Love At First Sight - Part Two
“Think of it as a sight-seeing trip, little brother.” Katsuki Mari said and took a deep drag of her cigarette. “You can spend some time watching that Nikiforov brat and at the same time you can show Phi-chan Tokyo in a touristy way. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.”
“Don’t call him brat, he’s only two years younger than you.” Yūri glanced sideways at his sister. Slowly he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it up. “I’ll do it, even if I am not very eager to.”
“Please don’t tell me that you still have a crush on that Russian.” Mari looked at him in disbelieve. “I thought you got over it during your time in America.”
“You just need to take a glance into his bedroom to find out about that, Onee-sama!” The third person in the room added to the conversation and laughed amused.
Mari’s expression had changed and Yūri knew exactly why. He didn’t want to think about it right now and he certainly wouldn’t bring this matter up in front of his best friend.
Yūri groaned. “Oi, Phichit. Why do you have to give her just another excuse to tease me?” He complained instead of starting that conversation again.
He didn’t get any other explanation from his foster brother than one of his many laughing fits. Phichit had been with the Katsuki family since he was sixteen. This year he turned twenty-one and was a full-fledged member of the Yakuza. It was a long story how this happened, but the short roundup was, that Phichit’s father was a friend of Katsuki Toshiya and a gangster as well, albeit he’d been located in Thailand. Toshiya had taken him in, when he had heard of the death of Phichit’s family. All of them had been killed in an uproar in the Thai underworld and Phichit was the only one to survive, only because he had been in the US at that time. Yūri had been there at the same time and they had been friends for some time already. When they had to leave America, Yūri took Phichit with him, just as his father had ordered.
“Cause it’s also an excuse for me to tease you, my friend.”
“The only good thing of this obsession of yours is, that we know much more about the Russian Mafia, than the Russian Mafia knows about us.” Mari concluded. “I always was a little bit mad at you for not participating openly in our business, but maybe it isn’t too bad that you aren’t very well known in the underworld.”
“I know… I am sorry, Mari-nee-chan.”
“It’s alright. Just do your job and everything will be as it should be.” That’s what she always said, but Yūri knew that she didn’t really mean it. There were too many unresolved issues between them and he didn’t know where to start to resolve them.
- - - - # - - - -
It had significant advantages to look as innocent and nice as Yūri and Phichit. Nobody would ever think, that they could be part of the Yakuza. They also looked very young for already being twenty and twenty-four-year-old mobsters. Maybe when they dressed up in their Yukatas or in a suit and tie, but not when their hair was messy as hell and when they were wearing casual, sporty clothes and back packs. They simply looked like typical tourists or Japanese students. As soon as the private jet from St. Petersburg had landed in Haneda, they started to follow the delegation of the Russian Mafia.
- - - - # - - - -
“I am quite surprised there are only five of them.” Phichit mentioned out of the blue and watched the four men and one woman walking into the hotel lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Roppongi. “I’ve expected more of the Nikiforov Bratva.”
“Actually, they are kinda known for their small delegations. They always travel with as few men as possible. It’s inconspicuous and they wouldn’t do it, if they weren’t sure they’d win anyways.” Was Yūri’s remark to this topic. It was like Mari had stated before, he knew a lot about the ways of the Russian Mafia and the Nikiforovs.
“Which one is his second in command? The guy or the hot redhead?” Phichit and Yūri sat on a bench across the street of the hotel entrance, near enough to oversee it, but detached enough, that they wouldn’t be the first thing the Russians would register, when leaving the building.
“Neither. His second in command is a guy called Yakov, the right-hand man of the former pakhan. I guess he left him in St. Petersburg or Moscow to run the business until he gets back.” The young man sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know why I still bother getting intel on them.”
“You do it, because you love him since you first saw him. It’s alright because your knowledge helps your family dealing with them. But Yūri, you soon must decide what you want. Mari already proposed to take over in your stead and I’d gladly help her with it, if you don’t want to be a part of the Yakuza anymore.” They had this conversation before, but Yūri couldn’t bring himself to make such a grave decision yet. “You don’t need to keep up doing the dirty work for your family. Everyone would understand, if-“
“I know.” Yūri cut his friend off. “I’ll make my decision as soon was we’re on our way back to Hasetsu. But first, I got to try something. Do you trust me?”
