Decisions

PART VIII


After a while the Russian's smirk faded into a frown. "Well, that's disappointing. I thought you'd be far more surprised to see me." He confessed, taking into account Asami's unfazed look.

When the yakuza didn't reply, Mikhail just shrugged. "So how's your head?" He asked, casually sitting down on one of the unoccupied beds. "You had me scared there for a while. I thought you'd never wake up. I was even forced to put you on an IV drip."

Still, no reply. Not that the Russian seemed concerned with the other man's silence.

He watched as Asami did his best to walk from the window back to his bed without limping. A sight that brought the blond man an immense and sadistic pleasure.

When his Japanese guest lay back down on the mattress with a tired grunt, still ignoring him completely, Mikhail couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at the scene.

"Are you giving me the silent treatment then? 'Cause if you are-""

"How long have I been out cold?" Asami finally asked; his voice still distinctively groggy.

He hadn't bothered to look at the Russian gangster as he spoke, his gaze choosing instead a random spot in the ceiling to stare at.

Now that his muscles were waking up alongside the rest of him, Asami was beginning to feel dull aches all throughout his body, making him think his head had not been the only injured part of his body during the resort's assault.

He heard Mikhail hum to himself in a meditative manner before the latter finally spoke up. "Hmm, 5 days I reckon." The blond said, watching as the yakuza's eyes widened in surprise ever so slightly.

"What day is it today?" There was a masked sense of urgency in Asami's question that didn't escape the Russian's notice.

"…August 4th."

Shit. So if Mikhail wasn't fooling around with him (which Asami had a feeling he wasn't), then he'd really been in a pseudo-comatose state for days.

Asami didn't let his apprehension be noted any further though.

"Where are you taking me?" He demanded to know.

The smirk returned to the blond gangster's lips as soon as the words left the yakuza's mouth. "Don't you prefer it to be a surprise?"

Needless to mention, Asami was not one bit up to the Russian's bullshit.

He sat up in bed throwing his legs to the side, so that he faced the Russian head on, unexpectedly realizing that even sitting down, he somehow managed to easily tower over the other man.

"What exactly are you planning with this circus, Arbatov? Do you really think that kidnapping me will have no repercussions to you?"

The Russian laughed then, obviously unconcerned.

"Oh, I'm expecting repercussions alright… All forty million dollars' worth of them."

When the yakuza cast him a blank look, the Russian elaborated.

"I suppose I should have clarified it already. You see, I'm not actually the one that orchestrated your kidnapping." He confessed, throwing off Asami's reasoning momentarily. "No, I'm just a… facilitator I guess. I'm here to oversee that the transaction is performed smoothly." He grinned then. "For a considerable sum of money, of course! I did go to a lot of trouble to get you out of Japan."

"…What transaction? What the hell are you talking about, Arbatov?"

"You, of course. It turns out you are one hell of a valuable commodity, Asami. Your enemies so very much want you, that they were willing to employ my services to carry out part of their plan… So do try not to take my participation in this scheme too much to heart, will you? For forty million dollars we'd both kidnap our own mothers, after all."

Asami stared at the Russian in silence trying to make sense of his words.

"Who's behind the kidnapping then?" He asked after a moment of silence. His list of enemies was quite long after all.

"The Hong Kong triad…They seem to be under the impression you have somehow hijacked from under their noses a two billion dollar weapons' deal."

"Shit."

Mikhail arched an eyebrow at Asami. "Do you mean to tell me the story is true?" He gave a short, impressed whistle. "What a dog you are, Asami! And here I was thinking they were just making an excuse to get rid of you!...Singlehandedly messing with the entire Hong Kong triad, huh? You sure have balls, I'll own up to that."

Asami was in no mood for flatteries though. "Where did you agree to make the exchange?"

The Russian eyed him intently. One had to admire Asami Ryuuichi's cold blood. "…At Macau's trading harbor. Tomorrow at midnight. Which I suppose having you finally wake up is rather fortune for me. Otherwise I'd be forced to trade a vegetable for the money… What's so funny?" Mikhail asked, watching as Asami suddenly began to chuckle under his breath.

