Rating: Overall R
Spoilers: post Escape and Love
Warnings: romance, drama, angst, fluffy angst, violence
Word Count: 2,651
Disclaimer: All VF characters belong to Yamane Ayano-sensei. Some OCs are mine.
Summary: Akihito investigates a cover-up conspiracy after befriending an orphan. Asami's nemesis comes back to haunt him. And a mistake sets both their lives into free fall. Stumbling and falling in the face of obstacles, will Asami and Akihito find each other before it's too late?
A/N: First fic. Self-beta. About two months after Escape of Love. I don't want to deal with the whole Sudoh fiasco. Nope. Not yet anyway.
Note: Character thoughts are in italics.
Chapter 1: Premonition
A sudden buzzing noise jolted the lone sleeping figure awake, disturbing the silence. The source of the noise vibrated with increasing intensity, demanding its owner's attention. A long, slender arm reluctantly reached out for the phone, its owner still half asleep, and a soft, but slightly raspy voice answered.
"Takaba speaking," Akihito said groggily, still sluggish from sleep. Ignoring the call was appealing, especially after his rigorous session with Asami last night, but he really needed to get back into work, or he'd feel like a good-for-nothing sloth.
"Ah Takaba-san, I hope I didn't intrude on your time."
Recognizing the voice, Akihito quickly cleared his throat to sound more presentable. "No, not at all. Kohei-san, do you need me for something?"
"Takaba-san, I need your help for a last minute assignment today. The main photographer suddenly called and canceled, and my other photographers are unavailable at the moment, so I'm in a bit of a bind right now. Do you think you can lend me a hand?"
Akihito rubbed his weary eyes and sat up. He did plan to return to the penthouse after the event to sleep some more and nurse his aching back, but refusing a job offer would have been short-sighted. He hadn't been getting that many photography gig offers, and the paycheck from his most recent job wouldn't be available for another two weeks. He mentally sighed.
"Oh...I'm covering an event between morning and noon, but I'll be available for the evening if that's ok."
"Perfect!" the other man said with obvious relief in his voice. "It's a simple interview, so you don't have to worry about it too much. The journalist in charge is new, but he has potential, and I believe he's around your age. The interview is scheduled for eight in the evening. Will that be all right?"
"Sure. I'll drop by the office around seven before that. I'll see you later then."
"Thank you, Takaba-san. I won't forget this favor." Kohei hung up on a cheery note, and Akihito couldn't help but smile because of the man's enthusiasm. The interview must be important enough for the man to ask him so desperately.
Kohei was the chief editor of a small magazine Akihito had been freelancing for about two months now. His main editor referred him to the magazine after Momohara Ai's rabid fans started camping outside of their newspaper's building, so he gladly took the offer. Since then, he'd steered clear of any major criminal activity leads in favor of normal photography work. The magazine catered to young adults and middle-aged women, so most of the jobs were special events, celebrity interviews, arts and crafts competitions, culinary showcases, and scenic photos.
Besides, Kohei was a pleasant boss to work for. The man had always addressed him politely and respectfully, rarely pressuring him into work, or treating him like an incompetent newcomer. The change of pace didn't bother him either, for steady work was better than no work. Investigative journalism was an unstable and risky field after all. As much as he would enjoy the occasional thrill of a stakeout, the work itself didn't bring enough income to put food on the table. And hell would freeze over the day he asked Asami for money. It was one thing to feel like the man's live-in maid and bed partner, but another to become the bastard's mistress.
While he was held captive by Fei Long in Hong Kong, Asami took the liberty of moving all his possessions from his old apartment to this luxurious penthouse. The bastard even locked up his cameras as collateral, but despite his initial resistance, things just somehow tended to fall into Asami's lap. He could remember the smug look the bastard gave him when he asked if he could stay at the penthouse until he could find his own place. It was the look of 'Why do you even bother resisting, Akihito?' Surprisingly enough, living with Asami didn't turn out as bad as he had thought. They settled into a strange married life routine, but his role in it remained uncertain. Asami never openly admitted whether they were lovers or something obscured, and he didn't press for an answer either.
Akihito shuddered at the word lover and quickly brushed the thought off. Checking the time on his phone, he sighed deeply and got out of bed to make the short trek to the bathroom. The pain radiating in his lower back became more obvious with every step. Ironically, it was the only evidence of Asami ever being in the penthouse anymore, despite the place belonging to Asami. The man was like a ghost or phantom, only showing up in the night to claim his ass, then vanishing by morning.
