Gift fic for rockthecliche (part 2)

[k8exchange_mod]

Part 1 here

***

Toppo tapped his feet on the pavement, hands shoved into his pockets and jacket zipped high. He looked around, searching for signs of movement in the shadows under the overpass. He had to resist the urge to pull his hand out and play with his lip - a sure sign of nervousness. It didn't matter how long he had been with the group or had been making these runs, he was always a little uncomfortable standing alone.

"Sorry I'm late," he finally heard. A taller man, his head half-shaved - and giving a half-smile - walked over, his heavy boots thudding against the pavement.

The apology was met with a nervous grin that barely hid Toppo's irritation. "It's okay." He pulled his right hand out of his jacket, holding a small bag.

"That all of it?"

Toppo shrugged. "Did you bring enough money?"

"Maybe I didn't."

Toppo swallowed, hard, and looked up through his fake glasses - his client was nearly twice his size and had a worn look to his face, like he was well accustomed to life taking a swing at him. "Then too bad," he said, straightening up. Toppo thought he heard the click of a switch, the tell-tale sound of a blade in hand, and took a step back.

"Yeah, that is too bad."

He had to resist the urge to turn his head and look when he heard the sharp clinking of metal hitting metal, metal cutting through air, as another figure - a smile on his face and wrist twisting and rolling as he worked open a butterfly knife - walked up to the pair.

The punk gave a small laugh, holding his hand up to reveal that it was really a switch-comb. "Relax, Jacky. I'm just messing with you," he said, pulling an envelope out of his jacket. "I got the money."

Toppo took a deep breath and glanced over. Jacky wasn't moving; he was solid in his footing and had what Toppo liked to call his "scary smile" - eyes wide and fangs showing. Jacky wasn't a tall guy, but the look was enough that had Toppo not known him for so long, he would have felt intimidated. Not completely, though; he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes - no matter what Jacky said, sticking a fork in a butterfly knife was lame.

"You won't mind if I check first, Hara?" Jacky said, holding out his other hand to take the envelope. He relaxed his stance, folding the butterfly back in, and picked through the bills. His expression changed - Jacky's genuine, warm smile came out.

Toppo exhaled, deeply, and handed over the small paper bag he had been holding. "Why make me worry about it?"

"Like I said, messing with you. It's fun," Hara said. As he stuffed the bag inside his jacket, zipping it up, he distractedly added. "You hear about Nakamura?"

"What about him?" Jacky asked.

"Pulling out a lot of stops to make sure he's the only supplier in town. Word is he knows someone's cutting into his profits with cheap competition and he isn't happy," he replied. "Might wanna watch your backs."

Toppo shifted his weight. "What kind of 'stops?'"

"Let's just say he isn't asking people to go away nicely." He gave a little wave and started back down the tunnel. "Just thought you should know."

"Next week?" Toppo called out.

"Busy next week," he yelled back. "Might be busy for the next few weeks."

Toppo's shoulders fell when he was out of sight. "That's not good." He pulled his glasses off, wiping them on his shirt to remove the fog that had suddenly accumulated from his nervous sweat. "I've heard Nakamura has a lot of resources."

"Don't worry about it," Jacky said, patting him on the shoulder. They started walking out of the tunnel - the opposite direction from their client - and back toward the sunlight and the mass of people in the streets, bustling around at noon. "He said Nakamura knows someone's cutting into his profits, not us. It's probably a scare tactic. You start a rumor and all the other runners lay low for a wh-"

Jacky stopped short. From where he was, he could see bodies, not faces - and seemingly nothing looked that out of the ordinary. But something had caught his eye, some sort of movement he could barely see out of his periphery - more importantly, somebody. Somebody getting away. "Hey!" Without questioning, instinct kicked in and Jacky ran out of the tunnel. When he got to the corner where he had seen the movement, he couldn't find what he was looking for - no suspicious person, no signs of activity. If anything, it was a fairly empty part of the street.

"What was that about?" Toppo asked, catching up to him.

Jacky didn't quite know either. "Thought I saw something," he said.

"And you think I shouldn't worry," Toppo muttered. "Nakamura's people? Think they're already after us?"

"I don't know! Maybe."

