Tojoctober Day 21 - Betrayal
(It’s scorched earth, sound the alarms)
Alt title is from “Annihilated Love” by Starset
A bit more of a scene rewrite…
After the final fight of Y3, Daigo speaks with Kiryu about betrayal, regrets and duty. Kiryu offers a helping hand.
(the Yakuza 3 spoilers are pretty obvious here)
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Kiryu and Daigo stare in shock at the exact same spot. Yoshitaka Mine, who once stood on the edge of the hospital roof with a leader of Black Monday in his grasp, was now gone. Plummeting to his death. Probably now dead.
“Kiryu-san,” Daigo starts. Kiryu turns towards him, his attention pulled from the rooftop where Mine stood. Daigo’s face is colored with shock, but also has a very grim look on it, and Kiryu feared the worst. “Tell me the truth. The traitor to the Tojo…” Daigo makes eye contact with him, a little bit of hope seeping into the mix of despair and sadness. “Was it Mine?”
Kiryu shuts his eyes, searching his memories, and recalls something Mine had just said to him, mere minutes beforehand.
“He was the first person I had ever admired with every fiber of my being.”
Reopening his eyes, Kiryu sees the answer was clear as day.
“No. Not a chance.”
Kiryu and Daigo remake eye contact. Kiryu feels his gaze toward the sixth chairman soften.
“He… never would have betrayed you.”
Daigo visibly relaxes, his shoulders finally sagging with the weight of what just happened to him. Kiryu lets himself relax as well, resting his back against the edge of the building. For once, the Kamurocho air felt nice on his bare chest, which was a rare occurrence for this kind of thing.
“Kiryu-san… is this what it felt like?”
“Hm?” Kiryu looks at Daigo once again. The man looks off into the night sky, leaning against his hospital bed.
“When…” Daigo takes a shaky breath, and restarts his question, “Is this how you felt when Nishikiyama-san died?”
Kiryu takes a sudden breath. He had partially expected Nishiki to be brought up. Daigo and Mine were sworn brothers, and Mine was sworn into the Nishikiyama family. But he also hadn’t heard Nishikiyama’s name in years, and hearing it from Daigo was… new. Kiryu sits in silence for a second before forming a response.
"Somewhat. I… also had a lot of other things on my mind at the time."
Daigo nods, “I know a lot happened to you on that day.”
“It’s… a bit hard to think about, admittedly.” Kiryu says, shutting his eyes. He can almost recall everything that happened perfectly. His decision to become the fourth chairman, Jingu manically laughing, Yumi taking a bullet for him, Nishiki…
“I’m sorry, Kiryu-san. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
Kiryu shakes his head, opening his eyes and seeing Daigo’s expression creased with worry. “It’s alright, Daigo. I know there’s a lot on your mind, as well. This can’t be easy for you.”
Daigo takes a deep breath. Kiryu could tell he was barely holding it together.
“Mine… I just… I wish I could’ve…” Daigo’s voice starts to waver. Kiryu scoots over to him, placing an awkward hand on the man’s shoulder. “I wish I hadn't gotten shot, I wish I woke up sooner, I wish I could’ve helped him! Then, he wouldn’t of had to jump of this fucking building!” Daigo almost shouts, his voice carrying sadness and rage with it.
“Daigo… I understand. But we can’t change anything that's happened. And the worst thing we can do is blame ourselves”
Daigo looks up at Kiryu, “But is this something we have to go through all the time!? Will we ever be strong enough to protect the ones we care about!?”
Unconsciously, Kiryu’s grip on Daigo’s shoulder tightens.
“As the leader of the Tojo, it’s your duty to shoulder the weight of the clan. That includes its losses, the betrayals and spirals. The only thing we can do is notice the signs of them happening early on, and prevent any more people from diving that deep into darkness.”
They make eye contact, Daigo’s eyes brimming with sorrow and anguish, and Kiryu keeps talking. “But you shouldn’t have to shoulder that responsibility alone. If you need it… I can always lend some advice. I’ve had a bit of practice, after all.”
Daigo hesitates for a second, about to argue his point further, but relaxes. Kiryu shifts a little closer, moving his hand to slink his arm around Daigo’s shoulders. “Even if I’m far away now, I still want to be there for you, Daigo.” Kiryu finishes, giving Daigo a tiny squeeze.
“Did you… Did Nishikiyama betray you?” Daigo sits up a bit, now being somewhat supported by Kiryu’s arm and side.
“Absolutely not,” Kiryu states almost immediately. “I know Nishiki like the back of my hand. He never would’ve betrayed me, and I don’t think he betrayed me.”
Daigo lets out a soft laugh, “Then I guess you know what I would’ve said, if you posed that question to me.” Daigo says, his voice becoming thicker by the second.
“Yeah. I get it.”
Silence falls between the two of them, before Kiryu feels a pressure at his side, and a new bit of wetness on his chest. He looks down to see Daigo resting his face on his shoulder, and he could probably piece together where the wetness originated. He didn’t really know what to do, but he decided to take a page from his kids at Morning Glory, and what he had seen them do in the past. He rubbed Daigo’s back slowly and gently with his hand, in soothing circles.
“Sorry, Kiryu-san. I know you didn’t want to deal with this.”
“Nothing to apologize for, Daigo. This is part of my duty.”
“I just don’t want to look at everyone in the clan like they’re going to be the next ones to shoot me.”
“You don’t have to do that. Others will help you with that. Majima-san, any of the others in the clan you trust, and I will as well. You’re not alone, Daigo. You’re in a much better position than I was when the 10 billion incident happened.”
“I don’t want to take Majima-san away from you, Kiryu-san. I know how much he checks in on you. And now that I understand what happened, in a way, I-”
Kiryu lets out a laugh, accidentally cutting Daigo short. “Yeah. You don’t have to help me, Daigo. But, I appreciate the concern.”
A few seconds of comfortable silence pass before the two of them hear and feel the wind begin to whip around them. Kiryu looks over his shoulder to see a helicopter approaching. Flying towards them, he only needed a glance to know who was piloting it.
“Our ride is here.” Kiryu jokes, removing his arm from Daigo.
Daigo fully sits up and cranes his neck to also look at the helicopter. He lets out a small laugh at the sight. “That it has.”
Daigo stands up, using Kiryu, the side of the building, and the hospital bed as assistants. He winces a little bit once he reaches his full height, but is able to carry his own weight. Kiryu rises as well, standing next to the current chairman.
“Kiryu-san… thank you.” Daigo looks at Kiryu, showing a smile of gratitude the dragon had rarely seen, and he can’t stop himself from returning it.
“Any time, Daigo. If you need me, I’m just a call away.”
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