Chapter Text
It was nighttime. After a long day at the arcade, Higashi sat on his couch, beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other. Now with two arcades, the man had been busier. If he wasn’t in Ijincho keeping an eye on the needs of his new arcade, he was busy dealing with a new influx of customers in Kamurocho.
The main branch of Charles had been given a whole new breath of life shortly after the Ijincho branch had opened; people enjoyed the arcade in Yokohama, and so they would travel to Kamurocho to see the original Charles. It was kind of nice, to be honest. The people from Yokohama were nicer and more easygoing than the usual people that Kamurocho tended to attract, plus they stuck around longer and seemed to genuinely appreciate the small retro arcade.
Higashi didn’t mind; he liked keeping busy. With the Tojo Clan gone, it had freed up too much time, and it made him antsy. Higashi was always so used to doing things. He normally took walks around Kamurocho, made sure the usual ruffians weren’t causing problems for anyone. It was also an excuse to get up and stay active, but he could only walk around the district so many times before he got sick of the sights.
A ding from his phone interrupted Higashi’s thoughts. It was from Sugiura, and it immediately brought a smile to Higashi’s face. They’d met almost six years ago in one of the worst times of their lives. Somehow, they went from merely tolerating each other for the sake of the case that Yagami had been working on, to having an understanding and respect for each other.
Even after the case, Sugiura stuck around for a while. He’d come around the arcade, play some games, even invite Higashi to go shopping at Poppo with him. Higashi would respond that Poppo wasn’t the kind of place where you really did a lot of shopping, but Sugiura insisted that it kept you fed if you knew where to look. Higashi wasn’t going to argue, and he went along anyway. He didn’t mind the company, and it kept him stocked up on cigarettes. Despite it, he never smoked around Sugiura; the guy hated smoke, and Higashi had gotten into the habit of keeping clean around him.
At some point, Sugiura had stopped showing up. It had been years since all the shit that the ADDC had dredged up, Higashi couldn’t even really blame Sugiura if he had decided to move on and get away from the district; Kamurocho was definitely not his speed, if Higashi was being honest. Sugiura could play the role of a charming thief well, but it wasn’t really him. It’s just who he had to become in order to achieve his goals.
The man just wished that Sugiura had said something. Higashi didn’t need details; Sugiura was free to come and go as he pleased, but the older man just wished he had gotten a bit of a heads up that the thief who used to visit him and invite him to do things around Kamurocho would be gone.
But time had gone on, and just as suddenly as Sugiura had disappeared, he was right back at the arcade with Yagami in tow. They were on a case and of course they had decided to use Charles as the base of operations.
And of course when Higashi had told them that it was about respect and not giving him any kind of heads up, Sugiura laid down compliments and explanations about the whole situation and where the case was at that moment.
When Yagami had gone to meet Kuwana and Sugiura had escorted the woman that they had questioned home, the younger man had returned to give Higashi an account of where he’d been over the past six months. He’d started a detective agency with his best friend, moved to Ijincho, and seemed to have a pretty good life over there. After he had explained the case, how everything tied together, Higashi was in. Kaito had gotten stabbed, and more, Sugiura had been attacked in what seemed to be the safest place for him.
It made sense why Sugiura had seemed so hurt when Higashi had commented that he was cheering for Kuwana; the man had instructed his students to attack the agency, and they did not hold back. Sugiura got a bat to the back of his head, and his partner watched the whole thing go down and had his pinky smashed up. Hearing Sugiura’s recount, it was clear that he had no respect for a man that should have been there to help, but rather only showed up to give himself an alibi.
After it was all said and done, Higashi could say that he’d be happy if he never helped out on a case again. He was not in the detective business, and while it was something that he felt he was decent at, it was definitely not his speed. He’d nearly gotten killed at that warehouse; Soma had a gun pointed at him, and all Higashi could think of was that dark time in the sewers, when Hamura had a gun right to his head.
But Sugiura swooped in, kicked the gun out of Soma’s hand. He nearly got himself stabbed, but he could so gracefully avoid the retaliation. Higashi’s fucking hero, really. Later, when Sugiura was helping him up off the ground after the fight, Higashi thanked him for the save.
“Couldn’t just let you die like that, Higashi-san. Not when we have so much to catch up on.”
And of course came the usual wink and smile that Higashi was sure Sugiura knew had been so charming.
