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Higashi let out a sneeze as he locked up the arcade, started closing the shutters. He had finally been able to open up the second branch of Charles in Ijincho six months ago, and things were going relatively well. He had asked a couple of his guys if they would consider working in Yokohama, and they happily agreed. But despite that, Higashi felt a need to oversee the day to day operations, figure out what was working and what needed to be improved.
The man let out another sneeze. He felt a weight on his shoulders, and he looked around, finding an all too familiar detective standing next to him.
“You’re getting sick, Higashi-san,” it was Sugiura. He worked a couple of blocks away at a detective agency called Yokohama 99. He’d been at it for a year and a half now, and he seemed pretty happy with his life. “You should wear a coat when you go out. Your cough’s been sounding bad too.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Higashi mumbled. But he smiled at the younger man. They’d been dating for a few months now; Sugiura dropped by Charles if he had some free time, played games with the kids, or even helped out around the arcade. Higashi had offered to pay him for his time, but Sugiura quickly refused.
“I choose to help out if I can, Higashi-san. But if you’re so insistent, you can take me out some time.”
Higashi didn’t know what to say, and Sugiura gave him a sly wink and a kiss on the cheek before he had left the premises. It didn’t take Higashi long to figure out that the detective was just trying to get a date out of the man. Why he couldn’t just ask Higashi out, the man didn’t know, but he was happy with the turn of events.
He wasn’t quite sure if he’d even take Sugiura seriously if the detective had just outright asked him out. He’d assume it was just Sugiura messing with him; they didn’t have a particularly great start to their friendship, and sometimes things were rocky between them, but they had worked it out.
Higashi grabbed whatever Sugiura had put on him; it was a Winter coat that looked a couple sizes too big, and definitely not Sugiura’s style. It was too bright and flashy, and Higashi was sure he’d seen it before.
“This coat’s really big for you, Sugiura,” Higashi said.
“Yeah, I know. Kaito-san gave it to me. He said he was going through a bunch of old stuff, thought I’d get some use outta it,” Sugiura replied. Higashi was sure Sugiura wouldn’t be caught dead in the coat; it was too gaudy. But it was nice of Kaito to think about the detective, because the way he dressed, it didn’t seem like he liked the cold. “Put it on before you catch a cold.”
Higashi rolled his eyes, but he started putting the coat on anyway. Sugiura always stopped by when Higashi was closing; he had told the man that he liked walking him home. It gave them both the opportunity to talk about their day, just have a bit of time together to unwind.
They were both busy men; they didn’t always get a lot of time together, so it was nice to just have those moments between them.
“Ya wanna go get some dinner?” Higashi asked. It was late now; past 10, definitely after most dinnertimes, but Sugiura had an odd schedule and tended to just eat whenever he got around to it.
“I want you to get some rest,” Sugiura sounded so serious. He’d been on Higashi’s case for a couple of weeks now; the older man was sneezing here and there, with the odd cough thrown in. He’d attributed it to allergies, but Sugiura wasn’t convinced.
“I’ll rest easy knowing you’ve eaten a proper meal,” Higashi argued. Sugiura was nearly thirty, but he still generally subsisted on convenience store food and takeout. He knew how to cook, but he said that nothing really beat the fried chicken that the Poppo in Ijincho offered.
How the man wasn’t littered with acne from all the oils and shit that he ate, Higashi didn’t know. And granted, he didn’t even disagree that Poppo food wasn’t delicious, but it wasn’t always the healthiest.
“Aw, aren’t you sweet?” Sugiura bumped his shoulder against Higashi’s. “I think You Tian’s still open. Zhao-kun makes a pretty mean chicken noodle soup.”
Sugiura wasn’t budging on Higashi’s sickness, but the older man wasn’t gonna argue. Sugiura meant well, and all of his stubbornness over it was just how he showed his feelings. Higashi wasn’t going to complain that Sugiura cared about him even if it got on his nerves.
“Been a while since we’ve been over there. But I definitely want some dumplings,” Higashi replied. Sugiura smiled and laughed, and they made their way over to the small restaurant.
When Higashi woke up the next morning, his throat was killing him, and he had a massive headache. Higashi would have loved to pin it on drinking the night before, but he barely had much alcohol.
Maybe Sugiura was right.
