A/N: WARNING: THIS CHAPTER COULD POSSIBLY NEED A TRIGGER WARNING! SO CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED!
I do not own Finder or any of the cannon characters, this is purely just a work of fiction. This is my first fanfiction, so be gentle but comments are appreciated!
Chapter 6
"Kirishima, I don't want to be late for my dinner date with Akihito. Where are they?! If they don't get here soon, I'm leaving." Asami said with an annoyed tone.
"Sir, the Miketsukami's are on their way up now." Asami lit another cigarette to hopefully calm himself enough not to shoot his tardy "guests."
Hearing the ding from the elevator, the crimelord turned in his chair to watch the two men walk into the room. Miketsukami Jun is the leader of the Miketsukami Clan. He is the oldest brother, forty two in age with short black hair and amber eyes. Following behind him was Miketsukami Yusuke, the middle brother at age thirty nine. The middle brother was the tallest in the family, standing a couple inches over six feet tall with light blue eyes and chin length brown hair.
"You wanted this meeting, so why exactly am I the one waiting?" Asami questioned as the oldest brother took his seat, the other standing behind.
"Asami, you don't have to be so rude. We are "family" after all." Jun said, causing the crimelord's temper to rise, but he masked his distain.
"I don't have time to waste time on my so called "family," Asami's smirk darkened a bit, "Now, what is that we have to discuss that couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
"We want to discuss the price. I know we agreed on the price a few days ago, but we feel that your client can afford more." Jun audaciously declared to the silent room.
Asami's calm face looked towards Kei with a silent command for a drink and cigarette. Kirishima, knowing what this was about to turn into, poured Asami a double of whiskey and hurriedly brought the two over to his boss. After taking a long drink, he set the glass down and accepted the cigarette, letting the other light it for him.
The tension in the room was heavy and thick, with Asami staring intently at Jun. Finally, with a long drag of cigarette, he broke the silence. "Do you think that my client should pay more for your weapons because he has more money than you, or is because he's Mayuri's ex-lover?" Asami asked as Jun's face turned to an angry shade of red.
"That's not what this is about, this is just…" Asami raised his hand to quiet Jun's outburst.
"This Deal can go one of two ways…" Asami was interrupted by his phone ringing, "Kei, would you mind getting that? Now, where was I? Oh yes. One: we go ahead with the deal at the price we agreed on previously and we go about our ways Two: I call my client, find someone else to supply the weapons, and never use your services again." Jun looked shocked by this revelation, but quickly tried to regain his composure.
"Asami-Sama, there is a problem with your next appointment." Kirishima interrupted.
"What is the problem, Kei?"
"It seems he has fallen ill outside and needs Suoh to drive him to the nearest hospital."
"Kirishima, go and make sure that he gets checked out." Kei bowed and left the room at a quick pace. Asami struggled for a moment to keep the worry from his features, but managed due to his years of practice.
"I didn't realize you still had that bastard Suoh under your employ. I thought for sure you would have seen what kind of scum he was by now and kicked him to curb, or worse." Jun hissed.
"Whom I employ and for how long is none of your concern. How about we get back to the matter at hand. Do we have a deal or do I need to make a phone call? It's your choice."
Golden eyes moved from the amber ones across from them to the phone sitting on the desk beside him. He was hoping for any news about his lover, but there was nothing. Asami needed to end this quickly and his patience was running thin. This was driving him crazy. Suoh wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious and he was stuck dealing with this Brother-complexed gold digger.
Jun, obviously thinking that he had the upper hand now that Asami was alone, tried to negotiate a third option. "How about I only ask for a ten percent mark-up and we leave with our "family" intact. "
"Or I could just take over your clan and sell you to the highest bidder." Asami threatened, "You seem to think that you have the upper hand here, but make no mistake you don't. I'm being nice by not putting a bullet through your head for that kind of disrespect, and even nicer by giving you another chance to take the original deal. So choose." Jun's rage seemed to skyrocket at this.
"Um…Asami, Ryuichi…please let me discuss this with my brother." Yusuke pleaded. Asami somewhat softened at the middle brother's request, giving him the okay with short nod.
"Jun, we need to stand by our agreement and not let your personal feelings ruin this. We can't afford to cut ties with Ryuichi."
Jun wasn't swayed by his brother's request. "No, I will have some reparations for what that man did to our little Mayuri!"
"Mayuri dumped him because he was tired of the yakuza way of life." Yusuke stated, his gentle demeanor holding strong despite his obvious irritation.
"Our brother was crying and heartbroken for a whole week!"
"So what? The next week he caught Suoh and now they're married living happily. Just let it go, Jun, he did. And besides, this is business. So just calm down."
