• While it may seem like the clingier one out of the two would be Katsumi, it's actually quite the opposite. Hector absolutely hates the idea of anything bad happening to Katsumi, this fear causing Hector to be practically glued to his side at all times. Something in his blood just tells him he needs to be...protected. Kept away from any danger or even just things that might upset him. But on certain occasions, Hector's overall clinginess can be somewhat selfish, like keeping Katsumi from meeting with people out of jealousy. What do you get when you give a murderer psychopath who knows no love at all a nice guy who understands him and makes his heart pound in mysterious ways? A very clingy and protective murderer psychopath.
• I don't wanna make this seem like Katsumi doesn't realize that Hector can't stay away from him and sometimes does things just to keep him by his side because Katsumi does know this. In fact, he's very aware of Hector's quite clingy feelings towards him. Despite what you may say about...Katsumi's way of thinking, he's actually quite attentive! He can realize when Hector is doing things to keep him from somewhere or someone, and tries to assure him that he really loves him, but he can take care of himself. The "love you" part usually gets him.
• Before meeting Katsumi, Hector had no concept of love or any sort of affection. The tight feeling in his chest and overall flustered feeling whenever he was around him completely and utterly confused him. Up until that point, he hadn't received any kind of affection or even kindness from anyone around him, so it suddenly overwhelming him was certainly jarring. He didn't recognize the feeling as love at all, at first. He considered whether or not Katsumi was using some sort of psychological karate technique on him (lol)
• While Hector isn't particularly one for baking or cooking, he does seem to enjoy (attempting) to make certain sugary foods for Katsumi and his very concerning sweet tooth. Oven almost exploded once but its fine. It should be fine. It's ironic though how Katsumi always makes a deal about not wanting to eat too many sugary things for health reasons but whenever he's faced with double chocolate chip cookies he...loses himself. I mean, have you seen how much sugar this guy puts in his tea? It's scary. But Hector really finds a kind of happiness in the sight of Katsumi enjoying the food he worked hard to make for him. He's often learning new recipes and consulting Retsu on cooking tips.
• Hector wasn't exactly...treated too nicely by his peers when he was younger, and it wasn't just because he was always alone. That red hue of his hair made him an easy target in particular. He was often called some pretty abhorrent names during his time in school. Katsumi, though, really likes Hectors hair and tends to compliment it quite often. He thinks the color is vivid and fitting for Hector. It's beautiful. He is beautiful. Katsumi really makes sure he knows this.
• Before Hector became as clingy as he is towards Katsumi, he originally was quite hesitant to get closer to him. He's never really gotten to know anyone, but at the same time he knows he's never really tried either. But even still, he closed himself off and attempted to distance himself from Katsumi. After all, he's just your typical cold-blooded killer. Why should he need to "open up" to someone? And not just anybody, someone who was so...different from him. "Why would this prodigy with an incredible future ahead of him want to be around...me of all people?" He couldn't help but laugh, taking a drag of his cigarette. He couldn't wrap his head around it at all. But that warm feeling when Katsumi was around. It was almost addicting. It was to die for.
• One of Katsumi's love languages is gift giving. Excessive gift giving. He sees a beautiful pair of expensive earrings while shopping? He buys them and gives them to Hector. A beautiful red dress that compliments Hector's style? He buys it and gives it to Hector. Blooming bouquet of roses? He buys them and gives them to Hector. I think you see the theme here. Hector does tend to worry about how much money he spends, but Katsumi always reassures him that it's really no big deal. (He has spent 100,000 yen on Hector in the last week.)
I know there’s still a lot of shit happening, and I’m aware that we need to remember the protests haven't stopped, but today was an especially good serotonin day, so I finally pushed myself to finish this three month-old thing, and now I’m posting bc i have no impulse control.
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”There’s the signal.”
”Yeah.” Fuck that.
Oh sure it’s a life changing opportunity, a new hope, a second chance, but for some reason Doyle would rather stay here.
Next to him Katsumi turns and pats him on the shoulder, a small half-smile shinning on his face. Ah. That might be a reason.
