"Mr. Asou, I hear the Boss has assigned you to find a doctor?"
"Yes."
"I imagine you don't have the time or energy to search everywhere personally. For the sake of the Boss's health, would you be willing to use some of the people under my command? I happen to know several excellent doctors."
Executive Nishida stepped into Asou Akiya's office, came to a stop in front of his desk, and casually offered the suggestion.
Coincidentally, Ozaki Kouyou was not present.
"I'm sorry."
Closing the file catalog he had been reviewing, Asou Akiya rose to his feet and replied at an unhurried pace.
"I am loyal to the Boss. Naturally, I will act according to his orders."
In that instant, the cordial understanding that had existed between Executive Nishida and Asou Akiya vanished completely.
What use was a subordinate who refused to obey an Executive?
This was not the first day Executive Nishida had felt irritated by the situation.
Asou Akiya had been personally assigned to him by the Boss. On paper, Akiya belonged to Nishida's division, but in reality every significant matter was reported directly to the Boss.
Since the Boss had fallen seriously ill, true and false information had become intertwined like a dense fog. Rumors spread endlessly, leaving the upper ranks of the Port Mafia restless and uneasy.
Executive Nishida wanted access to firsthand information regarding the Boss's condition.
That was why he had set his sights on Asou Akiya.
Although Akiya no longer served as the temporary secretary, he remained one of the Boss's most trusted subordinates. If Nishida could persuade him to replace the current doctors with people loyal to himself, wouldn't that effectively place the Boss's well-being in his hands?
"Mr. Asou, won't you reconsider?"
"No."
Asou Akiya's demeanor was as emotionless as a machine's.
Within his eyes was only the cold rationality of the Analyst.
"Could it be..." he said slowly, "that Executive Nishida wishes to pry into the Boss's daily life and personal affairs?"
"I-I do not."
Executive Nishida let out an awkward laugh, though the chill in his eyes seeped through the false smile.
"You've grown quickly after spending so much time at the Boss's side."
The compliment sounded insincere from beginning to end.
Casually, he picked up one of Akiya's fountain pens from the desk and drew it across a document, effortlessly slicing a long tear through the paper.
"Look at that. Paper is so fragile. It needs to be protected properly... or perhaps it needs to beg someone else to protect it."
Executive Nishida was a man approaching thirty, yet he looked remarkably young. Whenever he wore that hypocritical smile, it was enough to send chills down the spine of any mid- or lower-ranking member of the Port Mafia.
With a flourish of the pen, he spun it between his fingers before raising it toward Asou Akiya's face.
Then he began writing on him.
Akiya did not move.
Black ink appeared on the face that was practically the Port Mafia's greatest diplomatic asset.
The words written there were:
—Take Care of Yourself.
To be able to treat one of the Boss's favored subordinates in such a manner—and to do so knowing the other man dared not resist—filled Executive Nishida with a certain sadistic satisfaction.
It was the arrogance born of power and authority.
Akiya's eyelashes trembled slightly.
He suppressed the urge to knock the pen away.
There was no one else in the office.
His personal safety was not guaranteed.
If he further offended Executive Nishida, the one who would suffer the consequences would be himself.
This sort of humiliation—being at another person's mercy—was not something he was experiencing for the first time in the Mafia.
Weakness was a sin.
Coveting a position that did not truly belong to you was also a sin.
Judging from the strokes of the Japanese characters being written on his face, Akiya had already figured out what the words were.
He looked at Executive Nishida with cool indifference and said,
"Thank you for your blessing."
A trace of surprise flashed across Nishida's face.
He can endure it, huh.
He had assumed that someone who spent his days sitting in an office would be more sensitive, that having a few words scribbled across his face would be enough to make him lose his temper.
Under Executive Nishida's playful treatment—patting his face as though toying with him—the anger that Akiya normally kept buried began to rise little by little.
Three years ago, he never would have dared openly challenge someone above him.
But the confidence he had gained from Randou, Chuuya, and Ranpo had gradually changed him.