He shook his head as he got out of bed, started getting ready for a shower. He used to get headaches all the time, back when Hamura was in charge and running the Matsugane Family ragged. A nice, warm shower usually helped, and the man hoped that it would be the case for now as well.
Truthfully, he couldn't stand the thought of being sick. He had a lot going on, he didn't feel like he could really afford to be out for a while; there were a lot of things he still needed to straighten out with the Yokohama branch of Charles. Things were looking good for the place, but it didn't mean that Higashi could rest on his laurels. He wasn't losing money, but he wasn't sure if he was quite breaking even just yet. If he played his cards right, he could definitely begin making a profit, and maybe at some point, he could even consider a third location. Maybe he'd think about Sotenbori; Higashi enjoyed the area when he had been there years ago to help Kaito with a case.
Right now, Higashi had another week in Ijincho before he was going back home; Higashi dedicated a couple of weeks to each arcade, though he felt more assured that his main clerk back in Kamurocho had the business down at this point. He was getting a lot better with customers, and he was actually a decent leader when it came to overseeing some of the other guys and ensuring everything ran smoothly.
Higashi was able to find himself a nice little apartment outside of Ijincho, and while he initially thought that juggling two rents would leave him without much money for anything else, he didn’t struggle with his finances and always had extra money.
It was also nice to have his own place when Sugiura wanted to stay over for the night. Sugiura was secretive, and after getting attacked at Yokohama 99 the year before, finding out the attack had been orchestrated by someone that everyone had considered an ally, he didn’t like anyone to know where he actually lived. Higashi had asked about it once, and Sugiura had just let out a nervous laugh, explaining why he never invited the man over.
Sugiura apologized, saying that it wasn’t personal, and Higashi understood. Sugiura had always had major trust issues since they'd met, Higashi wasn’t going to be hurt by it; he definitely had his own hangups in the past. There were times when Sugiura had even doubted the older man during the case last year, called him out on what seemed like everything that Higashi did or said.
Higashi had mentioned that he was rooting for Kuwana; the older man thought that if bullies chose not to change their way, it was better hat they get a taste of their own medicine. The man had no idea the severity of what Kuwana was doing, and he really couldn’t understand Sugiura’s anger back then; he didn't know what the detective knew. Sugiura was reeling, and he took it out on Higashi.
Looking back, Higashi wondered if it was because Sugiura knew that the older man was safe and would just let him get it all out. Higashi never took the bait when Sugiura would chide him, and truth be told, he could even understand where Sugiura was coming from. He was just older and had too much bullshit to deal with in his life; the detective taking jabs at Higashi was child’s play, and while annoying, the ex-yakuza knew that Sugiura would eventually drop it.
It hadn’t been since that case that Sugiura found every little fault with the older man, and Higashi was glad that the other man was healing.
Higashi made his way into the bathroom. He’d feel better once he got into work.
Even though eating a good, solid breakfast had improved his mood, Higashi still felt horrible once he got into Charles.
“Ya look like shit, aniki,” the clerk said. He looked Higashi up and down.
“Thanks,” Higashi replied. He looked around; it was a weekend, so the place had a lot of kids around playing games. Higashi felt lucky; he had gotten a decent location on Ijin Street. It had been a cinema once upon a time, but it had shut down at some point during the pandemic a few years ago.
Sometimes Higashi wondered how difficult it would be to set up some kind of movie night, drum up some extra business. Maybe one day when he could afford the right kind of equipment, he’d think about it more seriously. His arcades were only doing better as time went on, Higashi wanted to keep things positive, and he was sure that people would love a potential movie night between gaming sessions.
“Aniki, y’know, I’ve been here since the place first opened. If ya need ta go home, I can take care of things here,” the clerk stated. He must’ve overheard Sugiura bringing up Higashi being sick at some point, thought about it and agreed with the detective. “Ya look like yer ready ta pass out.”
“Noted,” Higashi said. He felt better. He’d made himself some tea with breakfast, added extra honey to soothe his throat, and the shower had helped to dissipate the headache.
“I’m jus’ lookin’ out fer ya, aniki,” the clerk mumbled. Higashi knew it was hard to make him budge when his mind was set. He felt fine. Tired, overworked, but generally fine; nothing particularly out of the ordinary.
“I know,” Higashi said. He didn’t think the clerk was trying to override him, but Higashi also knew that his men were sometimes overly protective of him, especially since everything that had gone on within the Matsugane Family four years ago. Higashi thought that when the Tojo Clan had been disbanded the year after, everyone would go their separate way, but somehow, it brought everyone closer. “I really appreciate it.”
