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Bonten exclusives...
That was the title that everyone in that room was forced to be recognized as, a label they were tied to.
And of course, Mikey, the guy that they would forever be chained against.
Really, as Sanzu looked around, it was a weird handful of people...
The last people who he'd have ever thought would end up devoting their lives to Mikey.
The strangest of the bunch would probably have to be the Haitani brothers... For the longest time they worked as just the two of them, Sanzu thought that their entire 'thing' was that they didn't bow to anyone other than themselves. Well, then Tenjiku came, but their involvement in that gang really just seemed to be for their own enjoyment. To see the two genuinely working under Mikey was something else...
The others weren't exactly in the same position, them being under Mikey was much more like they found themselves under him at some point in time and just kind of... Stuck with him. As if a stray cat.
Sanzu himself... he thought that he was the only one in the group who you would actually expect to find there in the meeting room. From a fairly young age, he had dedicated his life to Mikey, of course, he would be there.
And then... there was him.
Takemichi...
Sanzu peered over to the black-haired...
When did he even join?
He couldn't remember.
He was... entertaining, to say the least.
As if nothing could ever faze him... he always looked so bored.
No matter what was going on around him it was always just that monotone expression.
Sanzu didn't really get why he was there, how he even managed to become part of Bonten. He wasn't strong, or at least he never made an effort to appear strong... He wasn't financially useful, and...
And...
No. That wasn't it.
Takemichi hardly did anything.
Not because he couldn't.
It was because he never had to...
He was never assigned to go on any missions, he didn't have anyone working directly under him to take care of, and he didn't do any office work either...
His sole purpose in Bonten was to just... Be there.
The only time he got requested of anything was when he would be asked to simply show up, to meetings, to executions, to the offices every day.
Of course, Sanzu himself got curious, you don't just sit around when you're a Bonten exclusive, and you certainly don't get bored while doing so. That's just not what you do.
Which was exactly why he started to look into the guy...
...
At least, that was what he said he would do...
When he lost sights of his original goal was still a mystery to him.
But somehow, somewhere...
'Investigations' turned into just... hangouts.
He didn't know how it happened... He started to lavish under the gaze of the younger, chills running up his spine with each touch.
He felt... flustered around him.
A feeling he wasn't familiar with.
Which, notably, wasn't the goal...
But it was silly, feelings like that weren't supposed to be felt. Especially not for someone in his position, and especially not towards someone like Takemichi.
But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't find the switch to turn it off, he'd already been strung into a space he couldn't get out of. And, the biggest problem...
Just the thought of trying to get it out of his system ached at his heart, he was fighting against himself. Sometimes he cursed at himself for being so foolish, sometimes he felt lighter as he talked with the younger.
But with the feelings that when against just about everything he fought for in his life, came the unconscious observations. He looked at Takemichi more, he thought about him more, he paid more attention to him.
Things that he would've never done to anyone other than Mikey before.
And there were things that made themselves apparent through it, of course, there would be. Things that nobody else noticed, hints here and there of something behind those bored eyes of his...
No.
He wasn't bored.
He was tired.
The light hunch in his back whenever he stood up, the way he zoned out at meetings...
He didn't want to be there.
With a single look... it was clear.
He resembled Mikey.
He couldn't look at anything with enthusiasm anymore, he simply lacked the energy.
But it still confused him where the sudden urge to bring back light into Takemichi's eyes came from.
His best guess?
The fact that he knew deep down... that he couldn't help Mikey anymore. There was no point in trying to please his king anymore at that point, and yet he still devoted everything to trying anyways.
Maybe that was why he turned his attention to trying to get Takemichi back onto his own two feet, up and running with full energy.
He could remember the look of confusion from the younger when his attempts began...
Almost as well as he could the look of realization when he finally caught on...
A smile following.
And the hit of hope that Sanzu felt when he saw it... Another feeling he wasn't used to... It felt as if the heat was suddenly amped up at that moment.
Something he did finally worked...
But it wasn't enough.
If only he looked a bit earlier... If only he looked a bit closer...
Then maybe he wouldn't have found himself on top of Bonten's main building, sitting at the edge, next to Takemichi.
The smell of smoke was light as he huffed out a lungful of smoke, then shook out a stick from its box and handed it to Takemichi, to which the younger took without hesitation.
The people from down below looked small as Sanzu peered down... It looked like a mob from all the way up there, even at nighttime the city was as busy as ever...
He then turned his gaze toward Takemichi, stilling...
The younger looked... happy, as he lit the cigarette.
Sighing, the younger turned his head, grinning lightly at the pink-haired.
"Hey..." Takemichi mumbled, Sanzu blinking in response. The younger of the two grabbed his jaw, pulling Sanzu in as his mind went blank for a split second.
He could feel the light exhale from the younger as the feint taste of smoke filled his mouth...
"...thanks for trying."
Those were the first words that came out of Takemichis's mouth as he broke away from the kiss, looking dead into Sanzu's eyes...
And at that moment, he understood. It had been a lost cause since the beginning...
Sanzu stayed silent, watching as Takemichi flicked the stick behind him, and then, without a second thought, gently pushed himself off of the ledge.
...
...
He couldn't even find it in him to be surprised... Taking one last puff of smoke, Sanzu brushed his hand through his hair...
He grinned, before pushing himself off the edge.
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