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Attaining a second lease in life is not something that he has expected to ever befall him. He has always persevered under the notion that each breath he takes could be his last, and so he must work hard to reach his goals before that moment comes to whisk him away from this plane of existence.
He would still destroy the other organization if it reaches his ears in the form of an order, but he is indeed thankful for the assistance that the Armed Detective Agency has extended towards him. They did not have to cure him of his lifelong illness, but they still did so anyway. It was already a boon that they have helped Gin shed away the vampire’s transformation.
In his case, his lungs remain frail, but gone is the countdown that hangs over his fate like the Sword of Damocles, ready to fall over his neck. He still leads a dangerous life where death could befall him, but it is at least on his terms, instead of a disease that he does not have a chance of winning against.
His lifestyle barely changes. He is herded to eating more regularly, both by his sister and his meddlesome colleagues. The pantry at the apartment he shares with Gin remains constantly full of things that boasts of being healthy and organic. Chuuya-san has added a weekly mission to his tasks, one that involves a regular check-up with a doctor from a Port Mafia-affiliated hospital.
Those things are cumbersome additions to his routine that used to be focused on growing strong and that alone. However, he is an adaptable person. He could deal with these changes to his life, especially if it means that Gin would stop looking at him like he is about to keel over if he so much as breathes wrong.
Today, Akutagawa still finds himself breathing wrong.
It takes him several moments to get his breathing under control, before he could ask, “…What did you just say?”
Jinko looks like a fool most times he has had the misfortune of laying sight upon him. Even when he has already grown a tougher spine, and even when Akutagawa is aware of the strength this man could possess, there is no hiding the almost-naïve innocence that lurks in his eyes and smile. That said, Akutagawa is also aware that this fool could sometimes say a bunch of irritating words, and act like he has been tasked to drive him off-kilter.
“What, you’re that shocked I said ‘sorry’ to you?” Jinko makes a face at him, but it is quite half-hearted. “Maybe we should have a manners training instead of another spar today…”
“I meant the reason for your lateness,” he says, testy. Then, because he is not the sort to be half-hearted when it comes to letting his opinion be known about this man, he adds a customary, “Fool.”
That brings a little more fire to the other man. “Of course, you wouldn’t be surprised by manners, you just don’t want to use them.”
“I would be civil to people who deserve it.” He crosses his arms over his chest, Rashomon electric upon his skin. He taps his foot against the ground of the training area that has been reserved for their use, as part of Dazai-san’s proposal to ensure that they are well-prepared for another big fight in the future. “Since you insist on politeness, it is only polite to answer my query about the reason for your tardiness.”
Jinko flushes a bit, like he has been laid out in the sun for too long. He rubs the back of his neck, suddenly acting like he is a shy teenager. Honestly, he is even worse than Kyouka sometimes. “Someone’s been insisting on contacting me lately, so I lost track of time.”
He scoffs. “Did you not do the responsible thing and plot our training sessions to your schedule?”
“Tough words from someone who I heard tried to run away from his doctor’s appointment…”
He raises a hand, and Rashomon attacks Jinko from below. “I did not run away,” he corrects, and resolves to find out the source of that gossip spreading.
“Hey! We’re starting already?!”
“A fight does not wait until one has spent too much time preparing oneself,” he explains, eyes narrowing.
It is difficult to pinpoint the source of his ire. He might have gone from the brink of death, but his illness affected his respiratory system, not his hearing capabilities. Therefore, Jinko’s initial explanation for his tardiness today has something to do with someone supposedly ‘flirting too hard with him’. But Jinko has refused to repeat that explanation, as if he is embarrassed by it. In Akutagawa’s opinion, it is more embarrassing to be so affected by such paltry notions as romance.
And he is proven right, over the course of their sparring.
It does not last long—there is no need to extend the suffering and the waste of time, when he could see that Jinko’s attention is elsewhere.
He whips Rashomon towards the other’s face. A tiger-transformed fist takes the blow directly, and several white hairs are shaved off and fall to the ground. But even with this defense, Jinko is still pushed back, his footing uneven enough that it is easy to kick his shins to buckle him down and force him to fall to his knees.
