TW for Non con ahead
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"What are you talking about?" Sakyo demands, already turning around in his seat. He sees the outline of the other car and swears under his breath.
"Where did they come from?"
A great question. Toji hadn't exactly noticed them right away. Was someone tailing them to the dump sites? It's definitely not the police. They were being entirely too obvious to be trained. Whoever it is, they clearly weren't experienced.
"Give me your piece," Toji demands, his hand expectantly snapping open. His passenger obliges without question.
The warm handle of the grip slides into his palm like a stranger's glove. He hates using someone else's gun. It's never ideal. There's no time to test the sights or the kick before needing to use it. Judging by the weight of the clip, it's fully loaded. Toji expected no less. He could easily lean out the window and take a shot from the next curve in the road.
"What's that?" Sakyo asks, pointing through the windshield.
There's another vehicle entirely blocking the road. It looks like they're having some car trouble of some sort. There's a young man dressed in a suit waving down Toji to get him to stop. As if he had any chance of driving around. The dumbass had the whole road blocked. Toji has no other choice but to halt.
And still the car without lights sits behind them, idling in place.
Fucking perfect.
"He needs assistance," Sakyo comments unnecessarily.
"What do we do?"
"We don't do anything. You're going to shine that seat with your ass while I get this idiot off the road."
"Why? I can help."
"Don't be stupid," Toji huffs. He then hands the gun back to Sakyo who only stares at it.
"Well? Are you gonna watch my back, or not?"
"…You don't want to take it with you? Are you certain?" the boy asks.
"I can handle this prick in the suit. He's out of his element here, but I don't like the look of that car behind us. If anyone gets out, take care of it. Can you do that?"
The younger man stares at his gun in silence, refusing to take it.
"I'm a lousy shot in the dark," he finally confesses.
"You've got to be kidding me. With all that bragging you do, you've never learned to shoot at night?"
"It never occurred to me. I'm usually much closer to my targets as well." Sakyo's open palm pushes the gun back.
"Keep it. It's better off in your hands, Shi-san."
He doesn't have time to protest. The stranded motorist approaches the driver's side door, smiling and motioning for Toji to lower the window.
He does so, but only a few centimeters.
"What do you need?"
"Thanks for stopping! I'm so embarrassed, I got stuck in the mud! Can you help me push my car out please?" he implores with another friendly smile.
Toji's eyes flick down to check the guy's shoes. They're clean. This guy's story is bullshit. He's probably with the other car that's been following them.
"Sure, pal. I can give you a push."
He begins to open the door, intending to slam the back of it into the liar's face. The man then pretends to notice Sakyo in the passenger seat for the first time.
"Actually…I think it may take three men to push it out. It would go much faster," he reasons. The blank grin on his face remains. His eyes linger slightly too long on Sakyo's.
It's then that Toji realizes what their plan must be.
Sakyo. Someone must've tracked him since he started tagging along for Toji's work shifts these past few weeks. The son of a yakuza boss would be a prime target for anyone with animosity towards the family. Plus that disgusting little hobby of his has no doubt earned him a few enemies as well, though his body count had dwindled lately.
Whatever their intentions, these men are obviously here because of the kid. Meaning it's now Toji's responsibility to get him out safely.
He pulls the trigger with the barrel pressed against the tempered glass of the door.
BOOM!
With a shocked face, the man at his window falls back, arms flailing as he hits the ground. He doesn't get up. His blood is dripping from the door frame. Toji turns the engine over, then switches gears into reverse and steps on the gas. Hastily he throws a hand behind Sakyo's head.
"Hold on, kid!" he shouts.
The car behind had been parked much too close to pull away in time. There's a shattering crunch as the hood is folded by the flat back end of the box truck. The tailgate smashes through the windshield.
Without turning off the engine, Toji jumps from the driver's seat with his weapon drawn, sending glass shards scattering. He points the sights at the driver's side window, but it's too dark to see through the tint.
