ODE TO THE MURDERED, bonten

04

    "an ugly fucking lie, doesn't suit you and your ugly face, y'know." the younger mauve-haired Haitani spits in Sanzu's direction.

    the once silent private room that sat peaceful for two weeks due to their busy schedules had burst into chaos in an instant. the mauve-haired and the pinkette exchanging foul knavish glances as Ran cackles at his brother's statement. the other executives Kakucho, Mocchi and Takeomi watched the scene with blank looks. Kokonoi is perched on a separate couch, manspreading and taking a quick sip of his tea completely unaware of the small presence that slips into the room silently and unnoticed.

    "judging by the arguing i'm guessing all of you are here?" a voice so low, so casual cuts the air in two.

    suddenly all the men in the room stand erect immediately, their whimsical and playful banter disappearing as they quickly sober up / bowing down to the much smaller silhouette lingering by the door.

    "boss," they greeted curtly to the man with platinum tendrils and onyx eyes.

    Sano Manjiro, Mikey—the leader of Bonten strolls within the room. "sorry for calling you all here late at night." he starts, stopping at the floor-to-ceiling window and craning his neck towards the tall men.

    "let's first start with Haru and Kakucho. what's your report towards the mice i told you to deal with earlier?"

    "we dealt with them as excruciatingly as possible, just like you ordered, boss." Kakucho explained briefly.

    "and?"

    "they did not utter any important information in regard to any affiliated enemy organizations." to this, Mikey sighs through his nostrils. he stares out into the denuded city for a short moment before turning around to face them.

    "take your seats. i believe all of you know what i was referring to, yes?"

    "the latest news." Mocchi replies first. "they talked about a mass murder caused by Bonten."

Kokonoi tsked, slumping further into the plush couch, pinching the fabric between his manicured hand. "that's right, the problem is that we haven't killed a group of people situated in Tokyo for the last two months. all of us were ordered to different places like Shanghai, France, Manila and Osaka."

    Rindou's eyes narrow. "so we were set up?"

    "most likely." says Ran, a bitter smile on his lips.

    Mikey lifts a finger, he presses a button near his own custom seat, a fleeting buzzer sets off then an assistant slips into the room whispering a small excuse and scurries near the table in the center of the patient men. a heavy folder is placed down for each executive and once everyone gets a copy the assistant leaves just as quickly.

    Mikey clears his throat, lifting the folder to the first page. "the rats Kakucho and Sanzu had recently disposed of were under the business of a man named Roman Nanami."

    "Roman Nanami?" Takeomi furrows his brows, tossing a cigarette butt into the ashtray. "he owns an art company on Tokyo's east 10th street."

     "art company?"

     Kokonoi hums, flipping through the pages. "bastard is an art fanatic and his small business is a guised for an even larger drug storage for a notorious cocaine distributor named Quoia (kwo*ya).

    "Quoia. they have been our main rival since Bonten was first made." Kakucho says, tapping a finger along his leg. "it won't be their first time trying to accuse us of their petty crimes."

    Mocchi agrees. "committing murders and other crimes and letting the police clean up their shit after instead of doing it by themselves, how shameful."

    "so in simple terms, Quoia is responsible for the recent mass crime and they are trying to blame us for it during our absence?"

    the air that was once silenced by the omnipresence of Mikey had billowed into something more static and turbulent. each man adorning a bitter and malicious expression at their old rival—their enemy and a pain-in-the-ass since day one.

    "i haven't heard from them in such a long time i thought all of them died out and rotted somewhere in the gutters." Sanzu mumurs. "but why now of all times?"

    "it doesn't matter." all eyes are back on Mikey, though there is a lackluster color and burn within his onyx eyes, his brows were squinted in a deep frown, and he looked more rigid than the days before but there was something unreadable about it. "their reason is irrelevant to us. after all we kill everything and anything that gets in Bonten's way."

    Mikey's gaze is knowing, darting his eyes at each of his executives that belonged to him since the formation of Bonten. every skin, every bone, every movement and presence, that was the agreement that completely changed them, made them into blood-thirsty criminals.

    "you know what to do." Mikey's voice is low and dangerous which sparked something between them.

    "you heard the boss." Ran smirks. "looks like we are going rodent hunting boys."

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          "there you go." Mars huffs, laying your limp and heavy body down into the familiar comforts of your bed. you were sprawled into the duvets, murmuring incoherent statements drunkenly as your roommate combs your bangs out of your hair.

    "what a pain." she chuckles, seeing your sleepy form nuzzling comfortably into the pillows, and then a thought crosses her mind and she frowns.

    "you miss your older brother so much that you wanted to be completely wasted, huh?" the black-haired woman lingers, scanning your body as pity rushes through her chest, rubbing her thumb across your cheek. "poor thing."

"you never really told me how he died." she whispers much softly now before standing to her full height, preparing to leave your room until she hears a short buzz of what appears to be your phone. Mars blinks her cobalt eyes against the darkness, lingering hesitantly at the door before darting to the clock.

    "at this late of night?" she walks across your room, leaning down at your bedside vanity to open your phone. the screen floods with light and the girl squints her eyes before adjusting quickly, holding your phone tepidly between her palm.

    R.Nanami: Miss l/n, please don't forget to attend the auction on monday,
your presence is a requirement, i'll be seeing you.

    Mars lets out a sigh, closing your phone and returning it to the bedside, "she can't catch a break, huh. looks like i'll have to remind her tomorrow—"

    something small catches her attention, the ebony-haired girl tilts her head down looking at the slightly opened second drawer, curiously she reaches down and pulls the handle until it was opened for the world to see. Mars' eyes flutter for a moment, staring down at what looks to be a polaroid picture of you, and a man she could not recognize nor does she remember you talking about him, ever.

    "is this her brother?" Mars utters to herself, before shaking her head. "no he has different features than her..."

    "who's he?" she lets her question linger.