When Riku wakes up she's alone in the bed and the sun pours in through the stretch of floor length windows opposite to it. She sits up and stretches, looking around to search for any trace of Geto or Gojo; but she only finds the room to be completely still. It has to be past 9 or so… Maybe they had some business to attend to early? Riku thinks. She rubs her eyes a bit, quickly turning her head towards the door when she suddenly notices it being pushed open.
One of the twins from yesterday appears, still in a suit, and with two of Riku's big, pastel green suitcases from home, seemingly agonizing over pulling the heavy weight of them into the room, "Oh, hi! Sorry, let me help you with those!" Riku scrambles out of the bed, ignoring the sore muscles that protest in her body when she helps the girl move the suitcases. Riku takes a deep breath once the two of them finish moving the suitcases up against the wall next to the door of Geto's extensive, walk in closet, "Thank you for getting these. You're Nanako, right?"
Nanako narrows her eyes at Riku, looking her up and down with judgement as Riku doesn't have on anything but Geto's shirt, "Yes." Nanako finally answers, still eyeing Riku suspiciously, "Are you sleeping with Mr. Geto for money?" She crosses her arms over her chest.
Riku's mouth falls agape to Nanako's question, unable to suppress the short laugh that exits it to the girl's unexpected question, "Um, no. I have enough money." Riku says, a bit disappointedly to the other's judgement of her. Riku hates playing this sort of catty game with women in the yakuza syndicate; so she drops her nice act, resolving to turn away from Nanako and squat to her knees before opening one of her suitcases.
"Then why are you here when you have your own clan? Why won't anybody say anything to me?"
Riku finds and grabs an ivory-colored loungewear set and a pair of underwear from her suitcase, pulling them out before zipping it back up, "That's a… complicated story," Riku turns to look back at Nanako with the last of her words, "and if Suguru hasn't bothered to tell you why, then maybe he doesn't trust you with that information." Riku rises, already heading towards the bathroom so she can shower.
Nanako balls her hands into fists at her sides, starting to brew with anger, "You bitch…! You don't know me! Mr. Geto trusts me!"
Riku sighs, pausing at the door to the bathroom to offer Nanako her last words before she enters, "Or, more likely, maybe he just wants to protect you. Ever stopped to think he doesn't want to get you involved for that reason?" Riku doesn't wait for Nanako's answer and enters the bathroom before closing the door behind her.
Everyone was always hiding information from each other—that was the very nature of the yakuza syndicate. Riku knew how Nanako felt; it was a feeling of confusion and anxiety she'd experienced all throughout her life. She, like countless other women in the the syndicate, always had to find the answers for herself.
After her shower, Riku makes her way towards the kitchen, where a woman in a chef's uniform and apron is wiping a few dishes dry with a rag. She turns when she sees Riku approach and smiles, "Good morning, Ms. Ozaki!"
So, there are Geto clan staff that don't immediately hate her. Riku smiles back with relief, "Good morning! Do you happen to know where Suguru and Satoru are?"
"Mr. Geto is out with Mr. Gojo at the moment, but they should be back soon. Would you like to eat breakfast in the meantime? Mr. Geto said that you would be hungry, so I've prepared something."
Riku feels her face heat up to the woman's words, undeniably a bit ravenous from all the energy she'd expended yesterday—from work to… other activities, "That sounds great, yes—thank you!"
"Of course! Feel free to have a seat in the dining room and I'll bring it to you. Anything to drink?"
"Hm… just a glass of water is fine."
"Coming right up!"
Riku turns to stride over towards the dining room and takes a seat at the long table, briefly looking around and taking in the rock-integrated walls and décor that she hadn't seen much of last night due to it being so dark. She can tell the vast room is obviously inspired by the mountain that Geto's property sits on.
The chef is close behind with a tray and sets it down on the table in front of Riku before removing its metal cover. Steam and the delicious smell of syrup wafts up into the air and hits Riku's nose, and her eyes widen to the beautifully dressed plate of three tall soufflé pancakes, two sunny side up eggs, and a thick bacon cut portion of pan-fried pork belly.
"This looks delicious!" Riku says, excited to dig in.
The woman steps back with a smile, "Enjoy, and I'll bring you your water."
"Thank you!" Riku picks up her utensils as the chef returns to the kitchen, happily cutting into one of the syrupy pancakes before popping a big slice of it into her mouth. She hums delightfully as she chews, of course it's delicious.
