To Kill My Master

Prologue

Somewhere in Europe, Year 1566 in the Julian calendar

Leoric couldn’t stand still. There was something in the air that cold and misty night, and his heart hadn't stopped drumming. He took slow, deep breaths. He was just being silly, his imagination running wild again each time they entered the abbey. After all, a young man had no business being in a complex full of women. 

Leoric closed his eyes, imagining his lips tingled by cider before he went to sleep, when a sound extinguished the oil lamp he held. The full moon provided enough illumination at the abbey’s courtyard, but not enough to quell Leoric’s rising fears as he looked toward the large oak doors. 

“Did someone knock? At this time?” 

He strained to listen, a slight creak, before the sound of the metal knocker echoed like the church bells tolling in the morning. 

Then, a woman’s voice followed, “Sanctuary, sanctuary, lend me sanctuary!” 

Leoric almost ran to the door when he realized he shouldn’t be in the abbey in the first place. Whoever was seeking sanctuary was none of his business. 

“Lord Finnian!” 

He turned on his heel as he saw a line of glowing amber heading toward him. Lord Finnian’s fair skin glowed brighter than the moon. 

“My Lord,” Leoric curtsied. “I’m afraid we must leave in haste.” 

His sire didn’t answer, his eyes firmed at the door as the voice pleaded, “Sanctuary, please, please help.” 

The older nun, whom Leoric knew as Sister Marcela, was prepared to take over, but the lord stopped him with his arm. “I will see to this.” 

The other nuns behind him protested, but Lord Finnian didn’t listen. Leoric knew his lordship never listened. Men like him thinks their opinion matters above all else except for the King. The old man walked toward the door and instructed Leoric, “Open it.” 

Leoric could only nod, and a bone-chilling energy flowed in as he opened the door. Outside might be dark and eerie, but one couldn’t deny the beauty of the woman outside. High cheekbones and patrician nose, qualities expected those of noble lineage. However, her clothes revealed she came from a meager background. Her hands wrapped protectively around her bulging belly, while she appeared startled, probably wondering why men opened the door.

“Do you seek sanctuary?” asked Lord Finnian. 

The woman didn’t answer immediately, her eyes darted from Leoric to Lord Finnian and to the nuns behind them. 

“Do you think you have the time to dilly-dally?” asked Lord Finnian, and the woman looked behind her. The mist was thick with the general feeling of doom. Leoric couldn’t see anyone, but he could hear the neigh of horses and a few clanking. 

“Who could be chasing an unmarried and pregnant woman?” he thought.

“Aye,” replied the woman, and Leoric couldn’t place her accent. She sounded unsure whether she wanted to sound educated or some hooker. “Please lend us sanctuary.” 

It was only for a split second, but Leoric swore a tiniest ripple of smile broke Lord Finnian’s stony face. He couldn’t recall seeing his lordship smile, ever. Leoric even thought Lord Finnian was simply not capable of such an act. 

“We will grant you sanctuary on one condition—”

Leoric saw the nuns flabbergasted at the suggestion, but no one stepped in. 

“-- my wish is for your son to grow up and protect my offsprings.” 

It was Leoric’s turn to be gobsmacked for two reasons. First, how did Lord Finnian know the unborn was a boy? Second, as far as Leoric knew, Lord Finnian had no heirs or bastards to speak of. Which offspring was he referring to? 

The woman’s brow furrowed, she didn’t seem surprised Lord Finnian knew of her child’s gender, before she knelt to a deep bow. 

“Your wish is my command, sir.” 

“Gylda, will you please direct her to her room?” 

Gylda, the youngest of the four nuns behind Lord Finnian, stepped out of the darkness. Her delicate face was void of any expression, but she gave the pregnant woman her most sympathetic smile as she helped her inside. 

“And close the door, Leoric, we won’t be going home soon.” 

“Yes, sir.” Leoric closed the door, but not before the mist cleared out a bit, and he saw what seemed like a cavalry with their lances pointed at the door. 

“Good Lord, just who was that woman?”

Chapter 1

Present year, 2026 of the Gregorian calendar 

Hokuto hated the sound of fireworks, explosions, or anything remotely similar. The sounds made him squirm, so he needed to ground himself and move more quickly to make up for the seconds he wasted. He took a deep breath and focused his eyes on the prize. Hokuto knew there was no better time than now. He moved closer to his prey while trying to cancel the noise. The scent of beer and perfume followed him as he positioned himself behind his target and clicked. His target grew frozen, and everyone was too absorbed in the fireworks to notice the man next to them was no longer with them. Hokuto acted like an annoyed bystander who had to suffer because someone couldn’t handle their drink, and no one thought something was amiss as he irritably stepped away. 

“Quick and easy. Always.”

The fireworks continued, and Hokuto stopped by the toilet. He needed to drown the noise first, so he turned the faucet on full blast and tried his best to distract himself with the sound of gushing water. 

“Fucking fireworks, when will it be over?” 

His head started hurting, and his pulses were thumping loudly along his temples down to his neck. He made a mental note that moving forward, he would never accept a job on New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t like he needed the money that badly; it was definitely not passion either. 

“So why do you kill?” A little voice inside his head asked as Hokuto buried his fingers on his face.

“You can borrow this—”

It happened so fast before Hokuto could even open his eyes. He pinned the man’s lithe arms behind his back that made him bend at the waist and lean toward the sink. 

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

Hokuto found himself staring at a clearly angry man. 

“Insanely pretty for a man,” thought Hokuto. The man’s baseball cap couldn’t hide his androgynous features, while his flared nostrils were breathing fire as he glared at Hokuto through the mirror. 

“Unhand me–now!” 

Hokuto didn’t comply, of course, and the man could only try to thrash around while Hokuto kept his arms locked. 

“Who sent you?” 

“Who sent me?” The man repeated, definitely angrier now, “The fuck are you on about?” 

“Again, who—” Then, Hokuto noticed it. He was too preoccupied to see it, but he was wearing a black wireless headphones. 

“Oh!” The realization made Hokuto loosen his grip and set the man free. He grumbled while he massaged his arms and threw Hokuto daggers with his eyes. 

“This is what I get for being nice…” The man complained when the door opened and two men came in. Both were hammered, their faces red and their steps staggered as they went straight to the urinal. 

“You think that bloke died?” One asked. 

“Probably. Or maybe just very drunk?” 

Their conversation brought Hokuto back to the present. He should have left minutes ago, and so he did, taking the headphones with him, and leaving a speechless and fuming man. 

***

“My New Year’s resolution is that I’ll be nicer, but I’m taking that back now. No more Mr. Nice Guy,” complained Taiga. He was still incensed. Not only did his arms hurt, but he just been manhandled by a guy he tried to help. 

Kochi, his manager and confidante, checks his watch. “That was quick, can’t wait until we’re done with the shrine visit? Where are your headphones?” 

Taiga sighed. He waited for at least six months for those headphones, and he just gave them away to someone ungrateful. “You don’t want to know.” 

He now regrets agreeing to a fan meeting/new year countdown. He should have been a good son instead and eaten ozoni with his parents. But he felt compelled to please his loyal fans who never left him after last year’s fiasco that almost ended his career. If he were being honest about it, his career might never really take off. 

“By the way, did something happen in the next room?” There were paramedics, and Taiga thinks he also saw a couple of police officers when he was done at the toilet. He didn’t bother staying around; flashing lights in the colors of blue and red terrified him. 

“Seems like someone died at the private party next door.” 

“Oh…?” 

“Uhm, about that…” Kochi fidgeted and on his seat, and he could tell he wouldn’t like whatever Kochi would say next.

“We might have to go to the police station tomorrow.”

Taiga was just as stunned as he was bent over his waist earlier. “W-what?” 

“Well, you see, the police wanted everyone on the floor to be interviewed about the guy who just died.” 

Taiga still didn’t get it. “Didn’t that person die next door?” 

“Uhm, yeah, they just wanted everyone’s testimonies but–” Kochi said quickly upon seeing Taiga’s mounting anger, “-- if the forensics ruled it as natural death, there’s no need for us to come.” 

Taiga let out a sigh of relief. Dealing with the police was something he didn’t enjoy, and he didn’t think anyone enjoyed it either unless they were Detective Conan.

“As much as I hate death, I hope that person died of natural causes.” 

“I hope so, too,” agreed Kochi. “By the way, an offer came. A Netflix drama.” 

Taiga’s mood instantly changed. The rude guy and the threat of visiting the police station were lightyears away from his mind. 

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m agreeing now. You may say yes.” 

Kochi didn’t even appear surprised that Taiga agreed so readily. Kochi understood Taiga’s thirst for work. It was never about the money; it was all about passion. 

“Are you sure?” 

Taiga nodded. “Never been sure about anything.” 

Kochi took out his phone, and after a few taps, he showed Taiga his DMs. “This is the producer, do you know him?”

Taiga checked the name, and his eyes widened. “Fuck.”

Kochi smirked, satisfied with Taiga’s reaction. “Don’t worry, you won’t get fuck here. He promised it’ll be a very wholesome Boys Love.” 

Taiga shut his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he received a BL offer. His looks and body ticked all the boxes of an uke stereotype. But as he repeatedly told anyone, if anyone is doing the giving, it would be him. 

“Kill me,” muttered Taiga. 

“How did you know the title?” 

He opened his eyes. “What do you mean?” 

“The title,” Kochi repeated. “Kill me, Heal me.” 

***

“Thank you for healing me, sensei.”

“I didn’t do anything special,” said Hokuto as he closed a hand on his patient. “But please don’t play with knives ever.”

The kid nodded, and his eyes became teary again. He left the dressing to the nurse, finished all his Doctor's Notes in the EMR, and then went back to the sleeping quarters. He felt like a resident again, working his ass off during all the long holidays while his seniors enjoyed the New Year holiday with their families. 

“Family, huh?” He just recalled why he’d rather work his ass off. He had no family to return to for the holidays. The sleeping quarters were empty for a change, but it still smelled of struggle and body odor. He eyed the wireless black headphones sitting on the shared desk. He should give it back. Upon searching, he learned that the headphones were a customized kind. The owner’s hearing capabilities and sensitivities were assessed for maximum comfort and listening. 

“Should I ask someone to locate him? I really don’t like asking this kind of favor.” He thought when the door opened and Hokuto smiled sleazily. 

“You’re the senior resident tonight?” asked Hokuto. 

“You’re the fellow?” Shintaro clarified, punching Hokuto lightly on the shoulder. 

Hokuto sneered. “Not anymore. I’ve been working for like 24 hrs, I’m going home.” He started changing clothes when he realized Shintaro had been staring intently at him.

“Sorry, I’m not a fan of office romance,” he joked.

Shintaro slapped his shoulder again, a bit harder this time. “Were you at Toranomon Hills on New Year’s Eve? There’s a sky bar there.” 

Hokuto pulled a fresh shirt over his head and gave Shintaro a confused look. “Do I look like I was partying last night? Oh…the ozoni Mita-san made tasted like it had sake in it.”

Shintaro giggled. “Knowing Mita-san…” he said about the ED’s head nurse, “...it probably has, and yeah, it couldn’t have been you. Do you even know how to party?”

Everyone at the hospital knew about Hokuto’s introverted ass, and he decided to continue the pity route. “So you were partying at some sky bar, huh? While I’m–I’m back to being a slave.” They used to joke that in the hospital hierarchy, residents are the slaves, while the fellows are the semi-slaves. Their professions looked good on paper, but their working conditions were just pure slavery. 

“Nah!” Shintaro denied. “I was just there to support my brother for his, like, comeback.” 

Hokuto felt like a cad. “Oh…brother.” So Shintaro has a brother. Hokuto was never to type to ask about one’s family for the sole reason that he didn’t want the question returned to him. 

“Comeback? Is your brother in K-pop?” 

Shintaro gasped and started slow clapping. 

Hokuto placed a hand on his chest. “Should I be insulted?”

“Sorry,” said Shintaro, still smiling widely, “But I never, in a million years, would think you’ll connect comeback and K-pop.”

Hokuto decided he should be insulted. “I do have a life,” he argued when, in reality, he just overheard the nurses talking about a comeback stage of some K-pop group. 

Someone knocked on the door before it revealed a mousy-looking resident who needed Shintaro. They said quick goodbyes, and Hokuto was on his way out when his work phone pinged. It was Juri, his handler at what he called his side job. 

“New assignment.” The email subject reads. Hokuto clicked the email with an attachment of his next target. Hokuto downloaded the jpeg file, and all the fatigue left his body. 

“Hokuto!” 

He turned and saw Shintaro hurrying with a brown bag. “Happy New Year!” 

“You shouldn’t have–”

“Take it,” said Shintaro, practically shoving the bag at him. “So, do you have plans tomorrow?” 

He clenched his hand on his phone. “Ah, yeah, I’ve got to return these headphones to its owner.”

Somewhere in Europe, Year 1567-1583 in the Julian and Gregorian calendars (1582)

Leoric watched not only the changing of seasons but also the birth of the chosen son six months later. The then woman is now called Sarah, a name she chose after she was baptized, and she decided to name her newborn after Lord Finnian. Leoric didn’t think it was right, but the name fits the baby more than his lordship. “Finnian” means “fair” and “white", and the boy is white as snow. Later that year, his lordship married a woman 20 years younger than him. Her ladyship went on to give Lord Finnian a girl the following year, followed by two boys and another girl to complete Lord Finnian’s family. 

Leoric watched the kids grow up side-by-side, but one couldn’t deny his lordship’s affection for the little Finnian, or as he preferred to be called, Finn. Eventually, and as Leoric expected, Lord Finnian’s kids developed a visceral jealousy toward Finn. Leoric couldn’t blame them. Finn grew up with dashing good looks and a brain that even the most snobbish school offered him a placement. Finn wasn't brought up like a servant that was expected of him, but he was given the education only reserved for the nobility. And it was no surprise that Lord Finnian's kids bullied Finn each time they got the chance, and Finn never breathed a word of complaint. Leoric decided to be the narc and told the lord about it, and he was surprised by his response, “Let it be, it would make him stronger.” 

When Finn turned 16, Lord Finnian announced that he and Finn would be going on a one-year trip. The biological kids all hated it, but none of them could stop it. Leoric also went with them, and both he and Finn had no idea where they were headed. It was a long, grueling journey that  Leoric could only thank the heavens for making it alive.

 “Where are we, my Lord?” asked Finn after they got off the ship. 

“In a place where you’ll be finally fulfilling your role.” 

Leoric frowned. Finn’s role is to protect Lord Finnian’s kids, and none of those kids are with them now, unless…

Not far from them stood a mother and son. Except for the almond eyes, the boy was the spitting image of younger Lord Finnian, from angular jaw to celestial nose. 

Leoric thought he knew his lordship well, but he guessed he didn’t know Lord Finnian at all. 

The mother prodded her son to step forward. The kid might be the same age as Finn, but shorter and thinner. He took his time reaching Lord Finnian until they were a couple of steps apart. 

“F-father?” The boy said, his accent rugged. 

Lord Finnian acknowledged him with a nod and turned to Finn. “Finn, this is my sole heir, whom you will serve from now on.”

***

Present year, 2026

“Ignorance is bliss” was how Hokuto operated as a contract killer. The less he knew, the better. He didn’t enter this world with a vendetta or a strong sense of justice. Outcast from his family, he needed a high-paying job to finance his studies, and an opportunity came. People think John Wick is cool, but he’s just a hitman like Hokuto is, and there’s nothing glamorous about it. Having someone else’s blood on your hands was nothing worth romanticizing. 

“Hmmm, this is the first time you asked about your assignment,” said Juri. Hokuto could picture his handler smirking. Juri might even find his curiosity cute. 

In their world, there are four levels of hierarchy; the fourth one is their assignment, their target, and as represented by the kanji shi (死). Third in the hierarchy are the contractors to which Hokuto belonged; second are the handlers, such as Juri, and the spotters, who are responsible for the recruits. First on the hierarchy are those whom they call the “Patriarchs”, a group of 9 men, or women, probably, who control the entire organization. 

Hokuto put down his phone. Kyomoto Taiga was easily searchable on Google. He even has his own Wikipedia page. A second-generation actor, he debuted in one of his father’s movies at 16 years old. Taiga went on to star in supporting roles in different dramas and movies, and it looked like he would just continue doing so until his tearjerker movie, where he starred as a dying second-male lead, caught everyone’s heart. Since then, he became a lead in dramas, joined a popular drama franchise, and hosted a midnight radio show where his unhinged MC style became a hit. However, Taiga’s just-blossomed career met a setback when an actress was found dead at his apartment. He was acquitted of murder, but the public hasn’t warmed up to him yet.

“Let’s just say that I sort of owe him,” said Hokuto as he twirled the headphones around his finger. So far, all of Hokuto’s targets were unknown to him, and Taiga would be the first. Not an acquaintance, but not a stranger either. 