They exchanged contact information. Higashi wondered why he hadn’t just asked Sugiura for the information years ago, during any of the times they were out and about in Kamurocho. Truthfully, Higashi was always so swept up in the activity that it just never really occurred to him. Usually, he wondered why Sugiura always chose him to stick around with; Higashi knew he was cranky and not always particularly social, yet it never deterred the ex-thief.
He had figured it out six months later. Sugiura invited Higashi to watch the cherry blossoms with him in Yokohama. At that point, plans were already underway for Higashi to open up his second arcade, though a few things kept it slow-moving. Still, it kept him around the area for meetings with realtors, and if he wasn’t busy, he checked in on Sugiura and Tsukumo at their detective agency, Yokohama 99.
That night, Sugiura took Higashi out for drinks at a nice little jazz bar and clumsily admitted that he liked Higashi and asked if he’d be willing to date him. Maybe it was the drinks, but Sugiura hastily added that he was inexperienced, but would do his best to fill in the blanks so that Higashi wasn’t embarrassed by what the detective didn’t know.
He was too fucking cute and maybe the alcohol in the older man’s stomach contributed, but Higashi immediately grabbed Sugiura and kissed him. Higashi didn’t give a single fuck how inexperienced Sugiura was; they got on well enough and Higashi could admit that at some point during one of their many outings in Kamurocho, he had taken a liking to Sugiura.
Nearly two years later, the pair were pretty committed in their relationship. If Higashi was in Ijincho for a longer visit, he stayed with Sugiura. The two had slowly amassed kitchenware and other things that made it more of a home for them rather than just Sugiura’s apartment. Higashi had barely realized it until he was cooking them dinner one night and Sugiura had noted how comfortable Higashi was and knew where everything was kept.
Higashi always wondered if Sugiura purposely swept him up in activity so he never really had the time to think about it. Not that he minded; if Higashi had too much time to think about it, he’d probably still be hemming and hawing, wondering too much about his feelings for Sugiura and telling himself that the younger man was too good for him.
Sugiura probably knew it too.
Higashi opened up the message that Sugiura had sent, his jaw dropping when he read what the younger man had written to him.
Sugiura - 9:54pm: I’m going to Hawaii! :)
Hawaii. What the fuck was Sugiura going to do there? He’d never talked about the place once, and it sure seemed far away to relate to any kind of detective work. Though thinking about it, it reminded Higashi of when they had met up in Osaka years ago, on that stupid fucking boat that Kaito insisted they check out. Sugiura had somehow gotten himself caught up with the Joryu Clan, and he was pretty secretive about what he was even doing there in the first place. He always smiled and changed the subject the few times that Higashi would ask about it between matches.
Now he wondered if it was just Sugiura raising money for the agency and wanting to keep it a secret. But that was different because as far as it was from Kamurocho, it was still in the same country.
Higashi - 9:57pm: Huh?
Higashi didn’t know how to really respond.
Higashi - 9:58pm: Can we meet up tomorrow and talk about it?
He didn’t want to stop the man; if Sugiura wanted to go to Hawaii, fine. But Higashi had questions that he felt were better discussed in person rather than over text. It felt so out of the blue, though having known Sugiura for years now, that felt like the younger man’s M.O. It was usually charming, but now and then, it just threw Higashi for a loop and it came off as irritating rather than endearing.
Sugiura responded quickly.
Sugiura - 10:00pm: I’ll swing by and we can have lunch at Cafe Alps! I’ll pay this time.
Higashi laughed. They usually ended up splitting the bill whenever they went out, but the last few times, Higashi paid for everything. He’d been busy and barely had time for Sugiura. They were both adults and Sugiura understood, but Higashi felt bad with how curt his replies got at the end of night when he was just so tired.
Higashi - 10:03pm: I’ll order something expensive then.
Higashi chuckled.
Higashi - 10:03pm: I can’t wait to see you.
Higashi barely let his guard down for anyone. It took a long time for he and Sugiura to get on the same page, and he was happy that they could keep up and stay there. It didn’t matter if one or both of them was busy, because they understood and knew it didn’t really affect their love for each other.
It was a nice fucking feeling and Higashi wouldn’t trade it for the world.
The next day, Higashi was on his way to Cafe Alps. It was Sugiura’s favorite restaurant in Kamurocho; he was a big fan of their coffee and parfaits. Higashi smiled when he saw Sugiura’s van; Higashi was already early, and of course Sugiura was there even earlier. Though to be fair, he had an hour-long drive to make, and probably just wanted to make sure he had given himself enough time in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
When Higashi got in, he spotted Sugiura immediately. He was at a table in the back facing the door. Sugiura hated to have his back to anyone; he had said once that it made him feel like he was leaving himself exposed. Given what had happened years ago at Yokohama 99, Higashi couldn’t even blame the man. Sugiura had been blindsided, and if anything had gone wrong, he would have had a worse outcome than just a concussion.
