A/N: The following chapter contains brief discussions of mental health. If you are struggling, please do not be afraid to reach out to a professional. 

___

I always hated when Ryuzo was away, but my time in Japan couldn't be consumed by him alone. My work, my patients, my opportunity to experience Tokyo in all its glory. There was plenty else to focus on. But still . . .

After having him be so open and trusting of me, and seeing how much I could relate to him, things felt different. It felt like more. Whatever that meant.

It had been nearly a week since he left. He texted me every day and called at night when he could, but that wasn't often. When I checked my phone during a break, a text from him was my only notification.

Can you do me a favor?

His question gave me pause, but I didn't have time to figure out why before alarms started blaring.

Room to room, patient after patient. Ayumi refused to speak English with me anymore, adding more struggle to my already rigorous shift. As much as I hated it, her method worked. I had already picked up on a few phrases, including ones I had heard before. Even some Ryuzo had said in bed. Amazing. So good. I like you. It was funny how gentle he was with me. When I wanted him to be.

It took two hours to calm from a sprint to a jog. When I finally had the chance to stop and breathe, I realized I hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. I scolded myself and went to find food.

"Mi-na!" Ayumi caught me again, a stack of fluids she was balancing in her arms. Without question, I lightened her load and followed her up the hall. When I saw the patient, I stuttered.

Tight bandages covered his head and left arm, and his skin displayed abrasions, lacerations, and large bruises on the visible areas of his body. They were the type of injuries one would see on a car crash victim, which I hadn't seen since I started here. Ayumi replaced his IV bags in silence, though the patient was deep in a sedated sleep.

"What happened to him?" I asked, hoping she would answer rather than scold me for my English usage again.

"He tripped and fell onto the train tracks," she answered. "But the train stopped. He is lucky."

Her answer didn't feel right. "He tripped and fell?"

"Yes."

I could tell she was lying. Ayumi only lost the bubbly inflection in her voice unless a situation was grave. She caught my look, reading my thoughts on my face.

Her eyes flickered toward the patient, then back to her work. "Business is a very competitive profession here, and the pressure can be too much," she explained. "People get very stressed." She didn't elaborate further, but I filled in the blanks.

My heart broke for him. There was so much I still had to learn about the culture, but it was clear how hard people worked, and how little they complained.

As we left, I remembered who was in the next room. My gunshot patient was recovering well. A long-sleeved shirt covered his tattoos, making him look like the kid he was rather than the criminal others saw him to be. For the first time, someone was in the room with him. Two other men stood on either side of his bed, all three laughing loudly over whatever was said right before. Their smiles were infectious.

Side-by-side, the contrast was stark. The boy who did everything "right" was in the same place as the boy who did everything "wrong." Life was gray that way, especially mine. What was supposed to help often hurt, and what was supposed to hurt often felt better than anything.

In the break room, I went to shake off my thoughts and have a quick snack. My bag and grabbed my food and phone. Ryuzo's text was still pulled up. I read it again, and finally replied.

Of course.

"Mina. Mimi. Willamina," Kat released her string of nicknames. "Are you coming with us?"

I swallowed a bite I hadn't chewed enough. "Coming where?" I received a side-eye. Drinks. I had forgotten. "Damn. It's time already?"

She laughed. "Yes, love." She took her clothes with her into the changing area.

My phone pinged again.

Will you feed the kawaii akuma 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ for me?

That didn't seem like one of the forbidden Yakuza favors Ayumi warned me about.

Does this mean you aren't coming home yet?

Yes. I'm sorry

Kat came out again in her streetwear. She took one look at me and knew. "What's your excuse this time?"

"You won't believe me if I tell you."

"Try anyway."

"I need to feed someone's cats."

"Someone's?" she asked with intense skepticism. "Your man's?"

"Yes."

"Your man has cats?"

"Yes, and they are precious."

She narrowed her eyes. "I will never understand people's attraction to men, but I will make an exception for men with pussies."

Her double entendre got me. "Good one," I laughed.

She smirked and wrapped me in a tight, unwanted hug, resting her chin on my shoulder. "Next time?"