Just then she's distracted by the noise and sight of Gojo and Geto entering the room, both donned in black workout clothes and seemingly drenched with sweat.
"Good morning, Ri." Geto speaks up first, hands on his sides as he approaches the dining table.
Riku slices a piece of pork belly and takes a bite, "Morning!"
Gojo is right by Geto's side and pulls the lining of his muscle shirt up to his face to wipe his forehead of sweat, exposing his insanely toned abdomen in the process. He drops his shirt back down, "Morning, Ricchan!" He grins, smiling ear to ear.
"You two worked out?" Riku questions in between chews.
"We had some business to handle first, then went for a run." Geto clarifies, "Enjoying breakfast?"
"Business…" Riku repeats the word, mostly to herself. She can't deny she's a little tired of the secrets, or, more so the two men withholding information from her. But she decides not to dig into it for now, "and yeah, I'm definitely stealing your chef." She says with a small smile, taking another bite of her pancakes.
Gojo stands over Riku, bending close to the table, "Mm… that does look really good. Let me have a bite."
Riku playfully glares at Gojo, pulling her plate on the table so that it's further away from him and closer to her, "Get your own!"
"C'mon, Ri. Just one bite?" Gojo begs, bending over even further from behind Riku's seat in the chair to rest his warm chin on her shoulder.
"One bite…" she emphasizes, cutting another slice of a giant, fluffy pancake before raising it with her fork and poking it in front of Gojo's mouth.
Gojo instead steals the entire, much larger remaining part of the pancake from Riku's plate, standing upright to scarf down the whole thing in a few bites with a childish chuckle, "Mmf… That is delicious!"
Riku's jaw drops in horror, looking between her plate that is now empty of pancakes and the child of a man that continues to grin over her, "Hey…! What the hell, Satoru?! Couldn't you have just gotten your own?"
He lifts his shirt and reveals his eight-pack again, slapping his hand over it, "Nah, gotta maintain my boyish figure, babe. Just wanted a little bite."
Riku grumbles as she cuts into her eggs, "Some fucking bite…"
The chef returns with a circular tray that has Riku's water, and two green smoothies that Gojo and Geto retrieve from her before she reaches the table and gives Riku her drink. She heads back to the kitchen.
As Gojo nearly downs his entire smoothie, Geto bends over a bit to inspect Riku's cheek. He uses his free hand to tuck her shower-damp curls behind her ear, the backs of his fingers lightly brushing over the now smooth side of her face that only has a few faint spots of purple, "Your cheek is looking good… You got some good sleep, huh?" He takes a small sip of his drink, grin just barely playing at the corners of his mouth.
Gojo laughs lowly, "Yeah, we even came back after handling business to see if you wanted to run with us, but you were knocked out."
Riku blushes, resolving to occupy herself with taking a sip of water.
Still bent at the waist and close beside her, Geto presses his lips near Riku's ear and speaks just above a whisper, "Feeling okay, beautiful? Were we too rough with you?"
She nearly chokes on her water, but quickly clears her throat and sets her glass down, "I'm fine, thank you."
"That you are." Geto stands back up and takes a long swig of his smoothie, grinning to Riku's reaction.
"Boo… get a better pickup line." Riku retorts with an eye roll, then takes another bite of her food.
"But you're sore, right?" Gojo asks plainly, hardly any tact as he sits down in the seat beside Riku's. He rests his glass on the table and swiftly rubs his hand up her thigh, eyes carefully watching how she would respond to his touch.
Riku can feel his fingers through the thin fabric and sits up when Gojo leans in close to her face with cool blue eyes. She gulps when his hand rubs all the way up the inside of her leg to rest on her crotch; she takes a slow, steadying breath before responding, "Yes." She admits near quietly, eyes darting over to the chef who had just barely left the room, then back to Gojo.
"Good." Gojo pulls Riku in with his hand at the back of her head for a heated, lewd kiss, then breaks it just as quick with a gentle tug at the roots of her hair—a familiar heat in his gaze, "Hope you think about how good I fucked you every time you take a step today." He murmurs, long fingers flirting with the fabric between Riku's legs.
Riku slaps Gojo's hand away and refocuses on her pork belly, shaking her head a bit, "You two are… insatiable hornballs."
Both Gojo and Geto chuckle in unison to this, Geto finally walking around the table to lower onto the seat across from Riku, "That's funny coming from you, Ri. You're pretty nasty, yourself, you know."
She gasps, then narrows her eyes at Geto, who simply smirks and crosses his arms over his chest, "Shut up, shit-bangs—I am not!"
