Coroyakuza

Twenty Seven|| A Matter of Discussion

Pearl anxiously tapped her foot. After she had gotten a thorough explanation of what happened from everyone in the waiting room, she only had two things on her mind. Knowing Prince was okay, and killing Aloha. It had already been morning, and she had things to do, but she needed to know if he'd be okay. She turned to Rider, and frowned. "How bad was it?" Rider was startled out of his thoughts and quickly responded. "He seemed like he was in pain but, I don't think it was too bad." The Oyabun simply nodded and faced Emperor, who was visibly troubled. "Fuck, I'm so worried," he admitted, furrowing his eyebrows. The room shared an awkward silence. The quiet atmosphere was broken when a doctor came into the waiting room. "He's okay, but he needs rest. Although, you may seem him, please try not to overcrowd the room." Pearl, Emperor and Goggles were the first to get up.

Pearl looked at her brother with unease. He was pale, and she took note of how frail he was. She frowned. Only now did she come and visit, huh?The eldest Houzuki regretted her absence from his life. She gently pulled a tentacle away from his face and began to speak, barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry Prince. I'm sorry you got dragged into this." Emperor had never seen his sister like this, acting so gentle. He saw a tear roll down her face, an uncommon thing, but it was quickly wiped away. "I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow," she placed a kiss upon his forehead, and began to walk out but was stopped by Goggles anxiously tapping her shoulder. "I-I'm sorry. This is my fault, and I'm just- I'm so sorry," Goggles looked down at the floor, he couldn't stop the tears forming in his eyes.

"It's not your fault," was all Pearl said before quickly making her way out of the hospital. As soon as she got to her car, she got into the driver's seat and slammed the door. "Fuck!" she cried out. "This is all my fucking fault, this fucking yakuza shit could've gotten Prince killed and it's all because I can't be a good Oyabun! For fuck's sake!" Tears streamed down her face and she groaned in frustration. "I can't fucking do this anymore!" She slammed her hands on the steering wheel, started the car, and began speeding towards the apartment complex Marina lived in. She needed someone to talk to.

Goggles sat next to Prince's bed, accompanied by Emperor. The two refused to move. N-Pacer quietly stepped into the room and frowned. "The doctor told me it wouldn't take long for him to recover but, he would need a lot of aftercare." Emperor frowned, "Who's going to take care of him? I can't stay home."
"I can't either, I have a lot of jobs to do."
"Marina or Gloves maybe?"

Goggles stood up. "Um, could I take care of him?" Emperor frowned, "No." N-Pacer glared at him, "Emperor, why not? Goggles is a sweet boy and he and Prince are good friends-"
"Because this is his fault," the monarch stated bluntly. Goggles felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

"It is not his fault," Rider spoke, as stepped into the room. "Of course you say that. You're his little boyfriend after all. Unfortunately, you don't get a say in this—"
"I'm sorry your Royal Highness, but I don't remember seeing you there to watch what the fuck went down," the yellow green inkling said, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms. "It's obvious what happened, is it not?" Emperor approached Rider, looking down on him. Goggles was immediately intimidated. "You don't know the whole story, Houzuki," Rider snarled. "Then why not you tell us the whole story, Mr. Inky? We need some closure."

"It's my fault." Everyone turned to Metry. "I'm sorry, who are you?" N-Pacer asked. The pink inkling looked askance. "My name is Metry. A-And this all happened because I killed Army." Emperor raised an eyebrow. "The S4's Army?" She nodded. "I killed Army b-because Rider wanted to get revenge on Aloha. Aloha's my best friend but I," she guiltily looked at Goggles before continuing, "I have a crush on Rider. He bribed me. It was an offer I just couldn't refuse so I... I killed Army and once Aloha found out, he found me. He kept me alive to deliver a message to Rider but not too long afterwards, Aloha called Rider via Goggles' phone and we found out the he kidnapped Goggles. We got there as soon as we could and when we did, Aloha almost killed Goggles. That's when Prince..." She stopped herself there.