"I suppose Macau's harbor was your idea?"

"…You're quite right. Why the mocking face?"

"Because Macau is controlled by my faction in China, you idiot. My subordinates are probably all over the harbor at this point. If not, they're at least scanning the air and sea routes from Japan to China looking for me. Your brilliant plan is about to hit a concrete wall, Arbatov."

Asami carried on chuckling, holding on to his sore torso and completely ignoring the confused look that came over the Russian's features.

He wasn't able to ignore as easily Mikhail's next words though.

"…And why would your subordinates be out looking for a dead man?"

A sudden chill went down Asami's spine. "What?" He quickly asked, looking at the Russian again, whose head was slightly tilted to the side, eyeing Asami curiously.

A sudden thought seemed to cross Mikhail's mind, making him slap his palm against his forehead.

"Oh, what an idiot I am! You still don't know, of course."

"Know what?" Asami spat out, his words sharper than a knife.

The grin returned to the blond man's lips in the meantime. "You see Asami, no one is actually looking for you because you are unfortunately dead."

"…I'm what?"

"Well, not physically of course! I'm talking to you, after all. No, let's just say, Asami Ryuuichi as we knew him, is now most definitely dead... and pulverized I should add."

"…Have you finally lost it, Arbatov?"

"What? You don't believe me?" The Russian said, getting up from the bed he'd been sitting on and moving towards a nearby desk where he picked up an iPad. "You really died, trust me! In a terrible gas explosion at the resort where you were staying at in Okinawa. Dreadful business, if you ask me. The explosion nearly destroyed the entire place." He said calmly, handing the iPad to Asami. "The event made the front page of most newspapers around the world and your native Japanese news' channels had a field day with the story, as you can imagine."

Asami looked down at the iPad. The screen displayed the front page of the NY Times dated of August 1st, the day after his abduction. A massive photograph of what looked like a burning village was displayed at the center of the page with a very catchy title "Hell at Okinawa Resort in Japan" requesting the newspapers' readers to turn to page 3 for more gruesome details on the case.

"If you scroll down the screen, you can see Yomiuri Shimbun's newspaper cover for the event." Mikhail said, while casually lighting up a cigarette against his lips. "You'll find it is a lot more relevant to you than the NY Times' cover."

Asami did just that… Only to feel his breath being sucked out of his lungs.

The same photograph displayed by the NY times was featured in the Japanese daily newspaper. On closer inspection, it was clearly not a professional pic, but one taken no doubt by an eager spectator of the infernal event.

But that wasn't what threw off Asami's cool composure though.

Beside the photograph of the fire, there was another far neater and more focused of the yakuza himself with the caption right above it saying in bold letters: "Tokyo Mogul Asami Ryuuichi Dies in Explosion at Okinawa Resort."

Something in his features betrayed him, because Mikhail quickly added: "Oh, don't worry. You were the only casualty. Everyone else was able to escape in time. I'm afraid the resort will need extensive work done to it though. The whole villas' compound was reduced to ashes."

Asami lifted his eyes from the iPad screen to look back at the Russian gangster; an unreadable expression on his face.

Mikhail coughed awkwardly. "Ok, I suppose my men might have exaggerated in their efforts to cause the gas leak, but I did need your death to look accidental. The fact that the fire spread out to the other villas and caused a chain reacti-"

"Are you really expecting me to believe this bullshit, Arbatov?"

The Russian appeared to be thrown off by Asami's words. "Huh?" Was the only thing Mikhail managed to say in response.

"Do you really think I'd let myself be fooled by a couple of fake newspaper covers?"

"Fake newspaper covers? !" The Russian replied almost in outrage, only to quickly regain back his senses.

He took a long drag from his cigarette, his eyes never leaving Asami's face. "I suppose deep down I already anticipated that reaction from you." He said, picking up the iPad that Asami had discarded in the meantime on top of his bed.

"Which is why I took precautions…" He said with a sly smile, tapping on the iPad's screen for a while before handing it back to Asami.

"And what are you planning to show me now?" The yakuza asked sarcastically, without bothering to look at the screen. "Footage from my funeral?"