“So you’re having doubts?” Juri challenged. 

“Have I ever turned down a job?” He challenged back. He never turned down a job, and he didn’t want to find out what would happen if he ever did. 

There was silence at the other line, and Hokuto thought Juri was gone until Juri cleared his throat. “I trust you, Hokuto,” said Juri, and Hokuto could detect that  Juri’s trust was laced with threat. 

“Anyway, you fucked up your last job,” added Juri.  

He straightened in his seat. “I never fucked up,” he argued, insulted. 

“Kyomoto went back to the location to review the CCTV. My source says he was clearly looking for you.” 

Hokuto looked at the headphones and sighed. “He could just be looking for me because of the headphones.” 

“What headphones?” 

“Long story.” 

“Whatever, I don’t make the calls, Hokuto. Kyomoto was ordered to be gone. If you don’t do it, someone else surely will, so what’s your call?” 

Hokuto sighed again. His moment of weakness because of the bloody fireworks would be someone else’s demise. A foreign feeling crept up his chest, but he quickly shook it off. It was just a job, nothing personal. 

“As I’ve said earlier, I never fucked up.” 

***

“Has this man been here to give his statement?” asked Taiga before he glared at Kochi for kicking his shin. They just arrived at the police station for voluntary questioning about what happened on New Year’s Day, but Taiga had only one goal: he wanted his headphones back. 

“I like you better when you don’t want to step in here,” said Kochi in gritted teeth. Taiga avoided anything police-related after that ordeal. Being questioned by the police traumatized him more than the crime they were accusing him of. 

“Can’t you just buy another one?” Kochi prodded. 

“I checked, the waiting time is now 8 months, so no.” 

“Who am I looking at?” asked the sleepy-looking police officer, or maybe he was sleeping while on the job, judging from his tangled shirt.

“He took my headphones.” 

“And you want to file a complaint–”

“Oh no, not that. Let’s just say I let him borrow it, but I didn’t get his name, so I was wondering…maybe?” 

The police officer raised an eyebrow while he mixed his instant coffee using what looked like a ruler. 

“Do you know how many people were next door?”

“Uhm, a hundred?” He guessed.

“Two hundred. They exceeded the 150 capacity, and if those 200 would come here, do you think I could recall every name and face?”

Taiga lightly shook his head.

“And if ever I can recall who is who, do you think I will just give you their contact details?”

“Well, I was hoping–” 

“I apologize on his behalf, officer,” Kochi cuts in, forcing him to back off with another kick on his shin. 

“But–”

“We’ve wasted your time, we’re leaving.”

“Aren’t we supposed to give our statement of that night?” asked Taiga. 

“Oh yeah,” replied Kochi, looking deflated, they still had to stay. 

The officer sighed, his face screamed he’d rather have his morning coffee than deal with two psychos. “You guys were in the next room, right?” He asked, dragging his voice.

Taiga nodded.

“Did you, any time before or during the fireworks, go out of the room, and have a chance to see the deceased?” The officer pulled two photographs from his drawer. One is a blow-up of his driver’s license, while the other is a crop from someone else’s SNS post that night. Taiga didn’t want to speak ill of the dead, but there was nothing that stood out about the man except for his emerald Rolex watch that Taiga’s dad also owned. Taiga surmised that he could have seen the man, and his attention would be on his watch and not his face. 

Kochi answered first, “I stayed in the room until after the fireworks, and when I went out before the fireworks, I don’t recall running into him.”

“Same,” said Taiga. “I went out during the fireworks where I saw him,” he said instead, raising the CCTV shot outside the men’s toilet.

The officer ignored his quip and asked, “Did you two see anyone you think looks suspicious?”

“Suspicious?” Kochi clarified, and a light bulb turned on in Taiga’s head.

“Was he killed?” He gasped.

The officer showed no signs that Taiga was correct. “We don’t suspect foul play, and we’ve received nothing from forensics yet.”

“Ah…” he mumbled.

“So did you see anyone suspicious?”

Taiga wanted to say that thinking someone is suspicious is very judgmental, but he held his tongue. “I don’t think anyone is suspicious. We were all there to welcome the New Year.”

“Okay,” the officer turned to the foreign-looking chap next to him. The man’s skin is as fair as Taiga’s, but unlike Taiga, the man is so buff that the thread of his sleeves was fighting to survive until Lunar New Year. 

“Lewis, give them forms to fill out their contact details so they can be on their way.”

“Yes, sergeant!” 

“Lewis? Is he half-Japanese?” thought Taiga as the robust man handed them forms and pens. When they were done, Kochi literally dragged him away until they reached their car.

“I knew you were up to something when you wanted to go to the police,” muttered Kochi. “And when did you go there to check their CCTV? How did you even get that?” 

“The staff were fans of my dad,” he said glumly. He was still feeling dejected; everything he did was for naught.

“Let’s just buy another pair of headphones, please, let’s avoid a scandal–” They both turned when someone knocked on Taiga’s window. 

“Officer Lewis?” Taiga asked as he opened his door. “Did we forget something?”

“Ah, no, uhm,” Lewis looked around him before continuing. “By the way, let’s not be formal and just call me Jesse.”

Taiga and Kochi exchanged wary glances. “O-kay, Jesse.”

“Uhm, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop earlier, but about the CCTV photo you showed…”

Hope soared in Taiga as he pulled out the photo again. “Have you seen him?!”

“I think he looks familiar, but I need to check again.”

“You can take it,” he said, shoving the pictures into his hands. 

“Uhm, okay, and here’s my card–”

Kochi took the card before Taiga could grab it. “Just contact me if there’s anything related to that man,” said Kochi, handing Jesse his card.

Jesse studied his card and said, “Okay, I’ll give you a call then.” 

“You will tell me if he calls, right?” asked Taiga. 

“I will tell you, but I’ll deal with this moving forward.”

“Kochi, it’s just a stranger and my headphones, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Kochi caught his eyes through the rearview mirror. “What’s the worst that could happen? Have you forgotten what happened?” 

Taiga avoided Kochi’s eyes. A distant memory of crimson blood on his white tiles flashed in his mind. “Fine. I’ll leave it to you.”

 ***

Quick and easy is how Hokuto operates. Some contract killers would leave their signature on the job, but if Hokuto could disappear like a ghost, he would have done it. In the three days that Hokuto followed Taiga, he concluded that approaching him again would be the best move.

“If I knew this would happen, I would have killed him back in the toilet.” 

Taiga rarely went out of his apartment, and if he did, it was for work, and he was always with his manager, who also chauffeured him around. Although there were times when Taiga went out for a meal on his own, he always went to restaurants with few customers, so there would be no chance for Hokuto to accidentally bump into him and kill him. Hokuto also noticed that Taiga was very cautious; he never strayed to a dark alley, he always surveyed a place before entering, and, unlike most people nowadays, Hokuto never saw Taiga on his phone when he walked or ate. It was like going out was a chore for Taiga, and he needed it to be over with, no room for distractions or whatsoever.

“Was he always careful, or did that scandal change him?” Hokuto thought as he watched Taiga get out of his service car, and he waited until Taiga was inside his apartment building. 

“Game.” Hokuto wore Taiga’s headphones, linked them to his phone, and King Gnu’s “Chameleon” flowed swiftly to his ears. Just like a chameleon, Hokuto isn’t a doctor who moonlights as an assassin, but he’s one of the crew of ‘Move It’ that would be helping their client move in 6S. 

And Taiga living next door is just a fortunate accident. 

“Serendipity, is that what fools call it?”

Present year, 2026...

“Taiga, you’re my son, and you should always remember that not everyone who approaches you has good intentions.”

“It’s a kind of magic to wake-up exactly before you arrive at home,” thought Taiga after he opened his eyes and saw the van alight at his apartment. He stretched his arms above and wide, forcing his blood to wake. 

“I had a weird dream about my dad,” he told Kochi as he stretched his neck. 

“Maybe it’s a sign that you should call your parents.” 

“I called them last New Year,” he said and changed the topic, “Will you tell me everything about your meeting with Jesse?”

“I will even record it for you,” replied Kochi without looking up from his phone. 

“Can’t I just–?”

“No,” said Kochi firmly. “We’ve talked about this.” 

Taiga sighed. Kochi usually spoils him, but he can be really strict when it matters. 

“Just take a rest, you have a chemistry read tomorrow with your potential co-stars.”

Taiga sighed again. He still didn’t want to do the BL movie, but arguing with Kochi wouldn’t raise his chances of joining the meeting with Jesse. 

“Fine, but promise you will call me?” 

“I will, I will,” Kochi repeated with impatience. 

Taiga also bid his stylist goodbye before going down. He saw a movers truck and hoped whoever it was, it wouldn’t be moving next door to him. He finally had a moment of peace after his neighbor finally had an epiphany that maybe being a violin player wasn’t his calling. 

He reached his floor and all his hopes collapsed. The new tenant is not only moving right next to him, but judging from the strollers, cribs, and play mats, Taiga would have to deal with kids this time around. He could only shake his head as he approached his unit and saw that one of the movers was wearing something similar to his headphones, and before he could turn in his key, he gave the mover another look. 

The man stood a few inches taller than him; he had broad shoulders, and he couldn’t see his hair because of the bonnet he wore, but the headphones seemed to be calling Taiga. The man turned to his side, and seeing the man’s slim nose and angular jaw, Taiga gasped. 

“You!” 

His voice must have been louder than he intended, because the man glanced back at him.

“Oh!” He pushed one ear of the headphones back. “It’s you.”

Taiga found the casualness irritating. He crossed his arms and said, “I see that you’re making good use of my headphones.” 

“The sound is good.”

“Of course it is, now, hand it over.”

The man looked confused. “Didn’t you give this to me?”

Taiga blinked twice, dumbfounded at the audacity. “Most definitely not! That headphone had been customized for me–”

The man giggled and removed the headphones fully. “Just kidding. I’m glad to run into you. Do you live here?” He asked, looking at Taiga’s keys in his hand.

“Yeah, I do. Here in 6T.”

“I see, can I use your toilet for a bit?”

Taiga frowned. Does their need for a toilet somehow connect them?  “Why don’t you pee there?” He asked, pointing at 6S’s door. 

“I think the toilet is clogged.”

“Eew, okay, but hand me my head–” He didn’t get to finish what he had to say as the man placed his headphones on Taiga’s head.

“Unusual song choice,” he said upon hearing The Carpenters ‘Close to You’. The man just smiled and patted the headband part of his headphones.

Taiga turned to open his door. “Toilet is just over there…” He didn’t get to continue as color drained from his face. 

***

Hokuto made more customization with Taiga’s headphones. All Hokuto needed was a tiny compartment to hold a nerve agent, which would be released once he pressed it on Taiga’s head. 

“And I just have to make sure he’s dead.” 

“Toilet is just over there–”

Hokuto’s vision doubled as he clutched his chest. Ice seemed to replace his blood as his body grew rigid. He felt like, one by one, his organs would shut down. He didn’t have time for fear as he willed himself to think critically. He looked at his hands; he wore double sterile gloves underneath the heavy-duty gloves given for the movers. He’d been very careful not to touch the nerve agent, so why was he also experiencing the effects? Could he have inhaled some of it?

“Are you okay?” asked Taiga, fear evident in his voice.

He looked at Taiga as Hokuto’s body grew too heavy for him to stand, and he let himself fall. 

“Why is he okay? What is happening?” 

“A-a-are you o-okay?”

Hokuto didn’t know why Taiga started stuttering. He doubted it was the effect of the nerve agent. Taiga looked doubly horrified that his already pale color became ashen.

“Oh g-god, not again, w-what s-should I d-do? A-ah, I s-should c-c-call–”

Hokuto used his remaining strength to hold Taiga’s face and make him focus. Taiga looked in more distress than Hokuto was, and Hokuto was the one dying. 

“Don’t call…” He felt like a brick was added to his chest at each word. 

“Throw this…Pocket…Inject…Thigh…”

Taiga shook his head. His eyes said he had given up.

“Can..do…it…” 

Taiga was close to tears; his hands continued to shake as he reached into Hokuto’s pockets. Two pre-filled syringes; two antidotes, Hokuto’s only lifeline.

“NOW!”

Taiga closed his eyes and plunged the syringe as though he stabbed Hokuto with a knife.

***

Taiga had no idea what time it was, but he remained huddled next to the man. They were still on the floor, the thermostat on maximum, but both of them were covered with Taiga’s thickest blanket. 

“He’s alive…still alive,” Taiga said with a bit of relief. He’d been checking the man’s pulse and listening to his heart since he injected whatever were those he told Taiga to do so. The man’s color has improved, but he still feels cold, and he hasn’t moved an inch or made a sound. Taiga wanted to call Shintaro, his brother from another mother, for help, but this man just used his last remaining ounce of strength to tell Taiga, “Don’t call”, and he wanted to honor that. He even threw in his customized headphones.

“Is he sick? That doesn’t look like a seizure, though.” His ruminations were interrupted by his phone ringing. He totally forgot he had a phone and was surprised to see it was almost 9 in the evening. He took a deep breath, he was still trembling, and he didn’t want Kochi to catch that. 

“Kochi…how’s your meeting?”

“Taiga! Sorry, I didn’t call you sooner. I had a Zoom meeting after I met with the police.”

“It’s okay…” He was thankful that Kochi delayed his call. Taiga didn’t think he would understand anything if Kochi called earlier.

“Cool, you sound…sad? Are you okay?”

“Just sleepy,” he lied. He rose slowly and went to his balcony. “I just had ramen. So how did it go?”

“At 9 pm?! Anyway, I didn’t get to record; Jesse forbade it. About that man…”

Taiga glanced at that man, who remained buried under his blankets.

“...his name is Matsumura Hokuto.”

“Matsumura Hokuto,” Taiga repeated.

“Yep, and about him, Jesse remembered him because he was ordered to look for someone from their missing persons directory, and that was where he saw this Matsumura, only younger and more tanned.”

That bit surprised Taiga. “He is missing?”

“Well, that was what drew Jesse to his case. His family reported him missing when he was 13, but the police thought he just ran away. They never found him, and 7 years later, his family returned to say they wanted the case closed. When asked if Matsumura had been found, who by then was already an adult, they said it was a false report because there was no Matsumura Hokuto in their family in the first place.”

“Huh? What does that even mean?” 

“Weird, right? Jesse said the police just assumed it was their way of saying that Hokuto had been disowned.”

“Oh…” He looked sadly at Hokuto. Taiga was well-loved by his parents, and he couldn’t imagine his own parents disowning him.

“Yeah… oh…and those Matsumuras were filthy rich. Like Richie Rich rich. They were part of Milestones Holdings Inc.”

“Sounds familiar…” 

“It should be, they’re also in real estate, and the building where you lived is owned by them.”

“Oh…” He grew sadder. Hokuto not only has to work as a mover at a building his family owns, but he probably also has a debilitating disease.

“Speaking of the Matsumuras, do you know if their family has been sick?”

“What do you mean, sick?”

“You know, like those diseases that you can inherit, or so?”

“Ahh…that kind…Jesse didn’t say anything. Why?”

“Uhm, nothing, just curious.”

“Okay, well, that’s all I have on him. What’s your next move? I’m now checking if he has any SNS, so maybe you can message him to get your headphones back.”

Taiga swallowed hard. His headphones are now in the trash, and Hokuto is cold on the floor.

“It’s okay, Kochi, uhm, I-I’ve already placed an order for new headphones,” he lied.

“What?! Are you that fickle-minded?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, mentally reminding himself that he might as well order one. He feigned a yawn and quickly made an excuse for needing to sleep. He ended the call and almost yelped when he found Hokuto standing behind him.

“Matsumura-san, h-how are you feeling?” Hokuto still looked like death to Taiga, but his eyes were on fire. Hokuto didn’t seem surprised that Taiga knew his name, and before Taiga could say more, a faint smell of metal wafted toward him. 

“Sorry,” whispered Hokuto; his voice might still be weak, but his hold on Taiga was strong as he pinned him on the balcony’s sliding doors. “I need to finish the job.”

Taiga glanced down, blood dripped to his fingertips, and before darkness consumed him, he thought he saw Hokuto shed a tear.

At Present, Year 2026

“I’ve never seen you this sick.”

“Me either.” Hokuto kept his head on the bin after another bout of vomiting. It had been 24 hours, and he thought that he had started seeing the light – to hell that is. 

“What happened?” asked Juri. “Why is Kyomoto still alive?” He didn’t sound angry, just genuinely curious. It had been 6 years since Hokuto started this job, and he had yet to fail. He didn’t even think failing was an option. 

Hokuto sighed as he injected an ampule of painkillers and antiemetics into his IV. 