"Your partner is dead. You're all alone. Why don't you make this easier and come on out?" he suggests.
There's no response from the vehicle. The wreckage may be bad, but it's not enough to have killed the driver. Maybe he's still stunned. Toji sighs. He isn't in the mood to do things the hard way. Nonetheless, he approaches slowly, step by step.
Just as he's reaching for the handle, the passenger side door flings open and the man inside finally stumbles out. He gapes in horror first at Toji, looking confused. He then turns to Sakyo, who'd also chosen to hop out of his seat for a better view.
"Look! He's running for it!" Sakyo shouts.
The young man turns tail, but there's nowhere for him to go. The grasses are too low to conceal him and the treeline is just too far. Something hits his shoulder as he flees, causing him to stagger from the impact.
He'd been shot.
The next bullet that hits lodges into the base of his spine. His legs buckle and he falls face first into the dirt. Then he hears the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and panics, trying to claw his way through the dirt to pull himself forward uselessly.
"Please, no! I'm sorry! Please don't! We didn't mean it!" he blubbers.
Toji's heard it all before. It's nothing personal, he tells himself. It was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They'd cornered him out here on his delivery route. The guy obviously knew too much.
There's a third shot, and the man's begging stops.
It takes several minutes for Toji to load the new bodies into the back of the truck. He'll have to work overtime tonight to make sure they both disappear. And seal the hole in the cab from the broken window. He's losing darkness. There's only a few more hours until sunrise. These unlucky bastards may have to sit in buckets overnight.
Disgusting.
Toji sweeps his arm over the seat to clear away the bits of glass, climbs back into the cab and slams the door. He lays the gun on the middle seat, sitting in stoney silence as he breathes hard through his nose. He flinches when Sakyo rests a hand on his forearm. He'd sidled up next to the older man so quietly that he didn't even hear the door open.
"Are you alright?" Sakyo asks in a worried tone.
"Yeah. Fine," Toji grunts, trying to shrug off the touch without much success. The boy holds on tight.
"No, you're not, you're hurt. See?" he points at the back of Toji's knuckles. They're bloody and covered in deep cuts. When they hit the car behind them, Toji protected Sakyo's head from the brunt of hitting the back glass but suffered for it.
He flexes his fingers. It doesn't feel like there's anything broken at least. That's a relief.
"This happened because of me, didn't it?" Sakyo asks.
"Just be thankful these idiots didn't know what they were doing. It could have been much worse."
Toji makes a move to wipe his hand with the hem of his shirt, but again Sakyo halts him
"Let me. Please, it's the least I can do," the boy insists, pulling his handkerchief from his pocket once again and carefully begins wrapping it around the older man's hand. After the second time around, his blood finally stops seeping through.
He tolerates it, but takes no enjoyment in the touch. Toji hasn't forgotten what those hands are capable of.
"There, that ought to hold well for a bit. Sorry, that I can't do more for you…" he murmurs in a strangely wistful tone. There's the barest hint of a smile being suppressed, a mere tremble of excitement.
"Although…I absolutely would if you'd let me."
Sakyo's palm slips from Toji's hand to his inner thigh so suddenly that the older man has no chance to recoil from it. There's strength behind the touch, feigning innocence without relenting anything shy of a possessive grip. It was a greedy motion.
"You were magnificent, Shi-san."
Facing the crazed boy, Toji finally saw the look in his eyes, unblinking as they begged without truly asking for consent. They were mad with obsession.
"Please, allow me…" he repeats demandingly.
Oh, fuck no.
"It's alright. You don't have to–"
"Oh, but you risked your life for mine! And it was breathtaking to behold, Shi-san. I'd ask my father to reward you…Except he doesn't exactly know I've been coming here to help you work. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for me being at risk tonight either, besides. He may get rather upset if he finds out."
