Asami's last draw from the bucket was "Prostitute and Client". However, Asami offered to let Akihito choose which part he wanted to play. Akihito chose the part of "client" because he thought it would give him the upper hand in the role play. Unfortunately, he forgot that since it was Asami's turn, it still means he'll be in charge of the fantasy.

Love for Sale

. .

. . . . .

Akihito sat on the couch, munching on a slice of pizza while his eyes were glued to the TV screen. Normally on this night, he would've been hanging out with his friends at a local bar, watching TV in a smoke-filled crowded room while playing a drinking game where they had to down shots every time someone on the screen said or did something that was on a list that had been handed out.

Unfortunately, a pipe had burst, causing water to flood the bar, and so the bar was closed until further notice.

Fortunately, Akihito was resourceful, and like Asami, had his own set of sketchy "acquaintances", so he had managed to obtain a bootleg copy of the latest episode.

Unfortunately, his friends were all unexpectedly busy this evening, so he brought it home to watch it by himself.

Fortunately, Asami came home early, so he wouldn't be watching it alone after all.

Unfortunately, Asami had no interest in it whatsoever, despite past attempts by Akihito to draw him into it.

However, Asami told him to carry on as if he wasn't there, and even not to worry about fixing dinner for him since he'd eaten earlier with a client. He was presently sitting on the couch next to Akihito with a laptop desk resting on his thighs. Akihito glanced at Asami to see if he was watching the show, but he was scrolling through some documents on his computer as he sipped a drink; oblivious to what was playing on the TV screen.

Maaaan... the drama and the action are AWESOME. How can he NOT get drawn into this?!

Annoyed, Akihito tried distracting him from his laptop to get him to look up. "Hey, there's plenty of pizza. Feel free to help yourself, if you want."

Without even looking up, Asami grunted an acknowledgement. He reached over to the coffee table and picked up a slice. He sat back and took a bite absentmindedly, still reading whatever was on his computer screen.

Akihito's jaw dropped open. He hadn't actually expected him to take a piece. As far as he knew, Asami had never eaten anything that didn't require chopsticks or silverware to convey it to his mouth. He was thoroughly entranced by the sight of Asami sitting on the couch and casually eating pizza. In that moment he seemed like a totally normal person. Akihito's gaze was pulled away from Asami when the drama on the TV suddenly ramped up again.

Akihito became so immersed in what he was watching, that he didn't realize he had begun responding rather loudly to what was going on. He also didn't realize that Asami had ceased looking at his laptop, and with an amused look on his face, was now watching Akihito.

On the TV screen, a young girl dressed in medieval garb suddenly sliced open the throat of a man kneeling on the ground. Akihito let out a whoop and began bouncing on the couch. "YEAH! Take that, you assho—". Akihito turned his head and stuttered to a stop when he noticed Asami was staring at him, with an eyebrow raised.

"Taking pleasure in watching someone die violently... how delightful," Asami said as he smirked.

"If you'd watched this series from the beginning, then you'd know that guy had it coming for a long time. And what makes it great is that it was a total surprise. NOBODY saw that coming."

Asami turned his attention back to his laptop and said under his breath, "Only an idiot wouldn't have seen that coming."

Akihito frowned. "How would you know? You don't watch this."

"Let's do it this weekend," Asami said suddenly. "Saturday or Sunday evening."

Akihito's attention was pulled away from the TV as he looked at Asami. "Huh? Do what?"

Asami's gaze was still on his computer screen. "Sunday would be better."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Akihito gave an exasperated sigh, and grabbed the remote to pause the DVD. "Look, this is the season finale..."

"And now that you've paused it, we can discuss the bucket list."

"You're talking about THIS weekend? I can't," Akihito said, shaking his head. "My journalism conference is this weekend. My newspaper booked our rooms months ago."

Asami moved the lap desk aside, his eyes never leaving Akihito's. "Months ago? This is the first I've heard of it."

Akihito's face turned slightly pink as he tried to look nonchalant. "Is it? I could've sworn I told you..."

Akihito watched as a flash of irritation crossed Asami's face, but the angry look dissipated quickly and Asami's expression softened, leaving Akihito to wonder if he had imagined it. Asami ruffled Akihito's hair. "Perhaps another time then."

Akihito pushed Asami's hand away with an annoyed huff, but he was actually feeling a little guilty that he had, in fact, purposely avoided telling Asami about the 3-day seminar since he didn't want anything to endanger the possibility of him attending. Some of the instructors were international celebrities within the world of journalism. It seemed to be a silly move to hide it from Asami, in retrospect.

"How about next weekend? I don't have any plans—"

Asami looked away, as if he was no longer interested. "I'll have to check my schedule. Go back to watching your drama."

Ohhh, he IS angry!

Asami picked up the remote, but Akihito snatched it out of his hand before he could restart it. He climbed onto Asami's lap, straddled him face-to-face, and smirked. "You're mad at me, aren't you? You'll probably want to have angry sex with me now."

Akihito felt the delicious sensation of Asami's warm hands slipping under his shirt and sliding up his back. Now he looked very interested. "You have been a bad boy."

"Hmm... maybe you should do something about that."

Akihito was thrilled by the mischievous glint in Asami's eyes in response, but his heart nearly stopped when he saw the evil grin that crept up on Asami's face just before his mouth descended upon his own.

I'm going to regret saying that.

Akihito felt a pleasant shiver shoot up his spine.

Maybe.

. . . . .

It was a busy weekend in Tokyo. Not only was the city hosting a major international sporting event, but there was also an anime con, in addition to the normal schedule of various business conferences. It was amusing to see foreigners wearing T-shirts proclaiming their country of origin, wandering through the crowded streets among a mixture of cosplayers, as well as men and women dressed in business attire on their way to work. Trains were tortuously packed beyond capacity and traffic was gridlocked. All hotels were full up.