“Would you believe me if I said I have no idea either?” He sat back on his bed and stared at his bandaged left arm. He closed his eyes and replayed the events of last night. Everything felt like a fever dream, aside from him running a literal fever. Being an ED and Trauma Fellow never prepared him for what he did last night. He had to hurt himself again by cutting his arm open so the severed muscle inside could be stitched back. Otherwise, how could he explain having bleeding and a severed muscle underneath a closed skin? 

“I stabbed him; he bled, but I suffered all the consequences.” 

“Are you telling me or are you talking to yourself?” asked Juri. Hokuto didn’t bother telling him the whole story because the truth was just mad. 

“Both?” Hokuto never felt so unsure in his life. 

“Maybe you’re having the after effects of the nerve agent, which, by the way, was so reckless of you to use one. You could have been a goner!”

“I think I’m already a goner,” Hokuto lamented. A thousand questions were running through his head, and he couldn’t find a single rational answer. 

“If it makes you feel better, Kyomoto hasn’t reached out to the police yet.”

Hokuto didn’t think Taiga would even report to the police. He had the impression that Taiga didn’t like the police after his scandal. Moreover, Hokuto also didn’t think Taiga was fully aware of what happened. 

“It’s really a good thing you were carrying antidotes, uhm, you carried those for yourself, right?”

Hokuto still had the strength to glare at Juri. “Duh, of course they were for me.”

“Okay, no need to be mad.”

Hokuto sighed. He is still tired, and being questioned made him cranky. “Look, I’m sorry I raised my voice, but if you can talk to the higher-ups, will you tell them that Kyomoto is mine and mine alone? If they send anyone to him, I’ll kill them. No one can have Kyomoto but me.”

Juri raised an eyebrow. “Is that a love declaration?”

“Piss off!” 

Juri laughed. “Okay, I’ll talk to them. Anything else?”

Hokuto paused for a bit. What happened between Taiga and him couldn’t be explained by logic, but somewhere in Hokuto’s mind, a hypothesis started forming, and a familiar voice told him, “Hokuto, any pain you try to inflict will come back to you in twofold.” 

He inwardly shook his head. He wouldn’t go to that territory. He fought hard to run away from them; there was no going back. 

“Hokuto? Are you okay?” 

“Huh? Yeah, uhm, sorry, I really just want to sleep,” he said as an excuse. 

“Very well. Expect an answer within this week. For now, rest.”

Hokuto closed his eyes, and sleep came easily.

***

If Hokuto slept a lot, Taiga couldn’t have a proper wink. He arrived for his chemistry read looking like a ghost, and no make-up could salvage it. It didn’t help that the lines he needed to read were cheesy and creepy, and with his lack of sleep, he sounded like a pissed marionette. 

“Thank you for not even trying,” said Kochi sarcastically after he dropped him off. 

“I’m really sorry. I’m just so tired, but I promise it’ll be better tomorrow.” 

“It should be, or else,” muttered Kochi before gesturing to cutting off Taiga’s neck. He could only sigh as he watched the rear lights grow smaller before he entered his building. 

“Did he try to kill me?” He asked himself over and over again each time he would see the cut on his left arm. The cut was so clean and refined that when he told Shintaro about it, he didn’t believe that Taiga had been stabbed. Shintaro ordered an X-ray and an MRI, and both came out normal. Not a single severed muscle, tendon, or vein to suggest a stab wound. 

“Were you drunk? Maybe you just scratched yourself and dreamt you were stabbed?” asked Shintaro, and his doubts could have influenced Taiga if it weren’t for the presence of his blood-stained shirt. 

“If he tried to kill me, shouldn’t I be calling the police?” He mumbled as he opened his door, “But why would he kill me?” 

Hokuto was gone when Taiga woke up. He was lying on his sofa, and he promptly checked his arm; the blood had dried, and the cut had healed. He’d never been stabbed, but he was quite sure it wouldn’t heal that quickly. Moreover, the blood he saw running down his arm, before he passed out, was no joke. 

He opened his balcony and embraced the chill. The last time something horrifying happened in his apartment, he moved immediately, and it was weird that he didn’t feel scared staying in the same apartment. Maybe because no one really died there yet, or maybe he was hoping Hokuto would be back. 

“Where are you, Matsumura Hokuto?” 

 ***

“What’s that?” 

Hokuto stashed his MRI results in his bag before Shintaro could look more into them. 

“What happened to your arm?” asked Shintaro and gently poked him.

“Burn injury,” he lied. 

“From what?” 

“C-cooking.”

Shintaro was not buying it. “Cooking? You cook?”

Hokuto knew whatever he said would be nothing but bullshit, but he couldn’t back down. “Yeah, I was trying to make this…vodka ala penne and when I put on the vodka, the fire just woosh, like a geyser!” 

“Ooooh,” Shintaro did look a tad bit convinced. “That could happen.” 

“Yeah. It really did.”

“Arm injuries are kinda common lately, my brother was here yesterday wanting an MRI for a fucking scratch.”

“Your brother might be a hypochondriac,” said Hokuto as he thought of Taiga. He wondered what Taiga thought of having just a scratch after Hokuto stabbed him. 

“Tell me about it! So, you’re taking a leave?”

“Just for a week. Please take care of the ED.” 

Shintaro did a salute before saying, “Yes, captain!” 

“Baka.”

“Oh, were you able to return those headphones?” 

“I did, but the owner threw it away.” Hokuto burned the nerve-agent-laced headphones. 

“Then, he should have just given it to you.” 

Hokuto just shrugged as they reached outside. “I don’t want it anyway, so I’ll see you next week!”

Instead of answering, Shintaro pulled him into a hug. “Nothing weird, I just feel like you needed a hug.” 

Hokuto stood frozen as Shintaro playfully tried to squeeze him. Did he look that sad? Shintaro smelled like garlic, but his body was like a bear's. Being warmed by another human felt so foreign to Hokuto, but it also felt nice. 

Hokuto broke off the hug; he recalled that someone like him didn’t deserve such fondness. Someone who takes someone’s light doesn't deserve to bask in it. 

From the hospital, Hokuto dropped by the laundromat where he had Taiga’s blankets dry-cleaned. Hokuto must be shivering so badly that Taiga decided three layers of his thickest blanket is the answer. The blankets now smelled of Hokuto’s favorite fabric softener, and he booked a courier to send them back. He promised Juri he wouldn't try to see Taiga until they heard from their bosses. But he knew that wasn’t the sole reason, and he was scared to admit it. He only met Taiga last week, but unknown to him, he already has a noose around Hokuto’s neck. 

And that scares him.

Present year...

“Everyone thinks I’m brave, that I’m scary, but I’m scared of a lot of things. Despite that, I will still go out of the sun and burn rather than forever hide in the darkness and not see you.” Taiga fought hard not to roll his eyes after reading his lines. They used to make him a variety of scripts, but for today, the writer finally agreed to use the actual script for the chemistry read. The writer was scared her work would be plagiarized before filming began, but as Taiga saw it, there was nothing worth plagiarizing. He hated the plot, and his character is soulless, literally. He threw darting glances toward Kochi, whose face was all red from laughing at Taiga’s pain.

“I didn’t know that I’m a vampire.” He wasn’t informed there would be fangs.

“Yes,” said the director, “It was a last-minute decision to go the fantasy route. You were originally supposed to have multiple personalities, but we didn’t think your acting range could handle it.”

“How nice of you,” he muttered under his breath. 

“Oh, food is here, why don’t we all take a break?” The director announced, and Taiga went back to his van to eat. The director had told him to lose weight, so he decided to eat his meals somewhere private. 

“Instant noodles won’t make you lose weight,” muttered Kochi, but he still handed him a cup of noodles. 

“I’ll lose weight when they’ve found my co-star.” He slurped the red-hot noodles, and the burn on his tongue was satisfying. 

“Oooh, that was good,” he moaned in pleasure and took another slurp. 

“Make sure to moan like that during your love scenes.” 

Taiga almost spat out the sodium-filled broth. “I thought this was a wholesome BL?”

“Having a vampire as a lead should have been your clue. Have you seen a wholesome vampire? All that blood-sucking has to be sexy.”

“Well, can’t I be the first wholesome vampire?” He lost all his appetite and perused the still unfinished script. “What page?”

“Around 100 or so…?”

Taiga skimmed to page 103, and he had to wear his glasses because he couldn’t believe what he just read. A love scene between his character, Morcant, and his human lover, Ranulf. 

“Fade in. Interior. Castle Verona - Morcant - Evening - 

The First Feast

Close up on Ranulf, his eyes close in ecstatic concentration and as he moans. Camera pulls back to reveal Morcant fangs buried on the nook of Ranulf’s neck, while Morcant’s thin and long fingers moved lower until it reached Ranulf’s pants, Morcant unzip’s Ranulf’s pants and slid his hand in.”

 

Taiga felt cold sweat gathering on his brow. He was partly appalled at what he had to do, but he had to admit that the dialogues were lame; however, these scenes could revive the dead. 

He turned another page. 

“Interior. Ranulf’s apartment - bedroom - Bossa Nova music in BG. 

Close up on Morcant’s face, his eyes change color to radioactive green as he bites Ranulf’s neck while continuing to pound him. Ranulf screams with pain and pleasure. 

Close up Ranulf’s face, with glowing blue eyes. 

Ranulf moans and screams to Morcant, ‘Harder!’. 

The wall is being pounded hard, and the frames that line the wall start trembling.” 

Taiga felt his face grow hot, and he knew it wasn’t because of the spicy noodles. He turned another page.

“Close up of their hips intertwined, sweaty and glowing.”

And another page…

“Morcant pushed Ranulf down the table, face down…”

And another page…

“Close up on Ranulf’s abs, oil dripping before Morcant spread it using his hands….”

“Six pages and I don’t have a single line,” bemused Taiga. 

“Well, you were too busy pounding someone,” said Kochi with a malicious grin. “But look, at least you’re not a bottom.”

Taiga sighed. Not being the bottom is the least of his problems. “This is literally, PWP, I’m pretty sure I’ll ruin my career with this one,” he said. 

“You won’t,” said Kochi and Taiga didn’t know where Kochi got his confidence. “It’s all the rage now.”

Taiga sighed. “The sex will surely sell, but I don’t think we can attract the kind of audience who will support me for a long time. Is there a way to improve the plot?” He couldn’t believe he was finding a way to continue doing this. 

Kochi smirked. “As long as you’re not quitting, I’ll see what I can do with the plot. Eat proper food,” he handed Taiga a tuna mayo onigiri, which he quickly unwrapped. 

Kochi left, while he started munching while checking some of his games on his phone. He became engrossed in playing; he only noticed something was off when he started smelling something nutty, like an almond. He sniffed his onigiri, thinking it might have gone bad when he noticed white smoke hissing into his van. He quickly ran and tried to open the door, but it was locked. 

“Help!” He shouted while he banged on his window. 

A staff member quickly alerted everyone and saw Kochi and some of the crew running toward his van. Kochi tried to open using his keys, while some of the crew were poised to break the window. 

“Stay back!” someone shouted, and Taiga stepped farther from the door. White smoke almost filled the van; his visibility was limited, and while he could breathe normally, he’d been feeling sleepy, and before he closed his eyes, he heard the glass shatter. 

***

Hokuto didn’t particularly like gum, but chewing one seemed apt in his role as a bored janitor. The start-up office called “GOLD” was empty; everyone was out for lunch, save for one employee inside his glass-walled office. Hokuto increased the volume of his phone; he’d been listening to last Sunday’s midnight ANN, and the jokes were becoming naughty as he emptied the bins one by one.

“These people don’t recycle, huh?” He complained as he reached the glass office. He didn’t bother knocking, and the employee with thick-rimmed glasses didn’t pay Hokuto any heed as he emptied his bin and replaced the plastic. And the man’s full attention remained on his monitor as Hokuto made his way out. 

“People are so busy, they didn’t even notice their lattes were switched.” He stopped at one desk and pretended to clean. He had a good view of the glass office through the heart-shaped mirror, and his face remained stoic as he watched the man place both of his hands on his throat, gasping, before falling backwards.

He reached the service elevator just as the employees' elevator opened, and three women went out, all holding the same brand of coffee that killed his assignment. He ditched his uniform as he reached the lower ground floor and switched to something preppy and befitting of an office intern. The ground floor bustled with life when he arrived. Most employees were just returning from their lunch, some idling at the lobby, while others were receiving their online deliveries. He passed by TV monitors that were streaming various news and business channels, but one monitor caught his attention. It was a monitor showing what was trending on X, and he quickly saw Taiga’s name on Top 6. 

He felt his throat constricting as he used his work phone to search for Taiga. Major news sources called it a “developing story” and said they were still trying to reach out to Taiga’s agency. However, Hokuto didn’t miss one piece of information that was shared, “White smoke filled the actor’s van…” He muttered expletives before he hailed a taxi. 

***

Taiga could taste metal as he opened the door, while the air was thick with something unexplainable. He called for her name as he went toward the guest room, but something stopped his tracks, crimson dots leading to his bedroom. He ignored that voice in his head telling him to leave, his footsteps drowned by the drum beats in his heart, and when he reached his bedroom, he wished he would just drop dead. 

“Someone is trying to kill me” was the first thing Taiga thought as he opened his eyes and saw Kochi and his stylist’s relieved faces. 

“Thank God you’ve finally woken up,” Kochi said with a sigh. “How are you feeling?” 

“Did I–” Taiga realized he was wearing an oxygen mask, so he lifted it before speaking, “What happened?”

“Can’t you remember?” Kochi asked, his youthful face went from relieved to worried.

Taiga frowned and yelped. “White smoke in the van!”

“Yeah, and then, you passed out,” added Kochi.

“For how long?”

His stylist answered, glancing at her watch, “Roughly 2 hours.” 

“So what happened, and can I remove this?” He asked about the oxygen mask. 

Kochi replied, “The police are still investigating, but the doctor, your friend Shintaro, said that it’s likely chemical poisoning. Anyway…” He turned to the stylist, “Call the president and say he’s awake, and I’ll inform his parents and the doctors.” The stylist went out of his room, and Kochi gave him a stare. “Stay put.” 

“Chemical poisoning, huh?” He covered his eyes with his arm. The idea of him getting assassinated used to be a silly presumption, but the shred of doubt started to ebb away. 

“And it’s probably not the first time,” he murmured. He could still recall how his blue bedsheets turned dark brown from so much blood. A sinister reminder to him that nightmares can happen even when one is awake. 

“But why? Why would anyone want to kill me?”

He tried to sit up and was relieved he wasn't dizzy. He needed a wee, but not only was he hooked on oxygen, but he also had three IV bags beside him. One bag caught his eye; it had a red sticker labeled, “Drugs Added” and the last five letters interested him.

“OXIME.” His mind rewinded to when Hokuto instructed him to give him 2 injections. Taiga was too distraught back then, and he couldn’t recall the exact name, but he was quite sure one of those injections was labeled “oxime”. 

He racked his brains, and even the urge to urinate was gone. When Hokuto stabbed him and said, “I need to finish the job”, did that mean he failed the first time? 

The door slid open, Taiga turned, and his eyes widened. 

“The devil.” 

He stepped back in haste, dragging his IVs with him, and until the oxygen tubing was dislodged. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t find his voice seeing Hokuto’s eyes sharp with daggers. Hokuto slammed both arms on the wall, practically cornering Taiga.

“You’re alive,” said Hokuto and Taiga didn’t know whether to interpret it as relief or disappointment. How did Hokuto even know where he was? 

“You tried to kill me,” Taiga whispered, all doubt now gone.

“I couldn’t,” said Hokuto. 

Taiga’s jaw dropped at the arrogance to admit Hokuto did try to end his life.

“But why?” he asked, punching all his confusion and frustration. 

“Because of this.”

When Taiga asked, “But why”, he meant “Why did Hokuto want to kill him?”, not “Why didn't Hokuto successfully kill him?”, because nothing made sense as Hokuto bit the nook of his neck. Bit him like the vampire that Taiga would become in his movie. And just like the unfortunate souls Taiga had bitten, he stood frozen while Hokuto’s teeth sank deeper. Leaving his mark and drinking any shred of rationality from Taiga’s body.  

“There.” 

“Hmmm?” mumbled Taiga, he wasn’t dizzy, but he was acting like one.

“Look at my neck,” Hokuto instructed, tilting his head to show his long, smooth neck as though he was inviting Taiga for a bite. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat. The scenes he read earlier were doing something to his mind. 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do–” Then, he saw the nook of Hokuto reddened as a tooth mark appeared. He took Hokuto’s arm and pushed his sleeves back. His left arm was all bandaged. 

“How did you get injured?” Taiga looked at his own left arm; the scratch from Hokuto’s stab had become faint. “Can you explain?”

“I’m still trying to find out,” said Hokuto, ever so casually, like how he admitted he tried to kill him. “But for now, stay alive for me.”

His jaw dropped at the audacity, “I’ll do that even without you telling me. And why, so you could–”

“Sorry, I can’t talk much. I got a detour. Take care.” 

