Author's Note: Here's that second chapter of the week I mentioned. The story's getting legit now, so if some thought it was boring...Well, pay attention.

Disclaimer: I own people like Suzumi and Haruka and the Osiris Brethren. Voltage owns everything else.

You need me less than I need you
Take it from me
We don't give sympathy
You can trust me trust nobody

Trust Me - The Fray

Ten.

Two Months After

"Soryu, I don't think you should be as worried about them moving into Hong Kong. It was rarely brought up."

Soryu looked up from his paperwork, seeing Suzumi standing next to him looking down at the folders in front of him. All intelligence gathered about the Osiris Brethren that needed to be weeded through to find proper leads and toss the false plans. He hadn't realized she was even in the office, the last he'd seen her was last night as they ate a quiet dinner from room service. Checking his watch, he saw it was nearly dinner once more.

"When did you get here? Who brought you?"

"Um, maybe half an hour ago? I've been talking with Inui and some of the others. Samejima brought me when I asked."

Soryu frowned. "Why would you want to come here?" He saw her frown slightly, but kept quiet. He couldn't tell if it was disappointment or a leftover tick from expecting to be yelled at for making a decision.

Suzumi's eyes refused to meet his, instead scanning some of the open folders on Soryu's desk. "You all keep telling me I need to be less timid and visiting seems like a girlfriend kind of thing to do. Samejima was pleased I took an initiative, though not so much one like this. He's been kind enough to coach me on how I should be behaving around the Ice Dragons."

"Were you seen? Did you pay attention to your surroundings?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm learning discretion. I'm glad I came, though, if this is the lead you're thinking of following."

Soryu sat his folder down and leaned back. He gestured for her to take a seat opposite of him at the desk and asked her to elaborate. Perhaps he'd been going at this wrong.

"I spent a good majority of the time in the room I was given. However, the times when I was more docile, Ren would take me out into the other parts of the house. Especially when parties or general drinking happened. He and the lower thugs have extremely loose lips when drinking so they talk without a care to who's in the room. I would find myself in the room with Taichi sometimes, too. He didn't care who heard him just because he'd kill anyone he didn't approve of anyway. I also was taken out of the house on three occasions, all of them meetings with a potential partner gang."

Soryu couldn't hold back the surprise that showed on his face. At best, he thought Suzumi would have heard whispers or the occasional phone call, he hadn't thought any of the Soumas had been stupid enough to speak in front of her. No wonder Taichi had been interested in knowing she was with him. "Which gang did Ren meet with?"

"I was never told the name. But it was one of the long standing groups in Asakusa. They own-."

"Restaurants. I know who they are," he interrupted. "Shit. They're small, but the Honda's have a power behind them. They even have influence in the Diet. Did the deal go through?"

Suzumi shook her head. "No, nothing had been finalized the last time I knew. I went to one of their meetings a few days before I was sold. The meeting was...weird." Her eyes met with Soryu's, and was surprised to see his whole attention focused on her.

"Explain."

"Honda hadn't said he agreed to the merger, however he was talking about a partnership in a particular venture." She couldn't help the shiver that ran through her. "The Osiris Brethren are also in Kyoto, right? This venture was for Kyoto and Shiga… Large-scale human trafficking."

Soryu didn't bother to fight the frown that grew. Human trafficking was in terrible taste, children of course being the worst, but the entire practice was seedy and it was no wonder they didn't really dabble with it in the auctions. Suzumi was the first human to actually be sold and, in the rules that they didn't think they would really need to enact, came willingly to the stage. Haruka had been close but due to Eisuke's keen eye and intuition for keeping things legitimate, he'd witnessed her unwillingness to be put in the cage and the two of them had put a stop to it. Across from him, he could see that Suzumi had shrunk in on herself a little, a slice of her confidence vanished at the mention of human trafficking.

"Calm down, Suzumi. You're here, nothing will happen to you. Taichi and his spawn won't get their hands on you."

Suzumi smiled bitterly. "Thanks. But it's not just that. It's the whole idea of it. They're focusing on women and kids…" She trailed off, keeping her eyes locked with his hoping to convey her meaning.

It only took him a heartbeat to understand and with a curse, he stood and stomped out of the room. Surprised, she followed Soryu out of his office and into the common area where a group of Ice Dragons were going over a map.

"Everyone up. If anyone else is available, I need you all to contact them and pass on this message. Find out everything you can about human trafficking and the Osiris Brethren. Don't get involved yet, just gather information. Which cities, Suzumi?"

"Shiga and Kyoto…"

"You heard her. Pair up, don't get caught."