“Enough. You are wasting my time, fool.” He crosses his arms again over his chest, filled with the urge to plant his shoe to the other’s forehead in order to knock some sense to him. “If you are too embroiled with your budding romance, there is no need to stay here and force me to witness a disappointing performance.”
Jinko’s head snaps up quickly as he crows while pointing a finger at him, “So you did hear me earlier!”
“It is unfortunate that I had to hear your nonsense yapping.” He uses Rashomon to smack that finger away. “If you find yourself too distracted to think about anything else but that unfortunate woman who has set her eyes on you, I would suggest you do not waste my time.”
There goes Jinko’s embarrassment again. “I’m not even sure if they’re a man or a woman.”
Fortunately, his lung illness has already been cured. Thus, when he hears these words, he only chokes on air for a brief moment. The only damage is to his mind, his airways spared. “How could you not know such a thing?” Then, he recalls the magazines that are left lying around in Higuchi’s office. “Or do you mean that would they prefer to not be classified into those two options?”
“They’ve just been flirting hard over text messages! They said they heard of me from one of the clients we’ve worked with!”
…He should have known that this Jinko is a fool. He clicks his tongue. “All of your communication has never been done face-to-face, and you already find yourself this flustered over them?” And it is even to the point that he would be too taken by the conversation to realize that he would be running late for their joint training. “How irresponsible.”
“I keep on trying to turn them down, but—”
That makes him snort, quite inelegantly. But it is more than fine, because he is dealing with an uncultured weretiger who has already seen him at his lowest point. There is no need for pretense between them. “I already expected that you would be incompetent in many things. I did not expect that you would fail to do something as basic as rejecting a person.”
“I’m not like you who can be so naturally rude.” Jinko then mimics the way his arms are crossed at the moment. He furrows his brows, like he is suffering from severe constipation, as he pitches his voice low. “Begone from my sights, you foul creature. I only have training in my mind, I do not want anyone, unless they would volunteer to be the punching bag of this yatsugare-kun!”
His suspicions that the other is trying to mimic his way of speech is solidified by the end of the quip. He also solidifies Rashomon again, and attempts to smack the other in the face. This time, Jinko rolls away from the blow, standing up while letting out a beleaguered sigh.
“Anyway, I can’t copy yatsugare-kun’s way of rejection, okay?”
“I do not speak like that,” he says, aiming to correct that utterly false impression.
“You obviously do?” Jinko gives him a look like he is the insane one here. “I’m pretty sure I got it 99.99% correct!”
“You absolutely did not.”
A shrug. “Well, the only thing different would be that you’d probably just punch them directly.”
He finds himself agreeing with the spirit of it. “I would sever their life if they insisted on forcing their feelings upon me.”
“…Well, you wouldn’t kill them.” It is rare for this fool to speak so confidently. Each time it happens, it gives him the impression of the other sending an invisible punch straight to his ribs, like he is issuing a challenge to his perception of him as a person.
“I would, if they are vexing enough.” He gives him a look that should relay his plans of wringing his neck should he continue to be an irritation.
“Nah,” is very light and casual. “You already made a promise that you would try not to kill anyone anymore.”
Perhaps that lightness has caused him momentary lightheadedness, because he finds himself asking, “My word has that much weight, in your eyes?”
“Of course.”
It is another invisible punch to him. He could not deflect it using Rashomon, so he could only cough to hide the way he has been bruised by such heavy belief in his convictions. “In my words, I believe that you could try harder in rejecting that person, if you truly do not feel anything for them.”
Jinko makes a face, as if he could not fathom having his words used against him. “But I’ve been trying for a few days already!”
It has been a few days, but this is the first time he has heard of such a plight. Then again, they only have these joint trainings on a weekly basis. They may have been entangled due to their respective positions in their respective organizations, but they do not possess a relationship where they would trade gossip about their daily activities.
Somehow, he feels a smidgen of ire about this.
“You secretly enjoy the attention, do you not? Fool.” There is no need for pretense between them, after all. He is aware of the weretiger’s desire for acceptance, one that is uncomfortably mirrored in his own plight to seek validation.