And just like that, Hokuto left. Taiga searched for his phone and quickly dialed 110. His chest heaved while he waited for an answer, and when he heard the operator, he couldn’t say anything but sorry and hang up. 

***

In Hokuto’s side job, “Detour” means killing someone who’s not in their assignment. And at that moment, Hokuto was trying to kill his fellow contractor. 

“Which part of ‘he’s mine’ did you guys not understand?” Hokuto grilled his supposedly senpai. White smoke is Max’s signature; he killed his assignments with concoctions he developed. 

“Fuck you,” Max muttered as he pressed a hand on his neck that Hokuto slashed. Hokuto severed a major artery, and the countdown to Max's death has started.

“Who gave you the order?”

Max still had the energy to scoff. “Why? You think you can take the Patriarch?”

Hokuto didn’t want to admit that he didn’t even know any of the Patriarch, but he wouldn’t back down.

“Time is ticking, Max, just say the name, and I can still save you.” He wasn’t working in the ED with Trauma as his specialty for nothing. 

“Is that guy your lover or something?”

Hokuto sighed. Did he really expect his fellow contractors to give in that easily?

“I’m fine even with initials,” he bargained and Max smirked.

“He could one day be the reason for your death.”

He glanced at his injured arm. “Oh, Max, you have no idea.” 

The countdown ended, and Hokuto grudgingly reached for his bag. “You’re lucky I’m not so evil.” 

He started wearing his gloves when Max spoke, “You should be if you want to win against your family.” 

His hand hung in the air. “You know about my family?” He wouldn’t be surprised if Juri or any of the Patriarch knew about his background, but not his co-contractors. 

Max had this look that it was too late to backtrack now, so he replied instead, “Running away from your fate is doing that person more harm than good.”

Hokuto rolled his eyes. He wasn’t feeling too keen on saving Max. “I don’t know who that person is, but as long as it’s not me, I don’t care,” he muttered, trying his best to quell the rising anger inside him. All his family’s “teachings” about so and so that were drilled into him as soon as he learned to walk came back to him, and he hated it. Most of all, he hated that they still could control him this way. 

“I decide on what to do with my life, and no one else will have a say,” he reiterated. 

Max looked at him with pity and added, “You don’t know the whole picture yet.” 

“What do you mean–?” Hokuto heard a woosh. He glanced back quickly and saw a retreating figure in black. He was about to give it a chase when Max fell.

“Max!” He ran and saw a wooden dart on the uninjured side of Max’s neck. He slowly pulled it out, and even without confirming, he was sure it was poisoned. 

“Silenced by a blowdart pipe.” Hokuto had no idea whose signature it was, but he was sure of one thing, it’s not just him who is out for Taiga’s neck.

At Present, Year 2026

“I understood why you moved last time,” said Kochi as he helped unload some of Taiga’s belongings. “But why are you moving again?” 

Taiga sighed as he placed another crate on the floor. “I told you, my new neighbors’ kids are pretty hellish. Is that all the boxes?” He asked, changing the topic.

“I’ll go check.”

Taiga watched Kochi leave, while a few of his new neighbors tried to be subtle in checking out the newest resident through the gap in the open door. Taiga walked to his door to close it before popping a bottle of red wine. 

Taiga thinks Kochi will be more understanding if he just tells him the truth, but the truth is far from simple. It was also the main reason why Taiga couldn’t go to the police, aside from the fact that he hated the police, but what would he say? That a certain Matsumura Hokuto tried to kill him thrice? And what was his proof? A faded linear scar on his arm that he claimed was a stab wound? And what about the thing Hokuto showed him? Taiga couldn’t even put a name to it. It was just weird, and the police would brand him crazy…again. What did they call him last time he was at their mercy? 

A nepobaby who never had to work hard and thinks he can just kill anyone.

He shook his head and drank straight from the bottle. The wine tasted like despair.

“I paid the movers and this–” Kochi paused and raised an eyebrow at him and the wine, “You’ve been drinking a lot lately. Is everything okay?” 

Taiga wiped his lips with the back of his hand. The wine helped him not to think much, or he would have gone mad. 

“It keeps me warm,” he said as an excuse. “It’s still winter.” 

Kochi shook his head and sighed. Taiga knew that look, Kochi would let this one bottle pass. “You always choose the top floor, why are you on the 2nd floor now?”

Taiga put a lot of thought into his new apartment; he chose a loft-style with high ceilings and a wider space that gave him a view of every corner. 

“For a change,” he said and joined Kochi in his living room. He chose the 2nd floor because it’s easier to escape, just one floor below. He also hoped that those downstairs would hear a struggle if someone tried to kill him. He really put a lot of thought into how he will survive or how he can ask for help if someone tries to murder him. 

“You also like balconies and a cityscape view, but I guess you prefer something more suburban now, just rows of houses and the sky,” Kochi observed. 

Taiga drank again. He debated heavily on balconies. The balcony could be another means of escape if he couldn’t reach the stairs or elevator. The second floor wasn’t that high either, but he could still be pushed off to his incapacitation. However, the balcony could be an alternate entrance for his assassin, so he thought it would be safer not to have an outer balcony. And as for the cityscape, a sniper could easily position themselves in one of the buildings for a shot at his head.  

“Is it me, or are the windows thicker?” 

“They’re bulletproof,” said Taiga. The realtor was mum on the previous tenant, so Taiga assumed it was someone dangerous, influential, paranoid, or all three. “They’re also covered with a mirror film, so no one can see me inside.”

Kochi looked at him as though that was pretty excessive. “Is this about the man who tampered with the car? The police already caught him.”

“I don’t believe it’s him,” he said as he sat on his L-shaped couch. The police caught someone who admitted he had masterminded everything, because he still believed Taiga killed that actress and got away with nothing. 

“I believe he’s a crazy fan who's obsessed with her, but I doubt he has the ingenuity to kill me. You’ve also seen his place, his floor to ceiling was covered with her face, he would have died there mixing chemicals he claimed he formulated.” 

“And who do you suspect? And why would they kill you?” asked Kochi. 

The answer was immediate, “Matsumura Hokuto”, but he could only say it in his head. 

“I always go back to why, why would someone want me dead?” He never had business with loan sharks. His dating history is so poor that it would be difficult to find a line of disgruntled ex-girlfriends, or even boyfriends, and he hasn't encountered stalkers and indecent proposals that thought of him as their property.

“You’re scaring me,” Kochi looked genuinely worried. “Do you need a bodyguard? Should I move in with you?” 

“Shintaro will move in with me,” he replied with confidence, but Kochi appeared doubtful. 

“He agreed to that?” 

“Why not? It’s free rent.” Shintaro hasn’t agreed yet, but Taiga just needed a bit more push. 

Kochi made a sweeping look upstairs. “That’s why you have two rooms…Shintaro’s taking the room below?”

“He will, and I’ll sleep in the loft.” If someone wants to kill him, they’ll check the downstairs room first, not that he’s sacrificing his brother, but Shintaro is beefier than him. 

“But isn’t Shintaro a doctor? He works odd hours.” 

“So am I when filming starts.” 

“About that, the director also agreed the script needs revising.”

“Thank you for talking sense to him,” said Taiga with relief. 

“So the chemistry read will be paused for a bit, and have you thought of doing musicals?” 

“Someone wants me in a musical?” He asked, skeptical.

“Why not? You can sing. You released a digital single that got on the Billboard Top 100.” 

“Yeah, but acting while singing? Live? What if no one shows up to see it?” He started imagining an empty theater, the audience booing him, messing up his lines, losing his voice, and the list goes on. 

“You’re overthinking this, just go for an audition while you’re free. It’s also a supporting role, so blame the lead if the theater is empty.” 

“Hmmm, I don’t know, Kochi.” 

“If you go for an audition, I’ll grant you one favor. Anything.”

Taiga pretended to think about it. Kochi really knew when to dangle a carrot on a stick in front of his face. 

“Okay. I’ll go for an audition.” 

“You really will?” asked Kochi, incredulous. 

“In exchange, I want to meet with that police officer you talked to, Jesse?” 

“Why? Is this about whoever you think wants to kill you?” 

Sort of. “Yeah, I want to talk to the guy they caught.” 

“What?! Are you insane?” 

Taiga took another gulp of his red wine. “I’m this close to insanity, so let me speak to him.” 

***

“I thought you preferred to be discreet, quick, and easy,” said Juri, referring to Hokuto’s detour. “You did Max pretty dirty, and his replacement was ridiculously expensive.” 

Hokuto had no idea how they found someone who was actually planning to hurt Taiga, but the Patriarch is nothing but thorough. 

“He wasn’t supposed to die; someone got him before I could stitch him up,” explained Hokuto. He is pretty used to death from both of his jobs, and it always unnerves him when things go out of control. And things haven't been in his control lately, from failing to kill Taiga, and now Max.

“And I also thought I said Kyomoto is mine,” he turned to Juri, glowering. 

“The Patriarch informed me that they didn’t send Max to Kyomoto,” said Juri, looking back straight at Hokuto, “And don’t try to intimidate me, people might joke I’m a walking stick, but I can still pierce someone like a yakitori.” 

Hokuto looked away and concentrated on the nearly empty underground hospital parking lot. Juri loved visiting him at his workplace to either give him an assignment or an assessment. Hokuto always saw it as a subtle threat from Juri that he knew everything about Hokuto and that he could be a menace to his other world. 

“Does that mean I have the Patriarch’s permission to decide when to kill Kyomoto?” He asked after a while. 

“It’s not infinite, you have only until his birthday.”

“And when would that be?”

“Dec 3rd. You have quite a lot of time to unravel whatever that is.” 

Hokuto sighed. December was so far, so he was giving himself a personal deadline, which was before his own birthday, June 18th. 

“Thank you,” he said, grateful to Juri. “About Max, is he a double-agent?” Hokuto was cautioned against being a double-agent earlier in his hitman career; it was a dangerous game, and riskier than what his job already entailed.  

“They’re still checking. Max had been working longer than both of us, so everyone was just as shocked that he could be on someone else’s payroll.” 

Hokuto hadn’t been truthful to his company; he didn’t tell them his final conversation with Max about his family. He could be quite touchy when the topic involved those in his family tree, and the thought that anyone from his family could be involved was something he’d rather personally crack. 

“And this is your new assignment.” Juri handed him an envelope containing his target’s name and where he could find him. “The deadline is this weekend, if you can do it before Friday, you get an additional 20%.”

“Okay,” he said, placing the envelope in his breast pocket. “But I’ll probably do this by the weekend, because I’m busy packing. So, goodbye 20% bonus.” 

“Packing? Are you traveling?” 

“No, I’m moving.”

“Moving? You haven’t moved since I knew you. May I ask where?”

“My kouhai invited me to move in with his brother– rent-free! I couldn’t say no to free rent, could I?”

“No wonder you don’t need the 20% bonus,” said Juri. “Lucky duck.”

Hokuto smirked. “Yeah, I’m really lucky.”

***

The room could be as warm as a furnace, but Taiga could feel the chill seeping into his bones. He never felt this nervous, and he could only blame himself for agreeing with Kochi to audition for a musical. There were only three of them in the room: 2 men and 1 woman. Taiga was familiar with both men; he’d seen their works. One was in “Death Note the Musical” and the other in “Kinky Boots”. Both were veterans, and Taiga never felt so out of place. 

“Just fucking sing, at least, I did my best. Kochi can’t blame me for that.”

The door opened, and another familiar man walked in. Taiga knew him as a famous rapper and songwriter, and based on the clips of the musical he’d seen, it made sense why this rapper would also audition.

“Yo!” said the rapper and sat next to him. He’s as thin as he was on TV, and Taiga wondered if his gold necklaces helped to keep him steady when the wind blew. 

“Juri,” he introduced himself, offering his hand for a handshake. 

Taiga reluctantly took his offered hand. It was so rare for his fellow artists to greet him, especially after his scandal. 

“Kyo…T-taiga,” he replied.

Juri grinned. “I know I go by just ‘Juri’, but I’m pretty sure you have a last name.”

Taiga smiled. “Kyomoto Taiga.”

“Kyomoto…lemme guess, you’re auditioning for Christian?” 

Taiga was amazed. “How did you know?” 

Juri waved his hand in front of his face. “Your looks fit the role.” 

“I see,” he said, tucking a hair behind his ear. “How about you? Cyrano?” It only made sense that Juri would play the role; his ripostes and repartees would be a runway winner. 

“Cyrano, huh? Cyrano, who decided to be a bridge between Christian and Roxanne?”

Taiga nodded, although he was unsure why there was a whiff that Juri was talking about something else entirely. 

“I don’t like to build bridges, though; some things are better not to be connected.”

Taiga had no idea what Juri was talking about. His earlier friendly persona shifted to something filled with rancor. 

“If this is rapper slang, I’m unfamiliar with it.” 

“And I hope it stays that way,” said Juri. “I kinda see why he has taken a liking to you, but luck won’t favor the both of you.” 

Taiga still had no idea what Juri had been wanging on. 

“Anyway, just want to check you out. It was nice meeting you, Kyomo.” Juri bowed, Taiga did too, and when Juri left, he had to ask the nearest auditionee if that happened or if he was just hallucinating. 

***

Taiga made one wrong calculation with his loft situation, and that was that he needed to run downstairs to heed nature's call. He was a bit hungover; he couldn’t recall what time Kochi left, or how he got up in his room.

“I should cut off my drinking a bit.” He could hear the shower running inside the bathroom and thought it was Kochi. 

“Excuse me, got to pee…” The bathroom smelled of vanilla and coconut, both of which he was sure he didn’t own, as he pulled down his pants and lifted the seat. 

“I thought you went home last night.” He could only see Kochi’s silhouette from the frosted glass while he finished his business. “Don’t scold me, but I can’t remember anything last night. Did you send me up to my room? All that wine muddled my memory.” His head throbbed a bit, and the area he massaged felt tender. 

He just finished his business as Kochi turned off the shower. Taiga grabbed the towel and posed like a butler handing his master the towel.

“Your towel, master–” 

“Gee, thanks!” Hokuto took the towel from him before squeezing excess water from his hair.

Taiga looked at the very same man he was trying to run away from. 

“Am I still drunk?”

Hokuto looked at him as though Taiga was a nagging thought and said, “I hope not. Carrying you upstairs was such a pain, and also, do you have a vampire kink? Look what you did to my neck.”

Taiga is 100% awake now, heat surged to his face as the bathroom became filled with his screams.

At Present, Year 2026

2 days before the bathroom scene…

Hokuto didn’t believe in fate, or in any imaginary deity, but things were definitely working in his favor when Shintaro offered for Hokuto to live with his “brother” for free. Hokuto was sure something was weird with the said brother; he was planning to decline until Shintaro showed a picture of his “brother from another mother”. 

The photo was that of two kids; both wearing plaid shirts and sporting long-ish hairstyles. The shorter one was definitely Shintaro. He looked cute as a button, and Hokuto wondered where that cuteness went. The other is slightly taller; he has a wolf-ish haircut, skin so fair, and even at a young age, Hokuto was sure the kid was called pretty.

“Kyomoto Taiga.”

“He can be kind of messy, but he cleans up when needed–or pushed. He’s an only child, so he’s used to being on his own. He won’t bother you much, but he likes to order me around, but that’s me. He’s also rich, he won’t be asking you for money, food will never be a problem, and of course, rent is free,” Shintaro pitched like a salesman eager to dispose of their wares. 

Hokuto had been looking for a way to enter Taiga’s life, and he never thought Shintaro would be the opener.

Hokuto pretended to mull over it. Shintaro would be suspicious if he agreed immediately. “I’ll agree if you take all my night shifts for 6 months,” he bargained.

Shintaro’s jaw dropped. “I know I’m asking you for a favor, but 6 months of night shift?!” 

Hokuto shrugged his shoulders in a “take-it-or-leave-it” fashion. 

“1 month!” Shintaro negotiated. 

“5 months.”

“4 months?”

“3 months plus, you’ll take over my teaching duties if the professor asks me to be his substitute.”

Shintaro looked constipated as he slammed his hands on the table, “Damn, fine!” He extended his hand, and Hokuto gladly took it. 

14 hrs before…

Hokuto expected Taiga to be right on the defense, just like his attitude back at his hospital room the moment Hokuto entered his apartment with Shintaro. But Hokuto guessed that the bottle of wine Taiga was hugging and hogging was the reason for a more pleasant demeanor. Taiga stared at Hokuto with bedroom eyes and flushed face that his friend-slash-manager had to apologize to Hokuto for Taiga’s rudeness. 

“You can still back-out now,” Kochi said, to which a horrified Shintaro replied toward Kochi, “Why would he back-out? It’s free rent,” as though Hokuto couldn’t afford rent.  