When Akihito finally made it to his hotel, he was relieved that he wasn't going to have to fight the traffic and crowds for the next few days because the journalism seminar was being hosted at the hotel where he would be staying. The chaos of the streets appeared to have spilled into the hotel lobby and there was a crowd at the front desk— an angry crowd, by the looks of it.

Akihito spotted his co-workers and went over to them. "What's this all about?" he asked.

"Apparently there was a glitch in the reservation software," one of them responded. "The hotel's overbooked."

"Our rooms...?"

The co-worker let out an exasperated sigh. "They're working on arranging... something."

Akihito angrily made his way up to the front desk. He got the attention of a harried clerk. "Excuse me, I have a reservation that was made months ago..."

"Sorry, sorry!" the harried clerk apologized as he bowed several times. He handed him a piece of paper. "Please write down your name and wait patiently until we serve the guests in front of you." Akihito dejectedly wrote his name down and handed it back. He walked back over to his co-workers.

Another one of his co-workers emerged from the crowd at the front desk, holding four card keys. "I got a room! They said they'll allow up to four of us to stay in there." His co-workers cheered and high-fived each other.

"Hey, do you think you could let me bunk with you guys?"

"Oh, Takaba-kun," the co-worker said, looking at him with mock sympathy. "They were adamant that no more than four of us could share a room. Something to do with fire codes probably. Sorry about that."

"Maybe you should call daddy and use his influence to help you get a room," replied another. "You know, like how you did to get your job?"

Akihito shook his head and walked away. Having a father who was a well-known photographer had proved to be more of a detriment than an advantage. He was tired of trying to convince them that he'd gotten to where he was today by his own merits.

He spotted Mitarai emerging from an elevator. Mitarai stepped aside and grinned as he saw the chaos taking place in the lobby.

Akihito quickly made his way over to him. "Did you get a room?"

"Of course." Mitarai was watching the crowd with amusement. "I actually checked in yesterday."

"Yesterday?!"

"Yeah, I looked up what events would be happening this week and thought it'd be a good idea to play it safe and book an extra day's stay ahead of time. It pays to do your research, you should know that." Mitarai said, elbowing him.

"Look, I'm the only one out of our group who doesn't have a room yet. Do you think you and I could share?"

"Sorry dude. I already took in a damsel in distress. Poor girl came in from Osaka and was in tears. I offered to share with her."

"You can have up to four people to a room."

"Well, she's very shy and is already trying to cope with sharing with a guy she just met. I think two of us would be too uncomfortable for her."

"We could say we'd watch each other to make sure neither of us got out of line."

"And that's EXACTLY the problem with you staying there," Mitarai said as he winked. "Sorry."

"I'll pay you..." Akihito said, pleadingly.

"How much?'

Just then, a very pretty and petite girl pulling a small suitcase approached them. "Thank you so much, Mitarai-san! It is so gracious of you to offer to share with me."

Akihito heard his name being called above the noise of the crowd. "Takaba Akihito."

He made his way back to the front desk. The man who had called his name had the title "Hotel Manager" on his name tag. "I apologize for the inconvenience. We've been able to find you a room at another hotel." He handed him a piece of paper. "It's a bit of a distance from here, but it's a very fine hotel. It will be at no extra cost to you."

Akihito looked down at the paper to read the name and address. Hotel Recapture? Odd name. Never heard of it.

"Of course, we will try to find transportation for you..."

Akihito turned around and glanced at the line of cars outside on the street, which were presently not moving. "No thanks, it'd probably be faster for me to walk."

Akihito made his way back to Mitarai, who looked at him surprised. "You got a room?"

"Yeah, but not here. At another place farther away. It's got a weird name. I think it might be a love hotel."

Mitarai took the paper from Akihito. His eyes widened. "Hey, Takaba-kun... since you've done so many favors for me in the past, I'll be happy to switch with you if you want to stay here."

Akihito narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch? Something wrong with the room you have now?"

"No, no, no... it's just that—"

The girl that was going to be sharing Mitarai's room turned her attention to Akihito. "Did I hear you say they're sending you somewhere else?"

Mitarai interjected quickly. "Yeah, but because my room is so tiny, we're talking about switching—"

"The name of the hotel is Recapture. Ever heard of it?" Akihito said, interrupting. He guessed that Mitarai wanted to stay in a love hotel with that girl and Akihito wanted to make sure that she knew what she would be getting into.

"The Recapture?! Are you kidding me?!" the girl looked at him astounded. "That's a little-known but really expensive hotel! It's supposed to be the best place to rekindle romances. The wait to get into one of their honeymoon suites is at least 2 years! There's a rumor of a secret bar with a hidden entrance behind a bookcase, or something else that's not very obvious, somewhere in Tokyo. It's called 'The Heart's Desire'. The bartender only has to look at you to be able to make the perfect custom-made drink just for you. I've been trying to get the scoop on it for a while now, and maybe get an interview from the bartender."

"I'm betting the location of that bar is in THAT hotel," the girl continued excitedly, "but you can't even enter the building unless your name's on a list and you have the proper ID to prove who you are. I've been dying to get in there to check it out! And they just booked you a room there?! WOW! How lucky can you get?!"

Yeah, lucky my ass. This has Asami's dirty fingerprints all over it.

"Well?" Mitarai said smiling. "As you heard, the lady has been trying to get a scoop on this place. So we'll switch. That way she can get her story and you won't have to walk so far to get to the conference."

I should switch. It would serve Asami right. He wouldn't do this without having something up his sleeve.

Then again, at least I do have a room now and a nice one at that from the sound of it.

But once again, he comes to my rescue, so I'll end up owing him for it.

Then again, that secret bar sounds really interesting. Why shouldn't I be the one who gets the scoop on it?

