"Lying is done with words, and also with silence."
― Adrienne Rich, Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying

1. THE BEGINNING

His last job had taken him out of Japan and to China in pursuit of a corrupt minister who was involved in money laundering. As it turned out, that was not her only vice as Akihito found out several days later. He had been somewhat shocked when he found the elderly woman through his trusty viewfinder to be molesting and sexually torturing girls who seemed to have barely passed a dozen years in age. In spite of his exposure to corruption and perversion, Akihito had been somewhat shocked by the image. After all, he did vote for her and she was famed for her righteousness and advocacy for the rights of women and children. She was someone people looked up to, a champion of human rights, a child after the goddess Guan Yin herself, the Athena of the Japanese (as she refused to marry in order to prevent it from 'furthering her cause'). A 'cause' which Akihito had unwittingly stumbled across.

As he dashed past a row of headlights, Akihito thought to himself - smiling as he bounded for Shinjuku Gyouen National Park - "Really, no one can truly understand another person: what drives them, what changes them and why it happens. So many masks on so many faces. Good thing that his camera took pictures of things as they are instead of how people wanted things to be. That brought his thoughts towards Asami, and he felt a warmth spreading from his navel, warming his body and his synapses tingled to life, burning without fire.

Akihito could not hide it anymore. This feeling that swelled within him, making his whole body light as a feather. He could almost believe that if he wanted, he would float away on this cloud… bubble of happiness. Akihito knew that their relationship started on rocky, no, more like on sharp icy stalagmites and he could not blame Asami for any of it - the kidnapping, rape, fear. If anything, it propelled them forward and changed the dynamics of their… well, relationship. Akihito wondered and he wanted to use the 'L' word to describe whatever it was that bound them together but would it be the same for Asami?

There were times when Akihito felt a strange look in Asami's eyes, rather than seeing it. Asami was very careful not to 'give him the look' whenever Akihito was looking at him but the younger man could feel his gaze burning a hole in his back. In those instances, Akihito could never manage the nerve to look up and meet Asami's gaze. There was an ominous finality about it that strangely unnerved him and this presentiment usually hit him at the most inopportune moments, especially after a romp in bed or when they bantered over stupid issues like an old married couple.

They were precious moments and memories to Akihito and he did not appreciate this foreboding sense that looming over them like a shadow. It reminded him too much of a time bomb, like the clock was going to strike twelve at any moment and this small bubble of happiness was going to disappear. He could see it in Asami's distant eyes, the way his smile faltered a little at the edges or the words Akihito wanted to hear dying on Asami's lips before he could utter them. He had wondered at length once, pondering what could possibly be pulling the man away. Whenever Asami had that look in his eyes, Akihito felt as if the temperature of the room had suddenly dropped twenty degrees by the look on Asami's face.

It was a truly beautiful afternoon. The sun was beginning to set on a low incline, the weather breezy with no rain clouds in sight. The sakura trees were only beginning to bloom and there was a faint and subtle sweet scent in the air. Akihito breathed in the air full of grass, bark, earth and sakura. It felt good, like he was cleansing himself from all his troubles and with this, Akihito could now focus on getting Asami to open up and share whatever it was that troubled him so. 'This would make a perfect spot for Hanami, though I wonder if Asami would be okay with that. He seems to hate public places. Perhaps a candlelight picnic?' Akihito's face crumpled with silent laughter, imagining Asami's face if Akihito ever actually asked him to join him for a candlelit picnic.

Akihito could not blame Asami for his emotional awkwardness. He himself had no idea how to deal with the emotional aspect of their relationship. Sure, the sex was good, it was hot, it was amazing and they were perfectly compatible with each other in that area but when it came to the more substantial aspects and daily interactions, Akihito could only describe it as awkward.

In the last four months, Akihito's life could only be described as hectic. Thanks to Mitarai who kept pestering him endlessly to assist him in getting exclusive scoops, Akihito had been running left, right and center - all the while juggling several cases. Ever since Mitarai revealed his 'source' who turned out to be his detective girlfriend, a Takanori Misao, she had been able to connect Akihito with the detectives in the special branch. Thanks to her connections, Akihito was now tackling the so-called 'bug guns'. It pleased him that he was now actually making a difference, making the world a better place as the cops were able to utilise his expertise to more effective ends.

