All the planning was complete. The warehouse had been scouted and a suitable location found each for Akihito to snoop from and two of his guards to be able to watch the perimeter for signs of trouble. Akihito had even managed to snag a nap after dinner and was feeling pumped up and ready to go. Three guards were now standing in his living room looking surprisingly keen for the upcoming event. Honestly, it all felt a little over the top. He had a total of five guards for tonight, each with an ear piece radio device to be to talk to the whole team on a secure channel and multiple escape routes established each with their own code name. Looking at the excited men in front of him all done up in dark, easy to manoeuvre in clothing complete with multiple high tech gadgets, Akihito felt the need to sigh. Ueda handed over an ear piece and instructed him on how to wear it.

"Isn't this a little over the top?"

"Nope. Safety first, so as long as your safe, nothings too much." Akihito did sigh at that.

"This feels like some over the top action movie or TV series. And you guys are all way too excited for this." He got three equally big grins and groaned.

"Hey, this beats normal security detail and we actually got to help and plan and you know, not have to sprint over half of Tokyo." The photographer flushed at the comment. "Right you got the earpiece in?" At Akihito's nod, Ueda helped him turn it on. "Rules are, it stays on until mission is called in complete." He rolled his eyes. Mission. Really? "So no turning off and do not take it out. Nakahara, you there?"

A low male voice sounded in Akihito's ear; "I'm here, what you need?"

"You hear that?" Ueda turned to the other two guards at Akihito's nod. Once he had confirmed that everyone in the room could hear and be heard, he checked in with the two guards situated outside. All set, Ueda ran over the plan again along and ushered everyone out to their respective vehicles. Akihito clambered into a black sedan along with Ueda and one other guard, another guard would follow behind in another car and the last two guards would scout ahead on motorcycles. Sitting in the front seat with his camera bag in his lap, Akihito was hit with amusement over the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. It was a far cry from him zipping out on his scooter and his solo preparations. Ueda spoke again as the process pulled out into the street and started towards their target location.

"Nakahara, any extra's sitting in our channel?"

"Yeah a few." It was weird hearing the low voice directly in his ear and knowing the man was currently sitting in a little office in Sion.

"Alright, if you aren't part of the team, get the fuck off my channel." Akihito looked at Ueda with eyebrows raised at the language but the man's face was deadly serious. The guards might be excited for the change of pace but they were still taking everything very, very seriously.

"Still got peepers." Ueda opened his mouth to say something else when a deeper voice beat him to it. It took a moment to recognise it as belonging to Suoh.

"I know who you are, last chance to leave the channel if you aren't part of the team."

There was a pause then Nakahara spoke up again. "All peepers out."

Ueda gave a small sigh. "Thanks Suoh-san." He didn't get a reply and the line lapsed into silence.

Akihito wondered just how many people were in on this 'mission' of theirs tonight. It was supposed to be a fairly low key stake out, small game but still a scoop and now it had turned into this massive undertaking. He knew Asami had been told about it after a message had popped up on his phone during dinner. It had been short and simple but it had sent Akihito's heart stuttering.

Thank you for not running.

Heaven forbid the man ever decide to confess to him because if a simple thank you over text made his heart race, he would probably die if he received a love confession. Still, he was surprised Suoh was sitting listening in and wondered if maybe Asami was also keeping tabs on it. He supposed this was the first stake out that he had asked for help on and everyone was wanting to make sure things went smoothly, no drama this time would make things less tense next time.

It wasn't long before they had arrived at the district and parked the car where they had planned. One guard stayed back to protect the car and one of the motorcycles and three of them walked together into the alley. It was quiet and dark so they were able to make their way forward easily while sticking to the shadows and keeping alert for any unusual sounds. The third guard peeled away as they approached the warehouse and Ueda and Akihito continued forward together. The door was unlocked just like when they had tested it that afternoon and they slipped inside the darkness, peering around using dimmed flashlights. It was quick work to scale decrepit ladder and soon both were perched up on the second story ledge near some large broken windows and nicely hidden behind some large boxes. The other guards confirmed they were in position soon after and so they all settled in to wait.

