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His head boomed when he woke up. Did he overdo it with the alcohol, when he drowned the sorrow together with Dojima and his sworn brother?
... Probably.
After all, none of their attempts turned fruitful to save their company. A sigh escaped his lips, and he snuggled into his wife’s body... It was soft and warm... Though... Too soft and not nearly warm enough. Taiga probed the feeling with a tight grip and his eyes opened in sleepy wonder.
Why was he cuddling with a pillow? In the silence, his head rummaged.
Then he remembered. How Akemi behaved the day before.
She started with a reassuring speech, then she begged them to not give up hope, until she had a full-blown argument with Dojima...
His head ached when he recalled her voice, torn between emotions, even though she tried to keep strong. Even worse was her desperate expression.
"You can't understand what we're going through, you're not a Yakuza. The law-enforcement they put on us don't apply to you!" - Saejima heard the stern voice of the former sixth chairman and before his inner eye, he saw everything fall from her face.
"I can't understand... You dare say that to me...?" She asked full of shocked disbelief and then she turned her head towards her husband "Taiga, can you believe the audacity?" She asked him as she pointed towards her best friend. A faint smile on her lips, as if she tried to laugh away that comment.
"Akemi-chan... He's right." He recalls his own voice.
The next thing he remembers, is how the colour faded from her face and how big her eyes became.
As his brain worked to reconstruct the argument, he sat up and looked around. This was definitely their bedroom, and his wife was nowhere to be seen. Though, after the argument, she probably slept somewhere else... On the couch may be?
With that in mind, he stood up, still groggy from sleep, and left the bedroom. As he walked, he tried to stroke the sleep from his face and noticed how sweaty he was. Yeah, he definitely overdid it with the alc.
After he arrived at the living room he was greeted by a different sight, than he had hoped for.
Majima and Dojima were lying knocked out on the couch - well, his Sworn brother was spilling onto the floor with his legs. The empty bottles were everywhere in this room, no wonder that Akemi decided against the couch. Saejima was surprised he made it to bed though, when he sees the other two.
His next guess was that his wife went to their daughters’ room to get some rest. So, he went off to look how the two were doing. It never felt right to wake up without Akemi in his arms, and now that he's had a good night’s sleep, they could talk about their next steps... May be calm her down.
Arriving at their daughters' door, he knocked - currently hating the sound - and waited for an answer.
... That didn't come.
So, he carefully opened the door, and his tired eyes searched for the two familiar figures.
Yuri wasn't in her bed.
Akemi wasn't here either.
His heartbeat quickened and - fully awake - he started to seek for them in their entire home. Yet, without success.
Back in their bedroom he grabbed his phone and quick-dialled his wife, hoping she'd pick up and explain where she went to.
Beep – Beep
He always trusted her and that didn't change, but it's unlike her to just leave without telling him. Even when she was mad at him, she always kept him in the know.
Beep – Beep
Fuck, it's even weirder that he didn't notice her leave. Prison made him a light sleeper and he never shook that off... How much did he drink?
Beep – Beep
"Hey hey~"
"Akemi-cha-"
"I'm currently unavailable. Please leave a message, and I'll call ya back asap~ thanks~"
Toooooooot
He hung up and sat down on the bed. His knuckles went white from the pressure he put on it and his phone... Didn't survive.
Saejima then remembered that he joined the other two on the balcony to smoke, and when they returned, Akemi told them: "I'll head to bed now..." and she went towards their bedroom. Leaving the men to finish their Sake.
Now thinking back to it, it was untypical for her to take defeat so easily... Usually she had a lot more fight in her, especially when it regarded Dojima...
Maybe she just needed space...
"Yo Kyodai, yer head as thick as mine?" He heard Majima and looked up, with a nod.
"Yeah..." he answered and then rose from his position, casually throwing his phone aside.
"Did ya roll over yer phone n crushed it?" Majima asked in an amused tone, that was lightly laced with worry.