“Katsumi-” He starts, cutting himself off. It’s not possible. They’ve known each other for less than a week. He’s still a fugitive, he has no contacts, no money, no place to stay, and Unchained is still very much after him. But he wants to stay. He wants to leave the job behind, he wants a new home, he wants- he wants to be around people he can get to know beyond the usual discreet suitcase or credit card, beyond being on one or the other side of a gun.
He can’t though. It’s not something assassins can have.
“Yeah?”
He forces his voice to stay even. “Nothing, just -” I think I like you after just a week, I can't ever repay you for this, you’re pretty cute under this light, I don’t want to leave, “thank you. For everything, I mean. The food, the medicine, and the trip. I owe you.” Forever, his mind adds silently.
Katsumi’s smile fades into a concerned frown, and he brushes Doyle’s shoulder with his own - fuck that’s the first time in years anyone’s touched him without violence being involved - as he speaks. “You don’t owe me anything, Doyle,” his hand is swinging closer and closer to his, “I organized this of my own free will, because I wanted to. You deserve a-” why is his voice hitching like he’s about to say something else before he changed his mind - “You deserve a second chance, just like anyone else would. You’re not as bad as you think, an-and it’d be easier for you to start a new life somewhere they can’t find you.” I should leave, Doyle thinks to himself, it’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me, and it’s the world’s biggest favor, and , and-
He doesn’t want to leave. Doyle may not know every aspect of the local culture, but he speaks the language, gets the economy, and with a skillset like his, he could easily get a job in any field. It’d be a new life, a real change, a- A fugitive on the run with no official documents, no actual job prospects, and a death penalty waiting. Not an option.
Katsumi’s sharp turn to face the ship take him out of the train of thought and he watches as the captain suddenly starts flicking the lights of the cabin on and off. Doyle doesn’t know what that means, (or why the idiot doesn’t just use morse code or better yet, simply come out and shout down), but Katsumi’s face hardens.
“There’s a threat on board,” he’s backing away and pulling Doyle with him as he speaks. “It’s Yanagi! Look!” Doyle can now see the shape Katsumi was pointing at, the short and distinct silhouette clearly visible with the lights on. The deadly aura, and the stench of fresh blood mixed with old metal confirm it.
He’s not sure why they’re running away instead of taking Yanagi on together, but Katsumi practically throws Doyle into the drivers seat and chucks the keys at him before flipping over the car and into the shotgun. Instincts kick in. Years of training and being in intense situations have his reflexes following through without question, and Doyle only realizes that he’s done anything when he makes a sharp turn left away from the pier and the tires screech against the pavement. Katsumi’s looking trough the rearview mirror, but slumps in relief. No visible pursuer then.
“Merde, lousy figlio di puttana, dickhead, shove it up his own-” Doyle keeps the rest of the curses in his head, muttering what he can’t through gritted teeth. Right when he was about to finally leave that freak has to show up and ruin it. The hell was his deal anyways? Doyle did some research after he’d found the other four, and this guy seemed to be revenge motivated and not associated with the Shinshinkai. Katsumi probably hadn’t fought him, and the odds of a death row convict deciding to just hijack a boat for no foreseeable reason were laughable. So Yanagi was most likely after either him or Katsumi.
Like he’d read Doyle’s mind, Katusmi speaks. “Was that guy after you? Did you do something to him to get him pissed at you?”
“Nah.” It comes out sharp. Doyle wants another smoke. No smoking while you’re driving, his mind plays back the drilled-in lesson again, the car will reek, the light will be visible, and you either deal with the smoke clogging up your vision and breathing or open the car and beg to be shot. Later. “Best guess? He thinks I broke some weird ‘honorable rule’,” he makes the quotes with his right hand before returning it to the steering wheel, “because I decided to change and accept that you defeated me. Old people get like that about honor sometimes.” He knows it the wrong thing to say, but it’s true. It’s why he went to Japan in the first place, plenty of badasses with a code of honor and a too-large ego. Piss off the right guy, have him kill you. If he fails, kill him, find new guy, rinse and repeat. If they don’t kill you for reasons that aren't weakness, taunt them until they snap.
