upset he couldn’t convince Kaito to join the RK; they could’ve done some damage  and had fun together. But no, Yagami always came first and Kaito wasn’t about joining the RK at all. They were partners. Akutsu saw firsthand the way they flowed together in a fight, arms and legs flailing but somehow always working in conjunction.

It was beautiful. Akutsu and Soma never fought like that at all back in the Nikkyo Consortium. For all the time they spent together, Soma did whatever he pleased if they needed to fight. Now and then Soma got Akutsu with his knife back when they’d fight together, never even apologized or seemed remorseful. Akutsu would laugh, say it was fine and he even liked it, and somehow it motivated Soma to be even more careless. 

Akutsu spent too much time making sure he never hurt Soma because the man always seemed so delicate and Akutsu could knock him out if he wasn’t careful. He worried he’d make his allergies worse and break him, so he tried to be as gentle as his stature allowed. He could never find it in him to hurt his partner even if the other acted carelessly.

“So… is it all going smoothly?” Akutsu asked. He was a few days in, finally getting his own cases to work. He felt like he did his work just fine, more than fine even. The clients seemed spooked if Akutsu was around as they stopped in for a meeting, but he couldn’t even blame them; he was a hulking mass of muscle and they just didn’t expect it. 

“Do you think it’s going smoothly, Akutsu-san?” Tsukumo responded. A question with a question. Akutsu hated it, honestly. Felt like a simple answer would suffice and asking a question as a counter was making it stupidly complicated. 

The elevator dinged, Akutsu and Tsukumo looked over. Kaito and Yagami came in, Akutsu moved over to sit in the chair next to Tsukumo. He figured the other detectives would want to sit together. 

“Well, you look like you fit right in!” Kaito laughed, lips curling into a grin. There was something genuine about Kaito that everyone else in their group lacked, or at least in Akutsu’s opinion. He and Yagami sat down, the younger lifting one leg over the other, hands folding neatly in his lap. They looked like a married couple ready for a serious meeting. 

“Nice of you two to come over, what with being so busy and all,” Akutsu smirked, directed it mainly at Yagami. Yagami smiled, but the look in his eye challenged Akutsu. “Sugiura’s on a case. We’re also pretty busy.”

“You don’t look all that busy to me, Akutsu-san,” Yagami retorted, smile still on his lips. 

“It’s his first week, Tabou,” Kaito said. Yagami turned to him, chuckling. Kaito smiled and nodded. Fuck, did they have telepathy or some shit? Akutsu glanced at Tsukumo, who just watched the two with a smile. He seemed so happy. Kaito turned to Akutsu. “Actually, what if we go grab some drinks, let the bosses talk things out?”

“Sounds good to me,” Akutsu replied. It’d been forever since he shared a real drink with anyone. Soma told him their task was too important and Akutsu would just get even more sloppy if he drank anything, so the man did his best to keep sober. Here and there he’d have a beer if the guys were all drinking, but he never indulged too heavily.

What Soma wanted, Soma got.

Kaito and Akutsu got up, Kaito giving Yagami a pat on the knee before they left the building. 

“There’s a quiet little place in the bar district,” Kaito said. Akutsu didn’t really care where they went as long as the alcohol was strong, so he just followed the older man. “Getting used to being a detective, Akutsu?”

“It’s something,” Akutsu muttered. It was boring and made Akutsu feel like his time was being wasted. Tsukumo was nice and paid Akutsu quickly at least, but Sugiura just went in and out as he pleased without much of a word. And sure, he’d been working longer and had more important cases, seemed to be getting them finished in a timely manner with Akutsu taking care of the small cases, but the detective just rubbed Akutsu the wrong way. “Better than being asleep in a hospital, I guess.”

They got to the bar. The jazz music was calming and the bartender looked kind of familiar to Akutsu. Akutsu was sure he was what people would refer to as a silver fox. Two men were already sitting at the bar, one leaning on his arm listening intently to the other. He was a big guy with big hair, his friend smaller but with his own mop of hair, kind of reminiscent of a bird’s nest. He reminded Akutsu of the men at the homeless park, so maybe the other guy was being nice and taking him for a drink. They definitely seemed like a weird pair.

“Kasuga-kun!” Kaito exclaimed when they got closer to the bar. The leaning man turned, a huge smile on his face.

“Kaito-kun!” he replied. He got up, threw his arms around Kaito. Akutsu didn’t know what to say. It was like two big, cuddly bears hugging. It would’ve been sweet if they weren’t in a bar and Akutsu was into that kind of thing. Honestly, it seemed kind of embarrassing. He moved to look at the man’s friend, who seemed just as confused but smiling anyway. 

Akutsu moved past the men and sat at the bar. 

“Got any scotch?” he asked. The bartender nodded and poured the man a drink. Akutsu looked at the other man at the bar, who was downing his own drink. Kaito and the other man, Kasuga, took seats. “You two seem friendly.”

“We ran into each other a lot in Kamurocho!” Kaito exclaimed. He smiled and turned to Kasuga, who was ordering more drinks for him and his friend. “Our families were small, but they actually got along great! You don’t always get such hospitality, I’m sure you know.”

“Do I,” Akutsu remembered always getting into scrapes with other yakuza family men. If he was with Soma, they usually went for him first. Akutsu knew Soma was different and stood out; he was lean and had a beautiful face, of course ugly shitbags would hate him on the spot, assume he was the weak link. Akutsu laid into them, left them bloodied and bruised and ensured no harm came to his partner. Soma always smiled, seemed happy for the protection, and it made Akutsu happy to see the rare smile from the other man because of what he had done. It was all the motivation he needed to keep getting stronger. 

He sighed and shook his head, knocked back his drink and asked the bartender for another one.

“So you’re living here now?” Kaito was talking to his friend, Kasuga, again. Akutsu could hear the animated talking, both from Kasuga and his friend, but he only half listened. He grumbled out some answer here or there, raised his glass the several times because Kaito raised his drink for some bullshit. 

Was Kaito really always in such a good mood? Akutsu felt he didn’t know him enough to gauge.

Honestly, it was a good experience, but Akutsu didn’t see himself fitting into the conversation at all. Hell, even the man with Kasuga, Nanba, even boldly inserted himself into the conversation. Akutsu could be so bold, but he preferred keeping the drinks down instead. It kept the thoughts at bay.

After an hour, Kasuga left, his arm around Nanba in an attempt to keep him standing upright. Kaito chuckled as he watched them leave, turned immediately to Akutsu. 

“Sorry about that. Hadn’t seen him in quite some time, it was good to catch up!” Kaito exclaimed. 

“Hey, they were fun stories,” Akutsu lied. He tuned in now and then if Kaito turned to him, laughed heartily and added in some general commentary to pretend he knew what was going on. He heard lots of Tabou and kicking ass, so he had to assume they were all stories about young Kaito and Kasuga being little punks, possibly with Yagami thrown into the mix. “Seems like you have good memories in the yakuza, eh? Wish I could’ve convinced you to join in the RK, but I guess my rugged good looks can’t match up to someone like Yagami or Kasuga.”

“Oh, come on. It ain’t like that. You guys were just so scummy and I’m not about that lifestyle anymore,” Kaito laughed, looked at Akutsu’s drink. “Knocking them back pretty fast, man.”

“Gotta test my capacity for drink. Being in a coma really fucked up my tolerance, you know? Besides, gotta see how each bar ranks,” Akutsu explained. 

“Yeah, but you don’t wanna get so messed up you can’t make it to work,” Kaito replied. He had another drink as well. 

“They get along without me,” Akutsu stated. Sometimes when he got back to the agency, Tsukumo and Sugiura would be sitting in those two seats in their own little world. Truthfully, Akutsu wondered sometimes if Sugiura and Tsukumo took him in out of pity. “Hell, Tsukumo can’t even stop shaking if I get too close.”

“Can you blame him, though?” Kaito questioned. He sighed. “You did a number on Tabou, not to mention he got roughed up by a bunch of guys, got his pinky smashed up, so I’m sure he’s on edge. He doesn’t mean it, but he’s not like the rest of us either; thugs are terrifying and he’s not the fighting type.”

“I understand,” Akutsu said. That they were being as welcoming and kind to Akutsu as they were was a miracle; Akutsu felt like he could never be so nice about it if someone had done to him what he’d done to Yagami. Akutsu took a sip of his drink. “Don’t think I could be as nice as Tsukumo. Someone tried to kill my friend, they’d be floating through the river once I was done with them.”

Kaito laughed, gave Akutsu a big pat on the back. It was nice, just sitting here drinking with Kaito. As a friend.

“You were following orders. And from the sounds of it, seems like Soma wasn’t the guy to cross or even ignore,” Kaito explained. “I mean, it doesn’t justify what you did. That was fucked up, but you don’t really seem like the type to make such a production of it. Kinda seems like you were between a rock and a hard place.”

“Still got a thrill from it all,” Akutsu muttered. He knew Kaito was trying to be nice, and he even knew what the man was getting at, but Akutsu wasn’t going to deny the horror he’d put Yagami through. Akutsu slammed his drink. “But it’s nice that you’re trying to be assuring. Real cute. I guess Yagami does well with ex-criminals, huh?”

Kaito laughed again, finished his own drink. 

“He can see the good and bad in people. I’m sure he saw something in you,” Kaito said. 

“I hope he did,” Akutsu laughed and winked. Kaito looked confused, but then choked on his drink.

“Come on man, that’s my best friend! Are you that desperate?” Kaito asked. And the truth was, Akutsu was that desperate for any kind of positive attention. He’d never admit it because he was too proud, but it meant something that Yagami took the time to visit him in the hospital and try and get him back in working order. 

But man, Akutsu really thought it would be better. He hated starting over; he’d worked too hard for him to be pushed back to practically Sugiura and Tsukumo’s lackey. 

“Should we head out?” Kaito asked when Akutsu didn’t move or talk. Akutsu looked at him, nodded, and got up. They left the bar, started walking. “You got a place to stay? It’s been a few days.”

“Tsukumo got me a week at that place across from the park, so I’m there for a little longer. Got a meeting to check out an apartment tomorrow,” Akutsu explained. It was a formality, really. Any place was better than that shithole Akutsu had lived in for the past two years. “Feels weird to stay in one place.”

“Yeah, you guys were always moving around,” Kaito chuckled. “Tabou has some stuff for you though, so you had some place you were living in, at least, right?”

“Yeah, some shitty little hole in the wall,” Akutsu said. He looked at Kaito. “Had to go a ways to get back there the rare time I had any moment to myself. What, did Yagami get Tsukumo to do some digging?”

“I think he wanted to make sure you had all your stuff,” Kaito scratched the back of his head, laughed. Tsukumo really could look into anything. It seemed like a lot of power for one little man. “It’s mostly clothes, so he’ll probably drop it off at some point.”

“Not like I need it right away. Did some shopping between cases, got some new outfits,” Akutsu stated. Kaito went to turn so they could get back to the agency, but Akutsu didn’t follow.

“Aren’t we going back to Yokohama 99?” Kaito asked. Akutsu turned to him. 

“It’s getting dark, they don’t really need me hanging around,” Akutsu explained. He did his work, filled Tsukumo in on his kitty conquest when he messaged him about finding the cat. He wanted to just do his own thing, really. No need to stick around where he didn’t belong.

“Gotcha,” Kaito’s face was troubled, like he wanted to say something more. Akutsu waited, knew Kaito couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “Well, we’ll be around for the rest of the night, so you know where to find us.”

“Are you guys sleeping on the couch or something?” Akutsu asked. Kaito was around his size, maybe a little shorter. He couldn’t imagine Kaito on the couch, let alone Yagami too. Though Akutsu thought the imagery could keep him too occupied in thoughts and memories if he let it get the better of him.

“Well… yeah?” Kaito had a sheepish grin, no shame whatsoever. “It’s a good couch!”

“Sure,” Akutsu laughed, waved over his shoulder as he moved along. “G’night, Kaito.”

The alcohol was doing its job, he’d just go home and let it work its magic as he thought of Yagami and Kaito trying their hardest to sleep on that fucking couch, maybe even cuddling and kissing. Neither seemed like the type, but Akutsu could do as he damn well pleased.

He’d been through some real shit, he was allowed to do what he wanted now.

