Ever since Akihito appeared in Asami's life, Kirishima's life has been made harder.
It was not that Kirishima detested work, rather, he would happily work 48 hours every day for Asami, but the brat had to make unnecessary work for him to do.
Like finding guards for him.
Kirishima had long lost count of the number of guards Akihito went though.
When Akihito first came to live with Asami, he often didn't come back, preferring to stay overnight in the Internet cafe.
In the beginning, Asami didn't realize Akihito wasn't going back to the condo at night since his schedule only allowed him to come back in the early mornings. With the lights turned off, he thought Akihito was asleep, but once he realised the boy wasn't there, he ordered that Akihito was to be dragged back to sleep properly.
Unsurprisingly, the task of dragging Akihito back always fell onto Kirishima
And it wasn't an easy task.
Soon, Asami decided to assign a special guard for Akihito, to make sure he goes back to the condo on time.
Kirishima finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only it didn't last long.
After a few weeks at the most, the guards would come crying to Kirishima, begging him to let them resign their position as Akihito's guard.
He could somehow find the photos of you wetting the bed when you were 8 and 'persuaded' you to leave, or he might 'accidentally' send it to all your colleagues.
Akihito's existence in Asami's life was known only to a few, even for those who work for Asami, only a selected few knew of Akihito.
Frustrated, Kirishima had nearly pulled himself bald with the task of finding a new guard, as all those that met the requirements had guard Akihito before, when Asami suggested Haru.
Kirishima frowned. "But he got the potential to be one of your personal guards."
Asami waved his hand. "I don't need any more guards."
At least they got that in common. Kirishima sighed inwardly.
"Tsukushima should be able to deal with Akihito."
So a former delinquent is going to look after another delinquent, Kirishima thought . Hopefully this one will last longer.
Akihito ended up tossing and turning in bed most of the night.
Only a few people knew his number, so who was the caller?
It couldn't be ... that person ... right?
Akihito mentally slapped himself before his thoughts could spiral down that direction.
Relax, he can't hurt you here. He tried to allay his fears by repeating that over and over.
After wresting with his thought with what felt like an eternity, he finally closed his eye, but after a second, he opened them again.
Or what he thought was a second.
The bright sun had casted a long thin strip of light on his floor through the curtain, signalling it was nearly noon.
The normally quiet apartment were filled with the sounds of cooking, and the smell of food wafted to his nose.
Akihito's stomach growled in response.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, he went to see what was happening.
Kirishima stood in the kitchen with an apron, cooking.
His eyebrow furrowed when he saw Akihito.
"It's already 11:36 and you are still in you pyjamas. Go and get dressed. Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Yes, mom." Akihito saluted, and saw a vein bulge from Kirishima's temple. He snickered.
At the table, Akihito regraded Asami silently while they ate.
It was the first time they ever ate breakfast together. Usually, by the time Akihito left for work, Asami was still sleeping.
Even if he woke up late today, it was still an aberration that Asami was eating at home. Normally, Asami goes to a traditional Japanese restaurant to have his breakfast.
Stuffing another mouthful of rice, Akihito asked.
"Why are you eating breakfast here?"
"..."
Kirishima, who was in the process of refilling Asami's bowl, set his mouth in a grim line.
Asami continued to sip his miso soup, then replied mildly: "There was a rat in the kitchen."
"A rat? What-"
"Takaba." Kirishima interrupted. "Don't talk with your mouth full. And you should get ready to leave soon."
Akihito glared at Kirishima, swallowed, and poke his tongue out behind Kirishima's back.
The corner of Asami's mouth lifted slightly.
"Akihito. Ride with Haru this week."
"N-o-p-e."
Kirishima's glasses flashed. But Asami cut in before he could say anything.
"It's either that option or not going to work."
Seeing Akihito's puzzled look, he clarified: "Your Vespa has been sent away for maintenance. For a week."
Akihito blew a gust of air out of his nose and stared angrily at Asami "A whole week? What kind of shitty garage did you sent it to that takes that long? And without my permission? Where is my baby?"
