Replies to Reviews:

youngsubsministhatzeh: Lol! I don't mind—I won't ever get tired of that. I really appreciate it and it's like I'm engaging with my readers—feels rewarding. Yeah, Mika wants to know about his past but Aya has one hell of a dark past…no wonder he would want to hide it. No more than hiding it, He just doesn't want to revisit it or have Mikage concern himself over it. That's all. Hopefully he'll be able to convey that to Mika soon. Oh my God you're an angel, thanks so much for the acknowledgement too. That means a lot, you really know how to lift some one's spirit haha. lol I still think you're over exaggerating. Really glad you love the story so much though. Wow, I bet you're the first reviewer to actually tell me to take my time—watch it, I might just lean back too far XD. But nonetheless I'm grateful and honored for the awe-inspiring reviews!

Daime Guiral: Pshh, you're good, you don't have to worry about paragraphs or bullets, as long as I can read it. Lol, I'm hoping the same thing. I'm sure by the end of this short arc he'll be able to overcome his pride or reluctance and give in to Mika. After all, Mika does deserve it. We all love his possessiveness (that's probably why we're here haha). I think that's what Aya doesn't get/falters in- the fact that Mika will accept him unconditionally. That's why he's always having the blond repeat after him that he loves him. I'll have Mika confirm that with him, but I don't blame him, any one would have second thoughts after being abused like that. Yup, you're right about what their relationship should be. Why it's not, could be due to their very wide gap in age. I'm starting to get interested in your work lol, wink wink, but you're absolutely correct—that's a nice way of putting it. Wow, I say the same thing 'there will be that one person who will read it and love it no matter what.' So true! We do need more fics for this fandom, I kind of didn't think of it that way lol. Okay, that's all the motivation I need, since I love this couple so much, I'll do it. Of course, when I have the time and not so many ongoing fics. It'll be nice to revisit this couple in a new light after some time passes. You're the best, I enjoy the long comments, don't mind! Thanks for all the epic support and review!

lili. chng. 1: Hey! Glad to hear that! Yeah no one really starts out knowing this ship. Lol, Mika is a perfect lover actually. Kind, endearing, forgiving, bright…I could go on for days. And to think Aya is just the opposite. Haha when you said that cliffhanger was killing—I was like: okay, you know what, I think I should update already. XD. Ayanami was reading this too? Gulp. I think he might kill me for exposing all Mika's cute sides to the world… Sazanami? What a cool name lol! Thanks for the review!

Disclaimer in first chapter.

Chapter 28:

Ayanami had stripped off the younger's T-shirt and was using that to bind his hands above him with one of the living room table's legs. The blond was frequently bitten and beaten, skin displaying red and purple marks as he lay below the elder completely naked. Ayanami was the reverse of who he was yesterday. Unlike last night where he prepared and stretched the other until a whole hand could enter, tonight the silverette thrusted over and over again in him without any prior indulgence.

"Ah! Erh! An!" Mikage cried out in between every thrusts, tears flowing down the side of his face at the rough treatment. "Aya—Ayanami-San…no more, please…" The elder moved again and while he was at it, slid a hand over the blond's elbow, down his triceps and all the way to his erect nipple. The chief mindlessly gave it a squeeze before bending it with a nail while he circled his tongue around the other's stomach. "Hah…I beg you…"

The elder ceased his movements and irises looked up at the blond's face. He separated his tongue and with hands still somewhere on the younger's body, he straightened his back. With an indifferent expression, he reached to the side and grabbed hold of his belt, that he had yanked out an hour ago. Mikage's mind and body both tensed upon seeing his lover, wrap it around his knuckles in circles.

"We have never used this before, have we?" The silverette tilted his head and mouthed his opinions out loud.

"Ayanami-san, please don't…it hurts." Mikage replied as honestly as possible.

"But how would you know that, when we've never tried it?"