"I don't think that will work since they were already given my name," Akihito said. "Sorry."

. . . . .

Akihito stepped through the door of his room on the 5th floor and looked around in wonder. "Whoa, this is really nice!" There was a living room area with cushy chairs and a couch, and a small kitchenette off to the side. The bed was near the windows on the other side of a semi-divider composed of decorated frosted glass panels. It was an L-shaped corner suite, so most of the room was made up of floor to ceiling windows. He hung up his garment bag and left his suitcase in an alcove that had been designed for that express purpose, then went over to the bed and fell on it.

"This bed is so comfortable!" He felt so relaxed, he knew that if he closed his eyes, he'd drift off to sleep. He got up, even though he actually did have plenty of time to take a short nap before he had to be back at the conference. He really wanted to explore his hotel first.

Akihito was shocked by how big the bathroom was. He took a shower and changed into a well-worn but comfortable suit, then went down to the main floor to begin hunting for the hidden bar. There was a bookcase in a sitting area in the lobby, but upon examining it rather rigorously (which earned him strange glances from both the hotel staff and guests), he discovered that it actually was just a bookcase with a very nice selection of books in several different languages. He checked out the hotel restaurant next. When the manager saw him staring at the door that led to the kitchen, he invited him to tour it, telling Akihito that he believed if a restaurant was hesitant to let anyone check out their kitchen, then you probably wouldn't want to eat there. It was small, but very clean and organized. He didn't find anywhere there could be a possible hidden entrance.

He went outside and checked the perimeter of the hotel. Looking up, he could see that the rooms on the top floor, which were likely the honeymoon suites, had balconies. He found nothing other than an access area for deliveries and a staff entrance, which he managed to sneak into. He came across the hotel laundry and staff locker rooms, but again, nothing that could be a secret entrance.

He slowly went up floor by floor and walked the hallways. The doors were spaced much farther apart on the 7th floor than they were on the other levels, indicating that those rooms were much larger. He passed by a young couple accessing their room, who seemed to have smiles permanently glued onto their faces as they gazed into each other's eyes; evidence that they were probably newlyweds. As he passed by them, he managed to peek into their room before they shut the door. From what he could see, that room was even nicer than his.

Knowing sometimes that the most efficient way to solve a mystery is to attack it head on, he returned to the lobby and went to the front desk. "Excuse me, I'm looking for a bar in this hotel." The front desk clerk pointed toward an area where there was a bar and lounge that Akihito had already checked out earlier.

"I'm looking for another one... in a less obvious place, if you know what I mean."

"That's the only one we have."

Another clerk that was working near her walked over and smiled at Akihito. "I think I can help you." She turned to the other clerk who looked puzzled. "It is said there's a hidden bar that can be accessed through a bookcase, and there are those who believe it might be here," she explained. She turned back to Akihito, "It does exist, but it's not at our hotel." She pulled out a map and drew a circle. "From what I've been told, it's in a hotel somewhere around here." The area she circled was in an older part of the city.

Akihito took the map and thanked her.

. . . . .

At the journalism banquet that night, Akihito sat with Mitarai and the girl. "Did you find the hidden bar?" she asked.

"Nope. It's not there. I searched everywhere. But I did get a tip of where it might be and it turns out it's in a different hotel."

"Where?"

"They didn't know the name of the hotel, but I was told it was up north in a really old section." Akihito had decided to not let her know he'd been given a map that narrowed down the possible location.

"There must be hundreds of little hotels in that area," Mitarai said. "Are you sure it's not in your hotel?"

"Positive. I searched everywhere. I even might've accidentally broken into some restricted areas."

. . . . .

The long walk back to his hotel each night was inconvenient, especially since by the end of the day he was worn out and tired, but the place where he was staying was far more relaxing than the overcrowded, noisy hotel where the convention was taking place. The Recapture was more intimate and cozy, and the staff greeted and treated him warmly as if he were a regular patron, but he also noticed they treated all their guests that way. He was beginning to think that maybe Asami really didn't have anything to do with it and he'd just gotten lucky. Whether or not it had been Asami's doing, he was really enjoying his stay there.

Earlier, Mitarai had told him that the girl who he had been sharing his room with, suspiciously disappeared the first night and didn't make it back to the room until the next morning. It turned out she took Akihito's tip about where the secret bar was located seriously and had gone searching for it all night.

AND... had found the damn place, which was indeed located behind a bookcase in a hotel lobby, though the name of the bar was actually "Affairs of the Heart." She'd gotten pictures of the inside of the bar and the owner agreed to let her do a story, but she wasn't allowed to give any clues about where the bar was located or publish any photos of the outside of the building. She'd gone to an all-night cafe to work on the story and managed to submit it by the time the sun was beginning to rise. The next night, she took Mitarai there and he told Akihito those were the best drinks he'd ever had, even though they were a little on the expensive-side. "She wants to go there again tonight. If you offer to treat, I'll let you come with us!"

The girl joined them. "Congratulations on your scoop," Akihito said to her, even though he felt annoyed over losing the story. He smiled at her good-naturedly.

"Thank you so much for the tip!"

"I told Takaba-kun all about that place, and not only is he going to join us tonight, he's going to treat us to a round, or three, of drinks."

"Oh... were you talking about tonight? Can't do it. I gotta be up super early tomorrow. Another time, eh?" Akihito laughed and smacked Mitarai playfully on the back. Mitarai laughed back, but appeared to be in pain. Whether it was from the smack on the back, or the dread that his wallet was about to be emptied, Akihito didn't care.

. . . . .

Akihito ended up returning early to his hotel room. He didn't know what he was going to do with the rest of his evening, so he decided to take a quick shower and then have a drink at the bar downstairs.

When he entered his room, he noticed an unfamiliar suit hanging next to his garment bag.

