A/N- Hey to you all!

As you must have noticed, this story is almost done, only few more chapters to go, and this is one of them. Ending a story is always complicated; I hope I wrote it without contradictions and without loose ends. If you spot any weaknesses, or if you think something is lacking, please let me know, I need the help and I'd be happy to improve the story.

Bte- on a striking resembles, my second brother announced yesterday that he and his girlfriend are going to marry!!! Love is so contagious, people, be very careful!!!

I hope you will enjoy this update ^_^ here we go…

Paper plans

Time to kill

The man entered the room with the grace of a cat, he carried a gun with a silencer attached; his hands were clad in black gloves, he looked like a professional assassin.

"Aida Osamu." Ayase said again, his eyes followed the man who was entering the room.

"You know my name, sweetheart, I'm flattered. So, you probably know why I'm here."

"To kill me."

The man burst up into laughter "Gosh, sweetie, it sounds like you wouldn't mind if I do." Aida paced towards the bed and set on its edge to glare at the odd boy, hand clenched on his gun, as if trying to make up his mind over something.

"Kill me quickly." Ayase whispered, breathing fast.

"Say what?"

"I can take quick, slow is a problem."

Now Aida smirked. "It's not your time to die yet, honey, I have other plans for you, and we are very short on time. I want you to pack up a bag and come with me. I give you ten minutes."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I give you five."

"Fine." Ayase got up of bed, his body was aching all over, because of Kanou's rough treatment. Where was Kanou now? How did this man manage to get in? Into Kanou's fort, none the less. Ayase wondered while padding into the bathroom to take a leak and get his meds and toothbrush.

He reentered the bedroom, where Aida set motionless on the bed, watching him like a hawk. Ayase was too numb to feel scared; his motions were mechanical and his face blank. Here is one for you, what one packs for a kidnap? An amusing question; almost raised a smile on Ayase's face.

"I see that you're hurt." Aida said, probably because he noticed Ayase flinching as he got dressed. "Was that bastard Kanou's fault, sweetheart?"

"Does it matter?"

Aida burst in to laughter again. "Such a feisty one, I like it, and no, it doesn't matter because as we speak, Kanou-san is stepping into my trap. His death is a matter of hours."

"What do you want with me, then?"

"Sweetie, you are the cherry on top, the party can't start without you. Your ten minutes are running out, honey."

"I'm ready." Ayase placed his bag on his shoulder.

Aida snarled and got on his feet. "I forgot to tell you something, the power is out. I had to cut it down to get rid of the alarms and cameras. We are taking the stairs, baby, and it is a long way down. Are you up for the challenge?"

Ayase did not answer; he just got out the room and headed to the doorway.

"I like this one…" Aida mumbled and followed the blonde on the way out.

oOOo

The journey downstairs was agonizing and slow, every part of Ayase's body was crying in pain. He was so slow; Aida eventually lost his patience and picked him up, bride style, just to speed up the pace.

"It's ugly down here." Aida said as the finally reached the underground parking lot.

"What?" Ayase said, drowsy as Aida put him down. He blinked once or twice to get used to the dark space.

Then, he realized there were three dead bodies, lying on the cold ground. No doubt that they were shot down by a gun; the very same gun Aida held. Ayase thanked the darkness for preventing him to see the more gross details of the scene.

"Who were they?" Ayase could not help but ask.

"Your bodyguards."

"Kanou's men?"

"Yup. This way to the car, sweetie."

Ayase overwhelmed, followed the killer footsteps, until he remembered something and came to a sudden halt. One alarming thought settled in his head, refused letting go. "Was one of them Endo-san?"

"Say what?"

"Those you killed! Was Endo-san one of them?"

"Endo-who?"

"An old man! With a grey doorman suite!" Ayase snapped, nobody ever remembered Endo-san. "How could you forget? You were the one asking him questions about Kanou-san only few weeks ago!"

A cruel smile rose on Aida's lips "I don't remember all the ones I kill, baby."

"Please, try your best!"

"I don't remember the chap."

"The name is Endo-san!" Ayase nearly screamed, grabbing Aida by his shirt and shaking him around. This was not such a smart idea, for Aida was getting annoyed by the second. The police was going to show up any time soon.

"Get in the car!" he roared and pushed Ayase forwarded.

Ayase stumbled in tears, how could this be? Such a nice old man is dead because of him? This was so unfair, and so random and cruel!

"Get in, already!"

Aida opened his car's door, a beat up old van, and pushed the boy inside. The smell was overwhelming, a smell of rotten food, dirt and sweat. Plastic wraps of half-eaten takeaways were tossed all over the floor, joined by empty cans of drinks and some filthy clothes. Aida was practically living in his car, for the last few weeks, no other reason for it.

