[Multi-chapter] The Watches Series: Affection (3/??)
Title: The Watches Series: Affection
Authors: syunikiss1990
Beta: andreja1989 <-- as always arigatou ♥
Pairing: MatsuMiya, Sakuraiba (side pairing)
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer: We own nothing... We just designed J's apartment
*MASTERPOST*
Jun started to love waking up like this, the presence of his lover close to him but at the same time he couldn't stop the slight awkward feeling that came with it. The thoughts if he was doing the right thing or if he should stop before he would get in trouble bothered him a lot lately. He wasn't blind, Jun knew that Ninomiya was curious and wanted to know more about where he always went when he sneaked off to work. He couldn't tell for two obvious reasons. One; the Watches didn't exist for those who weren't involved. And two; if he did tell it might cause some unpleasant situations with the older man's lost memories. Of course this didn't have to happen but why risk it? He felt like he had already taken a huge risk by bringing his lover to his apartment two weeks ago but there hadn't been any signs of recognition. Even when he came around and Jun had taken him on the couch, which was disturbingly similar to the first time Ninomiya came to his apartment, the smaller man had not shown any signs of the same memory Jun had. It was hard tiptoeing around but every minute spend with the older man was worth it. A soft sigh made his head turn towards the source of it. Just when he thought of waking the man next to him up for some hot morning sex the silence was brutally disturbed by his phone ringing. Quickly he jumped out of his bed, recognizing the tune of his boss and slipped out of his bedroom to take the call.
"Matsumoto, you need to go to the office of the Border Watch. Ohno is reopening the case and you need to be there in case they want to hear your testimony again. Get there as soon as possible."
"Yes sir." Matsumoto said but his boss didn't hear him as he had already hung up the phone. Still looking at the phone in his hand he walked back to the bedroom, seeing Ninomiya was still fast asleep in his bed. Jun sighed and silently grabbed some clothes before slipping into the bathroom. When he was changed and ready to go he checked on his lover again, seeing he was still asleep. He couldn't stop the gentle smile as he watched him and decided to let him sleep. He left a small note together with the spare key to his apartment on his table, telling the older man to lock the apartment when he would leave and to keep the key. He felt a bit nervous when he closed the door behind him, both for leaving the other man alone in his apartment and for worrying if he wasn't moving too fast now. He wasn't even sure if he was really ready to even think about settling down with the other man and he was sure the other was feeling the same. And giving Ninomiya the key to his apartment somehow felt like a huge step as he had never even considered giving it to someone before.
Luckily he couldn't worry about it too much. After he reached the office of the Border Watch he met with Sakurai and Aiba, who were on their way to the court as well.
“Good morning Sakurai-san, Aiba-san.” He greeted the two of them, smiling weakly.
“Matsumoto-san, you look tired.”
“I’m really busy since the promotion. There are many different cases that need my attention. I have been working all night and when I finally thought I could get some sleep I got called that this bastard wants to open his case again." He partly lied, knowing he couldn't tell the real reason why he hadn't slept much last night. But he really was busy with different cases at the Dark Watch so that part was the truth.
"Do you have any idea why?” The other two shook their head and told him they didn't know either. The trial wasn't long and not much new information was revealed.A total waste of time! Jun thought when he was standing outside again. He wondered what he was supposed to do now, not wanting to go to the office since he officially had a day off today. Just when he wanted to grab his phone to call Ninomiya to check if he maybe had some time, he saw a familiar figure in the corner of his eyes. At first he thought his mind was making things up but after blinking twice he realized he wasn't seeing things but Yuuichiro really was on the other side of the street. He recognized the way he walked, like he was hiding something and didn't want to be seen.
"Strange." He softly muttered, deciding to follow the man instead of arresting him. He was supposed to be unfindable, yet he was walking here in the street. If he was sneaking around like that he must be up to something and Jun needed to know what it was. Carefully he started to follow him, making sure he wouldn't look suspicious or get seen by the man he was following. After half an hour he found himself in a dark alley somewhere in a part of the city he didn't know. Yuuichiro looked around carefully before entering a small building. Jun tried to get close to it, seeing it was some kind of tattoo shop and found a perfect hiding place close to the half open door behind a trash can. If he was very careful he could peek into the small room, seeing the man he was following standing in front of a big, tattooed man.
"I need a tattoo but a very specific one. From one to ten I need a seven, linked to each other by the prayers of the Darkness." Jun heard Yuuichiro say. The tattooist looked at him a bit doubtfully before he nodded.
"I understand. No further questions asked and this tattoo wasn't placed here."
"Of course." Jun wondered what it was about. Why would Yuuichiro have to keep it a secret where he would get a tattoo? And why did the tattooist look so tense after those words while he had seemed to be so relaxed just a little while ago. He pondered over there questions while everything was set up and Yuuichiro sat down in his chair. Jun was surprised to see where the tattoo was placed when they started with getting it done, just under Yuuichiro's ear. Yuuichiro talked about some insignificant stuff and Jun almost decided it was not worth the trouble to eavesdrop before he finally heard something interesting.