"There's way too much people to blame now that you've told us all that," Emperor said. "Wh-What? No. No, no, there's only one person to blame," Metry said. "Not exactly. I could point fingers at a bunch of people. Goggles, Rider," he gave her a venomous stare, "You." N-Pacer shook her head. "Have you ever considered the thought that maybe it's your fault, Emp?" The monarch turned to her and gave her a confused look. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"You were the one who let him walk around so late at night."
"No, I wasn't. Emperor, you're his brother."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Maybe the fact that you should be taking care of him."

Goggles quietly sat next to Prince as everyone argued. He didn't want it to be anyone's fault but he also couldn't help but blame himself, despite what Pearl said. He watched as the young Houzuki's eyes opened slowly. He winced slightly. "Hi, Prince," Goggles whispered with a sad smile. "Hi, Goggles," he croaked, rubbing his eyes. His gold eyes landed on the argument in front of him. "I already said it's my fault," Metry spoke up.
"It might as well be everyone's fault!"
"What about the fact that it's technically Aloha's fault for shooting?"
"And why did he shoot in the first place, Rider?"

"C-Can you guys stop arguing?" Prince spoke up. "Prince..!" Emperor quickly pushed Goggles out of the way. "Are you doing okay?" The young boy stared into his brother's concerned eyes. "It's my fault." Everyone looked at Prince. "No, it isn't—" N-Pacer was hastily cut off. "Yes, it is. But I don't regret what I did, if I hadn't, Goggles would've died and... He's my best friend." Prince softly smiled. "A yakuza gangster? A hero? Now, that's a rare sight," Rider said with an encouraging smile. "He might be a first," Metry smiled. Emperor furrowed his eyebrows. "Why did it have to be your fault? Why did you jump in front of Goggles? Couldn't you have just pushed him out of the way?" Prince frowned and looked away. N-Pacer gave him a worried look, "Prince... Did you...? Want to?" He turned to Goggles with teary eyes. "It doesn't matter, I just wanted to save him."

The room stayed awkwardly silent, before Goggles stood up. "Thank you, Prince," he smiled, a genuine smile. Prince nodded and gave him a small grin. Everyone admired the sight of Prince's happy expression, before he began to cough. "Are you okay?" Goggles worriedly asked. "Y-yeah, I'm just... tired."
"You should rest," N-Pacer suggested, ushering everyone out. Prince hummed in acknowledgement. Emperor frowned and squeezed his younger brother's hand. "Sweet dreams," he muttered before leaving the room. "Try to sleep well," Goggles said with a smile before following N-Pacer out of the room. Once the blue inkling exited, he fell into Rider's arms.

"I love you so much," the blue inkling's words were muffled as he buried his face into the taller boy's jacket. "I know. I love you too. I'm sorry. I didn't do anything but make the situation worse. It was my fault you were there in the first place," Rider muttered, wrapping his arms around him. "I don't care," Goggles said, looking up at the yellow green inkling. "I could care less about all of that. It doesn't change the way I feel about you." Emperor frowned upon them. "We still have to discuss who will take care of Prince," he spoke up. Goggles pulled away from the embrace. "My offer still stands," the short boy said. "I already said no—"
"Emperor, no one else will do it. Just let him," N-Pacer said. The monarch stepped towards Goggles, grabbing his collar and making sure their eyes met. "Listen real close. If anything else happens to him, you're dead," he threatened, gritting his teeth together. "I understand," the blue inkling said. "Hey, fuck off," Rider said, pushing Emperor away from Goggles, causing the yellow inkling's grip to loosen and drop the collar. "Let's go, Emp." N-Pacer grabbed his hand and led him out of the hospital.

"Why did you want Army dead?" Goggles asked, turning to his lover. Rider looked askance, biting on his lip. "It was for revenge. I just wanted to piss off Aloha and... Well, you saw how that went," he admitted. "Can you please just tell me everything?" Goggles asked, grabbing his companion's hand. Rider hesitated before nodding. "Okay."
"Let's go to your house, yeah?"
"Yeah."