"Mhm. Throwing insults 'cause you can't fight the truth, hm?" Geto laughs lightly.
The trio suddenly pauses and turns towards a new person entering the room in a hurry. The man wears a black suit similar to Nanako's uniform from earlier, but storms in with an exasperated, terror-ridden expression on his face. Riku recalls him from yesterday—he was the man who'd escorted her from the drug manufacturing warehouse beneath Geto's property. Kei? The mood in the room instantly shifts due to the urgency his demeanor.
"Mr. Geto…!" Kei raises a white letter in his hand as he hastily strides over to the table.
"This for me?" Geto quirks a brow in question.
"No… it's for her." Kei says, eyes moving to Riku in a bit of horror.
Kei approaches Riku and passes the letter to her, which she receives with a slightly shaky hand—a little frightened by the man's demeanor. She reads the envelope and the messily written words in black ink on its cover: 'TO: RIKU,' and 'FROM: TOJI.'
She shudders, breath exiting her body and taking any of her warmth with it. Her face freezes as she holds the envelope in front of her eyes, "It's… it's from Toji." She says, and Gojo leans in to look at the letter, not fearful but equally confused as Riku.
"Toji?! Who the hell did you get this letter from, Kei?!" Geto rises from his chair, tone demanding.
"I found it! I-I swear, sir! On my life." He confesses, hands raised in surrender, "It was left right outside of the onsen's entrance."
"By who?!" Geto asks, clearly trying to restrain his anger.
"We don't know because the cameras were wiped clean, but we're scrubbing the whole property and questioning onsen staff and attendees as we speak."
Geto presses the pads of his fingers to his temples, visibly enraged. He somehow keeps his tone calm regardless, "You're telling me… both the main and backup cameras were wiped? Whoever is responsible for neglecting or outright betraying their security post is getting fucking killed by me personally, do you understand me?" He spits with a hellish look in his eyes, dropping his hands to his sides to ball them into fists.
Kei drops to his knees with a fearful, pained look in his eyes, shriveling down into a dogeza bow to express his deepest apologies, "Yes, sir! I'm so sorry!"
"If you're sorry, then get to fucking work. And please know I'll be joining you to find the culprit soon." Geto says darkly and Kei quickly rises and departs, not even a hint of Geto's usual calm, cool, and collected demeanor in his expression.
And Riku would've been frightened by Geto's anger if she wasn't holding Toji's letter in front of her face. Hesitantly, she shakes the envelope to make sure there isn't anything in it. Nothing. Hands gently fidgeting, Riku tears open its paper with her fingers. Both Gojo and Geto look to her as she stares at the heart shaped, Valentine-themed card and flips it open to read its contents.
"Hey pretty,
Did you know that dancing is quite similar to fighting? We have a lot in common, Riku. Let's have our first date where our worlds collide.
See you there.
-Toji"
After she finishes, Gojo swipes the card from Riku's hands to read it himself, carefully inspecting the letter with his eyes, "Now the asshole is sending messages? What the fuck does that mean?"
Geto sits back down at the table, visibly annoyed by this entire situation, "I don't know… 'where our worlds collide,' fighting and dancing, Ri—does any of this make sense to you?"
"N-no…" Riku stutters out, fear beginning to overcome her body. Toji is looking for me?! She takes a shaky, deep breath, trying to calm herself, "I mean, both fighting and dancing require focus, precision, strength, and balance…"
"So, in short, we need to keep her away from any place that involves any of those things." Gojo concludes, tossing the flimsy card across the table so Geto can take a look at it.
Geto picks it up, quickly eyeing its contents, "That's probably the best bet." He glances up from the card to meet Riku's gaze, "So that means no working at the dance studio for you today, or for a while, for that matter."
Riku opens her mouth, about to protest, but decides against it after seeing the unmoving, cold and hard look in Geto's eyes, "Okay." It's not like she wants to get taken or abducted by Toji, either.
"I'll call Nanami to let him know." Gojo announces, pulling out his phone. He pauses to stare into space for a fraction of a second until he thinks of something, suddenly snapping his eyes back to Riku, "Babe, you ever been to Onjuku beach?"
"Um, yeah; used to go all the time when I was a teenager," Riku recalls—its only an hour and a half drive outside of Tokyo, if she remembers correctly, "why do you ask?"
"While Suguru addresses the situation here, you'll come with me to the beach for a few hours. That way I can do some club business and we can get you out of Tokyo for a while."