Sakyo's fingers press through the denim of Toji's jeans. He almost laughs aloud with relief when he finds there is no resistance. Already reaching for the man's belt, he unbuckles it with reverence. Yes, he will savor this. Everything went as it was supposed to and his prize is right here in his clutches, unable to refute him. Sakyo drops all pretenses in hiding his mirth now.
"Relax, you'll enjoy this," he promises.
The latter had fallen silent, realizing his countless errors with chagrin and stupefying anger. He should have seen this coming. The amatuer way they were followed, the second driver staring right at Sakyo and the scripted way he was talking. Stupid fucking idiot. They never even drew any weapons. Now Toji truly understood. The two men weren't trying to kill Sakyo afterall.
They were working for him.
He'd set it all up to force Toji to protect him from a false assassination attempt. All so he'd have an excuse to do something as outlandish as this to "repay" him.
And Toji fell for it.
With one last tug, his pants are loosened and Sakyo breathes a sigh of admiration at the bulge in Toji's underwear. Even flaccid, his girth proved impressive. Toji chooses to stare outside the front windshield the entire time resolutely, not wanting to give any inclination that he's taking pleasure in any of this foolishness. His assailant has to work to make him fully erect, but he takes smug satisfaction in knowing his own body would never respond naturally to this lowlife.
Sakyo isn't offended in the least however. He relishes in the act, rolling Toji's foreskin back and forth to tease the tip. It stimulates them both, though it's only Sakyo who moans at the sight.
"You're so absolutely perfect," he breathes, pressing open, wet kisses on the stiffening member.
All the while Toji squirms and grits his teeth, trying not to make a single utterance. His eyes flit to the gun momentarily, entertaining the ludicrous notion of blowing the kid's brains out. But then what? He'd have the entire yakuza hunting him down.
There's no way out. He's going to have to let the little brat have his way.
Good God he hopes this is all he wants.
It feels disgusting having Sakyo's mouth on him like this, stringing his spit down his balls like a damn animal. He wonders if the kid is doing a bad job on purpose, trying to make the encounter last as long as possible. Shit. Toji is going to have to interact if he wants to make this quicker. He allows himself to flex inside the boy's mouth, responding to the efforts at last.
Stifling his gag reflex, he places a hand on Sakyo's shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. Not quite encouragement but a response that goads the boy to move faster anyway.
Hurry up, hurry up. Think of something else. No, someone, anyone else. Shit… No one comes to mind. It's been too long since Toji last had sex. His only memorable physical interaction was with that dark-haired girl who stumbled upon his work address by mistake weeks ago.
But it is enough.
His cock flexes again and his grip on Sakyo's shoulder tightens. Fighting his instincts to pull away, he raises his hips to take more of the boy's mouth instead. There's another moan from his lap he has to drown out. In his mind he switches the tone, making it more like her voice. He clings to his fantasy with desperation, knowing if it slipped away for even a second, he'd have to start all over. Please, he silently begs. He tells himself he can smell her perfume, taste her skin, and hear the sound of her soft breathing. The name she'd shouted from the taxi cab still rings through his ears clearly. He snatches for the memory like a lifeline.
Minato.
Savoring it on his tongue, as if she would somehow save him, He keeps her face in mind. It's all he can do to maintain himself under the assault. He fists his fingers through Sakyo's shoulder length hair, maintaining imagination and reaching desperately within his fantasy for his nearing relief. It's coming, he can feel the pressure building.
There's a high pitched whine as his grip around Sakyo's hair tightens painfully. He tells himself it came from her and no one else. He stifles a surprising sob into his bicep, turning his head away in shame. He wants to punch his fist through the windshield, but his hand is already bleeding through the handkerchief.
Sakyo comes up for air at last, panting and nearly choking as he swallows. Coyly he grins as he reaches for the edge of the man's shirt, using it to wipe his chin with clear amusement.
"You're a marvel, Shi-san. In every way. I can see myself becoming quite addicted to this."
