Gappy: Let me clear the air: I’m always down to go to the zoo with you. I will cancel plans to go to the aquarium. The siren song of the natural history museum haunts me. I’m thinking about botanical gardens as we speak
Summary:Yasuho’s life is tearing at the seams. The volatile Rokakaka trade is catching up to them and when Josuke unravels, Yasuho is pushed to her limit. She’s left more vulnerable than ever as she struggles to protect two men who barely know her.
This a story in which the protected must become the protector.
Chapter 9
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The journey to the room was uneventful, but when Josuke’s fingers met the door handle, he was ready for anything.
“Soft and Wet,” he whispered, pushing the office door open, fists up for a brawl.
“Oh, hey Josuke!” The door swung open to Yasuho, swinging in circles upon a small stool.
Definitely not the sight he imagined.
Without a word, he pushed through the entrance, gingerly grasping a hand around her wrist to hoist her up to her feet. One by one, Josuke gently twisted and turned her arms, checking for damage.
She didn’t appear hurt.
No scratches, nor bruised flesh..
He twirled her slowly, as if for a waltz, ignoring her puzzled expression in order to inspect her from behind. Calloused fingers ran along her spine to her lower back before she squeaked, turning around to swat him away.
“Josuke, what are yo-”
“Yasuho!” Satisfied, Josuke finally wrapped his arms around her, anchoring her small frame to his chest, as if she’d be blown away by a slight draft. “What’s going on? When you sent me that text I was so worried something had happened to you..”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” She giggled, pulling away to look at him directly. Her smile was carefree as she licked her lips. “I just wanted to show you something you might be interested in.”
Her eyes looked a little red.
Had she been crying?
He’d make a point to ask her about it later. But for now..
“I saw. Where is he? I mean… me.” Josuke furrowed his brow, not sure if he phrased it correctly.
Just how should he refer to Yoshikage Kira..
Was he him?
Should Kira be considered a father who gave birth to him?
No, that wasn’t right.
Kira was him, partially.
So Josuke tried again, “Where am I?”
“You’re right here, silly.” Tapping the tip of his nose; Rosette hair tickled his cheek as Yasuho pushed her body into him.
Josuke gave little resistance, taking a step back as her hand braced her weight against his broad chest, allowing himself to be pushed back against the door, which closed shut behind him.
“You’re here with me.” Yasuho nuzzled her face in to the crook of his neck, fingers grazing along the white fibers of his sailor shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. She hummed in contentment, as she explored the dark stripes of his collar, to sling her arms over his broad shoulders, the softness of her chest pushing into his unrelenting build.
Josuke was taken aback.
They’d been affectionate before, but Yasuho had never been this forward with him about it. She wasn’t exactly a wallflower, but she tended to be sheepish about initiating contact. It sometimes made him wonder if it had something to do with not wanting to be poked again like the first time they hugged. He’d always needed to remind himself that poking her was a bad thing, and made her uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, Josuke returned the hug, happy for the contact. Her warmth felt like the missing piece to his broken existence. Since he awoke at the wall eyes, his life had been nothing but piecing together some semblance of who he used to be..or who he should be..
Every answer gave birth to several more questions.
And everyone who held an answer, had something else to hide.
Yasuho was the only constant in his life.
As grateful as he was to Norisuke-san, he knew that he’d never fully be able to trust the man. The same went for the majority of the Higashikata family. Despite being adopted and sheltered under their name, Josuke knew he’d never truly be one of them. And while he had his own goals, their conflict of interests were growing more apparent by the day. Masked by charades of hospitality, their end game goals were the same:
Claim the Rokakaka.
And for that, he’d never let his guard down around them.He’d do whatever it took to save Holly-san because in his heart, he knew he was born to save her. If he couldn’t do that, then his entire existence was in vain.
Yasuho understood that. That’s why she was the only person he could trust without reservation. When complexity of the world consumed him, Yasuho made herself a buffer until he could understand what was going on. From the beginning she’d led him by the hand, asking for nothing in return. Helping him find his identities, picking up clues on how to save his mother, coming around just for the sake of seeing him. It was odd, but it was nice.
He liked that.
He liked her..and it felt right.
He couldn’t speak much from his experience with human relations but something about her made the achy-ness of not knowing what he didn’t know, just a little lighter. As if the weight of Kira and Josefumi’s world wasn’t as unbearable.
She knew him.
Not Kira, not Josefumi.
Just…Josuke Higashikata.
And she treated him like he was enough, even without the rokakaka. With her, he had value. He had a cause outside of that forbidden fruit. Yasuho was the only one he’d never let go of…and she clung to him too, even when that meant staring into the face of death. Unfortunately, the target on his back was contagious and led her into danger, more times than he ever liked.
So in his heart, he swore to always protect her.
Always.
“Ya-Yasuho…” Breathless, Josuke could feel his heart take off again, for different reasons, when delicate fingers slid beneath the hem of his shirt causing his stomach to recoil as they feathered along the groves of his abdomen. He was relying on the door more and more to hold up his weight as Yasuho peppered kisses along his collarbone.