Riku nods a few times, sort of curious to what 'club business' means, but her body is too busy shaking with anxiety. She wants to focus on her appreciation for how quickly Gojo and Geto had adjusted to her evolving predicament with Toji, but all she can think about is the fact that she's being hunted. She stares down at her plate tight-lipped with her eyebrows knit together, no longer hungry.
Gojo breaks Riku's train of thought when he leans close to her and turns her chin so that she looks up at him, "Hey. I'll take you somewhere nice while we're out, so don't get so nervous, Ricchan." He slowly presses a peck to her lips, distracting her from her own thoughts, "And didn't you know? I'm the strongest, babe—you're safe with me." He flashes her a cocky smile.
Riku emerges from the guest bedroom in a white bikini and a backless beach coverup dress, making her way to the main living room in Geto's property where Gojo waits for her. She finds him typing something into his phone when she approaches, the man now fitted in a deep mustard-colored linen shirt and white shorts with identical, tan palm tree designs all over it. His black sun spectacles sit low on his nose.
He looks up, "Mm… you look hot." He stands to his feet and closes most of the space between them. Riku allows her eyes to flutter shut, expecting the man to kiss her lips. He presses his lips to her neck instead, hand slipping around her waist and down her back to squeeze her lightly clothed ass.
Riku hums to Gojo's touch, wondering why the man has been so clingy today. Was it just the sex? Or is this just how he really is?"Did Suguru leave already?" She asks.
Gojo stands up tall after he kisses Riku, hand remaining on her ass, "Yeah, he just left. No word on the security camera-hacking, Toji letter-delivering culprit, yet." He lifts a brow curiously, "Why? You miss him or something?"
"No! Just curious, 's all."
Gojo's hand moves up to the exposed skin at the small of Riku's back, "You better not, 'cause you're all mine today." He smirks.
Riku responds confidently, "Actually, I belong to myself—just spending the day with you. Wait, ew, are you the possessive type?"
"It's not possessive if it's the truth, babe…" Gojo trails off with a grin and abruptly tugs Riku close, rubbing both his hands up her waist just the way she likes.
Riku's cheeks redden to this, body easily giving in to Gojo's touch. She feels her skin warm up and is especially sensitive when he kneads her breasts through the thin fabric of her bikini and coverup dress, "Hah…" Riku pants out softly as she feels her abdomen fill with heat.
Gojo moves close to her ear when he lowly coos his next words, "Why wouldn't this body be mine? It does exactly what I tell it to." One of his hands tread temptingly low beneath her stomach and towards the lining of her bikini, "And you're already getting wet, aren't you?
Riku lightly pushes Gojo away, cheeks still tinged bright red, "Are we going to the beach or what?"
Gojo chuckles, honestly amused by Riku, "Yeah, Ricchan. Let's head to the garage." He retrieves her hand, interlocking their fingers together before leading her along down the hallway. The two of them eventually reach an elevator, to which Gojo punches the call button with his free hand.
"So, what's on the Onjuku beach business agenda for today?" Riku asks, easing her hand out of the other's hold as they wait for the elevator.
"That's a surprise, for now…" Gojo basically sings the words, "but it's all club business, if that gives you any hint." The elevator chimes and its doors open; the two of them step in and Gojo hits the 'G2' button.
"What's this club business that you keep mentioning?"
Gojo pauses for a moment, brows furrowed together as he looks over at Riku. His eyes then widen with genuine surprise, realizing Riku was not joking with her words, "Oh, babe," he grins in a way that shows that he nearly feels bad for her, "you don't know what kind of business my clan runs, do you?" He laughs a little and pats the top of her head, "Then again, that's probably for the best with how troublesome you are." His smile fades a bit, and his eyes lock on to Riku's, a sort of apologetic look in his eyes as he brushes back a loose strand of her hair with his fingers, "Hm. Your family and Nanamin have been protecting you from a world that you don't even know about…"
Riku is confused, "A world I don't know…? What are you talking about?" The elevator doors chime open when they reach the garage floor, and Riku follows Gojo along to a navy blue, convertible 1970 Ferrari Daytona Spyder.
Gojo opens the passenger door for Riku, holding her hand as she steps down into the low sportscar, "First, tell me what you think you know about my clan." He closes the door behind her once she's in and maneuvers around the car before slipping into the front seat and turning his key in the old model car's ignition. The engine roars to life and Gojo is quick to pull out of the parking lot, wheels screeching on the pavement as they pass the front gates, and the mountains surrounding Geto's property come into view.
