just for you, after i said “catch me never writing this”. superficial typos remain because i didn’t have time to edit asdflj
toying around with extending requests since I couldn’t work on them for almost a full day due to being sick, so stay tuned!
valentine’s day boogaloo - guidelines - ko-fi - majimako zine
~~
“Stopfidgeting,” Makoto implored with a smile as she brushed a straystreak of sunscreen on Majima’s cheek, “No one can see anything,”
“Sure,” Majima grumbled, clearly upset, “But, what if—,”
“It’ll be fine. Just enjoy the summer day,”
Majimahuffed, glancing around the array of colorful towels, umbrellas, andswimsuits as families relaxed, played, and wandered about the beach.The sun was warm but not oppressive, the breeze brisk and refreshing,and the water clear and calm. Makotowas wearing the swimsuit they had bought together, simple and paleblue. He wore trunks and a white button down shirt, all long enoughto cover the tattoos that would ban him from so friendly a beach.Frowning at her from behind sunglasses that barely concealed hisruined eye, he sighed and flopped back on the towel.
“Fine. Ya win this round.”
“Do I?” Makoto asked, amused as she rummaged in their bag, “Tothink, Majima Goro admitting defeat so easily!”
“Oi,watch it,” Majima grunted, “Or I’m gonna start keepin’ scoreand then you’ll be in trouble!”
“WillI be, I wonder,” Makoto mused under her breath as she finally foundthe book she had brought to read. Majima made a noise that suggestedhe had heard her but ultimately the conversation ended in favor ofthe playful sounds of kids running about the beach with the undertoneof the rhythmic waves. Majimadozed. Makoto read.
Thespray of kicked sand jolted Majima awake.
Rowdy, drunk youths cackled as they passed by, carelessly kickingmore sand onto him as they went. Makoto yelped, first in shock thenin worry as Majima started coughing and heaving, curling in panic.
“Goro? Goro!” she brushed sand off his shoulders as he tore hissunglasses off and pawed at his eyes. Taking one of his wrists as herother hand dove into the bag, she started to coo as he cussed andhissed.
“Don’t scratch! Don’t scratch at it, just blink!”
“Blink,”Majima rasped, angry but not at her, “Itfuckin’ burns!!”
“Iknow,” she pulled a water bottle out and frantically twisted thecap off, “I know, I know, here—,”
Takinghis cheek to turn him to her, she frowned, watching him blinking inpanic and pain as tears rolled down his face. Pouring the water overhis eyes and trying to avoid his shirt as much as possible, Makotocontinued to coo and help him rid the sand from his face. She brushedher thumbs as gently as possible along his eyelids, taking care tonote his ruined side once he regained his sight. As she coaxed grainsof sand out of the scar tissue, he scowled.
“Fuckin’shitbags,”Majima spat to the side, “See them get away with that on a tatbeach, I fuckin’ bet they’ll be cryin’ between their ass cheeksin two seconds flat! Whereare they?!”
“No, don’t,” Makoto said quietly, “Let them be, they’ll gettheir own soon enough,”
Grumblingand cussing, Majima still scanned the beach for them, locating themnot too far away causing havoc in their own little circle.Disgruntled, he slouched asMakoto started petting sand off of other areas.
“GuessI wasn’t so different, back then,” he muttered. Makoto chuckled.
“I bet you were a terror,”
“Were?”he pinched her cheek and she playfully swatted him away.
Hehelped Makoto brush the rest of the sand off, slowly building hismood back as they idly chatted about the more innocent parts of theirpast that weren’t too dark for whatever ears could be listening.All the while, though,Majima kept his one eye constantly glancing back to the rowdy youth.Makoto noticed, but didn’tsay anything until she tapped his arm.
“Goro,that family—,”
“Yeah,”he confirmed, low. The youths had started picking at a grandmotherand her two young grandchildren, harassing and kicking apart whatevercastles the youngest was trying to build. Anyprotest was met with the reasoning that they were simply playingGojira despiteabsolutely no invitation. Majimasnarled, snatched hissunglasses back up, and gotto his feet, “Fuck that! If nobody’s gonna give ‘em their ownthen I will!”
Makotodidn’t stop him.
“Oi!One bad turn deservesanother, you punks want sand kicked in yer face?!” Majima toweredover them but they were too drunk on their own might to care.
“Huh? You got a problem, old man?” one challenged, swinging astill-full bottle of booze. The others all turned towards him, whichwas good, since it gave the grandmother a chance to pull her kidsaway from the tension.
Majima grit his teeth, wanting so very badly to escalate farther—hecould pull all the real insults from every orifice and make them crybefore he beat their faces to the dunes. But the round and scaredfaces of the grandkids behind the punks forced him to reel it in andhe swallowed. Summoning a state of mind he hadn’t had to use in avery long time, he adopted the patience of a cabaret manager.
