Chapter Text
“Heyy, another bowl right here, boss!”
Noodles dropped into the hot water – forty seconds on the clock. Take the chashu out and cut four slices; scoop one egg out of the soy sauce, cut it in half.
Twenty seconds left. Two spoons of tare into the bowl; a dash of hot oil; half a stalk of green onion, sliced thin at an angle. Finally, three ladlefuls of miso broth.
The timer rings, and with one swift motion he picks the basket out of the water bath, whacking it down in the air to remove most of the water. He gently lays it down in the bowl, then quickly places the chashu on one side, the egg right next to it, the green onions on top of the noodles – right, bamboo shoots – he grabs a handful with his tongs, and places it opposite the pork.
“Here,” he places the bowl on the table, “Spicy miso.”
“Wow, looks yummy!” Akame exclaims happily, “Can I have a bit more garlic, too?”
“Sheesh,” Tsuruno picks up his container of minced garlic, “Here, suit yourself.”
“Thank you,” she puts a heaping teaspoon into her bowl before mixing it in, dark globs of tare and yellow noodles and garlic pieces swirling together like a tornado. “Itadakimasu!”
“Seriously,” he shakes his head as he puts his knife back in place, “Never seen a woman eat as much as you, Akame-chan.”
“Hey, don’t give me that!” she pouts, “I’m trying to support you here!”
Tsuruno frowns, “You saying the ramen sucks?”
“Definitely too salty sometimes,” she replies as she places the egg onto her spoon, “But not today! That’s why I got a second bowl, see.”
“I swear, I always use the same amount of salt…”
“Evening,” two more customers walk in and take their seats. “The usual, please.”
“Ya want some beer with that?”
“Yes please.” “You know us so well, Tsuruno-han!”
Back to work. With practiced movements he picks up two bowls, placing them on the tray.
Three years ago he never would have imagined himself doing something as mundane as running a ramen shop. He was out on the streets, checking in on the Watase Family’s properties, recruiting fighters for the Castle, visiting the patriarch in prison every other month.
“Dissolution?”
He remembers standing over Iwao Bridge, watching the reflection of the city lights in the water. A cool night near the end of summer, before it became too chilly to walk around at night.
“What does that mean?”
“Well, what do you think it means?” Tsuruno sighed, “No more of this. We all go our separate ways.”
Shishido stood next to him, staring at the water below. He took a glance at him, waiting for him to say anything else, but the boy was quiet, thinking. At the time he thought he was just digesting the news – at least his immediate reaction wasn’t anger, and that was good enough at the time.
“How about the Castle?”
“Haven’t thought that far,” he replied. “The patriarch is thinking about it, though. Worried that Nishitani would try to stop him.”
“I can see that happening,” Shishido nodded slowly, “So you’ll do it?”
“I mean, with everything going on right now, there’s not much choice, is there?” Tsuruno told him then, “Better to go out now in glory, rather than wait for the cops to beat down.”
Shishido must know it’s true – the end was looming, and the crackdown already hit some of the smaller families. But he didn’t say anything – he was quiet again, gazing at the river.
Nowadays Tsuruno finds himself thinking about that conversation more than before. What was going on in that boy’s head? At that point, did he already decide he wasn’t going to accept the dissolution? Why didn’t he say anything, then?
“Just let me know how I can help, captain.”
Did Shishido really say that, or did he remember that wrong?
The timer dings – shit, he hasn’t cut the green onions. He hurriedly pulls up the noodles, sliding them into the broth before he grabs his knife. Chop chop.
“Here you are, two miso ramen with extra pork,” he places the bowls down, “Give me a sec to grab your beer.”
“Thanks for the meal!” He looks up, but Akame’s already gotten up from her seat, heading out.
“Don’t forget your tab next week, Akame-chan!” he yells out, “Careful on your way home, yeah?”
Ten more minutes to ten PM – Tsuruno lets out a long sigh as he lights a cigarette. Nobody else usually comes in at this time, so he can do whatever he wants.