Riku is a bit alarmed to Gojo's speed on the road, but tries to keep her cool, "Um, well, I mean you're the strongest because you're good at fighting, do you come from a strong line of fighters in your family or something?"
Gojo shakes his head, "I mean, yes, but not exactly, babe," he briefly glances over at Riku, turning the wheel a bit sharply to one of the road's curves, "Any other guesses?"
"Hm… Is it a fighting ring?"
"Bingo." Gojo frees a hand from the wheel to cock his index finger in Riku's direction like a gun, "But, there's a little more to it than that. My clan's business may consist of an underground MMA ring, but the real money maker is the gambling that happens at my fight clubs around Tokyo."
Riku slowly nods to herself then freezes, "Wait, then why would my family and Kento hide this from me? No offense, but it all seems pretty normal and makes perfect sense." She looks over at the white haired man who carelessly smiles as he speeds over the empty backroads in the mountains.
"That's where you're wrong, Ricchan—my fight clubs are anything but normal. This is where clans gamble their families' lives and all their money, and where sick yakuza fucks come to indulge in all the evil shit they can't do in the daylight."
"Oh, so they're that type of club." Riku rests her head back on the tan leather headrest, expression suddenly twisting with curiosity, "Wait, so Ken has been to your fight club? Why?"
"Yeah, quite a few times, actually, before he started working for your family. It's an easy way for bodyguards like him to get quick money. There's bars and poker tables as well, so you don't necessarily need to be a fighter to get in—he's really good at the game, too."
Riku furrows her brows, unsure of how to take this information. She can't help but wonder why she'd been kept in the dark so long regarding the Tokyo Yakuza syndicate's strongest business… Even if her family wouldn't allow her to visit any of Gojo's fight clubs, what is the point of keeping this a secret from her and so many others? Is the underground fighting and gambling business that dark? Riku stares out at the road before them, "I can't believe I didn't know…"
Gojo reaches over to cup Riku's cheek, "Don't sweat it, Ricchan, just means you got people looking out for you. It's a good thing, really. A pretty girl like you doesn't belong in a nasty place like that."
"I can hold my own!"
Laughing in unabashed disbelief, Gojo allows his hand to fall from Riku's check and back to his lap, "Is that right?"
"Yeah, I'm a pretty good shot, you know." Riku notes, pointing her index in the air matter-of-factly.
"Really?" Gojo raises his brows, "Who taught you to shoot?"
Riku takes a moment to respond, as she kind of hates how much the man's name keeps coming up in conversation, "…Kento."
"Nanamin? You might actually be a decent shooter, then." Gojo turns to look at Riku with a teasing grin, "You two are pretty close, hm?"
Riku releases an exasperated sigh, "Ugh, please stop with that. We're just friends." She crosses her arms over her chest, already tired of this new direction in their conversation—especially as she'd just talked about the same with Geto yesterday.
"But he wants to be more." Gojo focuses back on the road.
Riku is quiet for a few seconds, then completely shifts the subject, "So if this fight club of yours is so dangerous of a place that people have been hiding it from me and don't want me to go, then where are we going now?"
Gojo laughs heartily, glancing at Riku once more, "You really hate talking about personal stuff, don't you?" His laugh fades into a chuckle and he reaches over to lightly rub his hand over the exposed skin of her thigh that's made visible by the cut in her coverup dress, "Guess I'll just have to get you open up then." Gojo turns his attention back to the road, the ocean beginning to come into view off to the side of the mountains, "Fight club business isn't limited to inside of the fight club, babe. I have to check in with every part of my clan and team that makes this shit possible. So, we're meeting with our food and beverage director Iwai to do a tasting of some new drinks and dishes he's bringing into the club, and then we're dropping by the gym to check out a few of this week's fighters and so I can do some admin work. It's miniscule, but it's shit I've been meaning to do."
"Toji really threw a wrench in all of our work plans, huh?"
"You can say that again." Gojo sighs, raking a hand through his white hair; he looks over at Riku, "You've been taking things well, though, considering."
"Well, not exactly my first time getting caught up in a less-than-ideal situation… Just a little scarier when the biggest yakuza asshole in Tokyo is chasing you around the city." Riku looks out the window, watching as they speed past signs with the word 'CHIBA' plastered over them. They were finally out of Tokyo, and amidst the vast nature of the mountains they drove through, Riku spots a small town in the near countryside. They already begin to pass a few quaint shops.