As it was, Sugiura had admitted that what hurt him more than anything was knowing that once he was out, there was no one to keep Tsukumo safe; he wasn’t a fighter and it was the kind of situation that he was barely prepared for. Sugiura wasn’t close with many people, but he cared deeply for those he did choose to have in his life. Tsukumo was someone that Sugiura could really relate to, and the older detective was high up on the list of Sugiura’s favorites.
Sugiura smiled and leaned forward as Higashi took a seat at the table. Higashi wanted to throw his arms around the man, just hold him and keep him close, kiss his forehead and just stay there. Unfortunately, they were in public. Higashi wasn’t particularly touchy, but sometimes he just wanted to be closer to Sugiura than they usually were.
Higashi could go for it, just say fuck it and blow everything up, but it wasn’t worth it. People talked, and it could so heavily affect Higashi and Sugiura’s lives. It could blow all the hard work that they had both put in for their businesses, and it would make them social pariahs. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered to Higashi when he was younger and didn’t understand how everything connected, but now that he was older, he knew there was a time and place for everything.
He wasn’t going to blow up his and Sugiura’s lives to send a point and throw a middle finger to society like a child. If it ever came to a point where he had to fight for them, he would. But not today.
“Higashi-san,” Sugiura smiled, grabbed Higashi’s fingers and gave them a quick squeeze before letting go of the older man. It was always so gentle; Sugiura’s way of getting in some contact. He normally didn’t need contact, but now and then he just needed something. Higashi smiled back, looked down at the mug in front of him. “I ordered you a coffee, hope you don’t mind.”
“‘Course not,” Higashi replied. Higashi wasn’t materialistic, nor did he ever want much. But that said, Sugiura knew what the man liked, and he spoiled Higashi by keeping him supplied in the things that he found comforting. Higashi took a sip, a smile gracing his lips as he put the mug down. He looked at Sugiura.
Still handsome as always.
“Hawaii?” the older man asked. They were meeting up for a reason other than just being able to catch up; Higashi knew that if he let himself, he could just get lost in Sugiura’s company and completely lose track of what he was doing.
“Yeah! Honolulu, specifically,” Sugiura grinned. He tapped his fingers against the table. “I’ve heard it’s really nice over there; tropical and warm. Kind of a destination spot, you know?”
Higashi let out a low hum. It sounded like a tourist trap that would squeeze every nickel and dime out of the detective. Thankfully, Sugiura was smart and would see right through it. But still, it also didn’t sound like the kind of place the man would really be into. He liked the comfort and weight of his layers, and the sun wasn’t exactly Sugiura’s best friend despite his sunny disposition.
“After all of that shit happening in Ijincho a while back, it’s been a bit slower in the city,” Sugiura explained. Higashi nodded. There was a bunch of shit on the news about ex-yakuza and heavy activity in Yokohama. One name came up a lot; Kasuga Ichiban. Higashi didn’t know him, but Kaito was glued to the television; apparently, despite being part of different families, the two were good buddies and helped each other out if they were both patrolling the streets. Kaito had mentioned that they went to middle school together; Kasuga was a year below Kaito, so they already kinda knew each other when they had been reunited one day on the streets of Kamurocho. “I asked Tsukumo-kun if I could have some time off, and he responded that it was the perfect time for him to work on a few things, maybe help Zhao-kun with a project he’s been thinking of for his restaurant.”
“You’ve never talked about Hawaii,” Higashi said. It almost felt like Sugiura was talking around the subject. Like he was explaining that he was going, but didn’t want to mention the why. “Sugiura, it’s a long way away. Hell, it’s a completely different country. Any reason you’re suddenly going?”
Sugiura sighed and leaned back in his seat. The only time he played around is when there was information he didn’t want anyone knowing; he certainly gave very little about himself when he had first joined in on Yagami’s case so many years ago.
“Whatever it is, I’ll support you. But it really doesn’t seem like your kinda place. You’ve never seemed into beaches or anything like that the few times we’ve gone away anywhere,” Higashi explained. With Sugiura’s van, it felt like the world was their oyster. They’d gone around Japan a few times; visited Sotenbori last year to actually get a decent look around the city. Every time Higashi asked if Sugiura wanted to go find a beach to relax and have some drinks, Sugiura always had this grimace like it was the last place he wanted to be.
