these biweekly “date nights” with koko are supposed to be relaxing evenings where he gets to catch up with his old friend, and yet here inui is, stressing more than ever. it’s probably because he’s surrounded by food, wine, and decor that costs more than his whole life—fuck, the silverware probably does too, but he can’t seem to focus on anything other than numbers right now; even in his passive features, it’s written all over his face.
“seishu,” kokonoi calls out to him, the unfamiliar use of his given name from his friend finally snapping the man out of his head. inui pretends like he was paying attention to whatever he was saying, giving a curt nonresponse, until koko tells him, “i’ve been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes.” there’s a moment of awkward silence before one of his hands comes up to cover his face with a deep sigh, half out of embarrassment and half out of exhaustion, to which koko only laughs. “what’s wrong, inupi? finally regretting hanging out with a criminal?"
it’s a joke laced with sarcasm, so inui doesn’t pay it mind; "no, just bills and shit like that,” he deadpans, not really caring if his word choice doesn’t fit his high class surroundings. he’s already been getting looks all night by the echelons that dine at other tables for how dressed down he is, but considering he can’t even do fucking laundry because of his financial situation, their judgements are far beyond his concerns. “the shop hasn’t been doing well lately; we’ve gotten two eviction notices, and they shut off the water the other night—the electricity goes sometime next week,” he explains before finishing off his third glass of wine of the night. it doesn’t taste good and he’s not even a stress drinker, but it’s the only thing he can do to take his mind off the situation.
though obviously concerned considering how his eyebrows raise at him, koko doesn’t say anything, and just watches as inui pours himself another glass, only to finish it in under a minute. it’s not like inui expects any empathy from his friend; they’re from two completely different universes now, especially when it comes to finances, so the fact koko only quietly observes him doesn’t surprise him. besides, it’s not like he wants to be stressed and miserable during one of the two times he sees koko this month, so he tries to change the subject—
“maybe i can help you with your situation,” koko interrupts before he even gets a chance to speak.
inui only rolls his eyes though, and then sighs, “full offense, but i don’t want your money.” his denouncement of the offer isn’t one of humility; inui would have asked for financial help and gone into debt to koko the minute they sat down tonight, if it wasn’t for the fact that he didn’t want bonten money. money made from violence—a world he’s been trying to separate himself from for years, even if he still spends time with an executive of the largest gang in the country.
but the money monger across from him waves his hand, dismissing inui’s declination. “now, now—i wasn’t about to give you a handout, just because you’re my friend; who do you think i am?” koko chuckles before his expression drops to one more earnest, as he leans in closer to the table. “i actually have a bit of a favor to ask of you, and i don’t mind paying you a pretty penny if you do it.”
now, if he actually worked for it? then, fuck it—inui will take some blood money; i mean, just because he’s no longer affiliated with gang politics doesn’t mean he’s a shining example of morality. he inquires further about the aforementioned favor at hand, and quirks his eyebrow at the uncharacteristically bashful look adorning koko’s features. “well, you see, i’ve been getting targeted recently by some pissant gang—one of my cover businesses got shot up the other night,” he explains, which makes inui feel a bit guilty complaining about his situation and confused in regards to the man’s expression. being a target doesn’t exactly sound like something to be embarrassed about, but then koko continues, “and i can handle all of that, y'know, but there’s this certain someone i’ve been kinda dating, and i want their safety to be guaranteed while i take care of all that,” which makes more sense.
and even though he knows his friend is being genuine and is baring his heart to him, inui can’t help but let out a rare laugh. “dating? so, you’ve finally moved on from—”
“say her name, and i’m leaving the check with you,” koko cuts off his distasteful half joke, but it’s all in jest; the man snickers to himself before leaning back in his chair, an almost dreamy sigh passing through his lips. “they were just a worker at one of my brothels, but we ended up taking a liking to each other; they’ve been living with me for the past few months.” inui’s eyebrows furrow at the last statement, and the question on his tongue is obvious to koko. “yeah, yeah, i know i haven’t ever brought them up to you; even though they’ve been living with me, i was still trying to work out my feelings, but well, i think it’s safe to say i love them by now.”
it’s a sentiment that has inui smiling; knowing the man for so long, it was such an unbelievably pleasant feeling knowing that kokonoi opened up his heart again—that he can know for a fact he moved on, after all these years. “well, of course, i’d be happy to help you then. what do you need me to do?”
koko returns the smile, “just let them live with you for a week or two—don’t worry, i’ll make sure you get your bills paid before i leave them with you.” he extends his hand out to inui from across the table in a wordless question, offering to seal the transaction with, “you’re the only person i’d trust with them.”
and without any hesitation, inui grips his hand. “sounds good—can’t wait to meet them.”
it’s been exactly two minutes since he’s met you, but inui already hates you and you haven’t even said a word yet.
well, hate is a strong word, but he’s pretty sure he knows what you’re actually about at least, judging by your appearance; the revealing sundress you’re in, the shade of red on your lips, the expensive heels adorning your feet, how you loosley hang off of koko’s arm like you don’t even like him, the way your eyes judge him for his grimey appearance in his work clothes—you’re probably a materialistic bitch who just wants kokonoi for his money. though, he sweeps that idea under the rug almost immediately after it crosses his mind; he shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions about his friend’s partner.
though, you seem to validate his first point when you so obviously force a smile when inui takes off his gloves and shakes your hand to greet you. the look on your face is uncomfortable more than anything, but he assumes you feel something akin to disgust, only further proven by the way you cringe when koko explains that he’s the friend you’re going to stay with.
