The car stopped at the heart of the complex and the men began piling out. The two in the front stretched before dragging the man between them out of the car. It was then he began to struggle, not in earnest, but sluggish and heavy. Tougou got out with them after patting Osomatsu’s shoulder, indicating the boy to follow.

Osomatsu stuck close to Tougou, following behind obediently more for his own sake than anything else, because he didn't want to lag behind and have one of these shady bastards talk to him for any reason. He took a glance around their surroundings and, once assuring himself he didn't know where they were, went back to keeping an eye on the shit that mattered. Like the guy with the hood on.

Osomatsu had a good idea of where this was headed, and he didn't feel good about it at all, but again, better that guy than him. He could justify this to himself easily. It was survival! He didn't want to be doing this kind of sick shit, but when you were being held captive and had no other means of making money...

Sometimes possible murder scenarios were fine.

He didn't need Tougou to grab him or anything to keep him close, he was already as close as he could be without looking obviously nervous or weirdly clingy. He kept close to let Tougou know he wasn't going anywhere, but far away enough to let the yakuza know he wasn't just there for a cute little night out as an older man's arm candy. The thought made him want to laugh, but he continued keeping his mouth shut and his tongue held.

Tougou followed the men into the unit as it was slid open. It was all metal on the inside, with steel beams and wide air ducts crisscrossing the ceiling. The floor was cement, covered with dirt and litter and leaves, shit tracked in from outside once upon a time. It smelled like filth and piss, like there were or had been people or animals squatting inside. It was dark save the car’s headlights.

The man who’d been sitting by Osomatsu had hung back, retrieving some things from the trunk of the car. The other two men threw down their captive, and had his hands not been bound Tougou was sure he would have been doing a much better job of getting up. As it was, the others were able to quite literally kick him down with ease. When the third man came back around he held a thick rope and some crowbars.

They didn’t need to give explanations or reasons why what was being done. The driver pulled off the captive’s hood as the man with the equipment passed a crow bar each to Tougou and Osomatsu, reserving the last for himself. Tougou was unphased by this and motioned for Osomatsu to go ahead. “Ladies first,” he said.

As soon as Osomatsu was handed the crowbar, he realized that this was actually pretty real, wasn't it?

Not that he'd thought it was just a bit of banter with the yakuza, dragging a guy to a secluded location under these circumstances, but he'd sort of become less than aware of his entire situation on an emotional level, and okay, now that he was here, he was very aware of how fucked up this was? He heard himself huff in amusement at Tougou's comment even though he didn't know if he found it funny at all, and he knew he had to act fast and continue not saying anything, especially not anything close to a protest, so he did move and do as he was... told? He wasn't really told anything, if he was being fair to himself. Again, not that he expected full disclosure from the yakuza on how to murder some guy, but he just assumed he was supposed to beat this guy for whatever thing he did to piss a group like this off.

He moved quickly but it felt like he was moving through tar and, somehow, thinking through it too. He jumped back a little when one of the yakuza flipped their captive (ha, funny) over onto his back, because, Osomatsu guessed, this guy had a fetish for fucking up guys in a way he could see their faces. But that just meant Osomatsu could too, and that's when the feeling he could only describe as Fun really began.

He never expected himself to feel mercy right now, and certainly didn't intend to stop just from some pitiful look he received, but this guy... just had such a beatable face. He looked up at Osomatsu with some kind of half-baked (literally, half-baked, the guy was off his fucking ass on something, intentionally or not) pleading expression, like, silently begging Osomatsu to step back and take pity like any normal person would, but honestly? That just made Osomatsu kind of angry.

Like, really angry, actually.

It was made even worse when the poor bastard slurred out a desperate "please," because what the fuck did he think that would achieve ever? 'Please' didn't work with these guys, it never did, surely he knew if he was in with them enough to get fucking hazed by them. It wouldn't work for this guy, and Osomatsu was glad, actually! He loved that begging wouldn't work for this guy, because it sure as shit didn't work for him! It hadn't worked throughout this shitty fucking ordeal, it hadn't worked when he'd begged to go home, or begged Tougou not to fuck him like he had, or begged Tougou to stop doing a multitude of shit-

Begging didn't work. And also, fuck Tougou. Not literally, just in general. Fuck Tougou, fuck the yakuza, fuck this guy, fuck being kidnapped and fuck being forced to lie and fuck being forced to do fucking anything and fuck Tougou again for getting him involved with this and fuck his own mother for letting that man into their home to begin with--

He'd barely registered he'd actually hit the guy until he heard a sort of nasty cracking sound and a pained wail that, given how fucking pissed Osomatsu was, was music to his goddamn ears. This was fun. That was fucked up, right? Thinking this was fun? He'd blame it on being blueballed before he got here.

It had felt like hours between Osomatsu stepping towards this poor clown on the floor and Osomatsu swinging his own crowbar down onto his collarbone, but really it was only seconds, which was probably good to others, because this was quicker now, but he couldn't help but feel a little terrible for getting lost so easily like that. He looked to the yakuza in a sort of bewildered 'did I do that?' way, and got no answer at all, they just looked to Tougou, and he did too, both as a sort of plea (Ha! Funny!) to know if he was doing this correctly and also because, like, maybe he'd pulled the gun and was going to fucking shoot Osomatsu right here? There wasn't a gun, thankfully, but he still needed whatever silent reassurance he could get in this sort of weird pause they all took, like the first blow from both Osomatsu and Tougou was all that mattered here. It made sense, but...

Osomatsu didn't want to wait. Didn't want to step out of line either, but waiting was awful right now because time was moving slower and slower while simultaneously moving ten times quicker and honestly? Osomatsu was too tired and horny and resentful and all types of Unpleasant Emotion, so this was a fun way to blow off steam and he couldn't when Tougou was just Standing There and not moving at the speed of light for Osomatsu alone right now.

