Hello! I'm so happy with the positive feedback I received from the first chapter. I tried to make this one longer but I was worried I was putting way too much content into one setting so I cut myself off where I did for a reason. I rewrote a lot of this as I kept getting concerned the characters seemed OOC so I hope they don't appear that way too much. Also a lot of people will probably be very confused and I will get angry cries of "WHAT?" after this is uploaded but trust me you're supposed to be confused at this point. I promise this story will have a resolution that cleans up everything. Eventually. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 2

Akihito checked his bag for a third time as he hurried out of the small, one bedroom apartment located in a shady district just outside the bustling heart of Tokyo. He was running late, as per usual, with one shoe untied and half his shirt tucked in as he hurried down the stairs of his building, hastily pulling himself together before straddling his parked Vespa and quickly taking off into traffic, his bag still sitting on the ground where he was once parked.

Suoh let out a rare groan of immense frustration and wiped the palm of his hand over the length of his face. It had been a week since he and the rest of Asami's men began following this Takaba Akihito, scoping him out to see if he truly was the man Ogata had claimed.

So far, Suoh was not convinced, nor impressed.

Like clockwork, the Vespa came speeding back to its original starting point and the young man on it grabbed the bag before taking off once again, prompting Suoh himself to follow pursuit a few moments later.

Asami Ryuichi slammed his phone down onto the mahogany wood of his large desk, annoyance clear in his eyes as he finished reading the short update from Suoh. A large hand ran through his hair as he tossed back a glass of brandy.

He was getting nowhere and he knew it.

Kirishima stood attentively before him, holding several stacks of reports that needed overlooked but knew better than to present them right this moment, Asami would need a few minutes and perhaps a cigarette or two in order to cool his rising temper and gather his thoughts.

Clearing his throat after a few moments, Kirishima swallowed before opening his mouth, "Asami-sama, here are the reports following Takaba Akihito over this past week. Ah, I must say," Kirishima started as he laid the reports across Asami's desk, "He's not quite what I'd expect an assassin of that caliber to be. In fact, quite the opposite. He's a photographer for a local agency who does mostly crime photography, he's definitely agile and athletic based on the shots he takes and the tasks he completes but he's also quite clumsy and forgetful. He lives very modestly, when checking his bank statements it was made abundantly clear that he lives paycheck to paycheck. He has no offshore accounts that money could be being placed into. We checked those of his relatives as well and found nothing, neither of his parents are alive and he's an only child. If he is an assassin, he's not working for anyone. His only social interactions, other than that of his work, seem to be with two young men similar in age to him who were both cleared as well. They're classmates of his that he meets once a week for sushi in Shinjuku. Suoh has been tailing him for a week, watching his apartment and nothing has seemed out of the ordinary. We even had some men break in while he was on assignment and turn the place upside down, they found nothing as well. Asami-sama, if I may, this Takaba Akihito seems like a normal member of society. I believe the only evidence connecting him to this unnamed assassin is Ogata's eyewitness."

Asami laced his fingers together and rested his chin atop his hands as he stared down at the reports in front of him. Lingering his eyes over the photograph paper clipped to one of the sheets, Asami reached down and picked it up as he studied the boy in the photo.

Light, ashy blonde hair, bright blue eyes and creamy skin, he hardly looked Japanese but his records stated otherwise. The boy was the epitome of beauty with delicate features and his practically luminescent skin. Asami was captivated by those blue eyes that seemed to hold all the innocence and carefree ideals he perhaps held himself once, and began feeling disgust coil in his gut.

It was clear to him at this point that this had in fact had been Ogata's attempt at tricking Asami into delivering him a pretty boy to have his way with.

Laying the photo back down on his desk, Asami leaned back into his large leather chair and turned slightly, staring out the large expanse of windows behind his desk and into the setting sun over Tokyo. It was a few moments before he finally spoke, his voice jolting a tense Kirishima, "Instruct Suoh to return to Sion tomorrow morning and resume normal duties. He is to return home tonight and rest."