“if you need anything, just call me, sweetheart,” he tells you before planting a kiss on your lips, a tint of the red coming off onto his. his hand lingers on your face, caressing it with a pleasant smile on his, and inui can’t help but feel a little weird about it; he’s never really seen koko be affectionate, and it’s almost like he’s lost in a trance as he looks into your eyes. inui clears his throat to snap his friend back to reality, to which koko gives him an almost pissed side eye. it catches him off guard, and he’s about to apologize, but koko only laughs, “you can call me too, i guess,” before he walks back to his car, waving goodbye behind him.
you let out a deep sigh once the man drives off, and inui for a split second wants to slap you—you’re making it a little too obvious that you don’t like koko as much as he does you, and it’s pissing him off. “you seem tired,” he comments, enough sarcasm in his tone to let you know what he really means.
you look away from him to swallow a nervous breath, before turning back with another forced smile. “haha, i-i guess i am. do you, um, live here? i’d like to change and lay down for a bit…” you fumble your words, and it becomes clear that you’re just scared of him, which admittedly makes inui feel like an asshole for assuming you were just shallow. though, even then, the weird attitude towards koko he’s been picking up from you isn’t justified to him.
he’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, though; you do seem kind of exhausted, and dating a criminal probably doesn’t help with all that. “yeah, the shop is downstairs and i live upstairs. you can use my room while you stay here; i’ll just sleep on the couch,” he explains, walking you to the building. he holds the door open for you, and then points at the staircase in the back, “it’s not locked or anything, so go on ahead—i’m still working.” you give a curt nod of your head as you make your way to the back, your hands shaking wildly around the suitcase you brought.
inui doesn’t pay your nerves mind anymore; it’s strange and worries him more than anything, but he has hope that you’ll just chill out, once you get settled in. he’s a longtime friend of the guy you’re dating, and he opened up his home to you, before even meeting—you can trust him at least a little, y'know?
though, he just about throws away all hope of your comfort, when he hears you scream after only about five minutes of being upstairs. he puts down the gloves he was about to put back on and briskly makes his way to the stairs, but before he even takes a step up them, draken closes the door behind him at the top. the man’s stiff before his eyes meet inui’s, where he then lets out a deep breath that he was holding. he starts walking down the stairs as he asks, “so. inupi. who exactly is the naked person in my room?”
oh, yeah. probably would’ve been a good idea to let you know that he wasn’t the only one who lives here, and probably would’ve been an even better idea to tell you which room is his. too late now though, so he just sighs and starts walking back to the bikes, thinking on how to answer draken’s question. “they're…” inui hesitates; it’d probably be easier to just lie about your situation than actually explain it, and besides, him and draken made an informal agreement to stay away from gangs a long time ago—you’re just proof that he hasn’t been keeping up with that, so a lie is more convenient for him as well. “they’re a friend. got some issues at home, so they’re gonna be staying with us for a bit.”
but ever the empathetic man, draken inquires more about you; “oh yeah? what’s going on? i can try to talk to them about it—see if any advice i give helps.”
now, inui knows he shouldn’t build the lie; it could easily fall apart if brought up to you, but he tells the man out of courtesy anyway, “i didn’t ask much, but it’s something about their boyfriend.” if draken wants to talk to you, then at least he didn’t give any false info, and if you somehow talk about how you’re dating a gang executive, then he can just feign ignorance. though, inui doesn’t think he’ll have to worry about that possibility—even just exchanging pleasantries with you was like pulling teeth; he doubts you’ll actually have any meaningful conversations with him, let alone draken. i mean, he’s a really great guy and all, but you’d have to be blind to immediately look past how intimidating draken is.
yet, you somehow do.
three days into your stay, and inui hears your voice in draken’s room, in the middle of the night. more specifically, he hears you crying.
“i-i hate… like arm candy… and h-he… too much money on… i-it’s suffocating… if i try…” are the few words he picks up when he tries walking to the bathroom. it’s not inui’s job to care about you emotionally and what you’re going through, nor does he even want to—he’s not playing babysitter, but it’s the ‘money’ comment that draws his ear to press against the door. “…me sometimes, b-but i can’t just… i have a record… i-i can’t get a job that’ll p-pay enough for me to live on my own! if it wasn’t for him, i-i’d still be selling my body, and that… i-it was so—oh my god, it was so much worse; i-i wanted to kill myse—” and that’s when inui stopped listening.
he figured you were talking about koko, and he was right—that’s all he really wanted to confirm. he doesn’t care about whatever sob story you’re telling draken; all inui knows is that, as he suspected, you didn’t actually love his friend, or well, your feelings for him came second to what he provided you, if he were to be charitable—which he does.