Thankfully Katsumi is a better person than him and mutters a “Makes sense,” at him instead of starting up an argument. He drives in pointless dodges and turns and alleyways for a while until he’s sure it’s safe, and then Katsumi gives him directions back to his apartment.
They get there. He gets out and, on some old and long-buried instinct, moves to open the door for Katsumi before the karateka gets out on his own.
“I texted dad while you were driving, and he said he was grabbing Shibukawa and going there as soon as he could. The police report was playing on the tv screens a street back or so, and they showed a picture of Yanagi with a broken neck and missing his right arm, still on the boat.” Katsumi walks up the stairs as he talks and Doyle follows, unsure of what else to do. “So I’m guessing either they got there on time, or someone beat them to it. Either way, Yanagi’s not a threat anymore.” They’ve reached the landing, and Katsumi holds his hand out, presumably to get the key ring back from Doyle. He hands it over and chokes out the goodbye.
“Well, see ya around, I guess.” He’s trying very hard to not pretend that he isn’t just the slightest bit crushed about not being able to stay when something grabs his wrist.
“Wait, Doyle! You still don’t have a-” whatever he wants to say, Doyle doesn't wanna hear it. He turns away and keeps trying to walk down the stairs.
“I’ll find something or someone to get me out of Japan. Probably be gone by morning.” He tries to shake the hand off. It doesn’t budge. Stupid guys who have stupid grip strength and their stupidly effective and nice muscles.
“Just hang on, you idiot!” Suddenly Katusmi pulls him back hard enough that Doyle either risks dislocating his shoulder or stumbling back, so he chooses the latter. “We don’t know where Sikorsky is yet, and for all we know he’s after you too. Look,” his voice finally lowers to a reasonable volume that won’t wake the entire neighborhood, “just come in for half a minute, okay? I just gotta make a phone call to check that it’s safe, and then you can leave on your own if you want to, or stay here until we can reschedule stuff and get you on a boat to the Middle East again. It’s won’t take longer than a minute, Doyle. Please?” How the fuck does he do puppy dog eyes like that? Better question, how does Doyle feel himself falling to the them?
“One minute,” he says as calmly as he can when all he wants to do is either leave or stay forever. “One minute, and then I’m gone.” Katusmi nods, unlocks the door, and walks in. Doyle follows, and despite everything they just said about the one minute thing, copies Katusmi’s actions of taking off his shoes. A drink is thrown at his face and Doyle is shocked enough by the fact that this is happening to just open the drink and start sipping instead of realizing it’s intentions.
Katsumi is speaking to what sounds like first one, then two, then five people as he paces, (and the static from the phone when he’s not the one yelling suggests at least one person is speaking to the other people over their own phone), his speech getting faster and faster until Doyle has a hard time distinguishing most of it. He catches bits and pieces of what sounds like legal jargon though, like they’re negotiating a deal. Something involving jail, prisoner, transportation, papers, parole, psychiatry visits, Hector - Hold the fuck up.
Jail. Prisoner. Parole. Hector. Those are not words that should be involved in a conversation asking where Sikorsky is. Scratch that, there should not be this long of a conversation, or with this many people, for asking where Sikorsky is. Or all of the other legal crap in there. What is Katsumi doing?
Finally, an eternity of thirteen minutes and sixteen-and-a-half seconds later, Katsumi speaks at a normal volume, bids a formal goodbye over the phone (probably didn't even realize he was bowing as he did so), and then he’s turning to Doyle with a weirdly happy expression on his face.
“What’s Sikorsky’s status?” he asks.
“Well,” Katsumi sheepishly looks away for a second, “it’s complicated. See, first i called dad and he said he didn’t know and he asked Shibukawa, and he also didn’t know, but then Tokugawa was in the same hallway or something and heard them and started talking, and he was saying some stuff that he had planned for Sikorsky so apparently he’s out there somewhere, but Jack and Gaia are gonna pay him a visit soon so that’s all good.”
“Great, bye.” Doyle stands up and moves to get his shoes back on, but Katusmi has other plans because he grabs Doyle’s arm and keeps talking.