Kirishima nodded and bowed before beginning to exit the room when Asami's voice stopped him as he was halfway out the door, "Kirishima. Tomorrow I would like for you to speak with him. Approach him under false pretenses, measure his personal interactions and see if anything stands out to you about the boy. The way he talks, his body language, anything to indicate he's lying or hiding something. Report back to me as soon as you are finished." Asami then turned his back completely, seemingly lost in thought as he stared out the expanse of windows once more, watching the sun melt into the horizon. Kirishima bowed once more before closing the door as he exited the office, a bad feeling pooling in his gut, one he could not quite place.

It was dark outside when Akihito finally arrived home. Toeing his shoes off at the door he slammed his keys onto the small table and turned to lock the deadbolt, sighing as he did.

He was absolutely exhausted.

Heading into the kitchen he pulled open the fridge, frowning at the sparse contents laid in front of him. Akihito pulled a jug of milk out and checked the expiration date, two weeks ago, and rolled his eyes before tossing it into the garbage can behind him and reaching further in to instead pull out a few small oranges. Realizing this was the best he was probably going to get, Akihito turned and set to work peeling them over the bare countertop, digging into the tough exterior with his thumb nail at the top of the orange before he began peeling, smirking as he remembered the trick his mother had taught him as a boy.

Leaning forward to rest his elbows on the counter top, Akihito let out a soft sigh of content as he popped the fresh orange slice into his mouth and thought of his mother once more. When he was younger she would take him to the markets every day and let him pick out one fruit, and every day Akihito would stare wide eyed at the varieties laid out before him: strawberries, blueberries, bananas, apples, anything he could possible dream of. However every day he would pick the same thing, the sweet oranges found at the very last stall.

As he finished up the remaining orange slices, Akihito let out a soft groan as he stretched his arms high above his head, popping his back and shoulders as he did so, and began peeling off his clothes as he headed to the small bedroom and into the adjoining bath.

Fully stripped he began turning the knobs in the small cramped shower stall, frowning as he tried to find a suitable temperature and groaning as he realized he wasn't going to get anything hotter than a mild lukewarm. Taking a deep breath, Akihito braved himself as he stepped into the water that felt like pellets of ice on his flushed skin and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall as the past week's events unfolded in his head.

He was being followed.

It isn't that idiot Ogata though, Akihito thought to himself as he clenched and unclenched his fists, flexing his fingers, He's not smart like these guys are. Their cars are unmarked and they stay fairly out of sight. They're like ghosts, invisible to the naked eye.

Akihito let out another groan as he tried to guess what sort of trouble he had gotten himself into. It wasn't supposed to be like this, it never was, but he had gotten carried away. Cocky. Now someone was watching him, someone who knew something, or at least thought they did, and he had to figure things out fast.

Realizing that standing in the shower until his body shriveled wouldn't make a difference, Akihito relinquished himself to the now freezing spray and quickly washed away the day's grime. Stepping out of the shower he wrapped a towel loosely around his hips as he padded across carpet to his small closet in the corner of his room. Digging around he managed to pull out a pair of boxer shorts and slipped them on, letting the towel fall before reaching back in to pull out a thin t-shirt and a pair of cotton pants.

Once he was comfortable and dry, Akihito headed back into the small living area, rubbing a towel against his damp hair as he stopped in front of his windows and looked into the street below and began scanning for the unmarked car.

Panic began to rise as he realized the car was nowhere to be seen and he wondered what that could mean. Did they decide to leave him alone? Determine he wasn't a threat? He had hardly slept all week, doing everything in his power to appear harmless to whoever it was that was watching him.

Akihito began to go over the list of people in his mind that he could have inadvertently made contact with and caused this sort of reaction but came up empty handed. No one he knew was this sophisticated or determined, most men would scoff and ignore the idea that Akihito could cause any issues, which suited him just fine and made his job much easier.

Letting his hands drop to his sides, Akihito tossed the towel into a corner of the room and flopped onto his couch, wincing slightly at the hard springs that dug into his ass and looked at the photographs spread across the table, trying to determine in them if he could see any point in which he had screwed up but once again came up empty.

Leaning back into the cushions Akihito stared out the window once more as he began to lose himself to his thoughts, questions reeling that kept him from dozing.

After all, who sent out a twenty-four seven stake out just to watch someone who took a few photographs?

What could these people want with him? He was just a photographer. Sure his photographs had put away a few low ranking thugs and gang members, but he had never baited the big fish. Even Ogata was an insect compared to whoever seemed to be after him. Akihito let out another groan of frustration as he realized how much trouble he could truly be in, and he had no idea why.

