I'm sorry. This chapter isn't the most exciting thing in the world. The next one should be better. I updated my other story too btw.

Comments/reviews are very much appreciated. They make me smile and brighten up my whole day. Yes. I realize that is pathetic. I have no life. Hush.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Akashi headed back to the waiting room when he felt his phone vibrate. Taking it out of his pocket, he checked the caller I.D. and saw the name of one of his "employees."

"This is Akashi." He spoke while making his way past the waiting room to the outside. "Did you find something?"

"We did sir…but you aren't going to like it."

"Spit it out."

"After you left, the cops discovered 6 more males in the basement of the house, but they weren't in need of immediate medical attention so the cops and Masaomi took them to see if they could get some answers."

"Is that all?" Akashi was getting annoyed. He didn't care if there were more. That wasn't enough to require calling him.

"No. We questioned the man that police officer friend of yours captured. Luckily, he's not very loyal to his own. The house belongs to the Kintatsu-kai. Its main purpose is for housing their 'products'." The man on the phone paused. Akashi's grip on his phone tightened with the last sentence. The Kintatsu-kai was a gang involved in human trafficking. Their 'product' was humans. They "rented" out their products for sex or even just as human punching bags and other cruel purposes. He had never heard of them keeping products in a house before though and it didn't explain why Tetsuya was in a shed in the back instead of the basement with the others.

"Why is the Kintatsu-kai using a house to store their product."

"Apparently these products were for the groups personal use. The captured man, he calls himself a caretaker, said they bring some boys to the house for a period of time to be used for the gangs personal use for a while and then are sent back for business use." Akashi was getting angry. He had kept his cool so far but every word felt like nails on a chalkboard in his head.

"Why wasn't Tetsuya being kept with the other boys?" Perhaps he wasn't being used for such purposes.

"The caretaker said the boss said Tetsuya was a special case. Apparently he was kept there for a long time compared to other boys and was always kept separate. He said his boss mentioned something once about revenge or something but he isn't sure."

"Is that all?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get back to work!" Akashi ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket before punching the wall several times. He was pissed. No. He was far beyond pissed. He was pissed when a deal didn't go as planned. He was pissed when someone disobeyed important orders. He was pissed when someone did a half-assed job. He was pissed when his driver was late. He was pissed when he had to do extra work because of someones stupidity. What he was feeling right now was far beyond pissed off. Every muscle in his body was itching to find Kintatsu-kai's boss and kill him as slowly and painfully as possible. Instead, he beat up the innocent wall for several minutes before walking back into the waiting room. He sat back down angrily in the chair across from Aomine, leaned back, and closed his eyes. Luckily, Aomine and Kise had already dozed off so he didn't have to explain his angry expression. He let himself drift off as well.

When he finally woke up, the early morning sun was pouring through the windows of the waiting room. He stood and gently shook Aomine awake.

"Morning." Aomine mumbled looking up at Akashi.

"I'm going to get a room at the hotel across the street. I'll get you a room too." The three of them lived close to an hour away and Akashi figured Aomine wouldn't want to be so far away from Tetsuya anymore than he would.

"Uh thanks. I think we will take you up on your offer. You have my cell. Will you call if you hear from the doctor?" Aomine was gently shaking Kise awake now.

"Yeah. You two should order some room service and get some rest though. It will probably be a while."

"Yeah, okay." Aomine agreed.

"What's going on?" Kise asked now awake and confused.

"We are going to the hotel across the street." Aomine informed.

"Okay."

"Daiki." Akashi suddenly spoke up again.

"What?"

"There is something else I need to tell you." Akashi suddenly had an expression Aomine and Kise couldn't quite figure out. It might have been discomfort or concern.

"What's going on?"

"I got a call from one of my uh… 'employees' last night."

"You know Ryouta already knows the kind of business you are in right?"

Akashi nodded. He had actually forgotten that Kise knew since the two never spoke about it. "Anyway, apparently the house where Tetsuya was found belongs to the Kintatsu-kai. It was storage space for their product that was being used for the gangs personal pleasure."

"Product? Like drugs or merchandise?" Kise asked confused.

"No." Akashi sighed. Aomine explained for him.

"He means humans, or slaves really, that are rented out as prostitutes or punching bags depending on the client's desires." Aomine kept his voice low and squeezed Kise's hand when he saw the blonde stiffen with wide eyes.

"Akashicchi…..does that mean…th…they w…were u..using Kurokocchi f…for…" He could bring himself to say it. He didn't want to think that was possible. A huge wave of guilt suddenly crashed into him making him tremble. He had given up on finding Kuroko after high school, just like most of the others that knew him. He probably wouldn't have been much help even if he kept searching. He realized that. It was part of why he chose to stop. Still, this knew knowledge made him feel guilty for it. Maybe if everyone hadn't given up….maybe if he hadn't given up….maybe Kuroko wouldn't be in that hospital bed right now.

"Ryouta?"

"Oi, Ryouta?"

Kise was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Akashi and Aomine call his name.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Aomine asked concerned. Kise nodded.

"Anyway, we don't know why Tetsuya was there. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm having one of my guards keep an eye on you two for now until we get more information. The Kintatsu-kai might come after you and I don't intend to let them lay a hand on any more of my friends. I'll call you later. Get some rest now." Akashi turned and left before Aomine could argue. Arguing wouldn't have accomplished anything anyway. At least the red head had told him about the guard so he wouldn't freak out thinking there was a stalker stalking him like last time.

"We should get out of here too Ryouta. Lets go to the hotel."

"Okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I used a website to come up with the name of the gang. As far as I know, it's not a real gang. The name is a combination of the Japanese word for golden (Kin) and the word for dragon (Tatsu). The Kai at the end indicates it's an association.