Chapter 2

Fei Wang stared at the body lying still on the make-shift bed, watching him sleep as he muses on his own thoughts. No matter, it seems that the man never understood that his promises were build on air with foam as its foundation. He showed so much potential, sadly he had destroyed whatever glorious future he had by giving in to his impulses.

Well, there was only one thing he could do to show Ashura back to the right path. All he had to do was to prove that the boy wasn't the angel he thought he was. That Emera does not offer salvation from the darkness that surrounds him but deepens and further strengthen the false reality of his illusion. The angel must be tainted.

Ashura groan as he awoke from his slumber. His mind still muddled by the multiple dosages of drugs injected into him, he looked around and saw Fei Wang seated on the stool just meters away from the uncomfortable cement floor he was lying on.

"Where am I?" He asked..

"You wanted out…I got you out." Fei Wang answered as he gave a cruel smirk and played with the gun in his hand. Locking and unlocking the safety pin to the trigger.

"What did you do to me? Where am I?" Ashura looked around the dimly lit room and immediately alarms rang off in his head. This was not right…he shouldn't be here and what was Fei Wang doing that gun in his hand?

"Does it matter? You are free now." He answered curtly, still trying to be vague. The boy was smart. He would figure it out soon enough. Still it will be too late.

"There won't be much of a point if you only save me in order to kill me." Ashura tried again, not sure what trick was Fei Wang trying pull from his sleeves.

"You know…I don't understand why am I taking the trouble to go through this with you but somehow along the way, I thought you might wake-up and realize what you are doing. But now..." Fei Wang replied.

"What are you implying?" Ashura asked.

"You weren't my favorite for no reason. I had that gut feeling that you are the one to inherit my life works but it seems you proved me wrong and made a fool out of me." Fei Wang replied calmly, his fingers still playing with the trigger "you honestly thought that I would invest so much time and effort on your silly little love revenge?" he sneered at Ashura, despising the look of shock registering on his face.

"Where am I?" Ashura asked again, his voice giving away the blind panic that surfaced in his chest, his body flying off the bed, lurching itself towards Fei Wang but he was restrained roughly by his guards, pulled back by the collar and thrown back to the bed like the dog he was.

"Perhaps the news channels will provide a more comprehensive update." Fei Wang said as he reached for the remote control and watched the screen flicker alive.

Ashura remained seated with his mouth agape as he watched the reports about his breakout and the shoot-out with the police that followed shortly after. He understood well and clear than that he was in dire circumstances.

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"We are only given 48 hours to find him." Yuuko said gravely. This was hardly enough time cover the shooting incident. She was being asked to do the impossible, she had been liaising with her men and they have found nothing yet. The piers, warehouses and industrial area were mostly cleared. The red light districts and gangland territory would be another hurdle, the people who resides there were not as corporative as the others. She didn't want to think about the villages and forests that were not searched yet. She did not even have enough men power to start with.

"I hoped he's not out of the country yet" Kurogane said tentatively. He would not rule out the possibility because Ashura is a man of resources. Than, it was also unlikely for that to happen since he was sure Ashura will not leave the country without finishing what he had started.

"No, I don't think it's possible. We have alerted the immigration department and activated the guards at the borders. He won't make it out so easily." Yuuko replied.

"I need to move Fay else where before I report back at the station." Kurogane said. He would need to find a place that had no connection to anyone Fay knows. The hotels were too public and the clear-house was an obvious target. He thought about his own place in the seaside suburb of Minato, it should be safe there, the address unrecorded in his profile with Japan National Police Force. It will do for now.

"Ok, let me know where you guys are when it's safe. We'll talk again." Yuuko hung up the phone. Her mind going into overdrive, the meeting with Touya had not gone well. He was livid that the escape had taken place. Now he will have to come up with a suitable explanation to justify his subordinates' complacency. Yuuko being his second in commend was directly in his line of fire. The resolution for their problem lies with her team and there was very little space for failure.

"Sucks to be me…" Yuuko grumbled as she grabbed her cell and car keys off her desk.

Souma will have to be called back in from her assignment in downtown Tokyo; some other team would be taking over the other cases under her. The thought of it did little to console her.

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Fay looked on anxiously and fidgeted nervously on his seat as Kurogane packed their luggage. He felt the fear that had settled deep inside, almost forgotten, now came surfacing up. He could not bear to think of what Ashura had in store for him now that he has escaped. The worst thing, Fay felt, was that he did not know who orchestrated the whole affair.

"Kuro…" he called out before he could stop himself. His body instinctively seeking out the only form of security he had come to recognize, "what do we do now?"

"Keep you safe…I'll keep you safe." Kurogane answered as he dropped the clothes he was holding in his hands and moved to stand infront of Fay, he tenderly cupped his cheeks and knelt down to look straight into his lover's eye "I won't let anything happen to you."

Fay's heart plunged as he felt an invisible hand clenched at it and a strange tugging sensation that he just cannot describe when Kurogane professed his possessiveness and concern over him. He understood the feelings well enough and after weeks of struggling with himself, he realized he was really falling for the detective. He could no longer categorize Kurogane as a partner that he chose on the rebound and that scares him immensely. He could not afford to be Kurogane's burden now with Ashura on the run and with his whereabouts unknown there was no guarantee on what could happen.

"Kuro, promise me that you'll think of yourself first…you're not obligated to sacrifice anything for me." Fay said as he lowered his eyes, not wanting to see the hurt in Kurogane's eyes. He knew what he was throwing away when he said it but it was better for him to distance himself from the fiery passions of Kurogane than to be burnt.

Kurogane tensed as he processed the sentence in his mind. It was obvious Fay was rejecting his affections and his want to commit to their relationship. He drew a deep breathe and removed his hands from those soft cheeks, composing himself before he acknowledged Fay's words.

"I know your heart was never mine to trespass in the first place but no matter…you own my…" He said as he stood up abruptly to continue packing the suitcase, his eyes blinking back tears he thought he would never shed for anyone…he never imagined falling in love could hurt that much. It hurt even more to know that the beautiful man he came to love in the past few weeks would never open up to him no matter what he did. He still naively thought a few days ago he had finally managed to chip off part of the ice block that was surrounding Fay's heart; he realized how foolish he was.

'You understood the silence of my heart, because you easily saw through the chaos surrounding it. But I'm sorry Kuro…I can't love you the way you want me too. You'll be happier without me in the long run. After this case is over, everything will be back to normal'. Fay thought silently, fighting off the feeling of foreboding deep within his being.