Goro Takemura x Reader

Thirty-Two

"How do you feel?", Yorinobu was worried about you, you could hear that in his voice, but there was something else weighing heavily on your brother's shoulders.

Carefully he reached for your hand to see if you had a fever. Only when you put your other hand on his did he seem to calm down. His grip loosened but he did not let go completely.

"You're early.", you said with a glance out of the window. "I expected you to still be working."

Your eyes wandered to Takemura, who had positioned himself on the other side of your bed in front of the window so that Yorinobu could take his place in the armchair. He did not take his eyes off your brother.

Maybe it was vigilance your father had advised him to, or just the will to look after you. But it showed how serious he still was about everything. And how little he could relax in the presence of Yorinobu.

"I will stay with you today.", Yorinobu stroked a strand of sweat from your forehead.

Maybe it was just your imagination, but you thought you could see Takemura's shoulders tightening.

Are you planning to eavesdrop on us any longer?" your brother asked with a sideways glance over his glasses.

Not particularly taken by the question, Takemura frowned.

It is my job to protect the Arasaka family, he replied.

No protection is needed here.

Your fingers closed tighter around Yorinobu's hand.

"Niisan.", you admonished him in a gentle tone before turning to Goro. "I know it's not your job, but would you be so kind as to ask the maids for food for Ra?"

He knew that this question was only meant to get rid of him. Of course, after all, he wasn't stupid. But it was so hard for him to refuse you something when you looked at him with those (E/C) eyes. How soft they seemed, so full of love and honest.

That was not a matter of course. Especially not when one belonged to a corporation like Saburo Arasaka's.

Although he disliked it, Takemura closed his eyes briefly to put his thoughts in order, took a deep breath and bowed briefly before disappearing. But he did not miss the chance to look over his shoulder one last time.

You assured him with a smile that everything was all right. Then you shooed him away with a wave of your hand and he disappeared.

"He's tamer of hand than before.", Yorinobu remarked with a disapproving look. "Almost as if he were serving father."

An icy shiver crept down your spine at that comment. In the past, this might have been praise. But after you both knew what was hidden inside Saburo's being you could not be happy about such a thing.

Your lips curled. You could not hide the disgust that spread across your face.

Yorinobu noticed.

"Forgive me.", his hand gave yours a gentle squeeze. "But I was also once in your position. I too had to accept that there was a great deal of him hidden in me."

Your eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" you asked. "The corners of his mouth lifted and a tired smile lit up his face."

At that moment you noticed that he was old. Yes, like your father, your brother was also subject to mortality. Time demanded of him not only his once good looks but also strength and vigilance.

And yet, unlike his father, he was not obsessed with escaping this law of life. Yorinobu knew that one day he would die. And he did not care.

"Saburo Arasaka gave a part of himself to create me.", his brown eyes gentle as he wisely picked out those philosophical words. "He is my father. Saburo Arasaka is as much a part of me as Yorinobu Arasaka. His teachings are in me, he gave me his black hair and the language my heart speaks. Only through him am I Japanese."

"You are yourself.", you whispered. "And that was your choice."

A chuckle made him shake his head.

"No, kodomo. We are not just who we want to be, who we choose to be. We are our parents' children. And there will always be a part of them embedded in us. Whether it is through what they taught us or what they gave us. What they wanted us to be and what they did to us. We internalise things about our parents, the way they speak, their opinions. The way they raise us and love us. Or how they loathe us. I am my father's son. The son is important, I am more the son and yet I am the child of Saburo. But he forgets that he too is only his own father's son. He only wants to be himself. And that is what makes him so dangerous."

Your hands trembled as he smiled once more. There was no regret on his face. He had made peace with the fact that he couldn't run from Saburo Arasaka. He was in his blood and he had been the one to help create the person that he now was.

He didn't hate it. He just feared that he needed to give up all the things he had made of his own just to be reduced to the one thing Saburo had given him.

"Niisan...", you breathed, unable to grasp a clear thought. "I... cannot save you. You don't know how to fix the relic. I'm... weak."

"Then don't.", he let his hand wander into his pocket to pull out a small piece of metal that he showed you. "I do not ask for a saviour. I'm asking for an ally."

Your eyes lingered on the relic. It made your heart heavy.

"Yorinobu...", his name scratched in your throat. "What are you asking of me?"

He forced your hand open with gentleness, placed the relic in your palm and wrapped his own hands around it.

"I don't want a temporary delay in the body of someone else. Let him take my body. But make sure I will be able to be as unpleasant to him as possible."

"I will not sacrifice you!", you pressed out between clenched teeth. "I'll..."

"You'll take your time. And when the day comes, we will strike back. So that he will be gone. Just how humans are intended to."