"I told you I'm tired Asami! Can't you just wait until you finish your work and come home?" Akihito tried to reason with his lover while said lover was acting like a spoiled kid who was deprived of his favorite toy.
"I can't wait any longer, Akihito. You weren't home last night because of an assignment you had to cover. I let you have the night off so I want you in my office right now." Asami said this with a firm commanding tone, but all Akihito heard was whining and sulking. Even though he would never admit it, Akihito somehow liked it when Asami was like this because it meant that his lover had missed him while he was away. But he also knew that a hungry Asami was dangerous, rough, and well... it would take all night and the next morning to appease that hunger.
That's why he didn't give in, he was exhausted and his body was aching from laying on the cement rooftop the whole night. He at least wanted to get some sleep for a few hours before Asami came home and ravished him. "NO! I don't want to go out anymore. It's scorching hot outside and the noon traffic would just make the bus ride a lot more hellish."
"You don't have to worry about that. Kirishima will pick you up on his way here. Now, be a good boy and wait in the front lobby. My men have more urgent matters to take care of." Asami said coolly.
"Why do you make it sound like I'm a burden?! You're the one making them go out of their way to pick me up. Don't blame it on me!" Akihito said angrily.
"You're not. You're just really stubborn. And I can order my men however I want; after all I sign their paychecks. Now get your pert ass down here or I'll make sure you won't be able to walk for a week." Asami disconnected the call and left Akihito grumbling obscenities at the dead line.
At the exact moment Akihito stepped out onto the front lobby, a black car arrived and the passenger door swung open revealing Kirishima holding a stack of folders. "Hurry and get in. I need to get this to Asami-sama as soon as possible."
Akihito sighed and slid in the car. There goes another reminder that he's dragging everyone down. Akihito thought to himself as he slumped on the leather seat and gave another sigh.
As expected, they were stuck in traffic and they were still halfway to Club Sion. At least it was cool inside the car. He thought to himself as he saw people walking outside sweating their brains out. Still, that didn't improve his mood; Asami's petty accusations got to him, it was unsettling especially since he always made sure not to be a burden to anyone. That was why he left his parent's house at the age of 18, always paid his own bill during drinking nights with his friends and just being independent and being able to take care of himself. And if he did impose on someone, he made sure to pay them back or do something in return.
Even with his moving in to Asami's apartment, he made sure that he paid Asami back by cooking the meals with groceries bought with his own money, doing the laundry and cleaning the apartment. Though he doubted Asami really cared if he did any of that, he still did it out of obligation even if it ended up that he became Asami's housewife. And he knew he was a great housewife, efficient, tidy and even attentive to his somewhat-husband's bedside needs. So he definitely was not a burden, he was an asset, and he would make Asami admit that one day.
Akihito's mood brightened up a little, but it was as little as the few inches the car he was in moved in the traffic jam. Another sigh and he was still close to where he started. Aside from Asami, was he being a burden to anyone else? Akihito knew there was only one way to find out. He tapped Kirishima's shoulder very lightly.
"Do you need something, Takaba?" Kirishima asked him, eyes still focused on the papers inside the folder.
"Kirishima, am I a burden to you? To the big guy, Suoh I think and to Asami's bodyguards?" Akihito asked anxiously.
The question was much unexpected that Kirishima had to look up and make sure he heard Takaba right. And with a straight face, he answered. "I'm not sure if I should answer that, Asami-sama wou—"
"Oh come on! Asami isn't here right now. I'm asking you personally. Don't tell me, you even need Asami's permission to talk about stuff like this." He blurted out and Kirishima just stayed silent.
"Seriously?! That control freak!" Akihito exclaimed with disbelief, though he should have already known by the way Asami wants to control his life too, but he didn't know it was this bad. What happened to freedom of speech?!
Akihito didn't give up that easily. "But no one's going to hear you here inside the car, so it's fine right?" He then glanced at the driver and decided to put up the partition just in case. Now they were closed off from the world, the windows were tinted dark and the car was soundproof.
Kirishima gave him an inquiring look and then asked. "Why do you want to know?"
Akihito thought for a second. "I know that I owe Asami, he has saved me a couple of times—okay he has saved me a lot. I'm working on paying him back little by little even if it's being his housewi—I mean doing housework." Whew! I almost slipped there. Kirishima would definitely report it to Asami that I called myself his housewife and he would probably get some weird ideas about it. I need to be more careful.
"And I also know it hasn't been easy for you guys being forced to clean up messes that I dragged myself into. So I just want to know what you guys think; about me or even my relationship with your boss. Then maybe I'll know what to do to be less of a burden to you guys." Akihito said eager to show his willingness to help.