Chapter Text

It had been two weeks now since joining Yokohama 99 and Akutsu had to admit that he was finally getting used to it. Dare he say it, he even found it somewhat enjoyable. He had no guys to order around and beat the shit out of when they screwed up, but he couldn’t say it was something he missed. He still had assholes around the city to hurt, even ran into some of his men now and then; they seemed shocked but happy to see him. He tried to talk them into causing less ruckus and it seemed like sometimes it made a difference.

Even Tsukumo got used to the big guy eventually. He no longer looked like he was ready to crawl into a hole when they interacted, and his way of speaking became more relaxed around the man. Shit was getting done and Akutsu actually felt good about it. With Soma, it was more like he felt like he could relax when Soma approved of whatever task the man had finished; it never made him feel like he’d accomplished anything, just that he didn’t have to be so anxious on if he did right or not. 

He never thought of how tense he felt all the time. 

He sat in Yokohama 99. He was done with the cases Tsukumo assigned to him and he waited for the younger man to finish his work on the computer, a place Akutsu quickly learned that his boss practically lived at. Tsukumo got out every now and then, but he seemed to mostly stay at the office. Akutsu wondered if Tsukumo also used the agency as a weird home of sorts.

Most days Akutsu cut out as soon as he could to go either bar hopping or do some shopping; he had recently gotten his hair done. Working so hard for Soma and being in a coma had set him back to brunette, but he was finally blond again. 

Akutsu usually stayed at Yokohama 99 long enough to report back to Tsukumo, but he rarely stuck around with the other two as they worked late. They all got along well enough in his opinion, but Akutsu felt no need to stick around any longer than he had to. He did his jobs, what more was needed?

He finally cleared his throat to get Tsukumo’s attention.

“Akutsu-san!” Tsukumo exclaimed. Akutsu laughed as he put his phone on the table. He didn’t exactly make his appearance known; he quietly walked into the office, saw Tsukumo was busy, and took a seat to play on his phone. “You’re done already?”

“Yep. Pretty good, huh?” Akutsu smiled, showing his teeth. It made Tsukumo nervous, like he was being hunted by an animal. Akutsu had proven he was friendly enough, but a part of Tsukumo still couldn’t let go of everything he’d done. 

“You are good at this, yes,” Tsukumo got up from his chair and moved to the seat across from Akutsu. “Sugiura’s just wrapping up the last case he’s working on.”

Sugiura got the good shit; tailing, talking to people, breaking up small criminal activities. Akutsu was still on cat finding duty, helping to track a missing homeless man, or small things like that. He got it, he was still new and, honestly, had been a major threat in the past. Still, he was bored and it kind of sucked. He knew he was capable of more. He eyed Tsukumo.

He was used to the man and his quirks by now. He was friendly, smart, spoke very well, and never made one feel dumb even though he seemed like the smartest guy in the world to Akutsu. Messy hair and stupid glasses aside, Tsukumo had a decent face. He had big, brown eyes that Akutsu could’ve gotten lost in and might have once or twice since he started working at Yokohama 99. 

He wasn’t particularly picky, but he thought a good face was a good face. 

“So you run this place, huh?” Akutsu asked. He never really took the time to learn about the origins of the agency, or even the men that occupied it. He looked around; the place was clean and roomy. Honestly, better than the shithole Akutsu stayed in before he’d gotten shot. He had finally gotten an apartment sorted out, just needed to pull enough weight to get the money issue sorted before Tsukumo felt comfortable leaving him to pay rent.

“Yes,” Tsukumo replied. “Yagami-shi helped me out so much in the past, and I look up to him. He has his detective agency in Kamurocho and having helped him out as an informant for a few years, I knew what a difference it made. So I opened my own agency, asked Sugiura-shi to help out, and now we’re depended on by the community.”

“Mmm, sounds nice,” Akutsu said. Tsukumo spoke so formally about the people he knew. Sugiura and Tsukumo seemed like best friends, the way they interacted. Tsukumo seemed so happy when he was left to talk with Yagami alone when he and Kaito had come to visit a couple weeks back. It was different than Tsukumo’s usual good mood. “Yagami special to you?”

“Special?” Tsukumo asked. Akutsu sighed; this man seemed so squeaky clean. He was around Akutsu’s age, but no doubt didn’t have the same experiences the older man did. Or at least, Akutsu assumed not, though he was great at judging books by their covers.

“You guys ever fuck?” Akutsu asked, grinning. Tsukumo’s eyes widened and his face turned red. Akutsu didn’t think Tsukumo was anything special, but his innocence and reactions were kind of turning the older man on. Not that it took much. “No?”

“Don’t be so crass!” Tsukumo yelled. He seemed mad, though Akutsu knew his way of speaking was anything but polite. He spoke his mind and didn’t care whether or not anyone was upset by it. Tsukumo took a deep breath, tried to calm down. “He’s my colleague.”

“So?” Akutsu asked. “I slept with my boss a bunch of times.”

“Well, I’m not you,” Tsukumo stated. The edge to his voice made Akutsu feel kind of unsafe, if only because it was an unexpected tone from the kind of man Akutsu expected Tsukumo to be, and it was surprising for Tsukumo to challenge him. Kaito said he wasn’t a fighter. “Yagami-shi is special to me, but I would never want to do anything with him.”

“Because you’re not interested?” Akutsu asked. 

“Because he is special and I would never bring him down to my level,” Tsukumo explained. Akutsu didn’t get it, but he also didn’t feel like he had to. Some kind of hero worship, and it made enough sense even though Akutsu couldn’t see himself not enjoying a feast over it. 

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Tsukumo went back to the computer. He’d probably had enough of Akutsu and the man’s stupid mouth wasn’t helping anything. He walked up behind the office chair.

“You’re cute when you’re mad,” he said. Tsukumo kept working, tried to ignore the brute. Akutsu chuckled and put an arm on top of the chair. “So, what, you’re gonna ignore an employee because he was a little out of line?”

“You’re an independent contractor for now,” Tsukumo stated flatly. Ouch, he could be sharp. 

Akutsu walked over to the shelves near the kitchenette, knew he should give the other man some space. He stared up at various figurines and plushies that adorned the shelves. Some were magical girl figurines, and others were that damn cat from that dumb VR game that Akutsu could never figure out. He could tell who liked what. 

One time Akutsu won a stuffed dog for Soma at an arcade. The man had been particularly grouchy and Akutsu thought maybe a gift would calm him down. Soma said it reminded him of Akutsu, and it warmed the man’s heart a bit. That is, until Soma concluded that dogs were stupid and pathetically loyal, just like Akutsu. To add insult, Soma also added he didn’t even like dogs. He kept the stuffed toy anyway.

Akutsu felt like he’d been such a fool to think he’d even be anything to a cold-hearted killer other than a warm body and some puppet that could do a job right. 

“Are there any more cases for me?” his voice was weak. He tried to keep it together; what was in the past was the past and nothing could change what had happened. The office chair creaked, Tsukumo turned to look at the other man. 

“Not right now,” Tsukumo said. “You can go home, Akutsu-san. I’m going to just look over notes, get everything in order, and wait for Sugiura-shi.”

“Then what?” Akutsu asked. Tsukumo was always working late and Akutsu had no idea what the man did. Sugiura usually skated around the city, went to an arcade, did things outside of work. 

“Hmm?” Tsukumo hadn’t heard him. His head was mostly in his notes, which he was turning back to focus on. Akutsu rolled his eyes but said nothing. He didn’t want to go back to his dinky apartment; he had nothing to do but drink, and drinking alone with nothing but his thoughts rumbling around seemed so sad and pathetic, though Soma once noted it was fitting for the man. 

Akutsu wanted that man out of his head. He’d done too much damage for Akutsu to give any kind of damn about. As time went on, Akutsu thought of him more and more when he should’ve just hated the man and left him in the past.

It was fucked up how much Akutsu had depended on him, really.

“I’m back!” it was Sugiura. Akutsu and Tsukumo both turned, watching the man as he stood in the doorway, bags in his hands. He had that fucking arcade owner with him. “Look who I found!”

“Good evening, Higashi-san,” Tsukumo greeted. 

“Hey,” Higashi greeted back, grinning. His eyes darted to Akutsu for a second. “I was in the area talking things through with a building manager; guess I was caught as Sugiura was coming back.”

“Caught, like you’re doing some criminal thing,” Sugiura laughed. He turned to Tsukumo. “He finally found a place for the new branch of Charles!”

“There’s still tons to do. I gotta find some guys to help take care of the place, rent some machines… it’ll be some time before I actually open. I just finished step one,” Higashi explained. He seemed so much more animated than Akutsu had ever seen him.

“But we’re all gonna celebrate anyway because he’s been working hard to get all the details straightened out!” Sugiura explained. He put the bags down on the table. He’d gotten takeout and beer. He turned to look at Higashi. “And I’m very proud of how well you’ve turned Charles around.”

Akutsu wanted to wretch. Lovey dovey crap was not his idea of a good time, and seeing others in fulfilling, rewarding relationships made him sick. He was a bright-eyed, idealistic man about relationships once, but that died a long time ago. 

In no time, Sugiura and Tsukumo got everything set and they were gathered around the small table with their food. Higashi and Sugiura together on one side, Tsukumo and Akutsu on the other. Normally Akutsu would be out; he felt like the three got along well enough and didn’t need someone like him around, but he got swept up in the activity.

“So how is it working legit, Akutsu?” Higashi asked. The edge he had reserved for Akutsu in Kamurocho had toned down; he came to terms that Akutsu was, in some ways, kind of part of the group. He worked for Yokohama 99 for now, and something was just less threatening. 

“Honestly, pretty fucking great,” Akutsu dipped his sushi in some soy sauce. “Thought it’d be just shit work, and chasing after cats isn’t ideal, but it’s kind of nice to be doing something more low-key. I’m learning about the guys at the homeless park! They take great care of the cats around the city; it’s insane what they’ll go without for those little furry fucks.”

“It’s cute, right?” Sugiura asked. “It’s nice that the cats have a warm place to stay when it rains. Honestly Akutsu-san, if you do really good by us, maybe you’ll get some more advanced work. Sometimes we get involved stuff that takes more than one, and Yagami-san and Kaito-san have been busy, so we can’t ask them to drop their own work for us.”

“Can’t… Tsukumo help?” Akutsu eyed the man next to him. He’d noticed that he dealt with clients and got everything planned, did the logistical work, but never seemed to really do legwork. If he hadn’t seen Tsukumo outside here and there, he wouldn't even be sure the man left the building for fresh air.

“I schedule client meetings, update them on their cases, and call places ahead of time when it’s necessary. I do most of the research, and also take care of finances and most of the background stuff,” Tsukumo explained. He smiled. “I know it doesn’t seem like I do a lot, but know that I would be wildly ineffective for the kinds of things you and Sugiura-shi do.”

“He has a drone anyway,” Sugiura added. “If we need an extra set of eyes, he brings it around the city.”

“Didn’t mean anything by it,” Akutsu ate his sushi. He wasn’t trying to say he thought Tsukumo was useless, just didn’t really know the guy all that much or what he did. Apparently helped Yagami with cases years ago, but that didn’t really give anything. 

“Higashi-san, do you still plan on getting Matsugane guys working at Charles?” Tsukumo asked, putting an extravagant amount of wasabi on his sushi. Akutsu watched as the man absent-mindedly slathered his food with the paste. Would he be okay? 

“Yeah, there’s some guys that said they wouldn’t mind working an arcade,” Higashi said. “Don’t even mind moving either. They’re good guys; been trying to work to their strengths since the family was dissolved.”

“So you’ll be around more then?” Akutsu asked. The first couple of days Akutsu worked, Higashi seemed to stick around the city. He never talked to Akutsu, but the younger man would see him here and there as he worked. He knew the older man didn’t trust him, but he wasn’t about to paint the city red, as much fun as he thought it would be. Akutsu was a sadist, but he also liked being out of jail.

“Yeah, a little more, especially the first few months as I get the place settled and have an idea of its needs,” Higashi explained. He turned to Sugiura. “You mind if I intrude on you a bit when I’m in the city?”

“Uh, do I ever mind that?” Sugiura asked, grinning. Tsukumo laughed and Higashi chuckled. They were close and friendly, it was weird. Akutsu couldn’t say he particularly cared about his men; he rather rule with an iron fist and make sure they did shit right. It would be Akutsu’s head on the line, ultimately, if Soma had found issue with something. To see how much Tsukumo and Sugiura trusted each other, it just tugged at Akutsu a bit, even more so with Higashi thrown in the mix. They just got along so well and it seemed so easy for them.