Momentarily distracted by the thoughts of Asami, he stepped into the shower and hissed when the initial burst of cold water assaulted his warm skin. He groaned, cursing himself for always thinking of the older man at the start of everyday, like a trained pet that only thought of its master. Though after realizing he had just compared himself to a pet, he shook his head in self-disbelief. This habit needed to stop, he had told himself that because he refused to submit to anyone, let alone become a person's pet, but it was more difficult than he had thought.
With palms flat against the tile wall, Akihito braced himself until the water adjusted to a comfortable temperature, letting the stream melt away the tension in his muscles. The warmth was invigorating as it eased the ache in his body, and he relaxed.
By the time Akihito stepped out of the shower, it was past 7 am. He wandered back into the master bedroom to gather the clothes that scattered all over the room from yesterday's activities. But his gaze reluctantly drifted to the empty bed, particularly to Asami's side of the bed. The room was eerily quiet, and the stillness equally suffocating. Droplets of water fell from the tips of his blond bangs from underneath the cotton towel. He stood immobile like that for a few minutes more, absorbing the silence.
Normally, Asami would be home between 3 am and noon, but he had been waking up early recently, and the man was still nowhere to be seen. Two weeks went by with the same pattern. His daytime jobs and Asami's odd work hours made it impossible for them to meet, except maybe in the late hours. By the time Asami got home, however, he was already fast asleep, exhausted and spent from the day's work.
Though that didn't deter the perverted bastard from pounding Akihito's ass into the mattress with the fervor of a hungry beast every night. The bastard even made it a point that resistance was futile anyway. As usual, his memories of any such sexual activity was usually a blur, a haze of brutal teasing, uninhibited moaning-mostly his, and multiple bouts of mind-blowing orgasms, that never failed to send him into the edge of unconsciousness.
However, despite his mind being incoherent the majority of the time, he didn't miss the recent change in Asami's behavior. Asami's unease and tension seeped into his own consciousness. Uncertain why Asami was more restless and more possessive than usual, he had intended to ask the older man, but the opportune moment never came. The man's tongue was constantly attacking his mouth, blocking out his protests, and it didn't take long before he would give in to the pleasure. Deciding he would ask Asami another time, he had waited this long and without results. He even considered threatening Asami into talking, but knew that would be too much to ask. Convincing the country to abolish monarchy would be easier than asking Asami to relinquish his power and dominance. The bastard.
Finally breaking out of his reverie, Akihito frowned at the idea that perhaps he was lonely, and a part of him missed the older man, his scent, his warmth, and even his infuriating smirk. But his pride wouldn't allow him to admit that to Asami, the secret longing that continued to plague his thoughts.
He strolled into his own bedroom, dropped off the used clothes in a hamper, and grabbed a random pair of jeans, t-shirt, and jacket, then quickly changed into them. He grabbed the camera bag on his table and checked the equipment inside for the last time. Once done, he quickly made his way to leave the penthouse, but not before turning around to take one last look. Silence. Like always. He shrugged and closed the door. Upon reaching the elevator, the cell phone vibrated in his jeans' pocket, and he immediately recognized the familiar ringtone.
"What?" he said with indifference, though he was semi-happy to get the call, and his heart was beating a little faster than normal, but the bastard didn't need to know that.
"What are you doing?" Asami said with a seemingly impassive tone.
"What do you mean? You should know," Akihito paused before adding his usual trademark sarcasm, "In fact, I'm pretty sure you have cameras around the house watching my every move, you pervert."
"Behave Akihito and don't stay out late. Come home before nine tonight."
"What? Why would I do that? And don't tell me what to do after last night. Thanks to you, I have to deal with a sore back all day. Also, I have something coming up for the evening, so I don't have time to play your games."
"You sound irritated. Is something bothering you?"
"Let me see. It's definitely not because of the lack of sleep, back pain, and the sore ass, so you tell me," he quipped, voice laced with sarcasm.
There was a long pause, as though Asami was really considering his condition.
"Akihito," Asami drawled, "are you upset because you haven't seen me around? Do you miss me that much?"
Surprised by Asami's sharp instinct, Akihito blushed, except Asami wasn't there to see him, so he lied, "Wh-What? Hah! You must be joking. I'm a busy person, so stop acting like I'm your needy mistress or something."
He hung up before Asami could say anymore of his condescending comments, although he instantly regretted using the word mistress. The bastard would use that to tease him later for sure. He groaned out loud. How their exchanges seemed like the banter of a married couple was beyond him. But then again, their relationship was warped from the beginning. His partner just happened to be Tokyo's notorious crime boss, or at least that was what he thought Asami was.
