So my pal and I have a big backlog of all the stuff we came up with, while playing yakuza games. And I think it would be neat to post 'em here, instead of just hoarding it all on the google drive.
Expect ships like tigerfish (yes!!!) kazumaji (obviously), kazama/kashiwagi (tragic old men yaoi), daigo-polycule and the in-between ships (it all makes sense, just wait), nishida's older gentlemen harem (that’s just canon).
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Stuff in more or less chronological order – navigation.
Currently playing: yakuza 7
TAG GUIDE
this is canon now – story beats/fic ideas/headcanons we made up to enrich our yakuza experience
Y0, K1, K2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6 – for the games
rggo – for ryu ga gotoku online thoughts and read alongs
high five brain – shitposts and such
our art – stuff we draw for this story
not our art – cool arts of amazing people
the hoard – interesting posts of other people
we talk back – for various interactions
At some point Majima’s denial about Kiryu’s sexuality and intentions will finally wear thin, and Kiryu will get to be a bit closer to him, than sitting on the signature box nearby. Imagine, one day they were smoking on the construction site late at night, and Kiryu looked at Majima's neck, like he sometimes does, and swallowed, and looked away to lick his lips. You know. Like he does sometimes (quite often).
And then Majima went “hmmmm”. And taped his shoulder. And when Kiryu turned around with his big sad eyes, Majima fucking slammed into him with a kiss. And they staggered back, and something fell, and Majima hit his knee, and Kiryu ass-planted on the box real hard.
This, of course, broke the kiss for an awkward half a second. And it was very irritating, outrageous even, so Kiryu yanked Majima down by the collar. The poor box creaked and scraped under them, and Majima tried to balance on it with his leg, and it broke under them into a million sharp pieces that flew everywhere. Kiryu (with pieces of the box digging into his back) didn't let go.
Majima laughed, because they had a fight just like this with a crate once.
They kissed for a bit there, and somehow no security guards, no one from the night shift, no one at all noticed them. And before Kiryu got his first lungful of air back, Majima was gone. Run off, with the distant police siren calls down the street, before the kiss got a real chance to linger, or get more passionate. For all the Majima Everywhere, Majima does run away a lot.
And Kiryu was left laying there on the box shards, looking at the sky like a samurai in the grass after a long battle. Crickets going off somewhere. Stars in the sky.
Just don't sleep on the ground, Kiryu, it's getting cold. Which is good in a way. Putting boner to sleep. But still a bad idea to snooze there, Kiryu, please.
–
So, no one saw the kiss. And the next day the guys came to work and were all “Aw, no, Kiryu-san’s box ):“. It was the best fit for his height and weight, other ones are too fragile or make him look silly. Where will he sit awkwardly, while hopelessly trying to get Majima’s attention?
Is this why Kiryu is all dishevelled and stoic today? Pondering where he'll sit now, what he will hold?
(“Good riddance,” 2nd musketeer probably grumbled. “Gotta start laying better moves than this one.” He probably tried to get rid of the box multiple times already.)
Meanwhile, Kiryu is determined to be annoyed and to not think sad thoughts. Because, well. It seemed that it was all fine, and Majima was all “see you tomorrow 😏” before bolting. So it's all good, right? But it's just. Very annoying.
Meanwhile, Majima is worried about Kiryu not saying anything and maybe being displeased? He's being skittish this morning. Scowling.
And Kiryu is worried because of Majima not saying anything, too! Like, wtf, what now, what to do? What is the protocol? What if he took everything wrong???
It's a wild half a day of glowering, not a lot of work is done, everyone is skittish.
And then, somewhere in the second half of the day, Kiryu went for a smoke break, and Majima was already there at their usual spot. Maybe he also has been thinking wtf to do, and whether he needs to apologise. Kiryu stood there for a bit in silent panic, processing it all. And then he did what he usually does – he asked for a smoke. This is the only thing he could come up with that said that nothing changed. He's still on the same page, and wants the same thing.
It also was a way to see if something actually changed.
It's not like he thought it all through, he's a bit too deep in it. Majima got it though. His denial horse was finally shot dead last night, he probably didn't sleep over it, and that's why he came out for a smoke break first today.
And that's why when Kiryu askd for a smoke again it's a relief.
So Majima took a drag of his cigarette and then put that cigarette to Kiryu's lips.
Some time after Majima got out of the hospital Kiry and him happened to stay alone for a bit, maybe almost by accident. Staying late at work again until most of the crue left. But something was brewing, the kind of restlessness you get only after getting a break from the dangerous life, and then seeing someone you care about do something stupidly reckless. This sure brings up a lot of memories.
–
There's just something about Kiryu saying that it all made sense for a bit there. Going to an actual job, meeting Tachibana for lunch, dropping by the real estate office, meeting with Nishiki at the bar, building new pocket circuit models.
He always wanted to be a yakuza, but back then somewhere in-between these days Kiryu started to make plans like this, too. Like there would be more days, weeks, months like those in the future. Because Kiryu wouldn't mind it.
It's all kinda sad, because Kazama was right. The first life Kiryu wanted did not let him go, couldn't stay away from this new one for long.
And Kiryu was wrong to imagine yakuza life and himself as noble and honourable. Because this life dragged Kiryu and everyone he knew through hell (especially Tachibana and his sister). And Kiryu himself was too late to do anything about it or to help.
This is part of the reason Kiryu doesn't like to be called Dragon of Dojima.
So yeah, Kiryu learned what terrible things this terrible life can lead to. What him trying to stray away from this terrible life can lead to. It's too dangerous. There's still good people in the family, people who are not dead. And there needs to be someone who will keep watch, keep the honour. Keep it together, not let it all turn into blood and dust of the empty lot.
So Kiryu stayed. And he kept watch. He kept watching over, he did his time, and then a decade more.
Because it seems he can't be where he's needed in time. At all. But he can still do something. And it was a relief, in a way. To just stop for a while. To have just one thing he needs to do – stay in, stay put. Stay in prison.
