Work Text:
This was supposed to be a typical day. Maybe even a good one. Unfortunately, Shidou Ryusei's life was hard. A typical day hardly begins with finding a body with a bullet through the chest at your door. And the morning was promising. God seems to be mocking him. He would even be upset if he believed in it. However, since the belief in good things brought him nothing but pain, Shidou had no intention of living according to the commandments.
But still, what should he do with this guy? Calling the police is definitely not an option, he will immediately go to the station. Perhaps it was worth faking his identity for just such situations, as his boss had recommended. But that didn't seem necessary when Mikage Reo himself, who controlled two-thirds of the city, covered him as one of the best mercenaries. Dropping the body somewhere sounds easier, but there's a chance to get caught. Although, if you call the cleaners, you won't have to work too hard. However, then you need to drag the body into the house to hide it.
Ryusei examines the body and realizes that the person is alive. A guy in a business suit, with red hair and a pretty face. He is pale and cold as a corpse, but surprisingly alive. His heart is beating slowly. He has some breathing, though it's ragged. A lot of blood flowed out.
"Fuck!" Shidou will have to wipe the blood off the doorstep. Ryusei, of course, is used to it, but he seems to have a day off. And why couldn't he spend it quietly? The guy sighs in exasperation and drags the half-corpse into the house.
Ryusei's house looks uninhabited. The guy often changes his place of residence due to work, so he tries to leave as few details as possible that can tell about him. No paintings or specific style in the choice of furniture. A tasteless home for a boring person. At least at first glance, because the weapon in the basement is hinting at something.
Shidou lays the body on the bright pink carpet in the living room without ceremony. He'd always wanted to buy something simpler anyway.
Upon a quick examination of the wounded man's face, he looked familiar to Ryusei. Did a colleague wind up in his neighborhood? Hell, if he really was his companion, it would be a hard time when he died. Mikage will probably be against losing reliable employees. Can he just send the photo to Eita Otoe for identification? Or is it better to call him here? How much trouble is this half-dead motherfucker causing?
Complaining under his breath, Ryusei examines the body for weapons: two throwing knives in his sleeves and a pistol in his bosom. Not bad finds! Weapons are quite high-quality, so a simple layman can not buy this. It seems that Redhead is also a mercenary. Shidou keeps two knives for himself and, after checking the gun for ammo, takes it to the basement.
On examination, it also turned out that the bullet hit the collarbone and went through. The chances of survival are there. All he had to do was call Eita and report what had happened.
After a brief phone conversation, Otoya says that he knows someone who fits the description. But if he is really who Eita thinks he is, then they need to patch up the guy and report back to the boss.
Saying that the doctor and cleaner are on him, Eita says goodbye.
Ryusei only hopes that the body in his living room doesn't belong to Nagi Seishiro. Shidou had never met him. Usually, the guy is referred to as Mikage's right-hand man, and also as the most disgusting person for their job. But the boss value him, which means that no one can touch him or take his place.
After sitting for ten minutes over a cup of coffee, Ryusei realizes that the doctor will not arrive soon. Apparently, Shido will have to give first aid. How is it done there? Usually, the guy only received bullets in the field. The maximum first aid for him is the application of a tourniquet. But the blood from the Redhead is no longer flowing, which means that the tourniquet is unlikely to help in any way. Should he treat the wound and wrap it up in this case? Apparently.
Ryusei goes to the bathroom and takes out a first aid kit from under the sink. There isn't much in the iron box. Mostly alcohol and painkillers, but also bandages are available. Shidou takes the box and carries it to the living room.
Ryusei removes the bloodstained shirt from the body and disinfects the wound with alcohol. Readhead's face twists in pain, and his muscles tighten. Apparently pouring alcohol on an open wound wasn't the best idea. Shidou will take this into account next time, although he hopes it won't happen again. Ryusei finishes the disinfection and turns back to the medicine cabinet, trying to find the iodine in it. A fist smashes into the face that is examining the contents of the box. A few drops of blood fly out of my nose and onto the floor.
"Fuck!" Ryusei shouts, either in pain or surprise. He immediately pulls himself together and pulls out a knife that belonged to a colleague earlier. He's not going to kill him, of course. At least not in your apartment. However, to frighten the reptile, or leave a scar as a souvenir, no one forbade. And Shidou never really followed the rules.
"Who are you? Who do you work for?" Readhead asks, his eyes blazing with rage. The guy stands up and raises his right hand for a punch. It's supposed to be a fighting stance, but it's wrong because Red can't move his left arm because he's injured. He quickly puts his hand behind his back, checking the gun. Unfortunately for him, it's already withdrawn, so his right hand goes up to protect his face.
"I'm Shidou Ryusei. You'd better remember that name. Who are you?" he sounds a little too familiar for the situation. But only Shidou is armed in this room, and Redhead is half a head shorter. He certainly looks like a hardened criminal, but purely because of his weight, Shidou could have won.
"Tch" clicks tongue red, but it looks like some relaxing and change the pose. He says: "You don't look like Rin's toy, " but he says it more to himself than to Shidou.
"I never was," Shido says. He still has the knife in his hand, but he doesn't plan to attack. Rin Itoshi, who Readhead is talking about, is the second son of the Itoshi mafia family. He was famous for his skill in fightings, but he wasn't good enough for anything else. Itoshi's heir was supposed to be Sae Itoshi - the first son and, as rumor has it, a brilliant diplomat and ruthless killer.
