I'm so sorry that I've been inactive for so long! There were plenty of things that happened to me, but it's mostly because I had serious writer's block. It's been so long that I'm not even sure about my writing style anymore hahaha...

Yeah, so, I hope that this chapter sort-of-kinda-maybe makes up for the absence. Though, I'll admit that it may be a bit boring, but the next few chapters will be the facts getting laid out and all, so if you find this boring, I'm afraid this won't be the last one.

On a different tangent, I'll be updating CC soon - for those of you who read that too - so keep an eye out for it!


"Since your meeting with the President, Kaijou has come around on the merger. Our inside man says that the board isn't too happy about it, but whatever you offered them was enough to get a majority vote." Midorima went on to convey the rest of the summarised report, eyes never straying from the open folder he held. On the other side of the large mahogany desk, Akashi had one ear turned towards the green-haired man while he stared out the window that took up an entire wall of his office at the bustling metropolis at his feet.

Tokyo, he mused, was bristling with potential. The line between good and bad was blurred, like chalk on a pavement that had been walked over too many times. A man like himself could do a lot with a city like this, and he had not wasted any time in setting up all the necessary arrangements since leaving his father's shadow. Even though they were as closely related as any two people could be, there was a bitter rivalry between the two of them, born from years of unrealistic expectations and impossible demands. Akashi didn't exactly hate the man, but he addressed him solely by name, and that in itself was a strong indication of their relationship.

Midorima came to the end of his report, closing the folder with a rustle and raised an expectant face to his boss. Akashi did not hesitate.

"Tell our man in Kaijou to keep an ear peeled. There are a few members of the board that I'm sure are up to no good. Do not worry yourself over Touou, they may be rather difficult right now, but they are aware that it is in their best interest to go through with it. There will be some resistance over the terms, so get our lawyers to come up with another merger agreement that allows them conditional control over their subsidiaries, but ensure that all big decisions come from us."

His right hand man merely nodded, already cataloguing Akashi's orders in his head. After receiving his orders, Midorima stayed where he was, and pulled out a piece of paper from the back of his folder. The red head swivelled back towards him, eyebrow raised in askance.

"I looked into Kuroko Tetsuya and his acquaintances as you ordered," he began, nudging up his spectacles. "Would you like me to read it to you, or would you rather run through it yourself?"

Akashi gestured for the taller man to continue, silently noting that there was not very much information that could fit onto a single sheet of paper.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, age, twenty-six, profession, apothecarie. Possesses two doctorates in toxicology and botany and owns one of three licenses to operate an apothecary in Japan. His passport seems to have been used only twice before, once twenty years ago and another time recently to re-enter the country, but facial recognition has placed him in at least eighteen countries over the past decade. The injured man you met was one Kagami Taiga. Age, twenty-six. It seems he was admitted in the same hospital that you were in due to a broken leg from a motorcycle accident. He works as a chef in the Sheraton, but it seems that he was on path to become an engineer. He has a Masters in civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering. Like your man, his passport only shows one exit and entry into the country, but cameras have spotted him in many other countries, most of them being the same ones Kuroko has visited."

"The female is Momoi Satsuki. She works as a receptionist with Kuroko, but she is overqualified for the job. MBA, Ph.D in Economics, and a Masters in toxicology. There's no conceivable reason that she's working a desk job instead."

Akashi watched with his cheek resting against a fist as Midorima looked up at him, the unspoken signal that he had finished what he had to say.

"Is this all you've managed to gather?" He asked.

"Frankly, I believe they're all living under fake aliases. No matter how deep I dug there was no history on any of them, and their names do not come up in any other database besides immigration."

"What about that female, has she been seen outside of Japan?"

Midorima inclined his head. "According to the information I've collected, she was born and bred here and has only left the country once on a short visit to Singapore."

The redhead was quiet for a bit and then, "Perhaps it really was coincidence that he found me."

"But their circumstances are highly suspicious," Midorima argued, looking startled at his words.

"Indeed they are, but I have learned that if someone gives you a hand, they expect a whole arm in return," Akashi replied sardonically. "Kuroko Tetsuya is putting up a very strong resistance to my advances. It is rare to find someone who would refuse my protection."

"Perhaps he is pretending in order to dispel suspicion."