A tear crawled down the blond's cheeks as he bit his lower lip. "…I'm sorry…I wasn't sneaking behind your back, I'll never do it again—please, I mean it." His voice was beginning to shake and Ayanami could evidently see that. The elder relaxed his expression and brought his belted fist up to the blond's face, caressing the arc of his cheek with it as the teen continued to sob.

"Why are you so afraid? I'm simply teaching you a lesson, am I not?" Ayanami ushered with a somewhat gentle voice. Mikage muffled a cry as the elder continued. "It'll be over before you know it." Now there was amusement behind the other's tone.

"Ayanami-san...—" the blond's voice got caught in his throat when the rapid pain from the leather strip tore his flesh. He could say that Ayanami was merciful in flicking the belt instead of swinging it at him, but the agony was still there as it left the skin layer swelling afterwards. "Auw! Agh…" The teen groaned in attempts to endure the pain. His thighs, waist, hips, anywhere the belt grazed, all cried when the corpuscles under his skin discriminated different levels of harm.

"Open your eyes." Ayanami demanded, shoving himself into him again.

"Erh…it hurts…hic..." Mikage couldn't fathom which part of his body hurt more than the other.

Suddenly the teen jerked awake, in a cold sweat with his body still throbbing all over. It took him a whole minute or two just to stare horrifyingly at the ceiling and even his breathing before glancing around and moving his joints. He was still in the living room, same spot, same position except without a certain someone hovering over him. It didn't take long to discover that his wrists were still tied to the table and his back extremely sore upon shifting. The blond winced as muscles stretched every time he moved or at least attempted to move. The curtains were drawn but light still peered into the room, indicating it was way past morning.

He glanced around the room and waited for any sorts of sounds to hit his ears, however none did. 'Of course Ayanami-san already left for work…I can't believe he just left me like this…why did he have to be this mad?' The younger complemented his hands side to side to see if he could escape. Since it was a shirt, there was room for movement, perhaps even enough to let loose. Thus, Mikage bruised his wrists in trials to unleash himself, moving his knees in the same back and forth motion. That also made him realize how sticky his inner thighs were—for that matter, most of his body was. 'A bath would definitely win over food at the moment.' The blond planned, ignoring the rising famishing feeling in his stomach.

"Hah…" The teen heaved a sigh as his wrist kept bumping into the leg and began hurting. After taking a few moments of peace, he resumed to loosening his bind and for a change succeeded. Amazed at breaking away, he yanked the shirt off, flexed his red wrists and used his hand to support his own weight to stagger to the bathroom. Even on the first floor, there were plenty of spare towels and clothes that he could pick out and wear. Immediately the teen soaked himself in a warm bathtub full of water. What could he say, it stung, but at the same time it was tentatively soothing too.

'This isn't working…' Mikage pursed his lips and thought. Eventually he compressed himself and landed his face on one of his hands. 'I can't. I just can't do this. He's impossible to deal with.' The blond prohibited himself from shedding tears any further but ended up doing so anyway, quietly sobbing away. His throat was so dry that it ached just to swallow. Unwillingly the blond exited the bathroom in a simple shirt and long shorts so that most of his legs were covered. He walked past the window, involuntarily glimpsing outside at the gates until he noticed a peculiar sight. Mikage didn't believe his eyes the first time and stood there to confirm once again. The smaller gate was empty—it was unguarded! The teen clasped his hands on the windows and threw his eyes left and right to ratify that fact.

'No…' Mikage's conscience whispered to him once but drifted away as he slid on his slippers and went out the door. 'What would he accomplish by running away?' The teen felt like asking himself, but it was too late. He was already running past the gates. 'It wasn't his fault, he tried. He wanted to get along and fix their relationship, but the more he held on, the more it stabbed deeper in him. Maybe…maybe Ayanami would learn something from his absence for a little bit…?' The younger huffed, hips killing him but he still ran for dear life and deliberation. He really didn't want to think about what the elder was capable of doing when he returned…

Mikage was so lost in his introspections that he failed to notice when he arrived at the local streets and bumped into a very tall person, throwing him backward. Dizziness suddenly taking over him, he collapsed on to the floor and blacked out. The tall figure immediately knelt down and shook the teen by the shoulder but understood his state and hoisted him up, taking him back to his place where he lay him on the bed.