“Listen,guys, if yer gonna cause trouble, do it somewhere else, yer ruinin’some kids’ day fer nothin’, a’ight?”
“What’samatter, can’t take a little excitement in your life?” one of theskinnier ones prodded.
Thecomment roused a chorus of nasty chuckles with compliments to thechef of such a lame insult. Majima narrowed his eye, thinking of allthe many, many, manythings he had done inthe past several years of his life just for the fuck of it only tocome out of them (surprisingly) alive—not that Makoto had to knowhalf of them, but regardless. It popped a smirk on his face.
“What’re you laughin’ at, huh?” the booze-swinger steamed. Atfirst his friends laughed but then they shied away when he, angerclearly triggered, stormed up to Majima, “Somethin’ funny toyou?!”
“Actually, I feel like cryin’,” Majima supplied calmly, “Y’allare just so sad to look at.”
“Youtryin’ to start a fight?!”
“On this beach?” Majima feigned innocence, “I would never. So,listen to yer elder and haul ass outta here if yer feelin’ likethrowin’ down,”
“Idon’t have to listen to anyone!” the youth raged, swinging thebottle wildly.
“F-Furukawa, hey, maybe—,”
“Shutit!!” Furukawacommanded, causing the only dissenting youth to flinch. Majimasniffed.
“Yer friend’s got the right idea. Blow yer steam off somewhereelse, kid.”
“Youcan’t tell me what to do, old man!!”Furukawa roared, swinging the bottle down hard. Caught off guard byhow quickly the kid snapped, Majima grunted as the bottle shatteredover his head, scraping his brow and knocking his glasses off. Hestared at where the sunglasses landed in the sand nextto the bottle’s shards,sake dripping from his harsh features. For a moment he almost wishedit was champagne again, if only because that smelled better. Raisinga calloused thumb to wipe his upper lip, he inhaled, loosening hisshoulders on the exhale. The sake soaked into his white shirt andMajima looked up.
Theeyes of everyone in front of him, from the youths to the grandmotherbehind them, widened until the whites shone in the sun. Majimadidn’t have to look down to know that his tattoo bled through thewet fabric, having hemmed and hawed over it with Makoto some hoursprior.
“C’mon,kid,” Majima said, low and dark and edging on dangerous, “Whatare ya, 21? 20?”
Theyouths huddled together behind Furukawa who was too frozen to cower.The more his tattoo bled through the more anxious they became.
“Ain’tya a little old to be pullin’ thisshit?”
Furukawa’sjaw hung open, staggered, then shut.
“Ifya don’t want a little excitement in your life…,” Majima woundhis leg back and kicked sand at the youths, “Fuckin’beat it!”
They scrambled over each other, tripping and faltering in their hasteto leave the scrutiny of the unveiled yakuza. Majima would’vewatched them go, but the faces of the family in front of him stolehis attention. What must he have looked like? Hiding a tattoo wasterror for the grandma, but for the kids? They couldn’t stopstaring at the hole in his face. Frozen and awkward, he gulped andgave a little bow, earning a flinch from the grandmother. Shit.
“Goro!” Makoto called. Turning on his heel to see herrunning, Majima called back.
“Wait, don’t, don’t! There’s—,”
An ear-splitting shriek left Majima’s throat as he stepped on theshards of glass he was trying to warn her about. Hopping erraticallyon one foot, he attempted to go in her direction. Makoto braced hisshoulders when she reached him, guiding him back to their towel asgracefully as they could manage.
“Shit,” Majima expunged as he collapsed on the towel, “I’dalmost rather get another foot massage from ya,”
“Don’t tempt me,” Makoto said as she pulled his bleeding footonto her lap. Majima groaned, covering his face as she went to workcleaning the wound.
“Makoto?”
“Hm?”
Majima’s voice was defeated like a kid that had lost thechampionship little league game, “Where’s my eyepatch?”
In turn, her voice was gentler than normal, taking time to brush athumb along his shin, “Front pocket of the bag.
“’Kay…,” he mumbled. Keeping one hand covering his face, heblindly pawed around until he found the front pocket. Pulling thepatch out, he sullenly put it back on, wincing whenever Makoto hit aparticularly sensitive spot.
“Call me unprepared…,” She frowned, “But I didn’t bringanything to bandage you up…,”
“Naw,” he dismissed, “I can’t blame ya. This wasn’tsupposed to happen,”
A pause. Makoto rinsed her hands with the rest of the water.
“I’m sorry, Makoto,”
“Don’t be,” she assured quietly, “You did the right thing.”
Majima sighed, then started unbuttoning his shirt. Makoto eyed himwarily.