"Perhaps," the seated man acknowledged. "But if he is, then he is a spectacular actor."

xx

There was a light knock on the door that was opened after a five-second pause. Momoi stuck her head around the door with a bright smile.

"I brought you two some tea." She said, brandishing the tray proudly. It was piled high with cookies and cakes of various sorts along with three mugs of tea. She saw the slightly panicked look Kagami shot Kuroko and added drily, "It's all store bought, don't worry."

"Don't mind him, Momoi-san," Kuroko replied with a small tilt to his lips. "Thank you for the meal."

With an extra chair dragged in from the living room used as a makeshift table to hold the tray of food, the three settled comfortable on Kagami's huge bed, with the redhead tucked under the covers and propped up on a fluffy pile of pillows and Momoi and Kuroko on either side of him. The wall opposite the bed was bare but for a large TV mounted to it, and it was the reason that Kuroko was in Kagami's room in the first place. The movie was more than halfway through, but Momoi had already seen it before, and was content to just lounge back against the headboard and marvel at how soft the mattress was.

By the end of the movie, the tray was piled with empty mugs and plates, and Kuroko insisted on taking it off Momoi's hands. When he returned from washing the dishes, it was to find Momoi chattering animatedly about the previous movie while Kagami nodded along and injected a comment occasionally.

"So," Momoi said, as soon as Kuroko settled down on the now-vacant chair. "Akashi Seijuurou."

"You have compiled data on him?" Kuroko asked.

"Yeah, and it wasn't hard at all. Every one of my contacts had plenty to say about him. Apparently, he's the second-in-line to the proverbial throne. His grandfather built an empire in the tech industry way back in the day, and his father added some slightly shady dealings to fatten up the portfolio. Throw in an over-privileged, unloved only child, and you have an ambitious young man desperate to get out of daddy's shadow. He's doing a great job at making his own name, too. Currently, he rules underground Tokyo, and is working on several large mergers with other companies that specialize in the illegal."

"So he's a yakuza through and through," Kagami remarked, eyeballing Kuroko accusingly. The latter merely shrugged.

"Good deeds are not discriminatory."

"God damn it, Kuroko, how many times have I told you to stay out of trouble?" The injured man stabbed a finger at his friend. "I take my eyes off you for one minute and you disappear! Did you really have to follow him?"

"I couldn't let someone die just because of a wrong diagnosis," the other retorted, his usually soft voice becoming louder. "It was well within my ability to save his life."

"What's done is done," Momoi interrupted the argument before it could escalate further. The two of them had been fighting over the incident ever since Akashi's subordinates showed up at their clinic. She sympathised with Kuroko, but she had to agree with Kagami that it was becoming a real hassle.

"Momoi-san is right," Kuroko said, sounding calmer. "We need to find a way to get him to lay off."

"He told you that he wasn't gonna rest until he had you working for him, didn't he?"

"I think that he's doing this to protect himself from you," Momoi said with a small frown. "Your skills are rare, but not impossible to come across. If he wanted someone who could do what you did, he could go out and find any other apothecarie."

"They're not exactly flooding the streets," Kagami pointed out.

"You said he was second-in-line," Kuroko spoke up suddenly. "But he's an only child?"

"Well, he's technically an only child. He has a half-brother who was born out of wedlock."

"An illegal child is the heir to an empire?" The redhead raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "He must hate his brother's guts."

"Actually, it's quite the contrary. It seems that he looks up to his brother, and my sources say that he even goes to him for assistance."

"Great, so big brother is watching out for him." Kagami muttered under his breath.

Momoi grimaced, turning serious eyes towards Kuroko. "You need to take care of yourself, Tetsu-kun. If his true intention is really to keep you out of his competitors' reach, your safety will be nothing but collateral."

xx

A city like Tokyo never truly went to sleep. Even when the hustle and bustle died down, there were still the soft whispers of life that clung on, the chime of a convenience store door, the sudden burst of drunken laughter, or even the quiet shuffle of the homeless looking for a place to shelter. The sounds of the city blended together to form a mish-mashed symphony, incoherent and unappealing, yet completely familiar. With all of that going on, it was hardly worth noting the patter of hurried footsteps on the pavement.

The man ran, overcoat billowing out behind him like a cape, one hand clutching firmly at the hat atop his head that was trying its best to escape. He looked like any other man who was rushing to meet the last train. No doubt he lived too far away to walk on foot. It wasn't long before his pants could be heard, short and erratic. They almost drowned out the sound of his feet hitting the ground. He glanced around him as he travelled, not willing to risk stopping.