Gojo looks in the distance, eyes still focused on the road, "Don't worry, Ricchan. I'll get him—for both of us," Riku's eyes move to Gojo's tight grip on the steering wheel, not missing how his knuckles turn white as he speaks. He clears his throat and immediately turns his tone brighter, "but we can't let Toji ruin our beach date today—our first stop is already coming up…!"
"Really? Close to here?" Riku looks around, still only primarily seeing a shop here and there every couple of hundred meters in the mountains around them.
"Mhm." Gojo says with a smirk and reduces speed before he turns the car onto a narrower road. In less than a minute of driving down the path, the trees open up and clear into a beautiful clifftop view—at least 50 meters above the beach and ocean below. There's a lot right on the edge of the cliff, and a small, wooden café that sits just before it. The entire plot of mountaintop is kissed by the late morning sunlight, and Riku can't help but think it's a picture-perfect sight. There's only a few cars littered around the lot, so the shop isn't too busy, either.
Riku blinks a few times, and her mouth falls agape, "Oh my god, this view is… beyond amazing! How the hell did you find this place?" She turns to Gojo with an honest, delighted smile.
Gojo pulls into the lot, then presses his index to his lips and winks at Riku from behind his sunglasses, "It's a secret." Gojo parks the car in a space that's perfectly situated before the ocean view and steps out to open Riku's door for her, "Kidding, just have a good eye for finding places like this." He holds his hand out to her.
Riku takes it as she steps out of the car and makes a noise of surprise when Gojo suddenly tugs her into his side. He keeps Riku locked there with his toned arm around her waist as they approach the small 'TO-GO' labeled window at the front of the café. The two stop a meter back from the window and Riku's eyes dart over to the menu that's beside it, a pair of girls off to the side of them snapping pictures of the ocean view as they wait for their drink order.
"What do you want, Ricchan?"
"Ohh I get to choose what I want today? Lucky me!" Riku cheers dramatically, clearly poking fun at Gojo and his need to control everything.
Gojo sighs, "And here I was thinking you'd turned over a new leaf. Nope, still a brat, even after last night," he pulls Riku from his side to directly in front of him so that her back presses flush against his front and bends his head down to whisper into her ear, "you're gonna pay for that later, beautiful."
Riku's cheeks redden to Gojo's whispered words and something jolts excitedly in her at the sound of them. She resolves to bite her tongue inside of her mouth, keeping her eyes locked on the café menu as Gojo walks them up in front of it.
"Now, do you know what you want?" Gojo asks, the tall man easily stretching his neck up to rest his chin on the top of Riku's head.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
"Hey there!" Gojo calls out to the woman just behind the window, and Riku can hear the smile in his voice.
The woman, wearing a pink apron, slides open the service window with a smile, "Hi! Can I help you two?"
"Yes, can I get a medium strawberry cheesecake frap and…" Gojo adjusts his arms around Riku, wrapping and gently squeezing them around her stomach.
Riku blushes to the intimacy of Gojo's movements, not really used to nor a big fan of PDA, "Um, can I please have a small cold brew with a dash of sweet cream? Thank you!"
The woman nods, "Sure thing! Any donuts for you all?"
"Oh shit, right, the homemade donuts here are amazing, Ri. Let's get one glazed and one cinnamon sugar."
"One glazed and one cinnamon, coming right up! That's…" The woman taps at a tablet behind the window, "1,400 yen."
Gojo releases Riku from his grasp to pull out his wallet, tugging out and offering the woman a 10,000 yen bill, "Keep the change."
The woman takes the bill with widened eyes, "Wow… thank you so much! Your order will be out in a few minutes!" She beams.
"Thanks." Gojo turns to Riku, "I'm gonna use the bathroom inside. Grab our drinks and donuts for us, Ricchan—yeah?" He winks at her, already beginning to stride to the store entrance.
Riku turns once Gojo is inside the store, taking a deep breath as she looked over the cliff's steep drop, the surrounding mountains, and the vast ocean below. She smells the salt water in the air, and appreciates the steady, rhythmic sound of the waves crashing into the shore. The sun feels warm on her skin, and she allows her eyes to shut at the sensation until she hears someone speak beside her.
"Excuse me, miss? Your boyfriend is so cute!"