"Do you even understand that if I answered your question I would be breaking a rule in our code of conduct, never to pry or talk about our boss' private life and with that the boss has the right to kill me the second he hears about this? And you even want the other guards to talk too?"
The graveness of the consequence sink in and Akihito could only swallow hard and nod in silence.
Kirishima sighed and his eyes fell on the folder in his lap. An idea pops up and he knew it would be the most foolish thing he'll ever do, but it would definitely give them the advantage they needed in their current situation, and he knew only Takaba has the skills and guts to pull it off.
He glanced at the boy beside him, still eager to hear his response, and made a decision. "I'll grant your request and ask the other guards too but I need you to do something for me in return. It's not any different from what you usually do but it's not going to be easy."
"What do you want me to do?" Akihito asked nervously.
"I want you to take pictures of Diet member Tateyama Saito while he is meeting some German arms dealers in an abandoned factory in Shibuya."
"What does this have to do with Asami?" Akihito asked confused.
"Asami-sama helped Tateyama rise up the ladder in politics, but he seems to think he doesn't need Asami-sama's support anymore. Lately he has been selling information to our rival groups and we've been really busy countering simultaneous attacks these last two weeks. We also can't touch him easily since he somehow found a new backer, another rival group of ours. But just today, I received news from our inside informant that Tateyama has been secretly meeting these German arms dealers, which so happens to be in a feud with his backer. He thinks he can play both sides without anyone noticing. Once a traitor, always a traitor."
Akihito tried to digest everything he just heard, and the first question that escaped his mouth before he even thought about it was. "If this gets settled, will Asami come home early again?" And he quickly covered his mouth before he could say anything else; a pink blush blossomed on his cheeks.
Kirishima was surprised yet again at the unexpected question from the boy. But he sees now that despite the protesting, kicking and cursing Takaba did, he truly cared for the boss. Of all the things he could have asked, it was that kind of question where it had nothing to do with the Asami Ryuichi, but everything to do with Asami, his lover. His opinion of Takaba shifted greatly and for the first time he genuinely thought that the boy was good for his boss. "Yes. After the commotion settles down, I'll make sure he goes home early so you can eat dinner together again."
Akihito's eyes widened as he went into denial mode. "I didn't mean it like that! Whatever! What are you planning to do with the pictures afterwards?" Akihito tried to change the topic.
"I'm sure the boss will arrange to meet up with the backer's leader and show them the pictures, and then he'll ask them to hand Tateyama over to him. After all, he was the first one to be betrayed, he has every right to be the one to give punishment. Plus the boss is well-known for his merciless cruelty towards traitors. The rest I think you're better off not knowing." The last statement made Akihito shiver. He heard rumors before but hearing some sort of confirmation to those rumors made him tremble in fear inside.
"Okay, I'll do it. But I'm not doing this for Asami! I'm doing this for my request and because Tateyama needs to be taken down for deceiving innocent people with his plastic smile in public. That's all! Settling Asami's business problems is just a bonus!" Akihito kept on denying while Kirishima nodded to his agreement of the deal.
"One more thing; keep our deal a secret from Asami. I don't want to feed his gluttonous ego unnecessarily. If he finds out, he'll be so flattered and grateful; he'll chain me to his bed for a whole month." Akihito tried to block out images of the possible orgasmic torture that waited for him.
"Don't worry, Takaba. I prefer to have my head attached to my shoulders than on the ground. And this way you can help the other guards by settling the situation; being alert and ready for combat around the clock can really drain you. I'm sure they would appreciate your effort. Anyway, I'll give you the exact time and place where the meeting will be held. It's in two days so prepare everything you need by then. I can't provide you any more assistance than the information, any unnecessary movements I do will undoubtedly be noticed by the boss." Kirishima said a bit apologetically.
"It's okay; I live for things like this. I've been in worse situations than being chased by a bunch of old yakuza." Akihito grins as he repeated the same words he said to them on the rooftop two years ago.
Kirishima returned the grin and ruffled Takaba's hair. "Brat! You haven't changed one bit." Both of them laughed and then they heard a knock on the glass partition. They didn't notice that they had already arrived at Club Sion. They looked at each other and gave a firm nod. First, they both have to deal with Asami; Kirishima needed to give his report to the boss and then afterwards it was Akihito's turn to fulfill his housewife duties to his spoiled-rotten husband.
A few days later...
While Akihito was busy fighting off Asami's advances in the kitchen and failing miserably, not too far away from the luxurious penthouse was a building that served as a dormitory for the guards. It was fully furnished and it provided their everyday necessities, from sleeping quarters, a kitchen and dining hall, shower rooms and even a well-equipped gym for Asami required in the job contract that each one be physically fit and healthy. Currently in the dining hall, an important meeting was being held with all of the guards that were off-duty or about to go on-duty. The atmosphere was tense for these kinds of big meetings were rare and it usually meant something bad was happening.
