Side chapter: Chibi Asami!
In a high rise full floor suit apartment silvery clouds hover around the windows, pressing against the reinforced glass. As if it can sink into the apartment through the walls, small amount mist gather nearby the largest window. Slowly the mist streams in a line through the apartment, twining down the hall to the large dark bedroom with only one occupant. The large bed was covered in black and dark silver blankets. Under the blanket stirred a handsome black haired man, face twitching slightly in his attempt to awakening.
"Trapped, Asami Ryuichi. You're trapped, helpless to defend yourself. How does it feel Ryuichi, to be held down against your will and made helpless?" A voice neither female nor male, but a mix of both overlaid in sync echoes in the room. That voice, which seemed so familiar to Asami, was sharp with anger. "How dare you harm my child? Do you think that you are immune to repercussion? If Akihito didn't find you so interesting I would kill you." The voice sighs, as if bewildered but resigned to the situation. "As it stands I need to find another way to punish you. So I have decided that you need a taste of helplessness. Enjoy this Ryuichi; this is for your benefit as well as your punishment." The voice grew silent, but the pressure of its presence grew heavier. Asami felt cool moist brush of the mist against his skin under the covers. His heart races, as he tries to fight against the pressure of the power holding him captive. The mist became colder numbing his outer skin, sinking into his body right down to his bones. Piercing pain ricochet through his body, but pride and the mist's pressure prevent him from crying out.
"Asami…" The mixed voice whispers now, fading away as the pressure relents. Warmth begins to recover in his body, warmth that chases away the pain and numbness of the cold the mist brought upon him.
Asami hears a muffled knock out beyond his bedroom; the knock seems to originate from the front entrance. 'Souh!' Asami thinks, willing his subordinate to his side. The sound of footsteps making their way to the bedroom gives Asami something to focus on as the receding mist leaves him is a state of exhaustion.
"Asami…" The voice is barely heard now, almost disappearing from the room. That quiet word sounds familiar, 'Akihito,' Asami thinks, 'the voice sounds similar to Akihito's'
"Asami-sama!" Souh's voice replaces the mist's last word with his own. "Are you alright Asami-sama?" Souh was at the door now, waiting for permission before entering.
"Get in here!" Asami tries to shout, but the sound that he hears is not his own, the pitch is too high, and the sound is not loud enough. Surprise gives him renewed vigor and he sits up, feeling his blanket bunch up around his chest.
The door swings open, revealing Souh with his gun drawn, "Asami-sama?" He gasps out, forgetting his training as surprise overtakes his action. "Is that you?"
"You sound like a child!" He snaps, hearing that high pitched voice once again instead of his own. 'Something must be wrong with my hearing,' he mutters to himself.
"You look like a child," Souh replies, forgetting his station as the situation confuses him.
"What!?" Asami looks down, stiffening in his own surprise at the sight of himself. His normally toned and fit body has replaced by the awkward gangly body of a five year old child. Still sun kissed, toned, and slightly muscular Asami could see the proof that this is indeed his own body. Scars that he had received over his thirty-five years of life were still present upon his body, in exactly the same places as his adult body.
"What happened?" Kirishima asks from behind Souh, coming in with his own gun drawn, though pointing to the floor. His reaction wasn't nearly as flustered as Souh's, he took it in with the usual calm efficiency.
"I don't know for sure, but I have an idea. This has to do with Takaba." Anger at his situation sours his child-like voice; ruining the usual effect his voice would have had it been normal. Annoyance at the ineffectiveness of his voice makes Asami narrow his eyes at the blankets, trying to plan his next moves. Making a decision he throws the blankets off, rising from the bed naked.
"Souh, stop looking away like a bashful little girl!" Asami snaps, glaring at his now much taller subordinate. "Get me some clothes that will fit! Kirishima, find out what that brat is up to right now and who is with him." Asami stalks to the bathroom, only to glare at the items he need that is placed too high for his shrunken self to reach. Walking up to the sink Asami leaps for the counter, reaching it far too easily for a child his size. Opening his mahogany cabinet he takes down his tooth brush and paste, suppressing a snarl only by the fact that he has no one to snarl at.
Dressed finally in a child size suit, Asami read the reports on all the meetings he will be missing today, talking to Kirishima over the phone about the meetings and agendas that will need to be taken care of in his absence. Control over his many companies can be handled by Kirishima and his minions; Asami has other things that required his attention. Feeling the car slow to a stop, Asami wraps up his orders tersely, hanging up before Kirishima could ask any more questions. The door opens, revealing a small shabby park filled with rusting playground equipment.
'Takaba is here?' he wonders to himself, taking in the death trap in waiting. Getting out of the car, he walks deeper into the park, looking around for the pale blond youth. Trailing behind him is three of Souh's most trusted associates. Souh himself waits in the car, directing the security and hiding from Takaba's view.