He wanted to just ignore it, but he worked there. Higashi, he could forget about if the man wasn’t around, but Sugiura and Tsukumo were his colleagues. He’d just deal with it and try not to think on it that much. He was better at punching than thinking anyway.

Akutsu felt a hand on his shoulder. He snapped up and looked around, shocked. He turned, coming face to face with Tsukumo. 

“Are you okay?” Tsukumo asked. Akutsu blinked, looked around. It was just them. “You were just sitting there quietly eating your sushi. You’re usually more boisterous, and nothing got your attention. Even when Sugiura-shi was offering you the last piece of food.”

“Oh,” Akutsu looked over at the kitchenette where Higashi and Sugiura were happily chatting and cleaning up from dinner. He shot them a glare because fuck their happiness, and turned back to Tsukumo. “Just gotta shut off your brain sometimes, right?”

“That sounds like it would be very bad, if I’m being honest,” Tsukumo said. “Isn’t that how you’d been for nearly two months anyway?”

It wasn’t supposed to be funny, but Akutsu laughed anyway. He had a fucked up sense of humor, but then, he was a fucked up person.

“Anything else before we head home?” Sugiura asked. He was back at the table, Higashi lingering in the doorway. 

“No. Thanks for your hard work as always, Sugiura-shi,” Tsukumo responded. He turned to look at Higashi. “And congratulations again for on the new branch of Charles, Higashi-san!”

“Thanks,” Higashi said. Sugiura waved at Tsukumo and Akutsu.

“See you guys tomorrow,” he turned and joined Higashi at the doorway, and the two left.

Akutsu stayed seated. Higashi and Sugiura would either go out and have a fun night on the town or go back to Sugiura’s place and do some boring yet domestic shit that the two probably enjoyed together. Ugh. 

Once upon a time it had been Akutsu’s dream to have something like that, but now he was content getting by with whoever would have him for a little bit, though right now no one seemed to even want him. Maybe he was a little pathetic. 

He had to find something to fill his time so he’d stop thinking so damn much.

Tsukumo wasn’t moving either. He stayed seated next to Akutsu, and the older man wondered if perhaps he was waiting for the office to clear out. 

“You leaving, or…?” Akutsu asked. 

“I need to close up when everyone’s left,” Tsukumo said. He was just so calm about everything. Or at least, when Akutsu wasn’t acting so crudely. It reminded him of Soma if the man hadn’t been such a fucked up person, though Akutsu wondered if being yakuza fucked you up. Or maybe you had to be fucked up to even consider being yakuza; it was a lifelong commitment and your life was theirs once you joined.

“Ah,” Akutsu was holding the man up. “Did Sugiura even give you his case report?”

“He caught me up during dinner. It’s when you shut off your brain,” Tsukumo explained. 

“So I’m holding you up,” Akutsu didn’t want to go home. It had been a long while since his time was his own and he didn’t really know how to be a person any more. Any free time he had, he always needed to be ready in case Soma needed him doing something, or in case one of the newer RK guys fucked something up. 

“On the contrary, it’s nice to have people to talk to,” Tsukumo said. That anyone could say having Akutsu to talk to was nice felt odd, though he knew Tsukumo was speaking in a general sense, but Akutsu would take it. He knew his guys only liked him out of fear and Soma kept him around because he could use him. “But I’m sure you want to get home and relax.”

“Sure,” Akutsu knew the other man wasn’t kicking him out, but he also had no reason to stick around. He didn’t want to be home by himself; he had too much shit in his brain that would gnaw at him. “Have a good night, boss.”

“Thank you, Akutsu-san,” Tsukumo smiled. Akutsu got up, walked to the entrance of the office. Tsukumo got up too, started making his way to the computer.

“Hey, I’m sorry for asking such personal questions earlier,” Akutsu called, turning around. Tsukumo stopped and stared at the man. Akutsu was used to always being around yakuza, so he never had to think about how he came across to others. Tsukumo was kind, gave him a job, even paid for his apartment to make sure the man had a place to stay. Despite his nerves, he was always good to Akutsu. The least Akutsu could do was tone it down a bit. “It was unnecessary; your business is your business.”

“It was unnecessary,” Tsukumo agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest. He was serious and it sent a shiver down Akutsu’s spine. “Despite how you’ve been with my friends, Yagami-shi was willing to keep an eye on you anyway when you were in the hospital, so I’m giving you a chance because I trust him. I also trust Sugiura-shi’s judgment to consider you as another hire. I know who you were and what you did, but things are different here. We’re not ex-yakuza, thugs, or street punks that you can be nasty with. I don’t mind you asking questions because we must know each other if we’re going to work together, but be respectful. That was crossing the line.”

“I know,” Akutsu was trying to suss Tsukumo out, get an idea on what kind of man he was. Akutsu had gone from the Nikkyo Consortium to the RK with Soma, so someone like Tsukumo was wildly different than anyone Akutsu was used to. “Sorry.”

There weren’t a lot of times Akutsu felt particularly bad; he felt that if something happened to someone, they probably deserved it. Tsukumo did not deserve to be questioned so crudely and Akutsu didn’t deserve for Tsukumo to be treating him so kindly despite it. Or he thought so, at least.

“And I’m sorry that I said you were an independent contractor. I know you’re working hard to prove yourself as a fledgling detective,” Tsukumo said. “I’m sure it’s nothing like the things you’ve done in the past.”

It was an understatement of epic proportions, but Tsukumo was being nice. 

“I mean, have you seen the punks walking around the city looking for anyone they can fight? I get to beat the shit out of them and make some furry little friends. It’s great!” Akutsu exclaimed. 

“You like cats then?” Tsukumo laughed. Akutsu realized what he’d said. He was a big guy and had been in with a bad crowd for a long time, so any shortcomings he felt he had, he attempted to keep to himself. “I suppose it’s fitting.”

“Yeah?” Akutsu questioned. 

“Your shirt. It’s leopard print,” Tsukumo elaborated. Akutsu winked and hissed, moving his hand in a scratching movement. “I am not your old boss, stop.”

“Habit,” Akutsu muttered. He and Soma had always been flirty. At least, Akutsu was flirty, though Soma never rejected it. Akutsu had a weakness for good looks, especially pretty men. Tsukumo wasn’t a pretty man, but he wasn’t unattractive by any stretch either. If he put a comb through his damn hair and had any sense of fashion, Akutsu was sure the man would be drowning in hot detectives.

He’d stuck around too long though. Tsukumo had things to do and Akutsu was just finding any reason to not go home. 

“Don’t work too late, Tsukumo,” Akutsu said. He wanted to say something flirty, something to show he felt friendly, but he had already crossed Tsukumo once today, and he already got warned not to flirt. 

“Goodnight, Akutsu-san,” Tsukumo replied. Akutsu gave a short, slightly awkward wave and left. 

When he got outside, he thought of hitting up a bar. He enjoyed the place Kaito had taken him to, had gone there now and then by himself; the bartender was attractive and oddly familiar, yet Akutsu couldn’t put his finger on why. Akutsu shrugged his shoulders and started walking. 

Maybe he could pick someone up and stop the thoughts that kept intruding. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, someone was shaking Akutsu awake. The older man groaned, slowly opened an eye and squinted at his assailant; it was Sugiura. His head was pounding and everything felt like it was spinning. 

“Wake up, Akutsu-san,” Sugiura said, continuing to shake the man. He tried to grab Akutsu’s arm, pulling at it in an attempt to move the older, bigger man. He was getting nowhere and Akutsu just wanted to smack him and assert his dominance, beat on the younger man just to get him to fucking stop.

“Come on, I have a headache,” Akutsu grumbled, wrenching his arm and trying to turn away from the brunette. He’d downed drink after drink the night before. He had gotten some pay from his cases at Yokohama 99, so he figured he could treat himself a little for some jobs well done. 

“And you also have a job,” Sugiura retorted. “It’s past noon. If you’re not going to stick around and help us after cases, at least have the decency to come in on time. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Akutsu sat up and held his head. He was a big guy; he could normally hold his own when it came to drinks, but Nanba and Kasuga were at Survive the night before and Akutsu offered to buy everyone drinks; he was ordering double shots. He pounded them back like they were nothing, tried to get a nice buzz before he returned to his empty apartment. 

“How’d you even get in here?” he asked as he looked over at Sugiura. He was plastered out of his mind last night, but he remembered locking his door. 

“The locks aren’t particularly complicated,” Sugiura said. He sighed and rolled his eyes. The longer it took to get Akutsu up and going, the less time Sugiura could put into his cases. He liked to do a good job and everyone he could in a timely manner. 

“Go ahead without me,” Akutsu wiped his face with his hand. 

“Really?” Sugiura glared. “You’re not even one month in and you’re already taking time off because you’re hungover? Were you this sloppy with the Nikkyo Consortium? Would Soma have let you stay home because you drank too much?”

“Don’t fucking talk about any of that shit,” Akutsu growled. This pretty boy knew nothing about the shit Akutsu did or how hard he fucking worked just for his life to be torn apart by some shitty dissolution and a man he had once considered his closest ally. 

“Then don’t go drinking more than you can handle if you’re just going to be useless on a work day,” Sugiura sighed and grabbed his phone, immediately texting someone, probably Tsukumo. Akutsu had already gotten on his bad side, he was going to be disappointed. Though somehow it didn’t feel as horrifying as the thought of Soma being disappointed. 

“You don’t know the shit I’ve been through. A guy like you could never understand,” Akutsu said. Sugiura stopped typing and stared at the man. Akutsu leaned back; Sugiura looked like he was ready to spit venom.

“Fuck. You!” he shouted. He put his phone away and turned, kicking the door open and slamming it shut behind him. Sugiura was gone, but now Akutsu had pissed off his boss and his coworker. 

Sometimes he felt like he would’ve been better off if the shots had killed him. 

It was five by the time he finally got out of bed. He knew water would’ve helped him out, but his head was pounding and the only thing that soothed him was his blankets. When he got to the kitchen, he jumped when he saw Yagami at his table, a glass of water in front of him. 

“Did you pick the lock too?” Akutsu asked, taking the seat across from the detective. Yagami chuckled and handed the water to the other man. 

“Sugiura-kun never locked up before he left, and I assume you never got up to check the door,” he explained. Akutsu nodded his head and drank all of the water. Yagami took the glass and renewed the drink. 

“So you talked to him?” Akutsu asked. Sugiura was a capable man, but somehow he seemed exactly the type to go running to whoever would stand up for him. He had a nice face and knew it, probably had Higashi wrapped around his finger.

Maybe his anger and hurt had Akutsu projecting, but it just really seemed like the case.

“Tsukumo told me he came in upset,” Yagami corrected. Of course Tsukumo told him that. Yagami probably got proper updates on the agency too, he was so beloved. “Akutsu, do you know why I waited for you to get out of that hospital? Why despite everything between us, I chose to help you out?”

“Because you have good taste in men?” Akutsu grinned, but Yagami just stared at him. His antics didn’t get him as far as they had in the past, and he wondered if perhaps he was getting rusty. Though these days, he dealt with a better group of people who didn’t seem to fall for cheap words. 

Akutsu wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

“Because when we talked about Soma and you realized everything, I couldn’t let go of the fear and hurt in your eyes,” Yagami said. He was a detective, he would notice something stupid like that. Akutsu thought he seemed more put together than that, but perhaps he was actually weak and everyone could see through him. Sugiura sure did, and Yagami seemed to be able to as well. “RK was done for and you would’ve woken up with nothing and no one.”

“And?” Akutsu questioned. He’d been with a bad crowd a long time and he felt that being nice got you nowhere. What, Yagami felt bad so he stuck around to watch Akutsu sleep? “I don’t need your pity.”

“It’s not about pity,” Yagami said. “Despite everything, I think you have decent bones in your body. You never went for Kaito or I if it wasn’t part of your orders. I think that if given the chance, you can be a good person and do something more than just mindlessly doing whatever someone tells you. I think if you were truly a wretched man, you wouldn’t have been so scared when you found out you’d outlived your usefulness to Soma.”

“So what, you want me to go from being Soma’s lap dog to… being a lap dog, but now for someone good ?” Akutsu asked. 