“There aren’t many people I trust, but you’re sure one of them. What’s your plan, maestro?”
“We’ll break the number-one rule of observations.” Yūri said and smirked at his friend. “We’ll try to make contact and see what happens next.”
- - - - # - - - -
Phichit wasn’t sure if he should applaud his best friend’s idea or if he should stop him from making a tremendous mistake. He’d known that Yūri had a crush on Viktor Nikiforov since they had met in America and he knew exactly how Yūri behaved when he talked to people he was attracted to, or with people outside the Mafia in general. It wasn’t by chance, nobody knew much about the heir of the Katsuki-gumi. Yūri always kept to himself and made sure nobody knew what he was doing. He was as ruthless as every other mobster and he didn’t hesitate to kill. He would take over his father’s organization without a second thought, if it wasn’t for his older sister’s aims and wishes. Even if she’d never verbalize them, everybody knew, Mari wanted to take over the Yakuza herself. She was way more involved and very well known for her leadership skills. Currently she was second in command, Yūri was only the fourth in command, after his father’s right-hand man Nishigori Takeshi. Yūri would prefer to stay in the shadows, but as long as he was around, everyone would expect him to be the next leader. Phichit was glad he didn’t have to bother about such complicated things and if he played his cards well, he could end up in a high position of the Katsuki family anyways.
Both had agreed on their parts in the little roleplay they were about to stage. While Yūri was very nervous, Phichit couldn’t wait to get it started. It took some time to get into the right situation to make an entrance, but they didn’t have to wait too long. Nikiforov left the hotel without his subordinates, but as expected accompanied by his bodyguards. They wandered through the city for some time, until he ordered them to leave him alone. At first, they thought he’d end up in a bar, but after another lengthy walk through the city he sat down on a bench in one of Tokyo’s parks. It almost broke Yūri’s heart, seeing him sitting there. He seemed so lonely and lost. Yūri could relate to this kind of feeling and felt a strange urge to rescue the foreigner.
“Now or never.” Phichit suddenly said behind him and pushed him towards the sulking Russian. They had been hiding behind some bushes for a few minutes already. As soon as they were sure, Nikiforov wouldn’t move or look in their direction in a sudden, they emerged from their hiding spot. Yūri needed to validate a theory and he couldn’t let go, until he was either proven wrong or right.
“Just be yourself and you’ll find the answers to your questions.” Phichit reminded him quietly, before he put his phone into the clasp of his selfie stick. He threw an arm around Yūri’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Smile, Aniki!” He said a bit louder this time and Yūri couldn’t help himself but grin and put a hand on Phichit’s forearm.
Yūri involved Phichit into a harmless conversation and just when they walked past Nikiforov, Phichit rose the selfie stick to make another picture of them. In this moment, they truly felt like mere tourists and men that were barely out of college, who simply wanted to have a nice trip. Still, it did surprise Yūri, when he suddenly heard someone approaching them from behind. And when he heard someone address them in English with a heavy Russian accent, he didn’t even need to act his reactions anymore.
"Excuse me!" The Russian said as he approached. Yūri and Phichit turned around, looking genuinely surprised. "Could you help me out? I am kind of lost and wanted to ask, if you could show me the way to the next train station."
He had it planned, almost exactly like that, but Yūri would have never thought, that walking by would be enough to get the attention of Viktor fucking Nikiforov. This was almost too good to be true.
"Ahh... I d-don’t… uhm. We’re tourists as well." He managed to get out, after Phichit had low-key elbowed him.
For a split second, Nikiforov seemed to be disappointed, but he didn’t even think about giving up just yet. “I understand. But you are Japanese, no? I am such a touristy tourist, that I can’t even read the signs.”
Was this really the great new pakhan of the Russian Mafia?, Yūri asked himself and wasn’t sure how he should feel about this. The man he had been admiring since he was just a ten-year-old boy seemed to play dumb just to get to know him. Or had he somehow sensed that he was being deceived right now? It surely would have been very easy for Nikiforov to call his driver to pick him up wherever he wanted.