The Russian's conceited smile suddenly grew wider. "As a matter of fact, something close to that."

Before Asami could say anything else, another voice broke out in the room. Both men looked down at the iPad screen as a young woman, who Asami recognized as one of NHK Channel's main news anchors, continued to report the day's news.

It didn't take Asami long to realize he was watching a recording of the previous day's afternoon news' bulletin.

The recording kept on rolling unperturbed.

"We go now to our correspondent stationed just outside the headquarters of Asami Enterprises in downtown Tokyo," The woman informed. "where throughout this afternoon a myriad of celebrities and powerful businessmen have flocked in order to pay their respects to the memory of Tokyo business mogul Asami Ryuuichi, killed in the Okinawa resort explosions earlier this week, whilst on vacations there."

The correspondent on location took over from there.

"Thank you, Kawamoto-san." He said, as the entrance to Asami's company suddenly came into view behind him. "It is indeed a tragic day for Tokyo and Japan's business scene. Asami Ryuuichi, the notoriously private multimillionaire, owner of several clubs and hotels around the city and abroad, and a familiar face to the city's VIP circuits, was officially pronounced dead this morning when the local Okinawa coroner's department, finally released a statement, identifying the human remains encountered at the resort's explosion site as belonging to the missing business man."

The camera's focus suddenly went past the correspondent's shoulder straight towards the building's entrance in front of which a massive limo had just stopped.

The young man nevertheless continued with his report.

"Since the news has been officially leaked to the public, a who's who of Tokyo's elite have been congregating at Asami Entreprises, where a private ceremony is being held in memory of its CEO, whose 37th birthday would take place this very same week. Asami-san has died leaving no heirs behind him, fueling public speculation as to the fate of his fortune."

The correspondent was about to add something else, when the back door of the limo finally opened and a tall, thin man stepped out.

Asami recognized him immediately. He had a feeling that if he wasn't already flabbergasted by what his eyes were seeing, his jaw might have dropped.

Once again, NHK's correspondent enlightened the channel's viewers. "I believe that that is…" He started, as the camera zoomed in on the other man. "Yes, it is for sure. Quite an unexpected surprise! Just arriving at the premises is none other than Liu Feilong, one of Asami-san's major business antagonists, who nevertheless has seemed to have put their differences aside and has also decided to stop by to pay homage to his deceased rival."

The most surprising event for Asami ended up happening right afterwards though. Before Feilong had made it up the steps to the main entrance of the building, the glass doors slid open and none other than Kirishima himself appeared, slowly making his way towards the Chinese man.

The yakuza could hear the reporter continuing to blabber in the background, but his eyes were now fixated in studying his assistant's body language, still displayed on screen.

Feilong soon reached Kirishima on the landing, both of them exchanging words with grave expressions. At some point, something that the Chinese man said caused his assistant to shake convulsively and it wasn't long before Kirishima lowered his head, taking his glasses from his face to wipe his eyes, no doubt of some treacherous tear.

"Shit." Asami thought to himself. So Kirishima probably thought he was really dead.

He felt his insides suddenly churn. If even Kirishima thought he was no longer alive…what did Akihito think?

Mikhail's amused voice ended up putting an end to his dark musings.

"Proof enough for you? Or do you think I managed to fake an entire NHK channel news' story?"

Asami's bafflement was slowly giving way to rage…lots of it. He lifted his eyes towards the Russian, hoping they wouldn't betray his murderous intentions.

"…The human remains the reporter talked about…The one's found at the explosion site?"

The blond man shrugged. "Oh, those? They belong to one of my former subordinates. He misbehaved terribly and I had him killed. Oh come on, Asami? Don't look at me like that! You're a smart fellow. You know I needed to leave a body behind so it could be mistaken for yours."

"What did you do then? Bribe the coroner so he'd temper with the results of the DNA tests?"

Mikhail smirked. "But of course. It was surprisingly easy, I must say! I'm looking forward to doing business with the man again."