“Thing is, it turns out that Unchained was stopping by that hospital because he wanted to talk to Kureha about something, I think they were at the hospital cause that’s where Kureha usually is, anyways, and they talked about how he was gonna pick up Sikorsky and then you, and then dad and Tokugawa started talking, and somehow between everything the four of them phoned the director of that prison you broke out of and long story short, they pulled some strings and you’re not on death row anymore. So you don’t need to leave!” Doyle blinks.
What. the. fuck?
His first words to this are the more eloquent, “Not on death row?”
Katsumi takes this as a cue to keep talking.
“Yeah, well there’s conditions and that sort of stuff. You have to stay with one of the approved people from Unchained’s list, to make sure you don’t go all assassin-y on innocent people, you gotta visit a special psychiatrist-slash-therapist once a week to help you settle in, and any new crimes will get you thrown into jail no matter what they are, but yeah. Other than that, it’s just some paperwork and stuff.”
“Just to double check, I,” Doyle motions at himself, “can stay here,” waving a hand vaguely to encompass all of Japan, “because your,” poking a finger at Katsumi’s chest, “dad is friends with Unchained and they “pulled some strings”?” he makes the air quote around the last part as obvious as he can because no. This can’t be real. That’s not how things work. Apparently, no one informed Katusmi of this.
“Yep!” he almost chirps the affirmation out as Doyle’s already confused and fragile worldview crumbles in it’s entirety. His entire record, gone as long as he kept obeying the law. A new life. No more death sentence. No more prison.
Deep breath in, he coaches himself through the internal crisis, deep breath out. Right. Okay. He can work with this.
“So,” Katsumi immediately looks back at him, nodding to show he’s paying attention, “Who’s on the list of people I can stay with, and how many of them are already warned?” It’s close to two am, but he can pick the locks, and all he needs is a name to find their address. Katsumi starts talking, listing the names off on his fingers as he speaks.
“Well there’s dad, but he’s still paranoid after what happened to mom, so that’s out. Jack would be okay but we’re not sure if he even has a home, and nobody called him yet. Shibukawa knows but this isn’t the best way for you to meet him, Baki got ruled off the list because he’s too young, Yujiro’s too crazy and would kill you, Unchained vehemently refused to even consider hosting you temporarily after you broke into the station, and Tokugawa claims you ‘concern him’, so that just leaves Strydum, and me. So either you can stay here or-” he trails off. Doyle almost snorts inwardly because Yeah, like that’s a hard choice.
“If you’re okay with it, could I stay here?” Katsumi’s face lights up the same way it did back at the docks, and Doyle feels his heart skipping a very small beat.
“Of course! Grab something form the fridge, I’ll get a spare futon for you in a sec, and sure. We’re gonna have to think about the rest of the stuff in the morning though, but I know a guy for the psychiatry thing, dad was visiting him in the hospital in the first place, and then there’s paperwork, and Im balls at that kinda stuff, and-” Katsumi’s words blur as he keeps moving and talking, but Doyle nods along, a small smile finding its way onto his face. He’ll get through this. He’s got nobody chasing him, a future therapist to talk to, and Katsumi to help him if anything goes wrong.
This, Doyle thinks as Katsumi moves on to talking about how Doyle will love his friends, might just work out.
Okay last thoughts so Katsumi is a really bad spy and Doyle is interrogating him and at some point Doyle is just like "God hes so fuckin stupid....I think I'm in love..."
It's a bit unacceptable the lack of character x character content in this fandom, so I decided to write and post this little self-indulgent doysumi fic, written about Hectors perspective on Katsumi. Like and subscribe, as always.
In the beginning of the two’s relationship, Hector was initially a little distant with Katsumi, not wanting to get attached to him so easily. But he knew that something was, strangely, drawing him towards him. His blazing demeanor, his radiant smile, maybe? As much as he tried to ignore all of the feelings he didn't understand, he failed to erase him from his mind. There was something so pure and captivating about him and he just couldn’t seem to grasp the meaning of it.
His whole life, spent surviving within the frigid darkness, a mysterious warm light abruptly illuminates brightly in front of him. And that same soft light is reaching out his hand just to save him. But does he really need “saving”? It’s a thought that he dwelled on for a while. Was he truly unhappy about his life? His dismal way of living? The dried blood stained on his hands? Even that was something he never really bothered to think about. Things were just the way they were. There was no changing them. No matter how much of a cruel way of living it was to others.