"I'm quite proud of the number of chains actually. I know it isn't high with seven of them but it's still better than having ten and being the lowest in ranking." Yuuichiro said to the man who was working on his tattoo. He was strangely talkative, apparently feeling comfortable enough to share everything with the other man. For Jun it was great, hearing him talk about how he was in charge of delivering messages in a part of Tokyo but the other man didn't seem interested at all. Even though he now knew Yuuichiro was again involved in some kind of gang Jun still wondered what it was all about and paid even more attention when he heard a name.
"I must say I was surprised at first that there was someone else with the same goal as Ohno. I had no idea at first and don't know how but it's nice to know there is someone else with the same goal who can continue after Ohno failed." Jun gasped, holding his hand in front of his mouth to stop most of the noise. Someone took over from Ohno?! What did that mean? Someone else was trying to destroy the Treaty and with that the balance now? He was too shocked and confused to hear what the other man mumbled.
"That is none of your business." Yuuichiro hissed towards the tattooist. After that both men stayed silent for a long time, much to Jun's annoyance. He had hoped to receive some more information but it seemed he wouldn't get that here. After what seemed like hours the tattoo was finally done and Jun saw a glimpse of it when Yuuichiro looked in the mirror; a small chain with seven links just under his ear. So that was what Yuuichiro had been talking about. Curiously he tried to look at the ear of the tattooist as well, seeing the same kind of tattoo at the same place as well, the only difference that this man had only three chains. That was definitely something he should remember, maybe it could be of use later.
"Great, thank you." Yuuichiro bowed in front of the other man and wanted to walk away but a hand on his chest stopped him.
"How about paying me? Even if you got permission from the Dark Priest, my tattoos aren't for free." Yuuichiro made an annoyed sound and pushed the hand away.
"I know but I don't have any money with me right now. Just tell me how much I own you and I'll get it right away."
"20.000 yen and you are better coming back right away. I don't like to be robbed, especially not by someone like you."
"20.000?! Don't you think that's a bit too much for such a small one?" Yuuichiro swallowed visibly when the bigger man grabbed his collar.
"I would say it's a small price for it seeing the circumstances. You better be back today or I'll make sure the Dark Priest will take you down. I believe you saw the number I have and I'm pretty sure he would be very willing to help me out." Yuuichiro was released with much force towards the door. Matsumoto quickly hid in the corner behind the trashcan, making sure neither of the men would see him. After he made sure the tattooist had closed the door and turned away he walked in the direction Yuuichiro left. He followed the man around for another while, hoping he would lead him to more information. It seemed luck was on his side today as the man sneaked into an empty warehouse where he met with a small group of three men. Matsumoto sneaked in as well, hiding behind a big wall of wooden boxes from where he could see the small group through the space between them.
"Do you have the money?" The biggest of them asked, looking down on Yuuichiro.
"I will have it soon, no worries. I just need 50.000 more for the time being and..." He couldn't finish his sentence as the man that had spoken waved with his hand and the other two grabbed Yuuichiro at his sides.
"You are already over your tax. You said you would have the money today, so don't say you will have it soon."
"Listen, something went wrong. I miscalculated but I swear I will have it soon if you just give me the money. 40.000 is okay as well." The tallest man looked at him, observed him for a short while before spitting in front of his feet.
"You better not be lying. Tanaka-sama doesn't like liars and when he finds you when you do, you better hide because you probably won't see the light ever again."
"I'm not lying. Just give me the money and a bit more time, I'll return it to you, you will see." The tallest nodded towards the men that were holding Yuuichiro who released him. Yuuichiro tidied his shirt and stood up straight again, his eyes expectantly towards the taller man. He was handed some money and the three men left quickly after, leaving Yuuichiro alone behind. Humming softly he left the warehouse, heading back towards the alley where he handed the money to the tattooist. Afterwards he walked through the streets some more, avoiding the busiest places before he went to a dirty neighborhood and disappeared into a small, neglected apartment building. Matsumoto sighed and stayed at the street a little longer before deciding to go back home.
The next few weeks he went back to Yuuichiro's apartment a couple of times, following the man around when he was lucky enough to see him leaving the building. It appeared he was delivering different things to different people. It took him a while to learn a bit more about this Dark Priest he had heard him talking about the first day. It seemed that this man (or at least he thought it was a man, otherwise she would have been called a Priestess) was indeed having the same goal as Ohno had, destroy the Treaty and give the balance back to Nature. It took Jun a lot of willpower not to arrest everyone he saw Yuuichiro delivering messages to. He was not supposed to do this and he couldn't risk ruining everything by making a mistake. In his eyes he couldn't ask for help, not now when he didn't know enough about this Dark Priest yet. But it seemed Yuuichiro didn't know much either, being only a delivery boy without the real knowledge that could lead Jun to the Dark Priest.
A few weeks after Jun first started following Yuuichiro around he decided he needed to do something more than just following the man around. The first idea that came into his mind was infiltrating in the group, trying to get to know more that way but it could be too dangerous. Two parties could find out what he was doing, the gang of the Dark Priest and his own Watch which wasn't pleasurable in both options. He had to try to win Yuuichiro's trust, who would probably be the biggest danger since the man knew about his involvement in Ohno's case, to get into the group. And to do that he had to do one thing, which would be very painful but hopefully worth the trouble. Luckily he had saved a lot of money, so spending 20.000 yen wouldn't hurt him that much.