He watched as Asami turned his eyes back on the iPad screen. They were now playing summary footage of the 'mourners' that had already arrived at Asami's company that day. Everyone from politicians, to club and hotel owners, actors and actresses and various socialites, most of which Asami could not stand to be around for more than 5 minutes, had stopped by to pay their respects.

The yakuza fixed his eyes on the screen hoping that a gangly 20 something year-old would have been caught by the camera entering the building too at some point, if only so that Asami could make sure the kid was ok, but he soon realized the extent of his stupidity.

Akihito wouldn't have gone there, even if he too was convinced of Asami's death. The boy knew that the yakuza loathed those sort of ceremonies, and thus would not disrespect his lover's memory by attending one.

"Don't make such a long face, Asami." Mikhail's voice cut once again through his dark thoughts. "You should be happy so many people actually liked you. Even Feilong showed up at your memorial!... Although, I suppose it's questionable whether some of them are being sincere..." He sat back down on the bed in front of Asami. "I'll tell you something though. The amount of famous women that have been claiming to the press that they were your lovers at the time of your passing is staggering!" He laughed out loud. "They're obviously just after your money of course. But even so, if it's indeed true that you've slept with all of them at some point, I have to say I'm quite impressed. The gossip press is already turning you into somewhat of a sex god legend, you know?"

Asami did not respond to the provocation. Not that that bothered the Russian in the slightest.

"Those poor women though..." He said mockingly. "If they only knew where your taste in lovers lies these days!"

His last remark managed to grab the yakuza's attention, who looked back at Mikhail with a dangerous frown.

"You know, you surprise me Asami." The blond man said, calmly exhaling a cloud of white smoke between his lips. "I would have figured that by now you'd have already asked me what it was that I have done with your pet whore Akihito Takaba."

That ended up being the last straw for Asami. Before Mikhail's brain had the chance to register what was happening, the Russian gangster found himself laying on his back on the uncomfortable bed with Asami's strong arm pressing down on his neck.

Luckily for Mikhail, his bodyguard, stationed outside the room, was quick to rush to the scene, alerted by ruckus. As soon as he came into the room, the large man shouted something in Russian, clearly directed at Asami, who distinctly heard the sound of a weapon's trigger being unlocked a moment after.

The yakuza half-expected for the thug to fire at him, but one swift command from his boss silenced the brute. And another given shortly after sent the man back outside the room, albeit with no small degree of irritation from the latter's part.

When Mikhail heard the door close behind his subordinate, he turned his gaze back at Asami. He seemed more amused by the episode than anything else. "You need to learn to curb your bad temper, Asami. You nearly got shot there."

"If you laid a finger on Takaba…" Asami hissed; his eyes cold as daggers, even if that only managed to amuse the Russian even further.

"Now that's the deadly Asami I know!" Mikhail said triumphantly, just before his expression changed to one of scorn and he brought his knee up swiftly so that it slammed strategically against Asami's bruised ribs, sending the latter flying back to his own bed.

"You can relax." The blond man said as he sat back up in bed, fixing the collar of his shirt, while Asami massaged his sore torso. "I didn't lay a finger on your pet toy. You know my modus operandi Asami. I don't believe in unnecessary deaths. Especially not ones I can't gain anything from… Besides, I assumed you'd be more cooperative with the current situation knowing your little Takaba is safe from harm… as long as you yourself behave, of course." The gangster added with a grin.

It took every ounce of resolve in Asami's being, for the yakuza not to throw himself at the Russian again.

"Where is he now?" He asked, trying to keep his nerves in check.

Mikhail shrugged in reply. "Back in Tokyo. Pathetically mourning your loss, I should say."

"…And what exactly do you want of me?"

"Of you? ! I want you out of my ship, that's what I want. Out of my ship and into the hands of the Hong Kong triad. All in exchange for my forty million bucks! What the triad does with you afterwards, I couldn't care less. " Mikhail stated, standing up and walking towards Asami's bed, where the latter still held on painfully to his ribs.

"I suggest you enjoy your next 24 hours of captivity in this ship thoroughly though." He said, picking up the iPad again. "They'll most likely end up being the last 24 hours you spend on this earth after all."