Toji hides his expression behind a trembling hand, staring blankly into the emptiness of the night beyond the glass. He feels his pants being pulled back up and his belt re-fastened.
Repulsion kept his eyes glued shut. He's sick with disgust.
Indifferent to his actions, Sakyo sparks a cigarette then holds out his pack
Toji accepts one awkwardly, not knowing what else to do, and lets his aggressor light it for him.
"We should go," Sakyo suggests gently. With absolute boldness, he reaches over and easily strokes the man's inner thigh casually. He's smiling again. It makes Toji's stomach lurch.
"We have a long night ahead of us, don't we, Shi-san?"
***End of Flashback***
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Toji's smoke break is doing nothing to soothe his nerves. His guts twist again with dread. The rest of his shift is going to drag unless he gets to work soon. He can't keep putting it off no matter how sick he feels.
The pigs are bothering him today.
Their squeals, to be more precise.
Pulling out his phone, he finds your name in his scant contact list and selects call. The line rings three times, and there's a click as you answer.
"Uh, hello?"
"Hey. It's me," Toji greets clumsily, self aware of how he's never called you on the phone before. It feels awkward.
"Yeah, I figured. What's going on? Do you need something?"
Your voice sounds strangely close to the receiver and he notices immediately.
"Is everything okay?" he asks with urgency.
"Huh? Of course, I'm fine. Just…You know, sitting here. At home," You lie, but the digital chime announcing your entrance through the aquarium gift shop doors betrays you.
Shit. He definitely heard that.
"What was that sound?"
"Umm…Birds?" you attempt innocently.
The guy behind the counter notices you and Junpei entering and greets you with enthusiasm.
"Welcome to our gift shop! Did you enjoy all of the exhibits?"
You glare at him with annoyance. So much for stealth.
"Where the hell are you?!" Toji hollers through your receiver.
"Ugh! Don't be mad, but I absolutely didn't feel like wasting my weekend sitting inside all day! I took Junpei to the aquarium. That's all, alright? And we're fine."
"And how exactly are you funding this little outing of yours, may I ask?"
Now he's getting on your nerves.
"What do you mean? With my own money! I earn it, don't I?"
"You've been in my secret stash again!" he accuses.
Your eyes roll. "Yeah, right. Some big secret. It's in the couch cushion with a lump in it."
"Get. Home. Now. And stay there!" Toji commands.
"I hear you. We were done anyway," you grumble indignantly and hang up.
He seriously needs to chill out. What harm is it if you go out for a few hours?
You look around for Junpei, finding him investigating a shelf full of various miniature plush versions of the fish you'd just seen together. He's holding a pink squid with curling tentacles and large sparkling blue eyes.
"Hey, that looks familiar," you comment while resting your chin on his shoulder.
With a sheepish grin, he holds it up for you.
"When I was little, my mom used to buy me a different one each time we came here. I have a collection."
He pauses, noticing you're still holding your phone.
"Was that Toji-Sensei?"
Nodding, you lean your head against his. "Yeah. It looks like our date has to end for now. Sorry. But you're welcome to hang out at my place for a few hours until he gets home."
"Sure. I'd love to spend more time with you. In for a penny, in for a pound. Right?"
He repeats your words from earlier, earning a genuine smile from you.
It feels nice being understood.
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Toji is still at work by the time you make it home. He's sure to have stern words for you when he returns and you're already dreading it, but for now you get a few more precious hours with your boyfriend. Asshole. Why did he have to call while you were out? Oh, God. What if Ly called him first and mentioned what he saw earlier? But did he even see anything? Surely he gathered enough to have his suspicions of what you and Junpei were up to.
You flop onto the couch and sigh. A sweet smell lingering on the upholstery makes your nose wrinkle. Residual traces of Nagi Yoshino's perfume. Jeez, she must have bathed in the stuff. You shudder, hopping up and shaking off the thoughts quite physically. Who knows what they might have done there?
