Author's Note: Here is the second chapter that was promised! This needs to hold all of you down so that I can write more now. Hopefully next week I can post more since I'm burnt out on Harry Potter right now, tbh.

As always and was stated in the last chapter, I write this for me, but post because I want to and know people are reading. If I get reviews and PMs, then I know you're reading and then I'll post more. Nothing sucks more than taking the time to edit and post a story to have it feel like a ghost town and the potential that everyone hates it!

Thank you all for reading, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only own Haruka and Osiris Brethren, Voltage owns everything else.

Complications: my claim to fame

And I can't believe there's another

Constantly just another

Can't avoid what I can't control

And I'm losing ground, still I can't stand down...

Chaos - MuteMath

Chapter Six: Haruka

Haruka walked through the penthouse doors her long day of work done. However, she felt like her evening would be even longer. The appearance of a girl in Soryu's suite tonight peaked her curiosity and completely bewildered her; the man wasn't known for keeping company, especially within his own living space. The girl had mentioned Baba and Ota and, while she knew they were both out until later if not the next day, she could chat up Eisuke and see what he would tell her. She was only gone two weeks and secrets were already being kept from her. She didn't like secrets.

There was evidence of life in the lounge with Mamoru sitting on the couch, reading a packet of papers. It was a rare moment when she didn't see a cigarette in his hand, lit and ashing away. It was dinnertime, but the possibility of Eisuke out of the penthouse still was very real. When she walked into the sitting area, Mamoru looked up and gave her a curt nod before returning to his papers.

"You have a funny look on our face, girly."

Haruka's hands stilled over the mess she was starting to compulsively tidy, surprised that the detective was paying her any attention. Then again, she really shouldn't have been. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, his hands shook just a little. Like he was attempting to fight the urge to reach for his smokes. "You look like you need to ask questions. And it also looks like I'm the only one here right now. Eisuke won't be back until closer to eight, by the way." His eyes seemingly didn't leave his papers as he talked to her.

Not one to pass an opportunity, Haruka jumped on his veiled offer. "Why is there a woman in Soryu's suite?!" When Kishi only raised a brow at her exclamation, she huffed. "What exactly happened while I was gone? Why do you all get into trouble when I'm not here?"

Kishi rolled his eyes, finally looking up to make eye contact with her. "Things were business as usual, for the most part. Don't be so dramatic." He stuffed his papers in a manila envelope and gave her more of his attention. "So, long story short. There was an auction and Oh bought her."

Haruka's eyes bulged out of her head, surprise, outrage, and confusion lit in them. Kishi scooted back in his seat, knowing her feelings on the auctions: she hated them. It was understandable, after all. She'd nearly been sold at one a year ago, only to be rescued by the most unlikely knight in shining armor of all. Eisuke himself. She ran into a sticky situation in the hotel basement and in retribution, some low level thugs tried to put her on the block. But Eisuke's strict rules of consent foiled their greedy plans and Haruka avoided the gilded cage. In exchange for saving her, Eisuke had proposed a deal of sorts with her: she be at his beck and call for three months, including become the primary maid for the penthouse. She'd barely accepted his offer before he'd called up the trained monkey of a hotel manager and gotten her a pager and penthouse elevator key. When her mandatory three months were over, Eisuke told her to continue cleaning the penthouse and that effective immediately, they would be dating.

If nothing else, this had shocked Mamoru the most. The fact that Eisuke wanted to date a maid when his usual type was leggy models. What was especially surprising was that he dated a woman with a personality; Haruka had opinions, dressed how she liked, and even talked back to Eisuke. Eisuke took it sometimes, too. Ichinomiya had definitely changed since dating the Tres Spades maid and, with his common eyes, Mamoru could tell it had mellowed the man out. Despite all the talks and coaxing done with Haruka over the auctions between the five men, none of them had been able to get her on board with the idea of them. There were moments when they knew some things got through to her, but then there were others when she refused to come to the penthouse for a few days and Ichinomiya would be missing afterward, too.