"Maybe Hara's on Nakamura's side," Toppo started. He waited for Jacky to start in with the order to relax, voice loud and confident and unconcerned. Instead, he looked down at Jacky's hand and noticed that it was at his side, clenching the butterfly - ready to use it at a moment's notice.

"Well," Jacky replied, nodding his head. "It couldn't hurt to start meeting people someplace else, right?" His stance relaxed and the smile returned. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah," Toppo answered. "Jacky, let's bring Arsenal next time."

"You really are worried."

"If Nakamura is after us, I don't think a fork is going to do any good."

Jacky tossed the butterfly up, catching it before putting it back in his pocket. "Are you kidding? Do you see how scared Hara was a few minutes ago?" he asked, thumbing back toward the overpass.

"It's a fork, Jacky."

"It's funny," he said.

"It wasn't funny when you first made it years ago and it hasn't been funny since," Toppo answered.

Jacky pushed him in the shoulder. "What do you know."

Back at the club, everyone was there: Ace and Arsenal were playing cards, Mac was explaining to Gum, again, why they couldn't keep a cat in the bar and Johnny was trying to shoo the cat out without picking it up. Jacky was never sure why it was that they stuck around every time he and Toppo made a run. He liked to think that they were waiting to make sure they returned home safely; he knew, though, that they were probably just there by coincidence, or were eager to get paid. Ultimately, it didn't matter - it was nice to come back to a full house.

It wasn't a lot, but Toppo's synthesized compound did bring in extra money. It had been Jacky's idea - make harmless sugar pills that looked like the real thing and sell them to the dealers for cheap. The dealers got to use filler and charge the same amount to their customers - their profits went up while their profiles went down, having to risk less to obtain the same volume in regular supplies. Everyone felt guilty about it - some more than others. But Jacky reasoned it was better than the alternative: at least it took some of the real stuff out of circulation and it definitely took money out of the pockets of the suppliers.

Besides, when working in 8Uppers, guilt just sort of came with the job.

And despite initial complaints, everyone was okay with the money. Toppo took a little more to cover costs - the rest they split evenly. Mostly. Jacky took out a chunk of money and then tossed the envelope to Mac. While Mac divvied his part between himself, Gum and Toppo, Jacky took the rest to the other three. Johnny was last - Johnny was always last.

"The cat got in again," Jacky said, pulling him to the back door. He handed over Johnny's share, a little more than what everyone else got.

Johnny tried to push it back at him. "That's not fair."

"It's completely fair," Jacky replied, quietly, watching the rest of the room as he spoke.

"I can't take some of your cut."

"You're not," Jacky assured him, fanning his part before stuffing it in his pocket. "That's part of Ace's share."

"Jacky-" Johnny couldn't tell if it was a joke.

"He shouldn't drink all the liquor," Jacky replied, shrugging and walking away. He immediately changed tones and started yelling across the room, "Gum! Stop letting the cat in! You can't keep animals where you serve food!"

Before he got far, Mac grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, leading him into the office. "What do you know about music?"

Jacky sat down on the corner of the desk. "Hmm, some stuff. Why?"

"Possible lead," he answered, poking around. "Someone contacted me about some music group, they're looking for...." He trailed off as sat down in the chair, throwing his hands up. "I had the CD right here." He started patting down his pants on the off chance he had slipped it into a pocket.

Jacky couldn't help but smile - Mac was always losing important stuff. First a CD, then a.... The smile faded. He couldn't really think of anything beyond that. He knew it was true - it was just one of Mac's quirks. But the longer he sat there thinking, unable to come up with a second example, the more aggravated he became.

"-tomorrow, think you can do that?"

Jacky snapped back to attention only in time to hear the last half. "Huh?"

"See if anyone will talk to you," Mac replied. "I'll find the CD eventually."

"Yeah, sure." He was back to smiling. "Don't worry about it. Who can say no to me?"

"I can. Hey, how'd the run go?"

Jacky crossed his arms. He glanced out through the open door, looking at the others. Johnny was about to run home for a shower. He had started coming in early for prep in worn out clothes - usually an older shirt that was frayed at the tail. The nicer stuff came out at night. It seemed like the better Johnny looked, the more willing customers were to tip. Jacky squinted, trying not to be distracted by his thoughts. It seemed like Johnny had had that shirt forever. "Rumor is Nakamura knows."