'Hm…no matter how you look at it, he looks no more than sixteen…seventeen?' The man brushed the younger's hair to the side. However, there was something troubling him. Since this man was skilled and had a natural gift for reading souls (and their energies), he was smelling a familiar scent, Ayanami's scent all over the blond—in and out. There was no real way for one to drape a second person's life force on to themselves like that under normal situations. Albeit there was only one other explanation to that, which he was refusing to fathom in this case. 'Very interesting.' He had never imagined encountering such an event before this.

…

Ayanami wrapped up for the day and wasn't planning to do overtime. Hence he piled up all his papers and headed out. The elder glanced at his phone, wondering if he should give the younger a call until he realized he had left the blond tied up. The silverette held back a sigh. 'Why did Mikage care what was in his past? It was in the past for a reason, wasn't it? This was all so pointless—he just wanted the blond to understand that. And of course…to not dig up any morbid memories from the past without his permission.' The chief mused as he stepped towards his awaiting car, making himself comfortable in the back. 'Yes, perhaps he got carried away a slight bit. A slight bit?' He conveniently recalled the teen's expression crying in despair. As much as that was a turn on, he would normally prefer the teen's jolly undivided attention towards him instead. There was a miniscule pause in his thoughts before he turned to the driver.

"Stop by a bakery on the way back." Ayanami insisted and the driver immediately nodded, taking a detour and parking in front of the finest bakery in the area. The elder made it quick and bought everything that would successfully bribe Mikage's attention back to him, including eclairs, macaroons, and an ice cream cake.

…

Ayanami entered the house and noticed the lights of the living room brightly lit. His eyes instinctively fell upon the center of the room where the table was located, expecting his blond to be there. However, his eyes widened a fraction when he saw the unwound shirt lying on the floor like a rag. Impressed so far, he decided to check the rooms assuming that was the only other place the teen would inhabit. Not finding the younger in any one of those rooms, he began to feel skeptical and checked around the entire house and balconies.

'Impossible. He wasn't anywhere. Was he going to check the closets next?' The elder couldn't believe his eyes, paranoia gradually taking over him. At once he summoned all the guards and neither of them confessed to witness Mikage leaving the vicinity, all except one who looked suspicious. Ayanami singled him out and observed his aloofness.

"Do you have something to say?" The silverette glared.

"Uh—Ayanami-sama please forgive me! I—I would never allow him to depart without your permission but …"

"But?" The chief was apparently furious that there was a 'but' in the first place.

"During the afternoon…I took a short break…I got distracted—which caused me to abandon my post for a very short while—but I doubt Mikage-sama might have—" The guard stuttered into the face of the chief.

"I should have you prosecuted for not fulfilling your duties. Because of you, Mikage-kun is now nowhere to be found." The elder's eyes were speaking bloody murder.

"I'm sorry—"

"I want you out of my sights for good." The silverette simply declared, agitation getting the better of him. He threw off his hat and brushed his wavy hair in an upward fashion. 'It's alright. I'll just use my powers to locate him since half of my soul is instilled in him either way.' Ayanami resolved, inhaling a good amount of air and shutting his eyelids to focus on Mikage's position, time and place. Unforeseeably, something was interfering with his connection to the blond. In his mind, he seemed so close to visualizing the other but there was a subtle barrier that blocked his vision, leaving him stranded with no clues as to where to find the younger. Ayanami snapped his eyes open in astonishment. 'Why was this happening? It had never occurred before—how so now?'