yeah, he’s going to give you the benefit of the doubt this time again, but for koko’s sake more than yours or his; to see how much that man loves you, it’d be worrying if you didn’t love him back at least a small fraction of that, and after all his friend has been through, inui just doesn’t want to face that probable truth. the way kokonoi talks about you, the absolute adoration across his features when he was looking at you; it was so rare that it even made inui uncomfortable—he would never want for you to actually just be some sort of gold digger, no matter how much he speculates it.
so, it infuriates him that you’re just proving his speculation true, the longer you’re here.
it’s the way you laugh when talking to draken, how your face lights up just looking at him, the bashfulness of your gestures when he asks you to do something for him—you look completely lovestruck, and draken’s not too far off himself either. what about you appeals to guys with dead lover interests, inui doesn’t know, but he doesn’t question it either; he doesn’t feel the need to question anything. i mean, the flirting has to be harmless; seeing as you brought up kokonoi to draken the other night, he knows that you have a boyfriend, and draken’s not a big enough jackass to be a homewrecker—it just sounds like something completely out of his morals, so inui doesn’t feel inclined to tell koko about any of this, unless he feels petty.
but it’s on your last day here that inui’s toleration of you shatters.
inui never really paid attention to how you were helping draken fix the motorcycles the past week and half (well, moreso he didn’t care), but he overhears draken say to you, “you’re pretty good at this; maybe you can get a job here.” what he heard you say that one night rings in his head at that comment, and it only gets worse when he hears draken tell you, “i know the apartment is only a two bedroom, but at least you’ll be able to live on your own, if you move in and work with us. i mean, inupi’s your friend and i like you, so there’s no problem with you staying longer.”
he doesn’t insert himself into the conversation, though; inui would just decline with another lie if you brought it up to him, but there’s no way in hell you could actually consider that, in the first place. he doesn’t like you really, but he doesn’t peg you as stupid—you should know that it’ll be impossible to truly bounce back when you’re dependant on a gang member. sure, you’re hypothetically being given a job and a house on a silver platter, but being just a regular ass person in a sea of criminals, you’re basically a pet. and even if a pet runs away, finds a new owner, someone will always be looking for it, right?
yet you come up to him after draken leaves to pick up some parts. he figures you’re dumber than he thought, but it’s a fleeting thought, as you don’t even bring up what he overheard. instead, you ask something seemingly casual: “um, i-inui, you’ve been… friends with hajime for a long time, r-right?”
your tone is nervous, as it usually is when you talk to him, but there’s a depth of intensity under it. he hesitantly nods his head yes, thinking he might be able read what you’re playing at, only for you to completely throw him off by suddenly grabbing his hands. they’re covered in motor oil, so he could easily just pull them back, but the look in your eyes as you stare into his has him frozen. “how close to him are you exactly…?” you ask in a whisper; you say it like it’s a warning and you speak with more clarity. it’s unnerving.
“uh, well…” he tries to break eye contact, but there’s a bizarre desperation in your features that makes it impossible to turn away. “…we’re not as close as we used to be, i guess…? we, uh… lost contact with each for about ten years, and only started talking again, like… a couple of months ago.”
your grip on his hands gets tighter and you move closer to him, basically pushing him into the wall behind him. “so… do you even actually know him that well?” inui’s about to ask why you’re even questioning his relationship with koko, seeing as how you barely even talked to him these past two weeks, but you cut him off right when he opens his mouth—"h-have you noticed any changes from when you two were younger, is what i’m saying. like, h-how well do you know the, uh… current hajime?“
"what are you getting at?” it sounds like you’re silently accusing kokonoi of hiding something from inui, but he isn’t going to believe it that easily, no matter how worried you look; he’s admittedly biased towards his friend and against you.
though, god, your face is scarily anxious, and your voice matches, “o-oh! uh, just—i-it’s nothing really! i’m just… i j-just wanna know if you, um… trust… hajime the same way as you did when you guys were younger…” you wince at what you say; you know it’s an intrusive question that doesn’t really involve you.
but, honestly, inui wouldn’t be bothered by it, if you weren’t obviously just beating around the bush. he still answers, though, “not as much, i suppose… it has been ten years, and he is a high class criminal.” your face concerningly lights up at his answer, and it wears his patience off. he finally slips his hands out of your grip, and then grabs you by your shoulders, pushing you away from him. “what’s your issue with koko, exactly? why are you interrogating me about him?”
your face drops, and inui can practically hear your heart beating out of your chest. you try to recover, swallowing your breath and stepping away from him, and answer, “d-don’t, um… don’t worry t-too much about it! it’s just, u-um… god…” you take a deep breath while pressing your face into your wrists, calming yourself down, before looking inui in the eyes. that weird desperation is back on your face, this time accompanied by a bit of hopelessness, as you tell him, “listen, it’s just… i-i wanted to know if hajime still seems like the same person to you b-because i… i feel like i’ve changed him…” you sound more sincere than before, which gives inui the motivation to actually sit down and have a proper conversation with you, but—"s-sorry, i really shouldn’t be asking those questions; i’ve only known him for a few months, s-so i probably don’t know what i’m talking about. sorry.“ and you went back upstairs for the rest of the day, after that.