Their reactions should have been Hokuto’s clue to rethink living with Taiga and find ways to get close, but not that close. Kochi offered food: sushi and yakisoba, an unusual combination, while they watched Chainsaw Man. 

“Are you also in Emergency like Shintaro?” asked Kochi to Hokuto. 

Hokuto nodded. “Yes, but my specialty is really Trauma.” 

Taiga snorted. Hokuto threw him a glance, but Taiga’s focus remained on the TV, so maybe the snort wasn’t aimed at him. 

“Trauma…so it’s like Yamapi as Doctor Heli,” said Kochi. 

Hokuto felt himself blush. Code Blue had been one of his inspirations to become a doctor. “I really liked that drama, I thought that kind of fast-paced and adrenaline-rush is cool.”

“And is it cool?” 

“Tiring,” he said with a sigh. “Very tiring.”

Shintaro nodded in agreement, his mouth full of yakisoba he literally inhaled.  

“So you guys just work at the hospital? You don’t moonlight elsewhere?” 

“I can’t even go camping anymore,” complained Shintaro. “Much less get another job, right, Hokuto?”

Hokuto nodded. “We just rest when we’re off duty.” 

Taiga stifled a snort by drinking his wine, and Hokuto was sure that snort of derision was directed at him.

“So, uhm, you seem pretty well off, why would you live with Taiga?” 

Shintaro, not giving Hokuto any chance to change his mind, answered for him, “Hokuto is saving up for something huge, and I’m offering him free rent.”

Shintaro widened his eyes at him, and Hokuto wasn’t really saving for anything grand, but he guessed he should invent one now. 

“Okay,” said Kochi, not looking convinced. “So, Matsumura-san–”

“You may call me Hokuto.”

“Okay, Hokuto,” Kochi corrected. “Have you seen any of Taiga’s works?”

Taiga gave Kochi a side-eye as in “Why the fuck are you asking that?” look, but either Kochi didn’t catch it, or he was just good at not giving a damn. 

Hokuto thought the question was odd. He began debating whether the question was a test on Taiga’s behalf, and whether he would be allowed to stay. He glanced at Taiga, his eyes remained on the TV as he continued to drink. Hokuto wasn’t sure if Taiga thought of Hokuto as real or just his drunken imagination. 

In the end, Hokuto chose honesty with a bit of indifference. “Not really, should I watch any of his works?”

“No, if you don’t want to…” said Kochi and added with a sly smile on his face, “I just thought…maybe…you got interested in Taiga, so you’re here?”

Shintaro’s face scrunched with confusion. “What are you even talking about? They’ve never met before–”

Hokuto cuts in, “Well, I am interested in him.” 

Shintaro was slackjawed while Kochi raised an eyebrow. Hokuto smiled to himself, let them draw their conclusions. 

Taiga must not have liked his “confession”, he stood up and pointed at him while he swayed. “This guy—!” 

Hokuto caught Taiga before he fell to the floor. Kochi and Shintaro both sigh in relief, and Shintaro volunteers to help him carry Taiga upstairs.

“He’s really heavy, and there are already two of us,” was all Hokuto could say as he and Shintaro carried a Taiga. 

Shintaro wouldn’t let Hokuto change his mind. “I assure you this isn’t a common thing.”  

They managed to get Taiga to bed, both of them panting, but also both of them not wanting to show it. A familiar ring blasted; it was their work phone. 

“Got to go!” said Shintaro before he even picked-up the call and ran downstairs. 

Hokuto stayed to survey the loft. The loft has a nice vantage point. It has an unobstructed view of the living room below and the horizon outside. Taiga had a long desk by the balcony, and a walk-in closet, which Hokuto thought was supposedly a toilet, but the builders got lazy to do more plumbing. His thoughts were disrupted as he was pulled down the bed, his arms pinned over his head, and Taiga’s weight on top of him. 

“You–! You can really lie through your teeth…” Taiga’s next words sounded like gibberish to Hokuto. Like Taiga was talking while his mouth was full of rice. Also, Hokuto didn’t like being referred to as “You” and “This guy!” but Taiga was clearly too incensed at him to listen to reason.

“...I can bite you too!” 

Hokuto only heard “bite” before Taiga dug his teeth into his neck. The bite was vicious, Mike Tyson level that Hokuto might really find bits of his skin missing. He tried pushing Taiga’s head, but Taiga wouldn’t let go. 

“I could seriously give you a concussion if you don’t sto–”

Plonk!

Instant relief flooded in him as Taiga’s teeth lost their power before he slumped on Hokuto. 

“Are you okay?” asked Kochi, his arm raised with a wok.

Hokuto had no words as Kochi rolled Taiga away from Hokuto and buried him with pillows.

“Baka, all that wine went to your head, baka,” muttered Kochi.

“Did you just…”

“Hit him with a wok? Yeah,” said Kochi, not a shred of regret. “Don’t worry, he has a strong head, as you can see. Just give him an ice pack in the morning, and he won’t even ask why his head hurts. He thinks he’s just hungover.”

Hokuto swallowed hard. He was sure this wasn’t the first time it happened. He began to see Taiga’s manager in a new light. How sure is he that Kochi isn’t a contract killer? Maybe being a manager was just a day job, just like how Hokuto is a doctor. 

“I thought something seemed odd downstairs; you should have screamed for help.”

Hokuto swallowed hard again. He’d been trained to survive on his own, so help wouldn’t be necessary. He didn’t even think he needed help; he could have managed Taiga even if it meant giving himself a concussion.

“Uhm, thanks,” he said, feeling a bit squirmish.

Kochi sat next to him, the wok still in his hand. “I said and did that, but thank you for not hurting him.”

Oh, you have no idea. “Well, he’s basically my landlord now.”

“I think you two will get along just fine.”

You really have no idea. “I look forward to it.”

“He’s like a cat, feed him, and he’ll soften up.”

Hmmm, I never killed anyone using poisoned food. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Are you seriously interested in him?”

Hokuto suddenly found it hard to lie. “It’s not romantically or sexually.”

Kochi looked disappointed. “Too bad. I think you already caught his eye.”

I did? “I did?”

Kochi nodded, throwing Taiga a glance whose snores could be heard under the pillows.

“He doesn't give his headphones to just anyone, especially to a stranger in a toilet.”

Kochi rendered Hokuto speechless for the second time that night.

“What do I mean by that?” asked Kochi as though he read Hokuto’s thoughts. “Well, only Taiga can answer you. Anyway, I have to go, put some ice on your neck, too.”

Hokuto touched his now tender neck as he watched Kochi go down, and all Hokuto could think was that he should be very careful around Kochi.

0 minutes…

Taiga let out a piercing scream, and the tiled bathroom magnified his shrieks. Hokuto pulled Taiga with him to the shower, pinned him to the wall, and covered his mouth.

“Don’t fucking scream—--ahhhh!” He forgot Taiga bites. Where was the wok when he needed it? Hokuto reached for the shower head and blasted it on Taiga’s face.

“Stop…it!” said Taiga in between breaths, while his fingers worked to scratch Hokuto’s face. 

“I’m not here to kill you, I thought I showed you that I couldn’t,” he screamed back, feeling like he waterboarded himself. Taiga had also gotten tired, both of their chest were heaving when Hokuto turned off the shower. 

“We need to straighten some things out,” said Hokuto. 

“Can I take a shower first since I’m already wet?” asked Taiga, his clothes snug on his body.

“No, you might do something else once I turn my back. I don’t trust you.”

“That should be my line.” 

“Good. We don’t trust each other, but we need to talk.” 

“In here?” 

“No, kitchen?” 

“Okay, you go first,” said Taiga, pointing his fingers toward the door.

“No, you go first,” Hokuto insisted. 

“Then, let’s go together. At the count of three, I will step out with my left leg and you with your right leg…”

Hokuto didn’t like how juvenile their deal was, but he had no alternatives to offer. “Okay.” 

Still facing each other, Taiga counted, “1…2…3…”

They took a step out of the shower. 

“Now, let’s continue, 1, 2, 3…” Taiga counted as though they were practicing for a dance, and the dress code is dripping wet and butt-naked in Hokuto’s case. 

Taiga stopped when they were a few steps from the door and sighed in disgust. “Will you put something on because why am I looking at your dick?” 

Hokuto scoffed. “Why are you even looking at my penis?” 

Taiga rolled his eyes. “I’m looking at our feet, but it gets in the way.”

Hokuto replied in a more amusing tone, “Yeah, it’s too big.” He wrapped a towel around his waist and found Taiga with his thumb raised before bending the first joint. 

“See this? This is your size.”

He was about to argue but Taiga didn’t bother with counting and went ahead of him. 

 ***

Taiga was still shaking and hoping Hokuto didn’t see that. He grabbed a kitchen knife before he sat at the dining table. 

“Are you going to chop veggies?” asked Hokuto. He started drying his hair with paper towels. 

“Just your fingers.” 

Hokuto snorted, and it irked Taiga. Hokuto might be half-naked, but confidence emanated from every pore of his body that Taiga wouldn’t have the guts to skin him. 

“Careful. You might hurt yourself,” Hokuto added with a smirk.

He didn’t say anything and just glared. Hokuto, sitting opposite him, was partly his fault, like how drunk he was that he didn’t even stop Shintaro and Kochi from making him stay at his place. He was running-away from Hokuto for Pete’s sake, but he just allowed him to waltz in. 

“I know you don’t trust me,” Hokuto started while a couple of paper towels were left on his head. “And you should never trust me.” 

“That’s why this conversation is pointless. Now, leave!” He ordered and backed. “Oh, wait, you may stay, I’ll leave, and this time, you won’t find me.” 

Hokuto looked so unimpressed with his threat. “I also know you’re angry–”

“Should I be glad someone thinks I’m worthy to be eliminated?”

“--but you’re safer with me around,” Hokuto continued. 

“Safe?” Taiga scoffed. “I’m only safe because you can’t kill me yet, but it doesn’t mean you won’t.”

“Are you not even curious what happened between us?”

Taiga is dying with curiosity, but he’d die first than admit it. “No, it’s like the reason why I don’t answer unknown numbers, ‘unknown numbers, unknown problems’.”

“Fine,” sighed Hokuto. “I told you not to trust me, but is there any way I can assure you that I’ll never touch you?” 

Taiga gave it a thought. No amount of assurance could make him trust Hokuto, but…”Who gave the order for my head?”

Hokuto smiled. He leaned forward with both of his arms crossed on the table as though he’d been waiting for this negotiation. 

“So you are curious about something…” he said but his smile faded. “Unfortunately, I have no idea. I only get our target’s name and their usual whereabouts.”

Taiga raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re also the ‘Unknown numbers, unknown problems’ type?”

“I never really thought of it that way…”

“Because you would kill them anyway, so what’s the point of being curious, right?”

“You’re probably right.” Hokuto didn’t appear offended. Taiga sighed. He expected too much generosity from an assassin, and he didn’t know why it disappointed him to see Hokuto so detached.

“But if that’s what will assure you, I can find out who gave the order.”

Taiga felt his heart skip a beat. Somehow, the thought of knowing who wanted him dead scared him. 

“That’s not enough assurance,” he said, taking the same negotiation stance as Hokuto. “I want something more that I can use.”

Hokuto leveled his eyes at Taiga and smiled. “Sadly for you, there’s nothing. Based on your drunken antics last night, hurting yourself won’t have any effect on me.” 

This time, Taiga smiled. “Physical pain is nothing, I’m gearing to something more…emotional and psychological.” 

Hokuto remained smiling. “Do you think I will be in this business if I’m psychologically weak?”

He has a point, Taiga thought, but he wouldn’t back down. “Everyone has a weakness and I’ll find yours.” 

Hokuto wasn’t deterred. “Good luck with that. So, have we reached an agreement? I’ll stay here, keep you alive, and we’ll find out what happened between us.” 

Taiga felt like he pummeled a stone on his own head, but there were also questions he needed answered, and he needed to be alive for that. “I still feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick, but let’s say I agree–for now.”

“Good,” said Hokuto, sitting back. “If I may ask, are you adopted?”

Taiga frowned, a very odd question that was never posed to him. After all, one look at him and at his dad and everyone would have gone, Oh! 

“You can easily Google my dad, do I look adopted?”

“No.”

“Speaking of parents, why did you run away from home?”

Taiga could be imagining it, but he thought he saw Hokuto flinch, and Taiga silently screamed, “Gotcha!”

He decided to push his luck. “Have I found your weakness?”

“Unknown numbers, unknown problems…if you go by that rule, why did you offer your headphones that night to me?”

Taiga sat back, in awe how Hokuto changed the topic back to him. Why is his taunting suddenly becoming his problem?

“Well…you reminded me of my dog,” he said meekly, embarrassed as though he shared something so intimate. 

“Dog?” asked Hokuto, tilting his head to the side that reminded Taiga of his dog’s ears. 

“Yeah, my dog is also scared of fireworks.” Hokuto wasn’t the only one who could lie through his teeth. 

“Oh…” Hokuto seemed at a loss for words. Being compared to a dog is hardly a compliment, probably depending on the breed, and Taiga wondered if Hokuto would like it if his dog were a Yorkshire Terrier. 

“I’m getting cold, got to get dressed.” 

Taiga watched Hokuto disappear to his room and realized his question had never been answered.

“I’m sure you have weaknesses,” said Taiga quietly while looking at Hokuto’s closed door. “But for now, I’ll make your stay a living hell.” 

Present year 2026...

“Because you would kill them anyway so what’s the point of being curious, right?”

Hokuto kept his face inscrutable when Taiga said that, but deep inside, he was crossed and couldn’t fathom why. He thought he had long stopped caring what others thought of him, but he guessed that wasn’t really the case. 

“But why should I be curious in the first place? Didn’t Taiga know that curiosity killed the cat?” 

“Is juggling all you can do?” 

Hokuto paused from juggling and scowled at the snotty kid with a mushroom haircut. He is in the garden of his latest assignment, and from the size of the garden alone, he could tell his target is insanely rich. His target was busy socializing with the dads, while the moms watched over the kids. Hokuto’s day wasn’t going as planned. He thought he would just be serving ice cream, but he was given a ridiculous costume that smelled of Febreze, and his scalp itched from the bright orange wig.

“I’m being paid minimum wage, so juggling is all you get. Now, off you go!” He ordered, shooing the kid away with his hand. But Hokuto would learn that kids are little gremlins, and the kid stomped on his huge ass red shoe before fleeing. 

“Be thankful you’re a kid,” he muttered under his breath and saw his target head back to their residence. The magic show just started, and Hokuto used the distraction to slip away. He left his squeaky shoes by the entrance, while his eyes roamed the stately home with a modern take on sukiya-style. The flooring might be concrete, but the exterior walls and doors were those of shoji and fusuma. A familiar feeling hung over him. He’d been in a similar house before, bigger and ancient, he even lived in once, but he shut off those thoughts. It didn’t take him long to locate his target. The wooden panel had been left slightly opened and he could see his prey rummaging for something from the pile on his desk.

He entered the room quietly, intent on finishing the job with one strike. He touched his weapon of choice from his deep pocket. He was one step away from making a strike, but his billowy pants caught the papers from the coffee table, dragging everything else to the floor, including his plans for his demise. 

His target turned, surprised at Hokuto’s presence, but unconcerned. “What are you doing here…clown-san?”

“Uhm, they want you outside for the magic trick,” he lied, the red nose clipped on the tip of his nose made him sound as though he had a bad cold. 

“Me? I wasn’t informed about that.”

“It’s last-minute–a surprise for your daughter.” 

He could see his target formulating ways not to do the show, but eventually gave up. “Okay, uhm, I just have to finish–”

“Hello, my least favorite cousin.”

Hokuto felt like he was doused with cold water. He knew that voice, and his worst fears were confirmed when his target exclaimed, “Taiga! Glad you made it.”

“Taiga?As in that Taiga?!”

“Just dropping her present, I have work.”

“She’ll want to see you–uhm, can you leave us for a moment? It’ll be quick, I’ll be out in a jiffy for the magic thing.”

Hokuto realized his target was speaking to him, while he could feel Taiga closing behind him. Although Hokuto’s face is painted like a jester, he’s not confident that Taiga will not recognize him.

“Uhm, did you not hear me?” His target asked, his tone impatient. 

“Ah, yes!” Hokuto bowed deeply, folding to almost 90 degrees, before stepping away bent and backwards. The two men in the room might think he’s weird, but he is a clown at the moment; he has a license to be weird. He passed-by the other human in the room, and the Panerai wristwatch on his left arm confirmed Hokuto’s fears. He immediately turned when his bum touched the wall and slid the door closed. He went to the next room, thankful it was empty and mumbled curses.

“Fuckety fuck fuck…what do I do now?” 

He tried listening to the next room, but he couldn’t hear a thing. He waited for a couple of minutes before he heard the door sliding open, followed by a couple of footsteps outside. He took a peek and saw Taiga’s back, he glanced at the other room and saw his aim back at combing through the papers. 