“I want you to see the world from a different perspective and know that there’s more to it than what someone decides you should see,” Yagami explained. 

“And what about what I want?” Akutsu asked. 

“What do you want?” Yagami replied. Akutsu opened his mouth to retort, but closed it just as quickly. Truthfully, he didn’t know what he wanted. He’d never thought of it; he was so used to working under others, he never imagined he’d have a choice in his own free will. And he didn’t seem to mind when he was doing it either, or at least, he didn’t mind enough to ever say anything. He hated his place with Soma, but fuck if he even tried to do better. He was angry knowing nothing would change, but he was too scared to ever do anything about it. “It’s okay, you don’t need to answer right away, or even tell me at all. Just think about it and know that I just want you to be happy.”

“Even though I tried to kill you and helped Soma get to Sawa-sensei?” Akutsu asked. He vaguely remembered Yagami blathering about the woman a lot. He couldn’t blame the man; Sawa had done nothing wrong, was just guilty of knowing a man that had been on Soma's radar. Akutsu should’ve known Soma would never keep a loose end, but a part of him was shocked when he saw the news. 

Sawa was around his age and had her whole life ahead of her. All reports seemed to imply she was much beloved by the people who knew her. Her life was cut short by a disgusting man who only knew how to lie and hurt others. 

And Akutsu had a hand in it.

“Yes,” Yagami mumbled. He sighed and looked around. “I can’t tell you how to live your life, nor would I ever want to, but I’d advise against not pissing off my friends here. Tsukumo and Sugiura-kun are both men I care deeply about, and others love them as well; you’d be in trouble if you got on their worst side.”

“What, is Higashi gonna throw a pinball machine at me or something?” Akutsu laughed, but the look on Yagami’s face told him that he was nearly done with Akutsu. Truthfully, Akutsu thought it was weak that he cared so deeply about others, but Akutsu also had to admit that Yagami seemed to have good, strong relationships with many people.

Who did Akutsu really have?

“You underestimate a man in love,” Yagami said. He looked pointedly at Akutsu. “Or maybe you try not to understand?”

“Don’t make me sick,” Akutsu growled. Yagami chuckled and Akutsu glared. He was playing a dangerous game sitting alone with someone as big and strong as Akutsu, though Yagami could be graceful and hold his own. Fuck, he’d even come out victorious in battles against Akutsu. Even with a chainsaw, the younger man had nothing against Yagami. He still got his ass handed to him.

“I think you do a good enough job at making yourself sick,” Yagami stated. He smiled and got up. “Don’t drink so much and try to think through your problems rather than push them away with alcohol.”

“Like you fucking know me,” Akutsu was pissed. Yagami and Sugiura both acted like they could understand Akutsu’s pain. 

“You’re not the only one who’s ever been hurt. You’re not some teenager, Akutsu. Just because you are hurting now, it doesn’t mean others haven’t before,” Yagami sometimes seemed so wise beyond his years, and even Akutsu had to admit it was charming. “I’ll leave you though, I think I’ve said enough.”

“Don’t let the door hit that ass on the way out,” Akutsu grinned, and Yagami had a smile of his own.

“Because you would prefer to?” he asked. Akutsu nearly fell out of his seat. 

“Is that an invitation!?” he asked. 

“No,” Yagami laughed. “But I can see that your priorities are on all the wrong things. You can’t bring yourself to work, but you could have sex if you tried.”

Akutsu’s eyes narrowed. 

“Well no shit, who would turn down the chance at banging Yagami Takayuki himself?” he asked. 

“A lot of people,” Yagami replied. “I don’t care what you do on your own time, but if you’re going to take the opportunity many of us gave you and squander it, you’re going to end up a very lonely man with too many regrets, although it seems like we’re past that already.”

“Fuck you,” Akutsu snarled. 

“You have a good night too, Akutsu,” Yagami waved and left the apartment. Akutsu got up and angrily locked the door, though he wondered if his next paycheck should go to better locks, though he figured Sugiura was probably never going to be back and Yagami seemed more considerate than breaking into an acquaintance’s place.

Akutsu groaned and parked his ass right back onto his futon. He knew Yagami was giving him the opportunity of a lifetime that Akutsu didn’t think he’d ever see; the chance to live his own life as he saw fit. This whining, angry, hungover man was not who Akutsu was, and he hated knowing it’s how he was acting, but fuck he just felt so out of his comfort zone, which seemed pathetic when he thought about it. Most people could figure out what they wanted to do no problem, but Akutsu? Nope! He was acting out because being his own person was fucking him up, and it was costing him people who he didn’t deserve niceness from. 

If he was lucky, he could make it up somehow.

Chapter Text

Akutsu got into Yokohama 99 the next day. He was determined to keep this job; it was vaguely similar to what he did for the RK, but legit and with way less violence, but a lot more cats. If someone told Akutsu one year ago this would become his life, he would’ve beaten the shit out of them and thrown them in the river, but after everything, this simple life was slowly charming him.

Tsukumo was, as usual, at his computer. Sugiura was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey boss!” Akutsu greeted as he walked up to Tsukumo’s chair. The other man turned, looking Akutsu up and down.

“I see you’ve finally made it,” Tsukumo said. There was an edge to his voice and Akutsu was kind of proud of the other man. He seemed so intimidated when they first met, it was nice that Tsukumo could feel angry with the man. “We need to talk. Sugiura-shi is already working on a case.”

“He keeps busy, huh?” Akutsu asked. He followed Tsukumo to the couch, sat on a seat across from the man. Tsukumo looked serious. 

“You really make him out to be just some pretty face who can’t do anything right or help others, like he hasn’t had anything go on in his life,” he said. Fuck, did Akutsu do that? He supposed he did make it seem like Sugiura did nothing to help Tsukumo from getting his finger broken. And honestly, Akutsu did feel like Sugiura had a good life. 

“Well it’s not like I know him that well,” Akutsu wasn’t the kind of guy to make excuses, but he also had known the man for only a couple of weeks. 

“You know him well enough to make snide remarks and act like he’s never had anything happen to him,” Tsukumo said. Akutsu supposed it sounded right. His rage was at Soma, yet he was taking it out on others because the man he wanted to hurt was long gone and he felt like lashing out somewhere just to let off some steam. 

Truthfully, Sugiura seemed fully capable from when Akutsu had seen him fight previously. He just had the misfortune to have been born pretty, but that wasn’t anything he could do much about. He didn’t deserve Akutsu lashing out at him, especially when he’d initially agreed to giving Akutsu a chance. 

“I want to keep you around because despite the things you’ve done, you seem to have had a change of heart and can keep up with the casework well,” Tsukumo continued.

“Well, it’s not like the jobs are hard,” Akutsu didn’t mind the work, but he was itching to do more. Soma might’ve had him on a tight leash, but he also trusted the man with the most important tasks. Kind of. 

There was no trust and Soma always double-checked him, but Akutsu knew it was because Soma had grand plans and it all needed to be done just right. Too bad he had never planned for Akutsu to see those grand plans he worked so hard to help make possible.

“See, it’s things like that that make me wonder if you could truly work with us,” Tsukumo said. Fuck, Akutsu and his big fucking mouth. He said what was on his mind and fuck whoever was offended, mostly. But he liked Tsukumo and had already said enough to upset him; he just wanted to be friends, but his dumb brain wouldn’t keep his mouth shut long enough to kindly take the olive branch that Tsukumo kept offering. “It’s week two, Akutsu-san. With all you’ve said and done, do you think I would put you on bigger cases so soon? You nearly killed–”

“Yagami. I know. The love of your life,” Akutsu wanted to take it back. It was snide and unnecessary. He didn’t even really care if Tsukumo had a thing for Yagami; the man was a good choice and Akutsu had liked way worse, he just felt like love was for the weak and was willing to shit on anyone who believed in it because he was fucked up over his own thoughts and feelings on the matter. 

He also felt like Tsukumo was too good to put Yagami on that kind of pedestal.

“I think perhaps Yagami-shi was wrong about you,” Tsukumo said. “I think you are a bully who gets off on being horrible to others. You can play nice for a time, but deep down, you can’t help but lash out at others because you’re miserable and just want to bring others to your level. A shame you feel like that, but I can not in good consciousness let someone like you keep working here. You’re bringing us down and you’re not even trying to reel it in or fit in with us.”

Akutsu wanted to say something in retaliation but Tsukumo was right. He was lashing out, thinking the worst of others, and he was barely thankful for the opportunities he was getting. Yagami could’ve left him for dead in the club, but he was the one who got him into the hospital for care instead. Akutsu cursed him out just because Yagami was helping him out of his situation . Sugiura was trying to help Akutsu become a better asset for the agency and give him sound advice, and Akutsu only said rude things to him. 

And the worst part, Akutsu didn’t even want to be like that. He barely tried sticking around even after work, yet hated feeling like an outsider in this group of people who seemed to genuinely like and want the best for each other. He just tuned it all out or shut himself down, didn’t think that maybe he could do differently.

“Sorry,” it wasn’t a word Akutsu used a lot, but he meant it when he did. It was twice now he was apologizing to Tsukumo. He didn’t deserve a second chance, honestly. He kept digging his hole deeper.

“I want to believe you are,” Tsukumo said softly. He wasn’t going to change his mind; Akutsu knew it. And honestly, he didn’t deserve a change in mind; he kept squandering his opportunities. He never thought of a better life for himself when he was with the Nikkyo Consortium because he was fine with how things were. Once it was over and he joined into the RK with Soma, he thought it would be different, but he was still just a lost dog following his master.

Fuck, Yagami was being nice like always. He wanted to give this opportunity for Akutsu to see what a different life could be without anyone to force his hand, and he just couldn’t see it. He was sure he didn’t even want to see it. He just wanted to be angry.

Akutsu got up, looked down at Tsukumo. Despite how Akutsu had spoken to him, Tsukumo was still being good to him. If Akutsu wasn’t going to be around Yokohama 99 anymore, he at least wanted to say something to the other man, but he knew anything he truly wanted to say to him would go over poorly. Tsukumo set his boundaries and didn’t seem afraid to tell Akutsu off and the older man had to admit it was not what he was expecting when he first laid eyes on Tsukumo. Somehow, it meant a lot to see such a change in real time.

“Thanks for the opportunity, Tsukumo. It meant a lot and I enjoyed my time here,” Akutsu said. It sounded better than anything he would’ve said in the past. He didn’t want to leave regretting what he’d done; he doubted he’d see Tsukumo again, and he wanted one of his relationships to end well. He’d fucked up by being rude with Sugiura and Yagami, and he couldn’t even remember the last thing he said to Soma.

So maybe it wouldn’t have mattered after all.

Akutsu turned and left.

He wound up at Survive bar. The last time he was there, Kasuga and Nanba were at the front bar being friendly and talkative; it was the reason Akutsu was ordering so many drinks, because they seemed kind enough and Akutsu wanted to impress them. They didn’t know his past, so there was no way they’d judge him.

Now, only Higashi was in, and he was probably the last person Akutsu wanted to see. 

“Wow, drinking so early in the morning, huh? You think Sugiura would like that?” Akutsu teased, taking a seat next to Higashi. Already he felt like asserting his dominance. 

“Says the man strolling in here at ten in the morning,” Higashi countered. He chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “It’s crazy you think that at the age of thirty-six, I need my lover’s permission to live my life. But I guess that’s how you think every relationship works.”

The bartender sighed and poured some water in a glass and handed it to Akutsu. This felt like a setup and the the man was trying not to grab Higashi’s throat and throw him across the room. He was tiny compared to Akutsu, though more ballsy than the younger man thought. It was more in line with his expectations the first time he’d seen Higashi, though his normalness rubbed Akutsu the wrong way. 

“You’ll be happy that I’ll be out of your hair at least,” Akutsu stated. 

“Damn, fired in less than a month by Tsukumo? He must not like you very much,” Higashi chuckled. The bartender’s eyes drifted to him before the man stood at the sink to clean up. “What, did you kick Ranpo?”

“Probably mad I yelled at Yagami,” Akutsu rolled his eyes. Higashi chuckled again.

“You ever think maybe you’re just an asshole and that’s why he let you go?” he asked. “Can you even remember what I said Sugiura and I were gonna do to celebrate when the Ijincho branch of Charles opens?”