Whether he realized it or not, they were influencing him every day.
He was no longer the insignificant insect who had to look up at the world from beneath the ground.
Now, he could stand with his back straight.
The black-haired young man suddenly grabbed the hand that had been used to impose that malice upon him.
Then, smiling, he enunciated each word clearly and deliberately.
"I'll return those words to you as well."
As long as you don't dare kill me outright, then next time...
...will be the day I come to settle the score with you.
The price of speaking those words was paid immediately.
Several dull thuds echoed through the tightly sealed office.
The Port Mafia's civilian Analyst received a thorough beating from his combat-oriented superior.
Officially, it was called:
Training a subordinate's combat skills.
When an Executive had no intention of giving you face, disciplining his own subordinate was a perfectly legitimate matter.
Since Executive Nishida had already torn away all pretense of friendliness, he decided to settle his grievances on the spot.
After venting his anger, he let out a cold laugh and straightened his suit.
He did not even bother looking at Asou Akiya, who had been knocked to the floor between the desk and the bookshelves.
"Only your brain and your mouth are important. It shouldn't matter if your arms and legs get dislocated, right?"
"Don't worry. For the sake of the work you do for the Boss, I've merely made sure you won't be able to move around today. You can lie here in your office for the rest of the day. After work, call the infirmary yourself."
Then he sneered.
"And if you're thinking about reporting this?"
"Heh."
"What exactly do you think you are?"
"Even the Boss gives me a certain amount of respect."
"I've found you unpleasant to look at for a long time."
"The way you look at me isn't the respectful gaze a non-ability user should have toward someone like me."
"Your intelligence gave you courage, didn't it?"
"You think I'm not as smart as you."
"Wake up and recognize your place."
"You're not nearly as important as you think you are, Analyst."
"You're nothing more than a dog the Boss keeps by my side."
Society was cruel.
And the inside of the Mafia was even less deserving of the word kindness.
In order to break Asou Akiya's spirit, Executive Nishida resorted to a method capable of crushing the dignity of an ordinary man.
His gaze even lingered on the blood at the corner of Akiya's mouth as he mocked him.
"If I weren't completely uninterested in men, I'd be tempted to find out what you taste like."
His voice dripped with contempt.
"If you weren't in the Port Mafia, you'd probably be living a much better life."
"Tch."
"You deserve this for throwing yourself into this swamp."
"If you don't have strength, then learn to obey."
After some time had passed, the office was left with only one person inside.
Akiya endured the pain.
His limbs had no strength left in them, leaving him unable even to reach for the phone.
While struggling against the agony spreading throughout his body, he suddenly noticed a small figure standing at the doorway.
A young girl in a kimono.
Her long hair draped over her shoulders.
Ozaki Kouyou silently watched him without saying a word. The fluffy flower ornament decorating her hair looked charming and delicate.
Akiya sucked in a sharp breath and laughed bitterly at the beating he had received.
"You saw everything."
"Yes."
Lowering her head slightly, Kouyou spoke as though explaining herself.
"I couldn't beat him."
Because she couldn't defeat him, she had not intervened.
She would not offend Executive Nishida for the sake of Asou Akiya.
It was a very Mafia-like reason.
Akiya sighed helplessly.
"I brought this upon myself. I won't blame you."
Then he forced a smile.
"Could I trouble you to help me up? I'd like to reserve a bed in the medical department."
Kouyou immediately walked over.
Supporting him with practiced ease, she swiftly reset all four of his dislocated limbs.
"This kind of minor injury is something I can handle."
"You don't need to be hospitalized in the medical department."
She spoke with complete seriousness.
Then, after a brief hesitation, a trace of guilt appeared on her face.
"Probably."
Akiya could neither laugh nor cry.
"For the sake of my future health, I think I'd better get an X-ray taken anyway."
"If the medical department says there's no problem, then I'll just go home and rest."
Ozaki Kouyou said worriedly, "That guy specifically said you're not allowed to go until after work."