In the office of Sion Group's main building, Asami sat staring at the phone in his hand with his usual indifference, though his eyebrows were raised at the mistress comment. The boy had the nerve to hang up on him, but he wasn't angry at being slighted, just amused at how cute Akihito was acting. Akihito must have been worried about him, but he must put a hold on that thought. He would make it up to the brat later. An urgent matter needed to be dealt with before he could deal with one of Akihito's whims.
"Asami-sama, given the situation, Matsuda-gumi has been strangely quiet about their ex-boss's imminent release from prison. I've advised the undercover members to be on high alert. As for Takaba, should I add bodyguards instead of just the private investigator?" Asami's competent secretary, Kirishima, said when his boss was seemingly distracted.
"No, it'll just piss him off. I don't want to give him an excuse to investigate. That's another headache I don't want to deal with," Asami said calmly. "Keep an eye on Izumi-gumi's former allies. I don't want them to do something rash before I could figure out Takamura's game. Don't underestimate our enemy."
The secretary bowed in agreement, "I understand, sir."
"Put all the important paperwork I need to look over on my desk in one hour. Cancel the rest of my meetings and don't disturb me for the rest of the day."
"Yes, sir." Kirishima bowed again before exiting the office to carry out his boss' order.
Once his secretary was gone, Asami stood up, and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window behind his desk. Looking down at the bustling streets and watching as cars and people went about their daily morning routine, he could not help but feel restless, more than he wanted to be. Everything was remarkably and deceptively calm, a stark contrast to the turmoil of the underworld.
In his line of work, death could come abruptly, and everything built over a period of many years could easily crumble in a day. It was his reality, harsh and bleak as it was. He couldn't afford to relax or even show weakness, especially when Akihito was already a part of his life.
The threat that had caused a ruckus in the underworld recently came in the form of a man named Takamura Michio, the former leader of Matsuda-gumi, who was about to be released from prison, in spite of his life sentence. An absurd anomaly beyond his expectation. But Asami knew only Takamura would be able to pull it off. In wake of the news, Tokyo's smaller crime organizations rushed to break from weak long-time alliances in favor of unstable new ones, hoping to come out alive on the victor's side. Most of the underworld's elites knew about Asami's feud with Takamura, and it was wiser to stay out of the crossfire once the situation erupted out of control.
'That damn sly fox.'
Seven years ago, when Matsuda-gumi fought Izumi-gumi for control of their overlapping territories, Takamura was still the group's 4th lieutenant and war architect. Opting for a quicker resolution, Takamura incited his group to war even before truce talks with Izumi-gumi were concluded. The turn of events turned tragic when his wife died from a stray bullet after getting caught in a gang scuffle. But Takamura believed she was deliberately targeted by Izumi-gumi because of him, suggesting her murder was premeditated. As a result, what should have been a typical turf conflict became a drawn-out personal grudge war between Takamura and the entire Izumi clan.
Takamura had never forgotten her death after the two clans declared a truce. In pursuit of revenge, he manipulated both allies and loyal supporters and took over Matsuda-gumi. Often practicing underhanded and unorthodox methods to ruthlessly stomp out his opponents.
And two years later, he shot rival Izumi-gumi's leader at point-blank straight through the head. What made it so remarkable was that he did it effortlessly with only as few as five men. The cold-blooded public execution of another high-profile clan leader was a reckless declaration of war, but war never happened. Takamura's men had infiltrated more than half of Izumi-gumi at the time, which effectively rendered them and broken helpless to fight back. The unprecedented maneuver shook Tokyo's underworld to the core and painted Takamura as an untouchable, dangerous and unpredictable. Even after he was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, his gang continued to wipe out the rest of Izumi-gumi's unconverted members.
Asami had expected the bastard to rot in his little cell, but the threat now loomed over him again, casting its ugly shadow over his organization and Akihito. He regretted not shooting the fucker himself when he had the chance. While he was preoccupied with Bai She's affairs and Fei Long and even went as far as sending one of his own to watch over the young Chinese, he had allowed the mad dog to roam free in Tokyo unchecked. It was a mistake he would never make again, to underestimate his enemy in such a careless way.
Asami visibly frowned, disturbed by the memories. Turning to his desk again, he picked up the cell phone and typed a few sentences into a text message before sending it.
A/N:(my note: v3.2)
** Warning: This is a slow-burn fic.
- Again, this is my first creative writing fic, so please be gentle lol.
- I do have an overall (adaptive) 20+ pages of outline and proper ending. No worries. I won't suddenly disappear and leave folks hanging (unless I get into a horrible accident or something). But I'll be slower on writing the later chapters, so please bear with me.
- Approximate number of chapters: 25 (or less...but don't hold me to it) :p
- Concrits/comments are welcomed. :D Thanks!