#where she doesn't leave Kamurocho and Majima keeps seeing her around

[majimassqueaktoy]

I still want to write a fic about Makoto set after 0 where she goes off the rails because she is a traumatized 21 year old with not a single living connection in the world and now she has 10 billion yen to her name which just spells trouble to me

[dragon-business]

On the first playthrough we got Majma's business card from a vending machine pretty early in the game. We're absolutely sure Kiryu found it stuck in the bills slot. Small vandalism from an unknown Grand customer.

And then Majima got Kiryu's card too.

And somewhere before the end of y0 they surely met, and Majima got his eye on Kiryu, but canon doesn't specify anything. So here’s how we filled up that blank with disco, fate, and quick time events!

– Majima can't leave Sotenbori, so it's Kiryu who comes there.

The trip is definitely related to the nightlife business, and factually is about something really boring, that leaves Kiryu stuck between the hotel and the conference rooms 24/7.

The trip should've taken just a few days, but the partners keep postponing stuff, due to the "unstable situation with ownership of certain places" in Sotenbori.

(This is totally the side effect of the cabare wars going on there right at the same time) (And Kiryu being busy and stuck in the hotel explains why later in the game he acts like he's seeing Sotenbori and Grand for the first time)

Kiryu is not having a good time. When business gets too much in Kamurocho, he knows where to escape to to chill for a bit. At the very least he can drink in the human trafficking bar or something (it's the one in the Campion district, if you know you know). And because Maharajah chain is not related to his business, Kiryu does enjoy dancing his problems away quite often.

So, aimlessly wandering the hotel, he sees from the window, or just hears the glimpse of a disco party in Sotenbori's Maharajah.

(I believe Maharajah was on the same street as the hotel? There were fur trees near the entrance.)

Of course Kiryu waits till Marina will be busy and sneaks out to the club.

Meanwhile, Majima is in the middle of his battle for the title of the best cabare club + Grand duties + Sagava sniffing around. Hard life galore.

At some point he comes to the Maharajah specifically to find Isobe, because he wants to recruit her as a hostess or something like that. She is quite famous, and will attract a new crowd to Sunshine for sure.

Also she might add some dancing to the cabare's evening program. The stage they have is for the musicians, but things can be arranged.

(Isobe will not be so keen on the offer, it's one thing to dance on the dancefloor for your own enjoyment, and a whole other thing to go through the routine on stage. She'd rather train other girls on how to act on the dancefloor of something.) (Isobe is the girl from Majima's dancing substories) (Where Majima danced off all the challenges and became the disco goddess)

Isobe is of course guilt tripping Majima for not visiting the club that much. He jokes that the weight of the problems stiffens his movements, and she laughs it off: "You know, the only way to relax those stiff shoulders is to groove a bit".

She wants to kick him towards the dancefloor. And the best way to do it is to catch him in a bet. So she bets that Majima can't use the fan in his dancing routine or something. "If you prove that you can - l'll come work for you." Majima, being the dance goddess (Scott McCall nod.gif), takes the bait. What does he even have to lose?

Maybe additionally Isobe is worried about some sneaky business going on in the club? And she wants to ask Majima for help, but for that Isobe needs to get him alone.

(Also let's say Majima gets a nickname like all other disco dandies. The crowd knows him as The Lord, and Isobe teasingly calls Majima "mister manager".) (All of this is for plot reasons, bc we don't want Kiryu to add rwo and two about Majima's name and mafia connections)

At the same time, Kiryu is circling around with a drink. There's no friends and dance partners here, and he feels a bit out of place. Though there are some things that remind him of Kamurocho.

In his short time in the disco club: -Locals tried to scam him twice. -There has been at least a couple sneaky ass squeezes. -He paid triple the price for a cocktail with the most ridiculous name on earth (and it was quite mid). True Kamurocho experience. Just like back home .__,

And then Kiryu sees someone putting a pill in a lady's drink and comes up to her to warn about it. After that he assumes the position near the bar, watching other people's drinks like a hawk. This goes on for some time. And let's say that him being around and intrusive like that puts a wrench into the shadowy stuff and deals planned for the night.

The stuff is some new drug, very addictive. The shady people started giving out free samples on the new territory - to people who have money to waste at the disco club. Maybe they even plan to get the girls addicted, and rope them into human trafficking. Perhaps they did the same routine in other districts before. But in Sotenbori all this is in the starting stages for now. 

Isobe is sensing weird shit happening, but she can't pinpoint the guys stirring it, they always slither away. So the help of the super manager might be handy.