Ayase landed on the oily seat, and Aida took the driver seat in silence, he started the car and soon they were out of the building, joining the early morning traffic.

Ayase cried still, it was easier to cry for someone else, anyone else, but himself.

"Cut it out." Aida mumbled.

"Sorry…" Ayase sniffled. "I cannot stop myself."

"I didn't see anyone matching this Endo-san description, if it's any help." Aida added, halfhearted.

"Really?"

"Yes, so stop crying already."

"Thank you."

"Shut up."

Ayase felt enormously relieved, and he could stop his sobbing and concentrate on the road. He was never a great navigator, and he could always get lost in the city, even around his old apartment, but Aida was clearly exiting the city and he was heading to the coastline.

"Where are we going?" Ayase dared asking after almost an hour's drive.

"Asking too many questions is not good for your health, honey, shut up."

Ayase sighed softly and looked outside the window, the shoreline was clouded and the sea was restless, high waves crashed angrily at the shores.

If he could phone someone to ask for help, he would not know what directions to give them, he had no idea where they were, and off course, he had no phone.

"Oh god!" Ayase's heart pounded like crazy again. "The Kuba brothers!"

"Huh?"

"The ones you shot, were two of them twins?"

"I'm not doing this again."

"Please, were two of the bodyguard twins?"

Aida glared at him in annoyance and stopped the car. "We are here, get out."

"Here?" Ayase said and before he could say another word, he was pushed outside the car into the windy cold air.

"Looks like a storm is coming." Aida said, getting out. "The weather is so weird these days, and to think that only few days ago it was hotter than hell."

Ayase ogled him, what kind of conversation was this? Did they just meet up in a random park, walking their dogs?"

Aida frowned again. "Come."

That was when Ayase realized, they were parking near a building, a ghost of a building, to be exact. It could have been an old factory or a deserted warehouses, it was slowly rusting away and falling apart. It looked like somewhere you don't want to venture into, if your tetanus vaccination had expired.

"Come, Sweetie…" Aida said again. He placed the gun in his belt and paced through the junkyard, to the door.

Ayase got a crazy whim of jumping Aida and snatching his gun, but he knew this was hopeless, since the guy could easily knock him down, before he even figures out how to operate it.

The man removed a heavy chain off the door, and pushed it open. "Get in."

Ayase stepped into the unfamiliar hall, watching his steps, not to tread on broken glass or rusty nails. It looked like a deserted boat's workshop. There were broken boats, engines, fishnets and sails everywhere.

The last thing he expected was to hear someone's sobs. However, someone was surly sobbing, at the far corner of the room, huddled between an old broken boat and a shelf full of equipment.

Ayase turned to Aida "Is there a child here?"

Aida finished locking the door behind him. "Yes, don't mind her, she'll stop soon."

"Who is she?"

"The daughter of the Fire snake's leader."

"Why is she here?"

"The same reason that you are; all a part of my trap."

"What is this trap of yours…?"

"Ok, stop it!" Aida shouted at the teen. "You ask too many questions! You don't want to tick me off. Trust me on this one!"

"Fine! What do you want me to do, then?" Ayase shouted back at the man, with almost the same intensity.

It took the coldhearted killer by surprise. He sent his hand to scratch the back of his head. "Go find a corner or something, and leave me alone. We've got time to kill before the killing's time."

"Fine." Ayase mumbled.

Aida walked to the old raggedy staircase and climbed up to the second floor, where he entered an old office room and slammed the door behind him.

Ayase looked around and heard the girl's sobs again. His heart flinched with pain and he walked towards the voice.

As he got close, the girl tried to hide better; she left the corner and got under one of the boats. It was dangerous; the boat looked like it could collapse on her at any given moment.

"Hey there, little girl, please don't be scared. My name is Ayase, what's yours?"

The girl answered, but he could not understand her faint mumbling.

"Come out here, so I can hear you better. I won't hurt you, I promise."

She said something again, and Ayase realized it wasn't just a random jabber, she was talking in Chinese, luckily, he knew the language from his Chinese studies. He repeated his questions in Chinese. The girl finally understood and left her hiding place under the wreck. She shyly looked him.

"What is your name, sweetie?"

"Bao-Yu."

"Nice to meet you, Bao-Yu. How old are you?"

"Five."

"Such a big girl, where are you…?"

"I'm hungry!" the girl erupted before Ayase could finish his question. "I'm hungry and scared and I want to go home!" her pretty doll face was flooded with tears.

Ayase remembered he was hungry too; it has been two days since he ate his last decent meal.