That's not mine. The laundry service must've made a mistake and delivered it to the wrong room.

The suit was light grey and the material seemed to have a slight shimmer to it.

"Nice suit," he exclaimed out loud as he stroked the cloth. He noticed there was something in one of the inner pockets. He reached in and pulled out a wallet.

I better call the front desk and let them know about this.

The designer wallet looked expensive and Akihito couldn't resist peeking inside it. When he opened it, a business card fell out and fluttered to the floor. There was no ID in the wallet and all the card slots were empty except one, which held a room card key. He looked in the fold that held bills and whistled. There was a lot of cash stuffed in there. Akihito bent over to pick up the business card which had landed face down. He flipped it over and his eyes widened in surprise.

This is MY business card. What the hell?

Akihito looked back at the suit. It looked to be about his size.

He pulled the card key out of the wallet. It was for a room on the 7th floor. The floor with the fancy honeymoon suites.

Okay, Asami. I get it. You're wanting to hook up with me tonight. But why the fancy suit? And what's up with that wallet?

A smile broke out across his face.

That's right. The last slip from the bucket list was 'Prostitute and Client'. Looks like it's on tonight!

Akihito snatched the suit off the hanger.

. . . . .

Akihito looked at himself in the mirror as he fastened the cuff links that he'd discovered in a small box from another pocket in the suit. He had to admit that he now looked like someone who had a lot of money. On the table was the wallet he'd found in the suit, which was next to his old wallet that was in such bad shape, he had to wrap a rubber band around it to keep the two halves from completely falling apart. Asami had asked him once why he simply didn't replace it, to which Akihito became very indignant and snapped at him, insisting that it had "something you wouldn't understand— sentimental value." Asami smiled in that condescending way of his, stating, "It's only a suggestion. Seeing how it's in such bad shape, the contents might start falling out. If it has value to you, then it's fine."

Later, Akihito wondered why he had reacted that way toward Asami. He certainly wasn't the first person who'd seen his wallet and told him he needed to get a new one. The wallet's only sentimental value was that he'd been carrying it around for so long, it was familiar to him. He had been meaning to replace it before Asami mentioned it, but it was one of those things that he just hadn't gotten around to doing. The new wallet was surprisingly slim and the leather had a rich textured finish to it. It was classy. He transferred the contents of his old wallet into the new one and unceremoniously dumped his old one into the trash.

He headed to the elevators and pressed the button to go up. When the doors opened, there were two women inside who were really dressed up. Akihito smiled and asked, "Going up?" They looked at him confused, so he pointed up and they nodded, giggling. He entered the elevator and they all got off on the 7th floor. Akihito decided to give them some space so they didn't think he was a stalker or anything like that. He waited until they had entered one of the rooms before walking forward, wondering if they were a couple.

Looking for the room number that was on the key, he was surprised to find himself in front of the same door the girls had entered.

He looked at the room key again and confirmed it matched the one on the door.

What the hell is Asami planning?!

Suddenly, he gasped. "The secret bar!"

Seeing how he wasn't absolutely sure, he still knocked lightly on the door before using the key.

. . . . .

The lights were dim and the sultry jazz music blended with the sound of soft voices. Like his room, the long side of one wall was floor to ceiling windows which had a spectacular panoramic view of the city lights. A doorman standing off to the side of the entrance smiled and bowed. The young man's height and build was similar to Akihito's, and he had a very attractive face.

About half the tables in the room were occupied. The women that he'd followed in were joining a man and another woman at one of the tables. The bar was in the far corner of the room and had only four stools at it, which no one was occupying. He didn't spot Asami anywhere, so he decided to have a seat at the bar.

"Good evening sir," the bartender said, greeting him. "I'll be with you momentarily." He was standing behind a partition that only revealed him from the neck up. Artfully displayed on the wall behind the bar, was an impressive collection of liquors. In the very middle of the wall, there was an illuminated recessed area that held a single bottle which had a very ornate gold dragon coiled around it. The bartender retrieved the bottle, then stepped back behind the partition. He came back out to replace the bottle and then brought out a black tray holding something that looked like a wine glass that was missing its stem. There was a miniature red rose lying next to the glass.

The bartender walked out from behind the bar and went to one of the tables and placed the tray in front of a foreign man who had been glancing around nervously, looking as if he wasn't sure if he should be in this place. He thanked the bartender and quickly looked away. The bartender didn't move, which made the man even more nervous. Finally, the man seemed to understand what the bartender was waiting for and quickly picked up the glass and took a sip. He nodded and started to put the glass down, but then stopped as a look of astonishment crossed his face. He looked back up at the bartender with a stunned expression before breaking out into a smile. The bartender smiled back, and then gave a short bow before walking back to the bar.

He now turned his attention to Akihito. "What can I do for you sir?"

"I'm curious... what exactly did you give that man just now?"

"That was our specialty. It's called 'My Heart's Desire'."

Akihito glanced at the dragon bottle.

"I wouldn't mind one of those."

The bartender nodded, but instead of pulling the dragon bottle from the recess, he went directly behind the partition. Akihito could hear clinking sounds and liquids being poured. Whatever he was doing, it was taking a long time and from the looks of his expression, required a lot of concentration. Akihito turned around to scan the room again for Asami and realized that the man who had been sitting at the table with the three women was actually him. Instead of being gelled, his hair was down, which was why Akihito had overlooked him at first. Tied around his neck was a deep red cravat that Akihito didn't recall ever seeing before. He was busily engaged in conversation with the table of women.

He was sitting with his back to me when I first came in. He'll notice I'm here eventually.

Akihito turned back around and saw the bartender was holding a champagne flute that looked like it had been filled with a rainbow. He placed it in front of Akihito. "Sip it carefully and try not to jostle the glass too much, otherwise you'll end up mixing the layers." Akihito counted seven layers of different colors. He took a sip and guessed the first dark colored layer was cognac. "This is going to be so much fun to drink. Thanks!"