But even this doesn't feel like enough sometimes, because here he is again, he was late to help Nishiki again, lost everything again.
It's like he can never stop keeping watch and waiting for something terrible to happen, and can't stop it from happening, too. So it's weird when people talk about Dragon of Dojima as someone to be admired. Like it's someone Kiryu is, not someone he had to become.
"Do you like to be called "mad dog"? It always felt wrong to say it, somehow," Kiryu says, destroying Majima in so many ways.
So, after taking on a whole wave of Omi men all on his own, Majima will be staying in the hospital for a bit. And Nishida will definitely be prompting Kiryu to visit the boss properly.
Because Kiryu already missed all the Majima Construction visits, and the other times he stopped by, Majima was always sleeping. And when he’ll be out of the hospital, Majima will be ready, he'll be morally prepared to close off, run off, put some safe distance between them. So it's Kiryu's turn to ambush him in a casual normal human setting. And it's a vulnerable one, too. Majima with dark circles under his eyes, and untamed hair. Tired and a bit loopy because of the head trauma…
Think about Kiryu standing in the door with a bag of tangerines, looking at Majima unsuccessfully trying to untangle the IV tube from the corner of the blanket with one hand. After a while he gave up, signed and layed down. Kiryu stays frozen for a while.
And Majima was not prepared for this visit at all. It's a lot to handle. But he's here already, can't do anything about it. Thanks, Nishida.
Oh the terrifying ordeal of being too high and too tired to keep up… whatever you're supposed to keep up.
Hair not styled, no hard hat. Majima is wearing a soft medical eye patch. The squad (or anyone, really) mustn't see him without it. The hospital staff already know him, and the underground doc keeps quiet about Majima's idiosyncrasies, but the surgeon in this more official hospital keeps mumbling that he's seen this bitches insides, so his eye is not that big of a deal.
–
So, with Kiryu there, Majima is obviously making an effort to keep talking, filling the space, and it goes on for a while. But then Kiryu notices that he's rolling around one of the tangerines on the blanket absentmindedly.
“Would Majima perceive trying to help him in such a state as offensive,” is a fun thought to handle here. He doesn't seem angry at least. Kiryu can peel a tangerine for him and see.
Yes, if Majima will ask “Wow, you gonna feed it to me too?” Kiryu will overheat. Because he was sitting there seriously considering it already. His processing power is at the limit (Kiryu was not sure what to do, so he peeled 5 tangerines). Majima's evening meds are starting to kick in, so he's nervous, but cares less.
Kiryu's not sure about Majima's coordination, so, with the signature frown, he takes Majima’s hand and puts a piece of tangerine on the open palm. It's not feeding, but still.
Majima stares at it. He's chill, so very chill. He's looking at this piece of fruit like he suddenly got a candy from a child. If Kiryu would've dared to look up, he would've seen Majima scrunching his eyebrows like he's in deep thought. But he avoids looking at his face, because seeing Majima without a proper eye patch seems unbelievably rude.
When Kiryu first came in (when he unfroze and announced his presence), he even offered to wait behind the door.
Majima's like: why?
Kiryu: you aren't wearing your eye patch, Majima-san.
And Majima processed it for a bit, and then laughed it off as no big deal (it is not Big, but it's a Deal alright).
The piece of tangerine is still laying on Majima's palm, so, after brief deliberation, Kiryu adds another one to it. Maybe Majima-san was waiting for more.
Majima is also wearing a plain hospital shirt. Or even just his own plain shirt Nishida brought from the office. Because apparently he has them. Shirts. Some old everyday v-neck with rolled up sleeves. Pajama clothes, you know. Somehow it's worse than no shirt.
Kiryu gives him another piece of tangerine.
The conversation often falters into silence. Lights in the room are dimmed down to not cause headaches for Majima. And he looks very normal and tired- did Kiryu ever see him tired before? He should've. After a fight, maybe? But he (and Kiryu) never stayed around for long after them. And, well. This is the after, right here.
I bet Majima just fell asleep randomly in the middle of this visit, when meds fully kicked in. How are you handling this, Kiryu, hmmm? Did he even eat the tangerines?
Kiryu came in randomly, not on the visiting hours. He was let in for a bit only because he is a part of the yakuza world and people know it. Also the Kiryu Touch worked in his favour.
We just can't stop thinking about how much stuff happened in this period, and how close they got… But there's still a lot ahead. Get ready for another heavy conversation!
the fact that kiryu can invite majima to do karaoke in sotenbori in kiwami 2 is so funny. like this is not dependent on the four shine questline. you can do it the minute majima enters the story (and ur given the option to invite him in kamurocho). like...
kiryu: hey niisan do you want to do karaoke with me? im in a city several hours away from you that you hate and never want to see again. i think it would be fun
Where Majima, once again, went on a self-sacrificial crusade to help someone he cares about. Yaaay.
But really, after talking about Tachibana siblings and discovering how close his and Kiryu’s experience and pain from that time are, Majima was quite disoriented. After all, Kiryu's already was a pretty integral part of his life and played a big role in Majima getting his freedom. And then this, too? Knowing they share this soul crushing experience they literally can’t share with anyone else? Ohboy, that’s a lot.
Sure, Majima made a lot of progress in getting his life back, and living for himself, even left yakuza and everything. But progress is not linear, and the sudden weight of care he doesn’t know what to do with made him backslide a bit. Made Majima go out on a stubborn limb and try protecting Kiryu (and all of his own men), by taking out the whole wave of Omi invasion all by himself. Sure, he pulled it off, but barely. Sadly, the hard hat can’t save from all the concussions.
And not to be that guy, but all the reservations about physical contact went out of the window when Kiryu rushed to hold Majima. And how he held him, uh oh.