"It is in good hands. I personally know the mechanic. Plus, I'll give you a present if you are good."
Akihito looked suspiciously at Asami's smile.
Nope. Nothing good ever comes out when Asami was smiling.
He opened his mouth to argue, but Kirishima's glasses were flashing dangerously. He knew if he pushed any more Mr. Glasses will really burst a vein.
He doesn't plan to go to jail for murder.
Once Asami saw Akihito left with Haru, he turned to Kirishima. His voice icy.
"Find out all the culprits within a week."
Kirishima bowed. "Of course, Asami-sama."
When Asami told Haru this morning he was to drive Akihito for this week, he expected the younger man to put up some resistance. Instead, Akihito was surprisingly quiet and obedient, following Haru into the parking level without any complaint. Haru casted a brief glance at him. Akihito was biting his lips, seemingly deep in thoughts.
Once in the car, Akihito leaned forward towards the drivers seat.
"Hey, what happened?"
Haru continued to look forward, acting as if Akihito had not spoken.
"You know, right? What happened at the restaurant?"
"..."
"I promise I won't cause any problems for you this week. I'll go home on time."
"..."
"I'll listen to your all orders this week."
"..."
"I won't call you Haru-chan anymore."
"..."
After a while, seeing his pleas won't work, Akihito finally turned to threats.
"If you don't tell me, I'll destroy Sion's system and blame it on you." Akihito threatened.
Haru sighed.
Maybe it would be easier to tell him, and stop him persisting Kirishima and Asami.
Also, sooner or later the boy is going to find out.
He quietly said, "Someone tried to poison his food."
Akihito breath was stuck in his throat, his mouth agape.
He thought Asami meant there was just a spy in the kitchen. To think someone actually tried to poison Asami...
"How did Asami find out?" The words were barely a whisper.
Haru's brows pulled together,and his answered with a voice laced with quiet anger.
"They deviated from Asami's normal breakfast. They added pickled cabbage as the side. Probably the sour taste was easier to hide the poison's flavour. Kirishima then noticed one of the cooks acting unnaturally. He is now trying to find out who was responsible. We can't trust a housekeeper to cook for Asami, so Kirishima has taken up the task, but he's got a lot of work too..."
"I'll cook."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Huh?"
"What?" Akihito said defensively, crossing his arm.
"Can you even cook?" Haru looked dubiously in the rear view mirror at Akihito.
"Sure I can!" Akihito replied confidently, then remembering the disastrous dinner, "Well, at least I can try..."
Haru snorted. "That's a no then. I'm not surprised."
Akihito fumed. "Not like you can cook either."
"I can."
"Bet you can't. And cup noodles doesn't count."
Haru's eyes twitched.
"At least I can cook better than you."
"Fine, how about you come over after work and we see who is better?"
"Deal."
After Haru had parked the car and called Kirishima, reporting that everything was fine, he headed up to the penthouse.
He had just opened the door when a gust of smoke choked him. Something definitely burnt. Praying that the kitchen itself wasn't burnt, he quickly headed inside to the site of destruction.
Akihito was standing in front of the stove, staring quizzically inside a pot.
"What the hell are you doing? Why isn't the fire alarm ringing?"
"I turned it off 'cause my cooking had a tendency to set it off and it's rather annoying. And I'm cooking onions."
Haru grabbed the pot and looked inside. Then, he slapped a hand to his forehead.
Turned out the boy's cooking skills were way below his expectations.
"You are just making charcoal here. Didn't you put oil in first? And don't use so much heat. You also need to have the other ingredients ready before cooking."
Akihito stared at him as if he had started singing opera in ancient Greek.
"Didn't you say that you won't cause me any problems? Look, how about I'll cook for today and you can do the salad."
Akihito nodded, and Haru took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and set to work.
It turned out Haru really can cook. The knife never paused, chopping and slicing the ingredients with high precision and without any hesitation. Akihito looked at him in awe.