They're all shots of different types of liquors. I bet this costs a fortune.

"I'd like to pay for this now."

The bartender returned with the bill on a small silver tray, and upon looking at it, Akihito wasn't all that surprised. He hated to do it, but he was going to have to break into a little of Asami's "play" money if he wanted to have enough of his own to get through the next month. Promising mentally to pay him back, Akihito pulled out his wallet. He stared at the unfamiliar object in his hand for a second before remembering that he had switched to a new one. He placed the bills on the tray and thanked the bartender once again.

The next layer was yellow and he couldn't wait to find out what it tasted like.

"Oooh, what a dazzling drink!" he heard a voice next to him say. "What is that?"

A pretty young woman slid onto the bar stool next to him.

"This is 'My Heart's Desire'. Uh... that's the name of the drink," he added awkwardly.

She smiled and nodded, but the look in her eyes told him she knew perfectly well that was the name of the drink.

"It's so unusual. You must be very interesting if that's what he custom-made for you. So many colors! You must be a very complex man."

"I wouldn't say that." Akihito turned his attention back to his drink.

"Then you must be an artist! Do you paint or draw?"

"Not really."

"So it's not because you work with colors..." she said, thinking hard.

Akihito sighed, realizing she was not going to let this go. "Well, I'm a photographer, but I mainly take pictures of people."

"I would've never guessed! You look like someone who should be on the other side of the camera." The young woman's expression turned seductive. "Like a sexy model."

Akihito was taken aback by the jarring change in her demeanor.

She suddenly looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry! I was being way too forward. It's just that—" The girl lightly put her hand on Akihito's arm and now looked at him shyly. "I think you're very cute and I really want to get to know you."

Akihito's face turned pink. "Ah..."

Asami's voice cut in behind them. "Excuse me madam, I believe that's my seat you've taken."

"Oh. I didn't realize... my apologies." She got up and Asami immediately sat down on the stool. She turned to Akihito and smiled. "Let's go grab a table."

"The bar stool is not the only thing here that belongs to me," Asami said to her. "Get lost."

The young woman gave Asami a dirty look and then left without another word.

Asami glared at her as she walked away and then put his hand on Akihito's chair and jerked it to move it closer to him. Asami's reaction amused Akihito to no end and he had to fight the impulse to smile.

"I should tell you off for being rude, but she was being rather persistent," Akihito said.

"Of course she was. A handsome young man suddenly gracing this bar with his appearance is bound to draw some attention."

"Well, thanks! I'm flattered."

"Don't be. The main thing she was attracted to was your wallet."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Akihito irritably replied.

"Your suit, shoes, cuff links. All high quality and an indication of wealth. You're someone who doesn't give a second thought to the price of things."

Akihito stared at Asami, confused, before realizing Asami was acting his part.

Here we go... game on.

"And of course, you're an expert in 'indications of wealth'." Akihito took on what he thought was a haughty expression and almost swirled the liquid in his glass for effect, but then remembered he was supposed to be careful with it. He took a sip and was startled by the abrupt change in flavor. The yellow layer was very sweet and tasted of herbs and honey.

"It's my business to know such things."

Akihito put the glass down and turned to look at Asami. "And what business might that be?"

"I'm in the business of pleasure."

"You mean, you sell your body."

"It's more extensive than that, I assure you."

Akihito glanced over his shoulder. "It seems you walked away from three pretty and lucrative customers just to come over here and scare off that nice girl."

"I happened to see a more profitable opportunity. I don't sell to just anyone. I'm very particular about my clients."

"Particular, but you'd sell yourself to a man for the right price."

"Whether it's a man or a woman makes no difference to me... if I find the person appealing and know they are interested."

"What makes you think I'm interested?"

"Oh, you're interested," Asami said confidently.

"So you find me appealing? Are you interested in me?"

"I'm interested in punishing your pleasure spots so intensely, I leave you begging for mercy."

"Whoa!"

"What's the matter?" Asami said seeing an embarrassed expression appear on Akihito's face. "Too blunt for you?"

"A little," Akihito replied. "How much? You know for each thing: hand jobs, blow jobs, head jobs—"

"Now who's being blunt?"

"How else am I supposed to find out how much you cost?!"

"There isn't a set cost. We discuss what kind of experience you would like to have and then negotiate a price.

"Why make it so complicated?"

"I'm an expensive commodity," Asami said. "It's necessary to negotiate a price."

"Maybe you're too expensive for me."

"You can afford me."

"How do you know?"

"You'd be surprised by what I know." Asami leaned over and whispered into Akihito's ear. "I would do ANYTHING within my abilities to make myself invaluable to you."

The feeling of Asami's warm breath caused Akihito to shiver. "Anything?"

"Anything," Asami's low voice reverberated huskily into his ear.

Akihito smiled at Asami. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Asami returned the smile. "I thought you'd never ask."

Akihito signaled the bartender. "I'd like to get a drink for this gentleman."

The bartender turned to Asami. "What can I get for you sir?"

"My Heart's Desire."

"Very good sir."

"You run a very nice establishment," Asami said to the bartender, "although I admit I'm a little shocked that you tolerate certain professionals in here."

The bartender looked at Asami, puzzled. "Sir?"

Asami glanced over his shoulder. The girl who had been sitting next to Akihito was now at the table with the foreign man. She was sitting very close to him and he was looking nervous all over again. "It appears the lady over there is working."

The bartender looked at her with his eyes narrowed. He then signaled to the doorman, who also looked over at the table and then nodded. The doorman pulled out a small radio device and appeared to speak briefly into it, then slipped it back into his pocket. He walked over to the table, bowed politely and said something to the girl. She looked at him irritated and turned back to the man, clearly ignoring the doorman. The doorman leaned down and whispered something in her ear that caused her to jump. The doorman tried to offer her a hand as she got up, but she angrily slapped it away and stormed toward the exit with the doorman following closely on her heels.

