Edit: Fixed Formatting Errors.

Chapter 1

The air was thick, far too thick. The acrid smell of smoke clung to the walls and the pungent aroma of expensive liquors became stronger and invaded the man's nostrils as he hurried down the dark and narrow corridor. Reaching up with a small linen cloth to wipe away the beads of sweat now forming on his forehead, the man looked back over his shoulder nervously, thankful to see his few remaining men still right behind him.

The last visit had been the worst yet.

Briefly squeezing his eyes, the man shook the gruesome thoughts away before continuing to the end of the winding hallway, stopping at a heavy, oak door guarded by two men in pristine suits. The man could hear soft talking from behind the door, but no distinct words, and determined this room must have been the fresh source of smoke that threatened to suffocate him at any given moment. Clearing his throat, the man braved himself to finally speak, trying to sound the confident authority he once was and not the frightened, pitiful man he now is, "I-I have an appointment. It was confirmed with-" the man was cut off by one of the guards lifting a finger to his hear and speaking so softly he couldn't hear a word.

Perhaps it was the blood rushing in his ears or overwhelming tension he felt, but the man stood petrified as he waited for something, anything.

After what seemed like hours but was merely minutes filled with the nervous shuffling of his subordinates and his own frantic heartbeat, the oak door slowly opened and the man was greeted by a pretty hostess who bowed slightly before gesturing for the men to follow her.

Seeing no other options, the man hesitantly stepped forward into the dimly lit room and fought back the urge to cough as his lungs were invaded by the lingering smoke in the air. The heavy 'thud' of the door closing jolted him out of his stupor and he quickly straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin, attempting to imply confidence and strength, however his grim expression and the utter terror in his subordinates eyes quickly gave away his false bravado.

Approaching a small circle of lavish furniture where several figures sat with their backs to him, the man counted at least five heads and several trails of smoke floating upwards as the figures continued to talk and laugh quietly as if he was not there. The man stopped before two more pristine guards who hardly batted an eye in his direction, as if he was insignificant, hardly a threat to be considered. A feeling of anger suddenly welled in his chest and the man signaled for his men to remain as he marched past the guards and around to face the couch and confront the figures ignoring him.

How dare they, did they know who he was? He was-

The man stopped dead in his tracks and ceased to breathe as he suddenly realized there was a cold, metal barrel of a gun pressed directly to his forehead and slowly shifted his eyes, trying desperately not to tremble as his gaze was met by the unmistakable golden eyes. The gun cocked against his forehead and the man shut his eyes, gulping as the holder of the gun turned the corner of his mouth upwards into a smirk.

"Hello Ogata-san, I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Asami Ryuichi."

The last sound was the gun firing.

A small trickle of blood slipped from the man's right ear and pooled against his neck as he stood frozen in shock, Asami smirking at him as the smoke from the barrel of his gun began to dissipate and plaster crumbled slightly surrounding the new hole in the wall.

Holstering his weapon back inside the jacket of his suit, Asami accepted the freshly poured scotch offered to him by Kirishima who stood quietly next to him, hardly batting an eye at the events, and sipped it slowly before returning his gaze to the man in front of him, "I assume you to be much calmer now, yes?" Asami asked with a hint of warning in his voice.

No one attempted to confront Asami Ryuichi in such a manner and he would not tolerate ill manners or unnecessary tempers.

The man could only nod before he took a step back and sat on a long, empty couch, staring wide eyed ahead as he tried to regain his composure. It was a few moments before the shock finally seemed to wear off and his hands stopped trembling before the man licked his dry lips and opened his mouth, trying to find the words he had practiced over and over but coming up empty.

Asami narrowed his eyes and spoke, effectively cutting off any attempt at the man's vocalization, "I'm a very busy man Ogata-san, and I would suggest you spit it out before I have you escorted from the premises."

Quickly snapping into the moment at the threat, Ogata opened his mouth and was unable to close it as sentence after rambling sentence began to fall from his lips, "Asami-sama, sir, I've come to request your services. You see, I have a very serious problem, one which I am unable to solve on my own and I desperately need your assistance. Asami-sama please, I beg you." The man started when Asami began to show disinterest, "This man, this, creature. It's unstoppable. I've tried but all I succeed in doing is sacrificing more of my men's lives. This is all that is left of us." Ogata then gestured to the pitiful group of men shuffling behind the sitting area, "Please Asami-sama, we've never been a threat to you and I intend to keep things that way, I will pay everything I have for your services. Name your price. I need you capture him and bring him to me alive so that I can take my revenge and restore the faith of my men."