The chief tried again and again and again. He even tested on some of the other members of the Black Hawks and without effort, he was able to identify their soul's condition but as soon as he came back to Mikage, it was blank. "Mikage-kun…" Similar to how his sight of the other was magically blocked, he felt like his neuronal signals had been truncated as well. The elder just froze there, brain blank and eyes staring into nothing. This was the first time he deemed his circumstances to be so out of his control. Even so, he couldn't simply stand there. He desired to see the teen this instant.

Ayanami's eyes crossed the bag of goods on the table that he had purchased from the bakery and stopped to stare at them. These were for him. And if he was here he was going to very much appreciate them—laughing with his enchanting expression saying:

"Thank you so much Ayanami-san! Eh?! Wow these sure are expensive! I know, let's share!"

'But I don't like sweets very much.'

"How can you say that without trying them? These are really good, please try them—just one then~" That smiling face of the blond was so endearing that when the elder reached to grab it, he was jolted back to reality. The elder clicked his tongue, a deep frown introducing itself on his forehead. 'This is ridiculous.' He already knew the blond had become someone irreplaceable in his life and he wouldn't live without him but to think he was losing it already. The silverette didn't conclude the thought and slapped the bag relentlessly with the back of his hand, exploding the contents on the other side of room against the wall.

Ayanami took out his phone to dial headquarters and organize a search party but stopped mid-way. 'No, that's a bad idea. If I call the Empire, word will most likely receive the chairman and he'll use this as an opportunity to disrupt other things…this is more of a personal matter…' He cancelled the dialing screen and input a different private organization's number.

"Hello, this is Ayanami. I need you to dispatch a search party for a missing person."

"Yes sir. When did the person leave?"

"This afternoon."

"…" The women remained silent for a moment, reflecting on something. She noticed the time was only 7 PM. "Um, do you not think it is possible he went out to shop but lost track of time?"

"His cell is at home, along with all other outdoor necessities. Furthermore, he isn't the type of person to leave without notice or lose track of time." The silverette clarified. "Perhaps you should do as you're told instead." The women took all the details of the blond and then hung up after the transaction was complete. Ayanami tossed his phone on the couch and paced back and forth in the living room without even consciously being aware of it. 'Great, he was so pissed, he lost all appetite and will to sleep.'

*-*-*-*…*-*-*-*

Mikage cracked his eyes open to an unfamiliar pillow case. Aside from that, the first thing he noticed was how bad his stomach was churning under his skin. He probably didn't even have the strength to lift one finger.

"It's a relief to see that you're awake." A new voice spoke to him. The blond lifted his eyes to recognize a tall man with a stature somewhat similar to Frau's yet a slender build like Ayanami's, standing with a glass of water. He had a unique set of straight diamond blond hair and dark …greyish blue eyes?

"Um…where am I?" the blond attempted to sit up and asked instantly.

"You collapsed on the street. Fear not, this is my house." The man stated, handing the glass of water to the teen.

"Oh, thank you." The blond drank the whole glass in one gulp. He was thirsty since yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, how long was he out? "I'm really sorry about the trouble—I should be heading bac—" Apparently, his stomach was against that idea as it growled loudly. "ugh…"

The man was unexpecting that but chuckled nonetheless. "Would you like to join me for breakfast? You have been sleeping since yesterday afternoon."

"Uwah, that's embarrassing –sorry for all the trouble…" Mikage sheepishly gave in as he watched the other kindly smile. The man looked very young, close to Ayanami's age, perhaps? But there was something about that smile that the younger couldn't take his eyes away. For one, he was confident he could trust this stranger and secondly there was the he seemed immensely familiar. The teen could sense a déjà vu striking him as he surveyed the man.

"Is something the matter?" The elder questioned as they sat on the small coffee table for two.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to stare…it's just that you look awfully familiar—but thanks again for the meal!" Mikage appreciated.

To Be Continued…

There you have it. For all those that wanted to see Aya desperate and Mika resisting—that's the answer. He literally eloped. But allow me to clarify: in his mind, he really just wanted to get away for a bit, he didn't plan on permanently running away (technically that's impossible lol). Btw, I bet you guys know who this new character is. ;P