"Next time," I lied.

. . .

When I made it to Ryuzo's house, I sent him a text and he let me in remotely. A package sat on his front step, so I took it in, too. Why he trusted me, I didn't know. 

The fur babies were surprised rather than excited to see their step-mother again. They had enough to be on their own for a week while Ryuzo was away. It hadn't been that long, but I didn't question it.

I refilled the little voids' feeders and bougie water fountain, and completed the fun task of emptying the litter box. It took me forever to figure out the self-cleaning space capsules, then Jiji stared me in the eye while making a mess in it right after it was clean.

Susu followed me everywhere like a little duckling. "I am going to step on you, dust bunny. Can I pick you up or will you claw me to death?"

Not sure whether she understood English — a ridiculous thought that made me smile — she still meowed after everything I said. I slipped my hands under her stomach and lifted her from her feet. She went full noodle, folding into my arm and closing her eyes with contentment. Her purr vibrated against my chest.

"Oh my God," I said through gritted teeth. It was painful how cute she was. Meanwhile, Jiji pretended not to follow me, glaring from the edge of each room I went into.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket. I took time to balance the soot sprite in my arm before answering it. "Hey!"

"Is everything all right?" Ryuzo asked.

"Mm-hmm. I got everything cleaned and refilled, and Jiji hasn't murdered me. Yet," I added. He chuckled. "Can we video? I have to show you."

"Sure."

His handsome face appeared. He was sitting outside somewhere. The loose pieces of hair framing his face fluttered in the wind, the gathering clouds behind him matched the gray of his mood.

I lifted my phone to show Susu asleep in my arm. A smile appeared on his face. A bit of levity. "When she goes missing, I had nothing to do with it," I teased to make him laugh again.

"You are so beautiful, Mina," he said as if it pained him. He leaned his chin into his palm. I failed to ignore the cigarette between his fingers.

"You're beautiful, too, when you don't smoke."

Another laugh. "We've talked about this. If I can't have you in my mouth, it's going to be this."

"I would happily be in your mouth if you weren't thousands of miles away in a place I've never heard of."

"I can fix that."

"By coming home?"

"Well . . . no. Not yet."

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway . . . You had a package on your doorstep. I brought it in for you to open next week or whatever."

"You should open it now."

I gave him a confused look. "You want me to open your mail?"

"Yes. Because it's for you."

I sighed. "Boy . . . I told you to stop buying me shit."

He hummed a disingenuous acknowledgment. "Open it, then you can complain."

I took a stool and settled my dust bunny in my lap while glaring at the box. I took my frustration out by destroying the beautiful wrapping and shredding the tape holding it closed. Inside, the contents made my jaw drop.

Edge gel, freezing spray, mousse, curl smoothie — from Shea, but I would give him a pass — a silk scarf, and a detangling comb similar to the one I broke the week I arrived. I hadn't seen products like these since moving here, and hadn't had the time or money to pay fees to ship them from the States. There was no telling how much he paid, but it shocked me he looked for them at all.

I picked my phone up again and gaped at him. "Are you fucking serious? You bought me hair care?"

"Last time I tried to give you a gift, you said you would rather have something for your hair," he explained, deepening my shock. "There is a group of expats from the Caribbean who own shops in Harajuku. They sell mostly foods and spices, but one shop is for hair. I told them what yours looked like and how you wear it, and they suggested those."

Not only had he listened to something so subtle, but he went and found it. I felt close to tears. "Zo-chan . . ."

"Did I get the wrong things?"

"No, they're perfect." The level of emotion I was having over gel was comical. I fanned my face to dry my eyes. "Baby. I think this is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you."

He acknowledged my compliment with a proud grin. I shouldn't have been surprised that Ryuzo would have been the person to do that for me. Besides knowing many people in many places . . . he proved he knew me.

"I'm serious, Zo-chan. This means a lot."

His grin faded with the sincerity of the words, "I miss you."

"I miss you more."

"You should come here. Stay with me on your days off work."