Akihito turned back to Asami. "You hypocrite!"

Asami shrugged. "I think of it as, 'eliminating the competition'." He looked at Akihito's glass and raised his eyebrows. "You ordered a pousse-café?"

"You mean this?" Akihito said, holding up his glass and studying it. "It's my heart's desire... apparently."

"It looks gaudy as hell. I imagine it tastes just as awful."

"I happen to like it VERY much and I think it looks very cool. It's perfect for me." Akihito took another sip. He had reached the purple layer.

If I had to imagine what purple tasted like, it'd definitely be this.

"You probably don't want to finish that if you still want to be coherent by the time you walk out of here."

"Don't underestimate me," Akihito said before deliberately taking a large swig and accidentally downing two layers at once that tasted like a combination of mint and cherry.

The bartender had stepped behind the partition and was busy making Asami's drink. It sounded like he was hand-grinding something, followed by the sound of liquid being poured, then he appeared to be pushing down on something, then liquid being poured again. The bartender came out and put down a white porcelain cup in front of Asami and discretely slipped the bill to Akihito.

"It looks like an ordinary cup of coffee," Asami said. He took a taste and looked up surprised. "Well. That's unexpected."

"Can I try it?" Akihito asked. Asami passed him the cup and Akihito took a sip. "It's... coffee. No alcohol or flavoring, just strong black coffee. I mean... it's really, really good, but it's just coffee. "

"So it would seem." Asami looked at the bartender, questioningly.

The bartender looked back, enigmatically. "For what you desire, it's a means to an end. Do you feel the selection is incorrect?"

"No..." Asami looked down at the cup. "Thank you." The bartender bowed and walked away.

"But I'm still annoyed by it," Asami grumbled quietly before taking another sip.

Akihito peeked at the bill and gasped. "Were those designer coffee beans or something?! Your coffee was the same price as my drink! You weren't kidding— you are expensive. Were you ever by chance, a host at one time?"

"You mean one of those puffed up, high-maintenance peacocks? I would never stoop so low."

"Ohhh, so you're a high-class manwhore."

"You wish to verbally abuse me? I'll add that to your tab."

"Sorry, that was kind of rude. What sort of things do you do? I mean, what is your specialty?"

"Bondage. I'm a kinbakushi."

"A rope master? Nah. I can get that back home. I want something different."

"Such as...?" Asami said, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I'm not really sure."

"You would like something unusual? Fortunately for you, I'm willing to satisfy your more uncommon cravings. What is your heart's desire?"

"That's it!" Akihito exclaimed, looking at Asami with a mischievous smile. "What if what I want is actually considered common, but something that I don't get at home?"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I want you to romance me. See if you can convince me you're desperately in love with me and make me believe it's real."

Akihito had the satisfaction of seeing a surprised look on Asami's face before he quickly recovered his composure. "Is that all?"

"I wonder if you're capable of doing that?"

"Easily."

"You could fill my empty heart?" Akihito teased.

"I could... for a price, of course. However, I'm more interested in what kind of uncommon desires you might have. Your request is a bit dull. Why don't you allow me to indulge your darker, wilder side?"

"Is my request too challenging for you? Too bad. If you could pull it off, I'd let you name your price."

"It's unwise to propose such an open-ended deal."

Akihito patted the place where his wallet was. "What the hell... I can afford it, right?"

Asami furrowed his brow. Akihito took sadistic delight in watching him struggle with the unexpected request.

"You're asking for romance from a prostitute," Asami chuckled softly. "Actually, your request is not as uncommon as you think. It is something a young inexperienced girl would ask for."

"What are you trying to say? You saying my request is girly?"

Asami smirked. "Shall we seal the deal, princess?"

Akihito knew Asami was purposely provoking him to get him to change his mind to something more hardcore. He grinned and replied quickly, "YES!"

Asami looked away and sighed. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and then sat back smoking, appearing to be deep in thought. Akihito sipped on his drink while scrutinizing Asami's face, wishing very much that he could hear the thoughts that were going through his head.

Both of them were startled out of their thoughts by the sound of a glass being knocked over, followed by high pitched laughter. Akihito turned around and saw one of the ladies at the table where Asami had been sitting, looking red-faced. She quickly set her wine glass upright, but the damage had already been done. A puddle of red wine was streaming over the edge of the table. Akihito turned back around and saw that Asami was watching the bartender. The bartender had retrieved a glass and was pouring red wine into it. He reached under the bar and pulled out a couple of towels and then exited from behind the bar, heading toward the table with the spilled wine. Asami's attention was fully on the bartender as he placed the fresh wine glass next to the lady, and then proceeded to clean up the mess. The lady was profusely apologizing, which caused the bartender to pause in his task and smile as he assured her that no harm had been done.

Asami stood up and grabbed Akihito's upper arm, pulling him out of his seat and then took him around to the other side of the bar. Asami grabbed the dragon bottle from its recess. He glanced toward the preoccupied bartender again before handing it to Akihito. "Hide this under your coat," he whispered.

Confused, Akihito stood there holding the bottle. "Wh-what...?"

Asami took two glasses, then pushed Akihito toward a space that went behind the wall. "Go!"

Akihito quickly slipped the bottle under his suit coat. "This is stealing!" Akihito protested under his breath.

"That depends on how you look at it."

"No matter HOW you look at it, it's still stealing!"

There was very little space behind the wall and it was dark since the only light source was coming from the bar on the other side. Most of the area back there was being used for storage space. There were also floor to ceiling windows here as well, but they had been blacked out. Akihito saw that one of those windows was actually a sliding glass door that likely led out to a balcony, just like the other suites had on this floor. Asami reached up to the top of the metal frame as if he were seeking something and frowned when it appeared he did not find it.

