CHAPTER 12-

Hehe, hey guys! Oh, I love you all, darling fans who send me such WONDERFUL reviews that make me sooo happy! You definitely had been feeling so guilty for leaving the last chapter with such a cliff hanger after the initial cliff-hanger, but it gets better here, I promise!

Um, just a note to clarify; in the last chapter when there is a bit missing toward the end (it was important for the whole timing in this one, sort of, but you'll understand!) this is what it was meant to say: 'Coming back to reality, Asami found himself standing in the middle of the kitchen, a warm sheet of sweat covering his entire body and his breathing rapid, a quick glance at the time showed that it was almost phone was ringing in the hall but it took him a moment to register the sound, upon recognition he finally turned and left the kitchen, catching the phone just before it moved to the dial tone'.

Okidoki, hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I loved writing it! Please continue your incredible reviews and compliments, thank you sooo much! Love you all! Rimah xx

It was 9:30 when Kirishima Kei arrived home. It was probably the earliest in months and that he owed to the absence of his boss for the entire day, making it possible for him to leave before 4am for once in his life. Even though the club was still running and would be for hours, he was able to leave and how exciting that was for the man.

"I'm home, sweetheart" he chimed, stepping through the door with grace and slipping off his shoes before receding inside. "Honey?" he called again, after waiting a while and not hearing any reply to his earlier announcement.

"Oh!" he heard the murmur from another room and smiled, relieved. "I'm in the bedroom." Putting his briefcase down lightly on the black leather couch in the lounge room and removing his jacket, he moved into the bedroom. Inside, he found his wife lying under piles of cushy sheets with a large duvet, her head propped up with all the cushions in the bed it seemed. She was engrossed in a magazine, open to some major gossip that she enjoyed the most. The TV blared on the other side of the room but it had obviously been neglected for a while, showing a late night news channel that he knew she had no interest in.

"Well it's wonderful to see you too, love." He joked, noticing how she was far too engrossed in what she was reading to even notice his early appearance. However, he had spoken too soon. As soon as she finished off the page, she broke away to look up at him with a big grin that he loved so much, as it lit up her beautiful face.

"Haha, you're home early!" softly laying down the brightly colored magazine, she lept out of the covers and tiptoed across the sheets to meet him, standing at the end of the bed while chuckling softly. Reaching out with both hands, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her as their lips met, creating a much welcomed sensual moment between the two. He felt her pull him forward, on top of her as she lowered toward the bed without breaking away. His smile grew wide as he recognised how her need for him, mirrored that of his own longing for her as the two settled into multiple rounds of intense intercourse, that rarely passed between them.

"Oo~oh that was good. I've missed you so much, getting home so late and then taking off the moment that annoying boss of yours calls for you." As she referenced Asami, he smirked in agreement. She was 31, four years younger than Kei, but even though she was far younger tat Asami, even she saw demanding Asami was and how irregular the hours were. Kei would never know how he had kept up the relationship with such a wonderful woman for so long, having been married for six years the month prior. He was away so much, especially during the Hong Kong incident where he had almost spent half the year out of the country, but it suited her just fine as her work was equally demanding, being a top lawyer.

"Now now, don't be rude, I can't have you accidentally saying that to his face, I couldn't bear to lose you, not to him." She blushed at this assertion and snuggled further under the covers, not breaking eye contact from him. "Do you want something to drink, I don't know about you but I could use a good tea right now." Nodding and giving a tiny verbal response in affirmation, she then turned toward the bedside table and grabbed back the magazine that she had been reading prior to their little adventure together. Shaking his head in mock exasperation, he turned to retrieve the drinks.

"So, what is it that has you so engrossed in that silly magazine of yours anyway? I didn't know you were into that sort of thing." Kirishima asked, coming back into the room ten minutes later with two mugs of steaming hot tea. He sat down beside her and passed the drink, taking the magazine from her as she took the drink and placed it aside. He turned it over in his hands, admiring the front cover full of gossip and photographs of idols and actors alike, headlining the scandals that followed them. Taking in the title, he scoffed and rolled his eyes at the stupid name of 'Picturesque'.