“Your English is so fluent, this must be my lucky day!” Nikiforov showed him one of the brightest smiles Yūri had ever witnessed. For an instant, he didn’t know what to reply, this had completely caught him off guard and made his heart beat slightly faster.
Yūri blushed a little bit at this comment and moved on with the show, even though he wasn’t even acting anymore. “Oh, right. Well… I can show you the way if you want. Would that be alright, Phi?” It was better not to use Phichit’s full name in front of strangers. In the underground, it was a well-known fact, that a certain Phichit Chulanont had been taken in by the Katsuki’s and how were the chances, that the leader of the Russian Mafia not only met a Phichit, but also a Yūri at the same day, in a city as big as Tokyo. Yūri was sure, that Nikiforov had at least glanced at a dossier about the Katsuki-gumi before he’d landed at Haneda Airport.
"I don't want to tag along, Aniki." Phichit answered in a tone Yūri wasn’t used to hear very often. He knew his foster brother as a lively and overly friendly person, but when he talked in such a cold manner, he knew that the fun was over and real business began. "I'm going to do some more sightseeing alone. Let's meet up again a little later. Simply gimme a call."
The quickly changed to talk in Japanese. “Don’t let yourself be killed and let me know when we’ll head to the airport.” Phichit told him and hugged him tightly. “I am sure you’ll do great, be a little more confident. Just remember how good you usually are on the field.”
Yūri smiled softly. “Thank you, my friend. I’ll do my best.”
“See you later, Aniki. And have some fun as well, you deserve it.” He concluded and started to walk towards one of the many exits of the park, without saying goodbye to the Russian. Hopefully Nikiforov didn’t find this kind of behavior suspicious, but Yūri needed to do this alone.
"P-please don't mind my friend. He generally is in a foul mood lately." Normally he wouldn’t find excuses for his best friend, but today he thought he needed to. Also, he didn’t know how much of his words had been staged, since he hadn’t seemed too enthusiastic about his plan.
“It's alright!” The platinum blond Russian assured him. “I just hope he isn't too mad, I interrupted your own sightseeing trip, after all."
This damn smile would soon drive him insane, he thought while seizing him up. “Don't worry.” He quickly said and averted his gaze, as soon as Nikiforov had caught him staring. “S-so, where are you from, if y-you don't mind me asking?"
It felt so wrong to ask him this, when he already knew the answer to his question. Yūri wasn’t prepared to feel so bad about this little scam. Now that was how it apparently felt to deceive someone he honestly cared about.
“I am from Russia and came for a business trip to Japan.” He told Yūri and didn’t even have to lie, only needed to stay as vague as possible. “My names Vitya, by the way.”
As far as Yūri was informed, only his closest friends were allowed to call him Vitya. This appeared to be very special since he didn’t have many friends to begin with.
“I am Yūri, nice to meet you.”
- - - - # - - - -
Yūri wasn’t disappointed, when they never reached train station, but instead took a walk and ended up in a café in Ginza. It was easy to go along with Vitya, as soon as he took the lead and Yūri didn’t mind that at all. Somehow, it was nice to let go of everything. Not once in their whole conversation, he thought about what would come next.
“Yūri~! Do you have a partner? A girl- or a boyfriend?” Vitya suddenly asked him out of the blue. He flinched when the Russian lunged over the table and put a hand over his, holding him tightly. Out of instinct, he tried to pull his hand back, but without using full force, he couldn’t shake the other man off. If he wasn’t as perceptive as he came to be during his career as a gangster, he’d have realized now at the very least, that Vitya had been flirting with him the whole time.
“You Europeans seem to be another species altogether.” Was his rather dry comment, but he couldn’t hide his embarrassment as he averted the other man’s gaze.
“We may be a little bit more outgoing, but I am sure we aren’t that different.” Viktor laughed a little and pinched the back of Yūri’s hand playfully. “Don’t be so shy, Yūri~!”
Yūri had to smile at that. “No boy- or girlfriend. Vitya.”
What he was about to say next, cost him all the strength he could gather. He could turn his back on a dying man, could yell at his biggest enemy. It wasn’t a problem to tell a stripper to get lost, or a prostitute to do her work, if she wanted her children alive. Hell, he could flay his opponent or put someone a bullet in the head. But it cost him everything to tell the man he fell for years ago, to keep on courting him. “So, you can keep on flirting without remorse, but first let me use the restroom.”