Higashi went into the office. He had paperwork to do; going through and calculating expenses for the Yokohama branch of the arcade. Now with some time in Yokohama, Higashi felt like he could really begin to see if he was making profits long-term with the new place. The Kamurocho branch of Charles had finally started breaking even by the end of 2019 under his ownership, and was making a profit by the end of 2021.
Higashi could’ve cried when he realized that he was actually doing shit right when he had calculated profits for 2021. His nerves were shot after he had started helping out in Yagami’s case, he needed fucking something to get his mind off of things.
Yokohama actually seemed like it was generally more popular. Higashi had switched things up, got a couple of newer games for the arcade. Nothing too out of place; he had gotten a Dance Dance Revolution cabinet. At this point, it could be considered retro, and it actually got a lot of customers. Higashi felt like if things went well, he could afford another machine in a couple of months.
Ever since he had opened the arcade, Higashi had gone all in, mostly focused on keeping things running smoothly for both the Kamurocho and the Ijincho arcades. He felt like if he pulled back even a little, something would slip through the cracks, and he’d lose the dream he had of making his business actually successful.
But right now, he could see where maybe he overworked himself a bit. As he went through his monthly expenses, it felt like he could hardly focus, and it all just felt like a blur. But he took a deep breath, shook his head, and got himself some water.
He’d work through this.
Higashi woke up, looked around and noticed it had gotten dark. He blinked quickly, checked his phone to see that it was nearly seven. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, and he was sure that his clerk was long gone by now.
He left the room, surprised when the usual clerk was still behind the counter, chatting with a customer. Higashi walked over.
“You’re still here?” Higashi asked. He didn’t feel a need to be the first one in anymore; he trusted his workers had it taken care of, and a few hours without Higashi wasn’t going to ruin anything. The clerk turned to the older man.
“Saw ya sleepin’ in the back, figured ya needed it. I don’t mind stayin’ a little longer. It’s nice workin’ here,” the clerk replied. He laughed. “Better than sittin’ around a stuffy ol’ office waitin’ fer orders from Hamura.”
Higashi laughed. Even if there were bad feelings about Hamura, no one felt like it was in their best interest to say anything to the man’s face. It would change nothing, and if anything, cause whoever spoke out to take a brutal beating.
As it was, Higashi knew that his inability to get shit done for Hamura already caused trouble for the guys that worked under him. Hamura knew Higashi cared for others, and he used it against the man; beat the men working under him as a threat. Higashi might not have cared so much about his own safety when it came to defying Hamura, but his guys? They had done absolutely nothing; they followed all of Higashi's orders and still did whatever shit Hamura made them do.
Higashi looked around. The place was less packed, but a few stragglers were still playing games.
“Why don’t we close early?” the older man asked. “It’s the weekend, but it’s really not as busy as it usually is tonight. I think we could use a few extra hours off. Things have been pretty good lately.”
Maybe Higashi could tone it down, spend a little less time working. Even if he came in later in the mornings, he still chose to stay until closing. It had helped to relieve the boredom he had, back when he only had one arcade, but he was beginning to notice that there were some cracks starting to show now that he had two arcades to worry about.
“No arguments from me,” the clerk shrugged his shoulders. He looked at Higashi. “Glad yer takin’ care of yerself, aniki.”
Higashi sighed. The clerk grinned and looked around.
“Arcade closes in 10 minutes, everyone out!” he exclaimed. Higashi smacked his hand to his face. Holy fuck. He loved everyone that worked for him, but sometimes Higashi really missed his main clerk in Kamurocho; he was good with customers and handled everything properly and professionally. “Ya need me ta help close everything down?”
“No, just get home. It’s supposed to be a bit colder over the next few days,” Higashi replied. It was nearly January now, they were coming up to the coldest time of the year for Yokohama. It was always a bit warmer than Tokyo, which Higashi didn’t mind. But that didn't mean that it wasn't still cold at night, especially when the sun went down.
“I’ll definitely be snugglin’ up close to the fire,” the clerk said, He grinned, leaned in close to Higashi. “You stay warm too, aniki. Don’t get any sicker.”
“I won’t,” Higashi muttered. He was pretty sure if he heard the word sick anymore, he’d actually be sick and maybe kick something. He knew everyone meant well, but it was really getting to him.
