"Ah, thank you for joining us," a deep, gleeful voice sounded out in front of him, "Asami Ryuichi."
Asami tried to focus but his vision remained blurred and the room spun. The hand gripping his hair was the only thing keeping him upright at that point. He narrowed his eyes but even then, he struggled to make out any defining features of the person in front of him. The voice didn't sound familiar but that meant nothing at this point.
"I must say, I am impressed that you managed to look so intimidating even in such a position. The rumours really don't do you justice." The voice moved closer and some of the man's features became more clear. Slicked back black hair, the shadow of a moustache, and beady brown eyes.
It was hard to think with the pain fuzzing his mind and the disorientation that he couldn't shake, but he was almost certain that he didn't recognise the man in front of him. What that meant for him, Asami had no idea. It was never a good thing to be in the dark, however.
"I must admit, I never expected to be able to get my hands on you of all people, Asami. The rumour mill is full of whispers about your security force and what you have done to those in the past that have tried to take you out. But perhaps all that is merely rumour now, nothing but a shadow of the past. Your security force is really nothing to brag about. Your soulmates, however, really is something special."
Tendrils of cold fear curled around his body. No threats of torture or harm to his own person could bring this feeling of utter dread into his body like the very thought of something happening to his Akihito could. How did they know about the strength of Akihito's guard force? The coordinated attacks on Akihito a few weeks ago came to mind but he let nothing show on his face. The moment he gave away his fear, he was in trouble.
"Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself, introductions are in order. We have not had the pleasure of meeting in person before this, we move in different circles after all, but I hope my reputation proceeds me as much as yours does. Umeji Tsukasa, and what a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Asami."
It took all his considerable will power not to react. Oh, he knew who this man was. Notorious human trafficker and a big player in the international trafficking circuit, Umeji was not a man to be trifled with. Asami might dabble in some unsavoury things, weapon and drug smuggling and most notably information brokering, but he had always had a great deal of distaste for the trafficking of human flesh. He had always stayed out of such things and had an unspoken agreement with those who dealt in human flesh not to step on each other's toes.
But his bright little soulmate had recently made headlines, twice, with his journalistic work taking out not one, but two politicians involved in the trafficking circuit. The feeling of dread tightened its hold over him, clenching his stomach and forcing bile to rise up his throat.
"But how interesting it is that I managed to capture you, of all people, when it's not even you that I want!" Umeji moved away and walked excitedly around the room as he spoke with such utter glee it was disgusting. "But what perfect bait you are. You see, Takaba Akihito has a great deal to answer for, and you are going to help me get him. But I'm not going to be wasteful with you. Oh no. What a prize I have in my hands. There are a number of people that would pay a great deal to get their hands on you, Asami. You may very well go down in the history books with the highest sale price in known history. Isn't that exciting? Even your secretary here has a good sale price on his head, he must have stepped on one too many toes on your behalf."
Asami craned his head around and while he wasn't able to move it much, he could make out shiny black shoes and long legs sitting on a chair next to him. Kirishima. There was no response so he could only hope by the fact that Umeji planned to sell them both meant he was okay.
"Ah, but that unfortunately means that I cannot damage the merchandise. However, we do need to cauterise those wounds of yours so I'm sure we can find a way to have a little fun with you still." Umeji cast a crazed grin over his shoulder while he gestured to his men.
Asami squared his shoulders and held back a grunt of pain as the movement sent pain lancing down his arm. He wasn't going to give the other man the pleasure of hearing him make any noise and he certainly wasn't going to engage him in any conversation.
He could only hope that the pain him would cause him to lose consciousness quickly so that he didn't have to bear with whatever agony they planned to inflict on him for long.
VFVFVFVFVFVFVFVF
Consciousness was slow to come to Akihito on waking but as soon as it had, he wished that he could go back to the oblivion of sleep. The sudden jarring realisation that the warmth surrounding him was not Asami but merely his blankets was like a punch to the gut. Tears threatened again and he buried his face into his pillow to hold back his sob. For a moment, it felt like nothing more than a bad dream until his reality kicked in.
Asami was missing.
They didn't know who was behind it or why they wanted him.
And Akihito couldn't do anything to help. Nothing. Not a thing. Because even now, he couldn't feel him. His mind was running in circles and images of the horrors that could befall his soulmate clouded his thoughts. It pushed aside the calmness that was required to be able to feel where Asami was.
Akihito rolled onto his back and put his arm out above him, stretching it out as though craning to touch his other half. What he would give to be able to have Asami there with him right now. Their games from while Asami was away seemed so frivolous now, so childish compared to the fear that sat in a lump in his gut.
