As the other entered and made himself at home (quite literally) and took a seat in the leather chair, he tended his head slightly to the side, pondering if Mizuta had any idea – the boy was hardly intelligent enough to catch up like that, or so the lanky male thought. But perhaps he was underestimating that man’s brain power. Either way, he seemed bemused about Tsuji’s question and thus causing him to chuckle airily, standing up from his own leather chair as he gestured lamely with his hand, moving over to walk to the window that was behind his own chair, looking out to the night. “Job.” Akihisa repeated; that’s all it is to the guy – a job. A duty, a task. For Tsuji, however, this was a life’s work. He had to put his blood, sweat and passion into it in order for his boss to acknowledge and admire him so much that he was no longer a little tag-along who had to do what he was told to – now he was someone with a leading position, a force to be reckoned with… and yet that black-haired wimp was trying to avoid the elephant in the room, trying to make it comfortable for himself —- what a pest.
“Is this what you think it all is to you – a job?” Turning around to look at the smaller, his eyes narrowed a little, though trying not to yell; he was not Arakita after all, he had to keep his posture, his composure, he had to look like a proper businessman, not like some kind of hitman… “To be frank: no, I did not call you for another job. And that’s the problem we have to face, Mizuta.” Referring to the other by his family name, he wanted to mark the seriousness of the situation, approaching the smaller as he leaned over him, grabbing the man by his shoulder and pressing him into the leather chair violently, digging his fingers into his skin as he shook him.
“I am losing money because everyone else has to pull you along with your slacking attitude!!! I am no longer accepting this behaviour!!! You keep talking about how you’re ‘Daddy’s favourite’ but that has long been surpassed!! Don’t you see it?! You have the position to make the most money – the only guy I provide!!! While the girls have to fight for every customer and have to practically beg to have someone mount them, you do not have the competition they have! And yet, you are not carrying it at all…! You used to give me the most income and now look at you, LOOK AT YOU!” In the end, he did raise his voice, pushing the man harshly into the seat before he stood up and gained some distance between them, not wanting to get physical to the point that he’d actually slap him —- it was infuriating. “I am covering for your ass to my boss, and he really has not the nerve to keep you around and make me look bad. It’s either me or you. And he’d much rather keep me than you, clearly. Do you really think I’m going to let you get away with that wanna-be-cute act of yours, so I’ll cover for you? You are in the wrong business then, honey. There is no mercy in the Yakuza and you should’ve known that beforehand…”
As much as he wanted to cool down, he was just still so mad at the other, he didn’t know how else to handle it than to actually speak his mind. “This is not a job if you’re doing it for the Yakuza. It’s a life’s work. You are in it with your blood and soul. You sold yourself to the devil, so stop slacking off, you heard me? I asked if you heard me!”
the fact that tsuji was so angry about him referring to his job as a job confused him. he didn’t think that it was something that he had to put hardwork into, but apparently the other thought differently. for mizuta, this was not something that held a lot of weight to him -- he was in no position of authority, nor did he have much responsibility. he didn’t understand the reason why he was being yelled at, especially since he walked into the office thinking that this was just him getting another job from the man and leaving with a date in mind. he wasn’t so naïve that he didn’t pick up the vibes that the boss didn’t really like him much, but he tried to keep himself from facing reality by lying about it to everyone else. he knew that he was by no means ‘daddy’s favorite’, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t tell everyone that he was.
having the other turn to him, staring directing right at him with a look of distaste, mizuta sunk into the chair slightly to try and avoid being right in his line of sight. “that’s okay, i can find someone, i’ll go out to a bar -- or a club, somewhere. it’ll be easy!” he continued rambling on, even as the man was gripping his shoulders roughly. he wasn’t sure what else there was to do to try and calm the man down, if he had to scrounge up a job on his own just to appease him -- sure, it was dangerous to try to find them himself, but if he had to do it, then he would.
crossing his arms over his chest, he sat there and listened to the man’s lecture, knowing better than to interrupt him before he was done. it took a lot to hold himself back until he listen to all of it. “it’s hard to be excited when i know that i’m just going to be fucking some old, closeted old man that’s old enough to be my father -- grandfather even!” when tsuji’s grip tightened, he brought his arms up to cover his face on reflex, expecting the other to try and hit him. curling up even more in the chair, he tried to shield as much of his body from him until he backed away from him. “i can do better, i will.” the blonde said through sniffles, trying his best to keep the tears in his eyes. when the other spoke up again, he was more afraid to see what more the other had to say to him -- if he happened to get thrown out, he had no where to go.
nodding aggressively when he was asked if he understood, he made sure that the answer was clear cut for him. “i promise, i’ll find someone -- i can, i will.” he assured tsuji, trying to make him realize that he was willing to put his own safety on the line if that were to fix things. “i can get plenty of jobs, i can --” a few tears escaped while he was speaking, but that didn’t stop him from assuring his boss that he could do a better job.
