Asami tried to stretch out his legs and flinched at the pain the movement elicited. The wound in his thigh throbbed anyway but trying to move sent sharp spasms of pain lancing through him. They had cauterised the bullet wounds in both his shoulder and thigh with a huge hot iron and the pain had mercifully sent him into the dark oblivion of unconsciousness. Unfortunately, it was coming back to haunt him now.
Umeji had watched in fascination as they had seared his flesh but Asami had been unwilling to give him the satisfaction of making a sound. It seemed Kei had the same thought as Asami had, he watched him go first and not a sound escaped. It tore at him that his best friend of many years had been dragged into this hell with him but at the same time, it was surprisingly comforting. The constant presence that kept him company during his work day silently gave him strength just by being with him, even now.
A groan brought his attention to the other man, he must be waking up as well. They might not be able to torture them as completely as they would like but Asami was surprised that they hadn't separated them. Phycological torture was quite possible without laying a hand on the person, Asami himself had used that method in the past when dealing with certain betrayals. Grizzled men in his employ who could handle the pain blanched at the mere thought of what was done to those who betrayed him. But leaving two strong men together would only keep their spirits high.
Unless Umeji, the sick fuck, wanted that just so it would be more crushing once they realised they weren't getting out of here. He would be disappointed in the end, however. He had complete faith in his men and more specifically, his determined little soulmate.
Ah, Akihito. Asami shut his eyes and allowed himself to feel. He could feel Aki somewhere off to the right, a reassuring presence in the back of his mind. He had never been able to feel his soulmate like this before. It was like a little GPS marker in his head that showed his rough direction. The direction changed depending on the time of day. There were no windows to let natural light in the room to tell the time but Asami could only assume he was travelling between the penthouse and Sion. He spent far longer at the location he was at now. He had assumed that was home initially but now he was beginning to doubt that fact.
"Ryuichi?" A hoarse voice called his attention to his friend.
"I'm here, Kei," Asami replied, his own voice surprising gravelly as well.
"Ah, good."
They lapsed into silence for a while, content with their own thoughts but drawing strength quietly from the others presence. It made it feel like some training exercise, as though they were just waiting for their men to arrive and win the challenge. It was an odd juxtaposition to reality.
"I wonder what time it is," Kei finally said aloud and Asami winced as he moved in his seat.
"Oh?"
"I was thinking about Miyuki. I was wondering where she might be right now, if only I knew the day and time. I know her schedule back to front, I am her father after all. She thinks it's too much, her mother never takes that much interest, but I like to check in on her and see how she enjoyed the day. Typical teenager won't tell me anything unless I pry it out of her with specific questions." Asami chuckled along with Kei.
"It sounds like a battle to just ask how her day was."
"It is," Kei agreed. Asami could hear him shifting in his chair and the unmistakable sound of a breath drawn in in pain.
"I'm not sure if it's day or night but it can't be too late, Akihito's at Sion."
"How do you know?" Kei asked, clearly surprised.
"I can feel him. Where he is." Asami closed his eyes and let the feeling come to the front. It was so comforting to know that he was there. Know that his soulmate was okay. "Not an exact location, more of a feeling of direction. But he's spent the most time there since we arrived here and I started feeling it."
"I bet the brat is trying to help get us back," Kei said with a surprising amount of fondness in his tone. It took the bite right out of the insult and made it sound almost like an endearment instead.
"Of course." Asami couldn't help the chuckle at the thought. Akihito, the stubborn, bull headed, person that he was had probably already wormed his way onto the rescue mission. His security team would only encourage it, they had a surprisingly high opinion of the young man. "He is going to be rather mad at me, I imagine."
"Oh?"
"The message I left on his phone," he said by way of explanation. Kei had been beside him at the time and heard his confession to his bright little lover. He should have told him earlier, he shouldn't have left it so long. What kind of a man was he to be wary of feelings? Especially feelings as strong as the ones Akihito elicited in him. But perhaps the very force of them was what alarmed him. What kind of man was scared of feelings? "He's always harping onto me about honesty and telling him things. I didn't tell him in person, I just left a message on his voicemail like a coward. I couldn't leave it though. He deserved to know if we never make it out of here alive."
