Title: Runner
Summary: When Akihito gets a call from an old friend, Asami starts to dig. What is his kitten hiding? And who is this new kid on the block that refers to himself as 'Wildcat'?
Rating: T—Due to change
Genre: Suspense/Romance
Length: 15 Chapters

Author's Note: Please see the bottom of the chapter for an important announcement.

Trigger warnings: Narcotic abuse and light attempted rape.

Chapter 10: Offers, Suspicions and Drugs, Oh My.

Akihito's awareness came to him in bits and pieces. He woke up to pitch black, a racing heartbeat and tense muscles that screamed at him to move. He lunged forward, throwing himself forward to dodge an unseen opponent. His palms scraped against loose graven and he had to bite back a curse when his unseen opponent landed on top of him, a foot pressing his head against the ground. He struggled to hold onto consciousness from the blow, managing only by a thin thread, while fighting back tears the pain brought to his eyes.

"So you're the one they call Wildcat." Takamatsu said casually from somewhere above him. "I bet you're wondering why you're here… in the dark."

Akihito bared his teeth before he smirked. "I know why I'm here." He said, sounding more confident than he felt.

"Oh?"

"I pissed you off and this is your means of retaliating."A moment of silence and then—

"Ahahaha!" Takamatsu dissolved into laughter. "You sure are a spitfire." He said, the grin audible in his voice. "But if I was retaliating, you wouldn't be half as untouched as you are."

"Oh?" Akihito asked, his voice light in contrast to the darkening thoughts that crossed his mind.

"No… if I was retaliating… I'd be doing something like this." A hand ghosted up Akihito's shirt and, for the first time since he took on the guise as Kurosawa Gin, fear swelled in his throat.

Akihito jerked away from him. "Don't touch me, sicko." He snarled. He'd had enough of being fondled and groped without consent.

More laughter. Akihito was beginning to question his sanity. "Like I said—spitfire." The hand disappeared. "But I didn't bring you here to have my way with you. As adorable as you are, I don't do men." Akihito sneered—he sincerely doubted that. "I brought you here to talk business."

"Business?" Akihito asked, sitting up and looking around the area he heard Takamatsu's voice coming from. "You brought me here against my will to talk business." His voice was bland and he was sure his expression was deeply unimpressed.

"Hm, when you put it that way, you make me sound like a psychopath."

"Aren't you?" Akihito asked before he thought to censor himself. "You kidnapped Kaoru-san and are looking to have Tsukiya killed. No sane person goes through all of that trouble."

"Oh but you don't know the whole story," Takamatsu countered.

"I don't have to. Attempted murder is a crime."

"So is Running."

Akihito's mouth clamped shut, his jaw twitching. This bastard…

"Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain the situation to you." Takamatsu said emotionlessly. Akihito wished he could see his face, if only to guess at what he was thinking. "Tsukiya and I dated before that two-faced bastard Kaoru came along and played the knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. About eight and a half months ago, I ran into her one night while she was out on a job. I invited her for coffee and, well… things just went from there."

Akihito did not like where this was going.

"We ended up at a hotel in Berlin. We had sex, regardless of the fact that she was in a relationship with that Yamazaki prick. Now, six months down the line, I find out that she's pregnant." Takamatsu paused as though he wasn't sure how to continue. "I take it from your expression that you understand where I'm going."

"So why not have her submit to a DNA test instead?" Akihito asked, masking his expression into impassiveness. It was harder than it sounded.

"Because Yamazaki doesn't know about the affair and she refuses to tell him."

"So how did I get involved?" Akihito got the impression he was being given a look that meant the other was questioning his intelligence. He knew how he was involved. Tsukiya asked for his help—but surely, there had to be more to it than that.

"I don't know how her mind works." Takamatsu said and then he paused. "Has she told you anything?" He inquired lightly.

"Just that you kidnapped her fiancé and she wasn't able to retrieve him herself because she was with child."

"Hn." The bastard had the gall to chuckle. "That's rather bland, don't you think?"

"I've done more with less." Runners didn't ask questions.

"Right… your… no questions policy." Takamatsu moved and Akihito tensed. "I'm here to make you an offer, kitty cat." Akihito snarled at the nickname and the bastard chuckled again. "I want you to work for me."

Akihito blinked, taken aback. "Why?"

"Because you're damn good at what you do and covering your tracks—and, if I'm not mistaken, you're also good at disguises." Takamatsu moved around him, stalking him like a wild animal on the hunt. "I did some looking into you, Takaba Akihito, and you're the best at what you do on every front—even hiding away that pesky reporter." He must have meant Mitarai. "And I want only the best to work for me."

Akihito's eyes narrowed. "And if I say no?"