The hospital wasn’t the place for this sort of thing, but then her fingers dipped against his pelvis causing a low groan to drown out any protest ready to fall from his lips.
oh, no.
“Aaah-ah! Yasuhoo, we need to-”
He felt something happening again…near his groin.
It was starting to twitch.
He didn’t want to scare her away again..
“Josuke?” Her voice, innocently questioned.
“Mmmm, mmmn…not h-here..” He opened his eyes, flourescent light suddenly making him feel exposed. It took all of his self control to grip Yasuho’s shoulders and pry her back, but her hands gripped him with a surprising force. “F-fuck. Yasuho what is with you??!”
Josuke was becoming more unsettled by the moment.
He needed to get out of there asap.
He needed to gether out of there.
Josuke pushed past Yasuho, and began rummaging the contents of the desk behind her. Notepads full of chicken scratch, pens, and wastes bags, disinterested him. He Turned to Yasuho. “Where’s the body?”
“What body?” Yasuho rocked on the heels of her feet, swaying her arms playfully.
“What body??!! You sent me a picture of Kira!”
“That was just a picture. I was dropping off lunch for my dad, and got a little curious.” She sauntered over to reach an arm past him and clicked the power button of the computer. She observed the machine’s last breath before continuing, “..just thought you’d appreciate the pic. It’s not exactly public record but the government likes to take pictures of bodies before they send them off for cremation. Consider it a keepsake.”
Josuke fixed her with a scowl. He looked from the blank computer screen to the hand she placed on his shoulder. “Where is he?”
“Didn’t you hear me, it’s just a pict-”
She couldn’t finished her sentence before he shoved Joshuu’s phone in her face. “You see this picture?” Josuke’s finger trailed the screen until it reached the corner tapping it for good measure. He then grabbed her hand, inspecting the yellow and black-striped nail design that matched the hand gripping the railing next to Kira Yoshikage’s body.
“Stop messing with me.” his tone was dangerous. “..Whoever you are.”
She stared blankly a few moments before speaking carefully.
“Josuke, please… don’t joke.. you’re not forgetting me, are you?” Only then, did Yasuho’s expression falter. Her lips quivered, “How could you?”
The disappointment in her voice, nearly broke him.
Almost.
Yasuho’s eyes were pleading as she loosened his grip on her wrist, and guided his palm to her cheek. She rubbed her warmth against him, parting her lips before she closed the distance between them. “Let me help you remember..”
Her breath was warm on his lips before he cupped her face, sliding his thumb under her chin for good measure and effectively stopping her advance. Her squishy face would have been comical under other circumstances, but he levied her with blunt expression.
“Yasuho would never lie to me,” He squeezed harder with each syllable. “Where. Is. She?”
Summary:Yasuho’s life is tearing at the seams. The volatile Rokakaka trade is catching up to them and when Josuke unravels, Yasuho is pushed to her limit. She’s left more vulnerable than ever as she struggles to protect two men who barely know her.
This a story in which the protected must become the protector.
Chapter 8
Author’s Note:
This is the calm before the storm
“Hoodlum!!! Watch where you’re going!”
This again..
Josuke barely had time to breathe, so proper etiquette was out the window.
Luckily, he was vaguely familiar with downtown Morioh after tailing Yasuho last night..
She seemed ok when he left her; assuming the older woman who greeted her at the apartment complex was her mother… the hair color was totally different though. He wasn’t so sure pink was Yasuho’s natural hair color either. They shared the same face at least, give or take a few wrinkles. Bothering her was a mute point, as she had made it home safe like she’d said she would.
Yasuho seemed to want space from him when she left the Higashikata estate, so he figured it was best to leave without her knowing he followed. From his observations of Joshuu, he concluded that women didn’t like to be stalked.
But when morning came, he was more than happy when Joshuu’s phone emitted a girly squeal - he assumed it was a recording of some pop star- alerting him of a new text. He opened it, and was utterly bewildered. Josuke honestly didn’t want to believe it, but his eyes called his mind a fool as he stared down at a snapshot of Kira Yoshikage’s body.
His body.
But he was dead.
It was illogical.
It just couldn’t be..
But it was.
And it made his head hurt.
..what was going on?
He desperately flipped through the the flurry of messages that followed the picture. Each containing details about Yoshikage, some he was aware of through investigation of Norisuke-san’s study, and some he wasn’t. He could make out the metal clamp of a clipboard. They were snapshots of a report. Whatever room Yasuho was in, was dark. He could barely make out the text of the paper, but thanks to the high resolution of the photo, he was able to get the gist of everything.
Then his phone chimed again with a location: University Hospital.
Shaking his head, Josuke burst through the front entrance.
“Yasuho!!!!” Josuke surveyed the area.
There were too many hallways.
Just where the hell was she!!!
“Yaasuhooo!!” He yelled, as if she would pop out amongst the crowd of shaken hospital visitors. He really didn’t have time for this! “Yasu-”
“Young man, can I help you?” A wilted voice floated behind him. He turned to come face to face with an elder woman. She wore a name tag so he assumed she worked there.
