Chapter Text
The woman eyed him from behind the counter, phone pressed against her ear, her expression a curious mix of intensity and apprehension.
"Inui Seishu is here," she half-whispered into the phone, squeezing one eye shut when someone on the other end evidently snapped at her. "I'm sorry. He said it was important."
Tucked away in one of the smaller, more inconspicuous office buildings on the outskirts of Shinjuku, Koko's public IT company was impossible to discern as a front for gang dealings. Specializing in cloud architecture solutions, a modern and sleek logo greeted Inui on a large banner behind the reception desk. Beneath it was a catchphrase brimming with buzzwords that he didn't really understand. Sometimes, he wondered if Koko had put a little too much effort into this company, as if it was an escape from the reality of his work in Toman. A simple, normal, flourishing little startup that might just become a legitimate business yet.
A fiddle-leaf fig tree stood sentinel by the wide glass front, curling toward sunlight it would never reach. The large, roundish leaves threw shadows on a modest waiting area at the entrance, furnished with a glass coffee table and chairs that, while not overtly inviting, promised some semblance of comfort. The attractive woman behind the front counter completed the company's carefully curated image of both professionalism and hospitality.
Inui couldn't shake the suspicion that the receptionist had been selected for her appearance rather than her professional skills. That she had been here for more than a few weeks more than proved the existence of the latter, though. At least she wasn't blonde, Inui thought somewhat bitterly. She seemed smug about managing to keep him in the foyer this time, her eyes filled with vicarious disdain.
Inui didn't have to wait for more than a minute for Kokonoi Hajime to briskly come down the stairs of the gallery, folding his arms in front of him and scowling. Years ago, Kokonoi had been slightly shorter than Inui, but time had evened the playing field. Now, they stood eye to eye, both a smidge above 6 feet tall. Koko had a slighter build than Inui, who had buffed out over the years, but not by much. In a fight, Inui wasn't sure who would win. The odds were more in Inui's favor, but Koko had always been stronger than he looked, and he wasn't an idiot who was too honorable to resort to dirty tricks.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded curtly, locking eyes with Inui.
"You need to come with me," Inui stated plainly. The last time he had seen Koko had been the previous week, when he had similarly shown up at his work unannounced. He hadn't properly dealt with the fallout of that and yet here he was again.
He saw Koko's jaw clench. Lately, Koko always looked like he'd had too much coffee and little to no sleep, shaky and pale. That he was still breathtaking was just an unfair fact of life.
"I'm in the middle of a meeting," Kokonoi countered, irritation giving way to genuine concern. His dark eyes swept over Inui's face, pausing momentarily at the scar, as he always did, as if he was still surprised to see it there. "Did something happen?"
"I'll tell you in the car," Inui whispered conspiratorially, glancing at the receptionist, who quickly looked away.
"I can't just leave. I'm talking to-"
"Koko. Now," Inui interjected, his voice unwavering. Perhaps it was the bleak expression on his face or the fact that they had known each other for close to twenty years and trusted each other blindly, but some of the stiffness in Koko's shoulders yielded. He uncrossed his arms and gave an irritated sigh.
"I can wrap this up in half an hour-"
"Ten minutes," Inui interjected. Defiance was written all over Kokonoi's face. He was not used to being ordered around, and on the lengthy list of people he'd rather die than submit to, Inui was sure to be somewhere towards the top.
Kokonoi shot him a hard look, knowing better than to ask for details here. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he hurried back up the stairs.
He returned 15 minutes later - right around the time Inui was ready to stomp up the stairs and physically drag him down, if he had to - sliding his phone into his pocket and draping his jacket over his arm. After giving a quick succession of curt orders to the woman who had surreptitiously listened in on their earlier conversation, Koko turned to leave and Inui followed him.
Inui's car was parked at the curb, blithely disregarding a 'No Parking' sign.
"This had better be good," Koko grumbled as he settled into the passenger seat. Inui had already started the engine, his left hand gripping the back of the passenger side headrest as he reversed into traffic.
"We're going to be driving for a bit," Inui cautioned solemnly.
"Let me drive, then."
Inui contemplated refusing, but if it meant that Koko would join him without more of a fuss, this wasn't a hill he had to die on. Unless-
"Are you sober?" he found himself wondering aloud.