Mac sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't want to get mixed up in that."

Jacky hesitated before answering. "It's a rumor, Mac, nobody really knows anything for sure about this guy."

"Do you really want to risk it?"

Across the room from Johnny, Jacky could see Toppo curled up in a chair - at the card table, but completely ignoring the game. Instead, he was pushing buttons on a handheld console, seemingly enveloped but glancing up every so often. Johnny had walked out of the club with an easy smile; Toppo was chewing on his lip with furrowed brows.

"What if I start going alone?" Jacky suggested, finally turning back to Mac.

"Think Toppo would let you?"

"Probably not." He stood up and exhaled deeply, heading out of the office. "That was the last run for the week, anyway."

"Good," Mac replied. "Let's lay low on that, just in case."

The next morning when Jacky came in, Johnny met him at the door. They went to work quickly - Jacky pulling out two cutting boards and handing one over while Johnny pulled food out of their fridge. "The usual?" he asked, even though it didn't matter - he already knew what Jacky wanted to serve that night.

They both started chopping up vegetables - thin, even slices - each to a different steady rhythm. Jacky's was a consistent chop, solid and strong, with the heavy end of the knife coming down with power. Johnny used a stripping motion, slicing down in rapid succession. As he went along, he started to hum.

"Ah," Jacky said, stopping. "I forgot." He put down his knife and headed for the door. "I gotta go, do you mind finishing?" he asked, even though it didn't matter - Johnny was already picking up the cucumber off of Jacky's board and setting it on his own.

Jacky jogged out the door toward the van, fishing in his pocket for the keys. When he got to the VW, he puffed out his cheeks at the sight of Toppo in the front seat - feet up on the dash. Jacky jumped in, shutting the door behind him.

Toppo glanced up. "You're late."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jacky said. "You don't have to go."

"I like music," Toppo replied. "Mac should have asked me first."

"Take your feet off of the dash," he said, starting up the van.

"They're fine."

"They're dirty," Jacky said, reaching over to grab a leg to pull down. "You don't put your feet on the dash!"

"Jacky!" Toppo protested. He pushed back, trying to hold the other at arm's length while simultaneously putting enough strength in his leg to keep Jacky from pulling it down. "It's no big deal!"

"Don't put your feet on the dash!"

As they struggled, Toppo tried to quickly scoot over, hoping to catch Jacky off balance. The other lurched and ended up knocking something out of Toppo's jacket - when it fell to the floor in the ensuing scuffle, they both stopped to look.

"What's that?" Jacky asked.

Toppo picked up the small brown paper bag, hurriedly, to stuff it back into his pocket. "Nothing."

Jacky made a grab for it anyway.

"It's cat treats! It's cat treats, okay!"

"You've been bringing the cat in with Gum!" Jacky said, pointing a finger. "You can't have animals where you serve food!"

Toppo grabbed the bag back. "I have not, I just sometimes take them out to-" Toppo stopped as he peeked inside. "These aren't cat treats."

"What?"

Toppo started to sink down. "It's Hara's delivery. I gave him the wrong bag yesterday." He sighed and hit his head against the seat. "Think he noticed?"

"Maybe not? Are they pill-like cat treats?" Jacky replied. A beep came from his pocket as his cell phone alarm for a text message went off. It was his contact phone, the only way their clients - all of their clients - could reach the 8Uppers. He cringed as he opened it up. "So much for that."

"Hara?"

"Come on," he said, finally putting the van into gear. "He wants to see us now, we're going to the overpass." So much for laying low - but it would be a hundred times worse to ignore the issue and have one of their clients mad. Especially a client like Hara.

Jacky pulled off several blocks away from the tunnel, opting to walk the rest of the way. VW buses weren't exactly common - there was no need to let clients catch a glimpse. As they got closer, Toppo started to slow his pace. "What if this is a trap, Jacky?"

"You gave him cat treats, Toppo," the other replied. "He just wants what he paid for." Jacky started to slow down too. "Maybe." He came to a stop. They were almost at the entrance - another block and they'd be at the tunnel itself, able to turn the corner and see exactly for themselves how much damage the mix-up had really caused.