But that light.
That satisfying tightness in his chest that arises when he’s near it.
Emotions he never thought he’d feel. Feelings he never thought he’d understand.
The bleak world he once lived in that was so void of color was suddenly filled with all sorts of vibrant tones that seemed incomprehensible to him mere months ago. For once, that common sickening hue of red wasn't the only color that his life circled around. It was blue, green, yellow, violet, and other beautiful shades that he didn't want to disappear. It was all so bright. Maybe even difficult to enjoy at first. But the source of all of this change was so enthralling. A change of reality all caused by one person. And that person's side, he never wants to leave.
Maybe letting some of those vivid colors bleed onto him isn’t such a bad idea after all.
can’t stop thinking about that one doysumi spy au, so here we go:
- Shinshinkai is a massive organization. Their cover is martial arts, and most of the people with a third-degree black belt or higher are also spies. They work as the intermediate between countries and maintain communication with both the criminal underground and the government. Members are often forced to resort to violence for various reasons, so any and all employees must also be enrolled in the karate school.
- Doppo Orochi is the fearless badass leader. Although he officially retired from working in the field a few years back, recent events have forced him to go back to work. He knows all of the risks in the business, but it’s worth it. Some of the people working for him he’s known since they were kids and they need someone there to keep them out of trouble.
- Natsue runs the bureaucratic side of things. Most of the organization knows her as a sweet woman and a ruthless fighter. She used to be a spy when she was younger, but quit when they adopted Katsumi in favor of becoming a co-leader of the whole shebang.
- Katsumi is poised to one day be leading the Shinshinkai in both karate and shifty business. The problem is he’s really fucking bad at the latter and gets captured waaayyy too easily.
- Suedo, as one of the people who’s been in the group since it was founded, it technically supposed to be training Katsumi on the spy side of things. It’s hard because Katsumi doesn’t listen to him very often. He’s also the guy most often responsible for retrieving Katsumi when he’s inevitably kidnapped.
- Katou left the Shinshinkai about four years ago and headed to America. He mostly wants to rejoin again but feels too much like an outsider atm, so for now he unofficially assists the Shinshinkai on most of their missions. Often finds Suedo and Katsumi on patrols and entertains them/helps keep Katsumi out of trouble. Does not, however, bother to rescue Katsumi like Suedo does unless it’s an actual emergency.
- Baki was not affiliated with the Shinshinkai until about a month ago. He is a fighter who dreams of beating his dad, a spy who genuinely wants to use his sneaking skills to help people, and an adorable cinnamon roll when off-duty. He’s called in for emergencies or sparring, not regular missions. Those who think age means he’s weak or naive quickly learn they are mistaken.
- On the surface, Kozue is a civilian who only slightly knows about the fighting side of Baki. In reality she’s a solo PI, frequently requested for some of the worlds weirdest missions. Between her age, appearance, and personality, she’s often seen as too “innocent” to be a suspect and blends into the crowd. Only two people currently know about both parts of her life, and Baki is not one of them. Although the Shinshinkai have worked with her PI side in the past, they do not suspect her of also being Kozue.
- Doyle is a fugitive assassin who, after escaping, is trying to find work again. The Shinshinkai have been requested by the Japanese government to bring him in, any means necessary so long as he is alive when turned over.
- When Doyle initially announces that he’s taking requests, a Shinshinkai enemy offers him a million pounds for the head of any of the Orochi family and information on how the Shinshinkai works. Due to some of the nitpicky conditions, Doyle has to first kidnap his target and interrogate them, and luckily, Katsumi is easy to distract and easier to capture. He is not, however, a useful squealer, so Doyle is eventually forced to let him go and give up the mission. The same person who offers him the deal offers it to Kozue’s PI side one week later. She accepts. When Natsue’s sources inform her of a potential infiltrator, she and Doppo hire Baki to find out who it is. As a string of coincidences, orders, and hit lists force Doyle and Katsumi to run into each other more and more frequently, they start hitting it off.
