Chapter Text
Isagi stalks the hallways of the Osaka Continental like a ghost, ordering his subordinates to gather their forces discreetly in case bloodshed occurs in his territory. Bachira follows behind him like a loyal dog, and Isagi thinks his fidgeting is from being excited for violence. Bachira’s eyes are sharp like the knives he wields, his gaze scanning the lobby for any threat to Isagi’s life. Everyone was on high alert, Bachira’s hands on his hips appearing casual as he bounds after Isagi like a puppy, but his placement was clear to the trained assassin’s eye as a warning, screaming ‘my pistols are here, come and try it,’ to any would be attackers. Isagi had the most faith in Bachira, not just for his ability but for his exceeding faith and loyalty to Isagi. Friends since their grunt days, they had climbed the ranks together. When Ego appointed him the new head of the group, Bachira was his first pick for right hand man. Isagi could hardly function without his best friend, his pretty and polished knife that he could order to slice through twenty men all by himself. Someone who made him smile too, when his hands were covered in another man’s blood.
Isagi grits his teeth, his holster shifting under his sleek black suit with every wide step he takes. Reinforced fabric, working similarly to a bulletproof vest without the bulkiness. His katana rests in its sheath on his hip, the gleaming blue hilt a warning of his status. No one had seen his blade and lived, so it remained something of a myth throughout Japan and the other criminal organizations across the world. Well, only one person had made it out, and even given Isagi a near death scare. That man was here, the reason for the hotel's high alert.
The Noa family in Germany had sent an envoy in the form of Isagi’s greatest rival, Michael Kaiser. It wasn’t that he was scared for himself, as he and Kaiser were evenly matched in all things, but Kaiser was a one man army for a reason. Kaiser threw caution to the window, blitzing through his enemies so quickly only blood and gore was left of the carved bodies. He almost worked like a gardener in that sense, pinpoint aim and accuracy in all weapons leaving his victims with a clean cut of red across their throats or bullets through their head, like Kaiser was snipping thorns off of his roses in his yard on a casual Saturday morning.
Isagi had admired Noel Noa greatly, the man an inspiration to violence and a symbol of respect. No man would gain greater notoriety than Noel Noa, so when he was given the chance to meet him he had taken it. He was young, naively so, and Ego had declared the message valid by his personal ties to Noa. Isagi was promptly sent to HQ as an envoy for peace between Ego and Noa, finally an end to the fighting between them for reasons not privy to Isagi.
A middleman, an enemy of both their groups, had tricked both Isagi and Kaiser, intercepting their locations and sending them both to the same large, broken down apartment. They had been warned of hostiles, and immediately they assumed the other was the enemy. Noa realized something was wrong, and arrived on the scene and put an end to their fight. He had walked in on Isagi holding the tip of his blade to Kaiser’s neck, Kaiser’s gun pressed flush against his forehead.
Obviously they were let in on the fact that they had been sabotaged and tricked, but that didn’t stop Kaiser from remaining a huge dick about everything.
Isagi had no reason to be enemies with Kaiser in the first place, their initial near death collision a misunderstanding. That didn’t stop Isagi from profusely hating Kaiser, for the fact that he had disarmed Isagi of his blade for the first time in his life. Kaiser’s self proclaimed victory after that had left not only the gash in his side as a scar, but a wounded pride that would only be cured by the taste of Kaiser’s blood. Not once had he broken a sweat, even as they tackled each other through glass and exchanged shots.
Now Kaiser was here unannounced, something they weren’t cleared to do under their treaty and collaboration. He is demanding to meet Isagi personally, and Isagi is sure not with great news in tow. Ego, this bastard, leaving him with this mess just a year in.
Isagi pulls his phone out of his pocket, he’d need a man for every one of Kaiser’s, and he expected Kaiser to come solo with Ness, so one more would do.
“Nagi,” he says into the receiver, “I hope you’re not sleeping, genius.”
Nagi’s groan is loud in his ear, definitely just waking up.
