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Akiyama sighed and shifted to lay on his side, facing away from the makeshift front door of his 'home' made from forgotten building materials in the sewers.
This was the only place he could feel even remotely safe, the streets above ground would still be too dangerous. Never mind that it had to have been months that he was down here, it would still be too risky.
His cat ears twitched uncomfortably from underneath his stained baseball cap and his tail pat the ground softly before coming to a stop behind his legs. He was back to being a stray, but what else could he do?
He had heard from the other homeless that the Triad's were still hunting down anyone with Tojo connections, Yakuza or otherwise, and this had somehow included him. He decided it was safest to close Sky Fiance for now, send Hana away to her parents in the countryside and to go into hiding.
Nights like these (or mornings, he had lost track of time) Akiyama asked himself, Is this what Kiryu would have done? Of course the answer was no, he would have fought for information, fought to keep Kamurocho safe. If only he could be more like the man he admired. Sighing again, Akiyama curled up into himself, frustrated at this feeling of helplessness, he tried to drift off to sleep.
-
"Akiyama?" A deep, soft voice called out from behind him, causing him to stir from his half asleep state. Twisting his body around with a 'hmm?', Akiyama immediately sat up when he saw him. "Ah! Kiryu-san!?"
"It's been a while." There he was in his usual grey suit, knelt on one knee with a slight smile on one corner of his stoic face as he held back the blue tarp entrance of his 'home'. "Uh, Please, come in, that's all I have to offer you right now." Akiyama said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
Kiryu made his way in and sat across from him, they both shuffled awkwardly for a second before Kiryu spoke. "I've been looking for you, I heard you closed Sky Fiance?" Clearing his throat with a quick tug of his cap, Akiyama told Kiryu his situation, trying to not let his uselessness come through in his voice.
He couldn't help but feel even more useless when Kiryu explained why he was back in Kamurocho. Haruka had apparently left Morning Glory and was somewhere in town, but Akiyama had no idea that she had even left Okinawa, let alone was supposedly somewhere nearby.
"I know you came all the way here for info, right? Sorry I couldn't be of any help." The defeat in Akiyama's tone finally broke through. He hated that he couldn't do anything to help Kiryu when he needed him most. "It's ok Akiyama, I'm just sorry this had to happen to you." Kiryu sighed, "I will make things right. . . for you."
Kiryu reached out and slowly tugged his cap off his head, watching as one of his cat ears sprang upright finally free from that itchy fabric. "K-Kiryu . . . san?" Akiyama whispered softly, subconsciously leaning into the hand that lingered beside his head.
Before Akiyama had time to react, Kiryu had pulled him into his lap, against his chest and held him tight, causing him to let out a quick gasp. One hand was firmly on his back, the other slowly petting one of his cat ears. "I'm glad you are safe" Kiryu whispered, holding him tighter. "If anything happened to you too. . ."
Akiyama couldn't help but let out a soft whine followed by a steady gentle purring. He had been alone for what felt like much longer than a few months and so he allowed himself to close his eyes and nuzzled himself under Kiryu's chin, feeling truly safe in his embrace. Kiryu had been the one to start this, so this was something he needed too. . . right?
Akiyama's purrs grew louder as he wrapped his arms around Kiryu's waist and shifted so his legs fit comfortably in between Kiryu's crossed ones. "I'm glad you're here." Akiyama murmured, feeling his heartbeat in his chest grow fast. "I really missed you" He felt his face flush red.
Feeling embarrassed but brave, he flicked his ear out of Kiryu's touch and looked up at him, glancing back and forth between Kiryu's soft brown eyes and plump lips. Kiryu brought his hand to cup one of Akiyama's scruffy cheeks, rubbing his thumb along his cheekbone. Akiyama lent into his touch, burrowing his face into his palm.
"Kiryu-san," Akiyama's voice was barely audible. His ears twitched.
"Would you. . . Would you happen to know if you were followed?" He groaned as they both sprung up to their feet to the sound of footsteps running through the sewers.