"Calm down?! How can you say that when that bastard hurt our precious little brother?! How can you put business over his happi-."
"ENOUGH! This meeting is over. Get out now before I do something we all will regret later." Asami snarled, causing the brothers to actually jump.
After putting the room into complete silence, Asami stood and stormed out of his office, too concerned for his boy to waste any more time with that fool. Half way towards the elevator, Asami felt a tug on his jacket. Whipping around, Asami was prepared to pistol-whip that pompous ass, but his angry expression softened yet again at the sight of Yusuke. The middle brother bowed down at a ninety degree angle.
"Ryuichi, please forgive my brother! I'm very sorry he acted in such a manor…but please, we really can't afford to lose our ties with you. Please let me talk to him and we reschedule?" Yusuke pleaded.
Asami looked the man up and down, from his thin body to his shy and gentle eyes. He had to take a few moments to calm himself down, actually disgusted to see his childhood friend begging him to forgive that idiotic older brother of his, but this had always been how Yusuke was. When they were kids he was always apologizing for one of his brothers. Jun for his anger issues and Mayuri for his pranks and mischief.
Letting out a sigh, the golden-eyed man nodded. "Fine, but take up the rescheduling with Kei later."
Yusuke looked relieved as he gushed with his thanks, which Asami just waved off as he finished his walk to the elevator at a brisk pace. He had to get to his Akihito now, no more wasting time.
Once he reached the bottom, Asami exited the building with his phone in hand, ready to call a driver since neither Suoh nor Kirishima were here. As he walked out onto the sidewalk, he turned and saw the cleaning crew getting ready to clean up where Akihito had thrown up.
"Jeez, what did Takaba eat?" Asami heard one of the workers say, making the man look over towards the spot.
His eyes widened and immediately Asami felt sick to his stomach. He could clearly see what appeared to be coffee grinds, which meant his boy had thrown up blood. This was only confirmed when water was sprayed onto it and it came out red. That's it. Asami thought to himself, making a B-Line right for Akihito's Vespa where he saw the keys still in the ignition. Without even thinking about it, he jumped on and turned the key, speeding off. Visions from the past began to plague Asami's mind, memories he hadn't thought back too in so long.
(Author Note: Before you read on, listen to In My Veins By Andrew Belle while reading this.)
"Shinji, I'm home! I picked up your favorite parfait for dessert! You can have it as long as you've been a good boy for Haru-"Asami dropped everything in his arms as his eyes moved to look at his little brother, collapsed on the floor with their stay at home nurse over him. The air around smelled of a foul metallic scent.
Asami fell to his knees beside his brothers, eyes wide as his arm immediately went around his brother's trembling shoulders in hopes to comfort the small boy. Shinji was throwing up what looked to be coffee grinds, but what Asami would later find out was blood.
"Asami-Sama, I'm going to call an ambulance!" The nurse, Haruka, exclaimed as she got up and ran towards the kitchen to get the phone.
Barely hearing what she said, Asami lifted his younger brother from the ground, holding him close as he took off out the door. All that was going through his head was that he had to get help, an ambulance wouldn't be there fast enough, and something was wrong.
Asami took a sharp turn, teeth gritting painfully as he willed himself to stay focused on the road. His knuckles were turned white from the sheer strength he was using to grip the handles of "Chuck." All he could think about was those most painful memories that he had tried desperately to let go of, and the fear of something happening to his boy. He wouldn't let it. No, not this time.
"Fix him! You have to fix him!" Asami screamed at the doctor, gesturing to his brother's hospital room.
"Sir, please lower your voice! Asami, there is nothing else we can do to help your brother. We told you to be preparing for this. All we can do now is keep him comfortable."
"No! NO! You will fix him! He still has time! I am not giving up on him! Go do your damn job and save him!"
"Sir! You need to calm down, or else I'm going have to ask you to leave!"
With his temper rising and eyes blazing, Asami pulled out his gun and began to raise it, but was stopped by a hand covering his own shaking ones.
"Asami-sama." No response.
"Asami." Still nothing.
"Ryuichi." Asami finally turned his head, eyes falling on Kirishima and Mayuri, both holding sad and concerned expressions.
"Kei…"
"Hey, Onii-san…do you think we can go back to the beach one day?"
Asami stroked his brother's small hand, not able to look up at him.
"The beach? Didn't you hate it because you got sunburned?"
"Hmm…Yes, but it was fun when you threw me around!" Shinji said with a weak giggle, followed by a powerful and intense coughing fit.
Asami winced as he felt his twelve year old brother's hand trembling in his own. He could hear the pain in his brother's coughs, and despite wanting to talk with Shinji more, he wanted his little brother's pain to go away more. So he reached out and hit the button to administer pain medication. In only a couple of minutes Shinji calmed back down. He looked so tired, Asami noted. A tired puppy. He felt a tiny smile tug at his lips at the thought.