"Isn't this dangerous Kirishima-san? If the boss were to find out about this... I mean even though no one clarified it, we all know what happened to the last guy who opened his mouth." One guard brave enough spoke out.
"Don't worry this time no one has to speak and nobody would be listening. All you need to do is write it down on a piece of paper, fold it and put it in this manila envelope. No names or signatures needed; you can even change your hand-writing style if you want to." Kirishima said to the nervous looking crowd.
"I know this seems like I'm making you all sign up for an execution but I've already promised Takaba this and I've already received the pictures too." Everybody's inquiring gaze was on him and Kirishima knew he had no choice but to explain the whole deal to them. They at least deserved to know why they would be putting their names on Asami's death wish list.
"A few days ago I made a deal with him that I'd get your opinions and in exchange he would take some pictures of Tateyama. It's a risky deal but it will give us the leverage we need to turn the tables around. This morning I received the pictures from Takaba and thanks to that the final phase of the plan is already underway. Now it's my turn to fulfill my end of the deal. I understand that we're putting ourselves in danger by doing this but keep in mind that Takaba also risked his safety to get us those pictures. I'm telling you it wasn't an easy task but the boy somehow managed to get out alive with just a few bruises. I'm not even sure how he explained those bruises to the boss." Kirishima said, a bit worried.
"I heard him say he fell down the stairs to the boss. I was the front door guard at Club Sion today." A voice in the crowd shared the information.
"There were only a few bruises but it looked pretty bad to me. I had to drive them to the hospital this afternoon." Another voice in the crowd spoke up.
"But seriously, why volunteer to put yourself in so much danger? I don't get it." A guard voiced out his confusion.
"Well, isn't he just an adrenaline junkie? Why do you think he always gives us the chase?" A different guard answered.
"No, no. Isn't it obvious? He's doing it to help the boss." Another guard tried to defend.
A small discussion broke out in the crowd and Kirishima cleared his throat hoping to get their attention. When silence greeted the dining hall once again, Kirishima continued.
"Actually, half of the reason why Takaba accepted the deal was, believe it or not, for us. He told me he was sorry for always giving us trouble and that he is grateful that we put up with his defiant ways. Takaba said that he wanted to make it up to us somehow. I was quite surprised myself when I learned of his intention but I'm pretty sure we all know what he's like and capable of. I bet each one of you has a story about the brat."
Before another discussion could break out, Kirishima hurriedly spoke to the crowd. "I'm sure you all have your thoughts on the matter, so all I'm asking is for all of you to write it down on paper instead. I'm sure Takaba would accept and understand each one of them." He then proceeded to hand out papers and pens to each table while hearing bits and pieces of their conversations.
"So that's why we were ordered to withdraw this afternoon. You think they settled on a truce?"
"They put me on guard duty outside chamber 6 tonight. You know, it's one of those rooms underground of building 8. Seems like a newcomer was brought in; you think it has something to do with this?"
"The boy sure has guts. He really did it for us? It's hard to believe but if Kirishima-san said so, then it must be true."
"We've been on edge for weeks now, but we can finally relax thanks to his efforts. I gotta hand it to him."
"If Takaba died while doing this, all of us will probably be tortured by the boss, here on earth and in hell afterwards."
After a few minutes, the conversations died down and the only thing that could be heard were pens dancing on paper. Kirishima looked at the scene before him and was satisfied that everybody finally agreed to fulfill the boy's request. And while everybody was busy writing their thoughts, Kirishima was the first one to put his name on the death wish list as he put in his folded paper inside the manila envelope.
Akihito knew he shouldn't have pushed himself too much. But the only way he could think of to stop Asami from interrogating him about his bruises was to fill that mind with lust and desire for Akihito. It seemed to work at first but then the ever cunning bastard managed to use that lust against him and he was then tortured halfway to spill the beans about his bruises. Luckily, his incoherent mind under the torture was too incoherent with pleasure that his vocabulary was greatly reduced to 'Asami', 'more' and 'touch me'.
Akihito would have smacked his own head on the wall for his stupidity if not for the fact that he was already covered with bruises from the other night and lovemarks and hickeys from last night. Plus Asami had issued an order to put him under house arrest, so for now he was stuck in this luxurious penthouse. Not that it really bothered him much since he needed as much rest and energy for his bruises to heal. Asami just had to make a scene and make it verbal and threatening, but Akihito wasn't upset about the outburst because he knows that's just how Asami shows his concern even if it's in his own sadistic way.