He picks up the container of garlic he gave Akame earlier, putting it back in its place. There’s just dishes to do and a bit of cleaning, then he’s all set to go home. He puts on his rubber gloves and squeezes some soap onto the bowls before turning the water on.
It’s honestly not so bad. More tiring than being a yakuza, maybe, but he knew that was going to be the case when trying to make an honest living. Besides, it’s kind of nice not having to answer to anyone. If he wanted to take a break tomorrow he could just put up a sign outside and go about his day.
He picks up the bowls one by one, scraping the food off with a sponge. Doing the dishes is admittedly boring, but there’s something relaxing about the mundanity of the task, and having no time constraints make it almost meditative.
It’s been a little over a year now since he started this shop… Maybe it’s time to hire someone to help, preferably someone young and less grumpy. It’s nice having regulars, but he knows his appearance can be a little intimidating. Honestly, Akame would be perfect for the job – that girl never seems to run out of energy – but there’s no way she would want to do something like this, plus she’s busy with her own network already. Maybe he could ask her to find someone fit for the job?
Shishido comes to mind. He would be pretty good for that job, too.Unfortunately he doesn’t look any less intimidating than Tsuruno, but that boy is a smooth talker, always popular with the ladies. Sure, he can’t cook to save his life, but that can be taught. He doesn’t even need to worry about that part – hell, he won’t even have to worry about what to have for lunch and dinner ever again. Though he would probably get sick of eating ramen everyday…
He pauses to unclog the sink as he glances at the clock – it’s ten PM now. Just a few more plates and utensils to wash, wipe down the countertops, then he can turn off the lights and go home. Maybe he’ll stop by the store to get a magazine on his way back – damn, he’s really become the stereotypical middle-aged man, huh?
He feels his phone buzz in his pocket – he quickly takes the glove off his right hand, fishing it out from the pocket of his apron.
“Hello? Tsuruno speaking,” he turns off the faucet, “Oh, Majima-san. You’re in town tonight? Right, right, karaoke sounds fun, but give me a sec to go home and shower…”
In the corner of his eye he notices the curtains fluttering, and he quickly lowers his phone. “Hey, sorry, man. I’m actually about to–”
He feels his heart drop to his gut as a familiar face peeks through the curtain, and the moment his guest realizes who he was looking at he stops, too, the color draining from his face.
He hasn’t changed at all – his nerdy hairstyle, his sharp eyes, the scars on his face – maybe just a bit skinnier. But he’s not wearing his puffy jacket, he’s wearing an all black suit of all things, which is definitely a new look for him – what kind of job is making him wear that, who on earth picked that out for him – no, fuck, that’s not the point, more importantly, he’s been in this city all this time and nobody has ever seen him? Not Tsuruno himself, although he nearly turned the whole place upside down searching for him; not Akame, either, with her fancy cameras and her whole network of informants.
It all happened so fast. One moment he was wobbling towards the car, helping Watase get in; the next moment he turned around, and Shishido was nowhere to be found. Everyone else was still there, either knocked out or writhing in pain, except for him.
“ Probably ran off somewhere,” someone told him then, he can’t remember who – knew it was bullshit. He couldn’t have gotten up and run off by himself, not with all his wounds.
“Why bother anyway? That kid doesn’t even like you.”
“Shishido,” he quickly turns for the back door, but he can tell Shishido’s already turning tail to flee, “Hey, Shishido! Wait!”
It’s not as simple as that. That boy was born into a ruthless, lonely world, with nothing to rely on except his own strength. Nobody should have to live like that. That’s what family – that’s what brothers are for, right?
They were going to take everything away, destroy the only world that he ever knew. How was he supposed to accept that lying down?
In that sense he probably thinks Tsuruno betrayed him first, and he would be right.
“Shishido!”
Tsuruno frantically runs out of the alleyway as fast as his legs can carry him, eyes darting around, scanning the crowd for his towering figure,
but he was gone, as if the city had swallowed him.