Sotenbori Serenade (Majima x Reader)

Chapter 1: Lost in Sotenbori

Your head started pounding. Everything seemed hazy. You panicked realizing you had lost the group of friends you had been traveling with, and they had long since left town. Great, some friends they are. The scenery made you feel uneasy. The bright, nauseating neon lights and the heavy smell of tobacco made you feel uneasy. You became cold, shivering as you stumbled down the dirty, damp streets of Sotenbori. All of the sudden, you heard a sneering coming from behind you.

"Hey you.. you look like you've a nice stack of cash in that wallet of yours."

Street scum. You decided it was best to ignore them and keep going.

"HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

That was all you needed to hear to get your adrenaline going. You started running. Everything became dizzy in a blur of sickening neon as your heart pounded in your chest. The streets blended together. You finally realized you had made your way into an alleyway. You realized you were in even more danger.

"Tsk tsk tsk... what's a fancy young thing like you doing here? That looks like a pretty heavy wallet.... lemme carry it for you."

You realized you had been completely surrounded by the goons that had harassed you before.

"Quite a lotta trouble we had to go through... I think we should have some fun with this one."

"Yeaah... I think you're right."

"I say we beat em!"

"I think he's gotta point!"

Before you could even do anything, one of them punched you hard in the stomach. You fell to the ground clutching your chest. They started kicking you, beating you, doing everything they felt like. The pain was unbearable, and your body hurt so much you felt like you were either going to die or throw up. It felt like an eternity in pain with tears running down your face. Everything became even more hazy. All you could hear was a ringing in your ears, and a muffled sound of frantic shouting.

Then, it all finally stopped.

The pain was still there, but the punching and kicking stopped.

You felt strong arms help you up. They were warm and sturdy. Your senses were dazed, but you smelled the faint smell of expensive cologne and a hint of tobacco.

"Shh... Yer gonna be okay." You heard faintly.

"Ugh... ngh." You groaned

Whoever this stranger was handed you a bottle of some kind.

"Yer gonna wanna drink this, just trust me, okay?"

Never in a million years would you trust a stranger giving you something to drink, but at this point you had no other option. You weakly drank whatever he gave you.. and..

You felt much better. Sure it tasted awful. You recognized the taste, it was some tauriner of some kind. Your senses at least started to come back at least.

"Ugh.. I still feel pretty terrible though." You groaned.

"Eh yeah.. I don't have any more tauriner for ya. Sorry." The stranger sheepishly chuckled. "Are ya gonna be okay to walk?"

You tried to get up on your own feet, but stumbled. "Uh- probably not. I-"

He suddenly picked you up like you were as light as air. It caught you off-guard. Then you realized you didn't even get a good look at him.

You nearly sprung out of his arms after looking at his face. His hair was dark, silky, and was tied in a neat ponytail that fell down to his shoulders. He had a bit of stubble on his face, but for the most part he was very clean-shaven. He was not at all ugly, he was actually quite handsome and well-kept. The most jarring part of the man however, was his eyepatch. He had a dark circle under the one eye he had left, and you could see the slight sadness in his remaining eye.

He noticed you were staring at his eye. "Ah- sorry. That's probably spookin' ya. I promise ya, I ain't no yakuza. It's a long story." He looked away shyly.

"Uh.. where exactly are you taking me?" You fearfully inquired.

"I got some business I gotta take care of at work, but I ain't gonna throw ya to the wolves out here. I'll patch ya up a bit at my work and then call the paramedics." He smiled at you reassuringly.

He carried you for a while and the trip was pretty quiet and awkward. You could tell he was definitely anxious to get back to work. Finally, he stopped.

"Uh.. a cabaret club? Why are we here?" You nervously asked.

"It's my work, didn't I tell ya?" He raised an eyebrow at you.

"You work at The Grand?"

"Sure do! Ain't she a beaut? I worked really hard to get her to be the crown jewel of Sotenbori. It's a lil' hard to manage sometimes."

"Y-you're the manager?! You're the Sotenbori Lord of the Night?!" You dropped your jaw in awe, and then your body jolted in pain after you shouted, reminding you that you were severely injured.

"Oh.. yeah. I accidentally let that one slip, didn't I? Er, listen. This shock ain't good for yer body. Don't worry about it too much." He looked away sheepishly.

You couldn't believe it. The Sotenbori Lord of the Night. Part of you wasn't expecting him to be this.. handsome. He was also so humble and polite. You could feel your heart beating in your chest a little. You realized then in a moment that someone like you could never be with someone like him. He was extremely wealthy and handsome. A guy like him would be surrounded by lots of women. You figured he was probably already taken. You sighed as he carried you inside.

You had never been to The Grand but had heard stories about how.. well.. grand it was. He carried you to an office which was rather... quaint. You didn't mind. He set you down on a couch and then relaxed his arms a little. Clearly carrying you for that long had taken its toll on him.

"Ya alright? Need a bite to eat?" He looked at you worriedly.

"I should ask the same for you.." You chuckled.

"Bah.. don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He averted his eyes away, clearly dodging the question. He grabbed some bandages from the drawer and started patching you up. "What's a fancy folk like yerself even doin' alone in Sotenbori anyway? It's dangerous here." He cocked his head in curiosity as he wrapped you in bandages.

"I came here from out of town with some friends.. but they must have forgotten me. I should probably call them." You sighed anxiously.

You patted your pockets.

Your wallet and train tickets were gone.

Your head hurt so much you couldn't remember any important phone numbers.

You had no way back home.

You were stranded here.

You started frantically searching for your belongings. Your heart started racing. You started having a panic attack.

He looked at you worriedly and did everything in his power to reassure you. He gently brushed your hair out of your eyes and slipped his hand into yours. He spoke softly, trying his best to help you calm down. "Shh.. you'll be okay doll. Relax so you can tell me what's wrong."

You were embarrassed, but with a face full of tears you let him know your belongings were gone.

He looked at you with concern and was patient and gentle with you. "Don't worry. We'll get it back, or my name ain't Majima Goro!" He smirked playfully. He cracked a couple of jokes to make you feel better. They were pretty corny, but they had a bit of charm to them. You felt very safe in his presence.

"Anyway. We should probably get ya a bite to eat. We can't find yer stuff on an empty stomach. Takoyaki sound good?" He asked.

"Uh.. yeah. That actually sounds really good. Thank you.." You smiled slightly, feeling a bit better.

"Glad to see ya smile. Feel free to rest up, I'll be back." He smiled warmly as he left the room.