"Ain't none of my business why he has her. All I know is, she was mixed up in shit she shouldn't have been and now she's here with us." Mamoru said after watching Eisuke's woman over analyze the thought of Soryu buying a woman. "She's a clever kid. A bit skittish but reminds me a little of you."

"You've met her, talked with her and stuff?"

"Just a couple times, but nothing big. I'm not really welcome near Oh's things, now am I?" He shrugged. "Baba and Kisaki spend more time with her, especially since Oh has been too busy to keep an eye on her. Ice Dragon business. In fact, I haven't seen him around here in almost a week."

Haruka tapped her chin in thought, mulling over the ideas already bouncing in her brain. "Do you think Eisuke or Soryu would be mad if I went over to see her?"

"Nah. I think the thought while you were gone was for you two to get to know each other and get friendly. She'll be here a while, from what I gather."

Standing, Mamoru stretched and picked up his packet of papers. "Gotta go report. See you around, kid." He pat Haruka's head, knowing she'd scowl and try to hit him, and dodged her fist. "The woman's name is Suzumi, apparently," he added as he walked out.

Left on her own to think about what the detective told her, Haruka glanced at the door, then her watch. It was nearly seven thirty, which meant, if Eisuke said he'd be back at eight like Mamoru hinted, he'd be home at seven fifty-nine. Slinking up the stairs to the 52nd floor, she decided the best course of action was to think about the girl next door as she showered for the evening.

/*\

It was one in the morning when Suzumi heard a noise from her bedroom.

The sound of the door shutting harshly on the frame, chatter, and the sound of something solid hitting the ground twice. She had become so accustomed to practically living on her own as of late, her immediate thought hadn't been that it was Soryu finally coming back. So when she tiptoed into the living room and peaked around the corner to see the mob boss sprawled on the couch, it was a shocking sight. Especially since he usually seemed to be more more graceful and put together than he did in this moment.

Suit jacket off and thrown to the side, Soryu was slumped on the couch looking every inch ruffled. His navy shirt was wrinkled, tie loosened impossibly so, and hair ruffled. Everything very much the opposite of his usually polished and slick self. His legs were slack and spread, arms draped on the back of the couch, and eyes closed in hopes to get a moment's peace.

She hadn't realized it, but her body had been tense at the thought of someone there other than herself. But upon seeing Soryu's wrung out form, she immediately relaxed and cocked her head to the side in bewilderment. There was no way he'd be this casual around her. Did he forget she was here?

"Soryu?" she whispered cautiously.

Right away, his head popped up, eyes wide open, looking for the source of his name. When his eyes landed on her, he sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Hello, Suzumi. Why aren't you in bed?"

"I heard a noise. Turns out it was you coming home."

Soryu grunted in acknowledgement to her story. "Go back to bed. I'll be going in a couple minutes myself."

She tempted fate against his order for just a moment or two, taking in his form again. His body spoke of exhaustion. With a sigh, she turned to head back to her room, but paused for a moment to ask, "Are you back now?"

There was a long silence before he answered her. So long that she thought he'd fallen asleep in his seat. But he answered, still. "Yes. Hopefully. As much as I like my family, I'm sick of seeing them."

Soryu eyed her as she silently turned back around and closed the door to her assigned room. He'd been gone too long for his liking and he was worried about Suzumi's mindset. While he didn't consider himself cruel by any means, he hoped she didn't think she could take rule of the suite and defy him. He would need to check in with Eisuke tomorrow anyhow, so then he would have a conversation with Ota and Baba on the state of his live-in acquisition. There was no point in denying the two had been paying her visits, and for that he was glad. It kept her occupied and the two of them out of his business. The only part he dreaded tomorrow was running into Haruka after so long; she was going to give him an earful over buying the girl, but hopeful the others would have prepared her since her homecoming.

/*\

Suzumi slept late, later than usual and it threw off the schedule she'd created for herself since the last time she'd seen Soryu come home. Being startled awake seemed to pump adrenaline through her veins and pushed her mind to overwork itself until she faded off just before dawn. So naturally it was a surprise when Eisuke Ichinomiya barged in her room with an annoyed look on his face and was followed by a frowning Haruka.

"I don't like to be kept waiting," he huffed, staring down at Suzumi, arms crossed as he stood at the food of her bed.