Grabbing his phone, he frowned at the time. Late afternoon. Once asleep, his body had clearly taken advantage and slept for as long as possible. He had a ton of messages from his friends checking to see if he was okay and he suddenly realised that he never explained what had happened. Honestly, he didn't want to. He wasn't sure if he could put it into words without breaking down like he had that morning. He wasn't someone prone to just sitting around crying but all the fear and frustration had completely overwhelmed him. But the feelings still lurked in his mind and he couldn't banish them.
Akihito unlocked his phone and brought up one of Asami's videos that he had sent only two days ago. He brought the device close so he could drink in the image of his soulmate in all his glory. There was no heat in his body watching the video this time, no arousal at the actions or the words. That wasn't why he was watching after all. Instead he focused on the man's features and the comfort hearing his voice brought him. The smooth words made him ache even more for Asami but he ignored the longing as the baritone washed over him.
Golden eyes were focused so intently on the camera, looking at the Akihito of the time putting on his own show. They practically burned with desire. It was always enough to make him hot under the collar with just one smoky look. The way Asami looked at him through the recording was so intense and focused it's like he didn't care to look at anything else. As though Akihito was all there was in the entire world.
He was so focused on Akihito that he forgot about himself. Anger flared inside Akihito, burning hot and bright. Stupid Asami. That was exactly what had happened and the reason behind his capture. He had been so busy protecting Akihito, worrying about him, making sure that he was okay, that he forgot to protect himself.
Stupid man probably thought he was bullet proof. He certainly acted the proverbial ten feet tall and bullet proof. Like hell was Akihito going to sit there and mope. Throwing aside the sheets, the blonde stood and hurried to the shower to freshen up. The hot water seared his skin when he stepped into the shower and it matched the rage that now simmered inside of him.
Whoever was responsible better not underestimate him because oh boy, there was hell to pay. As for Asami, just wait until he could give the man a piece of his mind for not protecting himself and worrying Akihito like this. Of course, this would be after he makes the man tell him his little message to his face.
"Akihito, I love you."
Like hell the bastard was going to get away with that. He deserved to be told that earth shattering little revelation to his face, especially so he could finally return the sentiment properly. He had made illusions to wanting to love the man in the past when he finally got Asami to really open up to him but had yet to say the words out loud properly. As much as logically he knew that they were romantic soulmates and that Asami should love him, hearing it out loud made it all that much more real. It was so hard to know what the man was thinking sometimes that Akihito honestly hadn't been sure if he had gotten through to the man's heart yet.
Stepping out of the shower, Akihito quickly dried and dressed himself. He fired off a few hopefully reassuring messages to his friends before throwing open the penthouse door. Kamiya looked up from his phone in surprise before looking him over in concern.
"Sion." Was all that Akihito said and the guard nodded before leading in the way to the elevator. Two more guards joined them in the garage and it was a grim party that made their way to Sion. It took a great deal of effort not to ask for more information about Asami but he knew he was better off waiting and getting all the information from the headquarters rather than second hand information from his guards. If there had been any major news, they would have already told him when he came out.
Sion was just as hectic as the previous day when Akihito arrived. He got a few less looks of pity and a few more nods of acknowledgement as he made his way into the control room. He didn't understand why until he noticed the bentos and other containers sitting on desks. They were the ones he had spent hours on earlier that morning when he couldn't sleep. He honestly hadn't initially realised just how long he had spent cooking until he saw how much food he had prepared. The words over catering came to mind but with the amount of people at Sion, he would never be able to cook enough for everyone on his own. But apparently, he had made enough to feed half the floor.
The whirlwind of noise paused at Akihito entered the control room but it picked up again almost immediately. Ueda waved him over to the giant planning table where nearly all of Akihito's security team stood around it. In fact, adding the three that accompanied Akihito, it was the entire force. A few nods and the odd 'Takaba-sama' greeted him as he pulled up to the table.
"Any news?" he asked, desperately hoping for good news but the grim look of everyone's faces didn't give him much confidence.
"Only rumours," Ueda replied before nodding at Nakahara to continue.
"A few members from Inagawa-kai, a prominent Yakuza group, have been overheard bragging about capturing Asami-sama." Nakahara leaned back and folded his arms pensively as he continued, "But honestly, they are small fry compared to Sion and if they did do it, they aren't the mastermind. Someone else with much more cash to throw around is pulling the strings. The most concerning rumour in the underground is that Asami-sama and Kirishima-san will be going up for sale in the human flesh market soon. That rumour doesn't have a lot of traction yet but is already causing something of a frenzy."
"No one else has stepped forward to claim responsibility," Ueda continued on with frustration lacing his tone. "Nor has anyone made any demands. The ambush happened just outside the airport, just outside the patrol range that the airport security monitor and far enough away that there were no traffic cameras to record the events. There was nothing left at the scene other than blood and bullets. The bullets are standard issue amongst the underground and are the same that we use across our own weapon range. We took samples of all the blood on the scene and identified only the Sion members. There were two other blood splatters but they've come up with no matches in the system."