“Ugh,” Akutsu shut everything off when they had dinner the other night, so he couldn’t remember anything that anyone talked about. He’d tuned it out. “I don’t know what you dorks do together in your free time. Probably make dinner together or something like that.”

If Soma had asked Akutsu to make dinner with him, it would’ve been as confusing as hell, but Akutsu would’ve happily done so with the man. Soma was a sensitive fuck who had too many allergies, so of course he probably had to make his own food. It probably tasted great too. 

“That’s why Tsukumo fired you; you don’t care about anyone,” Higashi said. Akutsu glared at him. “I mean, if you’re so fucking salty that your co-worker finally has a good life going for him and you’re going to just ignore or berate him, please be my guest. You don’t work with him anymore, I’ll lend an ear.”

Akutsu froze. How did it reach Higashi what happened yesterday? Was he even in Ijincho? Did he…

“You fuck! You called Yagami yesterday, didn’t you?” Akutsu went for his glass of water, but it wasn’t there. He leaned in close to Higashi. “What the fuck’s your issue, man? It has nothing to do with you!”

“It has everything to do with me!” Higashi yelled, slamming his fist on the bar. “Sugiura is the light in my shitty life and Yagami gave me that fucking flashlight when I thought I was going to reach the pit of fucking despair! You waltz in, act like a shithead, treat Sugiura like he’s incapable, completely ignore everyone at dinner, fuck, even in general, skip work, and then go off on the men who’re giving you the second chance to do this bullshit. You are affecting my life because these are the people in my life that I care about. Even shitty fucking Yagami! You’re squandering the fucking chance he’s giving you not to die like some miserable fuck, and you’re blaming everyone but yourself. No shit I called Yagami to sort you out!”

Akutsu wanted to lash out at Higashi, punch him in the face, maybe even dump him in the river, but he stayed seated. Perhaps it was the sharp glare he was earning from the bartender; Akutsu knew that look, the one that felt like if you did the wrong thing, you’d end up gone. 

“If you two are going to fight, I prefer you do it somewhere else,” it sounded more like it was directed at Akutsu. The bartender put the glass of water back down. Akutsu drank all the water and tried to get himself together.

“Did you know I was getting canned?” he asked. 

“Fuck no, how would I?” Higashi said as the bartender filled his glass. “Whatever you did or said to Tsukumo, it was all you.”

Sugiura didn’t tattle and Tsukumo didn’t call in Yagami. Fuck, even Soma had nothing to do with it. Well, he had everything and nothing to do with it. And he was at least dealing with the consequences of his actions; Akutsu was just lashing out at anyone. 

He almost preferred when he didn’t have enough time to think about what he’d found out about Soma. He was scared for such a short time before those bullets, but somehow it felt better than whatever he was feeling now.

“By the way, we never made plans for when the new arcade opens,” Higashi said. Akutsu cocked his head, had no idea what Higashi was on about. “It was a trick question, and I knew you weren’t even listening.”

“Then why the hell–” 

“We don’t make plans for shit until it actually happens because we both know things fall through and life doesn’t go as planned,” Higashi continued. “We just take everything one day at a time, and if it goes as planned, it’s a fucking miracle. But if not, we just try and get through it as best we can. Together.”

“I didn’t ask for information about your stupid love life,” Akutsu stated. Higashi sipped his drink and laughed.

“I didn’t ask you to walk in here and sit next to me either, but look at me getting through it the best I can,” he retorted. Akutsu felt like Higashi was fucking with him. He seemed like the type that was good at that kind of thing. But then, Akutsu was the type to judge a book by its cover, and it usually turned out he was wrong. 

Akutsu sighed and drank the glass of water the bartender refilled for him. He had to cool it; there was no reason for him to be an attack dog anymore. He had no one he felt he needed to protect, and he truly didn’t feel like he was worth saving himself. 

“It’s not like your old gangs anymore,” Higashi said. Akutsu looked over at him. “These are people with real feelings that care about one another. If part of the team is causing an issue, it’s going to affect how we work because we’re a team and we work together. You understand how it feels to be looked down on, right?”

He did. When Soma had asked Akutsu to be part of RK with him, the younger man thought things would be better. He’d be able to have men to watch out for and a whole city he could beat on, but more importantly, he’d feel like they were equals. And they should’ve been, both having used their strengths to get everything in working order, but Soma treated Akutsu like he was just a strong body to intimidate with. And Akutsu let him, and he hated it even though he said nothing.

He let himself be used. And what hurt more than anything was finding out that he’d never meant anything to Soma; the man was just organizing things neatly for Public Security. 

Akutsu was a fool.

He held out hope that it was just Soma finally feeling like he had power once the Nikkyo Consortium was dissolved, but Soma just never backed away from that power. And Akutsu let him and never said anything, not because he was scared of the consequences, but because he thought Soma would finally see him as an equal if he just let him go through the motions.

He hated that he had been so weak. He wondered if maybe he’d said something, things would be different now. 

Maybe that teacher wouldn’t have died.

For all the enjoyment Akutsu got from hurting people, he had a thing against hurting women and children, especially if they’d done nothing wrong. Akutsu thought Soma was using the teacher as a scare tactic to get Kitakata; he had no idea Soma’s smug face would be the last thing she’d see. Akutsu was used to taking out men who had done something, but civilians just seemed wrong somehow. 

Funny coming from him, who would take a grown man down just for looking at him wrong.

“Well, I can’t turn back time,” Akutsu said. He eyed Higashi. Akutsu had thought of recruiting the man for RK once upon a time, thought having an arcade that didn’t stand out would be great as a little meeting spot. Something had changed his mind.

He’d seen some kids excitedly running into the building when he was staking the place out. They were laughing, boasting to each other about finally getting on the high score board; they were having fun. 

Akutsu couldn’t bring himself to take that away. His upbringing had been lonely and miserable; he had no one but a drunk uncle who locked him outside if he was being too loud or annoying, and it happened more often than not. Akutsu often wandered the streets, was lucky if he found some food that had been discarded on the road. He would’ve loved some place like Charles to latch onto. He couldn’t take it knowing how much it meant to the little ones. 

It was the only time he let his heart speak for him.

“I actually really liked getting to help others,” Akutsu rested his elbows against the table and threw his hands in his hair. He’d talked like he hated doing small jobs, but the homeless men he’d met and interacted with just seemed so happy to finally be taken seriously, and they treated Akutsu as one of their own. “Spent so long doing bullshit for everyone else, I forgot what it was like having a choice and feeling good about what I was doing.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Higashi said. He raised his glass before taking a sip. Akutsu looked at him again. Higashi had been part of the Matsugane Family; Akutsu knew some fucked up things happened, but he never knew what exactly. Whatever it was, it was probably what made Akutsu hate the other man so much; he’d been in such a fucked situation and finally had a chance at normality and was taking it without much thought.

He’d gotten past his issues and was living his best life now. Akutsu was so angry and felt that he couldn’t move past his issues, his jealousy was rearing its ugly head and he felt justified in lashing out. 

“Wish I’d died at that club,” Akutsu mumbled. He outlived his usefulness to Soma, learned that everything he’d done was a farce. He put in so much time and energy to do it all right for the man despite how much Akutsu actually despised him, because even then, he wanted to give him the world. 

Akutsu was the way he was because he’d grown up hungry, abused, and unloved and didn’t know any other way. Soma was so cold and calculating for a reason, and Akutsu felt like in a fucked up way, he could help that inner child. He felt like he himself was a lost cause, but he was convinced Soma could have a change in heart.

Despite his hatred, he had faith in the man. And yet, the same couldn’t be said for Soma’s faith in him. And he had to get through his thick skull that he never could’ve been good enough for Soma. 

“But you didn’t,” Higashi said. He put his hand up when the bartender came around to refill his drink. “So why not take this opportunity to better yourself? Become the person Soma wanted to kill you over. If you love this new life so much, act like it and stop biting the hands that feed you.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Akutsu shrugged his shoulders. The bartender filled his glass, Akutsu thanked him and took a drink. Now he was allowed some alcohol. Because he’d calmed down. “Sugiura hates me, Yagami probably regrets helping, and Tsukumo’s probably the only one I didn’t screw up with, but the man doesn’t leave that office much.”

“Then apologize and make things right,” Higashi said. “You know, the beautiful thing about us is how fucked up our pasts are, and yet we work so hard to overcome it every day. So showing that you’re actively trying to be better than what you know, it’d mean a lot. It means you’re not just some meathead that acts without thought. I’m sure it’s how everyone sees you.”

Akutsu always told himself if anyone spoke out of line with him, they’d regret it. He didn’t even feel like being angry because Higashi was right and Akutsu didn’t want to fight it anymore. He didn’t want to fight at all, it was just always his natural response.

“Thanks,” Akutsu muttered. He meant it; no one ever took the time to talk with him about his feelings, and they really didn’t even get to feelings, but somehow it was like Higashi knew anyway. The way he talked, it felt like he’d been in similar shit, and maybe it’s why Akutsu felt like he could finally let it wash over him.

Soma always just seemed like he grew up with a silver spoon, and Akutsu wagered he probably had. They’d joined in with their clan around the same time, but the older man just always acted like he was better than Akutsu. And maybe once upon a time Akutsu thought he was, but even after years of working together, it was like they were part of totally different worlds. But now here were men that had been through shit, understood Akutsu, and he was pushing them away when maybe he needed them the most.

Akutsu finished his drink and stood up. He gave Higashi a clap on the shoulder and left the bar. He’d make this right somehow.

Chapter Text

Akutsu sat in his apartment, pen in hand, several crumpled pieces of paper around him. He had so much he wanted to say and no idea how to convey it, so he figured he’d just write down his thoughts and try to piece everything together into something. He always used his fists for any kind of problem and when words were needed, he relied on Soma for that. But things were different; he had to rely on himself, something he never really had to do, but always wanted to. 

He wanted to apologize to Tsukumo and Sugiura; they took him in, tried to share their lives with him, and all he did was throw it in their faces. Sugiura, he had completely underestimated and assumed he just lived life on easy mode. Just because he was pretty, something he couldn’t even help. He never even tried to look deeper or find out more. Tsukumo at least concluded better, though Akutsu had been horrible to the people that meant the most to the younger man. He was able to read Akutsu like a book and call him out; Akutsu was hurting and just wanted to bring others down, feel the pain that he felt.

Akutsu threw his pen and let himself fall back onto the ground. He had to do some soul-searching if he was ever going to move on and be the man he never thought he could become. He’d spent too long just taking action rather than thinking about anything. Akutsu couldn’t even remember the last time he truly felt bad about anything. He felt bad about that teacher, though he felt like that was something completely out of his control; even if he had tried to say something to Soma, he doubted it would have any effect. 

Soma never cared for what Akutsu had to say. 

Akutsu turned on his side, sighed as he stared into the kitchen. The second he met Soma, Akutsu knew he wanted to stay with the man. Despite being sworn into the yakuza, Akutsu was less violent and more idealistic back then. He had some kind of hope, had even latched onto Soma and tried to make room in his heart for the man. Soma just seemed so delicate, Akutsu wanted to make sure nothing could touch him.

He thought he meant something to Soma for a time. The first time Akutsu thought he knew love was when Soma murdered the younger man’s uncle. Akutsu had returned to his childhood home after receiving a call from his uncle; he said it was urgent they speak face to face. When Akutsu arrived, the man was sitting dead in a tub full of alcohol and his own blood, a red knife sticking out of his neck. Soma came up behind Akutsu, told him it was an art piece all for the younger man. He’d said the uncle was nothing but a parasite that was better left in the past. 

At the time, Akutsu thought Soma had done it for him. Now Akutsu was sure it was simply to gain his affection and ensure he’d be loyal to Soma. And it worked; Akutsu was smitten. He was so young, so stupid. Soma slept with him that night and it had only helped to ensure he would imprint on Akutsu. 

He’d warned Soma that leaving the consortium would be to his detriment. If Soma defected, he would be dead as far as Akutsu knew and he didn’t want anything happening to the man he loved. He never understood why Soma had been so cocky, told him it was for the best, even encouraged Akutsu to go with him. Akutsu was shocked when the man found him months later, after the dissolution of the Tojo Clan. Soma offered him to be the face of RK; he was better for it, he was told. 

Akutsu thought it would make them equals.