Trying to clear the fog of sleep from her mind, Suzumi croaked, "Wait. What?" She sat up completely and took in the sight of the impatient man and maid beside him.

"Eisuke, she was sleeping. She wasn't ignoring you," Haruka said, scolding.

"It's nearly eleven, are you just lazy or does Soryu let you sloth about every day?" Eisuke chose to ignore his girlfriend and continued to glare

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you or any visitors and... Wait, it's eleven already?!"

Haruka nodded and smiled. "We came by to see if you wanted to spend time with me today. Being with Baba and Ota all the time must be wearing thin, so I thought a change of pace will be nice."

"Um." Not sure how to respond, Suzumi mentioned her first rule. "I'm not allowed to leave the suite without Soryu..."

"Soryu has granted permission for you to come to the penthouse lounge and spend time with Haruka. I just had to escort you there." Eisuke added the last bit as though it pained him. "Soryu will take you back with him when he finishes tonight." He nearly stomped the room, leaving the two women alone.

"Let's hurry and get dressed? He'll only wait so long before he starts yelling and threatening." Haruka winked and threw open the closet in Suzumi's room.

/*\

The first time, and effectively the only time, Suzumi had been in the penthouse lounge was when she was brought up by Ota and Baba after the auctions. It stood to reason that she hadn't had a good look between worrying over what had happened and what was to come. She was grateful that the room was empty other than the three of them, it afforded her a chance to look and take in the massive decor. Eisuke, upon shutting the door to the hall, warned he would be upstairs in his 52nd floor room taking business calls.

"If you try to escape, Soryu will know and immediately put you down. Don't disturb me."

Haruka didn't take notice of his words, only rolling her eyes and shooing him away. Suzumi was a tad impressed, even before the recent treatment she'd received with the Soumas, she didn't think she could have the confidence to ignore his tsundre personality and demands. It was a few minutes before she was able to reel in her curiosity and come sit next to the smaller woman, who was pouring herself tea.

"What would you like, Suzumi?"

"Tea is fine, thanks... Is he always like that?"

Haruka laughed. "Oh yes. He has moments otherwise when we're alone, but for the most part, he's demanding, cold, and ruthless. But I suppose that's why he's successful." She gave the steaming cup to her and sat back. "Let's relax a little, then we can order lunch. I don't get many days like this, so you'll indulge me?"

Suzumi nodded and listened to Haruka talk about anything that came to mind. As she spoke, she seemed to calm down and move less. This was something Suzumi wasn't really used to in her interactions with her. She usually was always moving tidying, speaking with her hands; but now she was relaxed into the sofa and speaking softly.

"Do you have any questions about anything? Baba likes to play mysterious secret keeper but he knows there are things he can't share. Same with Ota. I have only so much I can tell you, too, but I can be more honest and unbiased than the guys." Haruka held her mug close and eyed Suzumi.

Suzumi thought about her situation and these new people in her life. She had a lot of questions, but from her experience the last few months, she knew questions got you killed. Still.

"Why are you dating Eisuke Ichinomiya? You two are an... Odd couple."

Haruka laughed. "Yeah. It's funny. Did anyone tell you how I met them and came to know about the auctions?" Suzumi shook her head. "Well I work here, obviously. I ended up in the I.V.C. party by accident, and stumbled into some shady dealings. The thugs wanted to put me up for auctions, but as they tried to put me in the cage, Soryu and Eisuke appeared. They must have been watching the cameras, because Eisuke grabbed me and left them to Soryu after telling them human auctions required consent. Which they do, and I'll bring that back up later, believe me." She eyed the woman in front of her critically. "Eisuke brought me up here and between the five of them, they agreed it was okay for me to know about the auctions in exchange for being the penthouse maid so they could keep an eye on me. In those months, I just saw Eisuke differently, the sides he doesn't really show anyone else. He's a good guy, he's just shrewd and cunning. I like to think I'm friends with the others too. Though I know there's parts of their lives and jobs I just won't get or know, I'm closer to them than most other people. They're all a private group of men."