"Hey" he grunted, grabbing it back from him and flipping through the book in search of her old page. "Im not usually so into it, it's just that this is the winter special edition. Picturesque is like the biggest magazine and always have the best stories, photography and coverage and they get it out quick. Plus it's a tradition for Picturesque to bring one out every year around the end of November. It's kind of like a celebration of getting almost to the end of the year, they bring out a whole new design and include all the behind the scenes stuff and what not. Look…" snuggling in tight beside her, he watched as she flipped toward one of the last pages in the magazine, producing a page with a photograph on it, labelled the 'picturesque crew'. When she gestured for him to take a look, he sighed and took it from here and held the image in front of his face.

"Holy… holy crap!" he chocked, staring at the photo with wide eyes, mouth hanging open. "Him, no it can't be, holy shit, it looks just like him… but he's dead. What.." it was murmured in a frantic blur as he pointed frantically toward the image, almost ripping a hole from the force.

"Hey hey, watch it, this wasn't cheap. What are you talking about? Who is him?" But Kei didn't even hear her, the boy looked so much like the dead lover of Asami. His perfectly clear face in the image proved it completely, he was the splitting image of Takaba Aihito. His hair was different, it was chocolate brown and if he stared at the figure long enough, the eyes seemed to be green instead of the usual hazel, but it looked exactly with out a doubt, like the dead kid.

"Who is he? What does he do, do you know who that is, Kiyomi?" But she was just staring at him with confusion, no longer smiling.

"Yeah I know him, that's Ren. He's a photographer there and he's really good, his work is the best I think… But why do you care so much?" Kirishima barely had time to think, his mind was reeling from confusion. Was it even possible, the fact that he looked like him and just happened to be a photographer didn't automatically make it so, and it seemed almost cliché that he would come upon this the day, exactly one year from his perhaps apparent death.

"No, he just looks lie somebody that Asami used to know, but that boy is meant to be dead, he died today one year ago in fact. But he just looks so much like him. Tell me sweetheart, where will I be able to find out about this Ren." When she still continued to look skeptical he decided to elaborate, what difference would it make. "Baby, Takaba Akihito was Asami's gay lover, but he was killed in America a year ago. You asked why I came home so early, well it's because for the whole day, Asami has been at his home moping about the death of somebody that he… felt strongly about. If this boy is alive I need to find out, if you saw the difference in Asami ever since he died, you would do everything in your power to find out and come to a logical conclusion also." As he spoke, she slowly melted and looked back at the boy whose face, he husband was still pointing toward.

"Hmm, well just go on the official website and there's bios' on most of the staff there. C'mon I'll show you." She smiled softly. Leading him toward her laptop, she popped it open and found the link toward the official 'Picturesque' website. A few mouse clicks later, she had up a short bio along with image of Ren Demolaino.

Kirishima moved into secretary mode, taking on a pace of practice as he searched;

Ren Demolaino was 24, his birthday was 7th of June, he was a full time photographer and a respected one at that. Many loving fangirs had stated on his page their great love of his work saying that he was the 'best photographer ever' and other like comments. Apparently Ren had been working at the company for a year.

As he read on, the more his hunch grew and grew until it seemed as if it were actually true. Being in his line of work, especially the underground area with his boss' connections in Government and other places, he had access to many sites including a world wide data base of every single registered human being in the world. Running the boy- Ren's- face though the site, it came up two possibilities; one including the registered deceased Akihito and the other being Ren Demolaino. Though this should never have happened, not even identical twins came up as he same. If that wasn't enough, everything matched up perfectly, almost to his disbelief and definite exasperation. Apparently, Ren had moved to Miami exactly ten days after Akihito's recorded death. He was a photographer, and a brilliant one just like the Takaba his boss had known. Ren was doing well for himself, very well for himself, he wasn't like the broke Takaba. He had plenty of money, he had a registered car drivers licence and owned his own car, he lived in a nice apartment in a nice area near the beach of Miami, he had a brilliant annual salary with the job at one of the finest places available for photographers, world wide. He couldn't believe that Akihito was alive, but it was actually a logical conclusion.