Obviously, Kiryu has already befriended people at the bar, someone is pouring their heart out to him, and so on. The shady people don't like it that much.  But beating up Kiryu would attract too much attention, so they want to kick him out painlessly.

So the plan is: if this guy insults lady Isobe, he will definitely be gone forever. He'll be kicked out and banned from ever entering the club.

And somehow they orchestrate the situation where Kiryu is invited to the lounge zone right at the moment when Isobe and Majima leave it to go dance. And right when they pass each other someone trips Kiryu up and he falls forward.

Goin down full force only a heavy boi like him can provide, in slow motion, Kiryu realises what's about to happen.

Trajectory is relentless. 

To his left stands the lady ⬅ To his right – the gentleman ➡ He has instinctively put his hands forward while falling ⬆ ⬅ left hand is about to meet ladies boobs ➡ Right hand is still firmly holding that stupid drink (with the most ridiculous name on earth) ➡🍹 It will certainly spill on the gentleman's tuxedo if Kiryu would not do something ➡❗🍹

(Oh, the quick time events)

Kiryu has half a second to react, and his brain gives him 2 commands:

Do NOT grab the ladies' boobs.

Do NOT wet the gentleman's shirt.

So, with his last braincell, Kiryu decides to throw the cocktail from his right hand to his left 🍹⬅⬅⬅ > wait no. nO. ABORT MISSION.

What happens next is that, obviously, by the nature of inertia, Isobe gets a full splash of cocktail to her face and dress. Everyone GASPS.

And Majima gets. The hand firmly squeezing his left boob. Kiryu didn't want to rip his shirt, so he Gripped Hard. Day saved. High five, brain! Wait, no-

M: …… K: ………. M: your hand. K: M: put your hand somewhere else. K: *slowly puts his hand on Majima's shoulder* *they just look each other in the eyes for a bit* Isobe, with an elegance of a lady: hahah, it seems, I won't be dancing with you tonight, mister manager. What a pity.

(Her snot totally doesn't taste like Malibu swimming pool)

No one listens to her much. Majima is losing his last nerves right here right now, this second.

M: Are you in for some violence tonight? Because it's gonna happen/ K: I can dance with you. M, in a very kansai manner: Wha-t? K: I said I can be your dance partner. M: … K: You know. While the lady is cleaning herself (High five, brain). M: … Isobe, slightly worried about the audience uproar: I don't know if this is a good ide- M: ALRIGHT. I was going to wipe the floor with you, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Someone in the crowd: Hey! The Lord is about to teach that Tokyo boy what's what! DANCE BATTLE! Isobe: …aaand it's too late now. K: Oh, you're into dance battles here too? Sweet. M: What, did you think it's some kind of province, Tokyo boy? Isobe: …. It's totally too late now, ain't it.

(Kiryu hand is still on Majima's shoulder) (Because where else should it go even) (Too late to change positions, human interaction is happening) (You just go forward and improvise)

Majima grabs Kiryu by the collar and drags him to the dancefloor with murderous intentions.

In retrospect, he could've handled the situation much better. In the same way he was handling management, the same way he was juggling invents of his life. But this felt (like the kick in the dick) like a last straw for today. The only thing he wanted now was to punch and claw and forget himself in a feat of mindless violence.

The least he could do is to not do that.

The least he could do is to take this guy, this obstacle, and use him as a little sweet dopamine boost. No one would be hurt by that except this dude's ego. Honestly, the only crime the guy committed was getting in Majima's way today.

The crowd quickly surrounds the stage. Majima gets a bunch of admiring screams, the "Tokyo boy" gets a fair share of booing. But apart from looking around like a puppy, he seems more curious than fazed. This somewhat gets on Majima's nerves. Clearly, it all comes from the arrogance and bad attitude of the guy. Majima has seen too many guys like this, even in the last couple of weeks there's been at least a dozen.

Isobe quickly cleans herself with a pack of 10 yen pocket tissues ™️ and goes to whisper something to the DJ. Her makeup may have been ruined but the synthetic dress has seen worse. So she still behaves like the disco queen and takes her rightful place by the stage. Also she's not gonna stay in the bathroom, when a possible historical event is about to take place.

The music starts, and Majima goes in with a couple moves.

Dancing is a lot like fighting, there's inner structure in both. Maybe that's why he likes to dance so much.

