Chapter 4:

Blasts of gun fire all of a sudden erupted. They felt hollow as it did not make it to the cell room very clearly, but Kurishima knew it had to be Asami.

"Takaba! Takaba! Wake up!" Kurishima slid over to the bars, in this darkness he couldn't see anything. He couldn't even tell if time had passed quickly or slowly. He could only guess that he had been here roughly a day. To be honest, he was surprised that Asami had made it so early. It had taken Kurishima two days just to find this play.

He didn't even hear a single muffle on Akihito's end. Suddenly the door to their room was being opened and the light flashed on. Kurishima had to cover his eyes as it was too painful.

"Alright, you little slut. If I can't have Asami, no one can," Mika's hair was tousled and she scrambled to open Akihito's door. How the hell had Asami found them! Her guards were distracting Asami. She was about to flee when she remembered this little vermin.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Kurishima yelled from across the hall. His eyes had adjusted some and he was able to see into Takaba's cell. He was laying on the ground. Kurishima saw as Akihito opened his eyes, they opened with fear when he saw Mika climb over him. He was powerless against her. His body, was in so much pain that parts of him were numb. He couldn't see clearly. Mika seemed to be in 3D, that every movement of hers jumped out at Akihito. Akihito blocked his hands above his face, but she pushed his arm back.

"I prepared this on my way down here. It's more than enough, don't you think." Akihito's eyes bugled at the syringe, and as much as he wanted to push her away, he also did not fight her.

"Takaba! Move dammit!" Kurishima's words were getting nowhere with him. What was wrong with him!? Why wasn't he even responding! Fine, he thought, "Asami!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Asami! We're down here!"

"Perfect," Mika said. She abandoned the needle and stood. She stared at Akihito for a moment. "Well I wish we could have been better acquainted, but you know, a girls gotto go." She left but not before locking the cell door. The thought of having Asami watch as his little mouse drowned to death in his own saliva, unable to even touch his body, appealed greatly to her. She didn't even look at Kurishima as she headed in the opposite direction of which she came.

"Takaba!" Kurishima yelled, both his knuckles were sheet white as they clung to the bars.

It was happening fast, Akihito started to lose the ability to breathe. "Takaba! Asami! We are down here," Kurishima's attention was divided by Takaba's and the hurried footsteps heading this way. He started to hear the gasps from Takaba, and only then did he realize just what Mika had done. "Fuck! Takaba, turn on your side! Can you hear me! Takaba!"

Asami heard the shouts coming from down the hall. It was Kurishima. He came then to a hall where the noise was strongest.

"Asami! Down here! Call an ambulance." Asami moved down the steps and he ran. He first saw Kurishima who was staring across from him at the other cell. It felt like time had moved so slowly as he moved in front of the cell. He didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this.

"Akihito!" Asami yelled and tried once to pull at the bar but nothing. He took out his gun, and shot at the lock. The first time didn't do anything, so he did it twice more. Suoh came rushing in just as Asami opened Akihito's cell door.

"Call an ambulance!" Kurishima yelled at Suoh. Suoh reached for his phone when suddenly Asami stopped him.

"No, it will be too late. We will take him. Just warn the hospital that we are coming!" Asami said, without any regard to stop and open the door for Kurishima, Asami scooped Akihito up in his arms and ran back the way he came. "Akihito," was all he could say over and over again as he carried Akihito's mangled body back to the car. "Akihito, stay with me," he said as he set him in the car, he had Akihito sit up as best he could and he turned his face to the side to prevent him from choking. Akihito was gagging, and struggled with each new breath to breathe. His mouth was foaming, he couldn't move. The car was moving now.

"Asami, we are ten minutes from the nearest hospital," the driver said.

"Make it five!" Asami barked out while he continued to support Akihito's head. Asami's heart was pounding. He was so terrified!

"Akihito, it will be alright, just breathe," Asami said. As the car made swift turns Asami struggled to keep Akihito's head elevated. If he dies, … Asami couldn't think like that. He wouldn't allow himself to. He stared at Akihito's face, it was starting to turn sheet white, with a touch of blue. Akihito suddenly lurched forward and coughed up a lot of foam and saliva, before leaning back. Akihito couldn't see. Everything was too blurry, and it was starting to get dark. "No! No! no, I won't let you leave me!" Asami said, his voice trailing off. He started to look at Akihito, really look at him. They had beat him far much more since he had received the picture of him three days ago. In just one week, Akihito's body had turned into this.

The car slammed on the breaks. "We are here Asami," the driver said. During the ride Asami had taken off his coat to cover Akihito's body. Just as the car jolted to a stop, he opened the door and lifted Akihito out, running to the entrance. There were people waiting for him with a gurney.

Asami put Akihito onto the gurney and stepped forward only to be blocked by a nurse. He was pushing Asami back, not allowing him to move inside. He had said something but Asami didn't hear anything, it was his driver that came up to him and rested his hand on his arm before Asami quit resisting the nurse.

"Asami-sama, let's go wait inside," the driver said. Asami watched as the emergency doors closed, they had made a turn with Akihito before that happened, and he could no longer see him.

"Is Kurishima alright?" Asami asked, but still his attention was elsewhere. His fists were clenched. He wanted so badly to punch something.

"I'll call right now."