The clerk grinned and grabbed his jacket. He chatted with some customers as they slowly filed out, and then he left behind them. Higashi took a deep breath and looked around. He started emptying the more popular arcade cabinets; he could count the money when he got in the next day.
Higashi breathed in deeply as he took another glance around. The place could probably use some sweeping; people had been in and out the past few days, bringing in dirt and general mess. Eventually, Higashi felt like maybe he could get some cleaners in at night, but for now, he and his clerks were able-bodied, and it didn’t take long to clean when everyone worked together.
But right now, it was just Higashi. But a good hour would make a difference, and Higashi didn’t have any plans. He grabbed a swiffer from the office, and started working on the floors.
After enough time, Higashi felt like he’d gone over the arcade enough. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but good enough for him. And really, he felt like he was getting light-headed.
He shut off the lights before heading out. It felt cold, and there was some light snow coming down. Higashi shivered as he reached up and closed the shutters for the arcade. He nodded his head as he took one last look at the building before turning to start heading home.
Higashi’s eyes felt heavier as he walked, and he attributed it to the snow. He took in a deep breath, felt himself slowing down. He so badly wanted to just fall asleep, as if he hadn't been sleeping for god knows how long in the office. He figured he could give himself a moment to shut his eyes, just clear his head.
Next thing he knew, he was out.
When Higashi woke up, he was laying on a futon. He couldn’t remember even getting home, let alone eating dinner and going to sleep. He looked around; he couldn’t even recognize where he was. It definitely wasn’t his room; his futon had different sheets.
He tried to sit up, but he still felt light-headed, and the movement made him dizzy.
“Here, let me help you.”
It was Sugiura’s voice. The man was sitting near the futon, and he threw an arm around Higashi, helped him sit right and kept his arm on the man for support. Higashi looked over at the detective.
“Are we at your place?” the older man asked. It would explain why Higashi couldn’t recognize where he was. As much as he always wanted to see how Sugiura lived, he never wanted to push the man and his boundaries; he trusted that in time, the detective would open up further and let him in.
Higashi trusted Sugiura’s feelings for him, and he knew that he couldn’t really undo years of feeling alone and like no one could really be trusted. It was nothing personal for Higashi; it was just where Sugiura was in life, and he was trying everyday to overcome those feelings. It was a process, and Higashi would let Sugiura figure it out, help him wherever he could.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” Sugiura said. He turned and reached over, grabbed a mug of tea and handed it to his lover. “We finished our work for the day, so I thought I’d stop by. The arcade was closed, and when I started making my way back home, I found you passed out on the road. Scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” Higashi murmured. He could remember locking up and putting down the shutters, but everything else faded.
“You weren’t even wearing a coat. It’s colder this year, and you’ve had a cold for a while now,” Sugiura continued. “Higashi-san, you need to stop being so stubborn and just take time off. I don’t want to lose you because you’re not willing to take time for yourself.”
Higashi sipped his tea and sighed. He knew that Sugiura just cared about him. He didn’t sound upset, just worried. And truthfully, with how much Sugiura had brought up Higashi catching a cold or being sick, the ex-yakuza wouldn’t blame him if he were upset.
“I don’t want to get complacent,” Higashi murmured. Sugiura took his mug, placed it on the bedside table near Higashi’s glasses. He took Higashi’s hand and held it in his own; it was nice and warm. “The new arcade’s finally doing well, and I feel like if I even slow down, I’ll lose momentum and fuck up what I’ve spent so long building.”
“Oh, Higashi-san,” Sugiura let go of the other man’s hand. “I get it though. Neither Tsukumo-kun or I had any idea about running a business, or anything related to that. We just had our wits and a dream of helping others. And every time something happened, it was terrifying to think that it might be the end of what we thought Yokohama could really use.”
Higashi laughed lightly. Sugiura and Tsukumo had just kind of up and left at some point, and when Higashi had even noticed that the thief was gone, it never occurred to him that he’d go and start his own detective agency. He talked about it sometimes, if he’d stop into Charles, how great it felt when he’d lend a hand at Yagami’s agency. He had said it felt good to use his skills for something deeper that really helped the people of Kamurocho.
When Yokohama 99 celebrated their first anniversary, the team invited Yagami, Kaito, and Higashi for a small party. Sugiura had admitted to Higashi that when he had accepted Tsukumo’s offer to run the place with him, it was a little terrifying to know that if he made the wrong choice, it could really affect business.
