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Chapter 3

A cold beer can was pressed against your cheek, the cool water droplets smearing across your skin as you sighed blissfully. Ozo released his hold on you as you settled down onto the back seats of his taxi, leaning against the door frame as he brushed away the hair from his eyes.

"The AC doesn't work in here, so this is all I can do for you." You nodded, quietly thanking him before he shut the door, moving towards the driver's seat and strapping in. "You were headed for Iriabi, right?"

You paused, glancing at the back of his head.

"Iriabi...?"

"Yeah. That's where this road leads to. Want me to drop you off?"

"Uh.. N-No, I live in Akatsuka, so..." You were too embarrassed to say out loud that you had never heard of Iriabi before, and you shrunk down a little into your seat to try and avoid his gaze in the rear view mirror. Ozo raised a brow at your reaction but shrugged nonetheless, starting up the car and getting it into gear as it began rolling slowly down the uneven road, gradually picking up speed.

"Akatsuka, huh?" he continued, not wasting the opportunity to start some small talk with a pretty girl, "I've never seen you around before! And I never forget cute faces like yours once I've seen 'em." He winked back at you through the mirror, chuckling at how your mouth feel agape at his obvious flirting.

"Maybe a name for your face might help me remember?"

The sensible side of your brain was already screaming at the man for being so shameless with those dumb and cringe-worthy pickup lines, as if he had the audacity to think that they were good. But after being alone for so long, after having virtually no one to talk to like this for months on end, and especially after being complimented so nicely for the first time in who knows how long, as sad as it may sound, your heart jumped for joy and craved for more.

"It's [L/N] [Y/N]."

"[Y/N]..." he murmured, as if tasting the word in his tongue curiously, his lips twisting into a cheeky grin, "Suits you! Pretty name for a pretty girl!"

You stammered out another word of thanks, pinching the skin of your arm as a reminder to not to get ahead of yourself. You pushed away the hopeful thoughts from your mind, knowing that he wasn't serious. No one had ever been serious before, and this wasn't any different. Right?

The car ride back to Akatsuka village was a lot shorter then the walk would have been, and you found yourself re-entering the town after around ten minutes. Ozo had filled that small silence with gentle hums of a song you didn't recognise and tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, his demeanour a lot more relaxed and slack compared to your tense form.

"What's your address? I'll drop you off!" His sudden question startled you out of your quiet stupor, and you quickly gave him the street name.

"Do you need directions?"

"Nah! I know this town like the back of my hand," he bragged, making a quick right turn as he rubbed his index finger under the bridge of his noise. True to his word, he managed to navigate his way through the wide and empty streets until he finally pulled the car to a halt outside your front door.

"Here's your stop!" He chuckled to himself, watching as you began to clamber out of the car, beer can still in your grasp. You came up to his window, too busy taking out your purse to notice him eye the meter momentarily before turning to you with the same curved smile.

"Did I forget to tell you? First timers get a free ride!"

You paused, staring at him wide eyed. Surely that wasn't a real thing?

"A-Are you sure? I have money--"

"Don't worry about it! You don't need to pay me a single yen."

"I... Well, thank you," was all you could say. You barely had enough energy to continue interacting anymore. You just wanted to go inside and lie down in front of your fan for the rest of the day. The air was stifling.

"It's nothing..!" Ozo's mind flew to his boss, knowing he wouldn't approve of him doing this, but then again there were many things his boss didn't approve of. This one would just have to be swept under the rug.

"Have a nice day," you bowed hastily, turning on your heel and heading to your front door, keys already grasped tightly between your fingers. Ozo flailed for words, not wanting to let you go just yet, but you were already halfway through the door, your face obscured by your strands of hair.

"You too, sweetheart! Maybe I'll see you again sometime!"

»»-----　♔　-----««

He never got a verbal response, only the sound of your door shutting behind you, the noise bouncing off the walls of nearby buildings and echoing around him. He sat back in his seat, rubbing his finger once again under his nose, grinning to himself.

"Nailed it."

Ozo began manoeuvring his car away from your home, sending one final glance back to your house through the side mirror before it disappeared from view.

Now that he was alone again, the quietness in his car and the town was really starting to bore him. It hadn't even been that long since he finished his break over at Iriabi with his youngest brother, but he felt as if he deserved another. It wasn't like there were going to be many people who needed a lift around here, anyway.

With a soft hum, Ozo diverted his car from the main road and set off down a smooth stone pathway instead, the grass on the edges of the road now becoming more clean cut and less wild and untamed.

Over the line of trees that were bunched together in the distance, he could make out two large and familiar houses, the sun glinting off of their grey tiled roofs. His eyes drifted over to the one on the right, with the roof being slightly lower and flatter compared to the other.

A smirk spread across his face as a thought drifted through his mind, and he pressed his foot down further onto the gas.

Rolling up in front of white stone fencing with the entrance carefully carved into a large circular shape, Ozo wasted no time in driving the car through the entrance and parking it in front of the wooden sliding doors at the front of the house. He left the car to sit in the gravelled driveway, whistling as he swung his keys around his index finger before allowing it to slip into his pocket.

He knocked loudly on the door, rocking back and forth on his heels as his brown orbs wandered around his surroundings, noticing the same coloured flowers and neatly cut hedges that were there the last time he was there, which seemed like such a long time ago. The sign with the words 'Midorito Estate' carved into it looked as if it had just been freshly polished, the wood surface shining smoothly under the sun.