“No, boss, I’m up,” Nagi yawns, “reporting.”
Nagi’s close combat would be vital if this meeting turned sour, the skull crushing strength in his hands nearly as intimidating as a loaded gun.
“I need you to go to Reo Mikage’s room now, guard it until I arrive, nobody in or out.”
“On it,” Nagi says, hanging up and doing as he’s told. Isagi lets out a sigh of relief, knowing Nagi would rather die than upset Isagi due to the beating he received way back in the day. Isagi only feels a little bad about it now.
“Kurona,” he says, his assistant close to his side on the left, “message the Itoshi group, that we may need their help.”
Kurona stops and his normally blank face cracks, his eyebrows pinching together in concern. Isagi smiles at him, putting a hand onto the small of Kurona’s back and gently pushing him to move from where he’s frozen, “now.”
Notifying the Itoshi group was quite literally his last wish, but dealing with Kaiser and most likely his little mutt Ness would certainly lead to the need for backup. Kaiser may be coming into his territory, surrounded by his men, but he would thrive if left underestimated. Kurona scampers off, his tablet tucked close to his chest.
He and Bachira greet Nagi at Reo’s suite, and he knocks thrice. He hears shuffling in front of the door, a pause, and then the lock being clicked open. Reo opens the door, gun in hand and looking like he was just about to leave. He eyes the three of them.
“Isagi, good to see you,” Reo says, ignoring Nagi and Bachira, “but what is going on?”
“Reo Mikage,” he says, bowing to the heir of the Mikage corp, “you are high profile, I must ask that you come with me.”
Reo’s eyes widen, but he puts his gun away and walks beside Isagi. Isagi winds his arm around Reo’s elbow, escorting him.
Isagi might be the boss around here, but Reo has been a loyal collaborator for years, before Isagi had risen to control. He didn’t want his friend to get hurt, especially not the one who had gifted him use of his second favorite guard dog, Nagi. Reo’s kimono is a deep purple, the design of branches made from silk reflecting the red light of the lobby. He looks darling like this, a shame he was so dead set on going against his parents’ wishes. He liked Reo’s staying here very much, but he almost wished Reo had remained spoiled and comfortable with his money instead of wanting to learn how to fight. Isagi remembers their first meeting vividly, long before he himself had any power except his knack for violence. Reo had been crying outside of Ego’s office, his father making deals with Ego on collaborations. Reo had seen him, and asked him to train him to be strong, so he could fight for himself instead of being forced into his father’s position with nothing there for him. Isagi opposed at first, but he rather Reo be taught and have a chance then to just throw himself into violence to prove a point. Reo took over his father’s business, leading it with an iron fist and the sharp mind and power to prove it. Isagi’s eyes gleam with pride for his friend.
“Reo,” Isagi starts, motioning for Reo to lean down, “I am aware you cannot fight up to speed with me, this is not an insult as I know you are improving from our sparring, but you must stay close to me for the entire walk to the safe room.”
Reo nods, because as much as the stubborn scion liked to put up a show and prove to Isagi his efforts, he knew when Isagi was serious. Isagi hums at his cooperation, sliding a small dagger into Reo’s folded kimono without anyone seeing. They lock eyes, wordlessly communicating the just incase.
The hotel premises is nearly locked down, his men in formation and weapons nearby. Isagi smiles at the cherry blossoms lining the grounds outside, and he plucks a petal from Reo’s purple hair as the man shuffles dejectedly into the safe room.
“Stay with him,” he says, pointing at Barou, “call me if it is absolutely urgent, bye, Reo.”
Reo waves, looking stressed and fearful for Isagi’s well-being. Isagi just waves as Barou shuts the door. Nagi flanks his left, Bachira on his right, and they make their way to the lobby’s front desk to welcome their guest.
Bachira licks his lips, and Isagi winces at the crack of Nagi’s knuckles and neck as he stretches. He guesses they are ready.