"He does," Kei said gravely. "I can almost imagine him storming in here, cursing wildly, at the head of the team. He would lecture you even as he cut the restraints."
Asami laughed out loud at that. He could see it perfectly in his mind's eye. Akihito throwing open the door all bristling anger like a cat rubbed the wrong way and demanding a proper confession. If it was possible, Asami had no doubt he would get to them on sheer willpower alone.
"He would be upset that I spent so much time and money protecting him and yet I got caught. And then I admitted to feelings that I've known about for some time via phone and not told him in person for reasons I am not completely comfortable admitting."
Kei laughed quietly at that. "No one is perfect, Ryuichi. We are all only human. Your past holds you back much less now than it did before but those types of things cannot be healed quickly. Although perhaps its hold over you is nearly gone if you can admit that. I am continually impressed by Takaba's ability to bring out the horny teenager in you, though."
"The photos?"
"Highly inappropriate to be engaging in such activities during business meetings." Asami smirked at the memories of his days sending sexy selfies back and forward with Akihito. He didn't miss the note of fond exasperation in his old friend's voice, as though he was both pleased and done with his actions.
"Ah, but it was too much fun to resist. Lighten up a little, Kei."
"Were the photos saved to your phone or Sion's servers?" he asked, suddenly serious.
"The phone. I am not going to go quite so far as save that type of content on business servers."
"Our phones were taken after we were captured. All the data we access for work requires server access and the log ins will have expired by the time they crack the pin codes on them. If they crack the pin codes. Our techs said with certain, highly advanced and highly illegal, machines the pin codes might be able to be cracked which is why all company information is accessed remotely. But they may get hold of anything else on our phones. My pictures of Miyuki and yours of Takaba."
"I will gouge out the eyes of anyone who takes even a peek at those photos," Asami responded, his voice almost a deep growl.
"I'll help you hunt them down, old friend." There was an air of finality to the other man's tone. As though all was going to be fine. As though he had absolute faith that they would be rescued and that would be a task that he would take on with his usual down to business approach.
Asami appreciated the fortitude of the man beside him. It would make it much easier to get through whatever Umeji had planned. Because while more physical torture was out of the picture, he clearly planned on keeping them alive and well for some time, just judging by the drip in their arms keeping them fed and hydrated for the moment. It was an expense few would bother to go to. Unless they needed to keep their captives alive and were worried about them refusing food.
He could only hope that his determined little soulmate hadn't given up hope on them yet. It felt odd to be the one relying on another after he spent so long being the one to look after Akihito. But, he had faith that his fiery lover was not about to let him languish in this small concrete room.
Akihito had a lot to scold him for, after all.
VFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVF
"Send her up."
Ueda gave him an approving nod and this time Adachi agreed, albeit reluctantly. The line disconnected and Akihito looked over Sugita's file again. He hadn't realised how much of his acceptance here in Sion had hinged on his security team and he appreciated their unwavering belief in him. He couldn't imagine having to sit on the outside waiting for other people to rescue Asami. Waiting without knowing because they thought him some punk kid that couldn't do anything. The boss's lover with no ability of his own. He had staked out Kikkawa and taken him down all on his own, no help needed. It just seemed like people conveniently forgot that part.
He wasn't a push over and he wasn't going to let anyone lay their hands on his soulmate without a fight.
The doors to the control roomed opened and he turned to watch a well-dressed woman approach. Her faced matched the file in front of him and he just looked for a moment, trying to figure out if he trusted her. How could Asami judge a character so easily? He could read so much off body language alone but Akihito had no clue. But he trusted the assessment in her file from Asami and Kirishima and he trusted the feeling in his gut. She was trustworthy. Whether or not Sugita could help, however, was something else entirely.
"Takaba-sama," she said by way of greeting and inclined her head politely.
Akihito blinked in surprise. "You know who I am?"
"Of course. There are few who fit your description and even less who would be standing in this room. And only one man with your description that would command these men at a time like this." Her eyes flicked over his security team before landing back on him. "It was my job to get information while I was here, after all." There was a bitter twist to her lips as she said that. "You never know what might come in handy. Although if anyone in my department would use information of a soulmate as fodder against someone, I would have another thing to say about it. Mino got what he deserved."