"Then take me to your master, whelp. Your boss is Mikage, isn't he?"
"You aim too high for a mercenary."
"I hate working with dumbs. I'm Sae Itoshi. You better remember that, " he says irritably, and Shidou's world starts to crumble.
Sae Itoshi, Itoshi's heir who was threatened with a knife by Ryusei, stands in his living room with a bullet through his collarbone. He's fucked up. It will be torn apart by dogs. Maybe they'll cook it in the oven and serve it for dinner. Depending on the tastes of Sae. But he definitely won't be alive by the end of the day.
"Report me to Mikage. He has to make an appointment at the hospital.
"My colleague is coming here with a doctor. I'm sure he's already informed the boss, so you should wait. Should I continue treating you? Shidou asks with forced calmness, hiding the mess in his head. He wouldn't be killed if he helped him, would he? Stupid, they kill for anything in this area. He's dead.
"I don't want a whelp touching me."
In an attempt to improve the situation, Ryusei offers Itoshi painkillers. Surprisingly, he takes them. After a thorough inspection of both the packaging and the pills themselves, the young heir takes the medicine, and then asks for the return of his weapon. Shidou immediately returns the knives and goes to get the gun in the basement. It's a bad idea to give a firearm to someone you've threatened, but they already have one foot in the grave. It definitely won't get any worse. After Shidou returned with the gun, Itoshi demanded new clothes. Makes sense. He couldn't be driving around town in a bloody suit. Ryusei brings him a shirt and trousers, then dresses in a business suit himself. He also takes the gun for himself. I'm not sure why, but he'll be more comfortable with a gun
A few minutes later, Otoya and doctor Barou Shoei arrive, along with a cleaner whose name Ryusei doesn't know.
Shidou and Itoshi immediately get into the minivan while the cleaner picks up tools and cleaning supplies from the trunk. Baru takes out his first aid kit and provides first aid in the car.
"Where are we going?" Itoshi asks. His face turned a little pink. The guy looks less and less like a corpse.
"An underground hospital in neutral territory," Otoya replies.
"Not bad. I have to meet Mikage. Did you tell him?"
"Yes, the boss will meet you at the hospital in thirty minutes.
Itoshi asks for Ryusei's phone and checks the time. He is not going to give away his mobile device. At least not anytime soon.
The rest of the road passes in silence.
Arriving at the hospital, Itoshi and Baru go to the ward when Eita and Ryusei are waiting for them in the corridor.
"What the fuck, Ryusei?" Otoya begins the conversation eloquently.
"You think I know? I had a half-corpse lying under my door, which turned out to be Itoshi's heir!" Not hiding the accumulated stress, the guy says.
"And why the hell did you involve me in this? Don't you think I have more important things to do than deal with your shit?"
"Watch your words. I already have one foot in the grave and I won't hesitate to drag you along if I have to, " Shido takes out all his anger on his friend.
"As always, you're too impetuous, Ryusei," Mikage says to as they enter the floor. "Info, Eita"
"Yes, boss. Itoshi Sae was found with a bullet through his collarbone outside Ryusei's house. Apparently, he was attacked by Itoshi Rin's men. Now Barou is being treated in the third ward. He said Sae will survive."
"Very well, Eita. You can go, " Mikage says, and goes into the wounded man's room.
*****
Seeing Reo in Mikage's room, Barou hurriedly leaves after finishing bandaging Sae. Only Itoshi's heir and head Mikage remain in the room.
"Good to see you, Itoshi Sae."
"Likewise, Mikage Reo."
"You didn't just end up on my territory, did you?"
"That's right, the plan was to talk to a few mercenaries and negotiate a division of the outskirts with you. You know that most of them belong to us, but your people don't seem to understand that."
" I'm sure we would have come to an agreement in that case. But it seems your brother was against it."
"There's no way that lukewarm would turn on me. It's about his entourage who got out of hand."
"Yeah, I heard something about the geniuses Yoichi and Megura getting away with everything because of Rin's patronage."
"That's the whole point, but even if I'm gone, my father will never make him the heir. He is not ready for this."
"Interesting. So what territories did you want to talk about?"
*****
"Good luck to not dying, Ryusei. I'm leaving, " Otoya said with a smile, then left.
Shidou was left standing and thinking about the not-so-good things that might have happened to him. He could have talked to Barou, but doctors like him always looked down on mercenaries. Nor is Barou an easy person to talk to. So Shidou stood in the corridor of the underground hospital in silence, counting the remaining moments.
Soon, Mikage asked Ryusei to come to the ward. As he passed through the door, he saw Itoshi sitting there with a much healthier complexion.
"Do you know what you did wrong? the heir said.
" Yes, sir. I dared to threaten you, and I am sorry."
"Empty words won't help you, but actions will. I hear you're quite talented. If you agree to work for me, you'll live a little longer, " Itoshi suggested. Shidou fell into a stupor. He glanced at Reo, looking for disapproval or something, but found nothing but a businesslike smile. Ryusei remained silent until Itoshi continued: "Come on, my people have been killed, and your life is in my hands. You'd better be my loyal dog.Maybe you can replace my injured arm then."
"Yes, boss! Ryusei Shido snapped as he got down on one knee."
"Very well, my demon."