“I will make the first move if needed, if you see my blade even a little, you have permission to kill.”
____
Isagi inhales, bracing when Kaiser and Ness enter the front doors. Both are seemingly unarmed of any large weapons that are unconcealable. He suppresses a shiver when Kaiser’s face is finally close enough for him to see, the blue rose tattoo on his neck peeking out from under his suit collar. Ness, ever the fuck face, is smiling serenely like this is just another day. Kaiser looks smug and overconfident.
“Kaiser,” he greets, fake hospitality lacing his tone in English, “why the surprise visit?”
Kaiser’s looks were wasted on him, angelic features ruined by sin. Blonde hair and eyelashes to match, perfectly bowed lips the color of cherries. He can imagine Kaiser with wings and a halo, except the white feathers are dyed with blood and the halo snapped into a makeshift shank. His face remained the same after almost two years, not a scar or blemish or even a slight crookedness on his perfectly sloped nose. It makes him wonder if Kaiser even fought, but he knew better. Kaiser just didn’t get hit. Kaiser smirks, leaning forward and grabbing his chin, angling Isagi’s head up so he’s forced to look up at him. Isagi forces himself not to bite Kaiser’s thumb off when it pulls his lower lip down with a flick. Bachira and Nagi tense, hands twitching for their weapons imperceptibly to the average outsider, except Kaiser was no average outsider. He notices.
“Tell deine Hunde to heel first,” Kaiser says with his German accent growing heavier around the semi-English response, rubbing his thumb across Isagi’s bottom lip, “ah, how are you still such a beautiful devil, Yoichi.”
Isagi grabs Kaiser’s hand lightly, and he slides his fingers across the inked crown there, a hand capable of such gruesome deaths, “we can talk in my office, come.”
____
“So,” he says behind his desk, Kaiser sitting across from him with Ness standing behind him to the side, “proceed.”
Bachira sits on the edge of Isagi’s long desk, kicking his legs and blowing a bubble with the gum in his mouth. Nagi rubs the back of his neck, leather gloves dark in contrast to his snowy white hair. Nagi smokes a cigarette, the room smelling like high end tobacco and a little hazy with gray smoke. The air is so thick with tension that even a gunshot might not be able to pierce it. The clock on his desk ticks quietly, custom made and a gift from Noa himself on the day of Isagi’s rise to power.
Kaiser’s lips form around his next words in what feels like slow motion.
“Noel Noa is retiring.”
Isagi freezes, because if anything, Noel Noa giving up power was unimaginable to him. His eyes narrow.
“Obviously, I’ll be taking over as next in line for the boss,” Kaiser says, locking his sharp blue eyes with Isagi’s, “with one condition.”
Isagi leans forward, a silent word for him to continue. Kaiser grimaces, a sick grin twisting his lips.
“There’s a group getting big in Berlin, causing us some trouble because they don’t like how we run things,” Kaiser starts, inspecting the rings on his fingers in boredom like a vain woman, “Noa said if we can work together successfully and crush them, he will pass the torch to me and continue the collaboration with your group.”
Isagi clenches his fists on his lap, and Bachira’s bubblegum pops.
“Come to Germany with me and finish the deal, and then we can go back to doing business as usual,” Kaiser muses, like it’s a fucking picnic on the riverbank, “simple enough darling, deal or no deal I’ll still take over eventually.”
Isagi wants to spit in Kaiser's face, and cut his guts open, instead he pulls out a cigarette of his own. Without looking away from Kaiser, he motions Nagi forward. Nagi leans his face down to the cigarette held loosely by Isagi’s lips, connecting the burning one in his mouth to the end of Isagi’s, lighting it. Isagi leans back, Nagi resuming his position behind him, and takes a long drag. He leans forward and takes the cigarette out of his lips in two fingers, and blows the smoke directly into Kaiser’s face. Kaiser doesn’t blink, but the twinge of his blonde eyebrow is revealing enough.