"I want to go home!" the girl screamed again and all Ayase could do was to take her into his arms and try to calm her down. He could hear her stomach rumbling.

"Calm down, Bao-Yu, I'll see what I can do about it."

"I want to go home…" she wept into his chest.

"I don't think that I can get you home now, but I'll try to find us some food."

Ayase gently pushed her away, but she suddenly seemed so frightened.

"Where are you going?"

"To get us something to eat, wait for me here, Bao-Yu, Don't wonder around, it's dangerous, ok?"

"Ok." the little girl yelped and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

Ayase clenched his lips, so angry with Aida, how can he neglect a child like that? He built up his anger while climbing up the stairs, heading for the small office.

The door was not locked, and Aida was at the desk, in front of his laptop, and talking on the phone.

He glared daggers at the blonde teen, daring to interrupt him. "I gotta go." he whispered into the headphone, to whoever was on the other side. Then his full attention was on the slender boy at the doorway. "What do you want, I'm busy." he said in a flat tone.

"Bao-Yu is hungry, and so am I. Do you have any food here?"

"Does it look like a hotel to you?"

"So you don't have anything here."

"Nope, get out."

"Hell, I wont!" Ayase shouted, "You bring a child here, to this freakish junkyard, and you don't feed her for two days? What kind of a monster are you?"

"The kind that doesn't give a shit. Get out."

"Get her some food, now!" The boy pointed Aida with his slender finger, and the man let out an angry low growl.

Ayase would not budge, even when Aida got on his feet and walked towards the small boy.

"I said, get out! Get out before I throw you out!"

"You must feed the child." Ayase repeated his stand.

"It's a long way down, you know…" Aida said, looming over the rusty banister.

Ayase gulped at the threat, heart racing fast, but he was fed up, pushed already beyond his limits. He spent a night in a Yakuza basement and was roughly treated by Kanou-san. He came to a point in which he did not care what happens to him anymore.

"Get her some food, now!" he commanded, hanging his huge blue eyes on Aida's grey ones.

"Have it your way, sweetheart." Aida grabbed Ayase by his neck and so easily lifted the small boy up and off the platform.

Ayase felt the air under his feet, he wiggled wildly, he could not talk, not to mention breathe.

"Ever since I met you, you have been questioning me! Passing judgment on me! Did you kill that guy? Did you kill this guy? Bring food to that girl! Enough already, you're driving me crazy!"

Ayase could feel Aida's grip tightening up on him. 'He's gonna do it!' he screamed in his mind 'He's gonna throw me off the floor!'

Aida tossed Ayase all right, but at other direction, where Ayase hit the wall with full force and fell down to the floor shaking.

He could hear the wall cracking behind him, dust and plaster flakes fell on his face, and it hurt. It hurt so much, he banged his head almost at the same spot that was already injured, and his body was so weak and aching to begin with. Ayase touched his throbbing throat, fighting for breath, and he found himself crying in front of a stranger, yet again.

Aida scuffed slowly towards the boy and hovered above him again, scanting him with a severe gaze. "We all have only few more hours left to live, boy, so don't get too attached to the kid."

"You monster!" Ayase wept in return, "I've heard your story, you know? Masaki-san, a guy from the Hana group told me all about it! There was a moment there, where I felt sorry for you, you know? Losing your love the way you did…. but you aren't worth it! You're just a coldhearted bastard like the rest of them!"

Aida frowned slowly, but said nothing, instead he entered his office, took his laptop and cell phone.

"Don't wait up, honey.," he whispered as he got out the office, climbed down the stairs and after a sort while the door was slammed and locked up on the outside. Aida left the workshop and his captives all alone.

oOOo

'Oh, god… what can I do?' Ayase felt like crying again, this was too much. What was Aida talking about? Kanou walking to his death? They all had few more hours to live? This was too much to take, and he had no idea how to get out of this mess. He felt so powerless; he could not find the strength to leave the place he had crashed at.

The situation looked truly hopeless, but Ayase could not cry, not when the little girl watching. She came looking for him, few moments after Aida left.

"Are you ok, sir?" she asked timidly.

Ayase lifted his eyes to meet her worried gaze, and he immediately straightened up and dusted his hair. "I'm all right, Yu-chan, don't worry."

"Did he hurt you too?"

"I just bumped into a wall; it is so in dark here. Here, I'm up again, no need to worry, ok?" Ayase forced his weak body up.

"Did you find some food?" the girl noted. "I'm so hungry…"

"I know, I'm sorry, there is nothing here, let's go downstairs."