“It’s– I–” Sugiura seemed like he was at a loss for words. He was always so definite and sure of himself; even when he was crying his eyes out at Charles during the AD-9 case, he eventually calmed down enough for Higashi to talk to the man. Sugiura had admitted that despite how scary and new the burglary gang had seemed at first, it gave him a confidence that he never saw himself having. “I just don’t want you to think it’s stupid.”
“Sugiura,” Higashi murmured. He lightly brushed his fingers against the other man’s knuckle. Generally, Sugiura didn’t seem to really give a shit about what others thought of him; what mattered was those he truly cared for. But Higashi supposed with how much they’d grown together over the past couple of years, hearing something Sugiura cared about being called stupid could be rough, especially coming from someone he loved. “If you thought that, you didn’t need to tell me you were even going.”
“Yes I did! We’re a team, Higashi-san. I can’t make big plans without letting you know,” Sugiura said. He sighed. “I booked the flight yesterday; I was so excited that the first thing I thought of was telling you.”
“And I appreciate that I’m the first person you think about,” Higashi smiled. Any kind of news that affected either of them, they told the other person. “But why are you even going? I promise I won’t say it’s stupid or laugh.”
Sugiura drank the rest of his coffee and sighed. He looked Higashi in the eye.
“Kamulop,” the younger man said. Higashi furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t know what that meant. Sugiura cleared his throat. “You know, the cute bunny mascot?”
“I can’t say I do,” Higashi replied. He knew Ono Michio, the adorable fisherman with the charming hassaku face. “What’s Kamulop gotta do with Hawaii?”
“Apparently it’s where he’s ended up!” Sugiura exclaimed. “He used to hang around the Grand Blu hotel in Ijincho; he was cute and always giving out little goodies if you collected pins for him. I always wanted to get a picture with him, but it seemed childish and I chickened out every time I was around him. And when I finally worked up the nerve to ask, he was gone. But I’ve been seeing pictures of him popping up on social media, and apparently he’s set up shop at a shrine in Hawaii!”
Sugiura was going to Hawaii for a selfie. It was pretty cute, if Higashi was being honest. Sugiura, despite his good looks, wasn’t vain. He didn’t take a lot of pictures of himself, but if he took an interest in a celebrity or something, he’d get pictures with them if he could.
Higashi remembered Sugiura excitedly sending him a selfie he’d taken with Joryu some time ago. Apparently, he was in Yokohama, but using the fake name of Suzuki. Honestly, it a way more believable alias for the man than fucking Joryu . Higashi always knew that it was the legendary Dragon of Dojima, Kiryu Kazuma, but he wasn’t going to bring it up when they’d met; he was using the name for a reason, and Higashi would respect his decision even if he didn’t know the details.
The man looked terrible in Sugiura’s picture, and the detective even brought up that he looked so sickly and thinner than he remembered. Truthfully, knowing how much Kiryu had done during his time in Kamurocho, it was devastating to Higashi. Despite his looks and apparent need for privacy, the man still took the photo with Sugiura. Though he also always seemed so amused when he’d stop by their table at the fighter’s lounge and Sugiura would excitedly chat with him.
Maybe he just had a soft spot for the thief. Sugiura tended to have that effect on people.
“You wanna go get a picture with Kamulop?” Higashi finally asked. Sugiura excitedly nodded his head. Higashi sighed and drank his own coffee. The waiter came by, and they ordered some food. “Still seems pretty sudden.”
“I know… I think I just got so excited because I really thought something had happened to the guy who dressed as him,” Sugiura explained. “Ah… and it’s always nice to expand your horizons, you know?”
The waiter came with their food and more coffee, and the two ate quietly. Sugiura would glance at Higashi now and then, almost nervously.
“I know it sounds silly–”
“I’m going with you,” Higashi said. Sugiura nearly choked on his cake. He drank some coffee, wiped his face with his napkin. “You can’t really think you can tell you’re going halfway across the world and I won’t go with you. Didn’t you just say we’re a team?”
“Well–” Sugiura ate more of his cake. He took a deep breath; this trip seemed to really have him on edge. “You’ve just been so busy lately with the arcades, so I didn’t think you’d be able to come along. I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to pressure you.”
