PART TWENTY-EIGHT !
he hates you ii.
YOU THOUGHT OF A THOUSAND PROFANITIES in your head, all of them specifically for a certain pink-haired man and his stupid glares and stupid temper.
but when those pained eyes flash in your view you simmer down. now in the dead of night, under the chilly blanket of coldness you are seated on a stone bench, eyes a steady sheen of blankness.
"life's been real shitty without you."
in front of you is your brother's gravestone, a little unkempt which you frown at that. "sorry for not visiting sooner, i also don't have your favorite flowers today."
after a few seconds of silence, you found the urge to cry, tears swelling beneath your eyelids like a dam threatening to spill from the cracks. you let out a soft groan, rubbing your eyes, "fuck."
"hey." someone interrupts.
you don't respond, feeling a presence nearing you. there's a heavy sigh, then something warm is being draped on your shoulders. you mutter quietly, sniffing and shimmying to the side so Mochizuki can squeeze into the seat, but before he could plop his bulky figure beside you he takes a few steps near Marise's tomb, you watch in silence as he bows a little then clasp his hands in a prayer. your face contorts in a pained way, watching as someone else aside from you pays their respects towards your brother.
guilt tugged at you. they aren't just some heartless criminals.
"the flowers' wilted." the blond comments at the patches of bouquets near the stone.
you whisper, "almost a month since i've visited."
he turns to look down at you. "want me to quickly run and grab some right now? we still have time." he offers, you lift your head, sending him a grateful smile, tugging the coat around you even more, the coldness finally sinking into your exposed body as you shiver.
"nah." you say, a puff of smoke leaving your nostrils. "i can uhm, ask permission to come back and visit again next time. thank you though, Mocchi." he finally settles in the seat beside you after confirming that you had nothing to ask of him with your current state, stretching his arm behind the bench and rubbing your back, somehow it's comforting, your shoulders relaxing despite the prick of coldness.
Mocchi's eyes are soft on you. "you know, Sanzu's a dick but he called us when you sprinted out of the apartments. we don't have to go back immediately if you don't want to, we can stay here until you are ready to go back."
so he did call someone for you in the end.
you inhaled slowly, exhaling a shaky breath. you leaned your head against his side, closing your eyes. "okay, thank you." then silence. "and i'm also sorry for running, i sort of picked a fight with him too, so."
"s'alright." he dismisses your apology. "he probably said something offensive to ya."
"damn him. obnoxious, confusing prick." you rub your eyes, trying to make out his actions: when you first met him he was casual, almost flirtatious in the club, the next you met him was when you fainted from a fever, coaxing you with a towel, the next he was mean to you during the car chase, he glared at you, ignored you when you've reached headquarters, spat venom at Ran when you were almost choked then proceeded to do just that when you argued with him, he said he didn't care about what happened to you when you'd leave, but he called Mocchi and the rest.
Mocchi snorts at your angry huff, patting your head once and gazing at the cold, sleeping ether with littering stars in the distance beyond the tree foliages.
"care to try a 2012 Merlot?" Mocchi offers.
"you sounded just like Rindou," you lift your head to look at him. "but i'll pass i took a few alcohol just this afternoon with uhm, Wakasa-san, is his name?"
"oh, i forgot you went with Takeomi today. if that's the case, you can just sit down and relax, order something maybe?" Mocchi fishes for his phone, a bright light flooding his face. "Haitanis and Kakucho are chilling in one of Ran's clubs, also heard about your sleep deprivation, looks like it still gave you trouble."
"yeah it does, but what's the catch?"
"pardon?"
"it's hard to believe that someone of your status came out here just to comfort me." you look at the male beside you. "i have nothing else to offer you or your syndicate."
"this. it doesn't involve Bonten, y/n." Mocchi cannot help but spit out softly, a tinge of irritation and sting at your distrust. Mochizuki brushes his palm through his stubble, thinking a moment.
"fine, maybe i do want something from you." he says after awhile.
"shoot." you hug yourself beneath his warm jacket, awaiting for the bitter proposal.
"just your company for tonight, with the others." you don't answer, fluttering your heavy eyelids beneath the dim night sky. at your speechless figure, Mochizuki pats your head.
"no words or complaints? good, then let's go. Ran also wanted to tell you something."
you raised a brow at this, the last time you've talked to Ran he blew a fuse on you, you surmised that the moment he sees you, he'd apologize, because that's always been Ran Haitani for you: he's arrogant, dripping with fake confidence and high charisma but he always says sorry when he'd upset you.
so you nodded your head, a thin smile on your lips, allowing Mocchi to guide you towards the familiar company of former companions, no labels of executives, no Bonten, no Quoia, just the established relationship of friends wanting to catch up after being separated for years.
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"Sanzu you," back at the apartment, Kokonoi pinches the bridge of his nose. pacing in front of a nonchalant Sanzu who's manspreading on the couches, less than bothered.
"you can't just fucking do that to her—hey, are you even listening?"
when he reaches out, Sanzu slaps his arm away, rattling a bottle of pills between his palm. Kokonoi sneers down at the pink, his blood pressure rising a degree per second the longer he stays, "Sanzu." he repeats, harsher.
"i can't remember telling you to reprimand me when i called you over here with the others."
"are you," Kokonoi ignores Sanzu's words, more focused on how his voice slightly slurred, spots in his eyes reddening. "are you—trying to get high right now? not the fucking time!" the white-haired's voice ups a notch, bouncing off the walls of Mikey's dim apartment.