The descent into hatred was a slow one; for everything Akutsu did for him, Soma never thanked him once or even did anything back. Akutsu never did anything for thanks or attention, but he considered them partners. Akutsu protected Soma, made sure to keep every RK place spotless, worked himself to the bone all for Soma’s grand plan. And in return, Soma berated him at best and outright tore him apart physically, mentally, and emotionally at worst. And despite all of it, Akutsu still had fucked up hope that he meant something to the older man.

He should’ve known better. As the hatred grew during their time together in the RK, Akutsu had slept with other men; he was tired of feeling like shit by Soma and he just needed some release in a way that didn’t make him feel like less. He just needed to feel good for once in his miserable fucking life.

The men would be dead the next day. Akutsu would wake up to horror right next to him, find Soma waiting nearby, a fucked up, gleeful smile on his face that never reached his eyes. The older man made Akutsu clean up both the mess and himself before they left the scene. Akutsu should’ve seen it was just Soma being possessive of his property, but he lied to himself, thought it was Soma just angry that Akutsu was with someone else. And in a way he was, but not for the reasons that Akutsu told himself. 

He knew it was over when Yagami and his friends talked it out; Soma had always been a spy for Public Security, even back during their days in the Nikkyo Consortium, only kept RK around for control and information. And when Akutsu knew, he had outlived his usefulness. When he saw those men, their guns aimed at him, it finally hit him that he truly was nothing to the older man he’d been with for so many years and never had been; he was just a pawn to play with.

Too bad the bullets hadn’t hit as hard as the revelation.

Akutsu went to a cabinet, pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He sighed as he pulled off the cap, poured it down his sink. He could drown himself in his alcohol, but for what? To be just as mean and fucked up as his uncle had been? So he could be angrier at things from the past that he could never change? If Akutsu couldn’t beat someone to an inch of their life when he was angry, he turned to drinking. Soma used to laugh and tell him he would end up like his uncle, and Akutsu would jokingly ask if he’d also kill him and make him into art as well. Akutsu never understood the glee on Soma’s face, thought he just found the comment amusing, but now he got it.

Soma had always intended to dispose of Akutsu, one way or another. Too bad for the bastard that all those times he had cut up Akutsu, either in anger or due to some fucked up sexual pleasure, he had only hardened the younger man to the point that those bullets couldn’t fully take him out.

Once upon a time Akutsu had worn every scar as a badge of honor, but now he could only think of them with regret. Akutsu wondered if he hadn’t resolved to make himself useful to Soma, would he have just died sooner?

Akutsu stared at his empty alcohol bottles. Truthfully, he probably could have given everything to the homeless men he had gotten close with and they would have been thrilled. But it made him feel like it would just be turning them into alcoholics with no way to feed their crippling addiction and it could be bad. 

He was no closer to what he was going to say to Sugiura or Tsukumo. 

He remembered Sugiura telling Higashi about an ice cream maker he’d been looking at back when Akutsu first got to Ijincho. He had thought the two were so painfully dull in their personal lives, but he realized it was all anger and jealousy. They’d found each other, worked through whatever fucked up issues they had, and found enough trust in the other to make a life together. They could take a step back and find a level of normalcy in their respective lives, have a world just for them where they could be vulnerable with each other.

Akutsu knew little about Sugiura, but the way Tsukumo and Higashi spoke, he had a feeling his life wasn’t ideal in any way. He was beautiful, but Akutsu was sure now that there was tragedy behind that pretty face. It was not Sugiura’s fault that before years of stress and abuse, Soma had been just as visually striking and it was the face that Akutsu remembered falling in love with.

Tsukumo was perhaps the only normal person Akutsu had met in his life. He had no affiliations with yakuza, criminal gangs, anything. The man was smart and knew his way around any kind of technology, and it was fascinating to just watch him work. He just got so focused, like nothing else really mattered, and sometimes Akutsu wondered if maybe nothing else really did matter to Tsukumo once his work took over.

Akutsu was angry when Tsukumo told him about his affection for Yagami. Yagami was just a guy as far as Akutsu was concerned; if Tsukumo was into him, why not just go for it? Tsukumo didn’t want to bring Yagami down to his level, whatever the fuck that meant. Truthfully, Akutsu felt like Tsukumo was better than Yagami; he was quiet, nice, and the nerdy thing was surprisingly charming to Akutsu, though he was sure it’s because it was the total fucking opposite of the shit he was into. Yagami should be so lucky that someone like Tsukumo looked up to him.

And maybe it’s because once upon a time, Akutsu had a weird kind of worship towards Soma that he was upset over the whole thing. He knew that putting someone up on such a pedestal could never be a good thing; a healthy relationship was one where both parties were equal.

Tsukumo told Akutsu that Yagami had helped him in the past, and of course Akutsu had no idea what he meant by it. Of course he didn’t know what kind of trauma Sugiura dealt with in his life. Akutsu never asked about either of them. And yeah, it was only a couple of weeks they were together, but he could’ve at least acted like he cared.

Because deep down, he did. He was too angry, too clouded by judgment, too everything to realize how good he had it so he could rebuild himself and be the kind of guy he dreamed he might grow into as a kid. If someone went back in time and showed him who he’d grow up to become, he was sure he would’ve cried and thrown himself into traffic.

He didn’t want to be his uncle; mean, drunk, and blaming it all on everyone else. He joined in with the consortium so he could make something of himself, release all that pent up rage he’d amassed through the years. In the end he felt like he accomplished nothing and just found himself with even more anger and rage, but with less of a heart than when he began.

He was becoming his uncle.

“Fuck,” Akutsu muttered. If he had gotten his name on the lease of the apartment, he’d punch the wall, but he didn’t want Yokohama 99 paying for the damages. He’d have to at least get in touch with Tsukumo long enough to get the paperwork done, but even that felt like too big a task considering how Akutsu had acted.

Akutsu became dependent on Soma. He wished he hadn’t; one man shouldn’t have so much sway on another’s life. But he did, and Akutsu wondered who he’d be if he had never met Soma. What would he be doing right now if the consortium had just disbanded and he was left to his own devices?

“It’s the past,” Akutsu said, reaching a hand under his shirt and scratching his stomach. He had to face facts; as upset and hurt as he was, he couldn’t change what happened. He had met Soma, the man played him, made him think he was special. For too long, Akutsu thought. He would never get closure, and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to see Soma again to get it even if he could. He’d never get a straight answer from the man no matter what he asked anyway. 

He’d need to find his own closure and happiness. He knew he’d never have it when he was in the RK, resigned himself to just be as useful to Soma as he could. Until…

The day he died.

Akutsu slapped a hand to his face, let out a deep sigh. 

His closure was bittersweet. He had his answer. It was disappointing, but Akutsu had lived exactly as he had planned; to be useful to Soma until his dying breath. Somewhere Akutsu always knew he was nothing, but it was easier to lie when Soma was right there, patting his head and telling him he had done decently. Like Akutsu was a fucking dog, but he was happy for the approval because it came from Soma. Akutsu knew he did well if Soma was giving praise, rare as it was. 

His closure was there the whole time, but he didn’t want to admit it. It meant that the familiarity was gone and he was all by himself to just figure it out. Akutsu was a big man with a huge ego, he didn’t want to admit he was scared. He had autonomy and could make his own choices without anyone telling him if it was good enough or not. It was everything Akutsu had wanted, and he couldn’t appreciate it now that he had it. He was afraid that if he got too close and familiar, he’d get burned again, so he played it cool. And it had cost him what he was learning to care for.

But he could just change. He could apologize for being thick-headed and dumb. Did Sugiura and Tsukumo have to accept it? No. Even if they were still upset, it didn’t mean the end of the world. Akutsu didn’t have to live in fear that one wrong move would mean his death. 

He had been there and done it, he was still alive. 

He left his apartment. He didn’t know what he’d say, but he’d think of something as he made his way to Yokohama 99. He felt like his head was at least clear enough to start somewhere, and it would come together. Even if he fucked up, at least he could know he tried.

He’d figure it out somehow.

Chapter Text

Akutsu got to Yokohama 99. It was almost evening but he hoped he could catch both Sugiura and Tsukumo. The latter seemed like he lived in the office, but Sugiura had his own place and Akutsu wouldn’t have been shocked if his number was blocked should he want to call him over. 

He gave Ranpo a few pets before walking into the office. Tsukumo was, surprisingly, not at the computer. He was in one of the chairs reading a book. Akutsu saw several books on bullying lying around the office before, even overheard Tsukumo on the phone over some cases. Bullying seemed so high in Yokohama, he never really noticed. 

“Hey handsome,” Akutsu greeted. Flattery always worked as far as he was concerned and he felt like Tsukumo was the kind of person who could use it. He was smart, capable, and ran the agency pretty well. Tsukumo looked up at him, shock plastered on his face. 

“Me?” he asked. Akutsu laughed, took a seat on the couch, stretching his arms on the back of it. Of course it would surprise Tsukumo if anyone thought he was good looking. He didn’t seem like he was self-conscious, but Akutsu was sure looks weren’t high on the man’s list of priorities and he probably didn't get a lot of compliments. Akutsu from last year wouldn't have thought much just from looking at Tsukumo. Hell, Akutsu didn't think much when he first met the man two weeks ago.

“Yeah,” the older man said. Before he wanted to keep things cordial with Tsukumo, not say anything that could fuck up perhaps the one good relationship Akutsu had been able to maintain. He didn’t think being nice could hurt and he was even trying hard not to be so crass for Tsukumo’s sake. “I think if we brushed your hair and got you in some different clothes, you’d fucking kill it in the looks department.”

“Oh,” Tsukumo was blushing. Akutsu looked around, noted Sugiura was gone. It was still early and Sugiura tended to work until late anyway, so the man hoped he didn’t miss him. “Do you need something, Akutsu-san?”

“Yeah,” Akutsu said. He turned his attention back to Tsukumo. “Sugiura’s not done for the day, is he?”

“Oh, no. There have been some fights around the shelter where volunteers feed the homeless, so he’s investigating what’s going on,” Tsukumo explained. Homeless in-fighting, now that’s something Akutsu wanted to see. “But he’ll be back eventually.”

“Okay,” Akutsu wanted to get both detectives in one go, but he figured sitting in silence would be awkward and Tsukumo had things to do anyway. “Well, you’re here, so that works too. I wanted to apologize for being such a jackass. To you, Sugiura, even Yagami too. You had doubts about me but ignored your gut because the men you care about asked you to let me in, and I treated them like total shit, and in extension, I crossed boundaries with you. You’ve been nothing but good to me and I acted like I was above it all.”

“Wow,” Tsukumo looked surprised. Akutsu hadn’t apologized to anyone truly for a long time. Now and then he had a ‘ sorry ’ in his sleeve, but it was usually a half-assed apology that he only vaguely meant. But he meant it now; he was sorry for everything he’d done. It never occurred to him that the others cared and what he did made such a big difference.

“I won’t bore you with specifics or anything, but I did a lot of soul-searching, realized the chance Yagami wanted to give me to actually just… I don’t know, live whatever life I wanted,” Akutsu continued. “And I was too dumb to see that I was pushing away what I actually wanted, all because I was scared of what happened if I got comfortable again. I thought beating others to a pulp and intimidating people to do as I pleased was what I wanted, but it’s just what I got used to doing. It made me feel alive because I was good at it, and being good at it meant I could live longer.”

“And it turned you into a cold, heartless man with no compassion for others,” Tsukumo stated. 

It hurt when he said it like that, but he wasn’t wrong. He blamed Soma for all the wrong in his life, but it wasn’t him alone. Akutsu was just as hurtful as the man, just in different ways.

“Yeah,” Akutsu muttered. “But that’s not who I wanna be. Helping other people, it felt good. To know that even someone like me could change someone’s day and help them go on, it was different, but I never knew it would feel so good on the inside. And working with you and Sugiura, who are so smart and seem to live to help others, you both got me seeing what a different kind of life can do. And it's all I ever wanted.”

“You don’t need us to do good, Akutsu-san,” Tsukumo stated. 

“I don’t, but I want to be with you guys,” Akutsu said. “You and Sugiura mesh well. Like you’re on the same wavelength. I never had that with anyone even when Soma and I were working together. It was nice to feel like I could actually have people to lean on and talk to.”

“You couldn’t lean on the RK?” Tsukumo asked. He leaned forward, eyes focused on Akutsu. Tsukumo was a sucker for any kind of new information or knowledge; whatever would fill the databanks that was Tsukumo’s brain. 