Tougou was looking at Osomatsu with wide eyes, well wider eyes than his usual half-lidded look of tired disdain. Within them something dangerous twinkled. He hadn’t been expecting that at all. He’d been expecting Osomatsu to beg and plead for the man as he had himself, try to find mercy within the hearts of the criminals. He’d expected Osomatsu to need a gun to his head, to need confirmation that it was him or the bound man on the floor before them.

But he didn’t. Osomatsu didn’t need anything but an invitation to swing the solid crowbar down upon the poor creature’s quivering form. The boy seemed deaf to the cries of pain and the cracking of bone, and the look on his face as he turned to look at Tougou – at him, not the yakuza – shot electricity through his core. Osomatsu was panting slightly, lips parted, brow knit, his face pleading for praise and affirmation. He was willing to kill a man for a pat on the head.

Tougou swallowed quietly, tongue rolling around in his dry mouth, careful not to knock out the cigarette. “Go on then,” he breathed to Osomatsu. In that moment it was only the two of them and the victim who was begging in earnest. There were no yakuza, there was no industrial building, there was no car and no threat of death. It was Tougou and Osomatsu, the man guiding the boy’s hand and Osomatsu pressing up against him for stability, grounding.

Who knew the destruction of Osomatsu’s innocence would be so beautiful? It was ugly, it was vile, tainted and stinking. A rotting corpse awakening in the boy’s very core, and Tougou wanted to help rip it up and let it free, let it go wild, lead it to where he wanted and let Osomatsu do his bidding. All the boy needed to boil himself alive was a smile. God, Tougou was almost disgusted with himself. Did he do that to him? It turned him on, made him give an excited smile. “Do what you want to him, Osomatsu-kun.”

“Not the head,” one of the yakuza said, breaking Tougou from his trance. The man grimaced but didn’t argue, didn’t direct it at the yakuza. “We don’t want this to be what kills him.”

Osomatsu couldn't help but smirk and scoff indignantly, condescendingly. He spoke quietly for Tougou, a wry sort of smirk twisting his features into something bitter to match his mood. "I was going to do what I wanted." He turned to the yakuza and nodded once to acknowledge their demand, before abandoning all interest in whenever the fuck everyone else planned to make a move and bring the weapon back down on the poor bastard on the floor. He brought it back down on his collarbone again, reveling in the resulting sounds of metal hitting flesh, bone cracking, pained wailing...

He didn't care if he was stealing the spotlight from the yakuza, as far as he was concerned, the yakuza could go fuck themselves and take Tougou along with them and leave Osomatsu to do all the work on his own. Who gave a shit! Who gave a fucking shit, everything was giving him such a rush that was definitely wrong given the situation but he couldn't care, he'd taken a few more swings before he realized maybe he should stop for a second and give someone else a shot at the violence.

He took a few steps back from the man now writhing in pain, trying to get away in a way that was just upsetting to watch because he knew he wouldn't get shit for sympathy here, why was he still trying? Stupid asshole. Osomatsu pressed the end of the crowbar to the floor and set his hands over the curved part of it, leaning against it and glancing around the room at everyone who was still just sort of staring? He felt like, maybe, laughing and joking wasn't the best thing to do around literal yakuza, but he was starting to feel a little nervous! It was taking over his weird giddy high that came with... beating the shit out of a guy, apparently.

"Come on!" he goaded, motioning to the writhing form on the floor. "Don't make me do all the work! Make it a party! It's no fun when you do it alone-" he suddenly shifted his gaze to Tougou specifically, his smirk a little less bitter than before, "though I'm sure everyone here would know that! C'mon!" He lifted the crowbar to rest across his shoulders and nodded in the direction of the man on the floor, offering Tougou a chance to take a swing too. He didn't care if Tougou only took one hit, Osomatsu just knew if he didn't stop for at least a second, he would end up killing the guy like he was asked specifically to avoid doing- albeit rather rudely, he thought?

As he walked past, Tougou placed a hand on Osomatsu's shoulder. He leaned down and in the boy's ear he whispered "You did well, Osomatsu-kun." He then strode past him to the quietly whimpering man on the floor.

Tougou adjusted his grip on the crowbar, holding it more like a golf club with the hooked end at the bottom. He placed it such that the sharp ends were facing away and with one solid, full-bodied swing, Tougou pivoted on his feet and swung the crowbar into the man's middle-lower back. When the metal collided with his spine, he let out a blood curdling scream.

Rolling his head, Tougou circled the man, crowbar over his shoulder. He was calculating where to strike next. "Can we draw blood?" he asked, turning to the yakuza who just shrugged. Tougou supposed as long as the man didn't die it was fine.

Tougou placed his foot on the man's shoulder and rolled him over. By the sound that came out of him, Tougou would bet he'd broken his spine. Tougou raised the bar over his head, taking a wide stance. He turned the crowbar over and swung the sharp end into the man's gut. He doubled over with the force, blood shooting out of his mouth.

Osomatsu felt a pleasant chill run down his spine at Tougou's praise, and maybe right now he didn't care if he should or not because the line between right and wrong had been crossed long ago and he was very much in Wrong territory and he was fine with being Wrong when it came to Tougou right now, he just wanted more praise from him and to do whatever would get him that praise right now too.

He smiled, lop-sided, and tugged his crowbar from his shoulders and swung it down to connect with the man's hip, in the painful part that even just hurt like a bitch for weeks after you smacked it off a hard surface. Though it probably didn't matter much right now to the guy when he was, you know, coughing up blood. But it made Osomatsu happier knowing the pain he caused was the unfortunate accident kind as well was the intentional kind, just to make it sting more in this piece of shit's last moments - well, if they were that? Even then, an irritating type of discomfort would be good too.

He looked to Tougou and bit his lip, watching him for a second before looking back to the body on the floor, because honestly? He was checking Tougou out; he was good like this, attractive even? Osomatsu didn't know if it was from the half-handjob he'd had interrupted earlier or actual attraction that made him feel this way, but he didn't give a shit either when he just felt so--

He took the initiative to roll the guy over, onto his front again, because fuck the guy who rolled him over originally, and took a particular swing at his tailbone, practically melting at the pained wail that followed because it just sounded so good when he was this hyped up on whatever kind of sick blood lust this was. He loved it. He loved this. He wanted more of this. He continued swinging the crowbar, hook side down, basking in the rush he felt each time that he thought he was over- he really did think he was over this brand of bullshit delinquency, but how could he be when he felt this fucking wonderful?