"consider yourself lucky, because if i didn't tell the Haitanis to accompany Kakucho away—"
"then let him fight me then!" Sanzu scorns, matching the volume of Kokonoi's voice. "i outrank him anyways, and when were fucking morals a thing you hypocrites fucking possess, now suddenly i'm the antagonist for hurting the girl."
he leans his head back to let out a bitter chuckle, rolling his shoulders. "like we didn't do just that for the last ten years of our goddamn lives in this shithole, didn't know hurting her makes a fucking difference to the body piles of women, whores and strippers we've killed before. i'm doing all of us a favor, because if that girl brings trouble and ruin here to Bonten, who's gonna scramble huh? you fucking lots will. suddenly these days, i'm a fucking villain for doing my job apparently."
he erects from his seat, marching towards Kokonoi who instinctively takes two steps back when his mint eyes digs holes into his own skull.
"well news flash, Koko, we are fucking criminals!" he hollers, jutting a finger at the treasurer's chest firmly. "i can't fucking believe i have to remind all of you about that, damn cucks frolicking with that girl like ya'll are some moral citizens of this city."
"that's not.." Koko sighs, his irritation dwindles, running fingers through his hair.
"that girl you are referring to isn't just some woman who betrayed Bonten, nor a stripper who was a double spy. that girl is Izana's friend—those guys' precious companion. you really have this lousy habit of antagonizing everyone just because they are breathing in the same space as you. even criminals have something they cherish, Sanzu."
the pink is tongue tied, eyes glaring as Kokonoi mutters out defeatedly, slowly: "don't make that as an excuse to hurt everything, she's important to Kakucho and Mikey's fond of her. you don't want them as your enemies, right?"
Sanzu clicks his tongue, he doesn't answer, pocketing his bottle of pills and maneuvering past Kokonoi to the open window, to the breeze where the frigid of Tokyo can drown the chaos in his head.
he doesn't answer because he can't understand, and Kokonoi acknowledges the edge and hesitancy of the savage pink dog of Bonten, who only knows nothing but to bite and bite and bite along with his dangerous minty blue eyes that hold the whole of Arctic, a stranger to warmth or apologies or kindness.
his phone beeps, Kokonoi clicks it open to read the message on his screen.
"they're back." he darts his serpentine eyes towards Sanzu, "want to come back to her apartment? Mikey's awake as well."
that's enough to melt the ice under his shoes. the two men make their way from Mikey's apartment to yours, and the threshold is flooded with the open fluorescent light, Sanzu's eyes squint when his gaze first sought your small figure, draped in Mocchi's large fur jacket, Mikey is standing in front of you with tousled silver hair and groggy eyes, lifting a hand to ruffle your hair and saying something to you that neither the two picked up.
"boss." Kokonoi and Sanzu bows. you and Mikey turn your gazes, the silence that follows afterwards is absolutely baffling, it felt like thorns sticking into the pink's throat.
"Haruchiyo." Sanzu stiffens when Mikey calls his name. with a hard swallow, he lifts his blank eyes towards you and his king. when you meet his eyes, you scowl at him looking away almost immediately, he wants to scoff at you but decides against it.
"y/n." Sanzu starts. you don't look at him when you respond,
"just drop it, no need to apologize."
Sanzu opens his mouth, stops when you've turn around the same time he parts his lips—and for once he scans his eyes all throughout your face: the marks of exhaustion beneath your eyelids, the downturn frown, the soft curves of your expression, the maturity and understanding glowing in your pupils. he hates how his gut clenches and twists even more than it should be, he tightens his fist behind his back.
"forget about what happened an hour ago. i'll let it go, and if i do would you do the same?" your question hangs heavy in the air, but with the way Sano Manjiro had his dark eyes on Sanzu he cannot do anything but comply, gazing down at the floor. "yes."
you sigh at his single-word response, turning towards the silver beside you. "i'll uh, go to bed i guess."
Mikey checks the clock on the wall, three am before turning back to you, nodding. "alright, we'll leave you alone, go rest now."
Mikey takes Sanzu's and Kokonoi's arms softly, slipping out of your apartment. when silence stretches along the corridor someone clears their throat and their pace falters.
"boss, i think." Kokonoi licks his lips. "it's late, i'll head back home too."
"alright, retire for the night. see you tomorrow, Kokonoi."
the white-haired bows again, darting his eyes briefly to Sanzu before spinning around and leaving through the elevator in the corner. Sanzu couldn't speak, he didn't know what to say or what to feel when Mikey remained quiet.
but what he did to you and said to Koko, Sanzu never once regretted it. it was his principle, for his king's safety and his empire: he'd go through thick and thin to ensure that it never crumbled down like a rickety sandcastle.
"Sanzu." Mikey's voice is soft, almost a breathy whisper but the pink is quick to flinch, straightening himself even more than he is used to.
"i won't inquire why you did what you did." when Mikey turns and sets his eyes on Sanzu, it's almost gentle. "but i won't hold it against you, y/n has already told me about your little dilemma and said it was no big deal, just a little miscommunication. i trust your impulsive decisions won't happen again under my watch?"
you vouched for him? Sanzu swallows hard upon the confession.
the silver-haired boss looks a little disoriented and unfocused. maybe from waking up recently, he runs his fingers through his hair with a sigh. "let's call it a night for now Sanzu, but i prefer not to hear anymore of this fight. you are my right-hand and she's my assistant. you'll be meeting together from now on."
"yes boss, please go back to rest."
just tonight, he'd adhere to his boss' words and he'll drop his prejudices, and when Mikey nods his head and goes back to his apartment, Sanzu relaxes his shoulders.
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author's notes: hope you're enjoying this story so far! i personally feel like ive been dragging the plot but i promise you the climax is close-
a little note, but i've currently hit a hard writer's block so next chapters might be on hold for a bit. i also wanted to say that although i don't reply or interact as much i appreciate all the votes and comments <33 it motivates me a lot to continue writing for this book smsj
i'll proofread this chap when i come back, anyways that's all thank u for reading until next time!