On one hand, he needed to see Vitya’s reaction, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to see it at all. He decided on the latter and fled to the restroom before the older Mafioso could react at all.
As soon as Yūri was out of Vitya’s sight, he called Phichit. His foster brother was most likely waiting at their apartment in Kabukichō already.
“How’s it going, my friend?” Phichit started without even let Yūri say a single word. “Since you aren’t dead and neither back in our little home, it’s going rather good, I presume?”
“I can’t believe it myself, but he seems to genuinely like me. There hasn’t been a single hint about the Bratva or Yakuza and he doesn’t seem to be suspicious at all. Anyways. Please prepare our departure, we’ll go back to Hasetsu this evening. We have a lot planning and persuasion ahead of us.”
“Sure thing, bro. We’ll meet at the usual train station. Just send me the exact time and I’ll be there.”
- - - - # - - - -
After ending the phone call and using the restroom, Yūri returned to their table, only to find Vitya sitting there, looking completely thunderstruck. At first, Yūri feared he had somehow heard his conversation with Phichit, but he had made sure to keep his eyes on the restrooms door. If he knew the truth, he would have left or killed him by now.
“Is everything alright?” He asked cautiously as he sat back on his seat across from Vitya. “You look kinda stressed out.”
Vitya looked at him with a startled expression, but soon a little smile appeared on his lips. “N-no, I am fine.” He stammered and Yūri didn’t know what to make of this behavior. “I am just so tired and not really looking forward to the meetings I got to attend soon.”
Maybe Viktor Nikiforov wasn’t happy with his current life either, Yūri thought, but tried not to pry. He shouldn’t stir the conversation in a sensitive direction.
“I understand. How long will you stay in Japan?” Yūri asked as they slowly left the café.
“Hm. I’ll stay the night in Tokyo and then I got to go to Kyushu for my meetings. Depending on how the meeting goes, I’ll stay there for some time. Maybe for a week or two, but then I got to go right back to St. Petersburg.” It troubled him more than Yūri could have ever guessed. He’d never forget the sad look of the Russians deep blue eyes.
Yūri started to relax more and more in the presence of Vitya. For more than ten years, Viktor Nikiforov had stood on a pedestal in Yūri’s mind. He hadn’t been more than a crush and a role model to him. But now Yūri saw who the great Viktor Nikiforov really was. A mere human, just like everyone else on this planet.
“That’s a shame.” Yūri stated, before going even farther out of his comfort zone. “Do you want to exchange phone numbers?”
In an instant, the face of the big bad pakhan lit up and Yūri was almost dazed by this sight. “I’d love to!” He replied, but as fast as his bright smile had appeared, it was replaced by a rather sad one. “I wish I’d met you on a regular vacation trip.”
Yūri didn’t know what to respond to this statement. It wouldn’t have changed anything at all, no matter what he’d say. They’d still be two Mafiosi stuck in their own worlds. They’d still have to snub the people around them to be together. And importantly, who’d know, if Vitya would even like the real Katsuki Yūri. The one that was a coldhearted killer. The one that did not hesitate to lie, to get what he wanted. The latter was exactly what he had been doing the whole day and the whole incident could probably torpedo his father’s plan to bind them together even more. Finally, here we had the cardinal cause for this whole scam. Katsuki Toshiya planned to marry his daughter to the man Yūri was in love with and currently walking side by side. There was no chance that Yūri could take over the Katsuki-gumi, while his sister became the Mafia Bride of the man of his dreams.
“There isn’t a chance you’d accompany me to my hotel, no?”
It broke Yūri’s heart to say no to this offer he never dreamt of hearing in the first place and all he could do was get back to being the unexperienced boy he became, whenever Viktor fucking Nikiforov was involved. “Ah-h. I-… You. Well, I-I got to say… I would l-love to, but I got to catch a train in a few hours.” He looked up into the platinum blonde’s eyes and felt his cheeks heating up. “I have some business to look after as well.”