Hokuto didn’t dally and made a swift strike, landing a powerful jab on his target’s nape that made him collapse on the table. 

He waited for a blow on his nape, before touching it for any pain and tenderness. He felt nothing save for his heart’s pounding on his chest. 

“Affirmative, I can kill you, and it won’t affect me.” 

He withdrew the syringe from his pocket, just a jab, and he could be on his way out when hair on his nape rose because someone spoke. Or rather, something spoke. 

“Happy birthday to my dearest Rizumucchan! Uncle Taiga loves you.”

Hokuto thought that was over, but the green Care Bear wasn’t done playing the recording as Taiga’s singing filled the room. The birthday acapella continued, and Hokuto had to mentally slap his face to focus. He never lost focus at the job, the last time he got distracted, Max died. He was about to push the plunger when Taiga spoke again, “Be a good girl to your papa and mama, okay?” 

And Hokuto is about to kill that papa. 

“...You’re their most precious gift.” 

Blood started flowing backwards, pooling at the hub, and soon it will reach the chemical in the barrel. 

Hokuto closed his eyes and pushed the plunger. 

***

“You look… dead,” said Kochi after Taiga removed his sunnies and sat for make-up.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, it means I’m still alive,” said Taiga, removing his sunnies, and he might as well be Pugsley Addams. 

Kochi scoffed and turned to the worried-looking make-up artist, “Ganbarre!” 

Taiga closed his eyes as the cold cream touched his face. He hasn't been sleeping well since living with his assassin downstairs. He regretted not taking the downstairs room, at least it has a door with a lock, unlike his open loft. He tried to stay awake by marathoning One Piece, but he would fall into a restless sleep, making him more tired. Worst of all, he would find out the next morning that Hokuto wasn’t even there. Apparently, he got called over to some emergency and Taiga didn’t find out until he was leaving for work with Kochi.

“An assassin and a doctor, what a weird world we live in.” He sighed as the make-up artist placed a face mask on his face. 

“Let’s wait for 15 mins.”

Taiga just nodded. The coldness of the face mask lulls him to sleep when Kochi returns. 

“The producer just called. An investor reached out to them, and we could be filming castle scenes in actual castles in Europe.”

“Cool,” he replied glumly. 

“The investor wanted to meet you, though, we’ll drop by there en route to the magazine shoot.”

“An investor wanted to meet me?” He asked, confused and hoped his father didn’t pull some strings because that would be very embarrassing.

“Yep, so be nice.”

Taiga sighed. Acting nice without sleep would be very hard for him. “By the way, just asking and having no relation whatsoever with the investor, but how do I make someone’s life miserable?” He asked of his newest housemate.

“Didn’t I just say to be nice?” asked Kochi, his tone irked.

“I said, it's not about the investor. Of course, I’ll be nice to them so get me a double espresso so I can be an angel.”

“Roger! And about you making someone miserable…just be yourself. I’ll get the coffee!”

“Just be myself?” Taiga muttered. “But I’m adorable.” He sighed, and sleeping became more unattainable as his thoughts kept returning to Hokuto. His desire to drive Hokuto away will sometimes trump the curiosity that made him seek Hokuto in the first place.

***

When Taiga was properly awake, he found himself in one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo. 

“An elevator straight to the top, huh? Our investor is loaded,” whispered Taiga to Kochi. They were flanked by a man who introduced himself as the Chief Secretary and a woman, whom Taiga forgot what her role was. 

“I know…why would he invest in a BL movie?” Kochi whispered back. 

“Maybe he has a fetish?” 

The secretary shot glances at them, so they ceased the chit-chat until they reached the top. 

The woman turned to them as they reached the opulent lounge. “Sorry, but only Kyomoto-san will be meeting with the president. Kochi-san, kindly wait here.”

He quickly linked his arm to Kochi’s, hoping he would protest, but Kochi swatted his hand away. “Just go and be nice. We need that investment,” he whispered like a pimp and pushed him. 

Taiga clenched his hand into a fist and entered the President’s office with gritted teeth. Six diamond-shaped windows greeted him upon his entrance, each reflected different colors, and Taiga thought it was such an odd addition to an office as grand as the lounge. 

“Glad you made it, Taiga-kun.” The man might be small and pale, but his voice towered over Taiga, and his presence was just as daunting as his 6 diamond-shaped windows. Taiga felt his hands grow cold as the man extended his hand for a handshake.

 “Minamoto Ojiro.” 

Taiga reluctantly accepted his hand, and they were surprisingly rough. “Kyomoto Taiga.” 

“Have we met before? You look very familiar.”

“I doubt we’ve met,” said Taiga when he recalled something, “Oh, you must be talking about my dad, we look alike. My dad is Kyomoto Masaki.” 

Recognition flashed in the old man’s eyes. “Oh! You’re probably right. I’ve seen your dad’s movies.”

Two women came in, both carrying tea and cakes as he and Minamoto took their seats. Despite his nervousness, he couldn’t help but ogle at the tarts and sponge cakes on the tiered cake stand. 

“This tea is from our own plantation, try it,” said Minamoto, smelling the tea before taking a sip.

Taiga did the same, the tea was fragrant, and when he took a sip, he tasted flowers. “Flowery and sweet,” he blurted out. 

“Hibiscus,” said Minamoto. “Try the cakes.”

Taiga didn’t need pushing and dove straight to strawberries on a shortcake and l’opera. “They taste different than usual.” 

“As they should.”

Taiga noticed that Minamoto was just watching him, so he took another bite and placed down his little fork. “This isn’t a simple investors meeting, right?” He asked, albeit reluctantly. If the investor backed out, Kochi would kill him before Hokuto or any of the assassins after him would.

“What made you say that?” asked Minamoto. 

“Well, first because I’m alone here. Second, the returns you’ll earn from investing here might just be what your company earns in a day from stocks.” 

MInamoto smiled as he interlaced his fingers. “Smart, and you’re correct, investing in this movie is frankly, a waste.” 

Taiga swallowed hard and hoped Minamoto hadn’t changed his mind. “Then, may I ask why?” 

Minamoto’s face went from firm to fragile. “I want you to watch over my grandson.”

Taiga just stared blankly at him. Becoming someone else’s babysitter is just crazy and he wondered if this was a nepo-baby thing.

“Your grandson?” 

Minamoto nodded. “I’ve been informed you two started living together.” 

It must be the lack of sleep, because it took him a while to recall who he was living with before exclaiming, “Fuck–” He drank his tea to cover his snafu, and Minamoto chuckled at his reaction. 

“I don’t mean to say that,” he said, apologetic.

“Apologies for the surprise, Taiga-kun, and yes, I’m Hokuto’s grandfather.”

 He studied the man across from him and he couldn’t see any resemblance to Hokuto. 

“Grandpa…but I thought he ran away—Fuck.” It was too late to cover his blunder and Minamoto gave another laugh.

“Although Hokuto ran away, that doesn’t mean he’s an orphan.”

“Of course,” said Taiga. Minamoto must have thought of him as a nitwit. 

“I see that he told you even about that.” Minamoto looked impressed that Taiga didn’t have the heart to correct him and that Taiga learned that bit from the police.  In fact, after learning from Kochi that Hokuto’s family is part of Milestones Holdings Inc, he did a bit more reading. 

Milestones Holdings Inc comprises of three families. As one writer put it, if Milestones Holdings Inc is a country, the Minamotos hold the Executive Branch. They are the moneymakers. The Legislative Branch is Sakamoto's stronghold; they own one of the top law firms and have family members in politics. And the Matsumuras for the Judicial branch. Unlike the first two families, little is known about the Matsumuras and as their main business is a security firm, secrecy and moving in shadows are their forte.

Minamoto continued, “You two must be really close. He never lived with anyone apart from you. You must be special to him.”

Taiga pulled his shirt’s collar; the air felt constricting from all the misconceptions he knew he needed to address one-by-one. But how would he tell Hokuto’s grandfather that Hokuto tried to kill him and that they were living together to prevent other killers from killing Taiga until Hokuto solved the mystery of why Taiga is unkillable by Hokuto? 

“We’re not in that kind of relationship,” clarified Taiga. He couldn’t tell the whole story, but he could clear up that one. 

Minamoto raised an eyebrow. “I’m old, but I’m open-minded, I’m even financing your movie.” 

“I assure you, we’re not in that kind of relationship,” he insisted and tried to explain better, “Let’s just say we’re in a…a special arrangement. Yes! A special arrangement, nothing personal–too personal.”

“I see,” said Minamoto, pushing his glasses up, and it was clear to Taiga that his elaboration didn’t clear anything. He sucked at explaining.

Taiga sighed and told himself that he was doing this for the movie and not for Hokuto. “But anyway, what sort-of watching to expect from me?” 

“I’m not asking much, just weekly updates on where he went and whom he meets. But most of all, update me immediately if anyone from the family sees him.”

“That is asking a lot.” Taiga kept a smiling face as Minamoto’s secretary gave him an envelope filled with pictures of 2 women and 3 men. One of those women looked like a female version of Hokuto, and when Taiga read the caption, his hunch was correct. The woman is Hokuto’s mother. 

“Uhm, do you know what Mat–Hokuto does for a living?” 

“Isn’t he a doctor?” 

Taiga studied Minamoto’s face for any slight shift, but it looked like the old man really had no idea about the other job. 

“And may I also ask if this is the first time you have him spied on?” 

“I don’t spy on him,” Minamoto corrected. “I only have him observe.”

“Ah, observe,” Taiga repeated. 

“I have him observed since his residency at the hospital. It was a coincidence, one of my doctors goes there, and that’s how I learn about my long-lost grandson.”

“I see.” 

“And I also paid a few of his neighbors to check on his well-being.” 

Taiga nodded, and now it was his turn to check on Hokuto’s well-being. 

“Uhm, another question.” 

“Go ahead.” 

“Uhm, what exactly–if I may know–your purpose in having him observe? Is he in some kind of danger?” 

Minamoto turned serious and repeated Taiga’s question, “Is he in some kind of danger?--Not yet.”

Taiga frowned. What more danger is Hokuto in aside from his other job? If Hokuto is in danger, and Taiga is also in danger, then they are both doomed.

“I know you’re confused. But let’s just say, I pity him, so I want to help him.” 

Pity was something Taiga didn’t expect. It seemed peculiar to think of Hokuto as anything pitiful, but wasn’t it out of pity that he helped Hokuto that first night they met? 

“I understand your concern about your grandson, but…” He clenched his hand into a fist, Kochi and the producers might end him for his answer, “...but can I think about this for a bit?” 

“Certainly,” said Minamoto, his face suggesting he wasn’t used to being declined. “But is my favor that hard?”

Taiga almost took back what he said. His reasoning sounded petty and shallow, it shouldn’t be that serious. But his life was basically on the line; whether he granted this favor or not, he should at least be allowed for consideration.  

He sighed and started explaining, “The favor itself isn’t hard.” After all, living with Hokuto meant always looking over his shoulder. 

“But having to watch him means I might learn more about him and that….scares me,” he said the last two words in a whisper.

The lines on Minamoto’s forehead deepened. “Sorry, but I don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand myself either,” he said sadly. “Hokuto is like opening Pandora’s Box; the evil unleashed with hope clinging by the edge.”

***

The nights were beginning to draw in a little, and Hokuto watched the sun sinking in a bleak and dreary horizon, which was also how he would describe his mood. He brought his feet up on the center table, the TV on low volume, and a stale tea on his lap. 

He hasn’t felt so disappointed in himself for a long time, and he just punished himself by doing 100 sit-ups, which he thought weren’t enough.

“Tadaima!”

He ignored Taiga, put his musings on hold, and began searching for the remote to adjust the TV volume.

“Tadaima?” Taiga repeated, slumping on the opposite end of the couch. “Did you grow up overseas? Here in Japan, you should say, ‘Okaeri’.”

Hokuto reached for the crevices of the couch and felt something cottony soft with some studs on it. He pulled it out, and the disappointments kept on blowing.

“That’s my underwear!” Taiga gasped and took the red underwear with sequins on its garter that spelled out Taiga’s name. 

“Why is your underwear in the couch?” He asked with controlled calm. He could feel his hand tarnished by what he held. “And sequins?”

“Dunno,” said Taiga innocently. “I must have dropped it when I was folding laundry…ah, but I haven’t done any laundry so this must be used?” he added, not a shred of embarrassment in his smile. 

Hokuto felt nauseated as he rushed to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. 

“Found the remote!” Taiga yelped and switched channels from the business news Hokuto pretended to watch to an anime.

“It’s been three days, when will you unpack?” Hokuto asked while taking in his current living arrangements: several crates and boxes were just lying haphazardly around in the living room and kitchen. Hokuto could have unpacked and organized those, but he assumed Taiga was just being difficult, so Hokuto would move out. But after three days of living with Taiga, Hokuto horrifyingly concluded that Taiga was just messy.

“No wonder Shintaro didn’t want to live with him,” he muttered under his breath. 

“I’ll unpack them later.”

Hokuto sighed. “Later” in Taiga’s vocabulary could mean anywhere from “later in an hour” to “later in a millennium”. 

“Those boxes are fire hazards.” He took the remote from him and switched to Disney+.

Taiga raised an eyebrow, before stretching his legs on the couch toward him. “So you care about fires?”

Hokuto rolled his eyes. “I’m an assassin, not an arsonist, and using fire is never my style. Costly and messy.”

“And what is your style?”

“Quick and easy. Clean and discreet,” he said, lamenting again on his recent failure. 

“Stabbing me wasn’t so discreet or clean.” 

“I was checking on something, not trying to kill you.”

“And how were you planning to kill me then?” 

Hokuto looked at Taiga, his eyes had the curiosity of a fox. “Trade secrets.” 

Taiga scoffed. “Like I’m going to copy you?!”

Hokuto shrugged his shoulders and concentrated on watching “The Modern Family”. 

“I’m sure it has something to do with what I injected into you, Oxime, is it?” asked Taiga after a while. 

Hokuto didn’t say anything, although he was quite impressed Taiga could remember half of the medicine’s name, Pralidoxime. 

Sophia Vergara’s voice filled the silence between them until Taiga spoke again. But this time, he sounded unsure. “It’s quite odd though, you brought an antidote…for yourself?” 

Hokuto still didn’t say anything and watched Cam be his dramatic ass. 

“Is that normal? Do you operate that way? Anticipating that you might have to save yourself from your own poison? Or do you sometimes change your mind? Your heart tells you not to kill–”

“I brought it for myself!” He said, raising his voice. “Whether you believe it, or not, I brought it for myself since I used something that might also affect me through inhalation so I bought it as a precaution.” He was catching his breath after he finished. 

“Okay…” said Taiga, his doe-like eyes said it all, he didn’t believe Hokuto. “And how were you supposed to give it to me?” 

Hokuto sighed. He might as well admit it. “It was in your headphones.” 

His admission had its intended effect. Taiga was so gobsmacked, his eyes fluttered as though it glitched. 

“I don’t know whether to be impressed by your creativity, or be appalled that I…” he said loudly to emphasize, “...gave you the perfect instrument to kill me.” 

“It didn’t really matter since the tables have turned. Karma is a bitch, as they say.” 

Taiga looked amused as he replied, “Yeah…look at us, casually talking about how you tried to end me.”

“You’re the one asking questions.” He increased the volume of the mockumentary, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. However, after days of avoiding Hokuto like a plague, Taiga was in a weird mood to talk and resumed the convo back to Hokuto’s job.

“Remember where we first met? Did you…assassinate that man who died that night at the bar? He wore an emerald Rolex.” 

“No. I was there for a different reason,” he replied with a straight face. Just because he was honest about how he tried killing Taiga, that didn’t mean he should be confessing his other sins. 

“And an emerald Rolex? Did you know the man who died?" He asked out of curiosity. 

“Nah, but we had to go to the police to give our statements, and they showed an IG photo of him that night, didn’t you go?”

“No,” he simply said. 

“I noticed it because my dad also has one, but he seldom wears it.”

“Your cousin also wears one…”  Hokuto wasn’t sure if it was Rolex, but he was sure it was in the shade of emerald. 

“Is the Rolex a family heirloom or something?” He asked carefully.

“I don’t think so,” he replied nonchalantly. “I don’t have one,” he said, showing his Panerai watch. 

Hokuto was waiting for Taiga to bring up his cousin, but he never did, and Hokuto told himself that should be the end of his curiosity. 

“So, Hokuto, what else have you been busy about?” 

He scowled. “Are we on a first-name basis?” 

“Why not? You’re living here for free, you had my blood on your hands,I saved you when you were dying, we’re that close. You can also call me Taiga–”

“I’ll stick with Kyomoto, thank you.” 

“Shintaro calls me Kyomo,” he offered. 

“Kyomo–to,” Hokuto said to rile Taiga.