"Onii-san…I feel really sleepy…do you think I could take a nap?" "Of course you can, Shinji. You can sleep however long you need if it makes you feel better."
"And you'll be here when I wake up?"
"Yes! Of course I will!"
"Do you promise?" Shinji was quickly fading, his eyes closing.
"I promise. Now…get some sleep." Asami whispered as he younger drifted out of consciousness. Two hours later…he never woke up.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, Asami hopped off of Chuck and ran to where Suoh was on the sidewalk, smoking. He taller stiffened, his expression clearly reading his shock of seeing Asami leaving from the Vespa.
"Don't ever mention this to anyone." Asami said sternly, receiving a quick nod from the other, "Now where is he? Is he okay?"
Suoh cleared his throat. "Sir, right now they're doing a CT scan to make sure he didn't get a concussion when he hit his head. Right now he's still unconscious. The doctor is saying it's probably a bad case of poisoning that caused him to start throwing up."
Asami shook his head as he walked past the guard and into the building. The crime lord could feel his rage boiling inside of him. It was going to take every ounce of restraint he had not to put an entire clip into this doctor's skull. Suoh was following close behind, calling out directions from behind him as to where to go.
Taking the elevator up, Asami hurried to the testing area. Considering he owned this hospital, he knew it like the back of his hand. So it didn't take Asami but a few minutes to find where the doctor, meaning where his Akihito, was.
"Asami, sir, we just sent him in for his MRI scan and his blood work will be coming in shortly. But in my professional opinion, Takaba ate something that didn't agree with his stomach."
"Oh, just like how it was an iron deficiency last time? No, this isn't food poisoning! He threw up blood."
Dr. Nirosawa raised an eyebrow. "What, was it red?"
"No, it wasn't red! It was black, like coffee grinds. I know what throwing up blood looks like! Now, you're going to do a full body scan. You are going to run every test possible until you find out what's actually wrong. Because it most definitely is not food poisoning, and I'll be damned to believe it's still an "iron deficiency!"
"With all due respect, Takaba could have just eaten something came out with that appearance. I'm not certain all those other tests are actually necessa-"
"Pack your things right now and get out of my hospital!" Asami snapped before turning to Kirishima, "Go get another doctor, one who will actually listen and who isn't a complete idiot."
"Of course, sir." Kei quickly hurried off, meanwhile the other doctor stood still in shock."
"LEAVE!" came out of his shocked state, scurrying away like a frightened rabbit.
Beep….Beep…
Asami held his lover's hand, his head resting on the bars of the hospital bed. How is it I find myself here again? There was a shift of movement on the bed that made him look up. Akihito met his eyes, the boy's eye brows furrowed in confusion. Asami watched as the photographer reached up ad rubbed his forehead.
"Shit…what happened?"
"You passed out and hit your head…after throwing up."
Aki blinked. "Oh…do I have a stomach bug or something? When can I go home?"
The crimelord swallowed thickly, his gaze lowered to his hands as they balled into fists. Stop. You will only freak him out by looking upset. His eyes raised and returned to Akihito's.
"No, it's not a stomach bug. And…you probably won't be coming home for a while, Akihito."
The blonde's face fell. "Is it that bad?"
"Don't worry, it's all going to be okay."
"What's going to be okay?!"
"Kitten, you need to calm down!"
"No! Tell me what's going to be okay!"
"I will, you just need to ca-"
"Asami! Tell me! What's wrong with me?!"
Asami sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. He really struggled to keep a pained look off of his face. The only thing keeping it from surfacing was the knowledge it would only stress his boy more.
"You have stomach cancer, but it's still only in stage two, so there's a lot of treatment options that can be used to cute it," Asami watched as Akihito's eyes began to fill with tears, "Come on Kitten, no tears. Like I said, it's still in an early stage, and I will have only the best doctors and specialists flown in the make sure everything goes smoothly."
"Asami…I know what cancer does! It kills people. Doesn't matter what stage it's in! Cancer spreads, and it's ruthless…" The photographer sobbed.
"Which is exactly why only the best will be treating you."
"This can't be happening! Asami, please tell me this isn't really happening!" The brokenness in Akihito's voice made Asami's heart ache. The only thing he could do was stand, lift his lover into his arms as he climbed onto the bed, and then hold him to his chest.
The crime lord knew there was nothing he could say that would make Aki feel better, so he just held him. It was so frustrating that the only thing he could do was let Akihito cry and break down on him, but if that was all he could do then he would do it a thousand times if it meant his boy would feel even a little better after.
