Work Text:
Bottles of Asahi.
He lines them up as neatly as he possibly can. This time around, they’re soldiers… or something.
“One, two, three, four!” He chants to himself as he makes the soldiers move, one by one, they reach their goal; a line in the dirt he had made all by himself.
“Victory!” He cheers, repeating something he had heard some other kids say from afar after their game was done. He raises one of the bottles as the adults do, remnants of liquid splashing against the inside of the glass. The light of the setting sun reflects on it. No one was around except for him, it was fine to give it a try. So, he placed the tip of the bottle on his mouth and drank… Only to cough in disgust.
“Why does dad drink this?” He asked himself, cleaning his lips with the back of his hand. If only he could get that flavor out with the same ease.
It didn’t matter, the light of the sun started to set, it was time for him to run back inside. His father would be back, drunk and probably frustrated from today’s lack of earnings. Either that, or another excuse for him to be angry would pop up… Not that he’d understand any of it, being angry and wobbly was just something his dad did. Like the sun coming up in the morning, or feeling really cold at night.
He had learned that faking he was asleep would deter him from approaching and making things worse. He wouldn’t ask for food or goodnight wishes – they weren’t always causes for the man to get riled up, but tonight, he was too tired to even try and get a good result.
Wasting no time, he hid the Asahi bottles around a corner of the room and laid on the mat, turning his back on his father’s approaching footsteps.
But, today, his presence would not go unnoticed.
Bottles of Asahi.
They were lined up on the fancy table, along with a plethora of food and drinks he had never seen before. The smell is enticing and nauseating, he can feel his hunger rise right back again, sharp pain in the pit of his stomach.
If only he could have at least one bottle of Asahi, he could keep going for the day. Hell, any of the crumbs that were falling uncaringly on the ground would be good enough. He’d swallow his pride and beg like a dog to be given at least a piece of food if it wouldn’t, instead, earn him more starvation.
“Hey, you’re wobbling again. You don’t want to embarrass me in front of my friends, do you?” And though Nishida III says this, he laughs, his so-called friends laughing alongside him at the slave he forced to watch as they dined.
Just one bottle of Asahi. Just one… Even a single drop is fine.
His past comes to mind… And he wonders if he’ll even have a future to greet. He’d give anything to live and die as that innocent kid, playing by himself on the streets of a poor neighborhood. Trying beer for the first time and hating it, surviving with scraps, but surviving nonetheless. He likes to think that his father did love him, despite his flaws. He’d bring food to the table when he wasn’t wasting money on gambling – however few those times could've been.
He’d offer him food with a smile or force him to eat the food he didn’t like, but he was fed. Didn’t that count for something?
No, it was because of him that he was in this hellhole. Sometimes, it was easy to forget.
His chain is yanked and he is brought back to the present. His stumble is hilarious to the people dining, though he doesn’t really care. There’s something much more serious going on. Shishido glances toward his owner, fear written across him at the thought of being punished for his wrongdoings. From the corner of his eyes, he can still see the bottles of Asahi shining.
“Hey–hey… Don’t you doze away. I have great plans for you, tonight.” There’s no verbal answer to those words, but Nishitani sees it, acknowledgment between the fear of what he meant. It gave him a thrill, a joy that made him let go of the chain for just a little bit – enough time to notice how Shishido almost threw himself over at the table, yanked harshly right back to the initial spot.
“Oh, poor thing. You’re hungry, aren’t you? If you’re good, you might get a treat, you know? So, behave. Keep your eyes on us.”
Today, again, his presence would not go unnoticed.
Bottles of Asahi.
The first night Tsuruno had decided to indulge them and go out to drink together, it was a whole event for the Family, Shishido included, so they tried going all out.
“This is the best bar in town. You’re going to love it.” Shishido stated, while one of their subordinates followed.
“For sure, Captain! We could even go to the cabaret club after this!”
“Hey, what did I say? No going overboard.” Tsuruno refuted, but looking at the bar once they entered, conveniently big and empty, he knew his men had already decided to go all out.
“Alright! What are we drinking, captain?” Another of their subordinates asked, which prompted a hum out of the man.
“Let’s go with Asahi.” The words elicit a sharp breath out of Shishido.
“Are you sure, Captain? Wouldn’t you prefer… wine, or sake?”
“Nah, when it comes to outings with the boys, good ol’ beer is always the answer.”
Shishido, of course, nods to his words and decides he will not nudge any further. If Tsuruno wanted Asahi, then they’d have Asahi. Even so, Tsuruno had other plans, he studied the boy’s eyes, rather than his calm movements. And what he sees in those eyes concerns him. A tap on the shoulder makes the other look at Tsuruno.
“Yes, Captain?”
“What’s wrong, Shishido? You don’t like beer?”
“No– I mean, yes! I mean… I don’t mind drinking this. Whatever you choose would be good.”
“Shishido… Do you or do you not like beer?”