It was then he noticed there were piercing holes in Haru's ears.
Maybe he was in a gang?
The image of Haru on a motorcycle easily came to his mind.
Somehow, he got the feeling if he asked, Haru would likely not answer them.
By the time Asami came home, dinner was laid out Haru had already left. An enticing aroma drifted from the bowls.
Asami looked at the food in front of him.
Akihito puffed out his chest proudly, "I helped to make these." The salad , he added silently in his head.
The food truly was delicious, rivaling even five star restaurants. Akihito ate so much that he felt like he was going to burst. He was lounging on the sofa when he noticed Asami was stacking up the plates. Just as he was about to jump up to help, Asami shook his head.
"You should rest after eating that much."
Akihito gladly compiled. Moving too much now while he was so full will definitely make him feel sick.
After a short while, Asami came back. He grabbed his cigarettes and headed towards the balcony.
It was dusk.
The setting sun casted an orange hue on Asami's face, highlighting his perfect features.
The silence was peaceful, and Akihito padded next to Asami, watching the sun slowly sink into the horizon.
In the quietness, Asami asked. "Do you not like living here?"
Akihito turned and looked at him in confusion.
"Where did you get that idea?"
"You don't seem to want to come back here."
"Oh. Er- I, I just don't like to stay alone in an empty house, you know." He mumbled, eyes trained firmly on the floor.
Coming back to a place where he could sleep properly had been nice. It was a thousand times better than sleeping in front of a computer, and getting a stiff neck when he woke up.
Asami nodded understandably.
"I'll try and come back earlier then."
This caught Akihito is surprise.
"You will?"
Asami nodded. "I did say I will look after you. But you have to come home on time."
The images from that rainy day slowly creeped up from the back of Akihito's mind, and he shook his head, dismissing those thoughts.
He turned his sight towards the sun again.
All that was left was a thin sliver of red.
Soon, even that will be pushed into the horizon by the darkness.
"How's Tsukushima?"
Akihito shrugged nonchalantly.
"Ok, I guess."
Asami smirked. "A high praise from the guy who scares off his guards."
"I told you, I don't need any."
"Until everything is sorted." Asami's voice was quiet.
Akihito's heart plunged. If that person was still alive, he will definitely come and find Akihito. It's just a matter of when he comes back...
A hand was gently placed on top of his head, and a calm sense of relief washed over him.
Even if the darkness swallowed the light, it would be okay, because Asami would be with him.
Together, they watched the dark night descend upon the city.
The stew Haru told Akihito to keep on the heat before he left hadn't exploded.
Yet.
So far no hazardous waste had been produced.
At least today Haru trusted him enough with a pot of boiling food.
He took out his phone as an incoming message notification popped up.
It was from Kai.
Kai: Have you seen the latest news on DeathToWork? (΄ ◉ ◞ ౪ ◟◉ ｀ )
DeathToWork was an Internet forum for hackers, and where the latest news about the hacking world were shared.
It gained a credible reputation. Any information posted on the news bulletin were 99.9% legitimate due to only high-level hackers can enter the site.
Posting one false information on the news bulletin will earn you a ban for life, and rumour was that you will also lose one of your eyeballs.
So far only one person dared to try, and no one had heard from him since.
Akihito: No, smth interesting?
Kai: *dramatic music*
Kai: *drumroll*
Kai: *dum dum dum*
Akihito: ...
Kai: Apparently zero_00 is back! ~\( ≧▽≦ )/~
The spoon fell from Akihito's hand, echoing loudly in the silent room.
Kai: You know zero_00 right?
The one and only zero_00!
The super elite-god-like hacker! But he hasn't been active for a while so many people assumed he had retired or died _:(´ ཀ ` 」 ∠ ):
Kai: Check it out on DeathToWork! ٩ ( ˃̶͈̀ ௰ ˂̶͈́ ) و
The phone slipped from Akihito's hands.
He ran to the bathroom, leaned over the toilet, and threw up.