He ran his fingers along the frame and when he neared the end of it, he brushed up against something that rattled. "Ah," he said as he pulled it down, revealing it to be a key. There was a security bar across the blacked out door and he used the key to unlock and remove it. When he tried to slide the door open, it made a loud screeching sound which startled both of them. It obviously hadn't been opened for a long time. He lifted up slightly on the edge of the door and was able to slide it more quietly, though it still seemed to give him trouble. He finally opened it wide enough for both of them to slip through.

Once outside, Akihito pulled the bottle out. "So, you're a thief as well as a prostitute. I shouldn't be surprised."

Akihito noticed that Asami had the two glasses balanced in one hand. He offered one of the glasses to Akihito and then took the bottle from him. He opened it and poured the liquid into Akihito's glass first and then into his own. As he took a sip, his eyes never left Akihito's.

Akihito stared at Asami reproachfully and then guiltily took a sip from his glass. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh crap, this is good..." He opened his eyes and saw that Asami had walked over to the railing and was staring out silently at the skyline. It seemed he had forgotten Akihito for a moment. Akihito went over to Asami and stood next to him. "Nice view."

"It's more than just a nice view. You can see the key areas of the city. Here... here... and here." Akihito realized Asami was pointing in the direction of each of his nightclubs.

"Is this where you come to plan your takeover of Tokyo, or is this just a clever ploy for seducing your victims?"

"I've never brought anyone here before. You're the first."

Okay, that was a good line. I'll give you full points for that.

"Am I? What made you do that?"

Asami gave him a cryptic look and then poured more liquor into Akihito's glass. He also splashed more into his own before putting the bottle down on a ledge. "The bar is too crowded for a proper intimate conversation."

"How did you know about this place?" Akihito asked, looking at Asami with suspicion.

"I used to bartend here some years ago."

"REALLY?" Akihito said, surprised. "I'm impressed!"

"Oh, not at this bar. I was never the same caliber as The Heart's Desire bartender. I worked for a short time at the bar downstairs. This bar," Asami said as he pointed at the door they'd come through, "was still under construction at that time. I used to come up here during my breaks. This place is special to me." He looked at Akihito. "As are you, Akihito."

Akihito felt his heart do a weird flip-flop. I'm getting caught up in the moment and forgetting this is just a role play. He took a deep breath to help reset his mind. "What's up with the fancy outfit?" Akihito said playfully, touching the cloth around Asami's neck. "Is this scarf made of silk, or something?"

"Cravat," Asami corrected him.

"Didn't you claim earlier you weren't a 'puffed up peacock'? This awful thing needs to go..." Akihito untied and removed it from around Asami's neck, and then unbuttoned the three top buttons of Asami's shirt. "There. That looks good with your hair down." Akihito examined the cravat closely. "What would you call this shade of red? Scarlet? Crimson?" Akihito asked as he tied the cravat around his own wrist.

Asami chuckled. "It's called 'Lust'."

Akihito looked at him skeptically.

"I didn't come up with the name," Asami said. He finished his drink and then took Akihito's glass from him, putting both glasses next to the bottle. He smiled as he gazed at Akihito. "You know, you're very attractive. The shape of your face, your eyes especially... your body... I find everything about you appealing. But there's something else about you that makes my heart race. I wonder what that is?"

Akihito rolled his eyes. "What a corny line."

"Give me your hand." Asami took Akihito's hand and slipped it through the opening of his shirt and held it there. "Do you feel that?"

It did feel like Asami's heart was beating rapidly.

"Th-that's probably from the coffee you drank..."

Asami's chest felt smooth and warm. Akihito stilled an impulse to caress it. Asami used his other hand to loosen Akihito's tie and unbutton some of the buttons on his shirt before slipping his own hand inside it.

His eyes seemed to light up. "Yours is racing as well." Asami pulled his hand back out and began stroking Akihito's face. Akihito prepared himself to be kissed at that point, but Asami made no move to do so. Instead he seemed to be content to just look into his eyes and gently trace his fingers along the features of Akihito's face.

After about a minute of this, Akihito couldn't stand the anticipation any longer. He wrapped his arms around Asami's neck and pulled his head down and began kissing him hard and passionately. He felt Asami's arms gently slide around his waist to embrace him.

Akihito finally pulled away from the kiss, breathing hard, trying to figure out what exactly drove him to respond like that.

Why the hell am I so turned on right now?!

Asami pressed his forehead to Akihito's and whispered. "What is your heart's desire, Akihito?"

"Let's go back to my room," Akihito whispered.

. . . . .

Akihito practically dragged Asami back through the bar, avoiding the stares of the bartender and the doorman as they left. Once they were in the elevator, Asami looked perfectly calm and composed, while Akihito was sure he looked like someone bordering on the edge of insanity. Fortunately, it was a very short ride down to the 5th floor.

However, once they'd entered Akihito's room, Asami's facade cracked and he attacked Akihito just as vigorously as Akihito was attacking him. Akihito could tell this was no act and that the beast inside of Asami had been triggered. It was dangerous and thrilling to see the rare sight of Asami nearly out of control. They left a trail of clothes from the door to the bed, and Akihito didn't know what clothing he'd taken off himself and what had been removed by Asami. He was glad the bed was in the corner of the room and not next to a shared wall, because he knew for certain they weren't being very quiet. At one point, something annoying kept getting in his face and he realized that he was still wearing the red cravat around his wrist. He pulled it off with his teeth and tossed it over the side of the bed, where it fluttered gently to the floor.

