"Umeji Tsukasa is not a name I wanted to hear," Ueda muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. A few of the others looked worried as well. It wasn't what Akihito had wanted to hear either but at least they had a name. They actually had a chance now at planning a rescue, not like before when they were blindly grasping in the dark.

"It explains why where weren't able to get much information about what happened. Umeji's an international player and used to moving on a different level than the rest. I'd like to know why the Inagawa-kai have been bragging about his capture then," Nakahara said as he played with the touch screen in front of him.

"It's a trap," Sugita replied as she moved closer to the table. She smiled wryly as she saw her own profile on the screen then her expression softened as she read through it further. She tore her eyes away from the screen to look up at the men around the table. "Asami-sama wasn't the intended target."

"What?" Akihito whispered, alarmed. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach.

She looked at him, her eyes assessing, but took a small breath then carried on resolutely, "Takaba-sama was the intended target."

Silence over took the room. Akihito felt like it was shifting before his very eyes as his world crashed from within. Asami wasn't the target, Akihito was. It was because of him that his soulmate was captured. Umeji was a name thrown around the police agency he got tip offs from for human trafficking, which meant it was have something to do with his journalistic work. He had taken out two politicians that were dabbling in the trafficking circuit, after all. Which means that the recent threats against him were all connected to Asami's capture.

"This isn't your fault Takaba-sama," Ueda's quiet voice cut through his thoughts.

"No," he agreed after a moment and looked up to meet the other man's eyes. "It's not. It's that fucking bastard Umeji's fault. But Asami spent so much time trying to protect me that he didn't protect himself. Just wait till I can give him a piece of my mind!"

The serious atmosphere surrounding the group shifted and a few fond smiles met his words. Sugita was observing him and he turned to her in question.

"The Inagawa-kai is a trap to try and bait Takaba-sama into a situation where they would be able to capture him. I don't know where exactly Asami-sama is being held within Umeji's headquarters but I do know the building and the surrounding layout. I hope that helps."

"It's far more than we have now," Nakahara replied. "Just knowing the building, we can have surveillance set up to investigate the area to start with."

"Alright," Ueda said with sudden authority, "Let's get planning."

VFVFVFVFVFVF

"Takaba-sama, you really need to stop stress cooking when you are supposed to be resting."

Akihito looked up guiltily from where he hovered over the stovetop. He hadn't gone quite so overboard this time but it was 8am and he still hadn't slept. As soon as he lay down, all he could think about was that Asami was captured because of him and he couldn't bear thinking about it. Even though he knew it wasn't his fault, he couldn't stop that train of thought. So he had quickly forgone sleep in favour of cooking his guard team, plus Sugita, breakfast. It was the least he could do, right?

"I couldn't sleep," he replied petulantly as Ueda strode into the kitchen with a fond shake of his head. Kamiya and Sugita hovered in the kitchen doorway, eyeing the piles of food. He plated up another bento and directed Ueda to help with some of the assembling.

"Do we need to get you more sleeping pills?"

He made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat and didn't answer the question. When he had looked in the mirror before he was surprised just how awful he looked. He had been washing his hands and happened to glance up to see deep black lines under his eyes, greasy hair in disarray, and he looked world weary. The kind of bone dead tiredness that you couldn't sleep off in just one night, the kind that spoke of the lack of laughter and smiles, the kind that you see on the heartbroken.

Until Asami was back safe and sound, he was heartbroken. His other half was missing and possibly in pain or worse. His soulmate. He desperately longed to have him back, to be able to curl up in his arms and sleep with his head on his broad chest. When he slept now, it was like a knife through his heart every time he woke up to realise that his soulmate was still missing, that the warmth that surrounded him wasn't from the other man. He missed waking up with a heavy arm wrapped around his waist and a nose pressed against his neck.

He missed Asami desperately.

Akihito took a deep calming breath as he suddenly fought off tears. He wasn't a crier, dammit. Tears helped no one and it was a waste of his precious reserves of energy. No one said anything and he was glad that they helped him pack up the food in silence. He was pretty sure that if someone said anything right now, he would lose his battle to not cry.

His motions were bouncing wildly all over the place, most likely due to sleep deprivation. He swung wildly between pissed off at both Asami and Umeji, not feeling anything at all other than a vague numbness, and the edge of breaking down into hysterics. It was irritating to say the least but it made no difference knowing what was the cause of it.

"We'll take these into Sion for the team but you need to stay here and rest," Ueda's voice was gentle yet firm. He really was like the big brother he never had. Akihito sighed, he knew he wasn't going to be able to change the man's mind. "Have you eaten?"

He shook his head. "Not hungry."