Bao-Yu looked so disappointed; Ayase took her little hand and helped her down the wobbly staircase. All this time, his mind was racing 'What can we do? How can we get out of here?' Only one option came to his mind, lame as it was.

"Let's play a game, Bao-Yu… let's try to find an exist, and the first one out of the building, wins."

"Ok…" she said, although not sure what the teen was up to.

"Check windows, doors, crack in the walls, anything, but be careful."

"Yes."

Ayase could not think of any other ideas, he knew this was an act of desperation, but it was either looking for a way out, or getting out of his mind.

He saw the girl walking to the far side, where there were windows. They were all broken, but had rusty bars on them. He tried the front door first, which could open up to a narrow crack, he could not wiggle himself through.

'The chain on the outside…' he remembered. 'Now if only I had a saw or something like that…'

Ayase hurried to a place where some tool carts lay around; maybe there was a saw or something else useful there.

He opened up one of the crates, and what he saw took his breath away. There were no tools in the box, but plastic packs, wrapped up with wires, and an electronic chip connected to them. The chip had a tiny red lamp on it, flashing on and off. Ayase did not need to be an expert to know exactly what he was looking at. He was looking at a bomb.

"There are a lot more." Bao-Yu sneaked near him and pointed at the case.

"What do you mean?" Ayase gulped.

"It's his toys," she explained, "he put them all over the place, and he said I am not allowed to play with them."

"He was right; we should not play with them." Ayase closed the box with despair. He ran out of hope and out of inspiration. His mind could not cope anymore.

A thunder rumbled somewhere at the distance, and soon it started to rain.

"Do you want to play some more?" the girl asked.

"No, Yu-chan, I'm tired, I think I'll take a nap now."

"Ok."

Ayase dragged his heavy feet towards a pile of tangled nets, and lay down. He closed his eyes and emptied his mind; he surrendered to the darkness and to the sound of rain coming from outside. The girl joined him, curling up against his body, and soon they both drifted into a hunted sleep.

oOOo

Ayase woke up as someone tugged at his sleeve. At first he thought it was the girl, but when he opened his eyes, he saw the cold silver glare of Aida, he also sniffed something wonderful that made his stomach grumble with anticipation.

"I brought lunch." Aida said with a blank expression. "I hope you like anchovy on your pizza."

"Lunch?" Ayase lost all track of time, since it was so dark in the workshop, but it made sense; it was dawn when Aida snatched him.

"You called me a monster for not feeding the girl, so I hope you are happy now."

Ayase looked at the food, Aida brought three pizzas and some drinks too.

"Go ahead and eat." Aida said to the girl how glared at the food, disbelieving. "Tell her she can eat."

Ayase looked at the girl and invited her to open one of the pizza cases.

"Can I?" she asked, in shock.

"Of course you can, Bao-Yu."

This was her mark to charge, she opened the cardboard casing, almost tearing it apart, and stuffed her face joyfully.

Aida smirked at the sight "You can eat too, sweetheart, although I don't see the point, we will all be dead in few more hours."

"Thank you for buying us food." Ayase chose to ignore Aida's last remark and focused on the positive side of the event. He picked up a slice, so hot in his hand, smelling so delicious, he took the first bite and it was a divine sensation to his starved body. Before he knew it, he finished four slices. Bao-Yu eat a whole pizza on her own, poor thing, she was truly starved.

Aida watched them in silence; his gloomy face seemed a little lighter as he observed the two eat. He picked up a beer can and started drinking slowly.

Ayase joined him. "Can I?" he picked up a beer can as well.

Aida smirked "Are you at the legal age?"

"Not yet, but since those are my last hours I thought, well… what the heck…"

"Yeah." Aida agreed and sipped on his beer.

"So…."

"So?"

"I think you are not such a coldhearted monster after all."

"As if I give a shit about what you think."

Ayase did not bother to argue; instead, he opened his can and tasted the cold liquid. He flinched a little at the unfamiliar bitter taste. After few more sips, he got the hang of it and started enjoying his drink. He looked at Bao-Yu and smiled "Yu-chan, you'd better stop before you get yourself sick." he chuckled softly.

"I am not hungry anymore." the girl smiled at him and opened her mouth to a wide and rather noisy yawn. "I want to sleep now."

"Go ahead and sleep, Yu-chan." Ayase smiled again.

"Ok!" the girl turned back to the pile of nests, made herself comfortable and soon sunk into a deep sleep.

With the child soundly asleep, Aida and Ayase were left alone. The boy took a long glance at the man, this efficient cruel killer, and the man looked rather sad to him.

'Can I turn this around?' Ayase wondered 'Can I talk him out of this? Whatever his crazy plan is? But where do I start?'