When Osomatsu flipped the man over, however, Tougou felt his own crowbar catch on something. He hushed a quick, “give me a second”, to Osomatsu as the boy wildly banged on the man’s already broken spine. With a sickening squelch and the sounds of screaming at a tone Tougou had never heard before, Tougou managed to wedge his crowbar back out of the man’s gut. Trailing behind was the smell of shit and bile as the man’s organs fell out of the wound.

The look of hunger Tougou had as he looked over at Osomatsu, the boy’s face flushing with the exhaustion of a baseball practice, was punctuated by the poor bastard’s confused, panted please. It was obvious that through the pain, adrenaline, and drugs he wasn’t quite piecing together what was going on or why it felt so wrong that his organs were spilling out his split middle.

It was a good thing that Tougou had paused to take in Osomatsu, because one of the yakuza stepped in once he saw the damage. “That’s enough,” he said. It wasn’t the one who originally had the rope but he had the rope now. He traded Tougou before going over and taking Osomatsu’s crowbar from him as well. “String him up,” the man said simply, passing the fouled rods back to the man who’d been sitting at Osomatsu’s other side. With no great care, the man returned the items to the trunk of the still idling car.

Tougou motioned for Osomatsu to follow him, and for once he waited for Osomatsu to actually come over before he head-out wherever it was he was going.

The guts thing... was a little unpleasant. Admittedly killed a bit of the buzz he had going, but at the same time just amplified it in a way. He didn't give enough of a shit about how he felt about the sight; it was gruesome, he knew that, but all he could really get out was a "nasty!" Followed by a grossed out sound that wasn't all that grossed out and more for show, made even less sincere by the amused snort that followed.

Nothing he could do about it though! Just prayed the yakuza wouldn't get pissed if the guy died. But hey! It was their choice to leave him to bleed - or, gut - everywhere instead of slapping some gauze on it or whatever, so they couldn't really blame Tougou? He didn't, like, stab the guy on purpose or with purpose- whatever. Really, it was whatever. They didn't seem mad, so Osomatsu left it.

He looked over at Tougou, relieved to see he hadn't been shot at least, and approached him as he'd been silently instructed to. He took his place at Tougou's side and resisted the strong urge to make any sort of snippy or snide or even casual comment, because he didn't want to ruin things by talking more than he had, which had probably been a lot, knowing, like, the whole situation.

With a hand on the boy’s shoulder, Tougou led Osomatsu towards a flight of stairs which rivaled the ones to their apartment in terms of dilapidation. There wasn’t a second floor per se, the flight simply led to a catwalk, presumably what one could use to oversee whatever goings on used to take place before the building was abandoned.

Tougou tied a noose with the rope. Not a simple one, but taking his time and making sure it was aligned, professional looking. He then tossed it over one of the beams hanging from the ceiling. Tougou let up on the slack enough for the noose to hang down close to the ground, and one of the yakuza dragged the bleeding victim to it. The man was still trying desperately, pathetically, to figure out what was going on, the drugs in his system making him sluggish.

Once the noose was looped around his neck, Tougou wrapped the rope once around the banister, creating a makeshift pulley. “Come here,” he said to Osomatsu, “grab onto the rope here like you mean it.”

Osomatsu watched Tougou work with all of the fascination of a child on a day out at the zoo. He felt that way too, like this was just an educational field trip and not some gangland assassination for reasons unknown to him. He loved this, he loved the idea that this was his potential job- maybe he was wrong about wanting to be lazy and dependent for the rest of his life, because this suited him just fine.

Mom would be proud.

He huffed through his nose in a bitter amusement at the thought.

He was thankful for the bitterness though! It made the next part easier. He liked having this to take his rekindled frustration out on, because usually he only had Tougou, and taking his anger out on Tougou was always quickly proven to be just... not good. But Tougou was here now, encouraging him, praising him even!

He grabbed the rope like he was told, wrapping it around his hand to keep it a bit more secure. He looked up at Tougou after an experimental tug that didn't really do anything, his gaze betrayed his bitterness in its wide-eyed curiosity, really just pushing the metaphor of him being a kid on an educational field trip a bit further home. He just needed Tougou to tell him what to do, he needed to do it well, he needed Tougou to be proud of him and fuck the psychoanalyzing of the situation, he didn't care if it was wrong or weird or why he wanted it, he just knew he did, and he'd get it right now by killing someone in exactly the way Tougou told him to.

Once Tougou was satisfied with Osomatsu’s hold, he moved to stand behind him. Tougou let his hands ghost across Osomatsu’s, his face tucked into the crook of the boy’s neck without touching him, keeping their contact light and feathery, building tension. For a moment he just let himself stand there with Osomatsu, listening to the man below begging to be let go.

This was certainly the most genuine he’d ever been with Osomatsu, even when he was hateful there was something dodgy, hidden, protected to him. But now, with the stink of blood in the air, sobs filling the silence, it was tender in the darkest of ways. Osomatsu’s hesitation, his wide eyes filled not with innocence but with desire to please. And oh how Tougou wanted Osomatsu to please him.

“Pull him up to us, Osomatsu-kun,” he commanded, letting his teeth nip one of the vicious bruises on the boy’s neck.

Osomatsu had to take a deep breath and bite his lip to steady himself because holy fuck, how was he supposed to control himself with all these barely-there touches and nips and with Tougou's voice being so low and close and demanding- he wanted more touching to hurry the fuck up and happen because there's only so many teasing touches a guy could take before it started driving him fucking crazy.

So he'd just need to get this done and over with quickly so Tougou would be pleased with him and take pity on his needy ass and take care of him as soon as possible. Or someone would, it didn't have to be Tougou at this point.