Toppo looked up at his friend's face - Jacky was squinting, concentrating on something off to their left. "Don't move," he said. Before Toppo could ask why, Jacky started sprinting up a side street, away from the tunnel and away from Toppo's side.

"Jacky!"

"It's him again! From yesterday! Get back to the van!" Jacky yelled back. He put all his effort into running, pumping his legs as fast as he could. After several blocks, it seemed like he was getting closer, but no matter what, he still couldn't quite make out who - or what - had caught his eye. He pushed himself harder, ignoring the pain in his legs. His target turned a corner. Jacky reached out his hand, fingertips mere inches away from grabbing the guy, and charged around. When he turned down the next street, he ran smack into the chest of someone else - someone who had been running in the opposite direction.

Jacky fell back, skidding slightly on the pavement. "Sorry." He rubbed his face and stood up to get a better look. He was winded from the running - if this had been the guy he had been chasing, then the thing to do would have been to turn around and run right back down the street, denying him the chance to strike while Jacky was out of breath. But his instincts told him it wasn't one of Nakamura's men. For one thing, the other guy had gentle eyes - and something was familiar about his face, something that made Jacky feel at ease. Something he sort of remembered.

"Shin-chan?"

Before he could say anything or even turn to leave, he was in the other man's embrace, being hugged a little too tightly around the neck. "There, there?" Jacky offered, at a loss for words.

"Shin-chan!"

Jacky tried to push him off. "Who?" he asked.

The other man's face fell a little as he stepped back. "Shin-chan, Shingo - it's me."

Jacky had a confused snurl on his lip. He started to nod in apology, putting his hands up to keep distance between the two. "Sorry, sorry, I thought you were someone else. I'm really sorr- shit, I left Toppo again, didn't I?" He turned to leave. "Sorry again!"

"No wait, you can't - uh, uh...paaaan!"

Jacky rubbed the back of his neck, finally catching his breath as he started down the street.

"That didn't work, um...." The other man snapped and started singing.

Jacky stopped. He couldn't remember the words and he didn't know the name, but somehow the song seemed familiar. When he glanced back at the other man, he was moving his arms around before putting his right leg out, moving it back and forth in front of his left leg and then waving his right arm in front of his face. Jacky rolled his eyes. "All this time and you still don't do that right," he complained.

"Shin-chan!"

"Huh?" Jacky replied, confused by his own words and actions. "Don't do what right?" he muttered. He shook his head. "Oi, you're supposed to put your hands up next, Maru, don't you ever-" He looked back at the other. "Maru."

"Finally," Maru said.

"Maru!" Hina almost tackled him in an embrace, throwing his arms around his neck and slapping him on the back. His smile was almost too wide for his face. They stayed that way for a minute, Maru's arms locked around Hina's shoulder and trunk - maybe holding on just a little too hard - letting go a sigh of relief that ended with, "Shingo, where have you been?"

Hina paused. "Where have I been?" As they let go of each other, it seemed to him that maybe Maru looked a little older than he last remembered. Or maybe it was just the weather. Maybe pushing himself too hard to run faster had made his eyes water up, skewing his vision. For all he knew, Maru looked exactly the same, maybe just a little worn out from the late hours the night before. Hina rubbed his right cheek, suddenly remembering a soreness that wasn't there anymore. It felt a little rough to the touch and he tried to think back to when he first woke up in The Eight, everything a blur and lost in his memory. "How long have I been here?" he asked himself.

"Come on," Maru said, taking his hand. "We've got to-"

"Jacky! Jacky!"

Hina turned around. He could hear Toppo running up one of the streets toward them with panic and irritation mixed in his voice. He let go of Maru's hand and jogged around the corner. "Hang on, I just need to-"

Almost instantly, on the other side, Toppo crashed into him. He hit Hina a couple of times in the chest as he tried to catch his breath. "Where the hell did you go?"

"I told you to go back to the van."

"It's Nakamura," Toppo said, ignoring him. "They were coming out of the tunnel. Hara brought them, Jacky, he brought a ton of them."

"We better go," Hina replied. "Wait." He turned and jogged back around the corner to where he had left Maru standing.

"Jacky!"

There was no one there. The street was empty - no shopkeepers cleaning or mothers strolling. Not even a teen ditching school and hanging out on the curb. "Maru?" Hina muttered. He poked his head into a couple of stores, ran his hands along the fronts and even felt around the sidewalk where Maru had once stood. "Where did- how do I get back?"