The two stayed like that for a long time, one sobbing onto the other's shoulder, all while the other rubbed his back soothingly. Asami could feel his shoulder getting damp even through his layers clothing, and he could care less. He just sat still and let Aki let it all out. Finally, after a long time of crying and sobbing, the photographer pulled back. His eyes and face were red and tears stained.
Asami reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it over.
"Th-Thanks Asami," Aki mumbled as he took it and wiped his eyes before blowing his snotty nose, "Sorry…I snotted all over your suit…"
The golden eyed man chuckled. "I'm not concerned about a suit, Akihito."
"But your suits are really expensive…"
"Yes, true, but your tears are priceless. So really you just added to the value."
"Ew, don't be getting all sweet with me. It doesn't fit you at all." Aki said with a small giggle.
"Oh? You don't like me sweet? Well then maybe I should get naughty." Asami smirked as he leaned forward and nipped at the blonde's neck.
Akihito's already beet red face flushed a couple shades darker.
"That's not what I meant and you know it!"
"You're right, but it made you smile, didn't it?"
The boy let out a breathy laugh as he allowed himself to relax against Asami's chest. "It did, and I hate that it did."
Asami chuckled again at that, stroking Aki's soft hair. By this point the smaller's breathing had calmed down, and now all you could hear was the beeps from the machine monitoring Akihito's heartbeat. The silence allowed Asami to get lost in his head, thinking about what all had to be done. So much had to be done with little time to do it.
Their brief silence came to an end when Aki spoke up, and what he said made Asami so angry that if Akihito hadn't been sick, he would have thrown the boy over his lap and wore him out then and there.
"You know, Asami, if you want out then this is the time. I would understand if that's the care, you know…"
"Akihito, I can't even begin to explain how disappointed it makes me to hear you say that. I will never leave you. If I didn't leave you over Sakazaki, then I couldn't even fathom leaving you over an illness you can't control."
Akihito pouted a bit, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought we agreed we would let that go."
"And I have, but it fit into what I was trying to explain to you. There is very little in this world I would leave you for. The only thing would be a betrayal, and this is far from being that."
"I guess you're right…"
"Of course I am. Usually am."
The blonde scoffed and rolled his eyes. 'Always a confident bastard, aren't you?"
"Never have had a reason not to be."
It was at this moment the door to the hospital opened, revealing a worry stricken Rin.
"ASAMI-SAMA! I'M SO VERY SORRY THIS HAPPENED! I PROMISE NEVER TO TAKE A DAY OFF AGAIN!"
"Rin, inside voice. This isn't your fault, I'm the one who told you to take the day off."
The guard didn't seem to grasp what a "inside voice" was.
"STILL, IT SHALL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!"
Suoh popped his head into the room. 'Sir, it's getting late. Shall I get the car ready to take your home?"
"No, I'm not leaving Akihito's side tonight."
"Asami, you need to go home! There's not a bed here for you." Akihito said.
"No, but there is a couch."
"You are not sleeping on the couch! Go home and sleep in the fucking bed!"
"What? Do you not want me here?"
Aki shook his head. "It's not that. Someone has to go home and take care of Ririchiyo. And we both know she hates Glasses."
"Then I'll send Suoh to take care of the rabbit. There is no way I'm leaving you after what just happened."
"I would feel better if you did it. Besides, I have Rin here and we both know he won't let anything happen to me."
Asami tsked, glancing over at the very "passionate" guard. As much as he hated it, he knew they were right. There was a lot that had to be done before the next day, so many phone calls that needed to be made. It would be nearly impossible to do it all while in the hospital.
"Fine. But I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning." He turned his attention over to Aki's guard, "Nothing had better happen while I'm gone."
"NOTHING SHALL HAPPEN TO TAKABA-SAMA WHILE YOU'RE GONE! I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT, ASAMI-SAMA! YOU CAN PUT YOUR TRUST INTO ME!"
The crime lord nodded, turning back to bend over and placed a soft, gentle kiss on the blonde's forehead. Despite having been unconscious for quite some time, Akihito looked rather tired.
"Get some sleep, Kitten."
Akihito nodded, waving to Asami as he headed towards the door. Walking out into the hallway, Suoh followed behind while Rin remained in the room. The door shut with a loud CLICK behind them.
A/N: I know this chapter was heavy, and the one following is going to be just as, if not more. We want to make It clear that we do not make light of cancer, as it's something that has plagued our family more times than we can count. The humor that the characters show in this may seem like we are, but really that's how we always dealt with this. Our family has been through a lot, and through it the one thing we never lost was our sense of humor. Being able to laugh has always gotten us through the dark patches in our life. If this somehow offends you, we apologize, but we aren't changing it. 3
Life is too short, always strive to be happy, no matter what you're going through. It always gets better, you just have to let it.