"I'll tell Asami Ryuichi all about your extracurricular activities." Akihito lunged at the space where he believed the voice was coming from. He got the impression that he'd just been side-stepped so he lashed out with his foot, catching something. He heard a grunt and then a thud and smirked. "You don't have to answer now." The man said calmly, as though Akihito hadn't just planted him on his ass in the pitch black. "I will call you in three days and receive your answer when I do. Until then, I advice you think this over carefully."

The lights came on. Akihito blinked at the warehouse and then looked in the direction he heard the voice coming from only to find a punch of mannequins and a wireless receiver sitting on a piece of paper with a cell phone sitting next to it.

Akihito could connect the dots as he picked up and pocketed the cell phone. The piece of paper had a note written in an elegant scrawl.

Until we meet again, Takaba Akihito.

Kurosawa looked drawn and tired when he got back from wherever it was he'd been. "You look tired." He commented.

"I've had better days." He said darkly, a grimace pulling down his lips. "Takamatsu reached out to me. He offered me a job."

"Oh?" Asami was already pouring a glass of scotch for himself. He offered one to the Runner who politely declined. "What did he say?"

"…did you know that Tsukiya and he had an affair eight and a half months ago?"

Asami's eyebrows shot up. "Really."

"He thinks the child might be his."

"No wonder he took Kaoru." Asami mused. "But how do you fit into all of this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kurosawa asked dryly. "She came to me for help." He pushed his glasses up on his nose causing them to flash. "I have an idea of what he'll ask me to do but no definitive evidence. I hope that'll change in the next forty eight hours." Asami turned inquisitive eyes onto his recently acquired ally. "I hooked up a reprogrammed data analyzer to the hotel room he was staying at. Either Tsukiya or I will decrypt it in two days' time."

"How will that help?"

"It'll help me track his movement and find out who he's been contacting from his hotel room."

"I thought data analyzers could only tell you how much data was being accessed and how secure it was." Asami mused.

Kurosawa raised an eyebrow, his eyes reflecting how impressed he was. "They do—normally. I spent about a hundred grand upgrading this one when I was under a different guise."

Alarm bells went off in Asami's mind. "Are you saying that Kurosawa isn't your real name?" The brunet stiffened—caught in the middle of a lie, Asami thought. "Who are you then?" He didn't appear all that bothered by the fact he was being lied to but underneath it all, Asami felt a prickle of unease run along his spine.

It wasn't the kind of unease he associated with the Mafia, however. It was the kind of unease he felt whenever he saw that downright feral look in his kitten's eyes.

But that was preposterous. That would mean that…

That would mean that Akihito was right here in the room with him.

Impossible. Akihito wasn't good at acting. His eyes gave him away and they were hazel blue… not…

Actually, Asami never paid attention to what color Kurosawa's eyes were. It was kind of hard to focus on them with that thick-framed pair of glasses.

His eyes drifted sidelong to his face. His breath caught in his throat.

They were the same color.

Kurosawa jerked back as though he'd been scalded. "No." He finally said, breaking Asami's concentration. "Kurosawa isn't my real name… but you can understand why I don't want my real name being paraded about, right? I do have a family that I need to keep safe."

"Yes…" Asami said slowly, his reflecting his apprehension. Surely, there was no way… "I suppose you do."

Akihito slammed the bathroom shut and let out a breath of relief. Asami was too sharp for his own good. His chest heaved as the adrenalin made his hands shake. 'Gonna' need to do something about that.' He thought, smiling grimly.

He also had to do something about the pain in his head. Maybe he could treat both?

No.

Akihito glared at his reflection. He would not go down that path again. Pain medication was for pain, not for treating the shock that followed the onslaught of adrenalin.

'But you're in pain. Your head hurts.' As if to prove his point, the bruise that Takamatsu gave him when he curb-stomped on the side of his head (at least he thought it was Takamatsu) gave a painful twinge.

Akihito opened the cabinet and looked at the bottle of Methadone he'd taken from his and Asami's shared apartment on a whim.

One dose wouldn't hurt him.

So, instead of listening to the voice of reason screaming that Methadone was far too strong for his intended purpose, Akihito tossed back two small tablets. 'One dose won't hurt me.' He thought as he chased it down with some water from the sink.

Just one dose, he told himself, and no more.

And if it made him forget the most recent set of problems, then so be it.

Tsuzukeru.

Next time: Asami gets a late night visit. Akihito confronts Tsukiya. Takamatsu calls to hear Akihito's answer.

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NARCOTIC ABUSE IS BAD!If you know someone suffering from narcotic abuse, talk to them. Find out why and then sit them down for an intervention. If that doesn't work, take their pills and hide them (or flush them if you prefer).

This doesn't directly relate to the story but I think I should put it out there.