Asami raised a hand to cut the now panting Ogata off and sipped his scotch, closing his eyes as he savored the liquid briefly, "While your story is as sad and pitiful as you present yourself, Ogata-san, I fail to see how this affects or benefits me in any manner." Asami's sharp eyes cut into the man like a knife and he shrunk in on himself, leading Asami to continue, "Why should I risk the lives of my own men to capture this "man" you keep referring to just so you can take the sadistic pleasure in torturing him? Believe me, Ogata-san, I know very well about your methods and practices. Frankly, torturing innocent people for pleasure is not something I have any interest in. How am I to be sure this isn't your way of getting me to hand deliver you your final victim? As you very well must know, seeing as how you consider yourself so thoroughly researched on myself and my affairs, I am not a human trafficker."

The words cut through Ogata like fire as he realizes he is losing the interest of Asami and very rapidly. He trembles slightly as he begins to understand there is no other way to convince the man before him, finally gesturing to one of his men, causing a large, blonde guard to instantly raise his gun in that direction and he reaches for the large manila envelope being handed to him by his subordinate.

Asami raises his hand once more, signaling for Suoh to holster his weapon as his curiosity is piqued by the envelope that is now being torn open by Ogata, who pulls out a large cluster of photos before throwing them on the ground in front of Asami, closing his eyes to them before looking up to meet the golden gaze with all the confidence he once had, "These are my men. What's left of them, at least."

Ogata swallows hard but does not avert his gaze before continuing, "At first it was one or two guys just not showing up for duty, disappearing into thin air. I thought that there may have been a group of traitors who were attempting to escape with any valuable information they had. But then the numbers started to increase, and soon my men were reporting that they felt as if they were being watched. At home, in the office, walking alone or in groups, day or night, that someone was watching them. And each time someone new would disclose these feelings, they were gone within twenty-four hours. I began to suspect someone had put a hit out on me and was attempting to thin the herd before attacking, however the more I dug the more frequently my men disappeared. Then, the body parts began showing up." Ogata gestured to one of the photos depicting an arm severed at the shoulder and wrapped in parchment paper, "Fingers, ears, sometimes entire limbs. My men were beginning to panic, we had lost at least half our numbers and anyone could have been the next victim to this unknown threat."

Asami swirled his glass absentmindedly appearing to entertain Ogata's story, however Kirishima could tell his boss was intrigued by the unfolding events as Ogata took a deep breath before he continued.

"I decided to call a meeting, I thought if I could get them all together at once, calm their fears and instead rally their need for revenge and closure as something productive, that I could beat whoever or whatever was after me. Instead it only made things worse." Ogata shut his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat as the memories washed over him, "He came out of nowhere. We were all sitting around and talking, mourning the loss and trying to cope with the situation when it was as if a fountain of blood erupted from the middle of the group. It was over in a flash, I hardly remember what happened. All I know is when I came to all that remained was this small group and the rest of my men…they were massacred."

Ogata then gestured to the rest of the photos which showed varying methods and intensity of kills, some of the men simply had their throats slashed. Others were hacked into pieces, limbs torn from their bodies and eyes gouged out. One man's blank eyes stared into the camera as his hands clutched at his entrails as he had desperately attempted to pull himself back together where he had been clearly cut in half at the waist.

Asami frowned as he studied the images, the kill methods were extreme, over the top as if this was a crime of passion. However there wasn't something quite right, the marks the killer made were confident and efficient, it was almost as if he was having…fun with it. As if the extreme methods were a game, and Asami fought the urge to smirk. Now this was interesting.

"While I comprehend your issue Ogata I still fail to see how this would in any way affect or benefit me." Asami pulled his box of Dunhills from his pocket and placed a cancer stick between his lips, where Kirishima instantly lit the end of the cigarette. Asami breathed in the nicotine slowly before hardening his gaze to meet Ogata's, patience beginning to wear thin once more.

Quickly Ogata gathered himself under Asami's intense stare before mustering the courage to once again speak, "It is not affecting you now but who's to say that this man won't come after you eventually? I'm offering you any amount you ask in payment and the opportunity to be rid of this potential threat before he grows any stronger." Ogata looked pleadingly at Asami once more before bowing low to the ground, touching his forehead to the floor, "Please, Asami-sama. I beg you."

Smirking, Asami tried not to scoff at the notion that this "man" was any potential threat to him. His organization was much larger and practically impenetrable in comparison to the lowly man before him. However Ogata's desperation and pleading amused Asami and he decided his interest in this mystery assassin was enough to push him to a decision. "Twenty million upfront. If it's not paid within 12 hours the deal is off. The remaining sum will be determined when this "man" has been captured. Send any information you have to Kirishima so we can begin creating a list of possible names." Asami made a move to stand up and exit the room but stopped when Ogata spoke up once more.

"Asami-sama, wait. You don't have to find him, I know who he is."

Asami raised a questioning eyebrow but did not speak, prompting Ogata to continue.

"I saw him, when he attacked us. I was able to run his description through a database and the license photo that appeared matched him perfectly." Ogata took a deep breath before uttering, "His name is Takaba Akihito."

A.N.

I really enjoyed writing this and I have a lot of ideas and plans and thoughts that I want to explore. Feedback is always appreciated!