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A small, delicate snowflake landed on the visibly reddened skin of the person between it's way to the ground. It melted as quickly as it had come to earth, sliding down from the tip of the nose like a drop of cold water. Rindou couldn't suppress a smile and pulled his warm coat tighter around his shivering shoulders. When had it last snowed so much in Tokyo? The flamboyant delinquent couldn't really remember such a beautiful white winter landscape. In fact, it was so beautiful that he had ventured out of his home territory called Roppongi and now found peace at a nameless shrine on the outskirts of the big city.
From the mountain he had a unique view. Not a single soul was still out on the streets at this time of day. Rindou looked down from the shrine at the dark city at his feet and recognized the many lights in the houses, hidden under a white, icy blanket. He took a deep breath, which felt unusually good in his lungs. The air out here was much cleaner than in the lively core of his dangerous neighbourhood. The Haitani brother leisurely cleared a stone step of the white snow and sat down on it, watching for a while as his steady breath created beautiful smoke in front of his face.
Even in the darkness of the night he could see the frozen crystals glittering all around him. They seemed to dance in a cheerful moment of joy. The delinquent pulled out his flip phone and took a few pictures with the camera. His violet eyes examined the images critically. His phone was a new model, but the promised quality of the camera was not as expected. Shit. It refused to focus for the life of it and took particularly blurry or washed-out pictures especially in this unfavourable light. It was simply pointless.
Despite the not particularly good snapshots, he sent two acceptable of them to Izana, Kakucho and Shion. He would show them to his brother in person later, when he was back in Roppongi. Rindou closed the phone and put it back in his pocket, then turned his attention back to the winter landscape in the valley. Simply breathtaking. He leaned his back slightly against one of the many red-painted wooden posts. The rotten-looking material, which had probably bravely borne the weight of the roof for several generations, was much more robust than it looked.
It vibrated suspiciously a few times in his pocket. Probably some messages about the 'cringy' pictures. Rindou had no musing to look - none of them would really react appropriately to his efforts to capture the special moment. He sighed louder than expected and murmured quietly: "They always babble about the morbid beauty when they beat some guys to a pulp, but don't you dare to show them a nice winter landscape picture like this. They will find it extremely gay to enjoy the view in silence. Such unnecessary macho gang bullshit."
In this respect, the Haitani brothers were different from the other delinquents around them. They were no less brutal and ruthless, but had a love for the beauty of the world. The two enjoyed sitting together in the moonlight and watching the gentle reflection on the water's surface for hours just as much as they enjoyed taking apart cheeky assholes and proving their dominance on the street through excessive violence. For the flamboyant brothers from the red light district, this combination presented no contradiction.
Maybe it was because of the upbringing in Roppongi itself that they connected certain things that caused surprise faces in others. Things that would never have anything in common elsewhere were completely normal in their neighbourhood. Drugs, alcohol, sex and violence - a toxic cocktail that shone in all the colours of the rainbow and kept a whole tight-knit community not only alive but healthy. Rindou laid his head back, resting comfortably on the wooden pole.
Above him, the white snow continued to trickle down on him. He wrinkled his nose a little and chuckled quietly as the crystals also collected on his glasses. Funny. Finally, the delinquent carefully took off his glasses and put them in the glasses case. He took this opportunity to rummage through his shoulder bag for a moment, then found the discman and his in-ear headphones. When Rindou finally got the pirated CD to work, he leaned back into the comfortable position again to enjoy the music.
His trouser pocket vibrated again, but this time for much longer. Was Shion trying to call him again? Of course he liked his best friend, but this constant phone calls when he could just send messages really got on Rindou's nerves. The Haitani brother sighed loudly when the vibration finally died down and he could concentrate on himself again. His vocal cords hummed quietly to the melody of the music.
Rindou didn't know how many songs he had already heard. In the peace and harmony of the night, it was difficult to keep track of time. It was only when he heard the crunching of snow getting louder that the delinquent stirred from his comfortable position. Who the hell would get lost on the mountain at this time of night? He put the discman in his jacket pocket, took the headphones out of his ears and got quickly up. Rindou looked around a little nervously, casually putting his freezing hands in his already well-filled jacket pockets. Only then did he notice that he could see very little without his glasses.