Poor Majima, struggling to stay alert through the concussion and knowing there’s a wholeass woman there with them, really tried to apply the suave flirting game. This was very funny, they should've expanded on that, Majima probably rambled all the way Kaoru carried him to the hospital..
And we’re so here for that.
–
Majima: you know what they say about hips!.. gotta have a good grasp on them!
Kaoru, who has a figure if a solid stick:
-
Majima be like: you're the nicest smelling woman I've met, very alluring
And Kaoru: I've just spilled a beer on myself half an hour before, trying to eat grilled ribs as fast as I can to make it to the meeting with Kiryu in time
Majima: mmmm… ribs……. I bet mine are fucked up hahahahh
–
Majima, way later: and then I saw the boobs so beautiful I blacked out
Kaoru: but you were talking all the way I was carrying you to the doctor's office?
Majima: you were there????
Kaoru:
She really wanted to hit him, but he had enough. He's still not quite there fully, lots of painkillers for the ribs.
–
Majima: if I die… you tell Kiryu (says something so embarrassing the nurse turns purple)
It needs to be something pathetic, desperate, and gay.
Like:
“Nishida has the will, it's all legal, all yours, watch over the boys, I'll be watching you from the pits of hell and beyond, so you better not have that little scowl thing going on for me, you better be happy, yes. Also you should have more buttons on the shirt open, pls, I'll be watching, pop some open for me sometimes, that's my dying wish ._,”
He is sobbing a little and is ready to go on talking till he reaches his actual last words.
(if something happens to Majima, the people from his family are all getting settled too, ofc. everyone is covered)
Kaoru: I'm not saying all that. you ain't gonna die, get a grasp, bitch.
Majima: fair. I would love to get a grasp of Kiryu before I die.
Kaoru: of Kiryu's what?
Majima, trying to make hand motions: of all of him…
Kaoru: I think it's called a hug.
Majima, tearing up: a hug…
–
Majima will get a hell of a hospital visit later. Nishida would cry. Stoically, but obviously.
Oh, and in private he furiously asked him why. Why did he do this? And Majima answers, curtly and matter of fact: “Well. Kiryu is safe, ain’t he? And can do what he needs to do.” And this is. Really something.
Nishida watched Majima go from “I won't sit near him at lunch” straight to doing the most extreme shit for Kiryu. “For Tojo clan” my ass, he already left that circus.
Nishida thinks that Kiryu believes in the boss's power to survive… too firmly. This is a strong callback to the pier. Kiryu is too caught up in Majima’s energy of being able to crawl back out of anything. If Kiryu really believed that Majima got hurt really badly in the fight with Omi, he wouldn’t’ve pushed him onto Kaoru.
And maybe with the new Tachibana context Majima decided that he needs to be the guy who Doesn’t Die on Kiryu. You know. But he kinda missed the part where he got caught in the exact situation Tachibana was in. Kiryu believed that Tachibana could handle this terrible thing on his own for a bit, and went to do other things, and it ended in tragedy.
Oh Kiryu holding the person dear to him, while they bleed out in his arms, because he was too late. Yumi, Kazama, Rina – this list keeps growing ever since Tachibana, isn’t it.
And now Kiryu is clearly not thinking through his blind faith in Majima’s survival rates. Do you think he’ll be angry when Nishida, who’s very upset now, will tell him that he’s not seeing things clearly? Angry at himself, obviously. And a little bit at Majima, for doing this. (It is a mess of feelings, huh)
Nishida really needs to say something though. Because Kiryu believing in the legendary strong and smart Majima-san, the best manager and untouchable fighter is straight up infantalistic behaviour.
Majima generally wants to help people. He’s very good at it. But his self destructive urges get tangled in this too. He is also still repenting.
It can be a real hit for Kiryu – to realise that he was dragging Majima to the Mad Dog life without ever calling him that. Kiryu was doing to Majima what everyone did to him with the Dragon of Dojima expectations that are impossible to shake off because, well. Kiryu is also repenting.
So, for now, all Kiryu can do is come visit Majima in the hospital.
Thinking about how Tachibana’s 1 billion for Kiryu's life, and all the dinners, and showers are another nuclear hit on Majima's stubborn belief that Kiryu is straight.
But, you know… Talking about that time with Majima can lead Kiryu to realise that Tachibana might have had something for him. And that's all fun and games that open a whole new can of worms, oh boy.
And Kiryu didn't think about it all properly (didn’t think about it at all, really), of course he didn't. No processing of grief and trauma in this house yet. He just sits in a room, and has nightmares about it, our boy.
Maybe they were casually chatting, Majima was teasing Kiryu about the hot guy kinda courting him, but this, and just- the fact of talking about this part of his past overwhelmed Kiryu with the new thoughts, and he ran to the balcony to cool off and breathe. Majima followed, and brought the cigarettes.
He didn't expect his light teasing to turn into something so serious, and so he nuked both Kiryu and himself with the topic. Cheers.
But at least this can make Kiryu talk about those events, probably for the first time since it all happened. It was easy to brush away, since he passed all the stages of grief like a champ, really manly.
But the new perspective on how Tachibana might've felt makes thinking back inevitable and harder at the same time. It's so layered, complex. And Kiryu having this epiphany and talking about it tugs at Mama's insecurities and fears, but also… these are the Tachibana siblings.
This is that whole period of time, that story that Majima also never discussed with anyone. Because he, rightfully, knew nobody could understand it. But here Kiryu is. Here they both are. Starting the second shared pack of cigarettes, and not looking at the Millennium Tower.
And Kiryu casually says that he probably can still find the empty lot spot in the building, because to this day he sometimes dreams of running through the alleyways towards it. He can find it blindfolded, by this point (he's late every time in his dreams, too).
Kiryu can't really go there anymore, the place is gone. And it's weird, because it's not like he ever came back to that spot before, when it was there. Before prison, before everything.
But back then he always knew that he, at least, could. You know?
And Kiryu didn't even say goodbye? Or said much of anything? He just held dying Tachibana in the middle of the empty lot, while Makoto talked to him, and cried over him, because she had more rights to do all that than Kiryu did.