He cut himself off by giving the rope a hard pull, feeling his spine tingle pleasurably at the choked, pained noises he, well, kind of literally pulled out of him. It spurred him on, made him pull the rope further, stringing the body up higher and holding it there, turning his head to the side to face Tougou, albeit awkwardly.

"How's that," he purred at the same volume Tougou had spoken at, then he smirked and dropped his voice further, "Tougou-sama?"

Tougou gave a positive sounding hum at Osomatsu’s words, nosing up behind his ear. While Osomatsu had hoisted up the man, Tougou had moved his hands to Osomatsu’s hips so they wouldn’t be in the way. It was then that Tougou dug his nails into the soft flesh of Osomatsu’s hips, letting his teeth nip at the boy’s ear. “That’s perfect,” he purred, pulling Osomatsu’s hips flush against his own. While he wasn’t fully erect, he was definitely showing interest in what Osomatsu was doing, and Tougou wanted him to know that.

He didn’t care if the yakuza saw them like this, after all Osomatsu was a good look young boy and there was nothing wrong with Tougou having multiple uses for him. He was certain that Osomatsu’s ruthless display would be enough to convince them that the boy was more than something nice to look at and something soft to squeeze. That’s what they were here for after all, to give the yakuza blackmail on them with which they could use to keep them in line. They had it, let Tougou enjoy it at least, he figured.

Moving away from Osomatsu was harder than Tougou had thought it would be. Just as Osomatsu was someone different while in this place, Tougou was feeling different as well. He supposed heavy petting with bloody hands did something to them that heavy petting without didn’t. Tougou carefully took the rope from Osomatsu and tied it off on the other end of the walkway. It was difficult to do as the man continued to struggle against the strangulation, which just added to his weight, but Tougou was able to manage.

Before leading Osomatsu back down, however, he turned and pinned the boy to the railing, letting his back dig into the course rope. “You’re good when you’re like this,” he purred, fitting his knee between Osomatsu’s legs. “When did you become such a devil?”

He had to bite his lip again to stop himself from really embarrassing himself here. He wanted to grip Tougou and use the fucker to get himself off right here, and the idea of the yakuza seeing him act like such a reprobate both spurring him on and holding him back; mostly holding him back, because he didn't want to give them that idea of him... yet?

Yeah, yet.

Osomatsu let himself push against Tougou's knee because how the fuck was he going to avoid that? He was once again thankful for his hoodie giving him just as much coverage as he needed to hide his half-hardness. He forced himself to speak before he went any further, because, again, he didn't want to give the yakuza too much of a show.

"Dunno," he sighed, "long story? Maybe I'll tell you it one day, if you're good to me." He glanced over his shoulder and bit his lip again, a little more sly than before, as he looked back to Tougou, up through his lashes. "The yakuza are watching. And waiting. You sure you wanna make 'em wait in our first day?"

“Brat,” Tougou hissed, letting him go. But Osomatsu was right, as much as Tougou was loath to admit it. The hanging man had stopped struggling, resorting to twitches and gasping breath. He was certain they wanted to wait to ensure he was dead, but there was no point in assuming it just in case.

Tougou grabbed Osomatsu by the back of the neck, thumb working the junction where his head met his spine, and began leading him back down the stairs. On the way, he flicked away his cigarette and placed his hand in his pockets. The three yakuza were idling around, not paying too much attention to the scene. They didn’t seem to notice or care that Tougou and Osomatsu had rejoined them, so Tougou hung back, staying around the periphery of the group.

Osomatsu was happy to hang around near Tougou while the yakuza did whatever the fuck. He didn't care much now. He took a glance at the hanging man, frowning thoughtfully at his pathetic form, looking even worse now that he was just hanging there... somewhat dead... guts everywhere, no bone in his body unbroken, probably... god. They'd really done a number on him, hadn't they? And Osomatsu had barely registered any of it until now, and even then it hadn't settled in past a dull feeling of... tiredness? He just felt tired. That wasn't right, probably, but that thought just made him feel more tired. Although, tired wasn't really the right word at all. Despondent was better, but when would Osomatsu ever describe himself as 'despondent'? That wasn't his vibe at all. Tired was dumb, tired was vague. He sighed gently and rested his chin on Tougou's shoulder, his hands in his hoodie pocket as he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. He may feel 'tired', but physically, he was buzzing and finding it hard to keep still for more than a second.

"How do you think we did," he asked, keeping his voice low and playful, "I think we did good. What a good audition." He tilted his head to rest his cheek against Tougou's shoulder instead, something more lazy to contrast his movements. "Hey... I've been good tonight, right? Lemme bum a smoke. I'm jonesin' for a fix here." He lifted his head quickly, pulling away to look at Tougou properly, a hopeful and hopefully charming smile on his face. "Unless you wanna give me some cash for my own so I don't have to bother you for yours... I think I deserve that!"

Tougou curled a hand around behind Osomatsu’s head to rest the boy on his chest, holding him close. It was disgusting in its tenderness. Even Tougou knew that it was wrong for two people to bond over brutal murder. But after seeing Osomatsu come unhinged like he had the last half hour, and see him return to his cuddly, clingy, annoying self. It was charming. Tougou found it easier to use a soft hand with someone so horrific. It was familiar to him.

He considered Osomatsu’s request for a moment or two, seeming at first as though he didn’t hear him. Osomatsu had been good, been very good. But Tougou wasn’t certain if he wanted Osomatsu off his high yet, wanted his agitation to go down. He turn to press his cheek to the top of Osomatsu’s head, his eyes slipping closed. “You can have one,” he said quietly, “after we finish fucking.”

Osomatsu felt himself light up at Tougou's just- his entire everything actually. First of all, the insinuation he was gonna get a smoke for the first time in... not that long, but too long when you considered the wild ride he'd been on since the night before. Osomatsu could have laughed at the stark contrast of his mood between last night and right now, it was nice. Like, really nice. Tougou was giving him the touches he craved now, and being... well, mostly agreeable. Maybe waving a gun around and crying was all he needed all along? And Tougou would be this way now that he'd seen how awful Osomatsu could be on his own?