“You..!” 

“You?!” Hokuto repeated. Taiga also knew how to vex him, albeit unwittingly. “Fine, call me by my name,” he gave up. 

“Okay, Hok–kyun.”

Hokuto felt a vein pop while Taiga grinned widely. “Do you want me to pull out your tongue so you can speak straight?” 

“Go ahead and try,” he demanded, showing off and wagging his tongue like a dog in heat, and Hokuto just found the image so revolting. 

“You’re disgusting!” He threw a pillow at Taiga’s face and felt the energy bounce back on his own face. 

“Oh, fuck!” He pressed his nose bridge, while Taiga laughed his head off. 

“Did that really hurt?” asked Taiga, still giggling. “It didn't hurt much when you did it to me,” he said, playfully punching his face with the throw pillow. 

“We have different pain tolerance,” muttered Hokuto.

“Hmmm, if you get the pain you gave me, then, if you make me eat something bad, will you get diarrhea instead of me?” 

Hokuto thought about it, and his hands went to his stomach. “I don’t want to know.” 

“Or maybe it depends on the intention?” Taiga extended his arm to him. “Try and bite me.”

Hokuto stared at Taiga’s fair arm and thought of a daikon. “You really have a kink, huh?” 

Taiga rolled his eyes. “You have my permission to hurt me, I want to see if it will still affect you.”

Hokuto didn’t move. The offer was tempting, but so far, touching Taiga had always been full of consequences.  

“Seriously, I should be the one who’s giving you that look–” Taiga had to pause when his phone rang, and he answered it in front of Hokuto. 

“Hello….what? Oh my…okay…okay…I’ll go there.” 

“Something wrong?” asked Hokuto, although he had an idea why.

“My cousin…oh my god my cousin…” He ran to the entrance to put on his shoes before turning back to him. “Uhm, you probably won’t wait for me, but if you’re called in the hospital, make sure everything is locked. Got to go.” 

Hokuto realized he’d been holding his breath until the door closed. A fresh wave of gloom came back to haunt him as he told himself, “This is why being curious about my targets won’t do me any good.” 

Present year…

Can someone tell someone apart just from their back? 

“Apparently, I can,” murmured Taiga, cackling at the thought.

“What are you talking about, Tai-chan-oji?” 

His devious smile turned charming toward his niece, Rizumu. His cousin’s genes weren't trying as his cheeky niece inherited most of her mother’s features; round face, button nose, and curly locks that reminded Taiga of Merida from Brave. 

“Sorry, baby, where were we?” 

“How did you make Clover-chan talk without pressing her paws?” 

“Oh, I see that you’ve already named her Clover-chan, that’s a nice name.” 

Rizumu nodded, hugging the Care Bear he gave her. 

“The secret is….Ta-da!” Clover-chan spoke again and delivered Taiga’s recorded birthday message as he showed Rizumu the clover-shaped remote control from his pocket. 

“You press this and it will talk,” said Taiga, showing the button with a right-pointing triangle. “If you press this one, you can record a different message.” 

“Can I record something for Papa?” 

Taiga’s heart melted. “Sure, you can, I’ll press this and in the count of 3, say what you want to say, okay?” Rizumu nodded and Taiga pressed the red square. 

“1…2…3…”

“Papa, get well soon, ganbarre. I promise to always be nice…” Taiga hugged her niece as waterworks started. “I want mama and papa…”

“They’ll be home soon, okay, Uncle will stay here until they’re home.” Rizumu continued to wail, so Taiga carried her, rubbing her back while he mumbled lullabies. He watched their reflection while Taiga rocked her to sleep, and guilt started to consume him. He would probably regret it later, choosing leverage rather than reporting Hokuto to the police. 

“Your papa will be okay,” he repeated over and over to his niece, or maybe he was repeating it for himself.

He witnessed Hokuto attempt to kill his cousin twice. He saw Hokuto as soon as he arrived at his cousin’s place. At first, he thought he was being silly; a product of lack of sleep from his Hokuto paranoia and now he saw Hokuto everywhere, even in a clown who just entered his cousin’s house. He decided to be just an observer, watched the clown enter his cousin’s study, and even though Taiga hadn’t seen anything alarming yet, he felt like a hand pushed him to create a ripple. 

“It was really quick and easy, clean and discreet.” 

Afterwards, he didn’t expect Hokuto to deliver a blow to his cousin’s nape. Taiga was prepared to run over until he finally saw Hokuto’s weapon – a syringe. And before Hokuto could inject whatever that was, Taiga played the recording inside the bear. He knew it wasn’t a good plan; a talking bear could even make Hokuto hasten his job, and Taiga didn’t know where he got the stupid idea that a killer like Hokuto might change his mind. 

“Why did he retreat? Surely a talking bear wouldn’t scare him.”

A light knock made him pause from his reverie. His cousin’s wife, Erena, took a peek and Taiga mouthed, “She just fell asleep”, before he quietly went out of his niece’s room. 

“How is he?” He asked immediately. He had to pat himself on the back for that superb acting earlier. The call he got was real, but it was just Erena asking him to watch Rizumu because the babysitter just couldn’t put her to sleep. His cousin had been attended by emergency services before Taiga even arrived at work.

“He’s fine. Aside from a mild bruising on the back of his neck, everything is clear, but I insist he stay overnight.”

Taiga sighed, both from relief and guilt. “That’s good to know. Uhm, but what exactly happened?” 

“He’s also not sure. He just felt something smashed behind him, and then, he had no idea what happened next.” 

“Who found him then?” 

“I did. Remember when you called me because you couldn’t recall if you included the remote for the bear? I found him then.” 

“Ah…it’s a good thing I called,” said Taiga. He went to the next room to hide, and waited for Hokuto to leave before Taiga checked on his cousin, made his exit and quickly called Erena. 

“Was anything stolen?” Unconsciously, he found his fingers crossed. 

“No–oh! He has a spy cam, and the memory card was stolen.” 

“Oh…” The memory card in Taiga’s pants felt like it weighed a ton. He knew about the spy cam because he gave it to his cousin, and he found it weird that Hokuto didn't even sweep the room clean. “Perhaps there’s a backup?” 

“There is!” 

Taiga’s heart drummed. He would be caught, and Hokuto too! 

“But it will only create back-up every hour that his phone is connected to the wifi, but on that day, our wifi was unplugged for god knows how long, so it didn’t have any back-ups.”

Apologetically, he smiled inwardly while saying, “That’s….unfortunate.” 

“Yeah, that would have helped to catch whoever did that to him. I still can’t wrap my head around why anyone would hurt my husband?”

“Uhm, does he have any enemies? Has he received any death threats?” 

“Not that I know of,” she said, shaking her head.    

Taiga just nodded. He should know; he also never received any death threats, they just straight-up sent an assassin. 

They reached the living-room when Taiga recalled something. “Uhm, by the way, I noticed this earlier when I dropped off Rizumu’s gift, but was he wearing an emerald Rolex just like my dad? Did he buy that or was it a gift?” He wasn’t really interested in the Rolex, but it piqued Hokuto’s interest and eventually, his.  

“That Rolex? Hmmm, I think he got that two years ago, he said it's a gift from a club?” 

Taiga frowned. “Like a business club?” His dad is not in any business clubs as far as he knows. Could owning the same watch be just a coincidence? 

“Probably, sorry, I’m not really privy to this.” 

Taiga smiled. “It’s okay.” 

“But you can ask Uncle Masaki.”

His smile froze. “My dad?” 

“Yeah, I remember he’s the one who introduced my husband to the club.” 

“I see. I’ll ask him then,” he said, still smiling but not reaching his eyes. 

***

“What happened?” was Hokuto’s first question as he slipped into Juri’s passenger seat. It wasn’t the first time Hokuto was ordered to withdraw. He had assignments before where he was ordered to pack up at least the day before. What happened yesterday was the first time he was literally seconds away from killing Taiga’s cousin. 

Instead of answering, Juri asked him to buckle-up instead. 

Hokuto was still confused, but he did pull the seatbelt as Juri started his car. 

“I guess this will have to count as my lunch break then,” he muttered, before sending a quick message to the resident on duty. 

Juri didn’t speak at all; the Spotify on loop filled the silence until they reached a traffic stop. “I’m also not sure what happened. I just got a call all of a sudden. I’m as lost as you are.”

Hokuto normally doesn't wear his AirPods at the job, but it was the first time he was instructed to put one on for “further instructions”. 

“As if they were really planning to cancel it.” He glanced at Juri as they stopped at a drive-thru. 

“Did you know who my target is?” 

“Should I know?” asked Juri, not looking at him. 

“It’s Kyomoto Taiga’s cousin.” 

“Is it? That family has a very eager enemy. What do you want?” He asked, and without waiting for Hokuto’s reply, he said through the speaker, “Chicken sandwich with a side of large fries and an Iced Americano. You?”

“I’ll have the same as you.”

“Make it two,” said Juri. They moved to the next window when Juri asked, “So…were you relieved not to kill Kyomoto’s cousin?” 

“Huh?” He looked blankly at Juri, but deep inside, a voice was screaming yes. The moment he heard Taiga’s voice through that bear, his fingers refused to move. 

“There was resistance.”

It was Juri’s turn to say, “Huh?”

He explained, “When I pushed the plunger, there was resistance and the liquid wouldn’t push through.” 

Calling what could be described as a lethal injection a mere liquid was putting it mildly. “So I just withdrew the needle when the call came in. To ask if I were relieved, I was,” he admitted. “But it’s not because he’s Taiga’s cousin but because I don’t know what could be the consequence if I killed him.”

“Ahhh…” Their orders were brought out, and the smell of crispy fries filled the car.

“So you never had doubts about finishing your job?” Juri clarified while Hokuto munched fries.

“Seems to me you’re the one who doubts me,” he said lightly. He even chuckled, but his heart felt heavy.

“Of course not,” said Juri, matching Hokuto's chuckle. “I always trust your professionalism, you are a doctor after all.”

Hokuto knew a veiled threat when he heard one. They could always destroy his other world; it was their leverage against him.

He ate his fries while Juri drove in silence. It was one of the most uncomfortable rides he had to endure. He never had the delusion that he and Juri were friends. Juri is his handler, and Hokuto is a professional. However, Hokuto wouldn’t deny that he at least hoped he could trust Juri. Maybe not with his life, but at least he hoped Juri wouldn’t stab him in the back. As they neared the hospital, Hokuto felt like a glass had been installed between him and Juri. That glass is now cracked and can be shattered with a single bullet. So far, hopefully, none of them wanted to fire first. 

“Thanks for the treat,” said Hokuto as Juri dropped him off. 

“See you,” said Juri.

“Same here.” He watched Juri’s car disappear as a chilling conclusion came to him. Taiga’s cousin was never a target, he was just a test of Hokuto’s resolve. 

To ask if he is scared the company started to doubt him, he is not. He is fucking pissed. Loyalty, he guessed, is never rewarded. 

***

Taiga kept drinking the pu’er tea served to him, but he remained parched. He is so nervous that he might bolt at any moment. It didn’t help that the fusuma sliding doors between him were painted with a tiger devouring a prey on his left, and a dragon breathing fire on his right. 

“Did this family start as a yakuza?” He thought. The house, or mansion rather, was massive. He had to ride a golf cart to reach the “main house,” and they passed-by several houses that could pass as the main house based on their size. 

“Did all three families live here? Did Hokuto use to live in this compound?” He wondered when the door opened. He tried to stand, but after hours of sitting in seiza style, his legs couldn’t be arsed. 

“It’s okay, Taiga-kun, just remain seated,” said Minamoto as he sat opposite him. A woman placed a thick blanket on Minamoto’s lap, while another woman poured him tea. 

Taiga first met Hokuto’s grandfather wearing an expensive suit, and seeing the old man in a yukata felt like what transmigrators feel when they time-travel from 2026 to the 1920s. 

“Thank you for making the trip here,” said Minamoto. “When you get to my age, winter will be a challenge.”

Taiga smiled. “I might be decades younger than you, but I assure you, every season had me trying.” 

Minamoto also smiled. “My body really wants to rest, so let’s get straight to the point. You are here to grant me the favor?” 

Taiga nodded. He thought he had relaxed but his heart started to drum again. “Only if you will grant mine.”

Minamoto fixed his glasses and as he scrutinized Taiga, he could feel the tiger and dragon coming to life and waiting for a go signal from their master to strike. 

“How bold,” said Minamoto. “Let me remind you that I’m investing in your little film.”

Taiga’s lips curled. He may not like his BL movie, but he will not allow any insults. “The movie can be made even without your investment, as long as there are two men in the throes of passion, fujoshis will flock to the theaters.”

“Does your producer know you’re here?” 

He swallowed hard. “He’ll get over it,” he said with bravado. 

Minamoto raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. He appeared to be weighing his options and hope soared in Taiga’s heart, Minamoto could grant him what he wanted as long as he played his cards right.  

“What is it that you want?” 

Taiga cleared his throat. “Leverage.”

 Minamoto appeared confused. “A leverage over me?” 

“No, I want leverage over Hokuto, and you’re the only one who can help me.” 

***

Cafe Polonaise used to be a sleepy but charming retro coffee shop tucked away in suburban Tokyo, but because of the movie “Ienai Himitsu”, the shop had gotten busier with fangirls and their axta posing with their cakes and coffees. 

“Thank you for going all the way here,” Taiga told Jesse. They shook hands, but Jesse’s eyes were busy looking around. 

“I don’t see your manager.”

“Oh, it’s just me.” 

“I see,” said Jesse, smiling wildly amidst his obvious disappointment. 

Taiga felt small, he was clearly unwanted. “Uhm and I hope whatever I say today will not reach Kochi.” 

Jesse looked conflicted, but he agreed anyway. “You can count on me.” 

“And also not the police…”

“But I am the police,” said Jesse. “If it’s a police matter, I’m afraid–”

“If you keep it a secret,” cuts Taiga and tries his chances, “Anything you want to know about Kochi, I’ll tell you.”

Jesse didn’t even appear surprised, nor did he try to deny his palpable interest in Taiga’s manager. 

“I want his personal LINE and any private IG accounts.” 

“You got it.” Taiga took out his phone, and within minutes, he had disclosed Kochi’s phone number, email, LINE, private IG, and X accounts, and even his office fax machine.

“You are very thorough,” said Jesse, impressed by Taiga’s speed in pimping his manager. 

“Of course.” 

“So what do you need me for?” He asked before sipping his coffee.

“Well, Jesse, I want you to look into a murder.” 

He almost spluttered his coffee and whispered cautiously, “Who was murdered?”

Taiga smiled. “Me.”

Present year…

The second ice cube has melted, and Jesse has yet to say anything after Taiga dropped a series of conjectures. He watched Jesse’s face go through a multitude of emotions as he emptied his coffee, so Taiga ordered Jesse another glass of iced coffee, and he hadn’t even gotten around to asking the favor. 

“Sorry,” said Taiga. “I didn’t think it'd be this shocking.” 

Jesse raised an eyebrow, his face grim. “There were three attempts on your life, and you didn’t think of it as shocking, really?” 

Taiga just smiled. “I guess the shock has worn off.” After all, he is living with one of those who tried to unalive him. 

“But maybe you’re right,” said Taiga after some thinking. “Even with the third one, I never thought that I could die. Am I weirdly optimistic? Or am I just stupid?” 

Jesse finished his second glass of coffee before he spoke again, “Errr, both. Anyway, let me get this clear. You have had three attempts in your life so far.”

Taiga nodded. 

“The first one didn’t succeed and killed your kouhai instead.”

Taiga nodded with regret and sadness. “And I was accused of murdering her.” He always wondered if he hadn’t offered his place, would she still be alive? 

“The second time, someone tried to poison you, but they also got affected by their poison?” 

“Yeah.” Taiga had no idea how else to explain what happened between him and Hokuto.

“And the third one, the one with your car, and the perp got caught.”

“But I don’t think he’s the real killer,” added Taiga. “I really think he’s covering for someone.” 

Jesse reached for his glass of water and emptied it too. “Kochi knew nothing about this?”

“No, just like him, I didn’t suspect anyone was out to get me until the third one happened.” Aside from Hokuto confirming that he was paid to kill Taiga. 

Jesse looked like he had a lot to say, but he kept his lips shut until they were pale-ish. “And why did you tell me all about this if you don’t want the police involved? What exactly do you want?” He asked, exasperation in his face. 

Taiga held his breath. Jesse no longer appeared as accommodating as he was earlier, but he got to try. 

“Uhm, I’m really sorry for burdening you like this, but can I ask for two things?” 

Jesse raised an eyebrow. “You can ask, but it doesn’t mean I’ll do it.”

“I understand. So, for the first one, the guy you caught, I want to see his apartment and I want to speak to him.” 

“Doable, but I’m not making promises.” 

“Also, since I don’t believe he did it, I’m not pressing charges against him.” 