Because it was unfair, because they both did so much to get to this moment, and now it was slipping away, and Kiryu was too late, he couldn't stop the world grinding down on this, on something good that might've been.
At least Makoto is out there. Majima kept her safe, didn't he, Kiryu says (oh, g-d). He did. She can be out there, and find something good to have in her life again (Majima kept his Tachibana safe).
I bet it’s weird for Majima to think about Kiryu sitting there with Tachibanas dead body in his arms, while Makoto cried.
He was there for her, when Majima couldn’t be. She was not alone.
Majima is drowning in new context. After hearing that, after swallowing against the vertigo of the new perspective, he can even tell Kiryu about how Makoto is doing now, because. All of this is unpresidential. Reality shifting. The two of them aligned on this experience so long ago… And also, well. Kiryu deserves to know more.
He deserves to know that Makoto is safe, and that… even with that, it's still not the same. Everything.
I doubt that before this moment Majima really considered that Kiryu got hurt in that story as well. He knew it was very messy, and Dojima hunted Kiryu for sport, but he got out of it like a champ because of Kazama's help, didn't he?
This whole Tachibana connection is Kiryu's only, only Kiryu himself knows the extent of it. Like the whole Makoto connection is Majima's only. Only Nishiki and some real estate guys saw bits and pieces of their story. And Nishiki had his own arc, he barely even met Tachibana. Kiryu and Majima are both alone in knowing their own stories (Nishiki was really important to Kiryu in a different way, and for keeping his humanity in the end).
After that whole incident Kiryu went and dived head first in the yakuza life. He abandoned his hobbies and lots of his casual friends. All to become a strong and powerful yakuza. To not fail in protecting people he cares about anymore.
-
It's very sad in retrospect, when in kiwami we learn what Kiryu did in the next 7 years after 0. He went into compensation even harder than it seemed. And then went to prison to do nothing but staring at the wall for 10 years.
And all that after he learned to live a civilian life! We saw that he grew up watching lieutenants, but then told Avano and Kuzoa he's not like them. It was such a contrast from the boy who screamed at dad that he wants to be respected, to be a part of dad's world.
He explicitly said it disgusts him now. And after that watching him rejoin was like the kick in the gut. "You can never escape this world".
Did Kiryu think being in the family will help him be on time next time something terrible happens? Because the thing is, he still didn't make it. He was late. Again. Yumi got hurt. Nishiki had to take the killing shot. But, see, Kiryu can still make it right, he can take penance. Because of course it's All His Fault.
–
It all comes back to that fucking empty lot, to Tachibana. Who, as it turns out, maybe even loved him.
And Kiryu feels guilty and not guilty both, because despite everything he's still glad that throughout it all he met Majima.
Kiryu doesn't know what could've happened if he was there on time, if Tachibana survived, if everything was different and hurt less. But he does know that he likes that they are standing on the balcony now, smoking gazillion cigarettes in a row. Kiryu still likes being there with Majima.
(Yes, Majima. Kiryu is forreals. Majima's denial horse is getting obliterated, nearly complete defeat.)
Majima will need a solid moment to himself after this. Maybe a couple of days off, away. They both will need them, actually. It was a trip of a talk for both of them. Also they both smoked too much, and probably secretly cried, too, while looking pointedly away into the dark night (they leaned on the balcony railing facing in different directions, because of course).
–
Honestly, I get watery eyes, thinking about Kiryu's Tachibana realisation, too. After Kiryu dived head first in queer culture, and started to realise how much he missed out on, didn't get to experience in life? It hits as hard as the news that Kazama killed his parents.
Tachibana taking him to dinners, counfinding his worries to Kiryu, trusting him with the most treasured parts of his life…
"So… did you care for him back?" – asks Majima, because he can't bring himself to say what he means directly. And Kiryu makes an incomprehensible noise, and asks "Did you care for her, too? Makoto." Majima inhales the smoke and holds it in until his lungs start to hurt before answering: “More than anything in the world.”
And it is true. She became the centre of his universe for some time.
“Never again,” he probably told himself, while continuing to wholeheartedly live for others only, neglecting himself.
–
And Majima will spill his side of the story too. Right in the moment, after he heard everything. He understands now that Kiryu deserves to know it. It’s hard to get the words out, but Mfjima got to see this whole story clearer, got to know it in full with Kiryu’s perspective. Kiryu has the right to it too.
Kiryu put so much heart and effort into trying to bring Makoto to Tachibana, he deserves to know more about her.
Also with whom Majima will ever talk about all this? Again, there’s literally no one else who can get this, besides the two of them.
So Majima talks. Leaving out most of the details and awkwardly laughing when his own pov sounds a bit too pitiful. It is not about him, after all (it is). But the story itself makes things quite obvious.
Majima’s actions, what he actually did at any given moment is way more telling than what he was saying in the moment, or how he describes what happens years later.
–
And yes, this is where Majima's "he's straight" horse in a hard hat got a major hit, and was taken down a notch. And Kiryu's stubborn attempts of going out on a limb and flirt suddenly became harder to ignore.
–
Imagine, after the couple days Kiryu and Majima spent resting and re-evaluating things in the aftermath of the balcony talk, Kiryu is back again at Majima Construction. He's on a smoke break, still a bit distracted and absent minded, and he's patting himself looking for a lighter, a cigarette in his lips.
And Majima comes up to him and lights it. And they proceed to not talk at all, just stand there smoking together.
And Nishida, who was weary all these days, because boss was uncharacteristically quiet, and Kiryu was gone, is all "!!!!!!!"
Finally Nishida sees some progress. He needs a smoke too, now. Even though he doesn't smoke. Before this he saw them only standing near each other at a polite distance at best. There was at least 1 meter of suffering and consideration between them at all times. So Nishida is observing like a hawk. They're on 30 sm allowed distance now! That's a big step.
