Cross the floor by Taketo

Chapter 5

I really appreciate all the reviews. Once again thank you and yes, there are some Schwartz here….

Aya's house…

After making sure Ken took his medication, Aya dispatched him upstairs with a stern warning and glare not to come downstairs until tomorrow morning. Ken, who was still reeling from seeing and hearing Aya smile and laugh, just flashed a lopsided grin and disappeared to his room.

Aya ambled into the living room and switched on the TV. After surfing through the channels, he settled for the news and plopped down onto the chair. After a while, the news no longer captivated him. It was the same thing day in, day out. Disgusted, he surfed the channels again and came across the movie 'Goodfellas.' Seeing the tough looking guys in their well-tailored suits and sleek back hair reminded Aya of the man he saw earlier today. Aya slapped the armrest. How could he have forgotten about that character, reeking with sweet perfume! But then, so many things had happened since.

He and Ken were involved in an accident, took a trip to the hospital and of course, Nanako's fantastic home cooking! Remembering that last bit, Aya couldn't help but smile.

Ken…! He had a great smile that seem to light up the room and… Aya shook himself. He was getting side tracked. Why was his bodyguard occupying his thoughts? Maybe because they were together for the most part of the day, but a little voice in him said,

You are starting to like him! Shaking himself furiously, Aya got up. Stop that! Do something useful like finding out whom that sinister looking man who came by Leo's office is!

Striding purposefully to the study, Aya decided that the Internet would be a good place to start.

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Ken's room….

Hidaka Ken, an uncover cop working for Fujimiya Inc. cleaned his teeth and got ready for bed. He sat at the edge of his futon and slipped on ankle length socks. It was a rather cool night and socks would keep him nice and warm. Ken slipped his gun under his pillow, fluffed it up and lay down, pulling the comforter up to his chin. Eyes closed, body not moving except for the rise and fall of his chest, Ken painted a look of tranquility but his mind was far from it.

Aya's easy manner while they ate really surprised him. All this while, he had thought Aya to be a huge block of iceberg. Just like when they were at Benkay's. Only speaking when it was truly called and even if he smiled, it was just a hint of a smile. The Aya that was with him less that 1/2 an hour ago was the total opposite. When he smiled, he gave a true, wide smile. A smile that made his amethyst eyes sparkle and crinkle slightly at the corners. Ken sighed with a smile; the man was so beautiful! And his voice! So deep, rich and smooth! Too bad he doesn't say much. If Aya kept behaving like this, Ken knew he was going to fall hook, line and sinker for the red head. Or did he already fall for Aya? This is silly, Ken thought as he pulled the comforter around him. He's a cop, working undercover. Danger surrounding him constantly! He has no time for this, if he lets his guard down for even one second, that's it! But…Ken smiled into the jet-black darkness of his room; he wouldn't give this up for anything. Never!

Aya's study.

Aya sat hunched in front of his computer, his sleeves rolled up, tie, discarded ages ago and the first 3 buttons were unbuttoned, exposing a section of his neck and upper chest.

He wasn't quite sure what to type. He had nothing on that man except for a physical description and that sickening sweet perfume smell. From his appearance, Aya guessed the mysterious man to be someone involved in illegal activities. News archives! There should be tones of pictures! Maybe the man was photographed at one time or another! As quickly as he could, Aya typed that into the search box.

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Two hours later….

Aya rubbed his tired eyes. He was starting to have double vision after seeing so many pictures! After a while everyone was starting to look the same and Aya had to admit he didn't really get a clear view of the man's face. Sighing in frustration, Aya balled up his fist and punched the table.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Looking up wearily, Aya said, "Yes…"

Slowly the doorknob turned, the door open and Schuldig, the Fujimiya family's major-domo appeared.

"Sorry to disturb you, Fujimiya-san, " Schuldig said bowing. "Mitsui-san is here…."

Leo swept in from behind Schuldig and brandished him aside. "For goodness sake, man! You don't have to bloody well announce me!" He stepped into the study and addressed Aya. "So sorry for such a late visit…."

Aya just waved him off with an "Aaaa…." He remained seated behind the desk and computer.

"I…" Mitsui Leo continued. "…just heard about your accident! Are you hurt? How did it happen?"

Aya took a deep breath before acknowledging Leo. "I'm fine but Hidaka had to get stitches."

"Nothing serious I hope?" Leo pulled a chair and sat down.

"No, …can I offer you a drink?" Aya asked although all he wanted was for Leo to go. He was tired and his shoulder was starting to ache a bit. He hoped that Leo wasn't gonna talk about the business, he wasn't in the mood for that either.

"Yes, thank you. How did the accident happen?" Leo repeated his question.

Again, Aya took his time answering. He poured Leo some Scotch and handed him the glass. "I'm not sure. Something about drunk driving. 4-5 cars involved."

Leo took a sip of his drink. The boy was giving his usual short and clipped answers.

Looks tired. The computer is switch on! Leo noticed. Wonder what he's working on?

Could he be trying to access the files there? Casually, Leo took another sip. "What are you working on?"

Aya looked at Leo who was regarding him steadily over the brim of the tumbler. What was going on in Leo's mind? Aya couldn't explain it, but there was something strange about Leo tonight. Just play it cool Aya. Act normal. So in an extremely bored voice, Aya answered, "Just surfing the net, checking my email." Then Aya made a show of rubbing his already aching shoulder and wincing slightly.

Nothing escaped Leo's sharp eyes. "What's wrong? Were you hurt as well?"

Flexing his injured shoulder, Aya said. "Nothing really. My shoulder is a bit bruised from the accident."

"You should get it examined!" Leo exclaimed, getting up. "You might have cracked something there."