"Um...Wait."

The men all turned to Suzumi, who raised a hand to stop them from leaving yet. Soryu raised a brow, but didn't stop her from speaking. She had more information than he did at the moment and anything would help.

"I think they're looking at blaming the Ice Dragons. Look for anyone saying it's all Ice Dragon work, too. Not just Osiris Brethren."

The men in the room shouted in fury, looking to Soryu to match their outrage. Instead, the look on the Ice Dragon leader's face contained a pure rage Suzumi never thought she'd have to see again. It was a look she'd seen many times on Ren's during his fits of rage, but for entirely different reasons. The look on Soryu's face didn't terrify her half as much and knowing it was because the Ice Dragons might be in danger left her breathless. She didn't think it was possible for a mob boss to care about is people.

"Samejima, take Suzumi back then meet with me here." Soryu turned to go back into his office, stopping in front of Suzumi. "Go back to the suite. Stay there, don't leave. Call Haruka or Ota or Baba for things." He put his hands on her shoulders and made eye contact with her. "Thank you for the information, you've done well." Giving her shoulders a squeeze, he smiled briefly before walking away again.

"Soryu, be careful."

"Suzumi, let's go. It's getting late and I want to get you back before dark." Samejima stood next to her silently, urging her towards the door.

It wasn't until they were in the elevator of the Tres Spades that Suzumi spoke.

"Please be careful. I'll feel bad if any of you get hurt or worse because of information I gave you."

Samejima gave her a small, reassuring smile. "Don't worry so much. If we didn't have this info, it could be even worse. I'll do my best to keep the boss safe, too."

"What are you guys going to do?"

He hesitated, allowing her to step out of the elevator first upon reaching the correct floor. "It depends on what we find."

"Is Soryu going to come home tonight?"

"Probably not. He'll likely want to head the group going to Kyoto, honestly." Samejima watched as she unlocked the suite door and stepped inside to check the room quickly for her. Finding it clear, he bowed to her at the door. "Don't overthink it. We'll all be fine. I'll have the boss call you when we're done, if he's available. I'm sorry I won't be available to assist you while we're away, but Mr Oh's friends are dependable if you get in a pinch. Goodnight, Suzumi."

/*\

Three days.

It had been three days since the Ice Dragons had gone off after getting information from Suzumi and in those three days, she'd imagined every terrible scenario that could have happened to them. Haruka had spent the second day with her, realizing she was spending most of her time staring out of the view of Odaiba and the water and had taken to not ordering food.

Eisuke was fine with giving the maid the day off after hearing the situation. Soryu was a grown man and had his periods where he didn't show up to the penthouse, but after learning where the man went, the crease in his brow and unhappy frown spoke volumes to Suzumi, who realized the two were actually close friends in her time spent on the 51st floor.

On the morning of the third day, Baba and Ota had shown up to take her down to the casino, trying to get her mind distracted. However she firmly stated that she wasn't leaving the room, ordered to not leave the suite by Soryu himself. After a bit of pouting, Ota disappeared, only to come back to jewelry tools and supplies and taught Suzumi how to make simple jewelry. He was impressed her her concept of color but laughed at her struggles with the tools.

"You're funny, little sparrow." He tousled her hair affectionately with a smile.

"Don't call me that," she growled.

"But that's your name. Should I give you a pet name instead? You are a pet...Hmm, Koro is more for a dog, but what about Sora?" He smirked at the angry glare he received. "Yeah, Sora will do."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. Now work on your necklace and I'll teach you how to finish it."

There was a silence before Suzumi spoke again. "You do realize that I'm older than you, right Ota? You should have more respect for your elders."

"Are you saying you're old?" A dark grin crossed his lips.

"No!"

"How old are you, Sora?"

Silence.

"Sora?"

"Suzumi?"

"I'm twenty eight."

Ota hummed. "So you are old."

"Shut up."

More silence and as Ota helped her attach the clasp to her new necklace, Suzumi watched him work with his artist's hands and smiled.

"Thanks, Ota."

"For what, this? This is nothing. Don't be silly, Sora."

/*\

Suzumi was debating whether or not to go to bed, realizing the clock read almost two in the morning. As she stood from the couch and stretched, the door behind her clicked and in walked Soryu looking worse for wear.

"Soryu?!"

Looking up, Soryu was shocked to see Suzumi still awake. He was even more so surprised to see worry and relief simultaneously written across her face. When she crumpled to the ground, he met her and grabbed her arm. Pulling her up, he sat her on the couch and collapsed across from her on the opposite one.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? I've been so worried! Look at you! You look like you were in a war!"