"We'll bring you sushi for lunch," he promised as he ushered Akihito into the lounge. A nest of blankets made up his temporary bed on the couch and he sat down on the edge. Kamiya came over to pass him a glass of water and another pill. So, they had come prepared for this. He knew they weren't good to take all the time but hopefully soon he would be able to sleep normally in his lover's arms.

As he curled up on the couch, the guards drawing the curtains then leaving him in peace, he wondered how those that lost their soulmate coped. The door clicked shut and he was left in silence. It felt oppressive. He could only hope that the sleeping pills kicked in quickly, he didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts for too long. They had planned Asami's rescue late into the night. Everyone knew that the longer it was left, the higher the chance that he could be hurt or worse.

There were still so many unknowns though. Sugita had some ideas about where they might keep such a high-profile captive but didn't know for certain. She had offered to go back under cover to get more information but Ueda had denied it. She had been away too long, she might have already raised suspicion, and they needed her advice readily available. They hoped that both Kirishima and Asami were being kept together or nearby as it would make it a much riskier mission if not.

The final details were still being put in place and the team were waiting on some field information before they could continue. As much as he wanted to be at Sion helping, there was nothing he more he could do right now, and certainly nothing in this state. He closed his eyes and settled further into the blankets. Sleep was mercifully quick to come.

VFVFVFVFVFVF

"Thanks for breakfast, Takaba-sama."

Murmurs of thanks and a few pats on the back greeted Akihito as he entered the control room. He flushed at the attention and nodded back as he was led to sit at one of the chairs pulled up around the planning table. A container of fancy gourmet sushi was placed in his lap by Oshiro who ruffled his hair like a kid before dancing away with a laugh when he swatted at his hand. He blinked down at the sushi and noted all his favourites. He still didn't feel hungry, there was a coiling nauseous feeling in place of hunger, but he appreciated the thought. He glanced up to see everyone watching him expectantly and gave a small smile.

"Thank you." He picked one of the rolls up and dutifully chewed and swallowed before everyone seemed satisfied. It really was like having a bunch of big brothers. Now that they trusted Akihito and now that everyone knew each other, they had all fallen into something of a family unit. They were still very professional, but the teasing and genuine caring came through as well. He gave back as good as he got though.

"We've got some preliminary field reports back from those tasked with surveying the area around Umeji's headquarters." A map appeared on the screens across the table as Ueda spoke and Akihito leaned forward to take it all in. "The building is well guarded and even though it is surrounded on all sides by other buildings, it has no easy access. The roof is well guarded as well. Our best bet to get inside is to break into the middle section where the security will be less and access the building via the others surrounding it. We will also need a team to take the 'bait' and investigate the Inagawa-kai as a distraction."

Ueda glanced at Akihito and waited. It took him a moment to realise it was an invitation. Normally he would be the first to say he'd be the bait. He was always up for getting in there and getting his hands dirty, so to speak. That kind of thing was what he did when he was investigating various suspects for his journalism, after all. But not this time.

"I want to be part of the rescue mission," Akihito said firmly. He was going to be there when they found Asami, for better or worse. He would be the one helping him from the building and giving him a good scolding for being stupid. He didn't want to wait a single minute longer than necessary to see Asami again.

The only one that seemed surprised by his words and the team's easy acceptance of his choice was Sugita. She was staying with a member of the team at all times and would be staying at Sion for the mission. Nakahara had assured him that it was nothing personal, just protocol in this situation because of her past affiliations. They had all promised to be respectful and as accommodating as possible but Sugita took it all in her stride. It seemed like she expected nothing less.

"Is that wise?" she asked, clearly concerned.

"Good luck trying to keep him away," Ueda replied with a wry grin. "If Takaba-sama wants to do something, he'll find a way to do it regardless of what we want. I'd rather not spare the man power just to keep him away."

Akihito flushed at the words but he wasn't wrong. He had led more than one chase across Tokyo because he wanted to be guard-less in the beginning.

"He is also very skilled at scaling buildings so we will most likely benefit from his expertise." Ueda paused for a moment before continuing in more serious tone, "Besides, I understand. If Anita was missing I would be the first one to sign up to the rescue mission. You can't just sit back when your soulmate is in trouble. Even if you aren't necessarily the most suitable candidate for the mission."

Sugita nodded, a soft, sad look in her eyes as she glanced over at Akihito. "I understand."

They spent the rest of the afternoon refining the rescue mission and diversion plans. Not a single detail was left to chance where they could help it and they were updated as more information came in throughout the day.

Akihito would be hanging at the back of the rescue team, sticking just in front of the rear guard for the team that would be going down the building and trying to locate the basement levels. This was the most likely place that captives would be held. Another team would be going up through the higher levels of the building as well, just in case. They had arranged to have a medical team on standby a few buildings down and the Sion doctors at the private hospital had also been notified.