“Deal,” Isagi says, stubbing out the freshly lit cigarette on the ashtray on his desk for the show of it, “it’s no skin off my teeth if you die in the end, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep you alive, if you’re such a scaredy cat.”
Kaiser’s eyes are sharp like a predator, more akin to a wild tiger than a cat, “you know for a fact I can do this on my own, I’m doing this as one last favor to Noa so he can retire in peace.”
Isagi hums at Kaiser’s response, “still a clown in my eyes.”
“Fuck,” Kaiser spits out, leaning across Isagi’s desk and grabbing him tight by his suit jacket, pulling his face close, “Yoichi, you’re still as sweet as you were our first time.”
Isagi smells the familiar perfume Kaiser wears, and he lets his lips form a smile that probably looks psychotic to the others. His eyes glance to Ness, who looks like he’s going to burst a blood vessel, and Kaiser lets him go.
“Bachira will show you to your rooms, please stay the night and we can leave as soon as possible,” Isagi says, face smoothed over as if nothing happened. Bachira whips his head around, probably a little mad that Isagi is making them seperate. Ever the loyal protector. Kaiser stands and Ness trails after him as they follow Bachira out his office door. Kaiser looks back at him once, suit tight and fitted to his broad shoulders, his power evident by his build.
“Sure you don’t want my room number, Yoichi?” Kaiser teases in German on his way out, the flirtatious tone to his deep voice making Isagi’s stomach flutter against his will.
“Fuck off, Michael,” Isagi retorts, watching Kaiser’s back as he finally leaves and shuts the door behind him. Isagi takes a deep breath, and lets his head hit the desk. Nagi pulls out a flask, wordlessly handing it to Isagi. Isagi takes a swig, sake, and hands it back to Nagi with a meek thank you. His eyes burn with exhaustion but he stands, slowly sliding the blade of his katana out of the hilt. He slides his fingers over the blade, and Nagi watches him like a hawk. He knows his blade was a rare sight, the blue glint of the metal a sign of a quick and painful death.
“Nagi,” he calls, and Nagi kneels in front of him, an arm over his chest in salute. Isagi holds the blade near Nagi’s neck before he can blink.
“Yes, boss,” Nagi says, looking up at him reverently and suppressing a shudder. His adam's apple bobbing when he swallows, nearly touching the blade's edge.
“Make arrangements with Kurona for Reo to take over the business side of things, Bachira will act as the leader in my absence,” he orders, sliding the katana into the hilt again in one fluid motion, Nagi bows at his command, “Protect them, I will be back soon.”
Nagi nods and rises, and he escorts Isagi to his room.
“You may rest now,” Isagi says, sitting on his bed and shucking his suit off. He clicks his holster and the garter holding his knife on his thigh off, Nagi watches in the doorway and shakes his head.
“I will keep watch, sleep well, Isagi,” Nagi says, positioning himself outside Isagi’s room. Isagi sighs, but he has to admit it helps him sleep better when his head hits the pillow and he’s fading immediately, still in his button up shirt.
____
The first thing Isagi does when he wakes up is greet Nagi, who had been standing guard for the entire night. Nagi’s sleep schedule was mostly nocturnal anyways, but he still felt guilty for sleeping well while Nagi was awake.
“Morning,” he yawns, getting dressed in his everyday suit and weaponry. Nagi struggles with his own tie until Isagi makes him lean down and ties it for him.
“Lets go get Reo for breakfast,” he says, the click of the barrel of his gun as he spins and loads it loud in the quiet room. Nagi hands him a pill, aspirin, and he thinks he will definitely need it when the time for dealing with Kaiser finally strikes.
“Isagi,” Reo says once Isagi puts the code in for the safe room and enters. Reo is sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes red and sunken with dark circles as he dresses in a normal designer suit for the day. Isagi dismisses Barou with a wave of his hand, Barou scoffs but stalks off. He shoulder checks Nagi on the way out.