It was much easier with them. After a while, the Haitani brother recognized the outline of a person who was leisurely walking up the snow-covered mountain and heading purposefully for the shrine. Finally, he suddenly found himself face to face with his own brother. How the fuck could he find him? Ran had also hidden his hands in his jacket pockets, the white mist from his nose was lost quickly in the white flakes above him. At that moment, the older one seemed like a gentle god, looking at him lovingly with his angelic face and expressive deep eyes.
Ran tilted his head slightly and spoke cautiously: "I knew which outskirts you drove to, but finding you here was admittedly an unexpected challenge, little brother. Next time, just tell me, okay?" The melodic voice made the younger one shudder. Before he could reply, his brother had turned around and was looking down into the valley. Rindou could only guess the smile on his flawless lips when Ran added unusually gently: "Of course, I can't blame you, given this sight. It's incredible."
As expected, his brother had the same feeling for beauty and elegance as he did. The younger one couldn't help but smile. They shared so much in common - one of the reasons why they had decided to get the shared tattoo. Suddenly he looked into his brother's violet eyes again and Rindou was literally left breathless. Seeing him like this was a priceless gift. His long, black hair glittered through the many snowflakes and the soft light of the shrine, giving him an almost mystical aura.
Rindou felt his heart beating faster than before. As he often did, he asked himself whether what he was feeling was still within the normal range or whether it went beyond sibling love. The younger one wanted to touch Ran and be close to him – or better closer than normally. He shook his head slightly. Today was not the right time to think about their unique relationship and ruin the beautiful moment with stressful questions. Ran walked slowly towards him, then stood very close to him.
The Haitani brothers looked at each other for a long time until the older brother finally raised his hand and gently placed it on Rindou's reddened cheek. The touch suddenly warmed his whole body. A few seconds passed before Ran slowly leaned forward and gently placed his lips on the younger brother's forehead. In that moment, everything was fine. The street fights, all the trouble in Roppongi and the annoying people in their everyday lives - everything was forgotten for the evening with the touch of his forehead.
Ran pulled back a little and smiled at his brother, then said thoughtfully: "Shall we sit down for a moment, Rindou?" The younger brother nodded quickly, then pointed to the stone steps that had previously been cleared of snow. A small layer had already formed on the gray surface, but it was quickly removed. So they finally sat together in front of the shrine and looked down at the illuminated houses of the Tokyo suburbs.
Rindou no longer knew how much time had passed. He was about to sink into daydreaming, when his brother suddenly stirred beside him and opened his own shoulder bag. He took out several items, then opened carefully a purple thermos flask. The smell of chocolate spread around them. Ran poured hot cocoa into the two cups he had brought with him and handed one of them to the younger brother. The porcelain provided the cool hands with a suitable source of warming up from the outside.
In the silence of the night the Haitani brothers sat on the stone steps and slowly drank the cocoa together. Words were not needed between them at the moment. Their violet eyes simply admired the landscape and the soft lights. Only when the cups were empty did Ran ask calmly: "Do you remember the first Christmas when it snowed in Roppongi?" The younger brother nodded slightly and replied calmly: "Sure. We made a lot of snow angels outside on the side walk and insulted passers-by who just walked blindly through our works of art."
They both looked at each other briefly and then laughed out loud. Eventually their voices died away again, replaced by the calmness around them. Ran turned forward again and looked into the distance, lost in his own thought. As if in slow motion, Rindou slowly laid his head on his big brother's shoulder, then felt for his hand on his thigh. To his delight, the older brother was already grasping his fingers in return.
Ran also bowed his head and rested in his little brother's wild hair. A few minutes passed before he whispered quietly to the younger one: "We should come here more often, Rindou." The man addressed could only agree. They sat together like that for over half an hour, watching the hustle and bustle of the snow and enjoying each other's closeness. What would await them in Roppongi in the morning was no longer of concern today. It could wait till the sun would raise again.