An entire month passed before they found him. A black car pulled up beside Majima as he walked down the road. He was dressed in true island style, with loose slacks and a patterned, wrinkled shirt that he had found in the back of Kiryu's closet. He watched the car out of the corner of his eye but kept going.

"Sir!" The window rolled down and Nishida, one of his oldest associates, stuck his head out. He slowed to keep pace with him. "I found you!"

"Obviously," Majima mumbled. He had known that someone would figure out where he was sooner or later, but he had hoped that he would get a little longer. He crossed to the other side of the road to get away from the car.

It didn't deter Nishida. The man, already a disaster behind the wheel, swerved over.

"You're drivin' on the wrong side of the road, dipshit!" Majima yelled at him.

"I need you to come with me, sir! It's the Omi, they're here!"

"You idiot, they probably followed you here."

"No, uh, I followed them. They found you first." Nishida looked sheepish. When Majima stopped, he jumped from the car and bowed. "Sorry!"

There was a time when Majima would have done something extreme, something violent and uncontrolled to mask his feelings. He could see that Nishida was braced for it. Nishida flinched when he took a deep breath and let it out, long and slow, as a soft whistle between his teeth. He shook his head and shrugged. "I don't got it in me," he wondered aloud. "You're gettin' off easy this time."

"Thank you, sir," Nishida said as he opened the door. "If we leave now, we should be away in time."

Majima paused with his hand on the car door, "Who all's here?"

Nishida listed Omi's three toughest men. "Plus some other guys, a reporter, probably a few guns."

Majima closed the car door. "A whole fuckin' parade, then. I'd be crazy if I missed it." He strode away, leaving Nishida to trail after him.

"Sir!"

"I brought this trouble here. I'm not goin' until I'm sure that the Omi bastards are goin', too. I don't trust them to not make a mess of things."

"At least let me drive you back to town," Nishida said.

"That would be faster." Majima narrowed his eye. "You won't try to kidnap me if I get in?"

"I swear it."

It was a short drive back into town. Majima had him park the car at the ferry so he could proceed on foot.

"Majima!" The lady from the restaurant, Nanami ran up to them. She faltered when she saw Nishida, but moved forward. "Men came in earlier looking for you. Ryou, that foolish son of mine, offered to help them. They've been gone for hours and I'm worried what they're going to do."

"Don't worry, Miss Higa." Majima helped her rise from her bow and patted her on the shoulder. "I'll find your boy and send those men on their way."

"But they looked like-" She stopped when she saw his expression and thought better of her assessment of dangerous men. "Thank you."

Majima looked over his shoulder at Nishida but kept talking to Nanami. "Get yourself back home and close up for the day. I'll bring Ryou once I find 'em." He had already turned away from her as she hurried away. "Find the bastards who chased me here. Send a location and leave the rest to me."

Nishida nodded, jumped back in the car, and drove away.

Majima rubbed his eye. Stupid of him to think he could get away. Stupid, stupid, idiot. There was no escaping it, hadn't he learned that by now? The least he could do was minimize the collateral damage from the danger he trailed behind him to this quiet town. Nanami, Ryou, that old bat from the beach, and Kiryu never asked for this.

Kiryu. Majima's eye flew open. He had brought Omi men right to Kiryu's doorstep. Majima cursed and ran back to the apartment.

"I told you," he heard Ryou say around the corner of the building, "they were here earlier. Majima's been staying here with Mr. Suzuki for a few weeks. I'm sorry, I don't know where else they might be." His voice was tight with fear.

"You led us all over this fucking island, boy." A deep voice this time, not someone from the island. "You're wasting our time. How hard can it be to find two old men? If you don't tell us where they are soon, I'm going to start thinking you're purposefully wasting my time."

Majima lowered into a crouch and looked around the side of the building. A large man-Majima recognized him as an Omi lieutenant-had Ryou's arm twisted behind his back.

Ryou spotted him and pressed his mouth into a thin line. Majima shook his head.

"What's going on?" Kiryu laid a hand on Majima's back.

Majima nearly jumped a foot in the air. "Nothin'."

"Then why are you spying on people?" There was a bemused smile on Kiryu's face but the crease between his eyes was deepening as harsh voices cut through the air.

Majima felt two options spread out before him, neither of them good for him. Lose someone he cared about, or lose his freedom? Reveal Kiryu to the people he was hiding from, or turn himself over to his enemies? Because there was no doubt that Kiryu would give up everything he had built over the past decade to save the boy, that's just who he was. There was no guarantee these young punks would recognize him, but there would be no mistaking him when he opened that damned idealistic mouth.

It was like Kiryu was reading his thoughts. "They're here for you, aren't they?" he said, crouched down next to Majima.

"It's okay," Majima said. He forced a wide smile. "I was gettin' bored here anyway. I don't think retirement is for me."

Kiryu placed a rough hand on Majima's face. "Don't lie to me."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to come back," Majima said, trying honesty out.

"You don't know that."

"You're right, I don't." Majima stared at him, memorizing every detail, before standing. "Maybe once things die down."

Kiryu stood and backed away. "Promise? I don't want to have to go back to Tokyo to track you down."

"Promise," Majima said. Honesty did feel good. He clapped his hands together and gave Kiryu his bravest face. "Well, see ya on the other side, Kazzy."

Before he could talk himself out of it, he rounded the corner. It was typical that Nishida wasn't there, leaving his boss to deal with things on his own.

He waved cheerfully. "Hey boys," he called out to the group of yakuza. "Heard ya were lookin' for me."

###

Four years later, Majima was finally keeping his promise.

He leaned against the railing of the ferry, feeling the salty air run through his hair. He closed his eye against it and smiled slightly as the feeling of nostalgia overcame him. Once they docked, he retraced his steps along the docks and to the town. Nothing had changed-it was as if it were frozen in time.

Still, he wondered why he had ever looked down on it. Peace, simplicity, quiet: they were the antithesis of who he was, but that was why he needed them. They were an anchor to weigh him down in the storm of his life.

He had given word to Kiryu that he was coming this time. He could see him sitting on a bench next to the bus station. When their eyes met, Kiryu stood.

"I'm back," Majima said. He let the other man fold him into his wide arms before snaking his arms around to complete the embrace.

"How long are you staying?"

Majima smiled over Kiryu's shoulder. "I dunno, let's find out."