Tobirama

On the Monday, me and Izuna came to Hakka-san's hotel hand-in hand. Hashirama was there, and I could see him look at our entwined hands, but when Izuna let me go to hug him, he smiled. I felt a pang of jealousy then, but I didn't feel unsafe. I wanted them to like each other. 

Today, Izuna would present his discovery to us, the one he had said would make us win the case. I hoped that he was right; not only would that give us a very difficult case on our reputation, but it would also be very good for Izuna's personal CV. It had been incredibly hard for me not to ask Izuna what he'd found immediately, but for his sake, I had been silent. The bruises on his face was almost gone now, I was glad to see. 

Izuna took the documents out of his portfolio, then placed them on the table in the working space in Hakka-san's hotel where him, me and Hashirama had gathered.

"Look here", he said and pointed. We looked over his shoulder, but of course, it was in Japanese. He read aloud. "'Hereby we grant permission for the demolition of Hotel Hakka and its surroundings for the installation of coal mines, blah blah.'"

"Yes, and?" Hashirama asked, but I was frowning. Something was nagging me, but I couldn't quite understand what. 

"We have missed this part", he said. "'Surroundings.'" Oh, I thought. This was what was nagging me. Just one simple word. "But here..." Izuna pointed again to the side, where someone had written something in Japanese with ink. "It's just a scribble on the side. At first, I thought it was a business man who had made notes for themselves. But it's measurements, describing exactly what 'surroundings' means. And..." Izuna looked up at us. "That was what I went out to check that day I was beaten. From my hospital bed, though, I used Google Earth. And it involves the entire area Hakka-san owns. Including the homes of the people who live on his grounds."

I just stared at the little man in front of me, beyond impressed. 

"So their homes will be demolished as well?" Hashirama asked. 

"Yes", Izuna said.

"And what are the responsibilities of the company wanting to dig out the coal mine to find these people new homes, or replace them economically?" Hashirama asked.

"None", me and Izuna said simultaneously. 

"Shit", Hashirama said.

We were all quiet, taking this all in. Not only would we win this case, but the way the document had been so unclear about the total damage of the coal mine would entail, as well as not offering the inhabitants in the area anything... It was illegal. A hand-written scribble did not count. The company in charge of the coal mines were in trouble. 

Hashirama was, I noticed, looking at Izuna with the same awe I felt.

"What?" Izuna asked when he noticed. It made me feel incredibly redundant. 

"It's just..." Hashirama began. "These people. They caused your hospitalisation. Yet here you are, still helping them. From your hospital bed, none the less! You're a good man."

I had thought the exact same thing, and cursed myself for not saying anything. Now, the compliment was stolen from me by my own brother. I knew he didn't mean anything with it; he had even taken a step back from Izuna for my sake. He couldn't have known I was thinking the same thing, and giving someone a compliment wasn't forbidden. But what if Izuna preferred my brother? What if Izuna should prefer my brother? He was, without a doubt, a much better person than me.

Izuna waved him away.

"You give me far more credit than I'm do." He held up a hand when Hashirama opened his mouth to protest. "Don't get me wrong. I try to be a good person. But I'm not here as Izuna, the private person. I'm a lawyer. I'm just doing my job. Izuna the person is happy the people aren't lured out of their homes, and that Hakka-san can continue his noble work with wildlife preservation. Izuna the lawyer is just happy to win."

I looked at the little man, and I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anything in my entire life. 

Izuna

It took a couple of weeks, but we won the case. Tobirama stayed for the entire time, but he left the rest of the case to me and his brother. I hoped Tobirama was spending his time resting, but I suspected he didn't as the bags beneath his eyes became darker and darker. Hadn't he lost a lot of weight? But we were with each other every night. We kissed, we fucked, we talked. For hours. Although not about his childhood; I didn't ask, and he didn't tell me. Seemed as if though the time wasn't right yet.  

The people of the grounds of Hakka-san sent me a huge bouquet of field flowers with a note apologising as well as thanking me for saving their homes. I didn't know how that made me feel, but I accepted the gift. 

When the case was done, there was still one month left of my contract in Tokyo. It was paid in terms of m salary and accommodation, and both Tobirama and his brother stayed with me. If Hashirama felt bad about me never spending my nights with him, he didn't show it. He was happy as ever when we hung out during the days, getting the most out of our time here. Tobirama rarely wanted to follow, being more of a night person, and that was okay. Although it did make me suspect he was working. 

Then, one week after we were bound to leave, Hakka-san phoned us. He was going to host a party to celebrate, and it was to be held in the garden of his hotel. We were invited. Me and Hashirama were excited, and with some convincing, we pursued Tobirama to say yes as well.

So that was how I found myself in a beautiful garden in Tokyo to celebrate the greatest victory of my career.

But, unknowingly, I would hurt the man I loved incredibly deeply. 

Tobirama

Izuna was... Unusual.

When he asked me to come with him out and I said no, he didn't pout, or scream, or worse (cry), but just wished me a good day, kissed me and went out. The days he wanted to rest at home, he didn't mind keeping himself company reading. Even when I asked him to be alone, he went to his room seemingly without being hurt. He would text me after a few hours asking if I needed anything, to which I would say no, and would he like anything? He was never angry with me, and never cruel.

I asked him about it once.

"Aren't you angry when I... When I don't spent that much time with you?"

He shook his head.

"No. I knew you were this way. I don't really mind. I'm quite happy in my own company. Despite, I trust you and your feelings for me."

"It's just... The girls I used to date always wanted me to take them shopping."

"This might come as a great shock to you, but I'm a man."

That made me laugh.

And the sound of my own laugh was so unfamiliar to me, it shocked me.

So it wasn't that hard to say yes to the party Hakka-san was hosting as I made it seem.

"I wonder..." I told him on the morning of the party. Izuna looked up from his book. He was now reading Scar Tissue; the same book I'd borrowed on the flight here. "You are the only person who has never asked me to give you anything. Would you allow me to take you to the city and buy you a dress? You looked so lovely in one."

Izuna lit up and clapped his hands excitedly.

"I would love that!" Then, he became serious. "You do understand I'm not with you for your money, right? I can provide for myself."

I took his hand and kissed it. 

"I know."

So we went together into several designer stores. Izuna tried several dresses, and he looked lovely in all of them, but he hadn't found one he felt he clicked with.

Then, I got an idea.

"Follow me."

I took him to a small boutique I knew about with a less-known but very skilled designer who sold dresses that were exquisite. Izuna started browsing, but I stopped him.

"Let me", I asked him.

I looked at the different dresses, until finally, I found one which I handed him. His eyes became large, and as he put it on, his face changed.

"God..." he breathed. Then, he looked at the price tag and gasped. "I can't", he said.

"No", I said and hugged him from behind so we could see one another in the mirror, him wearing the dress I had chosen for him. "But I can."