"Jacky, come on," Toppo said, reaching out and grabbing him by the arm. "They're looking for us - we have to go."

"Yeah," Hina sighed. They both started running, going down different streets than either had run up in hopes that they wouldn't get caught on the off chance that someone had managed to track them. The van was where they left it - unnoticed and untouched. The two jumped in and took the long way back, glancing in their mirrors every few blocks.

When they arrived at the club, Toppo left without even stepping inside. He'd be mixing live that night - all he wanted to do now was go home and try to relax.

Hina walked in to find Johnny just about to leave. "I went a little off menu," he said, holding up a bowl full of meat and marinade before putting it in the fridge. "I thought you could do your Pepper Steak tonight. In celebration."

"Celebration?"

Johnny smiled as he grabbed his things. "I decided to get a new tub yesterday. See you."

As soon as he left, Hina sat down on the couch in a heap, rolling his head back as he exhaled deeply. He looked at his right hand - the one Maru had grabbed onto, tightly, trying to pull him in one direction. He had let go and now he was probably never going to get home. And worse, he wasn't sure that he should - not just yet.

And it wasn't like Eito couldn't manage without him - obviously, they'd been doing it for.... Hina crossed his arms and tried to think. He honestly couldn't tell - how long had he been there? He let out a noise of disgust, both from frustration and the very thought of a Nasu-less Kanjani8.

"I was looking for you."

Hina looked up. "Yok- uh, Mac."

"Did you get anything?"

"Not really," Hina answered. "We never made it. Mac, Hara's with Nakamura."

"How much does he know?"

Hina sighed. "Codenames, the contact number. Enough for Nakamura to start asking around."

Mac nodded. "We'll deal with it, whatever happens. Here."

"What's this?" Hina reached out and caught the CD case Mac tossed at him.

"That group. You still need to see if you can get some info on them." Mac shifted his weight, crossing his arms and making a face. "I tried listening to it on Toppo's system earlier - some enka group, I think."

Hina flipped over the case, seven familiar faces staring back. "You're kidding me."

"I know, not much of an idol group, right?" Mac commented. "Although, I don't know - the pale one's kind of handsome."

It suddenly hit him. "It wasn't the punch?" Hina asked, unable to keep his voice down. "It was the DVD? The stupid game?!"

"Huh?" Mac gave him a look. When Hina merely pointed to the CD case in response, he shrugged the outburst off. "Anyway, see what you can do. Let me see your phone."

"Why?" Hina asked, distractedly reaching into his pocket and handing it over.

"One less thing for Hara to sell," he replied. "I'll get the number changed." He waved and headed for the exit, whistling a familiar tune as he left - one that Hina could have sung in his sleep from performing it so many times over his life.

As soon as Mac was gone, he shot up and scrambled over to the sound system, tossing the case to the ground and jamming the eject button on Toppo's stereo. He dropped the CD in and grabbed the remote, his finger bent and poised on the tray, ready to push it back in. Ready, and yet...

"I can't go back right now," he said, glancing over his shoulder at the bar - the bar he was supposed to help man that night, where he was going to cook Pepper Steak after they closed.

He tapped his finger on the tray, slightly agitated. Hina's group needed him - it was probably still July, probably still just before their 8th anniversary - probably just days away from being able to soak in the reward of so many long years. But Jacky's group needed him too. Things had been going well lately, they were finally starting to approach dreams that they had pushed aside for years - but were also on the verge of being attacked, maybe losing it all if Jacky wasn't there to protect them, possibly because of Jacky's plan.

Hina sat down in front of the stereo, his finger resting lightly on the "play" button on the remote. A few more years? Maybe he already missed too much? Could he really leave them like this; could he really stand to spend another moment away? He sat up straight, his gaze forward and strong on the tray of the CD player, his cheeks puffed out in frustration. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

In his head he could hear two different strains of music - songs he knew really well and songs he couldn't quite place, songs that he probably hadn't heard yet. Despite the differences, they were much too similar and both characterized by loud voices - various voices that he had loved and had grown to love, all singing in his mind. He took another deep breath.

Hina opened his eyes slowly and with a smile said, "I know what to do."