“...” Did he? He hadn’t stopped to think about it. When he was a kid, he hated it. When he threw himself to lick the drops of beer on the floor, his reward for being obedient,... he didn’t even know how he felt. Other than humiliation, other than desperation, he had only ever felt disgust over the flavor… But that had been such a long time ago.
Right now, with him, would he like it? He had been looking forward to this for long enough, even trash would probably taste nice. Shishido glanced over at his captain’s hand, holding a sweating beer, waiting for his answer. Tsuruno approached it a little toward him, eyebrows lightly raising as he waited.
Instinctively, his hand reached out for it, Shishido grabbed the beer.
It made sense to Tsuruno. The answer was that he didn’t know. He wondered if Shishido thought it was appropriate to drink up, regardless, to accept the hand his captain had offered… Somehow, he feels he is good at reading that man – one of those thoughts is the answer. He lets go of the bottle when Shishido grips it tight.
“Honestly, I could go for some juice.” Tsuruno said, and Shishido's eyes sparkled.
That was the end of that.
For once, the fact that his presence didn't go unnoticed felt genuinely good.
Bottles of Asahi.
He had seen them dumped in trash bins on the way here. To fight the last battle for his place in the world.
Like those bottles, he'd be dumped away, forgotten, broken. He couldn't have that, not again. He had nowhere else to go.
So, cornered, he fought. And, cornered, he was defeated. All the strength in the world, all the fear he harbored, all of his trials meant nothing.
In the end, he was just like those discarded bottles. Nothing.
His breath is heavy, wanting for some sustenance – maybe the liquid of one of those bottles. It always goes back to that.
A hand is offered, it fills his blurry vision as he tries to catch his breath and glance at the world that'll continue on without him. That hand, the one hiding the cruel world, once held a bottle of Asahi. It once held him, too.
“Captain,” he was no longer a captain, his title would hold no meaning soon enough. Didn't he feel hopeless, scared of the future that wouldn't accept them? As Shishido lifted his gaze a little further, he saw it. Between the shades and the firm expression was resolution, it wasn't bereft of fear, it was just stronger than that.
“It's over. Let's get going, Shishido.”
“What? But I…”
“What? I might not be captain anymore, but you're still my responsibility… I still consider you my subordinate.” Tsuruno pauses, his gaze wavers. “Do you not… consider me your subordinate anymore?”
Tsuruno showed understanding beneath that pain. He knew what Shishido fought for, he knew what all of this meant. He wasn't scared of facing his scorn. But, if he could help it, he'd save him one more time.
The setting sun decorates who used to be his captain in gold.
Like a fresh bottle of Asahi. Like a knight in shining armor.
He reaches his hand to him, he clasps it tight and is lifted up by sheer strength of will. He tumbles the moment his captain lets his hand go.
“Let's get going.” Tsuruno says, louder now, the rest of the agents around stare. They understand. This one is his.
“Captain…”
“I'm not your Captain anymore, Shishido. It's Tsuruno now.”
“Captain…” Tsuruno sighs.
“You're hopeless, huh?” He stops walking, taps the other on the shoulder. “But I couldn't afford to lose you.”
“I… thought I had lost you already.”
“Why? Because you fought for what you believed in?”
Again, he understood… He always did. Even though he had fought so aggressively. By all means, rabid beasts like him should be thrown to the side. He understood he was gambling further for his space, sealing any chance he could of survival. He couldn't help it – he was his father's son, always…
But, Tsuruno was still here. He was still here with him, regardless.
“Cap… Tsuruno-san.”
“Ah! There we g—” the embrace that covers him is strong, warm, it stops time and his words with ease. Somehow, Shishido feels small when he wraps his arms against the other, enveloping the captain he had fought against just minutes ago. “It's okay, Shishido…”
Those are the words Tsuruno has for him. You're forgiven.
“I thought I lost you. I thought I was losing everything.”
“I'll be damned if I ever let you lose it all. Not again, not anymore. You're not alone. And it seems I'm not alone, either.”
Shishido pulls away, eyes shining with the threat of tears he harshly holds back. Instead, he is looking at the eyes between the shades. A hand goes to them, he pulls the shades away, saves them as he can in the pocket of his pants. Before Tsuruno can complain and demand to get his shades back, Shishido's hands cup his former captain's face. He traces his thumbs against the skin. It's the gentlest he has been in a while.
They stare at each other, it feels more like a resolution than anything else. If he can have this person close to him, then… maybe he can survive even in the world that never wanted him. If anyone could make him feel accepted, like he truly did have a spot in this world, it was this man, captain or not.
The eyes Shishido has been quietly revering start to close. It’s an open invitation he can easily reject. One he’d curse himself to the end of his days if he let go by.
So, he leans toward him until their lips touch and, when he fears that gentle touch might be too much, he feels the hand of his captain on his back, nudging him further forward.
The kiss tastes just like the morning sun.