“Suzuki and Kengo have got it covered,” Higashi shrugged his shoulders. He was busy. He was pretty sure he had never seen Charles so popular in his life, and while his clerks always had things covered, there were times that Higashi felt a need to step in. However, Higashi could admit that it wouldn’t hurt to take some time off. And maybe it also wouldn’t hurt to just have a nice trip somewhere new with Sugiura. “If you help me, I can see if I can get a ticket and we can go together.”
A smile crept onto Sugiura’s face. He never shied away from letting Higashi know how much his support meant to him, but sometimes he tried to play things cool around the older man; he had admitted before that sometimes he wondered if having been a shut-in, he tried too hard to overcompensate by acting like he could do things solo. He had wanted his independence after having spent too much at home being a drain on his parents, but he’d admitted that there were a lot of things and experiences that he had missed out on, and he worried that maybe it held him back mentally and emotionally.
Higashi moved to take a seat next to Sugiura, grabbed his phone so he could look for flights to Hawaii. After about twenty minutes, and with Sugiura’s help, he was able to find the seat he wanted. He squinted and turned to Sugiura.
“The flight’s in just a few days,” Higashi said. The ticket was expensive so close to the date of departure. Not that Higashi couldn’t afford it, but he could almost pay for his rent with how much it cost. If Higashi started getting ready when he got home, he could definitely be packed and ready to go.
But it was quite a last minute decision and it was so out of character for Sugiura; he always planned ahead and got all his ducks in a row. Higashi took a deep breath and just bought the ticket.
“I’ll admit it was a long day and I acted quickly,” Sugiura said. He chuckled nervously. He was acting so fucking suspicious. “If I just got the ticket, I couldn’t talk myself out of it. Sunk cost fallacy, you know? You told me about it once. Seemed really important to you.”
“Well, it’s not really how you operate, but I’m beginning to understand a little more now,” Higashi drank his coffee. One night Higashi had finally decided to ask Sugiura about how life was for him before he was a shut-in; the older man just couldn’t put together what had made Sugiura decide to shut himself away.
School life had just been hard on the man, back when he was a teenager. In Sugiura’s words, he wasn’t exactly cool. He was into games, manga, and anything fun and cute. It didn’t necessarily help that he was starting to get into his looks, and his voice hadn’t really deepened. It made Sugiura a huge target at school, and he said that the more he had tried to ignore it all, the worse it got.
Fifteen years later, it felt like Sugiura wasn’t too hurt by it anymore, though Higashi wondered if the reason he was being so uncharacteristically sketchy over this whole Hawaiian ordeal was because somewhere, Sugiura still felt so strongly that his love of cute things was something stupid.
Higashi could see how most people would look at Sugiura’s decision to just up and go to Hawaii would seem rather frivolous. It wouldn’t exactly be Higashi’s choice either, but it wasn’t about him. Sugiura worked hard and earned his own money, and what he did with it was his own decision.
But for Sugiura, who was constantly made fun of for something as simple as his interests and hobbies, Higashi could understand how he would take someone else’s point of view to heart. Even if it didn’t sway Sugiura, it was difficult to get over that bad habit of thinking too much about how others thought of him.
Higashi could admit that as harrowing as the thought of Kuwana’s revenge was, he didn’t mind the idea of Sugiura’s bullies getting some form of comeuppance. Though it had been so long ago, and Higashi wondered if they had grown into proper adults now. The thought of revenge sounded nice, but what did it really do at this point other than temporarily make Higashi feel better at a time when it didn’t matter anymore?
Higashi was just angry that it had thrown Sugiura into a sad, lonely path. Though that path had also led Sugiura to becoming the good, strong man that Higashi had fallen in love with. Maybe it was even the only path that would have led the two to meet up.
“Guess we’re getting up early to go to the Tokyo Airport in a few days,” Higashi said. All things considered, it wasn’t a long trip; it was about a seven hour flight, and the two didn’t need to stop off to get on any connecting flights. Though Higashi knew that jetlag would kick their asses.
“If we get together at your place the night before, it won’t be too much of a hassle making sure we’re there in time. I can pay to make sure the van stays safe,” Sugiura explained. He grinned.
“Sounds like a plan,” Higashi smiled as he finished his meal. Despite how he felt about the whole ordeal before they met up, Higashi felt positive about the trip. All in all, it was a fantastic last minute plan, all stemming from Sugiura’s secret love of all things cute.
And Higashi could admit, he was pretty excited to go somewhere so new to them. They would definitely make some good memories together.