Inugami-kai: Battle of the Dog Gods

It was obvious that the meeting room was not supposed to be used as a dining room from the way that it was cramped with long tables and chairs. There was table set up at the front of the room where the Tsukino family was to sit and four other tables for everyone else. They were just thankful that everyone in the syndicate wasn’t present in the mansion or office that day.

“I really have no desire to eat dinner with everyone tonight,” Saburo huffed standing by his seat at the table at the front of the room. “It’s like Mr. Tsukino expects me just to fall back into my life like nothing happened.”

“You should call him father or dad,” Mamoru prompted. Saburo shot him a look that seemed to say that’s stupid.

“Why? Just because you say he’s my father doesn’t mean I should call him that. I don’t remember him and saying that to someone I don’t know is awkward.” Mamoru rolled his eyes with a sigh, thankful that Saburo couldn’t actually see the expression, and said, “Fine, don’t call him dad. I’m not here to perfect your manners, only to protect your ass.” Saburo giggled as the rest of his family and the other guys started filing into the room. They took their seats, Mr. Tsukino in the middle, Keiichi and Yuji on the right of him while Saburo, Mamoru and Hisao were on the left.

“Did my brothers ever have bodyguards?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Of course you wouldn’t remember that.”
“What don’t I remember?” Saburo whispered leaning closer so that the other man didn’t have to reveal any personal information loudly.

“When you were a child someone kidnapped you. We don’t know why, but they held you for ransom and I became your bodyguard because I was the one that found you first.” Saburo looked down at his empty plate letting the information sink in again.

“Oh. Well, I guess that explains things,” he murmured. “How old was I?”
“Five.”
“How old were you?”
“Eighteen.”
“You joined the Inugami-kai when you were eighteen?”

“I didn’t have anything else to do. You don’t have very many options when you’re an orphan and they can’t keep you in the orphanage anymore.”

Food arrived soon after, miso soup and curry katsudon, along with glasses of tea, wine or beer depending on the person’s preference. A servant automatically put down a cup of tea of Saburo which he promptly frowned at.

“You’re not old enough to drink,” Mamoru reminded him.

“I know, I just thought they would ask,” Saburo huffed. Mamoru just smiled and turned his head to look at Mr. Tsukino who had tapped his glass to get everyone’s attention.

“I know that this is not an ideal situation, many of you would rather be at home with your families, sleeping in your own beds. Hopefully this meal will keep up everyone’s spirits and hopefully sleeping on the floor won’t be too uncomfortable. I’m sorry that we do not have more beds or else I’d let everyone stay in the mansion. But, you all will be able to go home tomorrow. Now, let us all enjoy this dinner together.” Mr. Tsukino raised his glass which prompted everyone else to stand and raise their glasses as well. “Kampai!”

“Kampai!” Alcohol and tea was drunk and seats were sat in once again and everyone prayed over their food almost in unison before chopsticks were raised and food was consumed. Dinner was going well, peaceful for once, when Yuji turned to Keiichi, a small smile on his face.

“So, our baby brother has only been awake for a few hours and he’s already called you a snake. How does that feel knowing that even after being passed out for five months he still hates you,” Yuji asked. Keiichi’s chopsticks had paused as he had listened to the question, his fingers clenched around the wood.

“Shut up,” he hissed under his breath.
“See you’re doing it again. Maybe you really are a snake.” The sound of a fist hitting the table rang out through the room, startling a few people and drawing an irritated sigh from Mamoru.

“Here they go,” he murmured.
“If I’m a snake then you’re a sewer rat.”

“Really, do you have to fight at every dinner? Can’t it just be peaceful for one night?” Mr. Tsukino asked.
“I’m sorry father but it’s not my fault your second son is an insolent manner less thug,” Keiichi answered, his eyes trained on Yuji the entire time.

“Who said I was manner less, you’re the one that started the name calling,” Yuji prompted. What came next, instead of name calling, was Keiichi’s fist connecting Yuji’s face, propelling him away from the table and out into the hall through an open door. Keiichi followed threatening more violence as he went while Mr. Tsukino motioned for Mamoru to get up and break up the fight.