now, it’s one thing for you to confuse inui, which you’ve been doing since you first got here, but it’s another to make him conflicted; as much as he wants to not care about you, that entire conversation you two had silently pleaded "please help me—please believe me,” and as much as he wants to trust his friend, you’re right in the fact that inui can’t say that he truly knows kokonoi that well anymore, with how long they were apart for. and sure, he has his biases, but now that he’s actually thinking on it, everything feels off.
it’s keeping him awake late into the night, and driving him insane. why isn’t it as clear cut as it should be? he barely even knows you, so why is he doubting the friend he’s had for years because of what you implied? you didn’t even directly tell him about how koko is supposedly different, and he hardly even likes you; why does he want to believe you?
he gets frustrated thinking about it—maybe he’ll just have to sit down and have a proper conversation with you, to at least give him peace of mind. inui gets up off the couch and walks to his room at the back of the apartment, but when he walks past draken’s room, he hears your voice. more specifically, he hears you crying.
as much as he’s done it, it’s not like he actually enjoys eavesdropping; inui would usually leave shit like this alone, completely unattached to others’ personal affairs, but he isn’t going to be able to sleep if he doesn’t get something from you—he leans his back against the wall next to the door, listening hard.
“…i-it’s fine, really… i… i’ll be able to handle it, but…” it sounds like you were just coming down from sobbing; your voice is kind of hard to make out because of how nasally it is, but—"e-even if it’s only been two weeks, i… i really like you, ken"—is clear as day. “you’ve been more helpful to me than he ever has… i-i mean, i know every night we talked i said that i would’ve been worse off without him, b-but you… you’re so caring, that i-i realized being with him is… it’s just as miserable.”
and that’s all it takes for things to start making sense; no matter how much he dislikes you, you never gave him a solid reason not to trust you. okay, sure, you easily validated his speculation that the feelings koko has for you aren’t mutual, but there was no actual proof that you would actually go behind kokonoi’s back—therefore, no reason to mistrust you. i mean, that’s in part to the fact that he never thought you would, even if you wanted to anyway. it’s the same reason why you weren’t direct when interrogating him earlier, isn’t it? you seem to actually understand the situation you’re in.
yet, here you are telling draken, “i still have to go back with him tomorrow, b-but i’ll figure something out! …eventually, a-at least. i mean, it… it can’t be hopeless, r-right…?” inui gave you too much credit.
he sighs and reaches for his phone in his pocket, only to remember that it’s charging in the living room. before retrieving it, he picks up your last few words, “y-yeah, it can’t be hopeless; i have you now. even if i can’t escape, as long… can talk… each other…” reassure yourself all you like, but inui’s going to give koko a heads up, at least. he has his biases, after all, and now that he has at least somewhat of a reason not to trust you, he won’t feel weird about it.
but what does he tell his friend? inui stares at the keyboard on his phone, debating what to type. just saying “hey, your partner is planning to try and leave you, seemingly for another man” is a little too blunt, even if that’s how he is as a person. he doesn’t want to just rip the bandaid off, that’s too much to drop on someone like him at once, but if he sugarcoats it, it’ll hurt koko just the same by finding it out the hard way. maybe just warning koko that you’ve been “acting weird” around his roommate would suffice, or perhaps—
“fuck, keep it down; we don’t wanna wake him up,” draken says, followed by a loud creak of his bed frame. ironically enough, he said it so loud that inui could hear him from the living room, but that’s besides the point.
what?
inui quietly makes his way back down the hall, heartbeat drumming in his ears in bafflement. did he mishear that? is he just misinterpreting what he heard? he shamelessly pushes his ear against the door, desperately listening for more, all the while subconsciously praying that he’s just mistaken. he has to be; there’s no way in hell the two of you are fucking. draken would never let someone cheat on their partner with him, and god, you should know better.
but both of those preconceived notions were shattered when inui hears you let out probably the sluttiest moan he’s ever heard. “sh-shit… 'm… s-sorry… i just can’t help… mm… y-you’re really good at this…” you’re obviously trying to whisper what you’re saying, but there’s no filter that could actually help, other than just shutting up—the walls are pretty thin. thin enough that inui can hear the sloppy, wet slurping noises of what he can assume is draken eating your pussy, followed by yet another poor attempt of a muffled moan from you.
now, inui isn’t sure if he hates himself more for getting turned on by the filthy noises coming from behind the door or for not budging an inch from it. by all means, he does not consider himself a voyeur, but your sweet, almost sultry voice has him frozen. his dick twitches in the confines of his sweats, and a part of him so desperately wants to rub himself raw listening to the moans pouring out of your mouth, which just makes him feel worse when he remembers the phone in his hand; the screen still has his chat with koko open, and it stares back at him, as if his friend was actually there judging him.
it takes a couple of conflicting minutes, but his guilty conscience eventually takes control and drags him downstairs to the shop; he can’t be distracted by the noise, if he’s going to call koko. he knows he should probably take care of himself first so he has a clear mind—hell, he wants to, but he’d feel sick with himself talking to his friends after jacking off to the mental image of his partner getting fucked. he’ll just have to bare it for now.