"It's a Thursday, and you just pulled me from a really fucking important meeting with an international business partner. What do you think?!" Koko retorted sharply, although lately, that didn't hold much weight. He pushed open the passenger door with his foot and swiftly reappeared on the driver's side, holding the door open for Inupi.
They often bitched about each other's driving. It was a power play, a childish display of one-upmanship that was a normal part of their unceasing squabble. A few cars were waiting behind them. The first car in line honked, and a few others readily chimed in. Inui flipped them the middle finger before plopping down on the passenger seat and fastening his seatbelt.
"Where are we going?" Koko asked, adjusting the rearview mirror slightly - not because Koko was taller, but because Inupi slouched when he drove - and paying no heed to the increasingly outraged drivers behind them.
"The highway. We're heading northwest, toward Nagano."
Koko shot him a skeptical look but began driving anyway.
"What, pray tell, are we doing there?"
"I'll tell you soon enough."
Half an hour later, they were leaving the city, listening half-heartedly to the news on the radio. It was an unwritten rule that they never listened to music in the car together because of their wildly different tastes. Koko was growing visibly restless next to him.
They were in the midst of not really talking. Inui had made the regrettable choice to show up at Koko's office the week before, anyway. He'd intended to break the two-week mostly silent streak, but the moment he'd laid eyes on Koko, he’d noticed that his anger was still too fresh and all the good intentions he had accumulated had flown right out the window. He had no words to make any of it better, and his body had all too readily started acting out his irritation as he locked the door to Koko's office from the inside.
Moments later, he’d found himself pressing Kokonoi down onto his desk, taking comfort in the knowledge that if he had really been completely opposed, he would have found a way to fend Inui off. Yet, the peculiar and wearily empty look in Koko's eyes afterward gave Inui a gut feeling that something had gone fundamentally wrong. Koko telling him, breathless and gravelly, to 'get the fuck out' had further cemented that.
He cast Koko a sidelong glance, studying the spot on his neck where he had left a visible, angry-looking bruise last week. Just below his ear, where his hair was shaved off, so there was no way for Koko to hide it. It was gone now, his skin all smooth again.
"Can you just fucking talk to me?!" Koko hissed, sensing Inui's eyes on him.
"Someone has ordered a hit on you." Koko's hands clenched and unclenched around the steering wheel, shock transitioning into disbelief on his face.
"That's ridiculous. I'm not even involved in anything major. Well, officially anyway," he retorted.
"I got a tip," Inui offered vaguely. Koko remained silent for a long moment, undoubtedly going through possibilities, attempting to connect the dots. Evidently, he came up empty.
"Well, who wants me dead then?" he demanded at last.
Inui shrugged, though he knew Koko wouldn't see him. It started to rain, the sky growing darker by the minute, forcing Koko to squint through the windshield as the wipers blurred into action.
"We're going to lay low for a while. I've told Kisaki and Mikey that we're going away for a bit."
"What do you mean, a while and a bit? I'm the only one with access to all the accounts. I was just about to finalize a significant arms deal."
"It'll have to wait," Inui said, but Koko was already going off on a tangent.
"Plus I have to sell one of the stocks we're investing in. I have inside information that it's going to tank soon. If I lose Toman that much money, I won't have to worry about just one hitman. All the 2FA is set up on my phone, too. If I'm gone for more than two or three days, Toman won't be liquid anymore. You wouldn't believe the kind of shit Mikey blows money on. Or Shiba. Or the fucking Haitanis."
"Yeah, you would know about the Haitanis," Inui said with an air of condescension, his voice tight. The scowl was back on Koko's face when Inui dared to take a look.
"I know everything about everyone, Inupi. What is your fucking problem?" Koko asked, but it was such an overarching question that it was clear he was avoiding what Inui was hinting at.
"Koko, slow down," Inui said urgently.
The blurry grayness beyond the windshield had turned into a sea of red brake lights. Koko pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped it. The heavy rain had caused an accident somewhere in front of them, bringing everything to a standstill. Rescue vehicles came whirling by, sirens muffled by the metallic clang of raindrops hitting the roof of the car like bullets. What was loudest, though, was the silence between them.
It took well over an hour for traffic to clear up and when it did, Koko looked completely worn out. When Inui suggested swapping places, he didn't even argue. Once the car was moving again, Koko’s head quickly sank against the passenger window, arms crossed over his stomach, as he fell asleep.