Junpei is still unlacing his shoes, balancing precariously on one foot with one new pink squid tucked under his arm.
"I had a really nice time. Thank you again for taking me," he smiles.
"So did I. You know, despite other people trying to ruin it for us. It was nice."
He perks slightly. "Yeah? So…everything was…okay?"
By his tone, you can tell he isn't just talking about the date. He means what happened in the jellyfish room.
You bite your bottom lip absently. Was it okay? There were some things that you genuinely enjoyed, but being touched that way made you feel…embarrassed? No, that's not the right word. It was shame. You'd even kept your eyes closed to hide from it until Junpei helped reassure you.
He notices your distress, lacing his fingers with yours to lead you into your room. The two of you sit on the end of your bed, with you leaning heavily against his shoulder. He reaches to move your hair from your face, waiting for you to find your voice with patience.
It takes a while.
You exhale slowly, closing your eyes and turning your face into the warmth of Junpei's chest. His heartbeat is steady and comforting, beckoning you to dissolve your worries into him. He whispers your name as you hum lightly, and squeezes your hand.
Well, here goes nothing.
"What happened earlier,... it felt good mostly, but I just kept thinking…"
"Thinking what, Fushiguro?"
"That I wasn't a boy while it was happening..."
It makes little sense, even to you, but there's no other way to describe those feelings.
"I'm sorry," Junpei offers lamely, not understanding. This isn't what he wanted at all.
"Don't be. It's my own issue to get over. And I'm sure I will one day," you reassure him. You give a soft laugh, but it comes out sounding defeated.
"I do still want to keep trying things, but it kind of freaks me out at the same time."
Ha takes both of your hands in his. You've been nothing short of fearless since he's met you. It's odd knowing there's something that you're afraid of, especially something as innocuous as a soft touch from your boyfriend. There goes his plans of giving you an orgasm. How can he make you feel good if it triggers you as well? It's a catch 22.
"Whatever you need, I'm here for you, Fushiguro. We can figure it out together," he swears.
"Yeah, well what I need now is to change my pants." You gesture to the rip hopelessly with a small chuckle. If Toji saw these, he'd bitch about how much he spends on your clothes just for you to ruin them.
"Oh! Do you want me to leave the room?" Junpei blushes as he watches you begin to unzip.
"Feeling shy all of a sudden? You were the one who ambushed me earlier. Don't think I won't get you back for that by the way."
You chuckle and let your pants fall, stepping out of them, You can plainly see his attention is drawn to your underwear. You pause, seemingly considering your next action even though you'd made your mind up already. With a smooth motion, your underwear comes off leaving you in only your t-shirt.
He squeaks and covers his mouth, eyes wide with surprise. Shakily he stammers your name and twists his body away out of modesty, though he forgets to tell his neck to turn with it. He can't look away from you.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"What? You've never changed in front of another boy before?" you smirk.
"Sure I have," he reminds himself out loud. It was true, but none of those boys turned him on the way you do.
Junpei's cheeks are flushed and he looks as if you could knock him over with a feather, still trying his hardest to look away from your ass while you casually select a clean set of clothes to change into. Purposefully, you take your time. It's empowering to have this kind of reaction from him.
After re-dressing, you check your phone again. It's 3:15 and Toji usually gets off at 5. He's a punctual bastard too. You don't even have enough time to find a movie to watch on TV, not that you wanted to sit on that perfume soaked couch anyway.
"What would you like to do now?" Junpei asks.
"Can we just lay here together for a while longer? I'd really like that."
He smiles. "Of course."
Toji had actually decided to cut his shift short after your little chat earlier, making an excuse of illness. He isn't known for missing work. Over the years he's built a reputation for never getting sick, and even working over holidays since he typically didn't have anyone to spend them with.
Until he met you, coincidentally the reason for two of his work shifts needing to be suddenly shortened.