He didn't know how far back his pursuer was.

There was a small alleyway that ended on a right turn, and his adrenaline-injected brain informed him that perhaps there was a place down the dark and narrow street he could hide in until it was safe. He leaned to the side, nearly tripping as he stumbled into the alleyway and chanced a glance back towards the brightly lit street he had left behind.

Nothing.

Still not feeling very assured, he continued to run, following the turns of the small backstreets, drawing only mild interest from the various scatterings of people who happened to be there. He heard no sound of pursuit. It was like a huge maze, and he soon found himself in an area that barely looked like it was a part of Japan. He came to a halt when he took a turn down to a dead end. His eyes darted around at the three walls surrounding him. There was no way up for him. He spun around to leave, but slammed heavily into a body that was less than a step behind him.

This time when he tripped, he really did fall, and he landed hard on his tailbone. His hat tipped backwards off his head and landed on the littered ground behind him. Terrified, he looked up at the man before him who looked unaffected by the fact that someone had just run into him. The man raised a gloved hand to his mouth, and he noticed that it held a half-smoked cigar. He slipped it between his teeth, lips curled away from the butt of the cigar. There was the sound of a long inhale, and seconds ticked by before it was followed with an exhale.

"Please," he whispered, his voice hoarse from the exertion. "I don't want to die."

The hand not holding onto the cigar rose slowly and he found himself staring into the barrel of a gun, equipped with a silencer. The shot was barely audible, as was the sound of the lifeless body hitting the asphalt. Dark eyes were wide open, and a little trickle of blood was beginning to pool in their sockets from the tiny wound just above the eyebrows. The cigar travelled upwards again, and the puff this time was longer.

He took another, shorter puff for good measure and then tossed the stick down beside the body. Readjusting his gloves, he walked leisurely until he was out in the main street and then reached for his phone.

xx

When Kise rolled out of the bed, the first thing he did as he sat up was reach for his phone. The burst of light from it blinded him momentarily, and he struggled to read the time through squinted eyes. It was four a.m., later than he had expected. He looked around the hotel room he was in, trying to distinguish his clothes from the dark objects scattered around the room. It had been a while since he'd last felt so much passion. It was fortunate for him that his partner was experienced, and had been just as eager to check into a hotel room.

Twisting around, he gazed at the chiselled back of the man who was sleeping soundly on the other end of the king-sized bed. With the meagre light streaming in through the gaps in the curtains, he let his eyes wander over the bare skin of the other man. It was almost a surprise to him that there were so many people in Japan who were dark-skinned. He'd never really noticed until he started working with one of them. His hair was cropped short, and the dark strands had felt just as luxurious as they looked.

The phone in his hand lit up and began to buzz, shocking him out of his admiration of the other man. As he lifted the device up to his ear, he was already pulling on his boxers which had been discarded at the foot of the bed.

"Yes, Aominecchi?" He listened to the man on the other end of the line repeat orders from Akashi with the phone tucked between his ear and shoulder while he bustled about, looking for his clothes. "Okay, I'll be there in twenty."

Fully dressed, he paused with a hand on the handle, contemplating the figure that had not budged once in all that time. Running a hand through golden locks, he let out a soft sigh and opened the door with a click.

xx

"Preliminary reports say that the victim was an employee of Kaijou Corporation. He was shot dead in an alleyway some distance away from the main street of Kinshicho. Witnesses claim that they saw the man running and had assumed that he was headed to the train station…"

"Good morning, Kagamin." Momoi greeted drowsily, shuffling into the living room and plopping down on the couch beside the redhead. Kagami merely grunted in reply, too caught up in the news report on TV.

"The unofficial word is that the cause of death is a bullet through the head. There has also been no sign of workable evidence, aside from what appears to be a partially smoked cigar that was left beside the body…."

"It is a surprise to see you awake this early, Momoi-san," Kuroko's monotone voice startled the two occupants of the couch, who looked up at the newcomer guiltily. Hastily, Kagami fumbled for the remote, but was stopped by Kuroko who shook his head. "I've already heard it."

"The company has expressed regret over the death of one of their own, and has vowed to pursue every avenue available to bring the perpetrator to justice. He leaves behind a widow and two children."