Musketeer: 30 sm isn't a very big step, isn't it?
Nishida: 😑
I'm so used to the pervy Yakuza sequences being part of minigames which reward you or part of the plot in some way that I spent like 20 min at the pole dancing club in Yakuza 3 going like "This must be... FOR something..." I forgot people are just into that
Honestly, in-character behavior imo. Kiryu goes to strip clubs and watches pole dancers grim-faced for half an hour going "Hrm. Everyone here is cheering on this display of physical strength, but how to apply it to combat..."
Daigo’s kidnapping story – new and improved (part 2)
part 1
Ryuji will manage to fracture a bone in his leg in the last stretch of the journey – in the fight with the assassins. And of course he's going to valiantly hide it, like a dumbass.
So when Ryuji and Daigo finally managed to finally get to Ryuji's guys (his personal guys, who can be trusted and/or were confirmed to be safe) and have to deal with that family with the grudge before they make a huge ruckus and set Ryuji up, and fuck Omi over, before all that – Ryuji checked out from exhaustion and fever.
So yeah. Daigo had to take the reins and deal with all this shit on his own: manage Ryuji's people, settle everything. Because otherwise they all are getting killed, and the war with Tojo may get even uglier.
And everything has to be done quietly, too, while saving face, to avoid worsening the situation. The status quo is shitty right now, but they (Daigo) still have to uphold it. But he needs to (technically) help the enemy to do that. Gotta work with resources you have.
And Daigo's involvement in all this was known only to some of Ryuji's men, and even some of them think it was all part of Ryuji's plan from the start.
They do call Daigo aniki, though, and scramble around to help him in all necessary ways.
Ryuji wakes up in a couple of days, all bleary and crusty, and the hideout is clean, fridge is full of beer, Evanescence is blasting on the radio, Ryuji's dad has no idea all this ever happened. And Daigo is there, with a bowl of bland soup, all like: "You're welcome. Now slurp, bitch." Because Ryuji is not gonna die on him after all this work 😤😑 👉
Not gonna let his boys sneak him in fast food either. Only bland foods for recovery. Grandma taught him that, or nanny. Or tv shows, even. Broth-therapy. Grandmas and doctors agree – soup is the way.
And if Ryuji behaves, he'll maybe get some tasty stuff in his broth too. Like a cube of tofu 😌
Ryuji: this is torture
Daigo: ok, 2 cubes
But the guy with a haystack on his head has no complaining rights. He looks like a creature. Unshaved. Scruffled. Darkly scruffled. The dark roots are very noticeable on his hair, too.
Ryuji's boys will be praying on Daigo no aniki, no one else is brave enough to sit on Ryuji's bed and force-feed him soups and medicine.
No one else probably dared to stay at the hideout all the time, but Daigo's technically a prisoner, so someone has to be there, it's their work… so they probably left one or two guys to hang out in the main room at night. But when Ryuji woke up, he just sent them scrambling, for being too loud at night.
He was gambling with this, because after this Daigo could up walk out at any point. But he didn't do it so far, so…
–
Everything is annoying to Ryuji, because stupid health is stupid, and he feels weaker and he hates that. No control over his plans, his men, his clan, his body. It's all stretching thin. Unpleasant. Also his men seeing him weak is the worst. Especially with the control over everything slipping away.
And Daigo is feeling bad about it all too. After losing to Ryuji back in the day, when he got out of prison Daigo didn't want to show himself in front of his loyal subordinates… so it all feels so familiar. And very annoying, yes.
Ryuji, meanwhile, is missing staying in the forest. Because even with all the uncertainty and possible danger it was nice, with more hands-on stuff to do, more nature and creatures, and, in a way, a more clear plan of what to do.
Now that the rival family is dealt with Ryuji needs to lay low for a bit, until he more or less gets back on his feet, to get into the action properly without fainting or drawing suspicions.
Back in the forest it was way clearer who he could trust – there was only Daigo, and they had to work together. (And it could've happen a lot sooner, if someone wasn't a little bitch about it)
Now, back in civilization, Daigo can check out, walk out at any moment. There's even an opening left for him to do so, that Ryuji may or may not have put there on purpose will not admit to it either way. Ryuji doesn't think about these things, and doesn't examine them closely. It's a very intentional decision.
Daigo didn't walk out though. He also had a lot to think about, as we mentioned above.
Lately, after floating along in life for so long, after becoming a failure and a disappointment, and having decisions taken away from him, Daigo didn't see the point of doing anything, really. And after all that, getting to have good fights and real things to do was so good.
Managing the shitty dumb problem with Omi set-up, watching over Ryuji's recovery, being able to take control of things that may be small but are necessary to do, being useful. It was so freeing. Just as being able to bite back, and not forced to nod and be grateful for whatever bullshit people push on you.
And back in the forest Daigo did spill some of the bitter, angry, frustrated thoughts he never really told anyone. That he couldn't tell anyone who actually knows him, because that'll make him more of a disgusting disappointment.
"Sharing stuff with this guy works, tho, because he doesn't care."
– both of them, probably.
Can't make it worse at least, so it's actually reliving – don't have to pretend so much about everything. The secret is to not think there's a whole world beyond the forest. Oh it's a classic blender. A trap.
little apartment getaway
Hideout they are at is an apartment that's partially used as an office/hangout spot. There's the living room with the exit and an open floor: lounge area with the couch, armchairs, tv, and the table, small kitchen with an counter in the corner, all the jaz. There's also a door to a little corridor with the doors to the bathroom, closet, and to the separate room. It’s small, but furnished, nothing too fancy, just a western bed, desk, and stuff.
Ryuji with his IV and provided by the boys pillows is taking up the bed in that separate room.
When boys were still nominally watching over him, they hung out in the living room at night on the watch, and Daigo slept on the old uneven couch in that separate room.