Asami shot him a dirty look, but didn't reply.

"By the way, I had my men tap into your penthouse's surveillance cameras a couple of days ago." The Russian confessed while touching the iPad's screen a few times. "Truth be told I just wanted to make sure your mignons had fallen for your staged death. I had a feeling that pain in the ass personal assistant of yours might not be so easily fooled."

The yakuza arched an eyebrow at the gangster, although deep down he had to confess to being disappointed that Kirishima indeed appeared to have bought into Mikhail's trap.

The Russian's next words confirmed the case.

"It turned out I had no reason to worry." Mikhail continued. "Everyone believed in your tragic death like a pack of gullible ducks…Ah, here it is!" He suddenly said, apparently finding something of interest in the tablet's contents.

His eyes were gleaming with sadistic pleasure as he once again handed the contraption to Asami.

"And what now?" The older man asked sarcastically, only to see Mikhail's grin widen ever so slightly.

"Oh, nothing much. I just I thought you'd might enjoy a little birthday present… Today is your birthday, right?"

The realization hit Asami like a bucket of cold water. August 4th… the Russian had mentioned previously that that was the present date. It was the yakuza's 37th birthday today.

Asami took the iPad in his hand as if in a trance, amazed that even given the circumstances, the significance of the date had escaped him up until then.

His surprise only increased as he looked down at the iPad's screen. It was clear he was looking at surveillance footage from his own home. He recognized the penthouse instantly, the cameras providing an ample and clear view of the different rooms it possessed.

"What's the meaning of this?" He asked Mikhail, who continued to grin in return.

"Come on Asami,… you really didn't think I'd deliver you to your hangmen without letting you see your lover one last time. I'm not that much of a heartless man." The blond man said, just before he started walking towards the door. "Happy birthday, Asami!.. Too bad this will be your last one." He added with a laugh, just before he finally left the yakuza alone.

Asami heard the door click shut and the Russian's steps echoing through the corridor just outside the room. He suspected that Mikhail had nevertheless instructed his thug to stay behind and guard the medical facility, in case its occupant became crazy enough to attempt an escape.

The bright light projected by the iPad's screen brought Asami's attention back to it. He looked towards it, recognizing his dining room immediately. The top left corner of the surveillance camera footage identified the tapping as having been taken the previous day.

What surprised the yakuza though, was that unlike the footage he'd seen so far, two familiar figures were appearing on screen: his faithful assistant Kirishima, and the one person that had been constantly in his mind since waking up.

As the footage continued rolling, Asami Ryuuichi managed to abstract himself from his surroundings, focusing his full attention on the scene projected by the screen.


(the day before)

"Takaba-san…" The voice called out to the young man again.

As in the previous occasions though, the photographer didn't seem to acknowledge that someone was addressing him.

Kirishima sighed, looking at the untouched food plate in front of the youngster. If this continued for much longer, the kid would soon starve himself to death.

The older man walked round the dining table towards Akihito, lightly touching the latter on the shoulder, just firmly enough so it would pull the young man back from whatever dark hole his mind was in… even if only momentarily.

"Takaba-san, you need to eat something." Kirishima said through a half-reproach, half-request. "You've barely eaten anything for the past few days. You'll end up getting sick if you continue this way."

Akihito's stare darted absentmindedly towards the food in front of him; his face quickly contorting into a nauseated grimace.

He slowly pushed the plate aside, looking towards the window that led to the penthouse's balcony. He secretly wished the day wouldn't be as sunny as it was. What use was there for sunlight anymore anyway? It was all pointless now.

"I'm not hungry... I'll eat later on." Akihito mumbled distractively.

Beside him, Kirishima frowned. He'd heard that comment before and was by now convinced that Akihito would just end up throwing away the food the minute he would leave him alone at the apartment.

He took advantage of the photographer's distraction to eye him more intently. Kirishima had to admit, Akihito had borne the news of the coroner's report that morning surprisingly calmly.

He had not cried, or shouted or even gone into denial upon hearing the confirmation of his lover's death, but truth be told, the youngster had been in a semi-catatonic state ever since the fire at the resort.