Suzumi watched as Haruka smiled at the thought of the penthouse men. She thought Baba and Ota were okay, though Ota liked teasing and trying to embarrass her and Baba was always flirting. Her experience with the cop was limited, due to whatever mutual hate existed between him and Soryu, but he seemed a half way decent sort. He'd noticed she hated guns, after all. Eisuke was just as Haruka described him; shrewd. He had little patience but the times she had interacted with him, he had shown worry in the crease of his brow and the bend of his mouth. For a cold man like him, she was impressed he showed concern for her so visibly. And Soryu. He was a completely different mob man than her previous experiences and assumptions had led her to believe. So perhaps Haruka was right.

"Now. About that consent thing." The chill in the maid's voice blew over Suzumi, making her freeze. Glancing at her, she flinched. "You allowed yourself to be sold. Why?"

She hesitated. Was it okay to tell her? She was part of the inner circle that Soryu belonged to. Hedging her bets, she went with what her gut was telling her to do. "It was either let them sell me or die. I had been kidnapped by a boy, young man named Ren. He is the son and heir to a crime syndicate in Tokyo and Kyoto. His father hated me and my presence so he ordered his thugs to get rid of me permanently. They were greedy and sold me instead to make extra cash."

Suzumi looked up, surprised at the expression on Haruka's face. Instead of pity or sadness, a dark rage seemed to be spreading. Mouth drawn tight in a frown, she seemed to be staring beyond Suzumi with hooded eyes. "Haruka?"

"I'll kill them."

"What?!"

"If Soryu doesn't kill them, I will." She grabbed Suzumi's hands and squeezed them. Bringing herself to the present, she looked her squarely in the eyes. "I promise. We'll set it right."

Not knowing what to say, Suzumi blinked rapidly and averted her eyes. Sensing her discomfort, the other woman gave her hands one last squeeze before letting go and standing.

"Let's order lunch. We can even order out of the hotel if you'd like. Kenzaki would bring it up."

Twenty minutes later, the two were settled back into their seats, food promptly brought from one of the hotel restaurants instead of the usual kitchens. There was small talk, mostly initiated by Haruka, and for the first time in months, Suzumi didn't feel like she had a blade waiting to take off her head. There were a few times when she felt the cold eyes of Eisuke watching them from the top of the stairs silently, but she chose to ignore him, as did Haruka. These moments only lasted a minute or two, reminding her of a parent checking in on children.

The penthouse door swung open a few hours later while both women were watching a movie on the large television screen. Haruka didn't seem concerned, but she did pause the screen and look to see who was back. Suzumi, on the other hand, seemed to hold her breath and train her eyes to the doorway.

Soryu seemed surprised to see both women watching him as he walked in, though the look was quickly replaced with his blank and cool stare. "We're going back to the room soon, Suzumi. Where is Eisuke?"

"I'm up here."

Before Suzumi or Haruka could answer, the man in question appeared once more at the top of the stairs. He beckoned the mobster up, not sparing a glance at the others.

"Well, I guess that's the end of that for today." Haruka turned off the tv and smiled at Suzumi. "We can do this again soon, hopefully. We behaved this time, so Soryu shouldn't have a problem." She winked.

"This time? Haruka, try not to be a bad influence on Soryu's woman." Eisuke called out, taking the stairs down as he spoke. Soryu was directly behind him, scowling at the man's back.

Suzumi stood and waited for Soryu to come closer, to see if he wanted her to follow. Her eyes were glued on his movements and facial expressions. Haruka took note of this and filed it away for comment later.

"Let's go, Suzumi. We need to talk."

The girl hurried to catch up with Soryu, who had barely slowed down upon coming up to the couch. His long legs took him to the door of the penthouse in no time, where he waited for Suzumi. He took her wrist and guided her out the door to their suite.

Haruka bit back a grin and glanced over at Eisuke, who stood next to her. His hands were in his pockets and his face was blank, save for a raised brow. "So, what did you guys talk about?"

"Stuff. Let's go."

Haruka watched the glint appear in his eye and took a step back. "Why?" Her grin intensified.

"Not sure what you did to her yet, but I already know you need to be punished."