Riku opens her eyes once more and turns to the girls waiting on their drinks, both wearing matching pink t-shirts and jean shorts over their bathing suits. Riku laughs a bit shyly, "Oh, he's not my bo—"
"Yeah, you two look so good together!" The other girl interrupts Riku before she can finish her sentence.
"…Thanks." Riku sighs the word out, curving one side of her mouth up into a half-smile. What's the use of explaining anyways? With how clingy Gojo had been, of course they looked like they were together.
Both the two girls' and Riku and Gojo's orders come out at once, and Riku waves them off as they retreat back to their truck with their drinks. Riku bends at the waist to reach over the counter, beginning to pick up the tray with her and Gojo's drinks in them with one hand, and the small bag of donuts in her other hand when a new person speaks up from behind her, "Hey, sexy. Really liked it better when you were bent over."
Riku spins around on her heels, a mortified look on her face. Her jaw drops to the dark-haired, skinny man's words, rendered speechless by his audacity. She thinks he's no more than an inch or a few centimeters taller than Riku—who is around 168 cm or 5'6".
"Can I get your number?" He grins disgustingly, beginning to step closer until a hand wraps around and grasps the curve of Riku's hip.
"She's taken, shitstain." Gojo spits the words from Riku's side, his tone venomous; he precipitously lets her go to grab the shorter man by his shirt and tower over him, "So say another word to her and I'll snap your motherfucking neck."
"Satoru, don't!" Riku protests.
"S-s-sorry, man! I didn't know!" The man apologizes in a shaky voice, immediately stumbling and scurrying back to his car when Gojo grudgingly lets him go.
Gojo shakes his head to himself, a pissed expression on his face as he stands back upright, "You okay, Ri?"
"Yeah, fine." Riku shakes her head as well, but mostly to erase the thought of the strange man's disgusting words from her mind. She holds the drink tray out in front of Gojo, "Shit like that happens to girls all the time, unfortunately. But that doesn't mean you should snap anybody's neck!"
Satoru ignored the last of Riku's words and picks up his strawberry cheesecake frap before taking a long sip, slightly relaxing at the taste of it, "Mm, that's sweet. But, not as sweet as this…" He lowers himself just enough to press his lips to Riku's, quickly deepening their kiss into a more passionate one.
Gojo holds the back of Riku's head, tongue skillfully exploring her mouth; and Riku can taste the flavor of strawberries and fresh whipped cream from his kiss. Riku blushes harder when she feels eyes on them and is the one to break their kiss, "That was corny." She giggles.
"But it made you laugh." Gojo lifts his pointer from his cup to poke in Riku's direction, a smile on his face.
"Fair enough." Riku mirrors Gojo's smile.
Back at the car, Gojo and Riku sip on their drinks from inside the car, its convertible top now retracted so the sun spills down on them.
"My god, this view is everything... I have to admit, Satoru, this was a great idea." Riku smiles, still taking in the view. Her eyes follow the small dot of a surfer gliding over the waves down below at the shore, and a cool breeze sweeps by them, the mix of the scent of seawater and the citrus notes of Gojo's cologne pleasantly hitting her nose. She glances over to Gojo in the driver's seat with his drink, "Let me taste yours." Riku asks, putting her iced cold brew down into one of the cup holders in the center of the console.
Gojo hums an affirmative grunt, busy taking a huge bite from his cinnamon sugar donut when he pokes the straw of his frap in Riku's direction.
Riku makes a little show of it, locking eyes with Gojo as she pokes her tongue out, lowers her mouth down on, and wraps her lips around the length of the straw. She takes a sip, then slowly pulls her lips off the straw.
Gojo ceases in his chewing to this and gulps, eyes widening just slightly to Riku's casually lewd actions and the corners of his mouth rising into a grin, "You little freak…" he trails off, the tone of his voice low, husky, and dripping with excitement, "you're gonna drive me crazy." Gojo looks at Riku with unabashed interest, dropping the remaining piece of his donut back into its paper bag before rubbing his cinnamon sugar-covered thumb over her plump lips. He chuckles when Riku takes the digit into her mouth, sitting up in his seat and biting his lip when she shamelessly sucks the sweetness from his thumb, "Ricchan, you're so good when you want to be."
Riku releases Gojo's finger from her lips with a light laugh, tucking a few curls behind her ear, "You have a pretty big sweet tooth, don't you?"
"Mhm, especially if those lips of yours are included in that." Gojo smirks, pushing his black sunglasses up the bridge of his nose with the back of his wrist when the sun shines brighter.
"Anything else I should know about your tastes?" Riku asks; they were going on a tasting later, after all.
