Pick up the Pieces

It was getting late, incredibly late. Each moment that went by, every tick tock of the clock made Hiro’s anxiety build up deep within him. It only kept growing, a pit in his stomach that made him feel ill. He had been sitting by the window for ages, watching and waiting for his return home. It hadn’t come. A few hours ago , Daiya went out with a member from his old gang, promising he’d be back soon. Back was very ambiguous, Hiro assumed he’d be home by around twelve. Now it was half three and there was no sign of Owada whatsoever. Most of the time, he trusted him but right now that trust was wearing thin.

Of course, he feared the worst, it was dangerous at this time of night. Despite having retired from the Crazy Diamonds, rival gangs hunted him down constantly. He could be bleeding out in an alley right now and no one would know until they found his body.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered aloud, the gruesome image entering his mind.

Hiro bit down on his lip to ground himself. Anytime his anxiety tried to get the better of him he’d smoke a joint to calm down, he couldn’t bring himself to even try that right now. Being out of his mind was the last thing he wanted. In an effort to feel comfort, he wrapped his arms around himself, hoping to emulate Daiya’s hugs. It just felt lonely.

For hours he watched the sun set, saw the sky shift from orange to blue to complete black. Time was moving but he wasn’t. All Hiro wanted was to know he was safe, it didn’t help that Daiya’s leg was already messed up from his crash. They never talked about that.

Hiro clutched onto his phone, he’d called his boyfriend a few times but got no response at all. Calling Mondo was an option but the doofus would only panic and do something stupid. It was still tempting though.

‘Not yet,’ he thought,

Getting the younger Owada all riled up wasn’t a good idea, there had to be a better solution to all this. He’d call Daiya one last time, maybe he’d actually pick up this time. Scrolling through his contacts, Hiro clicked on his boyfriend’s name and put the phone on speaker. His hand shook as he waited for an answer, the thumping of his heart echoing in his ears. It rang… and rang… and rang… until…

Click

His heart sank like the fucking Titanic. Ending the call, Hagakure’s arm fell to his side. He glanced out the window at the street outside. The area they lived in was rough, it was never uncommon for there to be attacks every now and then. Many houses had curfews because of how dangerous it could get at night, neither of them really followed on but Hiro sometimes wished they did. It was dead silent out there tonight, the yellow glow of the streetlights casted a haunting light across the empty street. Hiro swore that he’d see something in the split second before he blinked. No one was in sight though, especially not Daiya

There was one other person he could call before Mondo. He stood up from his seat by the window and tried to calm his nerves. Back on his phone, he found the contact he needed, Owada’s mom. Hiro’s thumb hovered over the call button as he considered what the hell he’d even say to her. Saying ‘hey your son is missing’ wasn’t exactly ideal but he couldn’t fuck around right now. It was difficult because she was sick and the last thing he wanted to do was give her a heart attack. Hiro figured she at least needed to know, he was her son after all.

Once he relaxed a little, Hiro prepared himself for the conversation that was to come and went to press the call button. Before he could even get there, he paused at the sound of a click as someone unlocked the front door. It slowly creaked open, revealing a beaten up Daiya. The man stumbled inside and gently closed the door behind him, almost as if he didn’t want to be heard. He turned and froze as his eyes laid on Hiro, his face painted with regret.