“You sure?” she asked. He sighed again.
“Cat’s already outta the bag. Plus it’s soaked with booze.Can’t hurt.”
Makoto didn’t argue and simply wrapped the shirt until his foot wasnothing but a bulk of soaked fabric. He seethed, somehow managing tokeep his ticklish foot in place for her. Makoto finally sat back,sighing with him.
“Well.”
“Well.”
She reached up and ran her hand up his arm, soothing with her firmgrip. Majima, his arm over his eye, started mouthing off a countdownas Makoto kept massaging him.
“You there! Sir!” an authoritative but painfully local voicecalled.
“Aaaand right on time,” he grumbled as the policeman jogged up.
Already intimidated by his appearance the policeman was trying coverup any stammering by standing straight. Majima only gave himattention by moving his arm so his eye could peek out.
“S-Sir, this is...This is a public beach,”
“Haw?”
“A family beach,”
“Uh-huh.”
“Tattoos aren’t allowed,”
“Ya.”
The policeman shifted, becoming as annoyed as he was nervous. Majimasqueezed whatever enjoyment he could by watching him struggle.
“Please lea—,”
“Wait, Officer,” an old and sweet voice interrupted. Majimajolted, looking up in utter bewilderment with Makoto. There stood thegrandmother, granddaughter in one hand and grandson in the other.
“Let him stay here for the day,”
“Sorry, ma’am,” the officer shook his head, “But I was toldthat this man assaulted several youths just now, I can’t allow suchbehavior here.”
The grandmother shook her head, her floppy sunhat following hermovements, “They were lying. This man took it upon himself tointervene and chase those ruffians away. They caused the violencefirst,” she gestured at his foot and brow, “Just look at whatthey did to him!”
“Self-defense?” the officer guessed. The grandmother narrowed hereyes, her voice turning into a harsh scold like he should’ve knownbetter. The officer winced, confused.
“No, those boys attacked first. I’m just thankful he washere to stop them,”
The policeman stammered, trying to bolster his defense. Rules arerules, so on and so forth. But the grandmother wouldn’t budge,resorting to shouting until the officer relented and allowed Majimaon the beach for that day only.
“Oh…,” Makoto said when the officer finally left them alone,“Thank you, really, thank you!”
“Granny,” Majima propped himself on his elbows, “Ya reallydidn’t have to, we can take a little beatin’ here and there,”
“And?” The grandmother turned her scolding to Majima in aninstant, much to Makoto’s giggling, “It’s a beautiful summerday and you deserve a good rest. Come now.”
The grandmother allowed the two of them to entertain her twingrandchildren, Makoto walking the boy into the shallows and pluckingsea shells with him while Majima (injured as he was) stayed on thebeach while the girl dug in the sand. Majima’s leering hannyaglared out at all the rest of the families, but the grandmother wasnever far away to sit and smile, diminishing the fierceness of thetattoo.
“Hohh? Whatchu got there, scamp?” he asked as the girl flinchedbut started poking curiously around a moat she had built. The girlwas much quieter than her twin brother, and simply looked at Majimabefore pointing down. He craned his neck, seeing a small crabscuttling about.
“Ohh yah, got some creatures in yer moat to guard it, huh? Nothin’to sneeze at either. Look,” he reached down and picked the tinything up, “See these claws?”
The girl nodded. Majima grinned, then stuck his finger square in thecrab’s claw to be pinched.
Gasping, the girl brought her sand-covered hands to her mouth. Majimacringed, biting his lip so as not to cuss—the little sucker pinchedfar harder than he had imagined. But still he stuck it out and kepthis wonky smile on for the girl.
“Goro!” Makoto called from the water, “What are youdoing?”
“Important stuff! You ain’t invited!”
“Would you stop hurting yourself at least?”
“Hurtin’? Ow—,” Majima flinched as the crab’s other clawfound the flesh of his palm, “This ain’t hurtin’, it’splaying, there’s a difference!”
The girl giggled. Makoto rolled her eyes so forcefully he could seeit from where he was sitting, and he started to giggle too as the sunbeat warmly on his back.
Will you be uploading that Yakuza 0 companion piece to your inprnt? I would love to purchase it if you do. ;;
I have actually! Been silently uploading prints over at my inprnt shop the past few days! Come take a look! Thanks so much for your interest! (I’ll be uploading the Majima one in a bit!)
idk if anyone told you yet but the game you reblogged that you wanted to know about (the post with the subway train) is called "the game with no name" or by its jp title "nanashi no game." it's an old DS horror game that was never released outside of japan!
(about the twitter thing) i've never had that problem but have you tried right+click = open image in new tab? that's what i started doing just to the drop-down thing that clicking on a tweet does
yeah, I’ll have to retrain myself to do that for now >o< thanks