Sure, at the back of his head, Akihito always kept vigilant in case Asami's name ever came up but somehow, his name were always only ever mentioned in relation to others and was never the subject of investigations per se. On some level, Akihito was thankful for this small divine kindness. On the other hand, Akihito wondered about how far and how deep Asami's influence permeated, and the darkness intimidated him.

Today though, Akihito had received intel that the famous actress Miyazawa Akemi had finally returned after five years of hiding overseas. Her disappearance had been very mysterious. At the time, Akihito had only been seventeen and like many of his peers, he too had been a fan. After all, like her name, Miyazawa Akemi was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. She truly had those pearly, translucent and unblemished skin that women strived for; her crowning glory her long dark red (rare for a Japanese) tresses that fell over her slim but straight shoulders to her narrow waist.

It was said at the time of her disappearance that she had been involved with some illegal activities - and if rumours could be trusted - hinting at money laundering and tax evasions. Somehow the matter had died down after a few months and she was never charged but she disappeared shortly after, her agency citing that she needed rest after the entire ordeal and public harassment. Some rumours also insinuated that she was the secret lover of some yakuza gumi which Akihito personally thought was hilarious. Akihito could sympathise; in his experience, once the public's imagination had been engaged, it was difficult to stop it from spiralling out of control. Regardless, he had to find out what had happened to her, what it was that caused her to hide away for five years.

His source from her agency had said that she would be here, at the Japanese gardens and waiting at the Kyu Goryotei Pavilion in at four. Looking at his watch, Akihito estimated that he had about 30 minutes to spare, which was great because then he had some time to figure out a good hiding spot with the best view of the pavilion. Akihito was grateful that she had chosen this area. It had plenty of sunlight without the heavy contrast caused by strong sunlight.

It would look suspicious if anyone saw him holding a camera so he stashed his camera bag (carefully) behind a rock next to an old sakura tree and went in search for a good hideout. He decided that the best hideout would be somewhere on the perch of the lush trees surrounding the old pavilion - allowing him something of a birdseye view plus the concealment of his presence. Now all he had to do was to grab his bag. Akihito had to resist the urge to rub his hands together in glee. He felt like a naughty child peeking at something he would get his hand slapped for.

As Akihito approached the old sakura tree (where he had stashed his bag earlier), he found that someone else had already got to it, a few kids not older than five by AKihito's estimation. It seemed to Akihito that a red haired skinny kid had got to it first but the other kids had pushed him down and staked their claim to the bag. It was all a bit funny to Akihito because they could hardly lift it without heaving and they could not open it because it had a security lock so it amused Akihito that these kids were fighting over something they had no use for.

"Stupid akagami! This belongs to us," the shortest of the group yelled at the skinny boy.

The boy stood up and bravely threw his head back, nose in the air and… paused. Akihito's interest was piqued. The boy looked… regal, almost. With his head thrown back like that, his hair caught in the soft light shone like embers. 'What beautiful hair!' Akihito thought to himself.

The boy suddenly dropped his head and then stared at the three kids facing him. "Give it back! I found it first!"

"No, you're a gaijin."

"Why is your hair red, akagami?"

"This was here in the Japanese garden so it's ours because we are Japanese!"

"Stupid, shitty akagami! Go away!" and with that, the biggest one of the three came forward and shoved him to the ground.

'Honestly, what are parents teaching their kids these days!' Akihito thought. He was about to reveal himself when the skinny kid jumped and launched himself at the big boy, tackling him to the ground and slapping him. Akihito was somewhat impressed. He recalled a similar situation when he grew up at the orphanage. He was skinny and tiny back then but he was bullied for his hazel eyes. Once, his roommate told him that the reason he had hazel eyes was because he was cursed. He could not sleep for days after that, imagining some horrible demon coming to take his soul away in the dead of the night.

The kid was impressive but this was all wrong. Violence is not a solution. They were only kids after all. He decided that it was time for some intervention. He went straight up to the two kids wrestling on the ground and pried them apart.

The skinny kid glared at him through moist eyes and clawed at his arm, drawing blood. God, this kid is vicious!' he thought but looking at the kids eyes, he could feel the anger, humiliation and hurt behind the unshed tears. Akihito pulled the boy close and hugged the thrashing child tightly, one hand carding through red hair soothingly while he murmured softly, "Shhh! It's okay. Calm down, okay?"

The kid slowly calmed down and quieted in his arms as the other kids got together and started complaining to Akihito.

"Look what he did to me?" the big kid whined, gesturing at the bloody scratches on his face and arms. "He's a monster!"