Now the agency was a much beloved addition to the district, and Tsukumo and Sugiura were somewhat famous around Ijincho. At this point, it felt like they’d need to purposely fuck something up to affect what they did.
Higashi felt like he was getting there.
“I wish you’d told me earlier,” Sugiura said. “I hate to think that you have all these worries about your business that you’re facing alone. I’m here for you, Higashi-san, and I want you to depend on me more. You’ve listened to me every time I worried about Yokohama 99.”
“Sorry, Sugiura,” Higashi mumbled. He took a deep breath, tried to lay back down. Sugiura gently helped him get comfortable. “Maybe getting sick is my penance.”
“C’mon, don’t say that,” Sugiura said. He laughed. “You’re stubborn and just shrugged it off every time I brought up how sick you were getting, so maybe it’s a sign that you should rely on others more as opposed to just doing it all alone.”
“I–”
Higashi didn’t even know why it felt so difficult. He loved Sugiura and knew that they had each other’s backs, and he even knew that his men would do anything that was asked of them.
He felt like he had to prove that he had it together. He made the choice to take over Charles when he had the opportunity, even if at the time, it seemed like a dicey decision. He was determined to turn everything around, make something of himself after what seemed like an abrupt end to the life he knew.
In some ways, owning the arcade wasn’t too different from what he’d been doing for so long, but there were additional responsibilities, and if it all came crashing down, Higashi didn’t have Matsugane’s backing to lean on. He felt like the responsible thing to do was rely solely on himself, because if it all went up in smoke, it was on him to figure it all out.
And to his relief, it seemed like it had all finally been looking up. He had gotten an investor, opened up his place in Yokohama, and even though it added stress and its own difficulties, it seemed to be doing well enough.
Higashi had gotten that ball rolling, and he never stopped to realize that it could do its own thing and still stay on the trajectory that Higashi had set out for it. He had people on his side that would help keep it moving in the right direction.
“You know, when I was at the arcade earlier, a few teenagers were pretty upset that it was closed,” Sugiura said. He smiled as he climbed over Higashi, laid down beside him. “I don’t think you’ll fuck it up as badly as you do.”
“That implies I’ll still fuck it up a bit,” Higashi mumbled. He cleared his throat and reached for his drink. He sat up slightly to take a sip, ended up just putting the mug down beside the futon.
“You know what I mean, Higashi-san,” Sugiura replied. He sighed. “You’ve done well so far, right? You got Charles to a place where you could open up another location, and look how quickly it caught on through the district. You’ve got it in a good place, you don’t need to run yourself ragged like you’ve been. Hell, if you became seriously ill because you neglected your health, what do you think would happen to all that hard work you put in?”
Higashi looked over at the other man. He hadn’t thought about it. He was generally in good health; he could count on one hand the amount of times he’d been sick, and he had definitely taken it for granted. He made himself sick working so hard when he should’ve just trusted that things were fine.
It had just been so many years of not being fine, he didn’t want to fuck up when it was finally going great and things were looking up.
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” he said.
“Don’t apologize, Higashi-san. I just care about you, and I’m used to how you get once you’ve got an idea in your head,” Sugiura grinned. But then he sighed, looked around the room. “I could apologize it took this long to have you over… but I know you understand why even if it’s sad and fucked up.”
Higashi laughed again, let out a slight cough. It felt nice being under so many blankets, and having a portable heater lying next to him. He wished he had listened to Sugiura sooner; laying beside the man like this felt different, or maybe it was just being sick and light-headed.
“You know if you get this close, you’ll probably get sick as well,” Higashi said. He thought about it the night before as well; despite Sugiura’s insistence that the other man was sick, he never kept his distance. Higashi sometimes thought that if he was sick, Sugiura would soon become the same way.
“Oops, too late,” Sugiura shrugged his shoulders. He turned over, threw an arm over Higashi and snuggled closer. Higashi could feel the other man’s breath against his neck. “At least if we’re both sick, I can keep an eye on you and make sure you get the rest you need and deserve.”
Higashi laughed. Leave it to Sugiura to come up with such a logical conclusion to what would definitely be a shitty situation. But if it’s what it took for Higashi to realize that things were okay and he didn’t need to work himself so hard, so be it.
He didn’t mind being sick with Sugiura.