God, he hoped. He could never tell. Tougou was such a confusing guy. But it'd just take time, right? To learn each other? It had been a long time, and the difference between a ten-year-old and a twenty-odd year old was... well, mostly huge. Osomatsu was still sort of a child at heart.

He pushed against Tougou's cheek, embarrassingly affectionate, then pulled away and huffed impatiently. He continued fidgeting, kept it to one spot for a few seconds, switched it up to jumping up and down on the spot after, then a few more seconds later he was pacing, back and forth, trying to focus his all-too-loud energy into something that wasn't talking or attempting to fuck his good pal Tougou right here in this fucked up abattoir. He knew, really, it had only been less than a minute since the yakuza had taken a cute little sidebar, but time was still doing that irritating fast-but-slow movement again. Were they always like this? So vague? Sure, getting money was good, but Osomatsu hated this fucking... vague bullshit they enjoyed so much. That was probably the intent, because he knew he himself loved making people wait just to fuck with them, but it wasn't any fun when it was him who was being fucked with.

"Are th--" he cut himself off and stopped pacing for just a second to talk to Tougou again, lowering his voice considerably, considering it was a normal speaking volume before that the entire fucking city could probably hear. "Are they... always this fucking... this? Like this? Like, even when we've done shit we don't fucking know shit, is that just a thing in this line of work? I'm not enjoying it. We're done, that fucker's dead, why have we just been standing here for, like, an hour or whatever?"

Tougou snorted and tucked his other hand in his pocket once Osomatsu began throwing a fit. “Calm down,” he said. “This is the way these things are.” He beckoned the boy back over to him, growing irritated by his erratic movements. They’d only been standing there for two, three minutes tops. The poor bastard hanging from the rafters hadn’t even pissed himself yet. “Murder always get you this anxious?” Tougou asked. “Or just don’t like their secrets?”

Osomatsu did go back over to Tougou and stood as still as he could, which was surprisingly still given how fidgety he'd been prior. Being told by Tougou to calm down was the biggest reason for his sudden good behavior. He didn't feel calm at all, but he didn't want to ignore Tougou at all right now, even if they appeared to be on mostly good terms.

"Ugh, I dunno... no? I mean... the old boy literally hanging out not ten feet away from us is certainly, how do you say, a mood killer, but that's... not it- I'm not anxious about that." He tsk’ed and looked over at the body again, frowning thoughtfully. "I'm just so jacked the fuck up from all this shit and, yeah, the secrets are kinda bullshit considering the crowd that's keepin' them, and-" he lowered his voice to a mutter, his face heating up slightly, "plus, like... no offence to you, but getting fucking blueballed before all this then having you do all this fucking-" he motioned vaguely, almost frantically, to his own neck and Tougou's general knee area, "you know? Bound to make a guy go a little nutty. I'm impatient for a good reason."

He frowned and pulled a hand from his hoodie pocket to scratch at his neck, wincing and pulling that hand away as he realized it's not the best idea to scratch at such fresh bruises, then opting to pull out his other hand to rub at his face tiredly. God, he needed a shave. He could feel his stubble growing in stronger now, like fucking sandpaper. "Plus, like, you said it yourself? It's been a long day for both of us!" his tone took on something a little whinier as he pouted, unashamedly too, "I'm tiiiired..."

Osomatsu’s tone was grating against his already sore and still-ringing head. Tougou had been mostly able to ignore the pain the gun fire had caused, but Osomatsu’s childish behavior was like prying at his already split skull. He glared at the boy, all teeth and narrow eyes. “Keep your voice down, you petulant brat.” Tougou took a step forward towards him, so that he and Osomatsu were eye to eye.

It was easy, considering he had shot up like a weed since Tougou last saw him. Not implying that Osomatsu had ever been a particularly small child, even at ten he’d come up to Tougou’s shoulder. At the time that was fine, easier to forget the boy’s age as he tormented him. But now that they were adults it was infuriating. Harder to intimidate someone who would probably be taller than you once his body had finally settled down. The Matsuno boys had definitely gotten their genes from their mother – wide eyes, a small button nose, good teeth, sleek hair, and, of course, height. And six of them no less. Tougou once again was loath to admit that Matsuyo had been dealt a shit hand in life.

“Do you not understand the gravity of the situation?” he hissed in Osomatsu’s face. “This isn’t some school-yard prank, these are yakuza. These men are decided whether or not we’re more trouble than we’re worth, and if you’re troublesome to me don’t you think you’ll seem troublesome to them? You probably impressed them with what you did to that guy,” he quirked his head towards the body, “and you’re undoing whatever you’ve done with your whining and pacing and complaining. Just keep your fucking mouth shut and your eyes down and don’t move until I tell you to.”

Osomatsu scoffed and flicked a glance back at the trail of Nasty Shit leading to the now hanging man nearby. It really was just... nasty. It was probably sexier in the moment. "Of course I-" he looked back to Tougou, all up in his face like this, and tried desperately not to provoke him too much, considering the comfortable little thing they'd found themselves in right now after the mood had been set with the murder of another man, "understand the gravity of the situation? Of course I do! It's hard not to when it's right there all stinkin' up the place! Like, really badly, may I add!"

He sucked in a breath and took a step back, keeping his eyes down as Tougou had said, because, again, he didn't want to ruin anything more than he had, and he especially didn't want to sabotage their possible one chance of semi-stable income, morally repugnant though it was. He'd been keeping his voice to a whisper before, but changed it to a more apologetic murmur now.

"I'm... sorry. I know, I'm getting too fucked up over this- I guess I am just anxious like you said." He bowed his head slightly and looked up at Tougou through his lashes with a hopeful and apologetic smile, then boldly stepped forward again to plant a timid kiss under Tougou's jaw, lingering there as he whispered, "I'll be good, Tougou-sama!" In his best 'I am being serious right now, but I also want you to know I still want my dick touched when we get out of here, and flirting while kissing up is my best bet for that right now' voice.

