Chapter Text
Norihisa visits his brothers often.
He helps them clean the house thoroughly in his visits. Plays checkers with Iori to entertain him and humor him when he loses (which is every time). Have long conversations with Satoshi who has insight on a lot of things. Help Shin do mediocre things he can't do with ease due to his permanent injury. Prepare dinner and eat with them at the table, then clean up afterwards.
The makings of a good son, raised by his three brothers, grown to be a good man.
“We're proud of you, Norihisa,” Iori tells him as they're watching TV.
Norihisa looks at him like nothing and nods.
“What's wrong, kid?” Shin asks.
“I can't accept it,”
“What?” Satoshi raised an eyebrow.
“I can't accept that you're proud of me. Thank you, but I'm not there yet,” Norihisa explained, focused on the program.
“Norihisa…” Iori sighed.
Norihisa had opened up a gambling den with the help of his brothers which, admittedly is not a legal one, but he had to make money somehow. Having been kicked out of university, he had to start from scratch, and no other university would accept his applications after what happened.
And at the SWORD meeting, he'd meet the other leaders again he'd not seen in quite a while. One in particular caught his eye.
Norihisa avoided the fact that they were positioned near each other during the meeting, and ignored that warmth in his chest again — that pang as strong as a punch and his lungs that would stop working when he starts to zone out.
Norihisa ignores the fact he couldn't take his eyes off him completely, the pupils drawn back to him every time he looked away. There wasn't any particular part of him that stuck out too much that had Norihisa stealing glances so frequently. He just really liked looking at him. Maybe his aura was cool. His cane reminded him of Shin. His glasses looked nice on him. His gloves- his gloves?
Norihisa knew it was Ranmaru's release day. He preached it annoyingly everywhere in prison, counting it down to the point Norihisa couldn't forget. He was actually fucking crazy, but Norihisa couldn't care to do anything about him.
Which was a mistake because now he has to be out for revenge again. (He'd never admit it's revenge for Rocky's sake)
But in the end, he did protect someone. Even could go as far as to say he saved him. Norihisa liked that thought in his head.
Norihisa respected Rocky a great lot, as someone older than him and as a person in general. Although he would have loved to beat Ranmaru up himself (so Rocky wouldn't have had to lift a finger, honestly), he let Rocky take his own revenge.
And things only got worse from there.
It brought him back — to the hospital. His brothers laid on the beds, having been beaten almost lifeless. His officers, recovering from whatever the fuck crazy shit Kohaku had pulled then. All their injuries, their casts, their cuts and bruises, it all hurt his eyes to see.
It was a natural response to him, to get angry and frustrated when this happens.
This time around, seeing everything his brothers had built for him and with him, their gambling den torn apart and set ablaze exceeded all his usual anger and frustration, turning into a silent thought.
He didn't react to the fire crackling all around him, or to the pile of unconscious bodies he hoped weren't straight up corpses of his family.
Norihisa felt a familiar fire sparking inside himself, one he swore he'd extinguish if it ever were to come up again. That rage that grew was the same rage that kicked him down all those steps. He could've gotten a more stable job and he could've been at home the entire time with his brothers, taking care of them until the end of time. He could've led a more normal life and he wouldn't have met all these people he grew to care about.
Norihisa, ever the caring one, only frustrated himself.
And he didn't really care about whether or not he'd die if they went through with this. Kuryu had done enough damage to his life and family. He can't see another precious thing to him be destroyed like that. Not again. Not ever again.
And while he could, he wanted to protect his territory and his people. He wanted to fight for something worth fighting for.
“I like the passion in your fights,”
Oh my God.
Norihisa felt his face warm and couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face.
Oh my God.
Rocky Mutsugi (he'd come to learn his name from Kohaku) had praised him.
Norihisa would watch the fireworks with that grin he always wore. His facial muscles hurt, but he smiled anyway. How could he not? It was over.
He could go home, to his brothers, into the living room to play checkers with Iori. Into the lounge room to talk with Satoshi. Into the kitchen to help Shin make dinner. Into their arms, their warmth similar to a mother's embrace (not that Norihisa would know what that felt like, but that's what it felt like to him).
And it was time to go home. He was tired, the adrenaline finally dissipating. Like the first time, Norihisa needed rest.
Satoshi opened the door for him and brought him inside. He took his haori off his back and hung it behind the door.
Shin was sitting on the couch, a cane to his side. Seeing Norihisa, he stood up and walked over to him.
Iori entered the room, eyes soft on Norihisa.
Norihisa bowed slightly and Iori made his way to the three.
“How have you been, Norihisa?” Iori smiled. It'd been a while, but he watched Norihisa from the news and pieced the puzzle together with Satoshi and Shin.
“I should be asking you that,” Norihisa smiled back. The elder brothers wondered how long it had been since he last smiled like that. A normal smile. A genuine one. Even if his face was bruised and bloodied, even if his body was slumped, Norihisa looked healthy. He was alive.
“We've been well,” Iori patted his shoulder.
“That's good,” Norihisa’s eyes noticeably shrunk.
“Are you tired?”
“I'm exhausted,”
“You definitely overexerted yourself,”
“It's finally over,”
“It is. Go to your room and sleep. When you wake up, dinner will be waiting for you,” Iori kissed his forehead, which is far from usual for a grown man to do so to his grown brother. But Norihisa needed it.
Norihisa wanted to cry. Yet again, his brothers made him want to cry.
Norihisa wrapped his arms around Iori, burying his head into his shoulder. He felt him hug back, and two more joined them in their embrace.
That warmth.
Knowing the peace they could finally experience after so long…
Norihisa cried.