“You heard from Kurona what I want from you right,” Isagi says and sits next to Reo, smiling and examining the saftey on Reo’s gun for full function before slipping it into the holster on Reo’s hip. Reo sighs and buttons up his suit, concealing the gun.
“Yes, I’m honored,” Reo says, a small smile on his face, “but I’m upset you can't be here to watch me.”
Isagi pats Reo’s shoulder, “I have faith in your abilities, hold the business down while I’m gone.”
“That’s not the problem, I’m just worried your job is dangerous, more so than usual,” Reo says, his voice strained as he stands up. Isagi stands up too, putting a hand on Reo’s back.
“It is dangerous,” he starts, rubbing circles onto Reo’s shoulder blade, “but I’m in the top ten strongest in the world, along with Kaiser, we will do the job and do it right.”
Reo laughs wetly, “I forget you have a seat at the table, feels like yesterday we were just 17.”
Isagi lunges forward and hugs Reo, years of friendship overwriting his fear for close contact. Reo embraces him back, holding him tight like he won’t leave if he keeps squeezing him.
“Let’s go get breakfast,” Isagi says after a long moment and pulls back, trying not to crumble at the teary eyed look Reo gives him, “before Kaiser tries to find me and rush me to leave.”
____
It’s over their morning tea, where they are sitting on their knees on soft cushions in the private patio, when Kaiser finds him, Ness left behind and nowhere to be seen. Isagi follows Kaiser’s movement from the corner of his eye, and he shoots Reo a look. Reo’s face goes totally blank, a clean and serene smile on his face from years of dealing with the dirt and grime of businessmen. Isagi smiles, Reo could be really sneaky when needed. Kaiser spots Isagi, and he languidly approaches the both of them. His suit is flat ironed to perfection, not a hair out of place. The Rolex on his wrist, which Isagi knows for a fact definitely hides some kind of poison or knife or anything really, gleams with the reflection of the sunlight.
“Kaiser,” Isagi says, standing up, but Reo remains seated and sips his tea regally. Isagi bows to Kaiser, shallowly of course, and motions for Kaiser to kneel next to him. Kaiser looks a little shocked, but it’s quickly smoothed out to his self assured grin. Kaiser’s canines are sharp and pearly white, and Isagi wonders if he could kill with those too. The image of Kaiser’s teeth pink with blood and his pale face dripping with bright red splatter makes Isagi lick his gums.
They sit next to each other, and Kaiser honestly seems a little put off by the presence of Reo, or maybe it’s just his whiteness and never having had traditional Japanese tea time.
“Nice to meet you,” Kaiser says to Reo, putting his hand out to greet him, “I don’t think I recognize you if we’ve met before.”
Reo smiles and shakes his hand firmly, “my company regulates the distribution of that watch you are wearing, for our ‘special’ customers.”
“Mikage then, I presume, a very innovative brand after the new management I must say,” Kaiser alleges, returning the heavy hand shake with a tight grip of his own. Reo lifts his cup again and watches Kaiser settle more on his knees on the cushion next to Isagi. Isagi pours tea for Kaiser, and he knows Reo is trying not to snicker when he lifts the cup closer to his lips as Isagi doesn’t even bother doing the respectful ceremony for him. Kaiser slips off his gloves, the leather snapping as it slides off his fingers. Isagi watches as Kaiser doesn’t think twice before taking a sip, and he thinks about the practiced mithridatism he knows Kaiser has gone through personally. It would take a dose strong enough for a stallion to kill Kaiser, the most a discreet pill in his drink could do is make him woozy. The security of knowing poison won’t kill him is another one of Kaiser’s tricks, letting him manipulate his targets by never once flinching when accepting food or drink. A display of ‘I don’t think you have the nerve’ ringing across the entire room when Kaiser is present. Isagi knew this from private intel, but it was a relatively known fact from those who feared the man.
“It’s good,” Kaiser says, licking his lips a little, “you still like kintsuba, Yoichi?”
Isagi forces himself not to tense, he should’ve known Kaiser would have some kind of personal information on him.