Tougou rolled his eyes at Osomatsu’s display, but it was clear in the set of his face that the kiss had relaxed him. The boy was lucky that Tougou had a soft spot for him looking so sweet, so innocent, so nervous. With one hand he roughly drew Osomatsu to him, only a tired sense of boredom on his face as he gave him an inch. “I know you will,” he grunted. “I just wonder how much more training it’ll take for you to be good without having to be told first.”

When he went to rest his cheek against Osomatsu’s head again, he noticed the yakuza looking at them, clearly ready to go. Tougou held his ground though, holding eye contact with them. Yeah that’s right, the action seemed to say, this is mine. They already knew Osomatsu was actually useful, and Tougou didn’t care if the yakuza knew he was going to go home and fuck the boy’s brains out for the second time that day. They probably would have done the same, or may even plan on doing the same once they got home to their own wives and-or whores.

But he also knew they couldn’t stay like that, so he gave Osomatsu a firm pat on the back, signaling him to get a move on. Tougou wandered over to the yakuza, who, upon seeing Tougou moving, went back to the car and started to pile in again.

Osomatsu was very much blind to Tougou's possessive actions, and his own look at the yakuza was less out of possessiveness than it was misplaced innocent curiosity, as if he didn't know why he was being stared at. He only felt a little nervous, which, in turn, gave him a sense of pride in himself.

He waited until they'd turned around and started moving before muttering an impatient 'finally' under his breath, following along behind Tougou without much prompting past the first pat. He joined the yakuza in the car, in the original seat from the journey there, and although he planned to keep his mouth shut again this time, his entire demeanor had gone from solid anxiety to an odd reserved sort of cockiness, like he was aware he'd done well, but didn't want to seem too smug too soon.

Tougou slid into the seat next to Osomatsu, wrapping his arm around his shoulder again. Like the time before, no one seemed to notice or care. The yakuza in the driver’s seat backed the car up out of the building and back to the gate. The same procedure as previous was conducted, and the men were off.

Everyone in the car was silent, which wasn’t something that particularly worried Tougou. Criminals liked to think, and normal men liked to reflect. He wasn’t certain how green these men were, or if death still affected them. It didn’t look like it did, but then again they may just have as strong of control over their emotional expression as Tougou had. Did they know that man? Was he a snitch or did he backstab the group in anyway? Was he a plant or a witness? A member of some smaller gang that had stepped into their turf? Someone who’d neglected the Final Notice for their protection?

Not that it mattered. As a grunt Tougou knew to jump when he was told and not to worry about the details, something he was trying desperately to drill into Osomatsu. Osomatsu. The only thing of the night Tougou had to reflect on. The way the boy had ruthlessly tore into the victim, the way he looked excited, relaxed, obedient. He was too cocky, Tougou didn’t like that, too forward. But in those times where he looked to Tougou for guidance, leaned up into him, leaned against him. It was like he was a child again, wanting to please the man but not knowing how. It was a good look on him.

With one arm still around Osomatsu’s shoulders, the other moved to Osomatsu’s thigh. He didn’t want it to be obvious he was groping the boy right there for God and everyone to see, nor did he want the man next to Osomatsu to take this as an invitation. Not that he’d seemed interested in Osomatsu at all at any time this night. Maybe he was miffed about having someone so young tag along? It didn’t matter.  Tougou let his hand slip between Osomatsu’s thighs, squeezing as much as he could without Osomatsu having to spread his legs. Not once did he look at him, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

It was all great until Tougou had to start his usual shit. It really was. Osomatsu was happy to just enjoy the ride home without drawing too much attention to him, like the ride there, but that was nigh impossible with Tougou groping him so fucking openly- where all it would take would be one glance to see exactly what was happening, and no, that wasn't a bad scenario at all, but that in itself was a problem! Because the idea of being caught right here getting groped by- whatever the fuck the yakuza thought Osomatsu was to Tougou. His fucking bottom bitch or something? Whatever- it turned him on more, because he was a foul fuck who loved the idea of having an audience in any scenario, and this entire situation was just so sleazy and filthy that he could absolutely just die from some sick arousal. What was it about being disgusting that got him off so easily?

He didn't want to make this obvious at all, but he sort of did too? He didn't fucking know! He just knew Tougou had his hand all up in his junk like it was his job even though he knew Osomatsu was close enough to his deathbed as it was. It was taking every inch of Osomatsu's self-control - which wasn't a lot of inches to begin with - not to just shamelessly rut against Tougou's hand while whining like the weak virgin he was.

He glanced at the yakuza subtly, casually, to make sure they weren't looking just yet, just while he figured out how he felt about this, and placed his hand on Tougou's hip - not, like, in a sexy way - to get his attention and shot him a pleading, questioning look, not even entirely sure what he wanted to convey with it except 'why do you hate me enough to put me through this kind of special hell?' and maybe 'I know it was a long time ago that you were my age and maybe sex wasn't fucking invented back then, but I need you to know, pal, that it's the cause of my death tonight'.

Tougou didn’t meet Osomatsu’s gaze, but the small smirk that quirked at the corner of his mouth was enough of an indication that he’d noticed. He didn’t want Osomatsu to bust a nut right here in the car, though. He wanted to tease him just enough to keep him horny for the long ride back. That way he wouldn’t be forced to work him up again once they got home. Tougou would just be able to throw Osomatsu on the bed or couch or table or floor or wherever really and then do to him what he’d wanted to do back in the industrial complex.

But Tougou did take pity on him, and instead of having his hand snug up against Osomatsu’s crotch, he moved it back to the boy’s thigh. As much as he hated to, he stopped the squeezing for now, just letting his hand rest there. He could feel heat radiating off Osomatsu’s groin from where the blood was pooling.