Rounding a corner around a large unkempt bush Asami finds Takaba on his knees, playing in the sand with two small children. His camera hangs around his neck, and every so often he would pull away from the children to take their picture.
Asami signals to the men trailing behind him to disperse, allowing the illusion that he was alone in the park. Walking right up to Takaba, he finds himself amused by the radiant glow of Takaba's laughter. It was infectious, every time Takaba laughed, the children joined in eagerly. As he neared, Asami felt the anger radiating from his every movement bleed away. When he reached Takaba he felt a calmness fill him.
Looking up at him Takaba smiles, "Well hello. What brings you here?"
The angry accusation slipped from Asami's mind. Now he no longer wanted to rage at Takaba for his part in this situation. Now he just wanted Takaba's full attention.
"Play with me!" Asami orders, tilting his head up in what was usually a haughty pose, but as a child became an adorable stubborn pose.
The children reacted with quick intelligence, both wrapping their little arms around Takaba's arms, trying to pull him away from the well dressed child.
Takaba laughed at the pose and the other children's reaction to it. "Now, now, children, we play well with others. There should be no reason why we can't all play together, right?" Takaba raises his head, addressing Asami by looking right at him.
'Me! Play with them?' he thought, indigent. About ready to snap that he wanted to play with Takaba only, he pauses as the two children stare at him with worry.
Pulling his arms out of the children's hold, Takaba stands up, smiling down at all three of them. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" Then he races to the old rickety swing sets, waving at the two children who took off after him. Asami watches as Takaba lifts the smallest one onto the seat, holding the child in place while gently pushing the swing back and forth. The other child climbs on a swing without any help, legs kicking out rapidly in an attempt to propel the swing into motion, but only succeeding in making the swing wiggle in place.
"Could you help me?" Takaba asks, looking back at Asami with bright blue eyes. "If you push the other swing it would be a great help to me."
Sighing at the annoyance of it all, Asami walks up behind the wiggling swing and pushes, making the child squeal loudly in delight. Takaba laughs again, causing Asami to unknowingly smile in return.
Shrugging, Asami continues to push the squealing child while Takaba slowly increases the speed of the smallest one motion. Before the smallest one could squeal as well, all four of them hear a voice calling out from the other side of the park. A woman with thick black hair comes into view, calling out to the small children, beckoning them with her hands and with their names. The children quickly jump off the swings, running to the woman with exclamations of "Mommy." Reaching her, they turn back and wave goodbye.
Takaba waves in return as he walks up beside Asami, "Thank you," he says, kneeling down so he could be at the same level as the child Asami. Reaching over, Takaba presses his lips to Asami's forehead, surprising Asami into stillness.
"So, what do you want to play now?" Takaba asks, ruffling Asami's hair out of its usually well ordered place.
"What do children my age usually do?" Asami asks, curious despite himself.
Takaba raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh? Well, let me think: Running around the park, playing tag, eating ice cream, that sort of thing." Takaba replies, placing a finger over his mouth, tapping it with every suggestion.
"Then let's do that." Asami decides, taking control of the matter. "How do you play tag?" He wonders, looking at Takaba for answers.
"You have never played tag before?" Takaba gasp, eyes wide in shock. "What do you do for fun then?"
"When I was a child I maintained the business interaction of my family clan with other clans. I also learned how to meditate and control all that was around me though various exercises, disciplines, and martial arts. There were very little children in our clan, so the only children around me where ones that had been chosen to be my companions." He shrugged, as if that life was normal and unimportant.
"When you were a child?" he queried, and then moved on to another topic, "That's fun to you?" Takaba shakes his head, "well now you will learn what I thought was fun when I was a child." Takaba then proceeded to explain the rules of tag. By the end of the tenth round of tag, even Asami felt tired. He found a shaded area by one of the shaggy bushes and sat down, uncaring what happens to his suit.
"Is it time for ice cream?" Takaba asks, sitting down beside him and looking around the small park. "I think that I have some in my freezer. Do you want me to make some and bring it back here, or do you want to come with me to my apartment to have some there?"
Asami shudders, just the thought of ice cream mad his stomach curl. "No thank you. I have had enough of your fun for one day." Asami gets up from the ground, patting the dust off his clothes. "I enjoyed my visit with you, Takaba." Asami states, smirking at Takaba's confused face.
"How did you know my name?" he asks, watching Asami pat the dust off. "Also, what is your name, you never said."
"Ryuichi, Asami. That is my name, and as for how I know yours, well that's a secrete." Laughing at Takaba's shocked expression Asami head out of the park, walking up to Souh who had the car door waiting for him.
"Well Souh, this was actually more relaxing than I thought it could be. How interesting." He states as he climb in the car. Only when he settled in the car and the door was closed did he look back at the park, and at the quiet person standing besides the shaggy bushes, watching him as Souh started the car and began pulling away from the curb.
'Interesting indeed,' he thought when the park and it's occupant were no longer in view.