"But I thought you were . . ." Working didn't feel like the right word. "Is it not risky for me to be with you right now?"

"I will keep you safe. Always. I want you, and I don't want to waste the little time we have together."

I felt warm from his flattery already, but his words made the heat settle in my cheeks. And elsewhere. "Out of all the pussy in Na . . . Nano-ya?"

"Nagoya," he corrected again with a chuckle. "But I'm in Kyoto for a bit. There is something I need to do here."

"Kyoto?" I shook my head. "All the pussy in Japan, and you want the one that is six hours away?"

"Out of all the pussy in the world, I want the only one I can't stop thinking about."

More flattery, but I fell for it. A man like him had more options than most, but he wanted to be with me. I wanted to be with him, too. More than he knew.

"Susu," I said. Her eyes opened slightly. "Should I leave you so your daddy can get laid?"

She let out a little squeak and went back to sleep, as if saying Duh. Ryuzo snickered as I rolled my eyes.

I pressed a kiss to Susu's head before setting her down. She complained when I left her for the stairs. "I've had a long day, Zo. I'm going to your bed."

"To sleep?"

"Mm-hmm. What? Did you want me to do something different instead?"

He smirked.

In his room, I crawled onto his bed, his pressed sheets inviting but not enough to make me pick my tiredness over my horniness. "If you were here, baby, do you know what I would do?"

"Tell me."

I leaned my phone against the headboard, making sure there was a view of the area I needed. "First, I'd let you be the one to take my clothes off," I tugged at the drawstring of my pants, watching his focus train on me. "You drive me crazy every time you lift my legs up to pull my pants off slowly, like this."

The cotton came off over my feet and found its place on the floor. I turned around and sat on my heels, knees wide, and dragged my top over my head. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw my ass directly in frame and the devilish smile on his face. I pulled the straps of my panties higher on my hips, just to tease him.

"You would have all of this, exactly how you want it. I'd let you kiss me anywhere and everywhere until your cock is begging to feel me. Then I'd put you right here." I leaned forward onto my elbows, lifting my ass. I moved my panties to the side and slid my fingers through my folds, spreading my fingers into a V to show him. The moan he let out made me smile. "But I can't," I sat up again to the guttural sound of his protest. "Because you keep going everywhere but here."

"You know where I would rather be. Show me again."

"Show me something first."

He flipped the camera to his fly. My reward created an obvious outline and flexed in his pocket when he gave it a squeeze. I wanted the full show.

"That's all you have for me?" I taunted.

"I will have a lot more for you if you come here."

I shook my head. "Give me something now or I'll keep my ass right where it is."

His grin betrayed his grumble. He slid a screen wall closed behind him. Warm lights melted away the previous shadows when he leaned against a pale wall with pillows. After a shuffle, he moved his phone away and showed me again.

My pussy clenched when I saw it. He slid the end of his shirt up his abs, showing his breathtaking erection as it throbbed just an inch from his navel.

"You know I want you, my sakura. I always want you," he said in that alluring baritone. "I want to feel you wrapped around me so tight it hurts, make you come hard, then lick yourself off me while I spill myself onto your soft, little tongue."

My pussy matched the rhythm of his cock against his stomach. It was suddenly harder to breathe.

I licked my lips. "Yeah, so . . . When do you want me to come out?"

His wicked smile replaced my previous delicious view. "Tonight. The next shinkansen leaves in 45 minutes and will only take two hours to get here."

"Forty—? Only? Zo, I swear."

"I will make it worth it, I promise." The growliness in his voice made him sound very convincing. "I'm sending you the ticket."

In the time it took me to pull my clothes back on, my phone pinged with a screenshot of a 20,000-yen ticket. 

Was I really about to run my ass off to catch two trains just for sex? Or was I going to run my ass off just to be next to him again? Letting myself get close to him was meant to hurt me, but it made me feel better than anything. 

"You always get your way, don't you?"

His only response was a slight raise of an eyebrow. Yes.

_____

A/N:  I hope you liked this chapter, my kawaii akuma. 

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to add this story to your library and follow me for update alerts!