The loss of Tougou's hand was both a curse and a blessing, Osomatsu couldn't be sure, but he was definitely sure about Tougou's shitty fucking smirk that made his blood boil- not in a legitimate hateful way, just in an 'I think you’re a douche and I can't say it out loud which just bothers me more' sort of way. But this was... okay, maybe cute wasn't the best word to use here, but that's how Osomatsu thought appropriate to describe it. Tougou teasing him like this and acting so smug and smirking about it like that made Osomatsu feel even giddier than he had earlier. It was hot, for one thing, but it was also just very... comfortable. He liked this weird teasing and... flirting? Was this flirting? Hard to tell.

He wrinkled his nose and avoided saying anything out loud, but he did move his hand enough to place his index finger on the back of Tougou's own hand, so he could trace the words 'I hate you' and a couple of emphatic exclamation points onto his skin. He didn't care if Tougou missed it or didn't realize there were even words there, it made Osomatsu feel better in a situation where he couldn't act like he wanted. Which... was... like a clingy, needy whore, to be honest.

While Tougou didn’t recognize the words, he thought it was cute how Osomatsu was rubbing at his hand, feeling just the prick of his dry cuticles and uneven nails. Osomatsu’s skin was soft, at least for a boy in his twenties. It was nice, comforting. Tougou didn’t try to stop his thoughts from straying to times when Osomatsu was small and he and the boy sat next to each other outside his home. Tougou had remembered secretly holding hands then too. That was different though, it had been him initiating, him caressing the boy, and Osomatsu sitting still and trying not to look at him. Now the roles were reversed. Funny how time changes things.

He wondered how long it would be until the year spent with Osomatsu when he was a child would be overwritten with memories of him now. They’d only been reunited for one day, and already the thoughts were blurring and blending, the thought of one running into the other in a gradient of blues and reds and wide eyes and shaking hands. At least now as an adult Osomatsu was more obedient.

The fondness he felt for the boy was strange. It was amused, interested, invested. Tougou hated to admit how much time in prison he’d spent thinking of Osomatsu. Not in any way he was sure his sentence was meant for, however. There was no remorse, no guilt, no shame, no desire to make amends and sooth Osomatsu’s nightmares, to illuminate the shadows and prove to the boy he wasn’t there. His fantasies instead were equal parts stories of revenge and longing. For what criminal didn’t want a cute pet? Although, he had considered cutting out Osomatsu’s tongue to help with all the whining.

Tougou allowed Osomatsu to caress his hand idly for a bit, before he turned it over to lace his fingers in the boy’s. The hand hold wasn’t full, not palm-to-palm, but lettings their fingers rest at the knuckles, his thumb stroking the meat of Osomatsu’s palm. The arm around Osomatsu’s shoulder tightened its grip slightly.

Osomatsu felt like he'd been set on fire or dumped in ice water or- maybe both at the same time? He couldn't pinpoint anything when his head was swimming so much. He stared down at his hand with Tougou's and now he was able to confirm that his face felt like it was on fire with how hard he was blushing, it was just the rest of him that felt chilled. Overall not a very pleasant feeling, but...

God, whatever! Too many paradoxes to keep going over! All he could focus on was the feeling of Tougou's hand in his. It was different from when he'd been touching Tougou's hand a few seconds ago, because now it felt a little more like a possessive display than passive-aggressive secret contact, or maybe some kind of affection instead of possessiveness. Oh, god, the thought made his face feel hotter. Was this affection? He knew they'd had some kind of moment back there, but this felt like it had come out of nowhere.

Osomatsu wasn't going to complain. Not one bit. He didn't even feel like vocalizing for any reason right now either, he could only stare at their hands and focus on the feeling of Tougou's pointed touch and tighter hold around his shoulders and bite his lip to stop himself from smiling at all, because that would probably be a little too much. He didn't want any moods to be killed by being too sweet where it wasn't wanted.

Or, that's what he told himself. Actually keeping himself from smiling was easy, but being overall sweet when he felt like Tougou was just being so sweet himself was too easy. This was right, wasn't it? Tougou was so confusing, but this was very obvious. They'd been flirting all night, now they were just continuing that. Or was that flirting? It was probably extremely fucked up to call your kidnapper getting off with you while you both killed a guy flirting, but hey! People worked differently, this was just he and Tougou's way of working. It was normal for two people working together to get closer like this, and it was even more normal for two people working together to get closer like this when they had a history which he and Tougou definitely did have. Sure, it was a little muddy and Osomatsu had spent years trying to forget most of it, but it was still a history! This was just catching up...

He felt an uncomfortable twist in his gut that had nothing to do with his lurking arousal or strange affection, and he really didn't want to lose his hold on either of those, so he took a glance down at their intertwined hands and felt his face heat up again and his smile was a bit too much to hold back so instead he looped his free arm around Tougou's arm, the one that held Osomatsu's hand, and hid his face against Tougou's shoulder. He gave Tougou's hand a squeeze and, again, ignored the twisting in his gut that told him this really wasn't right, not something he should encourage at all. He knew this had to be right.

Finally looking at him, Tougou smiled down at Osomatsu as he felt the boy cuddle as close as he could given the awkward position. The touching moment was broken by a sharp voice saying, “Do you have to do that?” It was the man next to Osomatsu who spoke, obviously at his limit for tolerating their bullshit. “It’s disgusting and no one wants to see it.”

With grit teeth and a harsh glare, Tougou pulled Osomatsu closer to him, the arm that was once around boy’s shoulders curling around him now. Who did this man think he was ordering him around like that? None of the yakuza in the car were important to the organization, all just grunts, disposables in case Tougou and Osomatsu tried to kill them or had been police informants. These men were only slightly more important than Tougou was, and he knew that was only because the yakuza didn’t yet know him.

He couldn’t care any less about insults being swung at Osomatsu, but by a stranger it was an insult to him. Any negative comment made towards Osomatsu, any comment like that at least, reflected back on Tougou. “Excuse me,” he hissed as politely as one could hiss, “if I’ve missed my bitch the last ten years I’ve been in prison. You’ll have to forgive us, for draining the blood from another man really gets us going.” A warning, clear as day. Tougou wanted him to know that he knew that the yakuza wouldn’t seek revenge for his death.

