Chapter Text
"Haw? You wanna go out somewhere?" Majima barks out, leaning against street railing, panting and clutching his tenderly sore stomach.
"Yes, if that's okay with you," Kiryu pulls out two shiny vouchers and hands them over," I'd like to take you out tonight." He wipes his bloody nose with his sleeve and it hurts to breathe.
Majima thinks on it as Kiryu awkwardly shuffles through his pockets to pull out his cigarette box.
It had been completely smashed from their scuffle, but he needs to do something with his hands. His hands feel sweaty and very, very bruised.
"A summer festival, huh?" Majima thumbs over the glossy print and eyes them suspiciously. A cute tiger mascot looks back at him. A little bit of blood gets on the gold emboss.
"Ha, what kind of corny ass shit is this…fun, food, breathtakin’ views?" It digs at Kiryu and his innocent naivety, but it isn't without noticing the red tint in Majima's ears.
"Majima- san, if you don't want to, you don't need to drag this any-"
"Yeah. Okay. Meet here at seven." A dry cough. Majima already knew he was gonna feel that in the morning; he could taste the blood bubbling up his throat.
"Wh-...okay." Kiryu’s honestly a little surprised how fast Majima replied. He was ready to throw down again if he had to.
"Don't be late." Majima pushes out in a slow breath after swallowing a mouthful of blood.
As Kiryu nods in affirmation, Majima leans over and plucks the light from his hand. He can't help but feel agitated when Majima slips away with the last cigarette in between his slim leather fingers.
But he's glad he rehearsed in the mirror this morning. And fighting before popping the question: that always got Majima in a good mood.
-
By the time seven rolls around, Kiryu has been waiting around for what feels like eternity, a bundle of nerves and sweat. What if Majima stood him up? Made him look like an idiot getting all riled up for nothing?
But he decides to wait.
He realizes he doesn't have Majima's cell number.
Although he is sure Nishida wouldn't mind being a middle man, Kiryu decides against it. This whole ordeal was more embarrassing to Kiryu, and having Nishida in the fold would make things more awkward, sad even.
In case things didn't pan out, if this was just puppy love-
"Kiryu-chan, sorry fer bein’ late."
He hears the delicate click clack of bamboo sandals and sees…
"Goromi-san." He says in almost surprise. He didn't expect to see her here. But he can't complain.
She really went all in and is stunning. Her nails are impeccable, each layered with an ombre orange pastel on each nail, blonde hair done up with an elaborate mahogany hair pick, its ember pieces cascading down over her shoulder.
Her yutaka is a little more open than inappropriate, but it accentuates the subtle lines of her chest and delicate chain around her long neck. The design on the black fabric is bright and full of color akin to a firework display. An overlay of a gold floral pattern, made up of lotus blooms Kiryu thinks, gives additional character to the already elaborate outfit.
The delicate red knot in the back wrapped themselves well around her hips, and the yutaka is folded in a way that allows one of her strong thighs to peek out from the draping fabric.
The dark wood sandals contrasted well with her pale feet, each toe painted warm tints.
"You look...nice." He stares at the new patch he’s never seen before- it looks more comfortable than the usual one. It’s a dark fabric embroidered with a snake with shimmering rainbow colored scales- it appropriately matches with the rest of her outfit.
"That's it?" Goromi spits out as she crosses her arms over her chest. Though on the contrary, she seems pretty happy that Kiryu can't seem to keep his eyes off her.
Kiryu feels like he maybe came underdressed. A simple blue cotton yutaka with matching patterned obi and fan might be too simple for the complicated tastes Goromi has.
She gives him a once over and opens his kimono to reveal more of his chest then he's comfortable with.
"Perfect. Now we match." She purrs and splays a well manicured hand on the center of his beating heart.
Kiryu clears his throat and lends her his arm, which she immediately hooks herself onto.
"Oho, such a gentleman, Kiyu-chan!" Her pitch is more flirtatious than normal; a purr to her tone, a curl on her waxy lips.
He figures that Majima wants to be treated like a princess today.