The heat was starting to really irritate him by the time the door was slid open, revealing a man dressed in a grey yukata, whose eyes were narrowed and lips pulled into a scowl at the sight of Ozo on the other side of the door.

"Chorosuke! Long time no see!" Ozo cheerily greeted with a lazy wave of his hand.

"You were literally here just last night, Ozo," Chorosuke growled, his words turning into a strained yelp as Ozo simply walked past him.

"Well, it's been a long day for me." Kicking his shoes off with little grace or care for where they landed, Ozo swiftly evaded the angered hands of Chorosuke as they attempted to throttle him, easily navigating his way to the main sitting room and flopping himself down onto the tatami flooring in front of a large fan.

"Who said you could come in here?!" Ozo grumbled lowly, ignoring the man as he shut his eyes and relished in the cold wind as it breezed across his face, sifting through his hair and traversing down his neck. The collar of his shirt flapped noisily under the fan's wind, the whirring of its many hands almost enough to drown out Chorosuke's berating.

Almost.

"You're lucky I don't call the police on you! Do you have any idea what that would do to my family name?!"

"Yeah yeah, I heard ya' the last time you told me. Just relax.... We're brothers, anyway, aren't we?" Ozo's voice was already groggy with sleepiness, the whole ambiance of the room very close to lulling him to sleep.

Chorosuke stood by the door, a tense look in his eyes as he registered Ozo's words.

The word 'brother' was still foreign to him. It left an odd taste on his tongue whenever he spoke the word, and an equally odd ring in his ear when he heard it. All his life he had been brought up with his one and only younger sister, but now over the past two years, a handful of men show up with the same face as him, and one of them claiming them all to be long lost brothers.

It might not be far from the truth, especially with the fair bits of evidence he had seen, but even so...

"Hey, you got any beer? My stash ran out."

...Even so, how could he be related to such an idiot?

"Is that all you ever come here for?" Chorosuke grumbled, reluctantly moving over to a door on the far left wall which lead to the kitchen and grabbing a beer can from the fridge. He shut the fridge door, only to open it a moment later to grab a can for himself. He was going to need it if he was now forced to deal with that in his living room.

"If it's free, I'll take it," Ozo chuckled as the other returned, gladly taking the beverage and briefly pressing it to his warm neck before cracking it open.

"Then I'll charge you next time."

"You're already rich enough!"

Chorosuke hid the small smile threatening to break onto his lips behind his drink, turning his head away to peer outside of the opened doors revealing his vast and beautifully decorated back garden. It was the same blue sky, he noted, and it looked just as serene as it did when he saw it last.

"I'm surprised Toshio isn't with you today. Actually, that's probably a good thing..." Chorosuke began. He was more used to the two menaces storming his house at the same time instead of on separate occasions.

Ozo shrugged, "I haven't seen him all day. Who knows what he's doing..." A stretch of silence passed before Ozo suddenly snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up. "Oh yeah! Did you make the call yet?"

"I managed to reach them this morning," Chorosuke nodded. "They'll be here by tomorrow night, if they're not swamped with work."

"That quick? I thought they'd be here by the end of the week!"

"Well, Hajime is unemployed, so he has plenty of time on his hands, and Karatsugu is barely paid attention to in his office. I'm not too surprised."

Ozo made a small noise of agreement. A soft smile stretched across his lips as he gazed at the fully grown maple tree sat in the centre of Chorosuke's garden. It had been a while since he and his brothers had gotten together, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't excited. The memories of the last time they gathered together under the same roof made him giddy with anticipation as to what havoc they would wreak this time around.

His thoughts swirled back and forth through his mind for a while before one particular thought lingered in front of his mind, allowing his smile to morph into an impish grin. He elbowed Chorosuke beside him to garner his attention, who only stared at him with an unimpressed grimace.

"Guess what, guess what?" He was already snickering. Chorosuke knew he didn't want to hear whatever this story was going to be, but he had no other choice, unfortunately.

"....What?" He sighed.

"I'm pretty sure I picked up a hitch hiker off the road today," Ozo began, "and she was super pretty. Like, gorgeous."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because! Don't you wanna hear about how big her boo-"

"Shut up!" Chorosuke hissed, grabbing a newspaper from nearby and smacking the roll over his target's head. Ozo only chuckled, barely moving away from his attacker. "What if Dayoko was to hear you?! You have no manners whatsoever, you dolt!"

"You say that, but your face is so red!" Ozo began to cackle with laughter, his free hand smacking his knee. Chorosuke stammered, a sweat now breaking out on his temple as he attempted to right himself.

"I-It is not! Just stop talking about it!"

"Aww, but I'm serious! It's been so long since I've seen a new face as cute as hers," Ozo sighed dreamily, his gaze now distant as he remembered your features, your voice, the little ticks of nervousness throughout the whole taxi ride... "And I know where she lives, too! So I can visit her whenever!"

"Please don't. That's just creepy. Borderline stalking," Chorosuke shook his head. He went to take another sip of his beer, only to find the can already empty. Ozo shook his, also finding it devoid of his favourite alcoholic drink. He gave Chorosuke a pointed look, eliciting a groan from him.

He stood up to fetch another beer. Maybe something stronger this time.