Silence filled the room as the newscaster ended her report and another headline flashed across the screen. Kagami turned the TV off, and exchanged glances with Momoi.

"This is the fourth one," Kuroko murmured softly, a furrow between his brows the only indication to how troubled he was feeling.

"You don't know that it's the same person," Momoi piped up. "It could be a coincidence."

"We all know that it's not a coincidence," Kuroko replied, staring off into the distance. "A headshot, a cigar, they'll obviously find the same initial on the bullet, and even the fact that the man was from Kaijou."

"What does his employer have to do with this?" Kagami interrupted, looking confused.

"Kaijou is one of the big corporations that Akashi is dealing with. That means that their operations are not exactly legal." Momoi explained, looking apprehensively at the blue-eyed man. His expression was vacant, as though he was completely lost in thought.

"Akashi deals with Kaijou…" he muttered out loud, tilting his head as he contemplated the same spot on the wall. "Perhaps I should accept his proposal."

"What?!" Kagami erupted, jumping to his feet before he recalled that one of them was in a cast. With a yelp and a curse, he fell back onto the couch, trying hard to focus on something other than the pain blooming in his leg.

"This killer has been going after members of mafia groups. If I were to work with Akashi, then I will be able to get closer to him."

"That's dangerous, Tetsu-kun," the pink-haired woman shook her head violently. "You could get killed."

Kuroko smiled slightly at his friend. "My safety is not the highest priority right now."

"If you do this, you could expose us," Kagami pointed out.

The other man shrugged. "I'm sure he's already found out by now that our aliases do not exist. We were not meant to stay for so long anyway."

"I'm not talking about that kind of exposure," the redhead retorted. "You know the protocol. If anyone finds out about us, things would get really messy."

"I am aware of that, Kagami-kun," Kuroko answered. He returned the probing look he received from the taller man. "It is a risk I am willing to take."

xx

"Our inside man has been terminated," Midorima's voice was distorted by the static over the phone. Akashi hummed in reply, not particularly surprised by the development. He sat up and leaned back against his headboard, and put down the book he had been reading before the call. The lights were all off but for a lamp on his bedside table. "A single head wound. He was found in a deserted part of Kinshicho."

"Has there been any word from Kaijou?"

"No one is taking credit for it yet, but I believe that it was a group of the senior directors who were not too happy with the merger," Midorima went on, "It appears that they hired the Phantom."

Akashi raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Shintarou, but I recall that you told me that the Phantom did not exist."

"It's true, he doesn't exist. Not on any database, anyway."

"The explain to me how a ghost is able to put a bullet through the brain of one of my men." Akashi said sharply. Midorima was silent on the other end of the line. Akashi sighed.

"Get Daiki and Ryouta on this right away. We need eyes and ears on the inside. Tell Ryouta to make use of his contacts inside Kaijou. Touou may have played a part in this, so get Daiki to do the same there. Get on the Phantom's trail. I do not like having an adversary I do not know about out on the streets."

"Yes, Akashi."

"Shintarou," Akashi called out before the line could be cut.

"Yes, Akashi?"

Red and gold eyes stared upward at the ceiling as he weighed his options before he answered. "Schedule an appointment with Kuroko Tetsuya tomorrow morning."

His right hand man said nothing for a few seconds. His silence conveyed a lot of what he thought of the order. "Yes, Akashi."

Akashi hung up, and settled back under the covers. His bed felt too large sometimes, especially on nights such as this when his insomnia was rampant. He had not slept for ninety-seven hours. He was thirty-six hours away from beating his personal best. His lips quirked upwards in a sardonic smirk at the thought. The herbal concoction that Kuroko had brewed for him while he was in the hospital had left him feeling refreshed, and was the only reason the blue-eyed man was not six feet under.

Akashi needed him alive, at least for the time being. His aptitude with poisons would also prove useful. There were plenty of people out there who wanted him dead. Akashi was aware that he was an obstacle for many of his rivals, one that was not easily scaled. He had worked hard to make it so, and he had no intention of making things any easier for them.

Picking up the book, he flipped to the page he had stopped at and continued reading.


P.S. Despite being away from writing for so long, I think I've more or less gotten the hang of it again. I hope.

Do let me know what you think! I love reading the comments from my readers, and the criticism really helps me improve on the flaws. Plus it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, hahaha /shot/