"Hm, well I generally like everything sweet, I hate black olives, and I don't like to drink."
"You don't drink?" The last bit is surprising to Riku, as pretty much all the yakuza she knows drinks.
"Not often, which is part of the reason why it's useful for me to bring a spoiled-rotten yakuza princess like you along to a food and rice wine tasting." He lightly boops her nose with his index, "You like sake, right?"
"Love it. My uncle's quite the afficionado, too, so I learned a lot from him."
"See? Figures." Gojo says before taking another sip of his frap, voice snarky.
"What figures?" Riku challenges, just barely narrowing her eyes at Gojo.
"Rich yakuza girls are all the same. All you all like to do is drink wine and iced coffee, eat expensive seafood and steak, shop designer clothes and streetwear, and go to pilates with your friends."
Riku rolls her eyes, "That what you and Suguru like to tell yourselves? First of all, I don't do pilates; and second of all, at least I'm not a big, beefy yakuza guy that barely fits in a suit and has the taste palate of a literal fucking toddler!"
Gojo laughs, "Notice how you only refuted one of those things, though?"
"Shut the fuck up, Satoru!" Riku can't help but laugh the words out and playfully jabs at Gojo.
He laughs along, easily catching each of Riku's attempted punches with one of his hands before they reach his torso. He holds his frap up with his other, continuing to sip on it, "But, you do have the guts to talk back to, spit on, and kick a high rank yakuza in the nuts—and that takes a lot of balls, so I'll give you that. Can't say I've ever met a yakuza princess, let alone woman like you in that respect."
"You and this 'princess' thing…" Riku sighs as she takes a long sip of her cold brew, then puts it down, "you're not gonna let it go, huh?"
"Not 'til you open up to me, babe!" Gojo declares, nearing the end of his frap as his sips turn into loud slurps of mostly air from his straw.
"Ugh."
"What, you don't trust me, Ricchan? You know I've been keeping you safe these past few days…"
Riku turns away from Gojo, looking out at the ocean view again, "That's different. Talking about my family's past or my personal life isn't entertaining to anybody—especially not me."
"May not be entertaining, but it is more than worth hearing if it means getting to know you, Riku." Gojo says smoothly, expression completely serious. He takes his sunglasses off, this time leaning close to softly kiss her cheek.
The uncharacteristically gentle and comforting nature of Gojo's kiss catches Riku by surprise, and it makes something swell in her chest. It's a feeling she isn't used to experiencing and honestly makes her a bit uncomfortable as she's taught herself to avoid it.
Gojo puts his cup down, taking Riku's face in both of his hands to kiss her lips the same way, but pauses, backing up just enough to read Riku's visage with furrowed brows, "Did I do something wrong? You're shaking, Ri." His hands smooth down to gently grasp her shoulders.
Riku steadies herself with a deep breath, in and out, "No, you didn't. I just…" she trails off, never finishing her sentence, "sorry." Riku shrugs out of Gojo's grasp, folding her arms across her chest and closing herself up.
Gojo smiles apologetically, "Don't apologize, Ricchan. I've been kissing and touching you a lot today, haven't I? Is it too much?"
Riku nods, "Yeah…" She herself can't tell if it's the amount of his affection or the shift in kind of his affection that's caused her to tremble.
Gojo remains close to Riku, his face still only a few centimeters away from her, "I'll take it easy on you; but, to compromise, can you hold my hand at least? Can you do that for me, Ri?" He offers his hand in the small space between them. Gojo's piercing, cerulean eyes study Riku's every move and expression. Why does he need to constantly touch her so badly, anyways?
Riku nods mutely, placing her hand in Gojo's and allowing him to interlock their fingers. Though there's undeniably a part of her that wants to absorb each and every aspect of Gojo's touch, as it feels so good, another part of her holds her back. His touch is addictive; and she doesn't want to emotionally rely on anyone – neither Gojo nor Geto – because that means relinquishing her power to either or both of the men. Riku begins to think that this is where Gojo's and Geto's real power lies—not merely in their physical strength or the high performance of their underground businesses, but more so in their ability to lead and influence hundreds of others to do what they want. If they're masters of controlling dangerous people, then what does that mean for Riku?
"I promise I won't hurt you, Ricchan."
Riku isn't sure if she believes the words, and realizes that after a few short days, she's already gotten herself tangled up with this man. Even at this point, she can't imagine how difficult it would be to unravel it from him, if she wants to.