The other kids joined him in agreement. This made Akihito mad. He could not help but feel protective about the redhead boy. He could feel the kid shifting and burrowing closer into his own body and his arms automatically tightened around the boy.

"Okay, okay. Firstly, do you guys like eggs?" Akihito asked out of the blue.

This surprised the kids and they all answered "Yes" in unison. "Okay, when you cook eggs, do you look at the shell and differentiate between dark eggshells and light ones? Between speckled ones plain ones?"

"I don't cook eggs, Ojisan but my mum does. She cooks all of them," one of the three piped up. Akihito's heart sank a little when the kid referred to him as Ojisan.

"I like eggs. I think the dotted ones are pretty," the smallest of the three said hesitantly.

"What about them? Eggs are eggs! Stupid Ojisan," the biggest muttered angrily, glaring at the kid now clinging to him like a koala.

Akihito smiled, untangling the redhead kid from himself. "Exactly! Eggs are eggs and kids are kids. It doesn't matter what they look like. Just because he has red hair doesn't make him a monster. I have blond hair and you called me Ojisan, right? When you grow up and dye your hair like I did, will that make you a gaijin?"

"But he can't even speak Japanese properly!" the biggest kid blurted, angry lines creasing his head.

"He's tiny and still learning, I'm sure. Eggs are eggs and kids are kids," Akihito repeated. "Kids should make friends with each other."

The three of them stared at each other, occasionally glancing at the boy clinging to AKihito's legs. The biggest kid simply stared at the redhead boy and then at Akihito before marching of. Akihito almost winced when he saw the blood from the scratches mark the boys shirt. He could still feel the sting on his arm where the boy clawed him. The remaining two shuffled a bit before curtly mumbling an apology and ran off after the big kid, camera bag forgotten.

Akihito looked down at the kid clinging to his leg and dropped down to crouch next to the boy. For the first time, Akihito took a good look at the kid. The boy stared back, with wide eyes like molten amber and red wavy hair framing his head like some kind of halo. Akihito was somewhat taken aback by that. The kid also had pale white skin. He truly looked like some kind of angel, or pixie, Akihito could not tell. Judging by the cheeky wide grin splitting his face and excited wide eyes, Akihito thought the kid truly looked like some devilish pixie.

The kid reached out and grabbed his face non-too gently. "Ne, ne, what is your name?"

Akihito was somewhat interested in the kid now, though not amused as before. "Akihito. And yours?"

The kid did not answer immediately, excitedly trying Akihito's name on his lips several times before beaming up and brightly exclaiming, "Aki! I'll call you Aki."

"Hey, I've given you my name now give me yours," Akihito said with a smile. "And you should call me Aki-niisama. I am elder to you after all."

The kid shook his head gleefully. "I can't do that because my name is Aki too."

"Really? Your name is Aki? What does your mom call you?" Akihito was filled with the need to be contrary. He did not like the way the brat was being overly familiar with him.

"My name is Hiroaki. My mom calls me Hiro. I can't call you Hito so I'll just call you Aki. But you must call me Hiroaki. Because you're not my mom," the kid said smiling. He began tugging at Akihito's hair a little. "Pretty," he said as he glanced at Akihito.

It was a warped sense of logic AKihito supposed, but he found that he could not fight that. Honestly, he did not understand why he took this kid so seriously in the first place. All his friends called him Aki anyways so it was no big deal really. "Why can't I call you Hiro, like your mom?"

"Because you are prettier than my mom," the boy answered, still playing with Akihito's hair.

Hiroaki's matter-of-fact explanation startled Akihito, and at the same time flattered him. "That's because you haven't seen blond hair before."

Hiroaki looked up, eyes suddenly sharp which struck Akihito as somewhat familiar for some reason. "I live in Lille with my mom and there are many people there with yellow hair. Aki is prettier than them." Akihito was lost for words. 'How does one reply to that? Lille? Where's that?'

"So where's your mom? Why are you alone?"

"My mom is waiting for my dad. We came here to meet him. She… she doesn't like me hanging around her. She says it's dangerous." That struck Akihito as odd. 'Shouldn't it be: it's dangerous; keep close?'

They had begun trudging up a path with the boy - Hiroaki - leading the way.

"Aki, how old are you?" Hiroaki piped up as they approached a bridge.

"Hmm, I'm twenty-four in May."

"Oh," Hiroaki muttered, somewhat dejected. "Don't worry. It's okay. I'm almost five."