He knocks at your bedroom door. "Oi! Get ready. I'm taking your boyfriend home."
He doesn't linger to catch any complaints, knowing full well what he could have been interrupting.
You're lying comfortably on top of your bedsheets in Junpei's arms. He hugs you tighter and kisses your cheek, waking you from the nap you'd both slipped into together.
"Sounds like it's time for me to go," he begrudgingly admits. He didn't sleep but wouldn't trade the experience of holding you for anything else in the world.
You groan lightly in protest, squirming closer to his warmth one last time.
"Thanks for staying so long. I hope you don't get yelled at 'cause of me."
Junpei smiles in content. "I don't think I will. Did you hear what he called me?"
"Yeah," you give him a soft headbutt beneath his chin.
He may act hard, but Toji does support you. It's good having that at home for a change, especially after today.
The world is full of assholes, but some are on your side.
The two of you stretch and straighten your clothes and hair. Although innocent, sleeping together is often seen as an excuse to do other things, and you're just not ready for that conversation with Toji again. Nor would you be in the foreseeable future. He can just sit on his assumptions and keep them to himself.
When you exit your room, you find Toji sitting on the couch with both arms crossed in pissed-off parent mode.
"Hope you had fun today," he snaps with zero sincerity.
You decide to ignore his acidity. "We did, thanks for asking."
He glares daggers at you in silence.
"Oh, Ly Phan says 'hello' by the way," you add flippantly.
"Did you know he was working at the aquarium? He feeds the fish."
"You ready?" Toji asks Junpei, deliberately ignoring your candor.
"Yes, Sensei," Junpei grabs his backpack from the floor and begins re-tying his shoes to leave. He grins up at you, trying his hardest not to smirk secretly.
You're having far less success.
"I'll be in the car," Toji grunts, snatching his keys and slamming the door behind him, leaving the two of you to snicker at his distemper.
It's only a few blocks drive, but Toji is unnerved by the silence from his passenger the entire way. The kid must be sulking, or maybe he even has the balls to be mad at him for cutting your date short. That thought amuses him. Almost.
"Knock off your pouting. You'll see your partner in crime in school. A little time apart won't kill you." Toji rolls his window down and sticks a cigarette between his lips.
Before he can light it, a hand grabs him by the wrist.
"Hey, let go. It's my car, and I'll smoke if I want–"
"Toji-Sensei, I need your help. Please," Junpei practically begs.
"What? Help with what?"
The boy looks nervous for all of three seconds before blurting, "I…I need to learn how to give Fushiguro an orgasm!"
Tires squeal as the car nearly veers into oncoming traffic at Junpei's outburst. Toji yanks the wheel back into his lane. With his mouth hanging open from shock, he's lost his cigarette.
"I didn't hear that," he says astutely.
"I said that I need to–"
Toji extends a flat palm. "No! I mean I'm not getting involved."
"But I–"
"I said NO! What is it with you kids? You're trying to stress me into a goddamn heart attack before I hit forty aren't you? It's a scheme you both probably cooked up together. I'm sure of it."
He grits his teeth, turning the wheel purposefully into the parking lot of Junpei's apartment complex.
"Get out," he barks. But his passenger remains seated.
Sulking in place, the boy begins to sniffle pitifully.
"I …I just want to make my boyfriend happy. He says the things that feel good make him feel like he's not a boy, and I have no idea what that means or what to do. I can't exactly ask my mom about this. She doesn't even know about us!" Junpei wails as he hides his face in his hands.
Toji on the other hand is nearly sweating bullets. The boy is really pressing his luck. Initial disgust aside, he knows the plain and ugly truth. If Junpei still had his dad around there would be someone he could talk to about this. Someone else besides his boyfriend's "father" for fuck's sake.
He swallows hard, knuckles pale around the steering wheel.
"Get out of the car," he instructs again.
Junpei hangs his head, reaching for his backpack.
"Leave it."
"Sorry?"