Akihito's eyebrows jumped and he made note to ask Asami about Officer Mino. He hadn't seen the man since his threat before the Sudou kidnapping. Clearly something had happened to him and just as obviously, it had something to do with Asami and himself. The man had been trying to get Akihito to agree to spy on his lover. Perhaps he had approached Asami directly? The shootout at the warehouse had been a Crime Unit disaster and they had been disgraced to the public for months afterward, but no one had ever mentioned Mino. Akihito smelled a cover up.
"I know you don't trust me," Sugita continued, pulling Akihito from his thoughts. "I understand why. But I have information and I can't just sit back and watch."
"Why?" Akihito asked quietly. He needed to be sure. Asami's life depended on him, he couldn't toss it away. He wouldn't. He might be naïve and too trusting but he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way to save his soulmate. "Why can't you just sit back? Isn't that what you do as an undercover agent? Sit back and observe and gather information and do nothing to give yourself away?"
Sugita looked away for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking him square in the eye. There was a familiar look of determination in her eyes, one that Akihito had seen in the mirror many times. He felt a sudden sense of kinship with the woman, here was someone as stubborn as him.
"I've been in the police force for years, in one capacity or another. I went to the academy straight after school to join. I wanted to do good in the world, make it a better place, help those that needed it and take down those that hurt the innocent. It is a great ideal. But that is just it, an ideal. Perhaps for some, they live that ideal but I was not one of them. Being a woman in the police force, I was required to prove my worth two, three times more than my male peers. I was passed over for promotion, opportunities, and given tasks that 'suited' me." She laughed, a bitter thing filled with pain. Akihito felt a pang at the ideal comment. It was what he strove for as well, just in a different capacity.
"Becoming an undercover agent was even worse. I'm good at what I do. I do it well, give my all, my everything, only to see the information I pass across gathering dust on the shelf. I cannot reach out to those being hurt by the organisations I am infiltrating. I have seen people beaten, raped, murdered in cold blood. I have passed testimonials back to my superiors only to find out that it's not enough. I let myself get treated like shit by these puffed up good for nothing criminal dogs, for what? Nothing. Out of three posts, I had only been able to help take one down. Even then, it wasn't the ringleader.
Then I came to Sion. I had heard the rumours about Asami Ryuichi. You don't have to look far in the police force to hear his name. It's all over the organised crime unit. I don't know what I expected when I arrived. I came here only to be treated with respect. I kept looking for the catch. I received a better pay check than my police wage, my opinions were heard and respected, and I was looked out for. I made friends in a place that seemed on the surface like the average office building. Me, used to working in dingy bars and brothels and even restaurants. Sure, I found a few things that don't add up with a legal business and passed them back. But I could never find much.
Then one day I'm dragged to Asami-sama's office. I'm worried, what if my cover was blown? I've heard whispers in my time at Sion about what he does to traitors. And here I am, the worst of the worst, sending his secrets back to the organised crime unit. But no. Mino had done something stupid, set you up to get hurt and Asami Ryuichi was worried about me. Me! He had known I was an uncover operative the entire time and he was worried that I might get caught in the crossfire after Mino's stupidity." Sugita's fist clenched at her side and she seemed on the verge of tears, body trembling. The emotions in her voice caught at Akihito's heart. Shock, pain, disbelief.
"He even offered me a job on my way out! Who does that? But the entire time I was there, I was treated with respect. I was acknowledged and respected for the first time in my entire career. Oh sure, there are people in the police that won't treat you differently based on gender or sexuality or religion. But they are rare. Yet this supposed underworld crime lord top dog welcomed me into his business knowing who I was and respected me? Oh sure, I must have been fed information to his choosing but even so."
Sugita took a deep steadying breath and when she continued the pain and shock from her voice had gone, instead a steely kind of stubbornness sat in its place. "My current posting is trying to get close to Umeji Tsukasa, a notorious human trafficker on the international scale. I believe he has both Asami-sama and Kirishima-san. I owe both men a debt of gratitude that I cannot ignore. I don't care what you think of me, but please, let me repay this favour."
Akihito recognised the name, he had heard it whispered before as well and the thought that he had Asami was chilling. But he had hope now. He stuck his hand out with a cheeky grin and Sugita took it after a moment of hesitation. She seemed taken aback but Akihito was beyond doubt now.
"Welcome to Sion."