Just like the previous house arrests Asami ordered when Akihito was being too stubborn for his own good, Kirishima would come to check on him during noon, bringing some lunch for him to eat, and if needed he would rebandage some of Akihito's wounds. Today wasn't any different except for the sealed manila envelope Kirishima handed to him just before he left and his parting words of "Please burn all of it as soon as you're done reading and don't be so reckless anymore," and a gentle pat on his head.
So here he was sitting on the couch with the manila envelope and a knife in his hand. Akihito neatly cut the envelope and sat closer to the table. For some reason his heart was pounding, it wasn't like how Asami made his heart race, but it was still loud in his ears. He was finally going to find out what Asami's subordinates thought about him or his relationship with Asami. Akihito thought it's probably the same feeling a girlfriend gets when she's about to find out what her boyfriend's aunts thought about her when he brought her over on Thanksgiving. Asami, the boyfriend, may not care but Akihito, the girlfriend, does. Akihito face-palmed as he realized that he was getting carried away by his silly thoughts. He took a deep breath and reached inside the manila envelope, pulling out the first paper he touched.
[Thanks for your hard work!]
Okay that wasn't such a bad start, at least someone appreciated my efforts. Akihito thought as he put the first paper on the table. Then reaching for the second one inside the envelope and then another.
[Don't be too reckless. The boss will take it out on us.]
[Thanks to you I'll be able to take out my girlfriend this weekend for our anniversary!]
[You're still a brat, but a cool one.]
[Please don't run anymore when we try to catch you. The boss adds 5 miles to our running regimen every time you escape.]
[Don't die. Hell will break loose. I'm serious.]
[Congratulations!]
[Thanks for helping us out! But I'm still convinced that you did it for the boss.]
[Please try to keep your voice down when you're having sex with the boss.]
[Take care of the boss. He's been really exhausted lately.]
[You do realize that most of the boss' mood swings depends on your every move right?]
[Keep the boss happy and everybody will be safe.]
[You're a good guy.]
[I heard you two tied the knot. You must really like the boss.]
[Don't go jumping into the road again, especially when I'm driving.]
[I drove the boss to a jewelry shop recently. Do you know why? I thought he mail-ordered everything.]
[Don't cause any more trouble for the boss.]
[Are you two planning to get married outside the country? Should we start calling you Ane-san?]
[Never let your guard down, especially when the boss or any of us isn't with you.]
[Don't upset the boss.]
[You take beautiful pictures, but don't take any more that will hinder the boss' business.]
[You're too loud.]
[The boss wants you but I think he also needs you.]
['Till death do us part.' I can't believe you really said that to him. Now you really can't escape.]
[Stop kicking when I carry you.]
[You're a fast runner!]
[Please no more kidnappings. The boss was really upset when the Hong Kong incident happened.]
[The boss is really scary. How do you survive every day?]
[Be there for the boss in good times and in bad times.]
[Don't drink alcohol when you can't handle it.]
[Be loyal to the boss.]
[I heard you and the boss got married secretly. Congratulations!]
[Answer the boss' call on the third ring. He gets really agitated when you don't answer until the fifth ring.]
[Be sure to tell the boss wherever you are going.]
[How's the married life? Are you planning to adopt?]
[The boss really cares for you. I don't understand why you're always yelling and rebelling against him.]
The table was already filled with rows of paper and there were still about ten left in the envelope. Akihito smiled as he looked at the paper-tiled glass. He was both happy and relieved that so far he hasn't read anything about being against their relationship. He actually felt that they supported them in one way or another. And he even learned a few interesting details he normally wouldn't know or notice.
Another thing that intrigued Akihito was about this rumor that seems to be going around the guards. Marriage had never crossed his mind till now and to think the guards beat him to it. Plus there was that one paper about a jewelry store, he'll have to ask Kirishima about that.
The rest of the afternoon went by peacefully as Akihito continued to read the notes. When he was done he crossed them out with a black marker and ripped them to shreds and burned them inside a metal bin. A few hours after that, Asami arrived and was greeted with a cheerful Akihito.
"Did something good happen while I was away?" Asami asked.
"I guess you could say that." Akihito answered as he took Asami's case and helped him out of his coat.
"What happened? Tell me. Did you receive something good in the mail?" Asami pried as he was now very curious to know the reason for the boy's merry mood.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just received some 'best wishes' messages from your aunts." Akihito chuckled at his own private joke as he walked to the living room, leaving a very puzzled Asami in the hallway.
Okay, I think this one turned out pretty good. I've always wondered how Asami's men thought about their relationship and so this was born. Though it originally came from the idea of Asami's men going to the gym and then turned to gossiping housewives, or something like that. And even though I finally managed an IC Asami, in the end he didn't have a major role in this story. I'll try again on the next one. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I had fun writing it. Another fail at titles and summaries. Orz Reviews are greatly appreciated! (~_~)/