Junpei watches his sensei's shoulders sag forward in defeat.
"I said leave it. Go upstairs. Wait fifteen minutes, then tell your mom that you forgot your bag in my car. Say you called and had me bring it back to you."
"Um…Okay…But why?" Junpei looks bewildered by the request, but leaves it on the floorboard as he exits the car.
Toji huffs impatiently. "Look, kid, do you want me to help you or not?!"
"Y-yes! I do! Th-thank you, Sensei."
Although he doesn't understand his teacher's methods, Junpei hastily bows and rushes to the entrance of his apartment building, eagerly checking his phone to begin counting down the minutes. Whatever Toji may be planning, he'll just have to trust him.
Watching the little welp disappear between double doors, Toji shakes his head. He can't believe he's even entertaining this stupid idea. This is borderline inappropriate with him being the closest person you have as a father figure in your life.
There's that word again.
Junpei doesn't even have a pretend father. He came to Toji as his teacher. The kid really has no one else to ask about this shit.
He picks the backpack up and unzips it. There are a few textbooks inside, but no notebooks. Tough break, kid. After a moment of perusing, he selects Junpei's literature book and flips through the pages without much interest. He was never allowed to go to public school, and had missed out on reading even the most common short stories assigned by any standard curriculum. They're all just boring dry titles and pompous words to him. He finds what he's looking for and reaches for a pen.
There isn't much time if he's going to do this. He can't believe he even wants to, but what Junpei said resonated with him in a way the boy couldn't have possibly known. "Not feeling like a boy" means you're suffering from dysphoria again. Shit. He had a feeling that was going to make a comeback too, what with you starting to date and came sooner than he anticipated. He thought he'd have a few more months at least to prepare, but…..Dammit, you must really like Junpei.
He's seen you trounce on boys more than twice your size on several occasions and walk away virtually unscathed. More than could be said from whoever was on the other side of those beatings. You were an absolute hellhound in the ring, and although he'd never tell you to your face, Toji wouldn't be living as comfortably without your winnings.
He owes you.
Fuck! He isn't ready for this, but there's no way in hell he's going to let you feel negatively about yourself. Not after how much work he's put into helping you manage it. He can give Junpei advice, but who's to say it would even work for you.
Nervously he licks his lips, and begins to write in the margins of a page. After a few minutes, Toji allows himself to scoff in semi-humor, scribbling away in the dark.
Minato would get a real kick out of this. He muses, reaching for his cigarette case with his free hand. Out of habit his thumb circles over the name etched in its corner.
Minato Fushiguro
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Flashback…
It had been over three months since the strange girl had stumbled into Toji's life. Each night he laid awake in his bed staring holes through his ceiling until his anticipation grew to be unbearable. In a near circadian rhythm, he dragged himself out every night against his better comforts looking for her. He was going in circles with the names of each bar blurring into the next. It's hard enough telling the streets apart at night. He was never the type that enjoys going out to relax. People unnerve him. After years of sawing guys in half and scraping out their guts into buckets, Toji doesn't want to risk seeing one of his future assignments walking around in the flesh. Plus the fewer people who see him the better.
But he couldn't force himself to stay at home either. The thought of never getting to see her again is like a rusting pin in his brain. It drives him out even on the busiest nights to the most stifling bars all in search of a girl named Minato.
He'd give his right arm to know her last name.
She had to be a regular somewhere. His first impression was that she was a brash thrillseeker. Someone like that was bound to have a few regular spots. But where? Each bar was a crowded noisy mess of drunken patrons jostling past one another rudely. Or worse, trying to be overly friendly without realizing they were annoying the hell out of someone else, desperate to get away but usually to polite to tell them to fuck off. It was far worse in the host clubs. A few bold hosts even tried their luck to dissuade him from seeking anyone but their company for the night, to which he would always decline.