“It’s not that,” Jinko insists. “I’m thankful that they like me, but I also can’t just be rude to them! I’m not like you who could act that cold!”
Perhaps this is due to his body having been transformed, not just by the vampire’s effect, but also from the healing ability that rejuvenated his body, and also the increased nutrients from his healthier meals. He finds himself losing control of a logical thread. He opens his mouth and offers, “Then tell that person that you are already in a romantic relationship with me. I will reject that person in your stead.”
This time, it is as if he is the one who has delivered an invisible blow to the weretiger. Jinko looks like a bomb has been dropped to his feet, and all he could do is gape at him like a stunned goldfish.
It is quite the idiotic sight. It is too idiotic, to the point that he is scalded by secondhand embarrassment of being near such a ridiculous sight. “If you are so incompetent at using your own words to proclaim your dissatisfaction of their courting, then I can provide my assistance.” He coughs to his fist. “Consider it as me returning the favor, in exchange for the help your Agency has provided to me and my sister.”
Jinko is living proof that becoming stronger and more confident of his place in the world cannot cure natural foolishness. “You want to date me???”
It seems that complex sentences containing words of more than two syllables is too much for this weretiger’s brain. He slices down the words like he is eager to slice them upon the fool’s skin. “It is so I can help you in rejecting them, you fool.”
“…If you say so.” The dubious look that is lobbed his way is too obvious.
“Let us not waste our time further. Ask that person to meet us, and I will reject them directly.” This way, even if this week’s training session is destined to be wasted, the problem will not roll over to the next session.
Jinko gives him another look. “You’re that excited to date me???”
“Did I hit your head too hard earlier?” He tilts his head and summons Rashomon to hover in the space between them menacingly. “I could try to knock your head again in futile hopes of rearranging your disconnected neurons.”
“If you already know it’s futile, and you still want to do it, are you just looking for a chance to touch my head?”
“I believe you are touched in the head,” he retorts, rolling his eyes at the other’s nonsense. “Cease your yapping and contact that person already.”
Jinko grins and pulls out his phone. “I really am touched, yatsugare-kun.”
He does not deign to give him a response, aside from turning up his nose at him. He tells himself that it is not because he suspects that the other’s imaginary punches have evolved a second tier, in which it feels like an imaginary feather-light touch that tickles his ribs instead.
Fortunately for his desire to solve things swiftly, the weretiger’s admirer is seemingly glued to their phone. They immediately agree to a meet-up, citing a newly-opened restaurant near the docks as their meeting place. The time is set for an hour from now—a sign of excitement, which would be turned into gloom for the other party.
“It is a good location.” It is close enough for a walk, and they could scout the place ahead of time.
Jinko seems happy enough to cut their training short. “Isn’t it? Dazai-san said that it’s supposed to have a lot of nice seafood dishes.”
“Dazai-san has been to that place already?”
“I don’t think so… I think I heard it’s because it’s kinda expensive…”
He remembers how this fool’s eyes have bugged out upon learning about his salary. He suppresses the urge to sigh. “I will take care of the bill, so you could acquire sustenance.” In case this gets misinterpreted once again, he hastens to add, “Your foolish mind is in dire need of nutrition so you could avoid being that much of an idiot.”
“Then I want to eat five bowls of seafood donburi!”
The thought of that much food makes him ill, but he supposes that this weretiger could use more fat in his frame so that he is not blown away easily. “You could eat the entire restaurant and it would not cause a dent in my pockets.”
“Yatsugare-kun, are you sure you’re not reading some overbearing CEO novels?”
He has heard of those things from Higuchi, but it is usually used to describe her thoughts on Chuuya-san’s methods of forcing him to eat lunch. “I do not understand what you are yapping about now,” he chooses to say, because he could just foresee the headache he would acquire if he pursues this line of conversation.
“It’s such a shame that you’re too scary, even waving your wallet around wouldn’t be able to fool someone into dating you.”
“For someone who insisted on politeness earlier, you sure are cheeky towards someone who would be paying for your five bowls of seafood donburi.”
Jinko makes a zipping motion over his mouth. It is immediately ruined when he still quips, “You are absolutely my dream boyfriend if my dreams are always nightmares.”