“It’s my favorite, it would pair well with this,” he replies neutrally, sloshing the tea in his cup a little by circling his wrist. He watches the green liquid spin around in the cup, and the katana on his hip feels heavier than usual.
Kaiser can't shut up even over tea it seems, because he rambles on about the sights of Germany that Isagi would like. Isagi thinks he wouldn’t want to see Germany at all and would rather be sparring with Bachira and Nagi and going on about business in his home than fucking off to Berlin with Kaiser. He would almost be mad at Noa, but he can’t for the life of him.
“I will escort Reo to his bodyguard, then we can discuss our departure,” he says once the tea is gone, rising and taking Reo’s hand to help him to his feet. He lets Kaiser push himself off the floor. Kaiser brushes off his knees, the deep blue of his suit shining in the sun, which is fully risen now.
“I will be in my room then,” Kaiser says, nodding at Reo in acknowledgement and then sliding his gaze towards Isagi, “you know which one.”
Isagi does know, Bachira had told him and it’s filed down in Kurona’s diligent record system in his tablet.
“I’ll pack,” he says, instead of ‘wish I set a bomb in there’, looping an arm around Reo’s elbow and walking the both of them back towards the lobby. Reo is much taller than him, so he shuffles a little and nudges him until Reo slows down with a muffled laugh.
“He pisses me off,” Reo says when they are a safe distance, “will he really be your partner for this?”
“It sucks, but there’s no one better out there,” he says, patting Reo’s hand and handing him over to Nagi once they are in their discreet meeting spot. His eyes sharpen, and Nagi nods his head.
“I’ll miss you both while I’m away, stay together like old times,” he whispers, clipping a crest onto both of their breast pockets. He has to go on his toes a little to reach, both his men respectably over 185 cm, but he fastens them both and the gleaming blue silver looks sharp against their suits.
“These are your rights to my power, do not lose it,” he says, and his voice cracks on his next words, “you both look good, like family.”
Nagi and Reo don’t reply, but they swallow thickly looking down at Isagi. Isagi grips their forearms and squeezes them once before turning and gliding down the hallway towards his office, his coat swishing behind him like a cloak.
Bachira is waiting for him there, staring at the picture of the two of them on his desk. He perks up when he hears the door and sees Isagi. They stare at each other for a beat. Isagi runs forward, crashing into Bachira who meets him halfway for a suffocating hug.
“I don’t want to go,” he whispers, rubbing his face into the cotton of Bachira’s shirt and his warm shoulder, the smell of gunmetal and sugary lollipops filling his senses, “Bachira.”
Bachira sighs and wraps his arms around Isagi’s waist, returning the embrace.
“I don’t want you to either,” Bachira says into his hair, hand placed just above the scar on Isagi’s side, “I would go with you if you’d let me.”
Isagi pulls away, stepping back to clip the crest onto Bachira’s chest, right over his heart. Bachira’s eyes widen, and his hands hover at his sides like he’s afraid to touch him, or too stunned to move.
“You better not get injured while I’m gone,” he orders, pulling Bachira closer by the straps of his torso holster, “you’re mine, only we can kill each other.”
Bachira nods, uncharacteristically silent.
“Sit,” he says, pulling out his desk chair and motioning for Bachira to sit in the plush leather and velvet throne, where he’d had so many meetings as leader. Bachira sits down gingerly, looking at Isagi across the desk.
“Looking good, boss,” he says, grinning at Bachira. Bachira turns a charming shade of pink and crosses his legs, looking away. Isagi waits.
“Aren’t you going to give your first order?” he says, placing his palms flat on the desk and leaning closer to Bachira over the desk, a challenging gleam in his eyes. Bachira bites his cheek.
“…stay safe on your mission,” Bachira says, his voice heavy with emotion as he tries to imitate the commanding tone of a boss, “and make sure you call me.”
Isagi laughs, gathering his things, “Already you sound like the leader, I will be fine, see you.”