Akiya nodded.
"Mm. I'll follow his instructions."
Taking hold of Kouyou's hand, rough with calluses from years of sword practice, he borrowed her strength to pull himself upright.
As soon as he was standing again, a headache came over him at the sight of his office.
Documents were scattered across the floor.
Everything was a complete mess.
"Here."
Kouyou handed him a wet wipe.
Pointing toward his face, she silently indicated the ink marks and red welts still left behind.
"Thank you."
Akiya accepted it and carefully wiped his face clean.
He behaved as though the incident had not affected him in the slightest, focusing entirely on restoring order to his office.
Kouyou helped him set the desk and chairs back upright.
Outside the office, no one seemed to pass by.
The members of the Port Mafia strictly adhered to the rules of survival.
They did not concern themselves with other people's secrets.
Nor did they involve themselves in conflicts between an Executive and a subordinate.
Thus, the matter appeared to pass quietly and without consequence.
Except, when Randou returned home that evening, he began undoing Akiya's shirt buttons while they sat on the bed.
The bruises revealed beneath the fabric immediately drew his attention.
A puzzled expression appeared on his face.
As far as he knew, Akiya had not left the Port Mafia headquarters building at all that day.
"Akiya, did you participate in hand-to-hand combat training today?"
"Yes."
Akiya answered weakly.
The person who had "trained" him, however, had been an Executive.
The result had been a complete one-sided defeat.
Those who occupied the lower and middle ranks of the martial hierarchy always harbored dreams of challenging those above them.
Unfortunately, dreams and reality were two very different things.
"I'll apply some medicine."
Randou did not ask for an explanation.
His fingers gently brushed over the joints of Akiya's arms and legs before he climbed off the bed and retrieved the household first-aid kit.
Returning to sit beside him, he carefully applied medicine to the injuries and massaged his boyfriend's sore muscles.
The medicinal ointment gradually evaporated into the air, leaving behind a rather unpleasant smell.
The red marks on Asou Akiya's face had faded quickly, but the bruises covering his body could not be concealed. There was no way Randou could fail to see that someone had deliberately beaten him down.
His fingers brushed lightly across the bruised areas as he carefully concealed the icy contemplation lurking in his eyes.
"Akiya, let's turn in early tonight."
"Good night…"
That night, Akiya slept poorly.
His entire body ached.
He had been born in a peaceful era and had rarely suffered physical injuries. Even after being transported into this world, he had always been careful about his own safety, avoiding one pitfall after another that hot-blooded young men often stumbled into.
Yet this time, he had failed to avoid the consequences of speaking too boldly.
He did not regret it.
Perhaps it was nothing more than the bravado of a man who refused to hold his tongue, but he had principles he lived by. In exchange for the satisfaction he felt in that moment, he had merely taken a beating.
Sooner or later, he would make the other man wish he were dead.
There was no need to think about it.
There was no need to talk about it.
The man would receive exactly what was coming to him.
After all, killing someone did not require words.
Feeling Randou's gentle touch, Akiya found that the pain gnawing at his battered skin seemed to ease slightly. The suffering he had endured might have been considerable by ordinary standards, but compared to Ability users, it was probably insignificant.
To obtain great power, they must have sacrificed far more than he ever had.
After the lights were turned off, Akiya opened his eyes and gazed at Randou, who lay so close beside him.
How much sweat had Randou shed in order to rise so quickly?
He had never spoken about it after returning home.
Despite possessing an overwhelmingly powerful Ability, he never abused it recklessly.
What had truly been tested was his character.
The person I fell in love with is unbelievably remarkable...
A sudden impulse overcame Akiya.
Ignoring the aches throughout his body, he wrapped his arms around Randou, who had been maintaining a little distance from him all day, and pulled him close.
"Today, just like every other day, I still love you."
A soft laugh escaped Randou.
The bedroom was shrouded in darkness, the lingering sound of his laughter echoing gently through the room.
"So do I."
They embraced each other, both covered in wounds and scars.