As much as he tried, Vitya couldn’t hide his disappointment. “It’s alright. Do you have enough time to escort me to the hotel I am staying at? I’d love to at least chat a little longer with you.”
How could he say no to this humble request? That’s right. He couldn’t. “I’d be glad to.”
- - - - # - - - -
The train ride to the next remote little airport, owned by the Yakuza, wasn’t as silent as Yūri would have wanted it to be. Phichit was just as cheery and nosy as always and didn’t leave him alone, even after he had answered all his questions regarding his encounter with Viktor. He somehow had the feeling that he missed the chance to get to know him better, before Vitya got to know the real Katsuki Yūri.
“Your plan is really good, don’t worry. It will make everyone happy, even that Nikiforov guy.” Phichit assured his friend and hugged him tightly. “Don’t lose your faith. Your plans hardly ever fail.”
Of course, he was right with his assumptions, but Yūri wasn’t too sure about it at the moment.
- - - - # - - - -
The flight to Kumamoto Airport had been uneventful, not to say plain boring. Both had changed their clothes, during the flight and now wore their signature suits and ties. Yūri had slicked his hair back and traded his glasses for contacts. They were picked up in a black limousine by one of Yūri’s henchmen and he ordered his subordinate to hurry back to Hasetsu. He had a lot to discuss with his father and sister.
- - - - # - - - -
It had been harder to convince his sister of his plan than Yūri would’ve ever guessed. He’d thought that his father would be the one to try to talk him out of his plans, but to his surprise, Katsuki Toshiya hadn’t been surprised or unreasonable at all. All he had said was, that he was glad, his son had finally decided to take a path, Toshiya could also live with. His parents were very supportive and Mari didn’t have a chance, other than to accept what had been offered to her. Finally she’d be able to lead the Katsuki-gumi, like she had always wanted.
Now, he stood right behind the sliding doors to his father’s favorite sitting room. Beside him were his mother, sister and Phichit, waiting to being called to the meeting to be introduced to the Russian delegation.
“Don’t be nervous now, little brother. You lost the right to be anxious as soon as you took the first step into this mess. It’s too late to change your mind.” Mari taunted him.
“Mari! Let your brother be. It’ll especially be more of a win-win situation for you, than Yūri.” Their mother chided her oldest child. “At least if your plan works out, Yūri.”
“Thank you for your confidence in me, mother.” Yūri retorted playfully and kissed the top of his mother’s head, while hugging her.
“Everything will work out as expected. I’m sure of it.” Phichit added.
- - - - # - - - -
Suddenly the sliding doors opened and one of his father’s man told them to join their leader in the meeting room. Yūri let go of his mother and let her enter the room first, just as it was expected of them.
“Meet my lovely wife Hiroko.” Yūri heard his father say, his words full of pride and love. He could feel his heart beating faster by the second.
The next one to meet the Bratva was his sister. She wore the same Yutaka as always and had a cigarette in the corner of her mouth. Never ever would she change or dress up herself for a man. How had their father ever expected her to marry someone like Viktor?
“This is my first-born child. Katsuki Mari.”
Now it was his turn to join them. Yūri wore his best suit and tie, as well as the best emotionless expression he had to offer. He mustered all his strength to not falter in front of the Russians and to keep his determined business look. He felt exposed without his glasses and bangs to hide his eyes behind.
Was he really doing the right thing?
The right thing for his family and himself? Yes.
For Viktor? Not so much, if he interpreted the look of his correctly.
He heard his father speak up again and he almost flinched at the sound of his friendly voice, which was at least a little bit stained with smugness. “I’ll introduce you just for the record, since I am quite sure, you three already had the pleasure of meeting. This is Katsuki Yūri, my son.” First, he gestured towards Yūri, then Phichit, who was still standing behind him. “And this is my foster son, Phichit Chulanont.”
After all the mistakes Yūri had made so far, this one seemed to be the worst of them all, no matter how much more he’d make over the years that’d follow. Yūri would never ever forget the betrayed and hurt look Viktor bestowed on him right now.
“Vitya…” He heard himself say, but was rapidly cut off.
“Do not dare to use that name ever again!”
And in an instant the hurt and betrayed look Viktor Nikiforov had worn, changed to utter hatred.