“Yes! Where’s Yasuho?” He jogged up the guest services counter, slamming his hand on the marble surface.
The old woman paused to take in his appearance before she spoke again.
“Oh, are you expecting a baby? Congratulations, young man!” she started to sing. Tapping on the the keyboard in front of her. “The maternity ward is on the east end so if you walk that wa-”
“No, that’s not it! I got a text from Yasu-chan-”
“Kaede-san, that’s Dr. Kaito’s daughter. Hirose-san’s probably still up in his office. ” A younger woman spoke as she walked behind the counter to sit beside her.
“Really, it’s been over 2 hours…”
Wait.
Yasuho rarely talked about her household. From what he remembered, her dad was M.I.A. That definitely didn’t sit right with him.
“I need to talk to her. It’s an emergency!” Josuke inserted himself back into the conversation. He could hear the urgency in his own voice, heart beginning to pound again.
“You have no admitted family members in the ICU and being a boyfriend of a doctor’s daughter doesn’t permit entry. So please take a seat and wait for her to come down to you.”
“I can’t! Let. Me. Up!” Josuke grit his teeth.
Waiting was not an option.
Whoever had Yoshikage’s body was probably connected to the rokakaka trade.
Which meant Yasuho was in actual danger this time, if she was still up there..
Alone.
Their fight with Urban Guerilla made it clear that Rock Humans were deeply embedded within the medical industry. He wouldn’t be mildly surprised if this building was bursting at the seams with them.
“I said, take a seat young man!” The old woman’s tone was brittle. A single raised finger signaled the security guards camped out by the waiting room’s coffee machine to perk up.
One was a middled-aged man, while the other didn’t seem too much older than Josuke looked. The uniformed men were well-built, with furrowed brows, heads tilted in a silent dare, looking for trouble.
“Kaede-san, is there a problem?” The younger security guard flexed his arms and rolled his shoulders, eyes never leaving Josuke’s.
Josuke didn’t blink, briefly wondering if Rock humans adapted to security jobs as well.
Actually, it didn’t matter.
He was seriously considering whooping that guy’s ass.
Yea, that might be nice..
Then a familiar high pitched squeal emitted from his pants pocket.
“La la Mizumi? I love her!” The older guard who’d yet to interject, grinned from ear to ear. He crouched slightly, balling his hairy fingers like a hyper school girl before he started singing “ Oh my love. Dance, dance, dance for my heaaart-”
Josuke couldn’t be bothered.
He read the text, not sparing a 2nd glance.
Yasuho: Rm 612
“Never mind that, weirdo.” The younger guard turned his nose up in disgust, pushing against Josuke’s shoulder. “Yo, kid! I said IS THERE A PROBLEM?!!”
“No, I’m actually gonna wait…” Josuke pointed toward the seated guest area the hospitality worker mentioned. “ ..right over there. Forgive my confusion.”
Sparing the fakest smile he could muster, Josuke took a seat.
That seemed to appease everyone.
The two security guards gave him one last scowl before heading back to the coffee machine. Though the situation was dire, Josuke realized a few seconds were required to make sure he got out of there without a ruckus.
From what he surmised, there were three cameras covering the waiting area and the adjacent hall.
Two hospitality workers watching, ready to kick him out.
Two rent-a-cops who needed a reason to feel important.
And a nurse who had peaked at him during the altercation.
It was apparent that any attempt made to walk past them would be met with accusations and resistance.
He would get to the ICU, regardless.
A deep breath, and Josuke did what needed to be done.
“Soft and Wet!”
A decrease of B12 and testosterone in the front hospitality workers.
Electricity from the security cameras..
Peripheral vision from the nosy nurse.
And lastly, a small snip of muscle from the urinary tract of the officers.
His stand, Soft and Wet, swiped what he commanded, bubbles flying to their assigned locations, while its targets were none the wiser.
And it was done.
When the hospitality workers started immediately yawning, Josuke nearly patted himself on the back.
“Oi, oi, old man!! I told you to wear a diaper, dammit! F-fuck, my shoe-”
It was a miracle that the security guards didn’t wake the front desk women who had slumped into a graceless slumber. Yellow fluid leaked from under the hems of their black pants, and over the leather of their shoes to form a small pool of putrid fluid at their feet.
“Look who’s talking! Get away from me! You’re pissin’ my leg!” The older man pointed an accusing finger at his partner.
The younger guard looked at his pants zipper in horror as a golden shower flew out. Jumping back in horror, his foot caught the slick of the tiled floor, causing his feet to kick up in a loss of balance. Too slow to escape, the elder guard was clocked by the hand his partner threw out to stabilize himself.
One loud smack, a subtle crack, and both guards fell hard; splashing pee on a misfortunate bystander before laying motionless in their own fluids. Neither of them would be rising anytime soon.
Score.
Josuke passed by a flamboyantly uniformed man with a mop who screamed, “BioHazard!” on his way to the elevators.
With no one left to stand in his way, he swore Soft and Wet was the best stand there ever was.
