The powerhouse that was Asami lounged in his limo with a cigarette lolling in his mouth, any minute now they would apprehend Akihito, he had just left the bar and was on the way to the train station. He had the CCTV feed brought up on a small laptop that was on a tray folded down on the seat next to him. It had already begun recording footage.
Oh, how he was looking forward to this show. Soon.
Kirishima had parked just around the corner from the boy's route, so that they could quickly go to him once Suoh confirmed his capture.
It appeared the boy hadn't been drinking a long with his friends, which only helped confirm suspicions, if he was working with Feilong then he would need to keep his mind sharp.
"Approximately 4 more minutes Asami sama"
Asami opened his mouth slightly and let the smoke trail out, giving him a dragon like appearance along with his glinting gold eyes. An apex predator. "Good, I think I might watch directly, there is a suitable vantage point I trust, Kirishima?" Seeing it on a lap top would not do it justice.
"Yes sir" Kirishima exited the car and walked around to Asami's door to open it. "Follow me, Asami sama."
They went, and waited down a dark alley that came off the street they had chosen as their capture point, the street was quiet at this time of night, and the intersection was dimly lit, you wouldn't be able to see down the alley. It was a perfect spot to watch the proceedings.
It was late, and Takaba needed to get home and sleep because he had an early start in the morning, three days until the team fights and his condition was peaking, to maintain it he needed large amounts of sleep.
Mutou and the others were going to scold him for being out so late. He was surprised they hadn't called him yet.
He rounded a corner, and suddenly felt more then one pair of eyes trailing him, hunting him.
He thought back to something Feilong said one time when they were sparring back in Hong Kong, talking about real life and death fights.
"Akihito, when you find yourself in the situation when the person really does want to hurt you or kill you even, it's not a case of landing a hit and scoring a point, you need to let go of your humanity and fight to survive, surviving and winning are two different things. And that's what makes the difference between you and I. The difference between my world and yours. If you go easy on them because you aren't willing to hurt them, then you will be the one that pays for it in the end, you have already learnt that lesson, I'd hate for you to learn it again."
Takaba began to control his breathing, the way he had been taught, going into perfect synchronization with his mind to give him the heightened state awareness and calm that came before the thrill started to kick in. He counted five sets of footsteps rapidly approaching, with a sixth set even further away.
He smirked inwardly to himself, this spot had been known for muggings and beatings before, some of the people had been seriously hurt, he thought back to Feilong's words once more, and knew what he needed to do to end this quickly before he got hurt.
He would make them pay for their mistakes, firstly, the street had poor lighting, which was perfect for Takaba, bad light would only help obscure his speed and they wouldn't be able to follow his movement, Takaba had amazing vision, the light wouldn't hinder him at all.
Secondly, they were all slightly different distances from him, which meant they all wouldn't be on him at the same time. It would give him the upper edge, he could take down the first two before the last three arrived at nearly the same time from differing directions. He should be able to handle three, as long as he disposed of the first two efficiently.
He noted a dark alleyway up ahead to his right and noticed he was being herded towards it. These guys meant business.
He was nearly passed the entrance when the first man was on him, he drew one steady breath as the rest all drew closer, he was nearly surrounded, but he was in control.
No one would treat Takaba Akihito lightly, he would make sure of it.
He felt the first big set of hands grasp his shoulders as the second person got within striking distance, he reached behind him, and using the persons own body weight, grabbed his arm and braced the weight on his back before dumping the big man on his back in front of him with a whoosh of air coming out of his attackers lungs.
He still held one of the mans arms on an awkward angle, he yanked on the arm at the same time as he stomped down on the shoulder, resulting in a sickening pop and crunch as the shoulder dislocated and the ligaments tore. One down.
The second one had gotten distracted for a split second, and Takaba took advantage of the delay and readied himself to catch the mans punch aiming for his temple, he ducked in the nick of time, while lashing out with his fingers pointed under the mans armpit, there was a pressure point there, and the man wouldn't be able to feel his arm for a few hours.
He caught the mans hand on the way back up, and simultaneously swept the mans feet from under him with his shin, the man fell in a crumple and Takaba gave a jerking twist on the mans wrist, hearing the satisfying crack of joints, he let go and spun to face the last three. Two down.