inui clicks on the call button next to koko’s name, and starts to pace around the bikes. the ringing from the phone makes him unreasonably anxious, and he isn’t actually sure why—i mean, telling your friend their partner is cheating on them is a good thing, right? finding out the hard way is worse for all parties, so why is the pit in his stomach getting bigger the more he thinks about explaining it? maybe it’s because he’s currently hard thanks to the fact that you’re cheating, or perhaps the fact that he doesn’t know how koko will react to the news is more likely. but why would the latter worry him? is it because of what you said earlier about how he supposedly changed? or maybe just your general uneasiness around the topic of him is rubbing off on him? but that doesn’t make sense; why would he care—
“seishu,” kokonoi calls out to him, once again the unfamiliar use of his given name being the only thing to snap the man out of his head.
inui quickly tries to shake his anxieties out of the way, “oh, sorry about that—uh, did i wake you up?”
it hurts him to hear his friend let out a lighthearted laugh from the other side of the phone. “no, don’t worry about that, but what is up with you? did you even mean to call me? you weren’t answering for a solid minute.” he sounds like he’s in a good mood; he’s probably happy since you’re coming back home tomorrow, and it makes it all the harder for inui. he lets out a deep sigh, and even through the phone, koko can pick up his concern. “hey, seriously though, you okay?”
well, he would like a smoother transition into the topic or just more time to think about what to say so it won’t end up sounding too harsh, but inui can’t beat around the bush with him. he sits up against one of the cold walls, face buried in one of his hands, as he explains hesitantly, “koko, it’s just… i’m really sorry to tell you this, but they cheated on you—um, with my roommate…”
“…oh.”
the long silence from koko afterwards is exactly why inui didn’t want to drop it all on him at once; he’s not exactly good at dealing with other people’s emotions, let alone his own and especially kokonoi hajime’s. he’s already burnt that bridge before, but he knows he should at least try. this is the man he considers his best friend, and knows plenty of what he’s been through—he’s sure he can imagine what he’s feeling if he just put the effort into it.
“hey, listen, i’m so sorry that you had to find out like this, but i'll—”
he gets interrupted, even a little startled, by koko’s laugh on the other end, “what are you sorry for? it’s not like you’re the one who fucked them.” well, it’s true that he doesn’t have anything to be completely sorry for, but the nonchalant tone from him completely confuses inui, even worries him a bit. he hopes koko isn’t just playing this off, only to breakdown after they hang up, but he seems to be uncomfortably calm with this revelation. “thanks for letting me know, inupi. you still on for dinner next week?”
have you cheated before or has koko suspected this of you for a while? whatever it is, inui won’t get an answer because he doesn’t even get the chance to ask about how his friend is feeling. “yeah, i should be fine… but koko, are you—”
“great, i’ll see you then. i should be getting my beauty rest now, so goodnight,” is all he gives him before hanging up, and the pit in his stomach is at its deepest. thoughts race back and forward in his head, the most prevalent being: 'that is not how you react to that situation.’
though, as concerned as inui is for his friend and how indescribably off everything feels, he isn’t going to push it; the conversation ended, and besides, he doesn’t want to stress out about all of this, especially if the person it should be effecting most doesn’t seem to be down about it at all. not to mention the fact that he can just remove himself from the issue now—he explained what had happened, so the rest of that should just be between koko and you now. it should be up to either of you two to drag him back into it, instead of him willingly staying in this mess when it barely involves him.
so with his rationalization of the situation, inui tries to shove his worries to the back of his mind—the faint slapping of skin against skin he hears when he walks back into the apartment helps him in that endeavor. he lets out a deep sigh, plugging his phone back in before sitting down on the couch, where his hand falls upon his clothed erection. he’ll deal with the guilt later; inui just needs to distract himself from his concerns for the next few days, one way or another, until he meets up with koko on sunday. then, they can actually talk about everything that happened during your stay properly.
except, that never happens.
by the time the check comes that night, koko had only brought you up once: an offhanded question about whether inui thought you were pretty. he did admit honestly that, yeah, you were attractive, but he commented that what you did couldn’t be justified by your looks, hoping that would segway into the conversation about what happened. but koko only laughed at his response, saying that he was being too hard on you, which didn’t help inui at all.
if koko is fine and doesn’t want to talk about it though, then that’s just what it is; inui can’t force him, just because it’ll put his mind at ease, so he tries to ignore everything and just enjoy himself tonight. he’s out with his friend, his bills are paid on time for the first time in months, he can enjoy the expensive food and drinks without care for once, and—
“hey, inupi, i want you to come over to my place; i have a bit of a gift for you."
what?
"don’t worry, all my business is taken care of—you won’t get caught up in anything, and besides i think you’ll like it quite a bit,” koko reassures him, even though that’s not what inui’s concerned about at all.
besides the fact that koko has never even allowed him near his penthouse before because of the fact he didn’t want him near any bonten territory, it’s you that he’s most worried about. koko didn’t just abandon you after what happened that night; the morning after while draken was out getting breakfast, he picked you up and took you back to his place, and judging from how comfortably he talked about you tonight (even if it was only once), there doesn’t seem to be any ill will between you two, which leaves him as the odd one out.
you probably hate him for telling koko that you cheated on him, and even though he couldn’t give less of a shit about how you feel about him, inui doesn’t want there to be any tension. he’s already been struggling with the awkwardness of being around draken after that night, and then there’s koko’s uncomfortable normalcy on top of that; if he’s going to try and forget about what happened or even just pretend that it’s fine, then inui especially doesn’t need to be around you.