“For all the shit I talked about the yakuza and never being able to move up with them, I still treated my men like shit,” Akutsu admitted. He was used to being treated like nothing, so he turned to act the same way. Akutsu knew he had to get himself together to end the cycle that he had gotten used to. “I could only lean on ‘em because they knew I could snap their necks, but I’m not sure we’d actually get on well if they didn’t work for me. They were dumb. Not that I’m the cover of genius or anything; that’s all you.”

“Really going hard for the flattery, huh?” Tsukumo smiled. Akutsu was laying it on a little thick, but he wasn’t trying to for once. He just really thought highly of Tsukumo. “I understand what you’re saying. Do you?”

Akutsu furrowed his eyebrows. Would he say it if he didn’t get it?

In the past, he would. He’d say whatever someone wanted to hear if it got him ahead. Sometimes he didn’t understand what he said, but could pair a sentence together and sound good. Tsukumo wanted to make sure he wasn’t being played. 

Akutsu wanted to be hurt, but he understood he had done damage by talking down to Yagami and Sugiura; Tsukumo wasn’t going to trust Akutsu just because the older man had been nice to him. Tsukumo would be respectful, but that didn’t mean trust was there.

“I’m saying that I’ve hurt a lot of people and done a lot of bad shit, but I want to change,” Akutsu said. “Not because the other side seems better now that Soma screwed me over, but because I got a taste of what life could be like and realized I want to be better. Maybe use whatever talents I have to do more than the lowest shit someone can think of. I can’t blame others for how I turned out when I’m not even trying to get past it now that I have the freedom to do so. And you all have been nothing but patient; I need to get my shit together.”

“Well, it seems like you’ve thought of it,” Tsukumo stated. Akutsu watched him. Tsukumo was the kind of man who just didn’t seem like he could tell a lie, but he also seemed like he had a good poker face. Akutsu couldn’t tell if Tsukumo believed him. 

“I’ve thought about a lot,” Akutsu admitted. Probably more thinking in the past few hours than he’d ever really thought in his life. He didn’t want to use empty words anymore; he needed to have meaning behind what he said if was going to get anywhere. “I’ll admit I ran into Higashi this morning. He might’ve helped to get through my thick skull.”

“A yakuza knows a yakuza best, after all,” Tsukumo laughed. “But you know, it doesn’t hurt to get help from others. Sometimes we can’t even know certain things about ourselves because we’re not the ones observing and witnessing it. You can’t rely on yourself all the time.”

“I know,” Akutsu muttered. He knew because he had had to rely on himself for so long. The Nikkyo Consortium treated him like another cog in the yakuza machine and Soma sure wasn't someone Akutsu ever felt like he relied on. Hell, he couldn't even rely on his uncle for a good meal, or anything really, during his childhood. He had lived so long on his own and he'd been blessed to finally have others he could rely on. And he prayed he could get that back. 

“I’m back, Tsukumo-kun!” Sugiura called from the hallway. When he walked in, he turned to Akutsu, stopped immediately. “You were fired.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there,” Akutsu replied. Sugiura took the seat next to Tsukumo. He stared at Akutsu, eyebrows furrowed but awaiting any further response. Akutsu took a deep breath. “Sugiura, I’m sorry I never gave you a chance. I just assumed you have everyone wrapped around your finger, like you don’t have your own demons. I mean, it’d be great if you didn’t, but I feel like to be in this line of work, you need to know how rough it is out there.”

“Pretty words from a piece of shit,” Sugiura said. 

“Sugiura-shi,” Tsukumo muttered, shooting a look at his partner. Sugiura glared at him, arms crossed over his chest.

“Why is everyone so quick to stop me from saying how I feel to this man?” he asked. Akutsu had to admit, Sugiura had quite the mouth on him. He didn’t care about blowback when he spoke his mind. “Are we so quick to forget all he’s done just because he’s decided to play nice for a little bit, if we can even call his attitude nice? ”

“He’s got a point,” Akutsu agreed. The other men looked at him. “I’ve been a shithead and acting like everyone else is the problem. I can’t expect you guys to accept me when I haven’t even proven I’ve changed. But Sugiura, I want you to know that I know I fucked up.”

“Easy to figure out when Tsukumo-kun drops your ass,” Sugiura quipped. Akutsu laughed heartily. He was not an easy audience, and truthfully, it was refreshing. Sugiura spoke so sharply because he cared about others. Tsukumo might’ve accepted what Akutsu said, but Sugiura had his doubts. Akutsu used to hate how sly and quick Sugiura was, but he had realized that he only acted that way because he was weary of Akutsu.

“Yeah, but I was still shitty after that. I had a heart to heart with Higashi, and it got me thinking about everything,” Akutsu explained. “I don’t think anything I say will change your mind, and I don’t even blame you for it considering everything I’ve said and done. But at the least, I want you to know that I’m truly sorry for how I’ve been and for what I’ve said to and about you. I don’t know you, and I haven’t even tried to know you. I just took one look and thought you must have it good, but now I know that maybe you have it good because you’ve had to work so hard for it.”

It sounded right. It didn’t sound like Akutsu, but he knew he couldn’t keep being the same man if he ever wanted to get anywhere that mattered. He had to be him, but he had to be a better him. His muscle and charm could only get him so far. They were good traits to have, but not if it’s all he relied on.

“And?” Sugiura questioned. He softened a bit, but his guard still remained. 

“And you don’t deserve me talking shit when you’re actually really good to the people you care about. I can’t pretend I’m better as a person when I’m thinking the worst of the guy who brought me in here,” Akutsu said. “You’ve actually overcome shit from your past, and I was just letting my own past cloud my judgment and stop me from actually being the person I wanna be.”

“And who do you want to be?” Sugiura asked. He and Tsukumo both asked the hard questions in different ways and it’s why they made such a good pair. 

“I don’t know, if I’m being honest,” Akutsu laughed. He hadn’t really figured that out. “But not the guy who lashes out at the people giving him a chance and letting him grow as a person.”

Sugiura laughed and got up. 

“I didn’t thinking forgiving some loser was going to be on my list of things to do today, but I guess it’s where I am right now,” he smiled and reached out to Akutsu. Akutsu stared at the pale hand, took it immediately and got up too. 

“Thank you, Sugiura,” Akutsu said.

“I’m not thrilled, but it’s how it is. It seems like you actually thought about something for once,” Sugiura smirked. He let go of Akutsu’s hand and turned his head to look at Tsukumo. “Do you forgive him, Tsukumo-kun?”

“Yes,” Tsukumo also stood up. He looked up at Akutsu. “If you’re so serious about changing, I’ll give you another chance here. But you can’t just speak nicely and expect we’ll go along with it.”

“I know all too well,” Akutsu smiled. Soma was the king of speaking in lies. He could speak so well, but it meant nothing, though Akutsu had fallen for all of it. Akutsu had to be better than that; act as well as he spoke. “Thank you, both of you. For being willing to hear me out despite what I’ve said and done. Not sure I deserve to be able to work with you two, but it means a lot.”

“Well, you know, it’s in our blood to hear people out and get to the bottom of things,” Sugiura explained. He looked Akutsu up and down. “You seem different too. Just a feeling I have, like something’s changed. So I know you mean it.”

“Oh, thanks,” Akutsu blushed. That he could seem like he meant well and wasn’t giving off the feeling of intimidation, it felt good. Akutsu always knew he was a brute and could play the part, and despite being upset Kaito would never join the RK, it was kind of nice that someone like him was able to become a good guy and fully embrace civilian life. Even when part of the RK, Akutsu hoped maybe he could get along with the man. He thought they could have a good rapport.

Though he was sure trying to murder Yagami kind of lowered his standing in Kaito’s eyes.

Akutsu had promised practically a civilian’s life being in the RK, but even he wasn’t sure he ever believed it. It sure seemed like they did a lot of thug shit for them to ever consider normal lives. Sometimes Akutsu wondered how some of the guys were doing; at least the pretty boys they’d hired to keep their hostesses around, they seemed genuinely nice. 

“Hey, what happened to the homeless in-fighting you were checking out?” Akutsu asked. Sugiura laughed and sat at his desk.

“Man, just some normal dudes looking for free food,” Sugiura said. “They’d walk in like they were the cream of the crop, cut in line and try to go for seconds. Some of the older homeless guys didn’t take well to it and tried to call them out, and then it just became constant feuding. But it’s all good now.”

“Shit, kinda wish I’d been there to sort those fucks out. Taking from guys who could use the food,” Akutsu muttered. Some of the guys he’d sent out to Ijincho never reported back in and Akutsu assumed they jumped ship. He wondered if they ended up as more homeless in the city.

Despite giving his guys a hard time, Akutsu did kind of care. They were dumb and bad at keeping to the shadows when they had to watch people, but they seemed loyal to the cause. Hell, they even seemed to all get along and enjoy each other. They got along with Akutsu as well, but it just wasn’t the same at all.

It didn’t matter now. What mattered is Akutsu had seen a better outcome and he was willing to work for it. He actually had a chance to live a good life, not the empty promise of one that Soma had given him when he was first invited to the fray. Akutsu wasn’t going to be held back by the violent tendencies he had honed just to survive; he’d do better and prove he could change.

He felt he owed it to himself.

Chapter Text

It was the six week mark of when Akutsu had joined in with Yokohama 99. He felt true happiness with his job; not just doing the work and knowing he did something, but knowing he helped someone felt…

Well, it felt good.

He didn’t care how the person got into their predicament, more that he could get them out of it. He had a curiosity, and sometimes he asked questions if he had a bad feeling in his gut, but he cared more about making the client happy. 

It was the grand opening of the Ijincho branch of Charles. Higashi, that son of a bitch, he’d finally finished all his busy work and was opening up to select people. So of course Yokohama 99 got an invite. Tsukumo even closed early to go. Akutsu asked about the special occasion, as the younger man rarely went out, and Tsukumo told him he would celebrate any of his friends’ happy occasions. 

Akutsu was learning to appreciate the people around him. He stuck around even after his allotted cases were done, and truthfully, he loved that he felt something with these men he worked with daily. And he appreciated the guys in RK too, but he felt like he’d needed to let them keep a healthy fear. Akutsu’s neck had been on the line if they fucked up. But he let himself be part of the conversation now, no longer felt like he was the odd man out without even trying to do anything about it. It felt good sharing himself with Tsukumo and Sugiura.

At the arcade, a familiar clerk stood behind the counter.

“S-Suzuki-san!?” Sugiura asked. Akutsu glared. This stupid NPC-lookin’ ass had nothing but rude things to say to Akutsu back when he had just casually been trying to recruit for the RK. He said Akutsu’s shirt was tacky and his tattoos were stupid. How Akutsu didn’t snap the man in half, he didn’t know. “I thought you were taking care of the Kamurocho branch!”

“Hey, Sugiura-kun!” Suzuki greeted. He walked over, eyed Tsukumo and Akutsu briefly before turning back to the ex-thief. “I am taking care of the arcade there, just goofing around a little because I was invited! I’m so proud of aniki; I know how tirelessly he’s been working to get this place up and running.”

“So do you have run of Charles in Kamurocho now?” Sugiura asked. 

“Yeah! I’ll miss Higashi-aniki, but it’s gonna be better for him,” Suzuki said. He turned when he heard footsteps. Higashi walked up to the group, smiled at everyone. “Aniki!”

“Hey,” Higashi greeted. He put an arm around Sugiura. Akutsu made peace with himself, actually thought it was kind of sweet what Higashi and Sugiura had. He’d learned about Sugiura’s past, his whole place during the AD-9 case. Some plucky ex-thief and some tough talking ex-yakuza finding solace in each other after a fucked up case?

Fuck, if they were happy and it kept Sugiura’s spirits high after all the shit he’d been through in his life, Akutsu was all about it. Besides, they were a good looking couple and matched each other in a way.

“This place is lookin’ pretty good, Higashi!” Akutsu exclaimed. It didn’t have the dirty, musty, old children’s wallpaper that looked like it was about to peel off any second. The machines looked new, the wallpaper was still bright but more modern, and the air seemed fresh. “Shit, I might even hang out here after work.”