Jesse scoffed. “Nice try but the police can prosecute even if the victim-you-don’t want to.” 

Taiga sighed, at least he tried. “For the second one…Can I get a copy of anything you have on Matsumura Hokuto’s missing case files?”

“Matsumura Hokuto?” asked Jesse, scowling. “Is this still about your headphones? Kochi said you already bought one.” 

“I did, but it’s not about the headphones. I just want to know a bit about his family.”

“I can’t help you with that. You’re not a family and —” Jesse paused as Taiga slid a folded A4 in front of him.

“I have a consent…from the head of their family.”

Jesse unfolded the paper, and his eyes widened. He looked at Taiga and back at the letter. Taiga could only smile, he could see a trace of the header that was embossed in gold. 

“How did you even get this?” He whispered as though Taiga had handed him a state secret. 

Taiga crossed his arms, feeling in control again. “If you can make my first request happen, I’ll probably tell you all about it,” he finished, confident that Jesse wouldn’t be able to say no. He raised his glass of iced coffee, the ice had long melted, before finally taking a sip of the caramel liquid. 

***

Hokuto heard of quiet quitting, and he wondered if there was also something called silent sacking. He checked his work phone; it had been 6 days and Juri hadn’t contacted him. To be fair, it wasn’t like he got an assignment as often as every day. The longest he had to wait for targets was a year, and that was during the pandemic. Six days shouldn’t be an issue, but the silence from Juri was deafening.

His phone pinged; a notification from their doorbell camera showed Taiga entering their apartment, probably carrying a brown bag of groceries. And did he say their apartment? He meant Taiga’s apartment. 

Hokuto exits the station along with throngs of capitalist slaves, all eager to go home. The night was still pretty chilly despite the forecast of an early spring, and he walked the remaining blocks with his hands in his pockets. Taiga had been busy lately; he’d been arriving past midnight per their doorbell camera, in which Hokuto would be sound asleep by 10 pm. He talked big about living with Taiga to keep him alive, yet he couldn’t even stay up and wait for Taiga. All Hokuto was able to do was place surveillance cameras around the apartment, and either Taiga was acting stupid, or he really had no idea there were cameras around. Hokuto had caught Taiga using his Greek yogurt to make that viral cheesecake that Shintaro had also started doing at their pantry. 

Aside from that, there had been no attempts in Taiga’s life, and if the company really didn’t send Max to kill Taiga, then why was there a need to test Hokuto’s resolve? He wished he could ask Juri, but Hokuto didn’t think Juri would tell the truth. 

Taiga was on his way out to throw their trash when Hokuto arrived. 

“So he knows how to dispose of trash, huh?” He’d been emptying the bins for days, because Taiga didn’t appear to be doing anything about it. 

“Okaerinasai,” greeted Taiga, one hand on his waist like a snarky wife who had to stay up for her drunk husband. 

Hokuto just nodded. He just couldn’t say Tadaima.

“I’m glad I ran into you,” said Taiga, placing the trash bag by the entrance, and Hokuto groaned. He would surely be the one to throw that.

“You’re glad to see me? That’s new.” He opened the fridge and took out some bottled water. His eyes didn’t miss his yogurts. “And while I’m here, buy your own yogurt.”

Taiga raised an eyebrow. “I pay rent. I get free food. That’s in the contract.”

Hokuto almost showered Taiga with water from his mouth. “We have a contract?!”

“Drafting it,” lied Taiga. Hokuto was about to argue about such a one-sided contract when Taiga added, “So have you found out who tried to off me?”

Hokuto closed his eyes. He forgot to ask Juri about it. And with the souring of their relationship, he didn’t think Juri would like Hokuto snooping around on their clients.

“Still searching,” he lied. “Those people are good at covering their tracks,” he added and changed the topic, “Uhm, are you not going to throw the trash?”

“Later.”

Hokuto groaned, here comes Taiga’s “later”.

“But you asked around, right?” asked Taiga, his eyes trying to bore a hole in Hokuto's head.

“Course I do.” He drank again when something dawned on him. “Did someone try again?”

“No one so far,” snapped Taiga. “Frankly, you’re not doing a very good job guarding me,” he said, the last words with air quotes.

“I’m an assassin, not a bodyguard,” he reminded him. “One kills, the other protects.”

“Yeah, my fault for allowing an assassin to protect me,” he replied sarcastically. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt if I brought you with me.”

“Bring me where?”

“To the apartment of the man who admitted to trying to kill me.”

Hokuto hoped his face remained unreadable. “Is this one with your van?”

“Yep. But I don’t believe it's him though,” and he added immediately, “Oh, and don’t worry, I don’t think it's you either. Too showy compared to your ‘clean and discreet’.”

Max, Hokuto thought sadly, ignoring Taiga’s snide remark. 

“But why do you want to check his apartment?” He wondered if he should inform Juri that Taiga is nosing around that man, the company probably paid to admit to the deed. 

“I think there’ll be a clue.”

“Clue to what?”

Taiga matched his stare. “Clue to the first murder attempt on my life.”

Hokuto was no longer drinking, but it still felt like he was choking. “Pardon? What do you mean first?”

“Sorry. You’re not the first one who tried to kill me,” he said as though the idea that Hokuto wasn’t the first would wound him.

“Someone tried to kill you before me?” 

“So I think–got to throw trash.”

Hokuto sighed. “That can wait–” But Taiga didn’t wait, the door closed, and the silence became more deafening.

***

“Let’s get this over with and just slap me.” Out of the context of S&M, Taiga thinks he’s the first person to beg someone to slap him. 

“Not touching you.”

Taiga sighed, exasperated that Hokuto wouldn’t hit him. He was still insistent on testing his theory that if he consented to it, Hokuto shouldn’t be burdened by it. 

“Just a pinch then? It shouldn’t hurt much.” 

Hokuto looked up from his laptop and fixed his glasses on his nose bridge. When women say they like “geeks”, they mean the megane-Hokuto Taiga was looking at now; smart and intimidating, but you couldn’t wait to peel their layers like a cabbage. And why is he comparing Hokuto to a cabbage? 

“But it will hurt me much,” replied Hokuto and showed him his laptop screen; “A Roommate Agreement” typed at the center. 

“Roommate? It should be a bodyguard,” Taiga corrected. “Roommates don’t try to murder each other.” 

Hokuto snorted and erased the word Roommate. “You’re so innocent if you think roommates don’t kill each other. There was a case in China where her roommate poured a toxic chemical into her shampoo that slowly killed her.”

“And you know this because you’re researching ways to kill someone without being obvious?” 

“It was in the news,” said Hokuto. “And that method is too slow. Anyway, ‘A Bodyguard Agreement’ then?” He said ‘Bodyguard’ as though he was taking a piss. 

“Hmmm…” He pretended to mull it over. “Bodyguard sounds lacking…What about ‘An Agreement between a Client and his Bodyguard’? Sounds more professional, and also like a Netflix cheesy flick?”

Hokuto didn’t reply, but the snappish way he hit the keyboard told Taiga his innermost feelings, so just to pissed Hokuto more, he suggested, “Ah, wait…everyone calls me bocchan so why not ‘A Young Master to Guardsman’…” He trailed off seeing how Hokuto was shooting lasers through his eyes. 

“It’s a joke, lighten up.”

Hokuto finished typing and turned the laptop to him. “Read and if you agree to it, sign it.” Hokuto went back to the kitchen to check on whatever he was making. The room smelled divine, and Taiga’s stomach grumbled. He thinks it’s safe to eat Hokuto’s food as long as that weird insurance hangs between them. 

He started reading the agreement and voiced out his misgivings, “Why do we have chores scheduled?” 

“Because you’re messy and I like order.”

Taiga scoffed. He couldn’t really argue on that one, so he picked something else. “Keep bathrooms dry? Bathrooms are made to be wet.” 

“I almost slipped the last time you showered first before me. Make sure to wipe the shower area after you use it.” 

“And if I don’t?” Taiga challenged. 

“I’ll make sure the water is freezing every time you use it.” 

Taiga’s frowned. He is being belittled now. “Do you think I don’t know how to adjust the temp?”

“Not from the main pipe,” said Hokuto, smiling like a devil. 

Taiga certainly didn’t want to check where the pumps were and thought of an idea. “But why don’t you do that, and we’ll check if you’ll freeze to your bones?” 

Hokuto appeared to consider his idea but asked, “Is that so hard to wipe the bathroom?” 

Taiga just shrugged and continued studying the contract. “Both parties should never attempt to enter each of their respective rooms unless they’re actively dying and in need of care…I agree to this, don’t make me catch you going upstairs.” 

“Ditto,” said Hokuto. He had taken out whatever he was baking from the oven, and Taiga could smell a heavenly combination of meat and pastry. He probably should stop nitpicking and just agree with Hokuto if he wants to be fed. He skimmed the contract and smiled seeing it, “If one party cooks the meal, the other will do the dishes.”

“And that’s why I have a dishwasher,” he whispered and read one of the terms loudly, “If Party A is bringing friends, colleagues, family, significant other, and the like over, Party B should be informed at least 8 hours so they could make themselves scarce–does this include Shintaro and Kochi?”

“Oh, right…I can add them as an exception.”

Taiga nodded. It was very unlikely he would bring significant others and the like over because he has neither. 

“Let’s eat.” 

Taiga almost dropped Hokuto’s laptop in his rush to sit at the table. 

“Steak pie and mashed potato.” 

“Itadakimasu!” He took a bite and immediately regretted it. The pie was freaking hot. 

Hokuto just shook his head in mild derision while Taiga guzzled water.

“About your manager, has he always been a manager?” asked Hokuto while Taiga blew on his pie as though he was giving rescue breaths. 

“No…” he said, before finally taking a spoonful and it was pure bliss. The crunchiness of the pastry mixed well with the zesty beef filling, leaving a piquant taste in his mouth. 

“This is good!” He hated to admit it. 

“Thanks, so about your manager.” 

“Hmmm, yes, about Kochi…” He tried the mashed potato, and it was the creamiest mashed potato he had ever tried. “This is good too!” 

“Of course, it's laden with butter,” said Hokuto, clearly uninterested in Taiga’s praises. “About your manager?” He repeated with impatience in his tone. 

Taiga drank a bit of water before answering, wondering if Hokuto’s interest in Kochi is the same as Jesse’s fascination with his manager. If it were, Kochi got the game.

“Well, as far as I know, he used to write for a travel magazine. He’s into outdoorsy stuff; camping, onsen trips, riding his bicycle, and so on. Until the travel magazine went digital and he was let go. Then, he met my dad on one of his onsen trips, and basically, my dad offered him a job to be my manager, and the rest is history.” 

“I see,” said Hokuto, seemingly satisfied with his answer, and Taiga noticed that Hokuto had barely started eating. 

“Why do you want to know about Kochi?” he asked and realized it should have been the first question he asked before summarizing Kochi’s career. 

“Just curious,” said Hokuto and finally took a bite of his food. “For a manager, I just thought he was well adept at a lot of things.” 

Taiga nodded. Kochis is very crafty indeed, but he didn’t think that would interest Hokuto at all. 

“By the way, Shintaro would love this.” 

Hokuto nodded. “I know. I’ve saved him a slice.” 

“Give him some mashed too!” He added like a mom worried for his son. “You made this from scratch, right? None of those boxed ones Juri endorsed.” 

“Yeah…” said Hokuto without much thought and Taiga saw a quick change in Hokuto’s microexpressions, from indifference to a slight worry.

“Juri?” 

“Juri,” Taiga repeated. “The rapper? He did commercials for Calbee’s instant mashed potato while rapping everything that rhymes with mashed.” 

“Ah…that rapper.”

“Do you know him?” 

“Not personally, I know a different Juri,” said Hokuto, his face impassive Taiga didn’t think he was lying. 

“I actually met him when I auditioned for a play. I don’t think he auditioned, so maybe he was just in the area. Not really sure.” 

Taiga was busy inspecting what else Hokuto mixed in the steak pie that he didn’t see the spike of panic in Hokuto’s face.

“When did you see this Juri?”

Hokuto’s tense voice made Taiga look up. “Forgot…but it was before you moved in.” 

“And what did he say?” 

Taiga shrugged. “Nothing of importance. Just making small talk. Why?” He didn’t know, but Hokuto’s queries made him uneasy. 

“Have you ever bumped into him before that day?”

Taiga shook his head. “Never.”

“Next time you see or meet him, avoid him,” Hokuto ordered. 

Taiga wanted to argue that Hokuto didn’t have the right to tell him who he should meet, but he felt like this time, he should just follow Hokuto. 

“But why?”

Hokuto looked so serious that he even put his spoon down. “Until we don’t know who ordered your kill, you should treat any new encounters as possible assassins.”

Taiga scoffed. “That’s ridiculous, Juri’s just a rapper.” 

“And I’m just a doctor.” 

Hokuto has a point. 

“But I meet a lot of new people,” he argued and thought of Hokuto’s grandfather. Could an old man be an assassin? 

“That’s fine, just don’t get too close to them, or be alone with them.” 

“But—” His doorbell rang and he looked at Hokuto with alarm. “Are you expecting anyone?” 

Instead of answering, Hokuto just stood up and checked their door camera. “I think you have a surprise visitor,” said Hokuto. 

Taiga ran next to him, his eyes widening as Hokuto opened the door. 

“Tai–who are you?” 

Taiga sighed. “Papa…Hokuto. Hokuto, meet my dad, Kyomoto Masaki.” 

***

Hokuto made it a rule to sleep by 10 in the evening. Not only was it good for his skin, but being a doctor meant he might get called anytime so he should sleep as much as possible. However, on this Thursday night, sleep had been elusive for a lot of reasons. First, learning that Juri approached Taiga meant a lot of things, and all weren’t good. Hokuto had no idea if Juri was acting on his own or on behalf of the company, but after being tested, Hokuto was sure the kill order on Taiga was very much active. 

“Are you still awake?”

Hokuto didn’t reply and kept his eyes closed. The second reason why he was still awake was on his bed. 

“Really sorry about this, my dad rarely visits unannounced so I was as surprised as you are.” 

Hokuto opened his eyes, and from the sliver of moonlight through his blinds, he could see Taiga watching him. Taiga’s fair skin now resembled the glow of a pearl.  

“I get about your dad, but why are you sleeping on my bed?” 

Taiga didn’t look the slightest bit apologetic. “I don’t have a futon.”

“The couch is pretty spacious. And your bed upstairs fits 2, so why are you not sleeping next to your dad?” He complained even though he asked himself the same question and reasoned that the bed was his so why should he adjust? 

“He snores like a bear…” and to prove his point, he paused from speaking, and they could hear quite a racket upstairs. “Hear that? That’s the softer version, but if you go out now, it’ll be Dolby Atmos.”

Hokuto sighed, trying to forget his discomfort, and making sure nothing from his body and not even a thread from his pajamas would touch Taiga. If Hokuto could swaddle himself, he would. 

“You should have him tested for sleep apnea,” he advised.

Taiga smiled. “Try telling him that, maybe he’ll believe you since you’re a doctor.”

“I prefer it when you avoid me.” Come to think of it, when did Taiga become this comfortable? “I guess you no longer see me as a threat.” 

“Oh, I’m still scared of you,” said Taiga, lying sideways to face him. “But I’m in between wanting to piss you off and finding your weakness.” 

Hokuto raised an eyebrow. Taiga definitely has something on him, but what? Taiga knew he ran away from home, which he probably got from the police, but Hokuto wouldn’t be threatened with that. His family didn’t want him as much as he did. But then he recalled what Max said about his family, about Hokuto not knowing the truth. What truth?

“Is it working right? I’m pissing you off.” 

He ignored Taiga’s taunting and turned to face the wall, and pulled his blanket over his head. He would love to kick Taiga out of his bed, but that would mean kicking himself, too. He closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come quickly, even though he had lots of things on his mind. And all these worries started because of the person behind him. 

“Why do you kill, Hokuto?” 

His eyes opened. He-himself-asked that question before, and the answer remained the same. “Some people need killing.” 

“But does it have to be you?” 

“Does it have to be him?” A flood of memories he kept locked threatened to spring like a deluge. Does it have to be him? It has always been him. He was born to do it. A human armor. But he just chose to do it differently. 

He turned to face Taiga and found him with his eyes closed, his long eyelashes softening his androgynous features. 

“Why? Are you planning on changing me?” He whispered.

“I hear that,” said Taiga. His eyes remained closed aside from seconds of restless movement as though he was drifting between waking and dreaming. 

“You don’t need changing, Hokuto, you just need to be accepted.” 

Hokuto’s eyes remained on Taiga as his face slumped deeper on his pillow. The snoring upstairs became white noise. And the things that beleaguered him earlier became distant. Yet Hokuto still couldn’t sleep, because whether he admits it or not, he had already started changing since he met Taiga.