“i’ll pass; you’ve already given me plenty,” he tries to casually decline the offer, as they walk out of the restaurant together. “besides, i thought you said you didn’t give handouts, even to friends.”
koko laughs, “what are you talking about? a gift isn’t a handout, dumbass,” before grabbing onto inui’s wrist, as he was reaching for his keys. koko peers into his eyes as if he’s trying to hypnotize him, and it honestly worries inui, even if he doesn’t show it. “c'mon don’t be a buzzkill; it’ll be fun.”
he doesn’t remember koko drinking that much tonight, but he’s sure acting inebriated—or just off, at the very least. maybe he isn’t as relaxed about what happened as he wants to seem, like inui had worried about. he sighs, “koko, it’s just that—”
“what, you finally regret hanging out with a criminal?”
it’s the same joke he made the last time, except he doesn’t laugh nor are his words sarcastic—it’s genuine, but not as a question; it sounds like a threat more than anything, like a reminder of all the power koko has nowadays. his expression is still lighthearted, but inui can’t shake the discomfort he feels from those words. “you know that’s not the case,” he explains, even though he isn’t sure if he’s lying right now. he shakes koko’s hand off of him, so he can actually pull out his keys. “i was just going to ask if you were going to drive me there because i’m not just gonna leave my bike here.”
now, that was a complete lie; even the grin he says it with is fake, but most smiles from him are partially forced, so koko doesn’t even question it. he just returns the look with a smirk of his own, before pulling out his phone. “let me pull up the directions for you. i’ll call off my chauffeur, and just ride on the back of your bike—y'know like the good old days.”
inui wouldn’t call them good—easier is probably a better way to put it, but as they ride down the highway, he thinks about their past together. more specifically, he realizes everything that’s been happening is like when they were younger, just in all the bad ways; no matter how hard inui tries, he’s still failing to communicate with his friend, and koko still maintains the complete inability to address any of his issues. eventually, this is all going to blow up in their faces, and they’re going to get driven apart again, right?
it’s not like he wants that to be the case, but the minute inui steps foot inside koko’s penthouse, there’s a pit in his stomach again. there’s broken glass from several smashed vases and the coffee table all over the floor, the throw pillows are scattered across the entire living room, one of the couches is flipped over, and most notably, there’s blood. tonight isn’t going to end well.
“mind the mess; some shit happened the other night,” koko brushes off, even though the concern is blatant in inui’s features—not just for the scene in front of him, though. the lighting was dim in the restaurant, so he didn’t really notice it until now, but the bags under koko’s eyes are deep. even with what inui’s pretty sure is concealer on, the dark circles still poke through, but the man pretends like he’s fine anyhow, beckoning inui up the stairs with a lilt in his tone, “come ooon, your gift is waiting, inupi.”
koko doesn’t wait for him on the steps, already ascending to the second floor, and inui for a split second considers leaving. now would be a good time—he’d just need to pull a lie out of his ass, and then rush for the elevator before koko can come back down and ask about anything. but inui goes against his better judgement; he didn’t want to force koko to talk about anything, but what he wants even less is a repeat of what their friendship was like years ago. so, this time more than ever, he’s going to try and help his friend, even if he feels uneasy.
though… uneasiness aside, there was always that thought in the back of inui’s mind that kokonoi was beyond help. he just never listened to it because, well, it’s the actual reason he didn’t want to listen to you that fateful day—he thought he knew his friend better than that. even though inui didn’t agree with or even like some of the choices koko made, the man was never irrational; he always did what benefits him the most, and who is inui to judge that? even if concern ate at him for years thinking about what koko had been getting into, he blindly trusted that his friend had everything under control—that he wouldn’t break.
but as koko leads him down the hall and to a room, inui’s perception of his friend completely shatters, and he realizes that he should’ve listened to that voice telling him koko couldn’t be helped anymore.
“haah… hajime… p-please, i'm… i-i’m sorry… ghh… it… it… hurts… plea—t-take… out… ngh…”
your arms are tied behind your back, ankles bound together too, your naked body is battered and twitches like a dead roach just barely clinging to life, and even with your face down in the mattress, inui knows you’ve been crying. seeing you like this makes him sick, but not out of pity for you—no, he still doesn’t think he cares about you really, even now. it’s just that, besides the fact that general fucking morality would say that whatever had happened is wrong, seeing you like this tells inui more about how kokonoi’s been doing than anything he had ever said to him, and it makes him feel terrible; not only because he’s truly seeing how far gone the man is, but because he knows he can’t just get out of it now.
inui chose to be here out of that self-righteous urge that blindsided him, and now it’s blowing up in his face—there’s no way to back out of it without consequence.
so, he lets himself get pushed further into the room by koko, where he locks the door behind them. it’s not like inui wouldn’t be able to just unlock the door and leave, but locking the door was a silent threat not to. not that he’d be able to anyways—he’s frozen in place, completely unsure of what to do, say, or even think. he just watches silently as koko briefly pulls out his phone, before sitting by you on the bed and dipping two of his fingers into your pussy.