Still breathing steadily, Takaba charged the head person, catching him off guard, using the little muay thai he knew, he raised his knee up, and whipped his lower leg out violently for his heel to smash into the mans sternum, he went reeling backwards, doubled over and gasping for air. It was all one fluid movement, as the man bent down, he brought his knee up to the thugs face, and shattered his nose. He fell over unconscious.
Takaba felt the ecstasy of pulling off the move flawlessly. That was one of his favorite kicks, the strength of his legs never failed him, but it was dangerous to use because it could get your leg caught and then it would be over, the person in front of him had been taken by surprise. It was perfect. Three down.
He whirled to his right as another huge bastard approached him, more cautiously then the others had, he felt the hair on his neck bristle as the last person rounded to stand behind him.
The first mans guard was up, but Takaba was confident he was fast enough to slip through, he met the assailants eyes for a split second before whipping his palm out and connecting with the mans now heavily damaged trachea. He withdrew just as quickly, in time to give the man a crunching sidekick to the ribs with his shin. He crumpled at the blow and folded in half on the ground. Again, the rush of being in control poured through Takaba, adrenaline pumping in his veins, and the addictive thrill of a fight encompassed him. Four down.
He had been slower on that one, and the last punk was on him now, he felt a pair for forearms wrap around his throat. Takaba knew how to play this game, he had played it before.
He went limp for a second, surprising the man with his weight, which threw the man off balance, and Takaba tensed his entire body to buck the dude away. He rounded on him, and gave him a lightening fast jab straight to the eye socket. He felt the bones give way under his first and the man collapsed unconscious. One hit K.O. Five down.
He let his heart rate slow down with steady controlled breaths, his mind still prepared for anything. When it was apparent there was no more immediate threat, he let out a final deep breath and let his concentration wane.
He looked across the street to see the sixth person, a looming giant with his hood up, his face shadowed. The man stayed where he was. Watching.
"What, you wanna go too, you big bastard? Fucking amateur thieves. That will teach you to pick on someone smaller then you, get a damn job."
Takaba checked to make sure the unconscious men were ok, he lay them both in the recovery position after checking their breathing and pulse, the man with the broken wrist made as if to get up and try him again.
"I can make you end up like your two friends here if you want. So fuck off before I change my mind. I'm in a hurry." Takaba was surprised at the malevolent sound of his own voice.
At a signal from a man across the road, the man stayed where he was and continued to watch Takaba.
He began to walk off when his new phone rang.
"Ah! Y-yes, I'm late….. I'm on my way home now….. Why? Oh just ran into some street thugs….. Nnnn, I'm fine, there were only 5…. Yes I'm ok for Saturday…. RYUUU! I'm fine, you don't need to inspect me when I get home! Ya not my mom you giant bastard. I will see you at home all right. Bye."
Takaba ended the call and made his way off down the street to the train station, weary of the sixth man still watching him from across the road and not noticing the pair of hungry gold eyes devouring him from the darkness of the alley.
"Come and tend to your friends, asshole, they will need it!" He shouted as he rounded the corner and out of their sight.
As the boy rounded the corner and was lost from sight, Suoh dashed across the street wondering what the hell had just happened.
He met Asami and Kirishima who were coming out of the alley that the boy had disposed of his men in front of.
Suoh shook his head to clear the shock from his mind.
All the boy's movements had been fluid and flawless, each movement flowing together effortlessly, not one moment flustered or hasty, he dealt with each of the men quickly and efficiently.
The ruthlessness in which the boy had incapacitated each of them was nothing short of astounding, he had ripped joints and broken bones without hesitation, making sure the opponent was down before dealing with the next one.
Five of his best men all lay on the ground sporting various broken bones, one complaining he had lost the feeling in his arm.
They had been caught off guard, but it was fact that the boy was good.
Takaba's blasé attitude after knocking the last one down made it seem like it was a walk in the park for the brat. He was almost unrecognizable. His face was unreadable, a perfect state of calm.
Highly trained echoed a voice in Suoh's head.
"So fuck off before I change my mind," he had said, the voice laced with venom and malicious intent, and the threat was definitely not a bluff.
The only thing that gave him away was the fact the boy couldn't help but check on the men he had knocked unconscious, showing them care and even placing them in the recovery position, Takaba would do something that stupid to men who had just tried to attack him.