It was a hassle just to get through the lines of most places. The din of laughter and shouts in each establishment forced Toji to nearly have to yell to be understood by the barkeep standing directly in front of him.
The bar where he is tonight isn't much different from any of the rest. The music is far too loud, and the air is drenched in a mixture of perfume, cologne and cigarette smoke. At least there's someone behind the bar who looks available to answer his questions. He approaches the counter and waves to get the guy's attention.
"I'm looking for someone who may be a regular here. Her name is Minato. Dark hair, about this tall., and uh,…Kind of a huge bitch?" he indicates with a hand in front of him, stopping at his neck.
The bartender only shakes his head. "Sorry, not ringing a bell. Is she a friend of yours? Or an ex you're tracking down?"
Toji grits his teeth, already knowing what's coming next.
"It's not like that," he mutters.
"I get guys like you in here often, you know? Crazy ex-boyfriends who just don't know when to let go. It's degrading, you know that, right?"
Toji's fists closed at his sides. He'd gotten this reaction alot, but he didn't care. How could he explain his need to see her again without sounding like some sort of deranged stalker? To anyone else, that's all they would see.
"Look, friend, if she likes you, she'll come back around, right? And if not, well, there's your answer." The bartender turns away, ready to go back to his paying customers. He doesn't have time to play matchmaker.
"Yeah, right," Toji agrees less than halfheartedly.
He'd been waiting for that too, but what if she didn't know how to get back to his work site on her own? Plus the place looked run down in daylight. There's no way she'd anticipate his actual work shifts anyway. The prospect of missing her if she did go back only made him more frantic.
Toji decides to cut his losses here and try the next place. There's still a few more hours he can waste tonight. As he makes his way to the exit, someone shoves past from his left. A short young-looking boy in an oversized jacket and hat gives Toji an angry glare.
"Watch where you're going, you big ugly prick," he snaps, taking the lead and marching out before the larger man can respond.
Because Toji had been stopped in his tracks by the boy's insult.
When sense returns to him, Toji is out the door in a flash.
"Hey! Wait up!" he calls after the young man, now jay-walking across the street.
Without waiting for traffic, Toji attempts to follow.
HOOOOONNKK!
A driver gestures obscenely at Toji with his left hand while slamming on his horn.
"Up yours!" Toji shouts as he rushes past.
Again he hollers for the boy to wait for him, but unfortunately it's having the opposite effect. Being chased only gives him reason to flee. He darts through pedestrians along the sidewalk, taking a sharp right to hopefully vanish out of sight in a narrow alley.
There's a chain link fence dividing the business properties ahead. The boy grabs ahold and hoists himself up, digging in the toes of his shoes through each opening to scale his way over. He's quick, but not quite fast enough.
A heavy hand on his ankle stops his progress.
"-OOF!"
Without looking back, the boy fires a reverse kick and feels the impact of a direct hit. He hoists himself over the top, cackling triumphantly as he drops to the pavement below. With the clumsiness of his landing, he loses his hat but doesn't bother to scoop it back up. He dashes deeper into the alley, laughing wildly.
Toji wraps his fingers through the wire, heart pounding. Out of logical ideas now, he shouts after the boy one last time in absolute desperation.
"Minato!"
The boy stops in his tracks, cautiously turning back around. Long hair which had been carefully tucked within his now discarded hat fell around his face.
Even from a distance, Toji recognizes those scowling eyes, and chokes out a grateful half-sob that's more of a hysterical laugh.
"It is you, isn't it? Minato?!"
"Who the hell wants to know?" the person on the other side of the fence asks, cocking a suspicious eyebrow.
"I…You may not remember me, because you were really drunk and, uh, dressed differently too. But I, and you too I think…We had a good time together. Right?"
"Sorry, pal, I don't think I know you."
Toji's face is burning and starting to swell from where he was kicked. He can smell his own blood, but this may be his only chance.
"My name is Toji Zen'in. And I'm in love with you."
To Be Continued…