Akihito laughed and ruffled Hiroaki's hair. The kid was cute.

"Thanks, Hiroaki." The kid blushed happily before suddenly stopping, his hands reaching Aki's arm. Wondering what could possible be wrong, he crouched in readiness to soothe the child. However, Hiroaki simply grabbed it tightly, his nails digging into Akihito's tender skin. Softly, very softly Hiroaki asked, "Are you married?"

Akihito tried to gently pry Hiroaki's fingers off his wrist. He really did not get this kid. 'Why is the kid acting like that?' "No, I'm not."

The tension surrounding the kid vanished as quickly as it appeared and the kid pulled Akihito along the path as he bounced towards a secluded pavilion. "That's good. You shouldn't, you know. It's better that way."

Akihito was beginning to think that there was something strange about this kid. Something wrong. Besides, he had gotten sidetracked. He was here for Miyazawa Akemi. He glanced at his watch. It was almost four. He had to leave now.

"Hey, Hiroaki. Listen, I'm actually working, um -" but before he could finish, Hiroaki interrupted by squelaing, "Oh, look! Is that my dad? It's my dad!"

Akihito looked towards the direction Hiroaki was pointing at. Beneath a huge sakura tree, were two figures huddled close. Something about the figures standing close together triggered Akihito's finely tuned journalistic instinct. He had to get a closer look. Crouching behind a tree, he quickly unlocked his camera bag and pulled out his long-range lense and deftly attached it to his camera without noise. He directed the camera at the couple and using his viewfinder, he zoomed and snapped away.

Crouched once again, he adjusted the brightness a little and zoomed in on the digital image saved on his memory card.

They were a couple - no doubt Hiroaki's parents. His mother had long red hair and fair skin, which the kid took after, and his dad was tall, well built and he had black hair swept back like Asami… It took Akihito a moment to digest the thought. It was Asami! He could recognise that built - and that suit - anywhere! And the woman in his arms was without doubt Miyazawa Akemi! 'Why is Asami with Miyazawa Akemi?' Hiroaki's words just before he took off came back to him. 'Was he Hiroaki's father?'

{Notes}

Hi there! This is my second attempted fic and it's been awhile. Be gentle in your reviews, okay? This chapter is too long so I'm breaking it into part I and part II. This fic is going to be dark and a bit disturbing.Definitely not for the light hearted. You have been warned. Yes, this is all to fulfill my perverse imagination so if you don't like it, write your own. I'd read it, really. This was actually inspired by a twos hot I read awhile back and I decided to take it further by developing the storyline. I know that VF readers are quite picky so do review. I'd appreciate it. :)

I don't know if you realised by Hiro-Aki is the reverse syllable sound of Aki-Hito. I didn't notice it until much after writing it for awhile.

{Footnotes}

Sakura - Cherry blossoms.

Hanami - This is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms ("sakura") or (less often) plum blossoms ("ume"). In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night.

Shinjuku Gyouen - Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) is one of of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks. It dates back to the 1600's and consists of a Japanese garden, a French garden and an English one. It's very beautiful.

Kyu Goryotei - This was built on the occasion of the wedding of the Showa Emperor and is also known as the Taiwan Pavilion. It is located at the Japanese Garden within the Shinjuku Gyouen.

Miyazawa Akemi - The Japanese name Akemi may be written with the characters for "bright" or "red" (ake) and "beauty; beautiful" (mi), among other possibilities. In this case, it means red beauty.

Gumi - usually refers to different Yakuza organizations. The website I borrowed this from states that 'gumi' is a corrupted form of 'kumi' 組, and the term itself means "group", so there is technically no negative connotation

Akagami - redhead. I borrowed this from the manga 'Akagami no Shirayukihime'.

Hiroaki - The Japanese name Hiroaki may be written with the characters for "wide; large" (hiro) and "bright; light". Other possibilities include "ocean" (hiro) and "bright; light" (aki), as well as "auspicious; happiness; good omen" (hiro) and "melodious; clear; bright" (aki).

Hito - It can also mean person. So it doesn't make sense for Hiroaki to call Aki 'Hito'.

**These are borrowed from multiple websites so if the information is incorrect, please don't hesitate to correct me. Seriously, I don't mind.

**Regarding the eggs and racism bit, I borrowed that from this website: article/5-tips-for-talking-about-racism-with-kids

**As for Aki's profile, I took that from: /character/7184/Akihito_Takaba