Osomatsu didn't really want to get involved, trying really goddamn hard to keep his mouth shut to avoid trouble. These guys didn't seem important, especially if Tougou was able to be so casual with them. Well, he was casual for the most part, but now he was more snappy than casual and Osomatsu was relieved that it wasn't directed at him, but a little uncomfortable with the idea of some kind of fight breaking out here, in a place like this with people like these.

Although... now the opportunity to be snide was there...

This nobody gave Osomatsu a dirty look after breaking eye contact with Tougou, as if expecting Osomatsu to say something but also avoiding eye contact with Tougou for a second. What a pussy. Osomatsu couldn't help but smile, faux-apologetic for a flash, then twisting into something a little more sly and condescending. "Tougou-sama pretty much said it all!" he offered, voice smooth and as condescending as his smile, then he raked his eyes up and down the other man's body and his smile grew wider. He didn't bother moving from Tougou's grip; it felt secure and safe and like, no matter how much of a little shit he was right now, he'd only get half the ass-kicking he'd normally get, like Tougou was more of a protective entity than a person.

"Or," he purred, feigning a pout, "are you just upset you're not in on the action too?" he chuckled and shook his head before turning it back towards Tougou again, feeling giddy. "Maybe some other time?"

He chuckled again, the perfect picture of smugness, and pressed closer to Tougou, just slightly. He shouldn't be doing this! He really shouldn't be doing this! He actually super regretted this! He felt his pulse quicken and was glad he was facing away from the yakuza now because he was sure he looked just as horrified as he felt. God, he was going to die in this car. He was going to die in this car, holding hands with his kidnapper, his dick half-mast, all because he started shit with the yakuza. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut like he'd planned? God damn it!

From its protective place around Osomatsu’s shoulder’s, Tougou’s hand moved to the back of the boy’s head, holding him firmly there in an attempt to signal Osomatsu to keep his fat mouth shut. And the hand holding Osomatsu’s moved as well, to Osomatsu’s farther thigh, pulling the leg shared in space with the yakuza into Tougou’s. It was a tight fit, hot and uncomfortable, but it was better to keep Osomatsu close. Close was possessive, close was protection. Tougou would not back down, would give no indication that he was ashamed of rolling around with Osomatsu.

Unfortunately, the gesture came at the same instance the yakuza finished his glaring once-over of Osomatsu’s form, at the same instance that he spat, “Ten years, huh?” in a tone that suggested he was afraid to open his mouth for the bile rising in his throat. If he even registered what Osomatsu said, it went unacknowledged. This was a fight for men; the yakuza and Tougou battling over something unknown to Osomatsu, something shared in the air between them. A secret, some line, only they as criminals were aware of.

Tougou felt like a snake poised to pounce. Every part of his being was radiating warning; he was one well place insult away from jumping over Osomatsu to throttle the man. His blood pressure was rising, and the danger in his eyes confirmed that Tougou’s hostility was not reserved for Osomatsu alone. This line they danced about was dangerous, Tougou knew he had to tread it careful but in the same breath he wanted to declare it, to own it; Tougou wasn’t ashamed of anything he’d done in his life. It was all his choice, all his plan, all his reaction to his situation. All things were him and he was all things. But there were some things one didn’t go parading about.

But this man had Tougou wanting to, had him wanted to croon and boast about what he and Osomatsu got up to. Who was he to sit there and sling insults? The yakuza may have outranked him, but Tougou had to have at least fifteen, twenty years on him and who was this boy to question his elders. Every word, every look, was an insult that cut right into Tougou. Any harsh word towards Osomatsu was a hard word towards Tougou’s interests, his desires, and Tougou would not be insulted in such ways.

“Yes,” he said, “Osomatsu-kun is my little pet project.”

Tougou's tightened grip was all Osomatsu needed to shut him up for good. He hadn't planned to keep going, not intentionally, but when he was told by Tougou to shut his fucking mouth in any way, that's what he did. Tougou knew these guys better than Osomatsu, and Osomatsu had already pushed back more than he'd intended to. Maybe being less hot-headed would be a wise life choice. He wasn't bothered when the yakuza didn't respond, not at all, because it just made keeping quiet easier. He let Tougou move him around as he'd wanted to and kept his head mostly turned away from the yakuza to avoid making eye contact, knowing that would just spur him on more.

Tougou's words made him falter. Pet? Was that... just a cover? Surely he wasn't just a pet to Tougou- or... it made sense, didn't it? That he was just something for Tougou to work on instead of anything actually important. Tougou had made that clear... kind of. God, what the hell? Why was that even a question! Of course Tougou only saw him like that. Why the fuck would he ever see him as anything else? Was Osomatsu really such a fucking idiot that he thought Tougou would actually give a shit past making Osomatsu into the perfect bitch like he'd been implying this entire time? No amount of hand holding or sweet talking should have changed Osomatsu's idea of what this entire situation was.

Although...

There was the possibility that it was just a cover.

Tougou did care about him, you just couldn't say that around yakuza, because caring was vulnerability and vulnerability wasn't really safe in this sort of setting. It was all just keeping them safe. That's just what Tougou did: he kept Osomatsu safe.

Okay! Panic over! Osomatsu relaxed against Tougou again, turning his head enough to give a sideways glance to the yakuza again, once again condescending, but more subtle now he was trying to keep quiet. Just because he was trying to be quiet didn't mean he couldn't still be a bitch though! Just... not in the way Tougou was implying, obviously.

Before the yakuza member got a chance to reply, the car came to a harsh and sudden halt outside their apartment. Well, outside the butcher they resided above. Tougou undid his buckle and reached over to undo Osomatsu’s as well, shooting the man next to him a dangerous look. He got out quickly, pulling Osomatsu up behind him.

“You should learn to be more respectful,” Tougou said, adjusting his suit while waiting for Osomatsu. “I’d think in your line of work you’d know who not to mouth off to.” And then, as calmly as he could, he slammed the car door and the yakuza peeled off into the night. The darkness swallowed up the dark car in a heartbeat, and Tougou stood in the crisp air, trying to get himself under control.