Asami rolled over as his alarm began beeping, signaling the start of the day and causing him to furrow his brows in frustration. Reaching across the bed he slammed one large hand over the top of it, instantly shutting it up and most likely doing severe damage to the button.

It had been a late night filled with interrogations, meetings and more paperwork than Asami ever cared to see again in his life, and he knew today would not be much better.

Rolling to his back, Asami rested his arm on his forehead as he stared at the ceiling, thinking ahead to the day's itinerary. He had several business meetings this morning to discuss this quarter's profits as well as discuss some recent unacceptable slip-ups at the hands of his employees. Asami was ruthless in all aspects of his business, legal or otherwise, and would not tolerate such simple mistakes. Later in the day he had an appointment set up with Ogata and Asami began smirking to himself as he thought of the ways in which he would make the man suffer for wasting his time over the past week. Of course, he would drain the man of every yen he owned before he did anything, being sure to collect his payment in full before ending the pathetic man's life.

Asami swung his legs over the side of his bed as his thoughts wandered to the blonde Ogata had targeted. He hadn't been able to shake the boy's image from his mind and it frustrated him immensely. He was just some nobody kid, probably caught Ogata's eye walking down the street minding his own business, but it infuriated Asami to no end that he was the one who had been targeted. Takaba Akihito, Asami thought the name to himself as he stepped into his large shower and turned the hot water on full blast, bracing his hands on the intricate tiled wall as he continued to let his thoughts wander over the boy.

He wanted to know more about him, was desperate to see those crystalline blue eyes for himself, hear what his voice sounded like when he talked, when he laughed, when he-

Something in Asami tightened as he felt his skin warm from something more than the hot water and he let out a low laugh. He must be getting soft to let that pretty little thing affect him. But that wasn't quite it, the boy was alluring there were no doubts, however it was something in his eyes that Asami was drawn to. A quiet fire that seemed as if it could light a whole forest ablaze if it so desired.

Asami wanted to ignite that fire and watch the flames burn the whole world.

Pyromania aside, Asami knew he needed to deal with Ogata before he even considered approaching the blonde. Running shampoo slicked hands through his hair, Asami smirked to himself as he thought of the immense amounts of men and women that flocked to him, desperate just to spend one night with the renowned Asami Ryuichi. He had of course indulged in these easy pickings on occasion, a quick tumble in the sheets and he was sure to have them removed from his bed before he awoke. Yet he wasn't sure if a quick fuck would satisfy what exactly he wanted from the blonde.

Turning off the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist, Asami moved back into his bedroom as he began to pick through his closet, thoughts once more wandering to the blonde.

He supposed he could have him picked up, delivered to him like a beautiful present to indulge in all his desires until he finally satisfied what exactly it was he wanted. However Asami wanted those beautiful eyes to be filled with laughter and that ever present spark that threatened to burn him alive just at the thought of it, and realized that taking Takaba with eyes full of fear wouldn't satisfy this strange feeling that he felt might just strangle him.

Grooming his hair into place, Asami looked into the lavish vanity mirror and smirked slightly, it wouldn't be hard to charm the boy. He just had to find a way to make contact. Perhaps he could use Kirishima's meeting with him later in the day to his advantage.

Walking into the living room, Asami greeted Kirishima who presented him with his coat and briefcase before walking out of his apartment, the light smirk gracing his features instantly turning into passive stoicism once more.

Today was Akihito's day off and he decided to take full advantage of it.

He had received his paycheck that morning and treated himself to a delicious lunch of sushi in Shinjuku before heading to the park with his most prized camera. His Nikon D5100 DSLR felt light in his hands as he began snapping shots of a small roundabout with a large fountain in its center. The sky was clear and the lighting perfect and Akihito smiled as he heard each 'click' of his camera.

Standing up straight, Akihito moved to a nearby empty bench in order to go through the photos he had just taken, grinning like an idiot at the beautiful quality of the images and making a mental note of his favorites to be printed later. He was feeling much more relaxed as the day progressed and he realized that he was in fact no longer being tailed, and that it seemed no action was going to be taken against him.

Whoever he piqued the interest of seemed to have lost it and he felt immense relief.

