AN-Disclaimer the same. Thank you for your reviews, though how few they may be... and thank you Shuuichi Shindou-Uesugi for being my beta! Here is the next chappie. Please review and tell me your ideas for the next scene.

Chapter 5

"I will tell you more at the hotel, okay?" Shuichi said as the walked to their hotel.

"Ya okay," Eiri nodded and put his arm around the younger man's waist.

When they arrived at the hotel, Shuichi kissed Eiri, and then led his lover to the couch. They sat down and Shuichi put his head on his lover's shoulder.

"What do you want to know?" Shuichi asked. "I will tell you anything you ask."

Eiri thought a moment then began to comb the younger man's hair with his fingers.

"Why did you become an assassin?" Eiri asked.

"Well, like I said, at 16 I had it with my step-father," Shuichi said, thoughtfully. "I found my mother's gun in her underwear drawer; it was held there in case of trouble with her profession. I decided I would use it as a last resort. He came home, drunk as usual, and started to try and 'play with me,' saying I was a 'good boy for daddy.' I told him to stop, but he wouldn't, so I shot him. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Eiri nodded.

"I didn't have any family to fall back on though," Shuichi continued. "I ran with only about $300 dollars and my mother's gun. The streets were horrible. I ran into this gang, they asked about me and sympathized. They accepted me. They gave me shelter. They became my family. I had never had anyone like me like that; they cared for me.

"For the next year things were okay, we only did petty theft to survive. Then a man tried to rape one of my friends and I killed him. All my hate for my step-father came back and I did a perfect shot. We decided we could make money off of this, so we became assassins. We vowed we would kill perverts and rapists like that man and my so called 'family'.

"Over those years we were hired to kill rapists and murderers that the courts wouldn't pursue. But everything changed when I was hired to kill Seguchi-san. He was different. He didn't seem like he fit in the code that we had made, but hearing the arguments of Mr. Narrita, we changed our mind. It wasn't the grudge that made him want to kill Seguchi-san; it was the fact that his sister was Seguchi-san's first wife. They lasted about a year; I don't think Mika-san knows about her. They got divorced because she hated his life style but she told her brother it was because she said he raped her and beat her.

"We were told about the abuse so I went on that. Then I got to know the man and know you and realized that it was a lie. I dug around and saw that she had indeed lied about it. Tonight I told him the truth, but he wouldn't listen. He threatened to tell about my past so I took care of him." Shuichi smiled and looked up at the man he loved.

"Do you really want to stay with me after all of that? Do you really want to become Ryoko's father?" Shuichi said softly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Eiri took hold of Shuichi's chin and made it so they were looking in each other's eyes.

"I love you, Shuichi. I will always stay with you, no matter what happened in your past. God knows what my past was like. I understand your reasons for not telling me, too. I could kill my sister for what she said. You saved their lives, and probably their marriage, too, if that news about his first wife came out. And to answer your second question, I would love to be a father to the girl with you. And your ex seems nice enough."

Shuichi laughed.

"She is spunky and brave. She managed to drunken up, marry, and get knocked up by an assassin and not give a damn about it. After the first night, I told her I wasn't into women, besides when I have had the maximum amount of alcohol in my system. You and Rhonda would be good friends, being writers and all, talking about how I annoy you guys in your writings. Anyways, we stayed friends, like I said. I love her like a sister and adore my beautiful daughter. She is a darling and can already read at 4 and has a lovely singing voice.

"You can spend tomorrow with them if you want," Shuichi said. "I'll get the tickets and hand them to you so you can give it to them. From what I heard, Ryoko loves the Zoo, so maybe go to that. Ryoko is a bit shy, but if you ask her about herself or something she knows a lot about, she will become a chatter-box like me."

Eiri laughed and stood up, pulling the younger man with him. Shuichi yawned.

"I want to go to bed and sleep if you don't mind, love," Eiri said softly. "Not that I think you will."

Shuichi chuckled, and slid into the bed next to his lover, happier than he had been in a long while.