Dancing alone is fine. Just gotta make sure you're true to your rhythm. Dancing against someone - here it comes to who's presence is more overpowering. At least for Majima. Dancing with someone here is where he's having difficulties. He have never been able to fully synchronise with anyone. Outings with hostess girls were almost embarrassing.

The Tokyo boy goes into defence surprisingly smoothly. He acts more cautious than expected. Maybe he's smarter than he looks.

He doesn't attack Majima yet, just looks at what is presented and answers accordingly. He reacts to the movement with his own movement, not mirroring Majima, but taking what Majima's offering and applying it with a little twist. It's amusing to watch, and the boy doesn't even miss a single beat. After a while Majima catches himself doing things just to provoke the boy's reaction. It's kinda curious to see how he would take another blow.

But as curious as it is, Majima can't allow himself to be dependent on someone's reactions. It would mean he doesn't direct the fight- the dance himself. He's gotta lead.

(There was a bit more on the specific way this should play out, but I don't remember now)

The point is, when Kiryu gets more comfortable, he starts to go on the offensive, gathers, dare I say, more fever. So Majima begrudgingly has to adapt to his movements here and there. At one point Kiryu seethes the moment (nice song part, lights are on him) and pulls some impressive moves that he learned directly from Miracle Jonson, and pulls all the attention to himself.

This time they don't synchronise yet. The dance-off is interrupted somehow, and no one wins or loses.

Additional notes: –There's a Whole Thing about feather fans and not knowing what to do with them, for Kiryu and Majima both. –But Isobe counts Majima using them in a fight against the bad guys. –Majima doesn't say he got inspired by the Tokyo boy who grabs in a fight and uses just about everything. –Some plot stuff happens, they barely have time to dance some more. But now it's personal for Majima. He gotta win!!

In a true over the top Yakuza fashion, I wanted to get the underlying plot to the point where they have to fight together against a bunch of baddies, and only then they synchronise, and Majima feels weirdly euphoric.

But it's due for Kiryu to leave, and he disappears like (24 hours) Cinderella.

I've held in my mind a scene where Majima discusses with Isobe later in Sunshine, that maybe he found the one in a million special dance partner. And immediately lost him. Not even catching his name. Isobe understands heavily, because it happened to her once, but what can you do. Gotta work, idk.

– Aaaaand theres an epilogue set after all the main plot stuff. Where Majima, still lost, dishevelled, and healing from the beatings is drinking some Kamurocho bar, not knowing what he's gonna do next. And suddenly he notices Kiryu there, sitting quietly, wearing his red shirt already and sinking of leaving real estate business behind.

And Kiryu, apologising, finally gives Majima his business card and says his name. But he (and I'm so not normal about this) is actually offering Majima his own steel card.

There's a moment of pause, when Majima looks at it and Kiryu looks at Majima. And silence lingers long enough for Kiryu to look at the card too and go all: "!!!So sorry! Sorry! Here, here, this one is mine, I just have this one on the ready."

(He may have just taken out both his and Majima's cards on accident, because they sit in the same inner pocket)

And Majima just stares at Kiryu's card now. Because in his pocket is an identical one given to him by Sera.

So Majima takes it out, puts it on the table. And then offers Kiryu another steel card of his. Because Kiryu's one "is a bit worn down already".

The end.

ABBA - VOULES-VOUS is playing in the distance.

– Epilogue thoughts

My last brainsell is on the dancefloor.

Even Kiryu being surprised that “Lord of the Night” is not just a nickname in Kiwami fits here.

I’ve just been thinking of a million possible reasons why Majima could’ve been focused on Kiryu so much. There’s so many. But this one has such a nice underline.

Oh, to meet outside of the yakuza context, to separate because of it, and still inevitably meet again. It’s all in the human connection.

Something something, fate may be at play here, but the main stuff was laid down before it played its main card.

Going insane over tropes and narratives.

– Kiryu doesn’t meet Majima for a while after 0, instead absorbing legends about him from Nishiki and others.

He already started hearing about him and learning history in the game, would definitely get more of it all while Majima moves cites and re-styles himself.

– Kiryu 10000% kept the first card he found, and had it stored somewhere. But maybe after he went to prison for the first time and got out, it got lost somewhere, with Kiryu’s stuff being moved around.

– Majima in karaoke: you dance much better than you sing, Kiryu-chan! Kiryu: *is torn between taking it as a compliment or not*

– Also I can’t believe at some point Majima can say “First thing he did when we met was grab my boob, and ask to be my partner.”

The punchline is that they are getting married ~30 years later, this is Majima’s toast at the wedding.

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