Too busy thumbing through the photos, Akihito hardly noticed the bespectacled man who entered the small secluded area of the park. It wasn't until the man was much nearer to him did Akihito realize he was heading in his direction.

Akihito felt his pulse pick up but did his best to remain impassive, he instantly felt his gut twist as he started to worry that this man may be associated with whoever had been watching him. He seemed perfectly normal, harmless even to the average person, but Akihito knew it was easy to put on face.

However when he approached Akihito, the man had a small smile plastered on his face and radiated nothing but friendliness as he stopped just a foot away from the bench. Reaching his hand out, the man spoke in a clear voice, "I couldn't help but notice you taking pictures here in the park." At Akihito's deadpan stare at the statement, the man continued, "My apologies, my name is Kirishima Kei and I was wondering if you happened to do freelance work? My boss is in need of a photographer for a few events and I just happened to notice you as I passed by."

Akihito stared dumbfounded at the man before him, feeling like a paranoid idiot for assuming this man would try to attack him in broad daylight, he shook his head and smiled before accepting the offered hand, "Ah, a bit. Mostly birthday parties, special events for people who know me or know of me through others. I do most of my work for a local agency."

Kirishima smiled warmly again and Akihito felt a bit guilty for making the assumption he did about this man, his thoughts were interrupted by Kirishima speaking once more, "Would you happen to have a business card? A way we would be able to contact you if interested in your services?"

Akihito turned and began digging in his camera bag, mumbling slightly as he did so, "Ah, shoot. I know I have a few somewhere in here." He began pulling out and arranging lenses and flashes as Kirishima patiently waited before letting out a triumphant, "Aha!" as he produced a small rectangular card, passing it into Kirishima's hand. "It has my contact information on their as well as a link to my digital portfolio if your boss is interested in seeing my past work. What kind of event would this be?"

Kirishima pocketed the card after briefly looking over it before speaking once more, "A grand opening of sorts. At this time I'm unable to disclose much more information than that, however more will be given once we decide if we would like to hire your services. Thank you for your time, ah,"

"Takaba Akihito." Akihito smiled warmly, before shaking the man's hand once more. He watched as Kirishima walked away, back the way he had come and looked back down at the camera in his hands, blissfully unaware to the now passive man lifting his phone to his ear as he exited the park.

It rang once, twice before a curt greeting met his ears, "Asami-sama, I was able to secure his contact information. It has been sent to your personal phone." Kirishima hung up after receiving a small praise from Asami for his work. He looked back once more at the blonde haired boy in the park, who was once again smiling as he lost himself in his camera, before sliding into the sleek black car and pulling away as if he had never been there.

Asami smirked as he hung up and set his phone down on his desk.

In front of him, Ogata's cries were muffled by the cloth tied tightly around his head, gagging him. His wrists and ankles were bound and his eyes darted around the room fearfully as Asami tended to several reports lying across his desk. Behind the bound man stood Suoh, hands clasped behind his back awaiting further orders.

He had captured Ogata that morning, hiding out in some rodent infested apartment, piled high with trash and coated in filth, matching Ogata perfectly. Instantly his remaining men had been executed on the spot and Ogata himself was bound and brought before Asami, who was immensely pleased with the work of his subordinates that day.

After ten more minutes Asami finally put the pen he had been holding onto his desk and leaned back in his chair, staring Ogata in the eyes and smirking, relishing in the fear present before speaking, "Suoh, have him transported to warehouse nine. Gather some men, I trust your decision on who you bring, and have them there as well. I will be there in three hours. Have everything prepped for my arrival."

Asami then waved his hand, indicating for Suoh to leave, who obliged while dragging the now frantic Ogata with him. Asami smirked as he watched the man struggle against Suoh who hardly even acknowledged his attempts.

Organizing the papers on his desk, Asami reached over and pressed an intercom button on his phone, knowing Kirishima would be in his office, "Kirishima, reschedule my appointments for this afternoon. I will be heading to warehouse nine. Inform my driver and have any reports that need immediate attention brought to my office so that they can be dealt with."

Asami leaned back into his chair once more as he awaited Kirishima to carry out his orders. Turning to the windows behind him he stared into the afternoon sky for a few moments before standing up and walking to the windows. Resting his fist against one of the large panes, his other hand in his pocket, Asami smirked as he stared at bustling Tokyo streets below him.