–
This all is so funny. Technically Daigo could've killed Ryuji or at least left at any moment after they left the safehouse. The pretence of needing Ryuji around on the Omi's territory to not get killed is a bit too stretched.
Daigo could've left Ryuji wandering, lost between the trees after going for a leak, or nicely shibari-ed at evening for educational purposes, and just. Walk away.
Thank you, goodbye, good luck.
–
Think of Daigo in some random ass clothes in the hideout, because all the camping clothes go to hard drycleaning. So he wears something cheap, bought by Ryuji's boys, a couple sizes off on the bigger side. The marshmallow jacket created visual enhancement.
–
Boys brought Daigo a futon, but he wouldn't be fucking sleeping in the living room, where they watch tv for half of the night. And the small room wasn't good for it either, even after the boys cleaned the floors there.
So after they get banned to only appear only occasionally, Daigo would not stop complaining about the shitty couch with uneven cushions he has to deal with.
And Ryuji is like: Why do you sleep on it then? You can take the one in the main room.
And Daigo is like: The couch in the other room. the room with the door. And many windows. Where none of your men will be at night. That couch in that room?
Ryuji:
Daigo: That bitch is also uneven like the sea at storm.
So yeah, I'm just saying that there's a chance, an opening to bully Daigo into sleeping on the bed too. Because who cares after the forest anyway.
Ryuji: This way, if you'll try to leave at night, I'll wake up ☝😌
Daigo, thinking about the offer to get the living room couch: Mhm.
Daigo: And what are you gonna do about it, mister "I will totally not faint in the bathroom", hmm? Bite me on the ankle, so I will have to drag you around?
Ryuji: Don't have to do anything >C You're so scrawny, I can just lay on you, and you wouldn't be able to move 👉
(Our favourite genre of bullying Daigo: littlest, tiniest man. In a big jacket. So smol.)
After the forest and the shitty couch, Daigo will be blacking out instantly on what's most likely this office work hours fuck bed with dozen pillows.
And when the boys accidentally put Ryuji and Daigo on the spot, they both lie and pretend Daigo is still sleeping on the couch.
They don't really talk about it. Maybe just a little, for mutual understanding that, even with all the boys' mutual reverence for Daigo aniki, this kind of implications shouldn't be spread, or it's gonna bite them both in the ass. Even with all the awkward queer solidarity about dumb social norms, there's also political subtext to consider (what's the flag for "not laying with the enemy"? 👉👌🙅♂😤✊👉👉👉)
And all this probably leads to the fact that they are both in the positions to heavily influence what's going on. Maybe even stop it. Or slow it, or, at least, have less casualties. Perhaps, Ryuji can NOT go and fight Kiryu, after Daigo spent so fucking long trying to keep him alive and healthy? This is kinda annoying.
Everything is annoying, really, and tense, and things are slipping out of their control but they can have some of it back? Because it's alright now. Ryuji is not dead, recovering. Kiryu is not dead. And Daigo is feeling more alive, and there's vague hope that maybe all of this can be kept this way.
It's all a possibility. A chance that's halfway there, that you kinda maybe want to believe in. Daigo wants to, deep down (even with the clear Kiryu-boners, and Ryuji's stubbornness).
For Ryuji though, considering backing away will feel like a weakness. Like running away. From his plans, his destiny and all.
He does consider it though. Because after the whole forest trip, after waking up to the sound of rain tapping on the window with someone drooling on your arm felt better than doing that whole coup plan. It felt like something he's been missing. Like some things that are right to do no longer fit into his life for some reason.
All of this hangs in the air.
–
Sometimes I think about the almost melodramatic stubborn way Daigo and Ryuji didn't talk about how they felt in that hideout. Because denial and plausible deniability. No admitting you care about each other, nope.
But maybe they were also postponing it. Somewhat knowing it's unavoidable with all the talks about leaving, rainy days, take out, watching over Ryuji's training walks around the apartment, napping on each other's shoulders – they still skittered around.
Both for denial purposes, aaaand to pretend there's still time left to do nothing and be at ease.
Understanding enough to maybe feel like they're on the same page at the moment, but to retroactively doubt it and be unsure, after everything blows up.
Oh, the fear of the unavoidable. No commitment or even talks about it, no admission of the attraction out loud, so nothing was there at all, right? No hard feelings then.
Oh, the fear of wanting something you shouldn't, even if it feels good.
Oh, the understanding that if you admit it, it will mean you were probably making a lot of mistakes before this moment. Oh the inevitability of it coming down like a plane falling from the sky, of maybe falling in love. Oh, wanting to just prolong the free fall, and sit on both chairs for as long as you can, because it's terrifying. All of it.
Oh, Daigo standing in front of the window opened into the chill night, and Ryuji saying "go to bed" to his back instead of coming up to him, or pulling him in, like he wanted. Oh, Daigo just laying down to sleep on his shoulder instead of kissing him, or even just touching his face.
Oh, the feeling of "well, next time-", of "well, tomorrow this may not hold off".
Oh, one day "tomorrow" not coming at all, because that's it. Time ran out.
Because one morning, a day after Ryuji contacted Takashima and some other people briefly, Ryuji wakes up to only his boys in the hideout. Because when they came, apparently, other Omi men took Daigo somewhere because of some plan that was approved from above.
–
Daigo being re-kidnapped *dabs*
Majima's voice from the background: I did that! A classic. (with Haruka, according to RGGO)
Ryuji: I didn't kidnap him the first time either >c
It was the only morning since Ryuji started his meds when Daigo woke up first.
–
But okay, okay it was some other, let's say (with a stretch) Ryuji's men. Who, upon bosses return, decided to win the favour by using Daigo as bait to lure Kiryu into a trap to capture or kill.
And, well, yes, they may have been directly encouraged by Takashima. It’s not like anyone can tell by this point though. The guy is real good at this game.
And that's the story of how Daigo gets taken to Tokyo in the trunk of a car, and stuffed in a room in the wrecked bathhouses. Kiryu saved him the same night, and Daigo was very tired and hungry, because he didn't even have breakfast. And then things happen very fast.