Strangely enough, it was Aida who spoke first. "You are a strange kid, Ayase-kun, did you know that?" he said with a cold smile.

"Huh?"

"You are so far from anything I imagined. For example, when I first saw you, I thought you were a girl."

Ayase smiled and drank his beer "You were not the first to make such a mistake."

"And you are galaxies away from Kanou-san's type…"

"What type?"

"The big breasted, stunning and stupid. I remember his younger days; he used to hang up with a different chick on every night."

"Unlike you."

"Unlike me, alright, I had only Mizuumi in my heart, and I will always do, to the moment I die."

"I saw her picture, she was beautiful."

"She was the most beautiful creature I have ever met. I was fucking lucky that she loved me back." Aida's gaze hovered in the dim space, as if tracing a ghost. "The day she died, my soul died with her. I will be joining her soon." a smile lit up his face at that notion "After they took her from me I had not a day of rest, and I can only rest after they all pay for what they did."

Ayase continued drinking, and he was wise enough to keep his silence, the man wanted someone to confess to, someone to hear him out; and there was a small chance to get information, anything that could help him escape this trap.

"I have almost killed them all. All I have left is Kanou and Lee, the leader of the sneaks."

"Bao-Yu's father?"

"Yes… those two, and then I can finally rest."

"You killed Imai, and a Yakuza gang leader…"

"And many more, kid, don't get me recalling all those scumbags. The ones how raped my Mizuumi to death, or just stood there watching it happening, laughing…"

"You didn't kill Hayate yet."

"He is as good as dead. I sent his boss some interesting data, all about how Hayate robbed drug money from the group. His execution is only a matter of time."

"How much people did you kill so far?" Ayase just had to know.

"Including bodyguards and pawns? Give or take twenty people."

"And you've been out of jail for what, a month now? That's a man per day, almost… Why? What was the rush? You are a smart man; why not take the time and do a clean job? A one that doesn't leave this bloody trail, leading straight back to you…"

Aida tossed his empty can into the dark, and glared at the boy intensely. "What is it to you?"

Ayase gulped, blushing. "I just… I just try to figure you out."

"What for?"

"To help, maybe?"

Aida chuckled lowly. "Such a sweetheart, I'm truly touched, but I am beyond help, honey, trust me on this one."

"You could have gone to the police, you could have told them all that happened and they would have brought justice..."

"I didn't have time to go to the fucking police!" Aida interrupted "Do you think I can just sit and wait for someone to bring justice to me? I have no time! I have cancer! There is a tumor growing fast inside my brain, giving me fucking epileptic seizures all the time! My time is running out!"

"And so, you decided to take all of us with you?"

"Huh?"

"I saw the bombs; this whole place is packed with them! Is this your plan? To blow us all up?"

Aida smiled in appreciation "You are a clever one, are you? Not just a beautiful dumb blonde… Maybe you can keep up with my plotting."

"What is your plan?" Ayase demanded.

"Kanou-san agreed to help the Hana group in its negotiation with the Snakes, in return for your rescue. Last night they had an emergency meeting, trying to prevent the upcoming war. I abducted the Snakes leader's daughter and I blamed it on Kanou-san. He already pulled such a stunt before; when he had kidnapped a politician's kid, remember? While trying to save you on a different occasion? Therefore, that meeting was only a trap for him to step into, the snakes were so pissed off and they probably beat the crap out of him by now."

"They will kill him!" Ayase whimpered, worried. "You must give her back!"

"That is the whole point, sweetie! The plan is for them to come here to find the girl's body. They will be so pissed off, they will torture you in front of Kanou's eyes, kill him and then I will blow us all up!"

"What? This is crazy! You are crazy!"

"As if I give a shit…"

"But you do! You did not kill Bao-Yu, yet! You had plenty of opportunities, Aida, so why didn't you? Because you cannot! You cannot kill an innocent child!"

"But they could!" Aida screamed, eyes filled with tears. "They killed my child! They killed the child Mizuumi was carrying! My baby! I could only watch! I could only fucking watch…" Aida's body shivered, blood started running down from his nose.

"Aida-san!" Ayase screamed.

The man fell unconscious on the floor, his body twitching wildly.

The boy could only gasp at the scene, and at the opportunity that had miraculously presented itself to him.

Ayase's mind was racing, part of him was screaming- 'take the keys and the girl and get the hell out of here!' Yet, another part of him said- 'If you leave him now, the man will surly die.' …. Ayase was torn apart between those voices 'What do I do?'

oOOo

Tbc

OooO

A/N- The end is very near (fingers crossed). I hope you are enjoying yourself so far. Stay tuned for next update ^_^