"Thank you," Asami said and still continued to remain by the doors.

"It would be better if you waited inside boss," he said while he put the phone up to his ear.

"You are right," Asami let go of the breath he was holding and turned around to the main entrance.

"Boss, they are almost here. It looks like besides receiving a beating, and a broken arm and leg, Kurishima will be alright."

Asami just nodded. He was happy that his subordinate was okay. When he hadn't heard from Kurishima at the appointed time they had said to make contact, Asami knew something must have happened, and feared the worst. They walked into the waiting room and he sat down. Kurishima arrived, was treated and sitting next to him after a couple of hours. There was still no news about Akihito.

Suoh had taken guard by the main entrance while Kurishima rested is a wheel chair not far from his boss. Even now, Kurishima observed, Asami's hands were shaking. Asami looked over at him then, noticing his stare.

"I can't seem to stop," he said. "Silly, isn't it." But Kurishima didn't respond, instead he rolled over to the water fountain and took up a glass to hand it to Asami. "You always know what I need Kurishima." Asami gave him a empty smile.

"I've been with you for a long time, sir."

"Who did this to him? Yuri couldn't have been acting alone. I saw him at the entrance. He stayed and shot a few rounds but then managed to get away. Do you know if they caught him?"

"They didn't. But boss, you will never believe who was the one to take Akihito." He had Asami's full attention now. "It was Mika."

That loathsome bitch, Asami thought, but he didn't say anything aloud. However, Kurishima knew exactly what he was feeling. He watched as Asami's eyes darkened. "Mikhail gave me his word that he wasn't involved with this," Asami spat.

"If I might say sir, I don't think he knew anything about it."

"I want to know. Not to think. Whether he was or not decide his fate."

"Understood. I will order a full investigation. One of the men from the video was killed, and the other is still alive. He is actually in one of the rooms. He was shot in the gut, and hand."

"I will speak with him."

"Understood."

"Which one was it?" Asami hesitated to ask. The thought that he now held one of the men that had soiled his Akihito, sent venom in his veins.

"I believe it is the man in the beginning of the video." It didn't really make a difference, and yet somehow it did. Just from the video Asami knew that the first one was more vicious than the other. The one that terrified him though, was the one that slipped through his fingers now for the second time. Asami didn't want to know what horrors Yuri had done to Akihito.

It was another hour before a doctor came out and met with Asami. Asami quickly stood up and he was guided into a room where Akihito lay in bed. A mask connected to a tube was strapped around his nose and mouth, an IV to his arm.

Asami walked straight up to him and grabbed his hand, stroking his thumb across the top. He stood there for a moment, waiting for the doctor to start speaking.

"There was some damage done by the drugs, it created a lack of oxygen in the brain and he has slipped into a coma," the doctor said this and paused as he watched Asami continue to rub Akihito's hand.

"Go on, what else."

"With these things, we never know how long the coma will last for, it could be a day, or it could be weeks, possibly longer. We will know in the next couple days a bit more. I am afraid though, that if he doesn't wake up in the next couple days, there is a chance that the coma could last for a long time. As soon as he is a bit more stable we will change the mask around him for a tube that will be inserted down his throat. The IV strip is also working on flushing out the drugs. According to his blood work, he has been being given a high dosages fairly often, in addition to the larger amount that has put him in this state."

"And."

"And, he has a severely torn rectum, that will take a long time to heal. I had to stitch a part of the sphincter which may cause problems when he has a bowel movement the next. There is potential scarring on his butt. Someone had carved a word into him with a knife. We cleaned the wound, and with constant care and applicable cream, the scarring should be fairly minimal. Then there is-"

"What was carved into him?" Asami asked, he hadn't noticed this earlier.

The doctor hesitated before answering, "The word slut." Asami cringed.

"He is not a slut."

The doctor didn't reply to this, knowing that no matter what he would say, it would not make the man feel better. "He has lost quite a bit of blood. Two of his toes were cut off," Asami knew this already but didn't respond to the comment. "Then there is the bruising, and welts on his back, backside, and face, which some have even opened his skin. Those should have no problem recovering though. He has edema around his neck, along with yellow bruising. It appears he was strangled a day or two ago. Aside from the beatings Takaba Akihito took, and the other areas I mentioned, his body should mostly heal. Just give it time." The doctor paused and waited.

"Thank you," was all Asami could say. He was biting his lower lip which he had never done before, and his body started to shake again. He had been strangled? It must have been Yuri. It was Yuri the last time as well.

"I have a general understanding of what has happened to this man, and granted there are no bullet wounds, so I am not obligated to report this to the authorities, nor will I. However, when he does wake, Takaba Akihito will have to go through some changes. He may not be the man you once knew, nor may he ever be the same again."

Tears then started to not just form in Asami's eyes, but they fell down his face.

"But, as long as you stay with him, help him to recover, I am sure that your lives will go back to the way they were," the doctor let out a breath. Staring at this broken man before him, it looked like not only Takaba would need to recover but so would this man. "If you need anything, the nurses are right outside, down the hall." And with that he took his leave.

Asami let go of Akihito's hand for just a moment and brought the chair next to him, before returning to caressing his hand. "You heard that Akihito," Asami wipped his face. "You'll be better in no time. And I will be here. Always."