Perhaps, Ryuji scrambled back into the groove of things, and managed to cut the crazy idea of the guys actually trying to kill Kiryu or attempting anything else crazy. Because it's Ryuji's duty and destiny or whatever. Mhm.
But, being busy with all that, he couldn't get to the bathhouses before Kiryu. He could just give orders and scold people over the phone.
Majima family guys found out where Daigo was kept, right? And they found out because the bathhouses belong to Majima now. So maybe Daigo was relocated there from the actual trap location, specifically so he can be found and rescued faster.
Ryuji and Daigo did get each other's contacts before all that but they do not meet after this in private (the scene on the funeral is double-wild with this backstory: oh, Ryuji). But sometimes after the bomb threat on Kamurocho gets resolved, but before the fight on the rooftop, Daigo gets a phone call.
On the other end of the line, Ryuji is silent, because, in a super melodramatic fashion, he called just to hear Daigo's voice. Daigo realised it was him, though, because bitch, and said his mind. Something in the silence gave Ryuji away. Not speaking, letting the silence linger like an asshole in a really distinct way.
Daigo probably talked about some other place they could go to for a great view. That tower is unfinished anyway, just wind up there and ugly skeletons of construction.
Maybe, when Ryuji realised that Daigo was about to ask him to not go through with his plan, he hung up. After a long pause, just after the "please-". Because it was terrifying.
He already nearly slipped from his resolve not long ago. Gotta control this stuff. The things.
–
Dang, this is such a raw relationship, coming from poking each other's most sore spots from the get go. And paradoxically finding comfort in that, because when you start from this kind of mess, there's nowhere to go but up.
All the parallels to each other's hang ups and traumas. It's rather uncomfortable, almost to the point of teenage rage, to know that you're not so unique.
the tower
And in the end it still went as it did – Ryuji went up on that tower to fight Kiryu and to die. To finish what he started, and to not back down, and for a million other things that seemed important and good enough. It felt like the only right thing to do by that point. And Daigo had to live with that.
Well, Ryuji too, in the end.
Kaoru took Kiryu down, and while doing so, called for someone to go pick Ryuji's unconscious body and take him someplace safe. So even if Daigo came there afterwards (for Kiryu, of course. Yes, only for him) the top of the building was empty and off limits.
And there was no time to dwell on the past for Daigo after that, he had his hands full with Tojo on fire and the crazy cat on the loose.
But it's all gonna come back around in a year or so. Ryuji’s gonna be crawling back to Kamurocho after his soul searching journey, and finding new ways to apply dumb suffering and existential crisis in his life. Prepare to see the story continue in y3 and for the bigass logs on ot3 for y4 (we went off on those).
their conflicts
Thinking about how Daigo was gradually understanding Ryuji, but not fast enough to respect him fully without regards to his strength. About how only after Daigo decided he can never be enough for Ryuji (or Kiryu, but that's another story) and started to build his life and strength separately from that, Ryuji started to look at him with real respect too. It's a long process.
Ryuji going to explode on Majima's building with Kiryu was the point where Daigo decided that that's it. He's done.
And in Ryuji's head his two brain cells clash: one is hyper-focused on Kiryu, and the other is responsible for whatever it is that's slowly happening with Daigo – much more fragile and uncertain, and not comfortable for the fast and decisive man like Ryuji. And as much as we make fun of Ryuji having a crush on Kiryu, let's face it: Daigo being affiliated with Kiryu in a personal way doesn't help this mess at all.
It all boils down to the fact that Kiryu-stuff is the brighter and more existing fruit dangling in front of Ryuji. He gained his experiences in life, but he's still not very mature.
Kiryu is Ryuji's burning car.*
But he's off to Okinawa now. Sayonara, goodbye, good luck with the concussion.
–
* There’s this anecdote, it goes something like this: “The bear was walking in the forest, and saw a car on fire. And he, well. He got into it and burned”.
I love it, “got into the burning car and died” is the perfect metaphor for all the absolutely unnecessary self-sacrificing our little blorbos like to do. And Yakuza is full of people getting in burning cars, it’s insane :’D
Daigo’s kidnapping story – new and improved (part 1)
We propose Takashima was the one who kidnapped Diago! To provoke Tojo into action, make them scramble. Also he may have known of the possibility that people in Tojo are planning to make the boy the next chairman, so it’s a double hit win, especially if something were to happen to Daigo along the way.
But Ryuji decided to bud in this whole plan that he was not fully aware of. And he will be frustrated about this fact later, for sure. He may have nominally agreed to the idea, but it has a lot of stuff happening that no one fucking told him about, because it’s “not his problem to deal with”. Hahahahah, control, what control, it’s not sleeping away, nope.
–
Don’t forget, Takashima was Ryuji’s informant/liaison with the Korean mafia. But Ryuji didn’t know that he also was one of the survivors of that fucked up Krismas night.
Takashima was just using Ryuji for revenge on Tojo. Takashima prepared revenge on Omi’s side, Terada – on Tojo’s, they went splitsies for maximum Kamurocho destruction.
–
So, Ryuji decided to come see things over at where they keep Daigo, to poke the guy – for info about Kiryu, and just for fun – and take better control of the situation.
And this somewhat interferes with Takashima’s plans of quietly getting rid of Daigo, while sending Tojo on a wild goose chase after him.
And they are keeping Daigo in some safehouse for laying low, in a quiet location, a little designer house in a forest near a small town. But Ryuji arriving there created a small commotion, and the local low tier yakuza family noticed it, and decided to get in on the hot big alliances action and get some profits.
Perhaps they even have a grudge against Omi, some low-steaming, long lasting disdain and need for revenge after being fucked over a decade ago. And here comes the prime opportunity to fuck up Omi’s plans and get some profits out of it. Here they are, hiding something on this family’s territory, that borders with Omi’s. They fought war over this stretch of land! And here Ryuji is, riding through the town in his big fancy limo like he owns the place.