the way you whimper and tremble as koko digs his fingers into you makes inui sick, mainly because it just has to turn him on. he doesn’t want to see you like this—fuck, he didn’t want to see you at all tonight, but now that he’s here, his body decides to betray his moral conscience, despite himself. i mean, sure, he’s been fantasizing about you ever since that night he jacked off to just the sound of you getting fucked, but whatever he’s being forced to witness is so different from that; this is just wrong in every way. god, it’s so wrong, and the fact his cock throbs in his slacks at the whine you let out when koko pulls a small vibrator out of your sopping cunt is arguably even worse.
this is disgusting—he feels disgusting.
and it’s not even like he can pass this off as some sort of kink shit, even though he wishes that’s all this was. no, the fearful reluctance in your voice to thank kokonoi for taking the vibrator out is too genuine, and the way your whole body flinches when he places a kiss onto your tear stained cheek and calls you a good girl is too real. though, what’s most telling is the full blown panic in your eyes when koko rolls you over, and you actually see inui standing by the door. but he returns your anxious look; he doesn’t want to be here either. i mean, just standing there watching is bad enough, but inui knows there’s a catch to him being here; he doesn’t exactly know what, but the dread he feels is torturous—you only amplify the feeling.
but his stomach finally drops when kokonoi beckons him over to the bed. “come on, inupi, this is your gift; go ahead and take a swing at them.”
“what?” you and inui both say it in unison, but you’re the one quick to follow up; “w-wait, ha… hajime, i-i— n-no, please, i-i’m really— i-it hurts… i… i won’t b-be able t—”
koko clamps a hand over your mouth with a harshness that says he hates you, but his expression is calm, delightful even. “don’t be like that, sweetheart; you want me to forgive you, right?” he asks like it’s a threat, and now there’s another sick layer on top of this situation. why in the hell is koko involving him in what seems to be your punishment for cheating on him? and as if the man could read his mind, kokonoi turns to inui, “and what are you waiting for? you think they’re pretty, don'tcha?” but that’s not a good fucking reason.
instead of coming closer like the man wants, inui can’t help but back away towards the door, even if he knows he can’t just leave. he’s just hoping kokonoi isn’t too far gone, and will see how reluctant his friend is. to help himself, he tries to explain, “koko, listen, i don’t want to—”
but it’s not that kokonoi’s blind to how uncomfortable he is—"hey, i just wanted to thank you properly for telling me that they’re still acting like a slut; don’t be rude.“ no, the man just doesn’t care; not about inui, at least. disgustingly enough, koko does care about you, in some sick way. inui can tell in the brief moment where he turns back to you, clutching your terrified face in his hands and tells you, "besides, i love you so much; i’d go insane sending you back to a whorehouse.” it’s deluded, genuine, and so wrong.
though, he’s back to the threats and couthness almost instantly after the mask slips; “but if i had found out you were going behind my back myself, then you would’ve gone back to getting gangraped for free the moment i got my hands on you, so really, you should thank inupi too, unless you still want that to happen.”
inui doesn’t know if this is just some sick perversion of kokonoi’s or if the man has genuinely lost it, but the look you share with him says enough—'please get this over with so we can pretend this night didn’t happen.’
he doesn’t want to fuck you—well, shit, he did for a few guilty nights alone, but right now, the thought of even touching you makes him want to vomit. i mean, sure, inui isn’t the best person ever, but he hasn’t fucking raped someone; and that’s what this basically is, isn’t it? though, god, the thought of what kokonoi would do to you if he didn’t do anything is so much more nauseating, especially with his recent threat and everything inui’s been witnessing; the bruises and scars on your body seem recent from what he can tell, and the state the living room was in doesn’t help either. it makes inui aware that this is your only option; so, despite how much he thinks he doesn’t care about you, he swallows his disgust and joins you on the bed, desperately trying to ignore the pit of guilt forming in his stomach.
'just be quick and don’t think about it’ is what he tells himself as he hurriedly undoes his belt and tugs his slacks down his thighs. one of his hands comes up under the back of your knees to push your legs back and give him access to your pussy, completely ignoring koko’s offer to untie your legs, while his other hand pulls his cock out of his boxers. he’s only half-mast, but he isn’t going to prolong your torture so that it’s easier on him; inui just spits in his free hand so he can lube up his dick before cramming it inside of you. i mean, you’re already plenty wet, but it just makes the process of fitting inside you quicker—and he’ll do anything to get this over with.
even, slamming inside of you at a brutal pace; one you or your overstimulated cunt definitely can’t handle.
you’re screaming, you’re moaning, you’re crying, you’re begging, and even if he doesn’t seem like it, inui’s sorry. he’s sorry he’s hurting you right now; he’s sorry kokonoi’s doing this to you. he’s sorry that you’re even in this situation. he’s sorry for ratting you out, and he’s sorry for not listening to your warnings. most of all, he’s sorry that he’s even slightly enjoying this.
liking any of this makes him sick—oh, more than you can probably even imagine, but you feel too good. the way your walls practically pulsate around him, how you clamp down on him every brief second he bottoms out, and not to mention the noises you make, pained or not; it’s all so erotic, and he knows you hate every second of it. and while he wants to hate it as much as you, he just can’t, and that only further disgusts him. the only thing keeping him from hating himself at the moment is closing his eyes and imagining that you’re not actually here; that this is just like the previous nights where he’s only fucking his hand to the thought of you. and to help himself, inui pushes your legs back further, practically folding you in half, so that there’s more of a barrier between the two of you, as he almost mercilessly wrecks your hole.