He decided to try his luck and bother Asami, if the man even allowed him to state the name and some semblance of an explanation on his point, but would he believe it? Ignoring, the tiny voice in his head yelling at him to stop, he gathered all the information he had gathered together and emailed it to Asami, picking up the phone he took a deep breath before dialing the number with nerves rushing to the surface. He could lose his job if he was wrong, and the likely hood that he was was unfathomably high because what was the possibility of the seemingly thick Akihito Takaba, performing a fake death and everything tat went with that just to get away from Asami, even with the help of his sister's husband…

Waiting anxiously, he was about to hang up when his boss picked up. Asami-sama", he rushed in a shamefully distressed voice.

"What is it, I thought I told you not to call bother me today." Asami spoke back, in a cool but threatening tone that almost tempted the man to apologise and simply hang up.

"Yes boss, I understand, but I think I may have something here for you that you might find to your greatest interest."

"What is it..?" His boss slowed so that his voice was like ice.

"Sir, I have reason to believe that Takaba Akihito… Is alive…"

For almost five minutes, no reply came and he almost began to think that the man had hung up. But he wasn't so lucky. Suddenly, a low growl was heard from the other side of the phone

"How dare you Kirishima, I thought you were smarter than this. But apparently I was wrong about you too, pick your shit up on Monday, you're fired." Kirishima let out a breath, eyes closing as his hands came down upon the table making a loud crash at the collision.

"Do as you wish, but you owe me at least a look into my justification, it has been emailed to yo…!" Too late, the man had hung up on him. He sighed when the obnoxious 'beep' started and let the phone go, banging it on the table. "I just lost my fucking job, just trying to help you fucking bastard out, ten years of service to you and you fire me in a second" he whispered to the unhearing Asami, loathing coating his eyes an even darker shade of grey as his knuckles clenched.

Without another word, he got up from the desk in a rush and headed straight for the bed, climbing in beside his wife as tryied to put the anger out of mind. However this was no easy task; realising that he had just lost his life's accomplishment. Grunting back a snarl, he shut his eyes and tempted himself off toward sleep.

It didn't last long, twenty minutes later both man and wife were woken as the home phone went off unceremoniously. Snapping awake and sitting up with a blast, Kirishima jumped off the bed and understanding in the next moment, he made his way leisurely toward the wall phone, picking it up with ease he brought it to his ear and listened, making a grunt to say he had picked it up.

"Kirishima, you're rehired so get over here, you are going to receive a pay rise…"

Pleased, Kirishima sighed, understanding that he would probably never come closer to hearing more of an apology from the ever stubborn Asami. "Of course Asami-sama, thank you for reconsidering," hearing the scoff form the other man, he hung up and redressed and got ready for another long adventure… but he didn't mind, he loved it, he would never find a better job. And so, leaving a small peck on his loving wife's forehead he left the home, leaving the door to click shut lightly in his wake.

Asami sat in front of his computer, staring at the picture of a brunette, green eyed Takaba Akihito- One Ren Demolaino, who had been living behind his back; he had friends and a girlfriend, he had a successful career and had reached his goals in life. One who had, as he promised Asami such a long time ago, risen up in the world. And even though he hadn't become higher than Asami- as that would be impossible, he had grown into a man who could support himself and who had made a positive name for himself in the world of photographic Journalism. His Akihito.

But he wasn't sure if he even still existed within this Ren person, it felt so strange to know that he was alive and that in all the time that Asami had been living without him, constantly in inconceivable pain for some unknown reason, the boy had been moving forward and working to forget all about him.

He had known for three weeks now, in which time he had painstakingly been pushing through his own work as he usually would, living life as though he didn't know anything, while all the time he had been making the arrangement' s for an elongated 'holiday' as he was going to call it.

Finally it was time, he had all the information one would need for finding his old lover- he had names, dates, addresses and even the boys' schedules. Seated in the comfy seats of his own private jet, he reclined back in order to catch a few hours of sleep during his long flight. The adrenaline was coursing through him, his fight to the death attitude was in place as he thought solely of hopefully seeing his lover for the first time in over a year. Even though he would never have exact proof that it was in fact Takaba Akihito who was playing a constant dress up as hot shot Ren Demolaino, everything pointed in that direction, and so he was positive that he was right.