The childlike taunt he had shouted at Suoh from across the street. That was definitely something the Takaba of two years ago would do, he could never keep his mouth shut, but this time it looked like he had the strength to back up his words. He thought about the threat he heard, and shivered.
Suoh could only stare open mouthed at the spot he last saw the boy before he was round the corner, wondering what the fuck happened to the boy in two years to cause this sort of change.
Kirishima was at a loss for words. He had never expected the plans to go awry in this sort of manner. He simply couldn't comprehend the fact that five men over 6ft tall had been reduced to cannon fodder before the younger and much smaller Akihito.
He disposed of them all deftly, each graceful movement had the promise of violence, and he didn't fail to grant it.
You could feel the merciless intent coming off him in waves as he broke bones and struck out with a barely visible fist.
The boy was fast, and sharp, he saw everything that was coming and dealt with it accordingly, not once losing his cool.
Despite the fact that he was surrounded by five people that loomed over him, he looked in control for every second of it.
Gathering what he had seen, he stowed the overwhelming information away to evaluate later.
The boy had said he was going home to the person on the phone, so he texted out orders to have people follow, he would know where he lived by the end of the night.
He turned to Asami to ask for further orders on what to do with the injured men. He quickly clamped his mouth shut at the look in his boss's eyes.
His eyes emanated a sadistic rage, the corner of his lip ever so slightly curled up in a murderous snarl. The aura of the demon king himself.
It was best not to talk right now. He waited.
The billionaire yakuza was, quite simply stupefied. Akihito was beating the shit out of his men. This was not according to plan.
Asami looked on from the alleyway, caught in the moment, forgetting his immediate vendetta, and the betrayal, to watch the stealthy Akihito bring five men to the ground effortlessly.
At first he assumed it must be some kind of mistake, the man fighting before him brawled like it was all he had known his entire life, the movements vicious, each articulate movement delivering the implicit guarantee of pain.
Every motion was thought out and executed perfectly, there was no mercy as he crushed bones and shattered ribs.
Who was this person really? What had Feilong done to Akihito to make him like this? Rage simmered in his soul, that's right, they were together. He didn't know Akihito at all. Betrayal.
However, Asami couldn't help his raging hard on as he watched the smaller figure decimate his men.
He observed, torn between disbelief and a sadistic sort of exhilaration. Was he happy that his prey was putting up this much of a fight? That would only make the revenge that much sweeter.
He was transfixed until the last man was down, still surprised at the cold competence from the two faced traitor.
He did have to hold back a chuckle as he provoked Suoh who was stationed across the street, Takaba had dropped his mask and shown himself, leaning over the unconscious men to make sure of their welfare. That was something Akihito would do.
Asami's reverie was shattered when he heard the coldblooded threat to one of his men that was getting back up.
"Fuck off before I change my mind." It rang out in the night, dropping the temperature of the air with its glacial tone.
He detached his emotions as the boy answered his phone while walking away.
He listened to his conversation, for clues, and fought the urge to crush his box of cigarettes as he heard Akihito call someone on the other end of the phone Ryu.
He called someone else Ryu. 2 years ago, he wanted to be called that.
He stayed silent as he went to the limo, soothing his rage with a Dunhill.
They had been in the office for half an hour at Sion when Kirishima came in with the information he wanted, the apartment above the dojo was now confirmed as his place of residence, and it seemed he was employed at the gym in Ikebukuro. Two more avenues to take.
Kirishima and Asami both watched Suoh jump in surprise as the secretary laid out photos of the people reportedly living at the same address as Akihito. Assuming they were also working for Feilong.
"Um Asami sama, I am nearly 100% sure these people don't work for Feilong."
"Oh? Why is that Suoh?" Asami asked curtly, it wasn't like his head of security to speak up on matters such as this, so he humored the mountainous blond.
"Sir, these people are MMA fighters, Mutou Ryuhei, Ibiki Ryota and Shuuhei Kenichi. They are a pretty big deal in the MMA scene, they have been out for over 2 years and they have their first rounds back in a teams event this Saturday." Suoh reported imperturbably.
"Hmmm? Get some ringside tickets for Saturday, I am going to pay them a visit after their matches I think. Also, Kirishima, get Feilong on the phone, it's time to clear up this mess."
The office fell silent as Asami resumed watching the recording of Takaba taking down the five men.