He doesn’t look back when he leaves the office, thinking one last look at Bachira would make him stay, unwilling to depart from where all his friends were.
____
He knocks on Kaiser’s door, and almost drops the bottle of wine he had brought.
“W-why are you naked!” he says, covering his eyes and looking away from Kaiser’s chest. He hears Kaiser laugh.
“I’m not naked, it’s a robe,” Kaiser says, adjusting his glasses and stepping to the side to let Isagi in, his bun sitting messily on the back of his head, “come in.”
Isagi growls and pushes past him, “then close the top.”
Kaiser shrugs and holds his hands up in mock surrender, shutting the door behind him. Kaiser’s hair is still a little damp, the scent of soap and steam only just faded in the room. He must’ve taken a shower a while before Isagi arrived.
He sits on the couch as Kaiser pours the wine, and he doesn’t bother watching if he would poison it. Kaiser knows better than that, that Isagi’s men finding him dead in Kaiser’s room before the man was a safe 5 continents away would spell his death. It wouldn’t be a painless one either. He almost wants Kaiser to try and succeed, so he can watch as a ghost the infamous Nagi and Bachira torture team at work. He laughs to himself quietly.
“What’s so funny, Yoichi,” Kaiser whispers right into his ear, his hands on Isagi’s shoulders. Isagi hadn’t even heard him move. He tries not to tense under Kaiser’s touch, because he had actually moved before Isagi could even flinch. Kaiser’s hands rub his shoulders gingerly, like he’s a wife giving a massage after a long work day.
The hands slide up to his neck, rubbing into his nape and getting the knot out of his sore bones. Isagi’s chest rumbles as the pressure and pain leave with a warm sensation as the tension in his neck unwinds. Kaiser let’s go, fading backwards like a phantom.
“You’re good,” he says, rubbing his neck. The fact that he could be talking about Kaiser’s skills as an assassin or a masseuse simmers in the air. Kaiser hands him a glass of wine, sitting next to him and nursing his own cup. Kaiser’s is a lot fuller than his.
“Alcohol doesn’t even work on me,” Kaiser laments, must've caught Isagi staring, “had to build up a tolerance to all poison, and apparently this shit counted.”
Isagi hides his smile at Kaiser’s childish grumbling by taking a sip of his wine. A drop of the deep burgundy liquid sits on Kaiser’s bottom lip, and he watches his tongue swipe at it.
“I had people pack for me,” Isagi says, swirling the wine around, “when do you want to leave.”
Kaiser smiles, “the jet comes tomorrow, you don’t mind flying do you?”
Isagi does, but Kaiser won’t ever know that. He shakes his head, and throws the rest of the wine back.
He looks over at Kaiser again, who’s lounging on his side. The robe doesn’t hide much, one pale, strong thigh visible behind the fluffy material. Isagi gulps, the wine drying out his mouth like a sticky coating. He stands up, ready to leave, but Kaiser grabs his wrist. Isagi doesn’t bother pulling free from his grip.
“If you stay the night it’ll make commuting easier,” Kaiser says, loosening his grip in favor of slowly stroking up and down Isagi’s arm, the feather light touch from his wrist to his elbow making his skin rise with goosebumps.
“I won’t fuck you, Kaiser,” he says, looking into Kaiser’s blue eyes through the sheer gleam of his glasses, “I don’t think you want me either.”
“You’re half right,” Kaiser chuckles, eyes predatory, “but it’ll help me figure out your weak spots, and I can't say I don’t find you just splendid.”
“Flowery words will get you nowhere,” he retorts, the praise making his blood feel hot under his skin, slipping his arm out of Kaiser’s touch. He has to flout the irony of his own words, stubbornly ignoring the blue rose on Kaiser’s neck and his subtly floral scent that surrounds them in the room.
“See you tomorrow,” he says in the foyer, Kaiser still on the couch a few feet away from him. Kaiser frowns and rolls over, facing the window.
“Süsse Träume, Yoichi.”