The time flew by; one second he was on the plane, the next he was off, then he was inside the car that had come specifically to pick him up. He drove for an hour before he noticed the familiar sights of the hotel he had booked for an indefinite time frame. Stepping out gracefully, he nodded to the luggage carter as he came out of the flashy hotel who wheeled with him a golden bag carrier, ready to load the luggage onto. Kirishima went ahead and booked them in and as soon as that was finished he made his way up to the rooms. He had his own deluxe suite while Kirishima and Suoh shared a two bedroom apartment across the hall, a usual occurrence for the three of them.

Neither one of them unpacked; instead they just went ahead and left their bags where they had dumped them. They had far too much work to do.

It was a matter of watching Akihito's every move for the next few days and finding the perfect time to jump in. Over the period of a few days, closely watching the young man they had all the information they needed: Ren Demolaino drove a light metallic blue Vauxhall Corsa, he left for work around 8:30-9am every morning and arrived back around 7pm. His girl friend was a model for his agency and one that he had shot many times, she came over a lot and was annoyingly clingy, it seemed to Asami. He went out with friends most evenings to participate in activities ranging from surfing, that he was surprisingly good at, to night clubbing and everything in between.

"Sir, we have reason to believe that the boy is receiving a promotion. Though he will not find out till at least tomorrow it is all that the two managers ever seem to text or email about as of late." Kirishima Kei came inside the room of Asami's apartment after knocking, he held out papers with the printouts of all text messages and the phone call information between the two men- it hadn't been hard to hack their accounts. It seemed that they were going to ask him the following day and that they were expecting a positive answer. Nodding lightly, Asami took the paper out of his secretaries' hands and dismissed him for the night. He read between the two men's emails until he fell asleep of boredom.

It was late Friday evening, the sky had long since become a beautiful shade of pink cherry marking the change from day into night. Asami sat, along with his two right hand men, in a far corner of the stifling club, watching intently as his Akihito slowly slipped into a major drunken state as the night progressed. He hadn't stopped for hours now, going from shots to beer and the cocktails, Asami was almost contemplating not even bothering to drug him, it seemed the boy was going to bring himself to comatose alone. However, thinking better of it, he called upon a young bartender who looked almost too young to have the job. Holding out three 100 dollar notes, he whispered into the unsuspecting boy who he could feel becoming more excited by the minute.

"Be a good boy and go put this into the young brunette man, sitting at the bar counter. Make sure he drinks it and doesn't suspect anything. You manage this and you can expect twice as much, subsequently" Nodding with wide eyes and mouth hanging open, the young man grabbed the notes and the dis-solvable pill from his open hand and rushed over eagerly, not even questioning. Asami watched with a chilled persona as Akihito and the bartender conversed, a shit-eating grin crossing over his features as the boy fell for it without thinking twice and took the drink from the bartender's hands. The boy behind the bar gave Asami a small nod showing that he had done what he was told and Kirishima got up to deliver the goods to the young man.

'Finally' Asami thought to himself as he got up from where he was seated and watched as Akihito got up too with wide eyes, looking around in alarm for the culprit. Wheezing, he rushed in the direction of the bathrooms, his friend racing after him. "Get rid of the other one" Asami murmured to Suoh who immediately went to retrieve Akihito's new best friend, Adam from getting in the way of their plan.

Asami walked with a leisurely pace, behind the young boy who had recently rushed alone into the desolate bathroom, 'stupid move' he thought with a chuckle. Entering the bathrooms with as much noise as he could manage, he purposely let his feet clip threateningly against the floor and allowed his chuckle to ring out over the bathroom, startling the poor drugged Akihito. Rounding the corner, he came upon the boy who was just about frothing at the mouth over the toilet bowl, having not even bothered to close the cubical door behind him and so it swung free as Asami came to stand behind the convulsing boy, his shadow covering the small figure.

"Caught you." He hissed just before the boy passed out. Walking in further, he picked up the lithe form from its crumpled state on the wet, muddy bathroom tiles.

He held the boy close and in that instant as he smelt the familiar scent and saw the boy in his own grasp once again, he let out a strange, almost choked whine as his pulse quickened in recognition. It was his Takaba Akihito, Asami had tracked him down and found him waiting in a huddle at the end of the abyss, just as he had promised he would.

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! Love you guys, Rimah xx (btw; that little end bit was referencing chap 39 and the last thing Asami said to Takaba before he left in the manga- just in case you didn't realise and though i was being weird) 3