Kirishima eyed the heavy dark circles under Akihito's eyes and could not help but sigh one more time. It almost looked as if a part of the youngster was willing to follow Asami to the grave.

The older man sat down on the chair in front of Akihito, while the latter continued to look towards the bright light outside, albeit absentmindedly.

Kirishima tried to choose his next words carefully. "…You should at least try to eat something for the child's sake, Akihito-san." The man said, noticing the photographer's eyes widening ever so slightly at the remark.

For a second it even looked as though a tear was going to escape one of them, but the younger man held it in. Akihito soon averted his eyes from the balcony, staring at the plate of yakisoba instead.

"I…" He started; his lips intent on forming words that didn't seem to want to take shape.

Kirishima smiled sadly understanding the other man's silence perfectly. He pushed the plate back towards Akihito, who picked up a pair of chopsticks and finally started eating the meal, albeit with no little degree of effort on his part.

He had been eating for a couple of minutes already when Kirishima spoke again; his tone low and somewhat guarded.

"Hmm…Takaba-san?"

"Hm?"

"…About Asami-sama's will…"

Akihito felt a new wave of nausea hit him as soon as he heard the words. He didn't say anything though, instead taking his chopsticks towards the plate again as if he'd heard nothing.

Kirishima though took his reaction as an encouragement to proceed.

"As his assistant, I am obliged to be present when Asami-sama's lawyer reads out his will later today, but…" He stopped, trying to figure out how best to phrase his next words. "…the truth is that I already know who he left his fortune and estate to. I was with him when Asami-sama had his will revised a few months ago… "

Akihito's lips morphed into a thin line, as he gripped the chopsticks harder in his hand.

"…I guess what I'm saying is that you, as his sole heir, will need to-"

"Stop it."

"Huh…? What do you mean Akihito-san? Stop what?"

"Stop talking about him as if he's dead!"

Kirishima was taken aback by the younger man's comments. "But Akihito-san, you heard the coroner's report…"

"To hell with the coroner's report! Asami isn't dead." Akihito lashed out, only to regret it a moment later as he noticed Kirishima's own sorrowful look.

"…He can't be dead…" He added; his voice barely louder than a whisper, as he turned his eyes back on the plate in shame.

It was Kirishima who ended up breaking the silence that ensued between them.

"You know Akihito-san… I never got a chance to tell you this, but I'm really glad you entered Asami-sama's life."

Akihito looked at the assistant, evidently surprised by the comment.

"I confess when I started working for him I found myself doubting he was human." He said, chuckling slightly at the thought. "He was an extremely fair boss mind you, but so ruthless and cold-hearted as a person I found myself wondering if he was even capable of liking anyone but himself."

"I noticed a change in him shortly after you came into his life though… A subtle one at first, but a change nevertheless. Asami-sama started opening up more, being more forgiving to others, less focused on his career and more keen on enjoying life outside of the office." He stopped for a moment, as a funny memory crossed his mind. "I can't put enough emphasis on the shock I had the first time I saw Asami-sama laughing out loud. I mean, genuinely laughing. With pleasure, not sarcastically... It's always a shock, I guess, watching a grown person learning to take pleasure from the little things in life for the first time."

He eyed Akihito then, whose stare was now fixated on his stomach.

"…Asami-sama would have wanted you to have the child, Akihito-san." Kirishima said, watching the young man's lips start to tremble. "He'd fret about it at first, I'm sure. Probably claim that a yakuza's world is no place for an infant, but… you were the most important person in the world to him Akihito-san,… and he would have loved anything he could have shared with you."

That was more than Akihito could handle. Finally defeated, the young man brought his hands up to cover his face and cried every tear he had been holding up inside for the past few days.

Kirishima let him mourn his loss in silence.


Asami watched his lover cry through the iPad's screen, his chest feeling heavier and more painful now than when Mikhail had hit him.

"I have to escape this place." He mumbled quietly, as a plan began to form inside his head.

(to be continued…)


A/N: Ah, the angst of it all! lol

Thank you for your feedback on the story and until the next chapter ;)