"Suoh-san's surgery was a success," Kamiya pitched in with a half-hearted smile, "but the drugs for the pain along with those from his surgery have interfered with his memory of the events leading up to being shot. When I spoke with him, he couldn't remember anything after the plane hitting the tarmac as they landed back in the country."
Akihito closed his eyes and took a deep breath in as the news threatened to crush him. Nothing. Nothing concrete, anyway. How many hours had passed? And yet here they were, in exactly the same situation as yesterday. There had to be more. He held the breath in for a moment before letting it out slowly. His eyes snapped open and determination filled his being. He still had that bone to pick with Asami, he wasn't about to give up yet. Knowing grins met his expression and the grim atmosphere moved over to one of steely determination. None of these men were going to give up either.
"Could Asami's capture be anything to do with the attacks on me in the last few weeks?"
"Possibly," Ueda confirmed.
"It's possible that they were testing the waters against you to have an idea what they were up against. They definitely didn't expect you to be so well protected." A flash of pride could be seen in the faces around the table at Nakahara's words.
"You also might still be a target, Takaba-sama," Ueda cut in. "We have people trying to get more solid information from various points in the underworld as well as our sources in the Inagawa-kai trying to confirm the truth to their drunken bragging. It could just as well be a trap as it could be the truth."
The guard was interrupted by a staff member patching a call through to their planning table. Nakahara leaned forward and picked up the call, a woman's voice echoed through on speakers set around the tables.
"Sir, I have Adachi-san from the front desk on the line. He says it's urgent."
"Bring him through." There was a pause then the noise from the speakers changed enough to indicate another line connection.
"Adachi-san, you're on speaker in the control room."
"Report," Ueda barked out before the man even had a chance to say a word.
"I have someone here who claims to have information concerning Asami-sama and Kirishima-san." A male's voice came through. He sounded bored and rather irritated.
"And why haven't you sent them up?" Ueda said through gritted teeth.
"It's Sugita Yasuko." The man huffed as silence greeted his statement before snidely continuing. "She was a mole placed in Sion by the organised crime unit, I doubt she can be trusted."
"Where's her file?" Nakahara pressed a few buttons on the small touch screen tablet at Ueda's question and with a flick of his wrist, a file appeared on the big screen in the middle of the table as well as small versions on each of the smaller screens around the outside. A photo of a dark-haired woman stared out and Akihito leaned forward to read it over as well.
Her filed clearly indicated that while she had been a mole, Asami had been aware of it and had fed her information of his choosing to report back to her superiors. Skimming down through the file words and characterises jumped out at him. Loyal to a fault, intelligent, determined, resourceful. What really caught Akihito's attention though, was the note at the bottom to see Kirishima or Asami if she should ever come back asking after a job.
"We can trust her," Akihito said in to the silence as he looked up catch Ueda's eye and gave a small, firm nod. Asami would only offer a job to someone he trusted and the file showed that she was worthy of respect. It wouldn't be framed like that if she wasn't trustworthy. "Send her up."
The man on the other end of the line didn't reply right away. "Excuse me?"
"Send her up," Akihito repeated with more force. It came out like the command he intended that time not the almost request of before.
"I don't know who this kid thinks he is, Asami-sama's soulmate or not, he might as well be the man's whore for all I care, but he's not my boss and I'm not willing to put my ass on the line because of his naiveite. We can't trust a police mole. Ugh, I should never hav-"
"And just who do you think is your boss right now?" Ueda interrupted with deadly calm. The atmosphere in the room had turned frosty and the entre security force around the table looked murderous.
"None of you-"
"Adachi, was it? I'll remember that. Now shut the fuck up and follow your fucking orders. Until Asami-sama is back in this building, Takaba-sama owns Sion. Any more badmouthing from you and I'll make sure you don't have a job anymore."
"He's not-"
"All right, listen up. All of you." Ueda's voice projected around the entire room and everyone stilled. "Until such a time that Asami-sama is back in full leading capacity, emergency protocol rules Takaba-sama as the big boss in his stead. So you better damn well be respectful or you won't have a fucking job for long. He's a better man than half you lot and quite frankly, he is going to be key to getting Asami-sama back. I'd like to see you lot scale a fucking building. Are we clear?"
The silence was so complete that you would be able to hear a pin drop.
Akihito's eyes flashed as he squared his shoulders, raised his chin, and said with ringing authority, "Send her up."
A/N: Akihito still has no idea that he accidentally confessed already XD and Yaaaay, Sugita is back! (She first appeared in chapter 27 and yes, I have been planning her to appear here since way back then!)
Reminder that I have social media, tumblr and facebook under DelmireHart, feel free to come find me and hang out! There are lots of random pictures of cute bats, manga clips, and the odd muse rant haha