She clings to him as they traverse the busy streets that begin to light itself to life. The clatter of shuffling feet and laughter rings through the air, the loud shouts of friends and locals talking over sizzling skewers almost deafening.
Kiryu didn’t think it was going to be so busy this time around, but his company doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest. She actually enjoys the odd looks and glances she receives as they walk down the narrow path on the street.
She sits cutsey on a stool in one of the makeshift izakaya booths, Kiryu flags down a sweaty vendor to get an order of a beer pint and skewers to share between them.
The clouded beer jug had seen better days, sweating regretfully in the hot summer afternoon. Kiryu dutifully pours the bubbly beer out into cheap plastic cups as Goromi supplies the tissues they’d inevitably need for the finished skewers. The booth is small with only a handful of tables, so they decide to sit side by side with each other and allow a bit more room against the other tables.
The high sound of sizzling meat has them both drooling, impatiently waiting for the bar man to yell their order. In the meantime, Goromi tries to sit in a way that her thighs don’t stick together from the sweat and the humidity of the day.
The booth is nestled in a corner and she thanks the gods that the booth has a roof shade to block out the sunlight beating down on them. She didn’t bring her makeup in case it was sweat off even though she put a setting spray before leaving her apartment- wasn’t it supposed to be getting cooler this time around?
The yell of the man with their order has Goromii ushering Kiryu out of his stool to get their order. She mentions something about attentiveness and attention. She can’t complain that the reason Kiryu doesn’t hear the order is that he’s staring at her as she talks about nothing.
Goromi notices that Kiryu eats slower and minds which meats she stuffs her face with (cause she's a classy lady). He even starts taking the spicy squid pieces off the skewer to feed the sweet morsels of barbecued meat to her. Those were her favorite and wasn’t her little Kiryu just the sweetest?
As she is taking a bite of smoky squid, Goromii makes sure her tongue sensually licks across Kiryu's fingers. She rolls her tongue back and forth to lick the salty marinade from under Kiryu’s nails.
The reaction is priceless. Kiryu recoils like he had burned himself, his normally stiff, stoic eyebrows shot down in embarrassment. He leans his head into the counter as Goromi finishes the beer pint off.
As Kiryu sits back up to try and play it cool, he catches the way she laughs, softer than Majima, but very much one in the same. He takes the time to hear her chatter with the cook manning the stand and she is somehow able to talk her way to another pint of free beer.
The loud cicadas can be heard among the muffling of merry passersby.
He already feels woozy and is almost surprised when Goromi goes through half the jug. She sighs content before leaning heavily on Kiryu's shoulder. He’s caught off guard, almost stabbing himself with a beef skewer.
The body he was so familiar with, feels…
"Hot…." Goromi sleepily supplies. Her lipstick is dark red and contrasts well with her pale complexion. Kiryu thinks the pink tint on her cheeks and neck is incredibly alluring. Kiryu can see her shapely nipples from this angle, and he looks away when he realizes he’s staring down her yukata.
He uses the fan tucked behind his sash to fan them both as they wait for their last skewers of meat to cook. He was getting very sweaty- and it wasn’t because of the heat outside or the skewers.
After chugging the rest of the beer (with minor protest from Goromi), Kiryu quickly pays the vendor, and lifts Goromi off to continue on their stroll. He was hoping they would be able to play a few games or buy some summer treats.
They soon have to stop at a nearby bench next to a vending machine. He rests her onto the bench and she falls limp.
"Goromi-san, are you okay? We probably shouldn't have had the beer.." Kiryu mumbles as he ducks into the shallow alleyway to fetch his date a cold drink.
"But, Kiryu-chan! It was free! Ya don't expect me to skip out on free booze, do ya?" She sounds like a child being lightly chastised by a parent, whiny with an almost sweet pitch accentuated at the ends.
"Yeah, I know…” Kiryu tries to not let his smile be heard, “Is water okay with you?"
She simply demands, "Pocari sweat."
Whatever she wants, he’ll give it to her.
He roughly opens the cap off and hands the drink to manicured fingers. She gladly chugs it, tilting her head back all the way, and from here Kiryu could see a stray strand of Majima poking out from under the blonde hair. He also watches as her throat bobs and, oh boy, can she chug.