These guys plan to seize the safehouse, kill Ryuji, steal Daigo, and trade him to Tojo, maybe even form an alliance or something like that. They can even pin Ryuji’s death on the other Omi families to maximise the damage and infighting in the middle of the coup and the war. Just need to disguise their guys like Omi members, and make sure none apart from Daigo survives in that safehouse.
So, with the sheer dumb luck circumstances align so that at the same time as some of Ryuji’s people start to prepare to dispose of Diago (totally unbeknownst to Ryuji, all on Takashima’s orders that he gave without considering that Ryuji might also be there) the safehouse gets raided.
And it’s very confusing to everyone, lots of chaos ensues, people are murdering each other left and right… And this is how Daigo and Ryuji end up quickly stuffing some supplies into Ryuji’s designer bag, and running off to be stranded in the woods, far away from the big cities. And yeah, they are deep in the enemy territories with only a vague idea of the fuck just happened, and if there’s traitors in Omi or what.
camping trip
Que the most fun camping trip ever with wilderness survival, Ryuji being ready to sleep on the pine needles like a man, and Daigo realising that he was the only one to pack an actual sleeping bag and useful gear.
They will be trekking to the Omi's territory through the woods while hiding from assassins, Ryuji will get lost each time he tries to "patrol", they will steal stuff in small towns along the way, and one time a kind grandma will feed them with stray cats.
–
The only semi useful thing Ryuji packed was the rope, and even then it was a red rope for shibari he found in a nightstand. He used it to tie Daigo up after the escape at least once. For the sake of formality.
Daigo was deeply unimpressed, because, huh, only the hands? With this lame knot? Weak. Pathetic.
Ryuji, who tied him up just so he can make the dinner himself:
Ryuji: it's more of a symbolic gesture.
Daigo: sure.
And 5 minutes later he breaks: Listen, this wouldn't do. I can show you how to tie it better, come here and bring me more rope.
Ryuji, who's about to be shibari-ed and fed proper food instead of snacks: …hope this doesn't awaken anything in me.
Now this is symbolic. Ryuji roped (👉👉) himself into shibari masterclass and now will be fed.
And Daigo goes with shibari for restraint purposes automatically, without thinking. It's just easier to do, better for circulation, hands do it automatically.
–
Ryuji: would be kinda fun to use the kinky rope for camping and restraint, eheheh :3
Daigo, about to change his life: you don't even use it right >c
–
Ryuji, a little smug: *brings the rope to Daigo*
Daigo: *just sleeps out of the one Ryuji tangled him in, and proceeds to untangle the new rope*
–
Daigo just keeps being casually more professional than Ryuji in everything. It's irritating. And what's worse, he doesn't even understand what's there to be embarrassed about. Well, apart from Ryuji not knowing things. It's like Kiryu with the dominatrix situation.
–
And yeah, there will be unavoidable talks about life on this trip, because Daigo may be pissed off, and Ryuji might be stressed, but the sky is pretty, and fire crackles nicely in the evening, so Daigo can suck it up and indulge at least a little.
And with this inevitably comes exposure of frustrations, truths coming up.
This camping trip helped Daigo understand that Ryuji might be a dick, but he didn't frame him back in the day. Daigos hard pill to swallow is – it's not Ryuji who ruined his life or sent him to prison. His trauma of losing to Ryuji, actually, isn't on Ryuji either. Being helpless and arrogant is what did him in. Daigo's been flying at high speed on the waves for a while there, Ryuji just happened to be the rock on his way.
Oh, Daigo's urge to suppress the dragon in himself. "I was just the biggest fish in a small pond". Thinking he's strong not because he was, but because everyone around him was weak.
(That's the whole crisis Daigo goes through in that RGGO story we explored in the previous part)
(Dang, Kiryu going to prison sent him and Nishiki on a very similar spiral)
Ryuji had no idea. He just happened to Daigo, and went his merry way. And then Daigo is kidnapped by him! Now this is personal. Daigo is ready to flip again.
–
There's a lot of stuff that can happen on this camping trip. Like tense talks about Ryuji's (for some reason) slipping control of his men. Compilation of the shitty dads tier list. Nightly cuddles for warmth. Daigo sometimes punching trees to relax.
He gets splinters. Ryuji isn't impressed in the slightest. Mister Daigo Dojima who rants about how Ryuji's self destructiveness is a bitch to deal with daily could always fight Ryuji to expel some energy. Just saying.
Oh, and there's also Ryuji feeding stray kittens, to pay forward for that time they were fed with the cats.
–
And also imagine more scruff on them throughout this camping trip, because they couldn't always shave properly.
–
So, lets say that during that time sleeping on Ryuji was an alright strategy. He’s warm, soft, there's no sticks poking you places- wait.
(That's what you get for talking about father figures before sleep)
Daigo: *absentmindedly monologues about Kiryu, while lounging on half asleep Ryuji, when there's suddenly a boner under him*
Daigo:
Ryuji:
Daigo:
Ryuji: …yeah, and then what?
Daigo:
Daigo: …and it's unfair how he can still give this Look and it's like you're pressed to the wall-
Daigo:
Ryuji:
Daigo: -with disappointment. And guilt.
Ryuji: …mhm.
If you can't avoid the embarrassment – just ignore it, don't think about it, and pray for the best.
– Ryuji.
Bet the audacity of it is infuriating for Diago.
But that wasn't only the Kiryu effect there, for sure. It's all together: something vaguely suggestive about him, being all nice and cosy with Daigo sprawled over him, bitching about stuff together, you know.
And Daigo generally isn't that shy, he's understandable with morning boners and whatever. But this is just too on the nose. On the sore spot too.
Also Daigo is a bit of an autism creature, like Kiryu. Ryuji's convoluted nuances can be hard (heh) for him to decipher.