“Good. I hope you lose a lot so I can make good money,” Higashi grinned. Despite his words, he just seemed more playful than anything else. Akutsu figured Sugiura talked when they got home; Higashi hopefully heard that Akutsu was trying his best and treating the younger detective well. And truthfully, Akutsu owed some of it to the older man; he had taken the time to talk things through with Akutsu, help him to figure out his soul-searching.

“Yeah, yeah,” Akutsu muttered. He clapped a hand on Sugiura’s shoulder before making his way through the arcade. Charles of Kamurocho was a dinky little arcade with old games, but this new one was bigger and had a decent share of different games. Hell, they had up-to-date UFO Catchers! Akutsu stopped to look at what it offered.

“Get me something,” Akutsu turned, noticed Tsukumo behind him. 

“Really?” Akutsu asked. Tsukumo liked anime, loved his magical girl figurines. He didn’t talk about it a lot, and it surprisingly didn’t seem to bleed into Tsukumo’s life and take over. Akutsu had learned Tsukumo had been a shut-in since middle school, only got out because he’d met Yagami and the man had introduced him to a better life. 

The idolization of the detective made sense to Akutsu afterwards, though he still felt like in some ways, Tsukumo was better than Yagami and he wasn’t some lowly being that would bring the man down. Akutsu might’ve been biased, though. But fuck, at least he got it now. And it’s not like Akutsu could talk; the man he had idolized was a fucking monster. Yagami was a gem, really. 

But Akutsu felt like no one, least of all Tsukumo, should put anyone on that kind of pedestal, but at least he got it now. And if Tsukumo was happy, Akutsu wasn’t going to question whatever they had going on.

“Really,” Tsukumo replied. 

“Uh, okay,” shit, now the pressure was on. “Want anything in particular?”

“Not really,” Tsukumo smiled. He was eyeing something near the center. Akutsu looked in. Was it the big, fat stuffed leopard with its stupidly cute button eyes? Really? He looked at the younger man. “Come on, you do a good job getting things done, right?”

“ Please,” Akutsu rolled his shoulder and cracked his neck. He put money in the machine, cracked his fingers. “Do you play these, Tsukumo?”

“Uh, no,” Tsukumo said. He glanced down at his left hand, and Akutsu remembered he talked about men coming in and breaking his pinky. Akutsu had some questions about it, but he never knew how to ask and, back then, wasn’t sure he cared all too much about knowing. 

He wondered how hindering it had been. Akutsu had broken a lot of things in his past, but he kind of had to work through it because broken bones or not, yakuza didn’t get time off. And Akutsu couldn’t say he knew a ton about computers, but he’d caught Tsukumo in a frenzy when it came to typing; his pinky did a lot of labor. Tsukumo always seemed like he tried to take it easy with his left pinky, but it seemed to recover more and more as time went on.

“If I get you a thing, can I ask you a thing?” Akutsu asked. He sounded so dumb, but words never were his forte. He was better now about how he spoke; less rough, a little more thoughtful. He tried to do better for his co-workers, and it felt like it was really paying off. They got along better than ever. 

“You could ask me even if you didn’t get me a thing,” Tsukumo answered. Akutsu could swear he winked, but it might’ve just been him. “But if you win, I’ll definitely answer whatever you want.”

“Cool,” Akutsu stretched his fingers before focusing on the leopard. It had a big, fat, stupid body that was too big for the claws, but its head seemed the right size. Akutsu and Sugiura had been tailing a guy at the Sasaki arcade a week before, they had to play natural as they kept watch on him. Sugiura had spent a little too much money at the UFO Catcher for some jumbo Bun-chan, and Akutsu witnessed the many failings as Sugiura attempted to claw its body, so he felt like he knew some weaknesses in the machine. 

A few thousand yen later, Akutsu finally got the leopard. Truthfully, he found it fascinating, the angles and precision needed for the game. It always kind of felt like a scam to him, but he kind of understood how Sugiura seemed to be addicted now. 

“Oh, thank you,” Tsukumo said as Akutsu handed him the leopard. He smiled as he held it up, squished it and hugged it. He seemed so happy and Akutsu couldn’t help but be proud that it was because of him. Making others happy had become addictive to the man. “It kind of reminds me of you.”

“O-oh?” Akutsu had heard it before from Soma, the last time he had gotten a prize from a UFO Catcher. It might’ve made the impression that the game was a scam. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reminded himself it was Tsukumo and he would never be so cruel. 

“It’s cute,” Tsukumo stated. Akutsu opened his eyes, was taken aback. Cute? It was better than being called stupid and pathetic, but he thought he was rugged if anything. “It’s big and cute, gentle despite how it looks. And its eyes are probably the best part.”

“Are you trying to flirt with me?” Akutsu asked. Honestly though, it was nice that Akutsu’s past attempt to get something nice for his old boss could potentially be replaced with this nicer memory. It didn’t erase what happened, but Tsukumo just seemed happy and it would stick with Akutsu. He was trying to see the positive in things more. 

“If you choose to see it that way, then sure,” it felt like a non-answer, but Tsukumo was logical and possibly saw Akutsu’s eyes as his best feature. Still, a compliment was a compliment and Akutsu would take it.

“Well, you have nice eyes too,” Akutsu grinned. 

“Did you have a question, Akutsu-san?” Tsukumo asked. Fuck, he just couldn’t take a compliment, could he? Akutsu wasn’t even trying to be flirty. Maybe a little, but he tried to play it cool; when Tsukumo told him not to flirt way back when, Akutsu tried to be good and listen. But it was just kind of in his blood to be a little flirty if someone caught his interest, and Tsukumo was interesting. 

Right. His question. He looked at Tsukumo’s hand that was currently tucked into the stupid leopard’s fur. 

“Was it RK that broke your pinky?” Akutsu asked. He’d feel bad if it was his guys that had hurt Tsukumo and Sugiura. Sugiura had briefly mentioned it once before; some guys came in and took out Sugiura with a bat to the head, then went for Tsukumo, left him scared and alone in the dark. Sugiura didn’t have the specifics because he was knocked out, but just talking about it seemed to get his blood boiling. 

It had apparently happened when Akutsu was still up and around, but truthfully, he didn’t know the timeline. He felt bad that he had said anything against Sugiura about it. Having heard his story and knowing now how Sugiura tried to better himself to overcome his past, Akutsu felt horrible ever assuming he had it good just because he happened to be disgustingly attractive. Just because Akutsu couldn’t get over himself.

“No. You guys weren’t even in Yokohama yet,” Tsukumo said. He sighed, leaned back against the UFO Catcher. “It was a group that was being blackmailed by someone we thought was on our side. Kuwana-san, though you’d know him as Kitakata-san. He thought if he had his guys come in and hurt me and Sugiura-shi, Yagami-shi would back away from the case.”

“Oh,” it sounded so cruel. He and Soma had gone after their fair share of guys, did a lot of hurt, but the fuckers they were always doing hits on seemed like legitimately horrible people anyway. But to go after Tsukumo and Sugiura, not even because they were doing anything, but because they knew Yagami and were just helping him. It sounded so much like that teacher, Sawa. Soma killed her because she knew Kitakata and might have gotten to the truth. “I’m sorry it happened.”

“We survived,” Tsukumo said. 

“Yeah, but it was someone you trusted who did it. Kind of. It must’ve hurt,” Akutsu felt like he could understand. He was betrayed by Soma, but still survived. And it hurt that someone he’d known and worked with for so long had no issue throwing him away. Akutsu didn’t know how long they knew Kitakata, but betrayal hurt no matter how small. 

“I suppose we have that in common,” Tsukumo laughed nervously. Akutsu laughed as well. Tsukumo had a dark sense of humor and it always amused Akutsu when he came out with something. “Anyway, thank you for getting me this.”

“You got a thing for leopards, huh?” Akutsu winked. Tsukumo stared and Akutsu felt like maybe he was crossing the line. He tried not to, wanted to stay on Tsukumo’s good side because he didn’t want to fuck things up again. But it was kind of fun too, and he felt like now and then Tsukumo could probably use the confidence boost. 

“I suppose I might,” Tsukumo mumbled. Akutsu smiled and turned around. He didn’t want Tsukumo to feel like he was playing with him, but it was fun to just mess around a bit, just have fun with someone else. It felt normal, especially for someone his age. He looked around.

“I don’t see Kaito or Yagami. Figured Higashi would definitely invite them,” Akutsu stated. He looked around, saw Sugiura playing a game, noticed Higashi schmoozing with some locals. It seemed so lively and normal. It was the kind of life Akutsu had talked to Kaito about back when he attempted to get him to join in the RK ranks; a normal civilian’s life. A part of him never really believed it would happen, but Akutsu wanted to pretend it was a possibility.

And now he had that life.

“I think Yagami-shi mentioned having some cases he’d gotten from the Genda law office,” Tsukumo said. “They’ll be around later. They’d never miss this for Higashi-san.”

Akutsu looked at him. Yagami just seemed like such a bum sometimes, talked as if his agency was suffering. In retrospect, Yokohama 99 always had a steady amount of jobs; it seemed like a lot when Akutsu first joined in, but Tsukumo told him his participation really cut the work down and kept clients satisfied. 

Akutsu felt like he was making a difference because he was. When he could get over himself and actively participate in life, he found out how much he could enjoy it. Not for anyone else, but for him. 

“You know,” Akutsu said, “when I first got out of the hospital, Yagami and Sugiura took me to Charles over in Kamurocho to see if I could get a job there. I’m glad Higashi threw a fit, because it meant I got to work with you guys.”

“Oh, right. Sugiura-shi had said it was a possibility you wouldn’t even come around at all, though he also told me he knew Higashi-san would never go for it,” Tsukumo explained. “Truthfully, I hoped he’d hire you. I wasn’t sure I was ready to ever meet you.”

Tsukumo was so truthful about things. Akutsu wondered if it was even in the man to lie; sometimes he just seemed a little like a robot, but it felt like a testament to how smart and logical he was. 

“And I wasn’t sure how I felt about you either, but I’m glad it worked out anyway. You’re a way better boss than Soma could ever be,” Akutsu grinned. Tsukumo looked shocked.

“You two sounded like you had some fun,” he stated. Akutsu laughed. He had told Tsukumo he’d slept with Soma before, but Tsukumo didn’t know the whole story and, frankly, probably didn’t need to. “I can’t be that fun. You’d break me.”

“Tsukumo!” Akutsu exclaimed, laughing. He felt like he could keel over and die laughing. It felt good to be so happy again. “Tsukumo, don’t compare yourself to Soma. You’re better in every way. Besides, I’m a gentleman and I can be surprisingly gentle, so you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about it.”

Tsukumo was blushing. Sugiura came over, a smile on his face.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. He looked from Tsukumo to Akutsu. “You two look like it’s a fun time over here. Are we sharing fun secrets?”

“No,” Tsukumo said, hand over his heart. Akutsu felt a little proud that he still had his charms. 

“Sugiura, this place is great, right? You must be so proud of Higashi,” he said. Yagami once told him he underestimated a man in love, and he did. He didn’t know love, and he had no one to really show him what it could be. Truthfully, he felt like it turned people stupid. But Sugiura and Higashi both seemed pretty normal and it seemed like the love they both found had strengthened them as people.

Akutsu felt like he was finding his own love for both Sugiura and Tsukumo.

“He’s been through so much and things were rough for some time,” Sugiura replied. He put his hands on his hips. “There was a huge rough patch after Matsugane-san died, and he wasn’t sure if the arcade would make it, but he did his best anyway. He definitely turned it around, and I’m so happy that he’s making it work. It means a lot to him, so it means a lot to me. He’s come a long way.”

“You both have, Sugiura-shi,” Tsukumo said. 

“Tsukumo-kun, you’re making me blush!” Sugiura threw an arm around the older man’s shoulders. He looked at Akutsu, threw his other arm out. “Akutsu-san, you get in here too.”

Akutsu laughed and came in closer. It was an awkward group hug, but he didn’t mind. Sugiura laughed too, and Tsukumo joined in.

“We’ve all come a long way,” Sugiura said. He had his arm around both of them, Akutsu bending a bit so Sugiura didn’t have trouble including him. “We’ll show Ijincho how much more we can grow!”

Akutsu closed his eyes. This was what he always wanted. A place he belonged, where he felt loved. He’d made his mistakes, and he knew there’d be more in the future. But it felt bright, and he had people he could fall back on that would help him out. He had this second chance to live how he wanted, and he was going to fight like hell to make it a good one.