He realizes again he's staring too long when she hands him back the bottle and almost drops it when he receives it.
It's empty and he discards it in the recycling bin before getting something for himself that doesn't taste like sugar and sweat.
When he pushes the button for the drink, he sees a group of hoodlums dividing their way through the merry crowd. Hope they don't start any funny business. He knows that they themselves already stick out like sore thumbs.
If you don't pay them any mind, they ought to not bother with you, Kiryu reminds himself.
But much to Kiryu's delight and dismay, Goromi's dazzling outfit garners all the attention of all those nearby.
Once the kid spots her, they make a beeline over, along with his goons.
"What the fuck, are you supposed to be a woman or somethin’?" That earns him a few chuckles from his posse. As if he had to prove his toughness, slapping his sad excuse of a dick everywhere. Kiryu is just about to quickly interject, blood simmering to a boil, but Goromi speaks- voice sharp like a blade of a knife.
"Haw…?” She looks up from her inebriated state, “What'd you say to me?" as she glances up her anger lingers heavy at the ends of the words. Her position looks relaxed, but still threatening, and the other man, a little intimidated by this, continues after a stutter.
"Y-you hard of hearing? You supposed to be a wo-" A well manicured hand lashes forward and grabs the stranger’s face, thrashing him down onto hot pavement. The satisfying crack of bone flicks the blood rush in Kiryu.
"Say that again and you'll be leavin’ in a body bag." It seems to have the same effect on Goromi as a crazy grin settles on her face. She inspects her talons to check for any damage. She tsks when she finds a chipped nail and flexes her wrist, like she was warming up.
Civilians scurry away as the group of gangsters surround the both of them.
Kiryu cracks his knuckles and gets poised in position. Along with a free beer, is a side of a good, drag out fight - it must be their lucky day.
-
“Fuck.” Goromi lightly touches her nose, she instantly hisses with a groan of regret as they make their way down the street. She is leaning against Kiryu, who has fared slightly better, though there is a nice bruise blooming red along his jaw.
Pedestrians move out of the way as they slowly limp their way down the red district as Goromi gives nearly perfect direction. Aren’t they a sight for sore eyes?
“Think the brat broke my nose.” Dried blood is all over her rough knuckles and face; ruining her makeup. Kiryu’s knee is muddy with dirt and one of his sleeves is drenched in blood.
“Yeah,” Kiryu breathes a little harder. “-but I don’t think that guy is going to eat right ever again.”
Goromi cackles and immediately winces when she presses out her diaphragm too hard.
“Damn, who knew fighting in this would be so difficult?” and as if on cue one of her wooden sandals gets left behind.
Goromi shrugs and doesn't want to bother going back to get it- it was dirty with blood anyway. But Kiryu notices and stops.
He leans her along the side of the building, and walks back to retrieve it.
“You’ve fought in much less.” Kiryu says as he simply slips the sandal back on.
“Exactly.” She says as she watches, mesmerized. She is sure any woman would’ve been swept off their feet with such a soft gesture. Not Goromi, never. But, she grips just a little harder when Kiryu offers his arm again.
“Too much fabric gets in the way, weighs ya down.” She prattles to her company. Kiryu politely nods and responds, “It was easier for me.” Oh and did she know it. The punches he pounded out this time were unrestricted by a white suit jacket, the full velocity of powerful arms followed by the flow of navy fabric. She almost envied those men. Must have been a sight, must have been an amazing adrenaline high to see those slivers of skin-
“Ah, turn left here.” She says and before them is a place that’s familiar to Kiryu. The Jungle soaplands, again with its tired looking letters, all lit up this time, but not entirely better than the last time he’d been there.
‘You work here…?” The man says almost unsure, fearful that Majima, or rather Goromi, well, didn’t matter- that she worked there. A flash of concern in the crease of furrowing brows crosses over the man’s face.
Goromi notices and pats his bruised chest reassuringly. “Nah, just set the place up; got an office in the back we can use.”
A revelation hits Kiryu and his eyebrows furrow more.
The women working there...
They lied to him.