Perhaps it was because they both had been burning so hot, but for Akihito it seemed that it ended much too quickly. It only took hearing Asami moaning his name to send him over the edge. "I need more!" Akihito had said, panting, and Asami had complied by using his mouth, lips, and tongue all over his body. It didn't take long before Akihito peaked and went over a second time. "Again!" he cried out, and Asami took him once more, this time much slower and more in control, as he hungrily savored his own indulgence of drawing out Akihito's pleasure.

Later, when Akihito had fallen asleep, Asami gazed at him passionately and quietly whispered, "It was real."

Asami picked up the red cravat from the floor. He kissed the inner part of Akihito's wrist and then tied the cravat to it.

. . . . .

The alarm chimed softly bringing Akihito gently out of a blissful slumber. He felt warm and cozy in the bed and just wanted to draw it out for a few more minutes, so he kept his eyes closed and nested further into the covers. However, the alarm had other ideas and the soft chime began to transition into a louder and more unpleasant sound.

"All right..." Akihito sighed, and reached out to the nightstand to turn the alarm off. He vaguely remembered requesting a 4th round from Asami, but then immediately fell asleep. "I'm ready for round four now," he said as he stretched his arm out but only felt a cold empty space.

Akihito opened his eyes. The expansive windows revealed that the sun wasn't up yet, but the sky was well on its way to brightening. "Ah dammit! I wasn't done with you yet." He noticed the red cravat on his wrist.

I thought I took that off...

He saw it had been tied on with an intricate knot and realized Asami must have done that.

He heard a noise coming from the area where the kitchenette was. He got up, peering into the empty bathroom to check if Asami was in there, then walked around the corner and saw the automatic coffee machine in the process of brewing coffee. He stood there grinning as he watched it, knowing Asami had set it up before he left. His suit from the night before had been hung up neatly next to his garment bag.

Akihito saw his new wallet on the table next to the sofa and beside it was one of those complimentary hotel notepads with something written on it. He walked over and picked up the pad and read it:

Bill of Sale

Services:
Sexual Intercourse (x2)
Oral- full body

Upgrades/Special services:
Romantic ardor

Items:
Golden Dragon Whiskey Fine & Rare Vintage Single Malt (1 bottle)
Woven Silk Cravat, color: 02 Lust

The prices were in another column. Akihito nearly choked at the total cost. "I wasn't the one who stole the bottle of whiskey," Akihito grumbled. "I don't see why I would have to pay for it." Akihito opened his wallet, fully expecting to see the money that Asami had stuffed in there to be gone. Sure enough, the fold where the money had been was empty. However, the pocket where Akihito had stashed his own money was empty as well.

"You... BASTARD! That was a month's worth of my pay you took!" Akihito picked up the pad again, noting if he had been charged with just the sex acts, Asami's cash would've covered it perfectly. He was about to throw the pad down in disgust when something else caught his eye. He saw in small print at the bottom of the pad:

Hotel Recapture
A subsidiary of Sion Group

Akihito sat down on the couch and exhaled loudly. "Of course you own this hotel. I keep forgetting you're not a normal person."

. . . . .

It was well after noon when Akihito came storming through the front door of the penthouse. Asami was sitting at the dining table, reading through some papers and sipping a cup of tea. He looked up at Akihito, who was red-faced.

"Welcome back. How was your journalism symposium?"

Akihito threw the hotel pad down onto the table. "You jerk! What the hell's up with this 'bill'? This was supposed to be a fun fantasy, but you ended up taking all my money! I want it back!'

"You shouldn't have overspent beyond your means. You did say I could name my own price."

"You KNEW I was talking about the money you gave me to play with! And what's the deal with charging me for that stupid scarf?"

"Cravat," Asami corrected him.

"Whatever. AND the bottle of whiskey that YOU took?"

"I'm willing to let you earn it all back. I bet you could do it within three sessions."

Akihito glared at Asami, speechless.

Chuckling, Asami got up and reached into his pocket. "Here." He pulled out a money clip with a large gold "A" that was holding a stack of bills and tossed it on the table. Akihito immediately snatched it up. He pulled the money out and began counting it.

"It's all there," Asami assured him.

"I believe you," Akihito replied as he kept on counting.

Asami shook his head and put on his suit coat which had been draped around the back of his chair. Akihito finished counting, sighed with relief, and pulled out his wallet to put the money inside. "Thanks for the nice wallet by the way. And the suit." He frowned for a second and then pulled out a couple of bills from his wallet and dropped them on the table. "On second thought, I'm keeping the cravat."

Asami looked at him puzzled. "Why? I thought you didn't like it."

"I dunno... as a souvenir, I guess?" Akihito said. "And before you leave, it's my turn." He walked over to the silver bucket, reached in, and pulled out a slip of paper. He read it, broke out in a huge grin, and then grabbed Asami's hand and slapped the paper into his palm. "Have a nice day," he said before trotting off toward the kitchen.

Asami looked down at the paper in his hand. " 'Watch a movie together'?"

Asami could hear Akihito snickering in the kitchen.

. . . . .

. .

Next... "Movie Night"

"This bar stool is not the only thing here that belongs to me." Asami meant that literally. As the owner of the hotel, everything there belongs to him. Yes, he probably was including Akihito as well. He was not in a particularly good mood at that moment.

|:|:|:|:|

This chapter clocked in at over 10,000 words. So much for my promise of being brief.

Back when I was struggling to write this chapter, I thought it might be better to just scrap it completely (despite it being 2/3 done) and start over. However, the new version turned out dark and depressing. Frustrated by the direction that version was going in, I just gave up. The Bucket List was dead.

Leaving something unfinished kept bugging me over the years. Also, occasionally someone would poke me about this, so I reworked the 1st version the best I could, which what you just read.

This chapter was 5 years in the making. One of the scenes dated the time period when that particular part was written. Because of that, I was going to rewrite it, but ultimately decided to leave it as is. No doubt someone may catch it...