“It is already a nightmare having to deal with you when I am awake.”
They continue to trade more barbs until they reach the restaurant. Because the rush hour for lunch has already passed, there are many available tables, providing privacy. He chooses to seat them at a spot beside the streetside window, one that has a good vantage point of the whole space. “This is close to one of the mafia’s offices. Should there be a need to request for back-up, a squad could rush in within five minutes.”
“…I don’t think a rejection would need mafia intervention.” Jinko looks like he is having fun, taking photos of the restaurant and its menu. He is likely to be sending them to Kyouka. He is Dazai-san’s protégé, but he probably is not foolish enough to advertise this trip to his mentor, who would most definitely have words about not bringing him along.
“Am I not considered ‘mafia intervention’?” He briefly browses through the menu. “Your task for now is to order something for me as well.”
“You’re Akutagawa… oops, yatsugare-kun to me now.” Jinko shows the downside of sitting beside each other. When Jinko flashes a smile at him, he could feel it bruise his ribs at a greater intensity, since the proximity is very near. “You’d trust me with your food?”
“It is not as if you are the one preparing it.”
“I’ll have you know that I know how to cook basic food at least!”
“If your foolishness is due to eating meals you have made yourself, that is all the more reason for me to have suspicions about your skills.”
They end up bickering still after ordering food, and even throughout the meal. Jinko’s admirer still has not made an appearance.
Akutagawa furrows his brows. “Did that person suspect that they would rejected, so they have become cowardly and refused to meet you?”
Beside him, Jinko rubs his stomach in satisfaction. He plucks his phone out of his pocket and shows the message history to him, as if he suspects that Akutagawa suspects that this is all a ploy to earn a free meal from him. If this was any other person, Akutagawa would indeed suspect foul play. However, such complicated planning is too much for a fool’s level, so he does not even think that Jinko is capable of such calculations.
One look at the message history and he is seemingly struck by lightning.
Jinko looks at him, and sighs in commiseration. “See? They’re really so forward, and it’s hard to get a word edgewise in their flirting…”
The incessant flirting is indeed quite the sight to see. As someone who has worked as Dazai-san’s protégé for years, he prides himself on being capable. Not only with physical strength, but he also needs to have some measure of intelligence, so as not to be an embarrassment to the Demon Prodigy.
That said, there are many things that he has learned over the years of working under Dazai-san.
One, he could remember certain lines that Dazai-san is fond of using whenever he wishes to flirt with women, especially doing so in front of his partner.
Two, he has long been familiar to the phone number belonging to Dazai-san’s partner, especially since it is the number that Dazai-san leaves whenever someone (a woman or someone otherwise troublesome) asks for his contact information.
Akutagawa has seen the boundary between life and death, but this situation is even more terrifying than that.
Chuuya-san possibly flirting with the Jinko? Dazai-san using Chuuya-san’s number to flirt with the Jinko? An Executive’s phone compromised and landing in the hands of the opposing organization?
—This all being a plan by Dazai-san to get him to volunteer as the Jinko’s romantic partner?
Each possibility is more dangerous than the last.
“Anyway, if they don’t show up now, then we can just go out again another time and you can reject them then?” Jinko looks at him, a knowing smile on his lips. “I’ll cook for you on our next training session as payment.”
He takes a deep breath. “Nakajima Atsushi.”
“I swear my food’s edible!”
“You are a fool,” he says, and it sounds fond, even to his ears.
“Hey, that is uncalled for!”
“I gave my word that I would take care of that matter.” He coughs to his fist, feeling a little reckless and safe at the same time. “Your task would be to handle planning our next dates.” Before the other man could crow at him again, he adds, “That should be easy enough, even for a fool like you.”
Atsushi’s smile widens. “You’re the one who’s dating a so-called fool, so that says more about you, yatsugare-kun.”
“It is rare that you are correct, so you should savor the moment… Atsushi.”
“Hey, what does is that supposed to mean?!”
“Heh. Is something that simple still too much for you to understand?”
“Akutagawa!!!”
Attaining a second lease in life is not something that he has expected to ever happen to him. This time, Akutagawa breathes easier, and it is a life that starts with a small warmth.
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end