but no matter how hard he tries to distance or disconnect himself from what he’s doing, kokonoi’s mere presence watching all of this makes it impossible to completely do so. his attention isn’t even on him, and he isn’t doing anything distracting either, only really cradling your head in his lap while you suffer, yet it’s so unnerving to inui. however, it’s the last thing he needs plaguing his mind; even if he can’t escape from what he’s doing mentally, he’s been going fast enough that he already feels himself get closer to his release—he’ll be able to leave and dwell upon his thoughts soon enough.
though, not without another punch to the gut; “feel free to finish inside them, by the way,” kokonoi tells him, but inui tries to ignore how gross that offer makes him feel—i mean, he wasn’t even thinking about it.
but yet, koko just had to say that while he was giving his last few shallow thrusts, and it made you panic. your entire body tenses, pussy clamping around his dick in a vise, and he can’t pull out. “w-wait, hajime, please don’t l-let him—” you don’t even get the chance to finish your plea before he’s emptying his balls in you, and fuck, he hates himself for it. inui catches a glimpse of the terrified look of realization in your eyes when he lets go of your legs to actually pull out his softening cock, and it has him cleaning himself up at record pace.
the minute his slacks are back around his waist, he gets off the bed and heads for the door. he doesn’t spare a glance back at you or kokonoi, and apologizing to you for everything is a pipe dream by now; inui just shuts the door behind him, and with his back to it, starts slowly sliding down until he’s sitting against it, face in his hands as overwhelming guilt starts to take over.
god, he’s so fucking stupid.
he thought he was all the wiser, lecturing you in his mind about how you should know your place in kokonoi hajime’s world, when he was in the same position as you this whole goddamn time, wasn’t he? who did he think he was being friends with a gang executive like it’s fucking normal? what did he think he was doing being all self-righteous and shit, thinking he could fix a man that no longer existed the way he knew?
of course, he was going to get used at some point; in hindsight it was so obvious. it should’ve been glaring in his face the second kokonoi brought up an offer to him—no, it should’ve been clear the very first time the man had reminded inui that he was a criminal. no matter how much he cared about his childhood friend, he should’ve just accepted that they were from two different worlds now, and that he should’ve left their friendship as a thing of the past, along with the koko he once knew. but he just couldn’t let go, even when deep down he had a feeling that he’d get carried away into kokonoi’s life and get wrapped up in gang shit again, and well, look where he is now; he just raped someone.
but even with the guilt of what he’s just done and his regrets weighing heavy on his mind, inui still can’t help being worried about koko; no, not when he doesn’t even know why the man made him assault you.
and that’s when a cry from you drags inui out if his mind—"p-please no! ha-hajime… no more… ple… please…"
so, as if it’s the only thing he knows how to do, he turns his head to the side, ear against the door, and listens. “shh, don’t worry baby; i’ll be gentle this time,” kokonoi tells you, followed by a scream from you which inui can only assume is from the man inserting himself into your overstimulated cunt. the way you start to sob afterwards is grotesque, but he doesn’t pull away from the door and leave, like he should—he can’t, not when he hears koko continue, “that’s right, it hurts doesn’t it? only one man used your body so disgustingly tonight, but there used to be so many more, right? what would you do without me?” bile crawls up his throat at the realization that kokonoi used him to make you relive your horrid nights at the brothel, but the man doesn’t know or probably even care about how sick he’s making inui. “answer my question, sweetheart.”
you would’ve killed yourself—inui already knows that answer, and you repeat it as such through choked sobs, only making him that much closer to vomiting. fuck, why was he so ignorant? why didn’t he listen to you, when you were so clearly distressed? you had off behavior the whole two weeks and literally came to him with your concerns, but he did fucking nothing. no, inui ignored how desperate you seemed to get away from kokonoi because he thought you were using his friend for money, like he had seen so many people do before, without even a moment of reflection. no wonder you were scared of him, when you guys first met; he was obviously on the side of your abuser, and yet, you still tried to warn him about how his supposed friend had changed.
shit, he’s so fucking sorry—especially to you, but to koko as well.
even though the man is clearly in the wrong for what he’s doing, inui can’t help but feel like he ruined everything for everyone, only backed up by the heartbreak he hears in koko’s voice; “so, why did you do it? i did everything i could fucking think of for you to be happy, so why?” it sounds like he’s crying, something inui has never heard before, and it’s what makes him finally throw up all the regret he feels. yet, the sound gets drowned out by kokonoi’s desperation from the other side of the door; “i love you so much—don’t leave me, don’t even fucking think about it. you need me, and i need you; you’re my second chance.”
it’s exactly what he was thinking in the back of his mind; after all these years, there was a part of kokonoi that still couldn’t get over her, and it’s back to haunt inui. he never thought koko could truly move on from what had happened, and it’s why inui was so desperate to do anything to make sure he was alright after what had happened with you. yet, that only lead him to getting trapped in this mess too, and there’s no real way out now, is there?
he should’ve taken his own goddamn advice.