Ueda had been negotiating with one of the adjacent buildings owners for access to the building after hours, pulling a few strings in Asami's name with apparently a liberal slathering of cash. It was an office building so everyone should be gone by the time they got there in the dead of night but the building manager was going to make sure to clear it out in case people stayed back to work overtime.

They were ready.

As ready as they would ever be, anyways.

The only problem now was that there were hours until they needed to assemble to start the mission. Which left Akihito with too much time to think and fret. He didn't think the others would appreciate him pacing around the control room and he couldn't distract himself by watching anything or playing on his phone. It hadn't been successful in the past few days, and it certainly wasn't going to calm his jitters now.

With a sigh, Akihito pulled out his phone and opened up a notepad. "What does everyone want for food?" It was a little late for dinner already but no one had eaten yet and they would be up for hours, may as well get some good food to keep their energy up.

"We can just get takeaways delivered here, you don't need to stress yourself, Takaba-sama." Akihito looked up at Oshiro, face completely blank and after a moment of awkward staring, the guards began to call out food suggestions.

"There's a kitchen somewhere here, right? Glasses sometimes cooks for Asami."

"Yeap, top floor," Nakahara replied with a grin. "It's Kirishima-san's sacred place but I doubt he'd mind if you used it."

"I'll let you know when stuff is ready." Akihito turned Sugita and Oshiro. "Would you mind helping me get groceries?"

"Whatever you need boss," Oshiro replied with a laugh and waved the bewildered Sugita forward.

"This isn't quite what I expected when I decided to come here," Sugita said, breaking their silence as they rode down the elevator to the underground garage.

"The helping with groceries or the pleasant atmosphere?" Oshiro questioned cheekily.

"Both?" She seemed a little lost for words. "I knew that Sion was different. Asami-sama is different and he encourages a different atmosphere to other work places. But even with the crisis, you are all so relaxed yet still so determined and efficient. I've heard the terms 'Sion family' before but I never realised how accurate it was until I saw your team. It can be seen in other areas of the business but not to such an extent."

"We can thank Takaba-sama for that." Oshiro nodded at Akihito and smiled fondly. "I think it is mostly due to him that we are all able to be so close."

Sugita turned to him, her eyes appraising him once again. "I think my past experiences with soulmates clouded my vision as to what you would be like. I knew Asami-sama and have great respect for the man but all I knew about you was that you were his soulmate. I misjudged you to the point that I think I might just owe you an apology. I'm only glad that I came, regardless of what I thought I should expect."

Akihito was surprised to say the least. "What happened to make you think like that? If you don't mind my asking."

"I have only personally met a few people who have met their soulmates, and I've never met mine. But when my father found his soulmate, he left myself and my mother without even a goodbye. He never tried to reach out to us and blocked all communication. It wasn't until his funeral that I even met his soulmate. She didn't even know I existed. A similar thing happened to my first partner in the police force. His wife left him for her soulmate. He was devastated. She at least didn't completely cut ties and they share joint custody of their two kids but it's supposed to be this wondrous thing, meeting the person perfect for you. All I've seen is it tearing families apart."

"My uncle had the same thing," Oshiro joined in as they headed towards one of the more modest looking vehicles in the garage. "He committed suicide after his husband left him for his soulmate. But my baby sister found her soulmate in high school and they are now married and looking into surrogacy to start a family. They are both women," he explained after seeing the confusion of their faces. "I guess it just depends on the people. All of the Sion staff with soulmates have done well and there haven't been any broken families or scandals."

"Sion staff are another breed of people entirely," Sugita retorted and Oshiro laughed.

"True. Most are married to their jobs so when someone actually comes along they are single so there's no drama to be had. But we also have the example of Takaba-sama and Asami-sama to look up to."

"I couldn't imagine being in a relationship with someone, only to find your soulmate. I don't know what I would have done," Akihito mused out loud. "But they are given to you for a reason. You don't know what's going on under the surface in a person's life. As an outsider looking in, you can't really judge. For all that they are supposedly the perfect match for you, that doesn't mean the other person is perfect. I mean, aren't they just the best match from all the other people on the planet? That still doesn't give you a pass to be a dick to the other people in your life though."

"Kirishima-san once said that you saved Asami-sama," Oshiro said curiously.

"Saved him? Maybe. He has been through a lot. He's so calm and composed on the surface but underneath there is a lot of pain and scars. I couldn't imagine going through what he has and being able to put a mask on each day and pretend that everything was fine. But it goes both ways, he's saved me too. Just a little more literally."

Akihito smiled fondly as he remembered Asami opening up to him about his past and when he spent so much time caring for him when he was injured. His resolve hardened and he looked up with grim determination.

"It's my turn to save him this time and I'll do it again and again, as many times as needed. He can't get rid of me so easily."