Soryu sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to meet Suzumi's eyes, knowing the truth would admit she was nearly right. It hadn't been pretty in Kyoto and the group of rivals the others had run into in Shiga had been fierce. The problem in Shiga was eliminated with the help of brother groups they had in the city, but Kyoto was like turning over a boulder and finding a whole new infestation of slugs. Caught up in his memories, Soryu was surprised when Suzumi became assertive and pulled him back into a sitting position and started taking off his suit jacket.

"What-"

"I asked Haruka for a first aid kit a few days ago. I need to fix you before it gets worse." Suzumi's eyes were down and she walked out of the room, disappearing behind her door for a moment, only to return in the blink of an eye with a medical kit in hand. "What hurts?"

Too surprised to answer, he couldn't help but to gape at her as she kneeled at the coffee table and began unpacking the kit. When she finally looked up, the piercing glare she sent his way made him shiver. It was a look on par with any hardened mobster. Her eyes zeroed in on his side and she gasped.

"You're side! It's still bleeding?"

Soryu looked down and sure enough, the left side of his shirt was dark crimson and shiny wet. He hadn't realized the injury was bleeding, only that it had been throbbing the last few hours. He hissed, the realization sending any muted pain through his nerves. It had seemed like a stray bullet, but perhaps it had grazed a little deeper?

Slowly as to not upset his wound any further, Soryu peeled off his shirt and tossed it in a bloody heap on the table. He internally smirked at the lack of reaction from Suzumi; the sight of a fleshy wound and copious amounts of blood did little to deter her from starting the cleaning of the hole. She was already stronger than when he'd left her days ago, and even more so than the first time he'd talked to her in this room. She was an excellent asset and his instinct that she was made of harder things than spun glass were correct.

As she gently wiped at the blood on his skin, the pile of soiled linen grew, adding to Soryu's already ruined shirt and the discarded sterile packaging. When Suzumi cleaned his skin enough to assess the wound itself, she sucked in a breath and froze.

"What is it?" Soryu asked above her, frowning.

"Um. It's kind of still bleeding. But I think it's because there's a bullet in there. Just a small trickle of blood, but at this rate, you'll bleed out. You should go to the hospital."

Soryu shook his head. "I can't begin to count the reasons why I can't go to a hospital with a bullet wound. Do you think you can take it out?"

Flabbergasted at the suggestion, Suzumi paled. "I would probably kill you. I mean, I could try but… I didn't study medicine or anything about the human body." She paused, biting her lip. "What about Luke? The doctor you called for me when I came here?"

Soryu flinched as he reached for his jacket, pain shooting through his side. Suzumi paled further as a dribble of blood left the wound and she scrambled to stop the flow with a wad of bandages. "Just ask me to get things for you, Soryu!" she chided, keeping a firm pressure on his side as she watching him dial his cell phone. Standing, Suzumi went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water for Soryu and to look for pain medicine.

His conversation was brief, his face barely changing from the stoic mask he put on to hide the pain he was obviously in. When he finished, he sighed and watched her walk back into the living room and set down the bottle. "Luke can come, but not until late morning. He's flying back from Dubai currently. He's sending someone else, another doctor he trusts but that won't be for a while. His suggestion was for you to try in the meantime."

"Is he insane? Don't answer that. He called me Sexy Bones, so of course he is." Suzumi rubbed at her temple, then shook her head. "Is this something you want me to do? Do you trust me with digging out a bullet? With your life?" Her eyes searched his, surprised when he didn't break contact and stared back at her.

"Suzumi, I wouldn't have let you get this far in cleaning the wound if I didn't trust you. I've taken bullets out of my men before, I can guide you. I trust that you can do it. There are few I would trust with this."

Soryu watched a plethora of emotions cast across Suzumi's face in quick succession, waiting for her to decide. When he saw steeled determination, he smirked and casually changed out the bandage he was holding on his side. "Wipe down the dining room table with antiseptic, bring over everything you need, and I'll come over."

Suzumi nodded, "I'm going to need more than what's in this kit, I think."

"Call Haruka. She'll get whatever you need." Soryu tossed her his cell phone with his free hand and watched as she immediately searched for the girl's name and dialed the call.

"Haruka? It's Suzumi. I need some help…"

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave me reviews so I know people are reading and wish for me to keep posting! I'm having fun writing it for myself, but considering the lack of KBTBB fic out there, sharing is caring! Until next time!

Hint for next time: A brief crossover, miscommunication, and a close call.