VFVFVFVFVFVFVFVF

Asami was sitting in his office with Kirishima and Suoh, attempting to complete some paperwork around the distraction of Akihito's team's conversations. Suoh had set up a link into the channel so that they could listen in on the first stake out the team helps with. The relief he had felt when the message had come through that Akihito had not only not attempted to ditch his guards but also actually asked for help was huge. They had spent the afternoon planning and scouting around the area and were currently about to head out to the location provided by Akihito's source. Asami could admit he was incredibly distracted but at least anything he did manage to get done now would save him time later to hopefully capture his little soulmate and drag him back to the penthouse again. It felt surprisingly empty without the photographer and Asami was already formulating excuses to drag him back even just for an evening. He glanced over to the tablet that was sitting in the middle of the desk. It was what they listening to the secure channel through and was currently displaying a map with multiple GPS markers showing the location of Akihito and his guards. All were still centered on what he knew was Akihito's apartment.

He had finally just started to focus on his work again when the first voices spoke over the line. He kept an ear on the conversation as they all set up and smiled slightly when he heard Akihito's mutter about how ridiculous it was. He hadn't replied to Asami's message earlier, leaving Asami feeling slightly put out until he realised the photographer might be embarrassed. It wasn't often that Asami thanked anyone and Akihito was very easily embarrassed over anything that could be construed as even slightly romantic. Except for cooking dinner, apparently his enthusiasm for cooking and for food in general nullified any embarrassment over that.

Asami frowned at Suoh when Ueda's voice snapped out to get any eavesdroppers out of the channel and his chief of security picked up the spare headset sitting at his elbow and cast out his own threat. He nodded in thanks once it was confirmed that only Team Takaba was present in the channel. Soon they were heading out in their designated vehicles and silence let Asami reluctantly turn his attention back to his reports.

It had been a very uneventful hour, most of the chatter come through when the guards were confirming they were in position and Asami had looked over to the little markers on the tablet to confirm they were indeed all in position and settled in to wait for the appointed time. There was a little bit of talk between Ueda and Akihito as he set up his camera with an apparently impressive lens. Asami smirked as he remembered that it would have been one of the ones he had purchased for the photographer on the day they met. The easy back and forward between the two was good. They seemed to have almost big brother, little brother air about their interactions which relieved Asami immensely. It was exceedingly important that those two saw eye to eye and he suspected they had figured out where they stood with each other that afternoon. Suoh had received the report on the planning for this evening and Ueda had mentioned that Akihito had apologised for causing them so much work. The more Asami saw of Ueda and his work, the more he was impressed and the more he was convinced that he was the perfect choice to lead Akihito's security team. With the parkour course, training and equipment suggestions and his insightful selection of team members all pointed to a great team leader. He had also been reported to be doggedly determined, fiercely protective of friends and loyal to the core. He could see already how that protectiveness extended to his team and Akihito.

Voices rang out quietly confirming the arrival of their targets. A few minutes later and the tell-tale click of a camera shutter could be heard. Asami wasn't aware of what he was hearing in the background until Akihito whispered into the channel.

"Man, they are loud. Can you guys hear them outside?" A voice Asami didn't recognise confirmed that they could. There was mostly silence for a while except for the occasional snaps of the camera and the low hum of the background chatter. There was an odd sound followed by a few muffled curses.

"They turned the lights on! What the hell!" Akihito almost sounded offended.

"This isn't normal?" The photographer snorted at Ueda's question.

"Are you kidding? The entire warehouse is lit up. Are they asking to get caught?" He paused. "And they are getting louder, this is ridiculous."

Asami could hear the humour in Ueda's whispered reply. "You sound personally offended."

"Yeah, well. This is my job. And it feels like they are just inviting the entire neighbourhood down with the lights and the noise. This is a far cry from when I was tailing Kikkawa."

"They do appear to be pretty upset over something." Akihito only hummed in reply and the line lapsed back into temporary silence.