"No, no… Leo, I'm fine." Aya assured Leo who had rounded the table and was standing in front of Aya.

"Really? We could send a doctor over." Leo's eyes darted to the computer screen and back to Aya. For just a nanosecond, something flared in Leo's eyes.

If Aya wasn't looking closely, he would missed it but wisely choose to ignore it.

"Really, I just need to rest."

Leo nodded quickly, understanding. "That's the best and don't worry about tomorrow.

Just stay home and rest."

Aya agreed to avoid any further fruitless disagreements. "Thank you, good night Leo."

Leo patted Aya's shoulder, bestowing a fatherly a smile to Aya. "Good night, I can see my own way out."

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Ken's room.

Ken woke up with a start. He thought he heard someone calling him. The walkie talkie, Kadsuki was calling him. Grabbing the walkie talkie, he switched on his bedside lamp.

"Yeah, Kasuki. Go ahead." Ken cleared his throat.

Kaduski's voice filtered through. "Sorry to disturb you but you said to inform…."

"What is it?" Ken cleared his throat again. He seriously needed some water.

"Mitsui-san is here." Kadsuki said excitedly.

"Alright, just carry on as usual. Hidaka out." Ken ordered and brought his alarm clock.

to his face..It was pretty late for a visit. What does Mitsui want? Ken decided to find out and got dressed.

Yohji's headquarters.

"Omi?" Yohji closed the heavy metal door behind him.

"Yeah…" The boy with honey coloured hair reply was muffled.

"Where are you?" Yohji's eyes were everywhere, looking for the source of the voice.

"Here…." Omi suddenly appeared. "I was under the table. One of the cables was loose."

Sitting at the edge of the desk Omi was occupying, Yohji asked. "Did you get anything from Ken's disk?"

"Yup!" Omi replied, eyes shining. "Whoever Fujimiya hired is or was damn good. They could have gotten rid of him after he did the work for them."

"And?" There was a trace of impatience in Yohji's voice.

"Okay, okay I was getting to it…." Omi humphed. ."The whole data was encrypted. That's normal but this encryption system was something else! Took me quite a while!

Anyways, I managed to uncover several deals and documents but they were all done by the late Fujimiya-san and all legit."

"Anything recent and illegal?" Yohji demanded.

"I've still have a long way to go but what I do have is a list." Omi handed a two page print out to Yohji. "It could be anything; list of businesses, people's names, road names… anything!"

Yohji ran his index finger through the list. "I'll hand these over to C section. They may be able to get something out of this. I'll run it through Ken too. Maybe he can shed some light on this matter."

"Okay…" Omi was about to type something when suddenly the screen went black.

"Hey! What happened…?"

Yohji flashed a lazy smile. "Home, that's what is happening. It's late, chibi. Time we headed home."

"I hate it when you call me that!" Omi grumbled. "You switched off the computer just like that. I didn't save what I was typing…"

"Hmmm…you weren't typing. You were about to and besides, there's the back up system." Yohji kindly pointed this fact out.

"Smart ass!" Omi was still a little pissed at Yohji.

"Come on…" Yohji pulled Omi's hand. "You're getting irritable and that's a sure sign you're tired. We'll get some dinner and go home where we will…"

"Yohji!" Omi cried out in horror. "Someone could be listening!"

"Let them, let's make this their highlight of the day!" Yohji grinned devilishly and kissed Omi full on the mouth.

At first Omi protested but slowly like always, he caved in to Yohji's charms. "Yohji…" Omi breathed when they finally pulled apart.

"Come on, … let's go home and continue this at home!" Yohji added wickedly as they left the HQ.

Aya's office.

A deep frown marred Aya's handsome features. Maybe it's nothing but why did Leo

come all the way to his house to see him? He could have just called. AND what was that change in his eyes when he looked at the PC's screen?

When Leo came round the table, his computer screen was displaying an article and picture of several members of an organized crime gang. But a few seconds later, the screen saver appeared. What did Leo see in that few seconds before the screen saver came out? KNOCK! KNOCK!

What is it now? Another visitor? Aya wondered. "Come in."

"Aya-san…" Ken slipped inside the room and got straight to the point. "Pardon me, was

that Mitsui-san?"

"Yes, he came inquiring about my health and speaking of which, what are you doing out of bed?" Aya asked back.

"I'm fine. I got bored of lying around doing nothing." Ken replied, drinking in the sight of Aya in front of him. Aya was still wearing what he did this morning. Just minus the jacket and tie. The rolled up sleeves and unbutton shirt gave Aya a different air about him.

Aya smirked. "Yeah right. Well since you're up, are you hungry?

Ken nodded, grinning. "Yeah, didn't get to eat much just now."

"Didn't indeed. Listen, is Benkay's still opened?" Aya saved the page he was reading into Favourites and proceeded to log out.

"Benkay's? No but if you want to eat, I know this great place." Ken suggested.

"Eel soup again, Hidaka?" Aya cocked his head to one side, face as impassive as usual.

Ken smiled when he realized Aya was teasing him despite the sedate face. "No, but it's just as good as Benkay's, maybe even better. But it's a just stall."

"At this moment…" Aya pointed to stomach. "…anything is better than Nanako's cooking. "Come on, I'll drive, you give the directions."

"I could drive…" Ken began but was shot down by Aya.

"Better not, one accident is all I can handle in a day. Just give me a minute to change. These clothes are starting to stink." Aya said and hurried out the door.

Ken watched his boss leave and once he was upstairs, Ken closed the door. Figuring that Aya would take about 5 minutes or so, Ken quickly got down to work. Aya had left the PC on, so that made it easier. After clicking here and there, Ken began downloading data.

End of chapter 5.