“What’d I tell ya, I always have to break up their shit.” Mamoru never complained about his job, he might even say that he liked it, except for when he had to get between the two older Tsukino males and break up their fighting. Most normal people would stop once someone got in between them but not Keiichi and Yuji, they had a nasty habit of fighting each other around Mamoru which frequently ended with Mamoru being kicked and punched by accident. Of course once this happened he stopped trying to break up the fight and instead punched back. Once one of them got a real fist to the face they usually called a cease and desist and slinked off to their respective rooms and didn’t show their faces in the mansion again until the next morning. He found them with Keiichi holding Yuji up against the wall, his fist drawn back, and Yuji’s face covered in more blood than it had been when they had left the dining room. He grabbed Keiichi’s elbow before he could punch Yuji again and held it firmly.

“Let go,” Keiichi demanded through clenched teeth.
“No, you know that I can’t do that,” Mamoru replied. Keiichi struggled for a few seconds but Mamoru’s grip on his arm was too strong. And finally out of frustration Keiichi let Yuji go. Neither brother showed their faces in the meeting hall again that night and the rest of the dinner went smoothly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Despite the ridiculousness of the rule, the immediate Tsukino family mansion had a curfew on the weekdays, other than Friday. Everyone that lived in the mansion had to be in their respective quarters by 11:00 pm, whether or not they slept was their decision. Mamoru had gotten into the habit of going to bed not too long after the curfew time but he knew that Saburo liked to stay up late, reading or doing various other things. He knew this because the walls of the mansion were thin. Even though it had been designed in a European fashion it was still built in a Japanese way, with thin walls and some rooms had tatami mats in them. There were even genkans at the entrance to the office and in the entrance of the mansion. Mamoru was given the task of making sure that Saburo made it to bed on time that night, a job which made him feel ridiculous but in the end completed anyway. He said good night before closing the door and entering his own room. Mamoru’s bedroom was nothing compared to the vastness of Saburo’s but it was still fairly large, you could probably fit four guys in it rather than just one, which allowed for a queen sized bed, a book case, a desk if he chose to do his work in his room, a walk in closet and his own small private bathroom. Mamoru was never one to complain, especially not about the living quarters he had been given by a very generous Mr. Tsukino. He thought back to where he had been living before becoming Saburo’s bodyguard and shuddered. It had been the smallest room in a nearby apartment building but it had been all he could afford with his salary. There really wasn’t much available to an eighteen year old orphan. He showered and clad in his underwear, climbed into bed for the night. He didn’t fall asleep immediately like usual, the adrenaline from Saburo waking up still coursing through his veins, making his mind race and his body unable to relax. He tried his best to calm his thoughts but just as he felt sleep creeping in a soft moan from the next room made his eyes spring back open in confusion. He listened intently for a few seconds and once again he heard another noise from next door. After a stifled whine Mamoru was pretty sure he knew what was going on in Saburo’s room, it was awkward but he couldn’t exactly hold it against him. That was until he heard his own name.

Saburo touched the sensitive tip of his hard-on with his thumb; the skin couldn’t take much more pressure. He bit his lip as the pad of his finger brushed over the slit, wiping away a bead of pre-cum. In his dream Mamoru had been his loving long-term boyfriend but in reality he could tell that the relationship that he had with his bodyguard was a little different then he had made it in his head. He might be able to have the same relationship in reality but he could pretend. He curled his hand and started to stroke downwards slowly, another quiet moan escaping his lips. By this time Mamoru had his ear pressed up against his wall, trying to listen but also willing his erection away with little improvement. He listened as Saburo’s breathing sped up, becoming harsher, his name passing between those lips a little more frequently, each time sending waves of pleasure through his own body. When he heard the other climax he was absent mindedly stroking himself through his underwear. When the noises stopped completely he came back to himself and realized what his hand was doing, stopping it with a disgusted look on his face. What the hell am I doing? He thought. He turned off his light and laid back in bed hoping that the hardness in his underwear would go away on its own.