"There's more vehicles incoming." The tension over channel was almost palpable. The next five minutes were agonising as vague sounds played out of the speakers but no one spoke.

"The fat man looks like he thinks he's important, no idea who he is though." There was a small snicker over the line that was quickly muffled at Akihito's idle comment. "The blond looks familiar though."

"Keep an eye on that briefcase." Ueda's whispered hiss was a little tense still. Another pause and then –

"Who the fuck carries a briefcase full of cash now days?!" Akihito's affronted hiss caused more snickers over the channel. "I'm serious. This is so unprofessional it's not funny." More quickly muffled chuckles. The sheer offense in Akihito's voice had Asami chuckling along as well and even Kirishima's lips twitched in amusement.

There was a muffled thud and Asami's heart jumped into his throat and the suddenly tense silence stretched out. "Let's be careful of that box, I really don't want to have to drop you off at the hospital for falling off the ledge Takaba-sama." Ueda's hushed voice broke the tension in Asami's shoulders.

"Ugh, yeah. Hospital food is awful. If I end up in hospital someone bring me a bento, okay?" There was silence for a beat then there was more muffled snickers. Asami shook his head and both Kirishima and Suoh had small smiles at the antics.

"How about we just don't get injured yeah?"

"Fine. Oh, I figured out who the blond is."

"Yeah?"

"Pretty sure he's the manager of Dracaena."

The smiles were wiped off instantly and Asami traded hard looks with Suoh and Kirishima. He didn't know the details on the scoop Akihito was chasing but he hadn't authorised any underground business to be handled by Sudou. Which meant he was doing things on the sly again or it was personal. Regardless of what the photos showed, an investigation would have to take place. It would take a few weeks in which they would not be able to alert Sudou to what was going on while he was tailed and they figure out exactly what he was up to. Which irked Asami no end. The man had already been treading on thin ice and Asami would like to just be done with him but if all his movements weren't checked out there could be fallout if he is suddenly removed. The last thing he wanted was a deal he had no part in create backlash with the man's demise. Not good for business that. Ueda's voice brought him back to the present.

"I need to get a photo to send off to the boss."

"You're not going to be able to get a clear shot on a phone from this distance." Akihito pointed out. "I've already snapped off a few while I was trying to figure out where I knew him from. I can send them to you once we get back."

"Thanks."

"I take it that it's bad that he's here?"

Ueda took a moment before he responded in a whisper. "I think that depends on what he's doing here."

Another small lapse of silence punctuated by Akihito's camera snapping before the photographer huffed out a "Seriously, who carries around that much cash?"

The rest of the stake out was uneventful, although it took some time before they deemed it safe enough to leave. The mission wasn't declared complete until they had all safely reached Akihito's apartment where the change of guard was waiting. The air in the office was tense while they waited for the call from Ueda about the photos. Finally Suoh's phone rang and he confirmed Ueda was to send them through to all three of them. Another tense wait and the email pinged up on Asami's computer. Inside the photos showed Sudou clear as day along with a few Asami didn't recognise. He looked up at Kirishima who was frowning.

"Did you recognise any of the others?"

The secretary nodded and pushed his glasses up. "Yes, the large man with the briefcase is Ichikawa Kinmochi. He is rumoured to be involved in human trafficking although I can't confirm that for certain."

Asami's gaze hardened. "Get the report off Ueda as to what the intel Akihito was given was supposed to involve, it might give us a hint as to what they were doing. I want Sudou tailed and an investigation into what things he might be involved in. He does not get alerted to this until we have the information we need, I do not want to cause issues at the club unless absolutely necessary."

Both Kirishima and Suoh nodded before excusing themselves to get everything underway. It was late but the sooner they put the plans in place the better. There had been a lot of things that Sudou had dabbled in that Asami had ignored due to his usefulness but his patience had run out and Sudou would be out of his hair in less than a month. He better not have sold any information on Asami or Sion, betrayal was the one thing that the businessman took the most seriously. No one betrayed him and lived long to tell the tale. Asami always personally made sure of it.