"Nah, tried to reach Akemi-chan... She n' Yuri-chan aren't at home and she doesn't pick up her phone...." Saejima confessed and hoped that his brother knew something he didn't.
Majima drew his brows together, as he eyed the large man "Ya sure she doesn't have a meeting today?"
"Wouldn't make sense for her to bring Yuri-chan along" he answered with a sigh.
That's when they heard Dojima call for them in the living room. Both men followed his voice and saw him sitting in front of the table.
"G'Morning" the two greeted politely and looked curiously at Daigo, who stared at a tablet that was propped up to watch something on it.
"Good morning..." Dojima answered in a calm voice, then gulped, mouth probably as dry as Saejimas own, "None of you two brought the tablet here, right?"
Both declined and stiffened. Modern devices were never something Saejima was good with and these days they brought more trouble than delight.
"Ya think there's somethin' new from the Tatara Channel 'bout us?" Majima asked, crossing his arms "May be Akemi-chan saw that n' headed out with Yuri-chan..."
"Akemi left the flat?" Dojima asked and while he feigned nonchalance, Saejima could see the confusion in his eyes.
"Yes, been looking for'er in every corner n' she won't answer her phone." He answered.
Dojima nodded and turned to the tablet, "Come here, let's go through this together." He sighed and turned the device on.
Though instead of the annoying anime-figure, that made their efforts futile, they saw Akemi. Sitting on the bed and sporting a brave face. In the background was his own hulking figure snoring away.
"G'morning you three..." she greeted them, and his blood froze, as he got a real bad feeling about this video "I'm sorry to tell ya like that and not in person, but... When you see this, I'm long gone."
Saejimas breath stopped, and he fixated on the tiny figure within the frame. Even though, she tried to control herself, he saw her shaking shoulders and the way she tightened her lips.
"I know yer currently havin' a hard time, n' this'll be another blow, but..." he saw the tears streaming down her face and how she hugged herself. All he wanted to do now, was to take her little form and hold her until her world was okay again.
"But... I can't help ya if ya've given up already... N' I heard ya talking about going somewhere, were nobody finds ya and... I'm sorry, Taiga, but Yuri-chan is my priority. She needs a stable life and a school nearby... So... I'm taking her with me to Tokyo."
A few seconds pass without another word, just the sobbing of his wife through the speaker of the tablet. Saejimas heart rips apart at the sound. It hurts him to see her like this, and it's even worse to know that he slept through her distress. What kind of husband has he become?!
After a few breathers she was able to talk again and smiled bitterly "Yer right, I won't fully understand what yer going through, right now. I always had to fight for my own place in this world... And it was far harder in my civil life, than in the underworld." A sigh escaped her, and she looked into the camera "Ya three are some of the most stubborn people in the world, able to achieve anythin' when you put yer mind to it... And ya just give up?" A desperate smile crossed her lips "Dojima Daigo, who's changed the Tojo-Clan forever, when it was at its worst and made the most unlikely alliance with Watase Masaru to change the World of Yakuza. Majima Goro, who's able to see what's really important, even through all attempts of deception. And Saejima Taiga... A man who's never quit for his loved ones, who kept on fightin', through his darkest days... Who wishes to be part of something bigger..." her lips quivered again, and she closed her eyes to calm down, "Seein' you three give up... Hurts."
Another sigh left her lips, casting her gaze down before she gripped her legs and looked back into the camera "I'm not sayin’ ya need to stand strong, no matter what, but... Take yer time... And please... Don’t… End it.”
With a last bite on her lips, she stood up, walked to the camera and then the video ended.
Silence made itself present among the men.
Saejima just lost his wife and kid.
Majima just lost the joy that Yuri was.
Dojima lost his lifetime friend.
It was just another punch into the gut. The tallest man lost his footing and fell onto his knees.
He understood. He fucking did. Didn’t mean it hurt less.
One more thing to mourn.
Kiryu Kazuma. The security company. Akemi-chan and Yuri-chan…
Everythings’ lost.