Title: In Captivity with You

Spoilers: None

Summary: AU. "From the looks of it, you're not a scientist. More like a businessman… in fact" Akihito voiced out the obvious. "So… you must have done something to end up here." The man's golden eyes lit up. "It seems that I've done enough to have your hands on me" he said with amusement.

Warning: Genderbent

Disclaimer: VF characters belong to Yamane Ayano.

Chapter 1: The Invitation

7 months earlier…

Akihito was in a pinch. The professor had been on her case for a week now. He wants to know what she had in mind for her thesis subject. She, on the other, was uncertain whether or not she should continue walking down the path her parents had set up for her. She wanted to pursue and embrace the world of arts, photography for instance. That major was so intimidating that she was beginning to imagine herself more suited as a photographer rather than a scientist. Well, not really as a scientist at the moment, more like a research assistant. But then again, this year would mark her as the final student in the Microbiology major. She sighs yet again for the hundredth time that day.

It sucks to be her. It sucks to be a science student. It sucks to be anything related to her in fact!

"Why the gloomy face?" suddenly a voice snapped her out of her musings. It was Hongo Hanamura, her senior in the medical department. He doesn't look as cheery either. With his pale face and scarily black circle around his eyes that screamed 'I need sleep dammit!' which was common for medical students like him.

"Same as usual" Akihito replied while Hongo sat across her from the cafeteria table. "I still don't have a freaking clue to what I should do. The professor will start whining if I don't submit it by this week."

"Well, it's not really his fault. You should've submitted it last week" Hongo state as a matter of fact. "What's taking you so long? Just pick a subject and you're done. The rest, well … you'll get the hang of it once you start. You always do."

"But I don't want to do mundane stuffs. It'll bore me to death!" she whined pathetically. "I don't want to eye a freaking bacteria's growth spurt. I rather jumped off a building with a pink tutu than that again!"

"You're so dramatic. It's not such a big deal, you know. Just one more year and you're out from this nightmare. Can't you just hold up until then?" Hongo replied with a smug look while Akihito pouts.

"Look, I heard from a professor of mine that his friend was looking for an assistant for his research. If I'm not mistaken, it was for a vaccine from an improvised virus" Hongo stopped as he watched Akihito's face bright up from the news. "I knew you'd be interested if it involves risking your life. God, can't you find a safer assignment?"

"You're starting to sound just like my mom" she laughs heartily.

"Your mom is amazing. To have kept you alive after all this time…" Hongo sighs. How in the world could a woman as gentle as her have such wild daughter (that would throw herself at the first sight of bloodbath)? He added to himself and continued eating his lunch before giving Akihito the contact number.

~A~A~A~A~A~

"You're not going looking like that" Akihito's mother, Tabaka Ayako, snapped at her daughter's appearance.

Akihito was wearing t-shirt and jeans with sneakers yet again. No matter how much she tried to persuade her daughter to at least wear something feminine like, Akihito would always change the subject. Her daughter likes wearing pants too much and it pains her to see her only daughter not having any sort of relationship. She was starting to doubt if Akihito's appearance was what had scared her potential son-in-laws away.

"At least wear this" Ayako shoved a black high heels shoe at Akihito. Akihito could only groan in annoyance at her mother's behavior.

"I'm not going out for a date, mom. It's for work! It's not like I will meet someone there. Probably roamed with old geezers anyway" Akihito protested.

"Who knows what fate stores in for us? You might be able to catch cute fish while you're at it. If you're lucky, maybe even a golden one!" Ayako replied excitedly at her own imagination.

"It doesn't change a thing if I wear those troublesome heels!"

"You'll never know the magic of it if you've never tried!" Ayako said in a matter of fact tone. "Just this once, Aki. Please?" Ayako resorted to her pleading technique, which would always work if she put in an extra effort on her puppy eyes. Now Akihito didn't have much of a choice but to wear those damned heels she hated next to being a girl. Silently cursing to whoever created the vibe that woman should adorn a feminine like figure, she walk grudgingly towards her scheduled appointment.

~A~A~A~A~A~

The facility was located in a secluded area, as Akihito had expected. She met up with Dr. Hiroshi Eita, the head scientist for the operation, before he appointed her to a station. He looked rather cold in her opinion, but maybe he was just stressed out from various failures throughout the research. The lab was rather devoid of people, except for her and the other assistant which was surprisingly a woman. It seems like she wasn't the only female who was interested in this sort of assignment.

"Nice to meet you, Takaba-san. I'm Nakamura Hitomi. Since we'll be working closely together, you might as well call me Hitomi" the woman smiled politely.

"Then call me Aki, if you please" Akihito replied as politely. "How long have you been working on this research, Hitomi-san?"

"It's been about… four months and a half now. There's no really big progress since we're dealing with the virus singlehandedly. Oh, but no worries, you won't be dealing with the virus directly. Dr. Hiroshi will handle it himself. You're to supervise the changes of the data and keep a close eye in slight temperature change of the room. It might get nasty if the temperature change drastically."

And soon, they were off working in their station while chattering fondly with each other about life in particular. Surprisingly, Hitomi is married with two lovely twin sons. Apparently, she had been stuck with the research and been missing her sons like crazy. The only source of her connection with her sons was through the webcam. But still, that wasn't enough. Even Akihito understands that. Hitomi had been planning to have a day off, but there was none to supervise in her place before. She thought it was a blessing when Akihito came for her aid. Now she could have a day or two off next weekend when Akihito finally gets the hang of it.

"Isn't it better if you settled for a job with regular working hours?" Akihito asked Hitomi on the third day. They were done with the data of the virus growth, and are now eyeing the vaccine vial monitor closely.

"I always thought the same thing. And I really do miss my comfy bed" Hitomi chuckles at the thought. "But this job has a high monthly payment. I guess I'm a simple minded person when it comes to that. After I'm done with this job, I'm planning to travel with family from the money I earned" she smiled fondly at the thought. Akihito could clearly see that the woman was missing her family dearly.

"Why don't you take a half day today?" Akihito suggested aloud.

"And leave you here alone? Dr. Hiroshi would definitely decline. You're still new in this…" Hitomi replied, unsure of the suggestion but tempted with the idea of her going home.

"It's okay; I think I can handle it myself at this stage. And we've almost cleared everything for today anyway" Akihito said reassuringly. Hitomi eyed her worriedly but Akihito just laughs it off.

"Oh, come on. If anything happens, I'll just give you a call" she added with a smile. Hitomi made one final effort to argue, but it was falling on deaf ears. With that, Hitomi was out of the door before anyone else could stop her. She looked much more alive than ever when she bid goodbye to Akihito. It seems that the stress of work had dissipated at the thought of seeing her family again.

~A~A~A~A~A~

Akihito jolted awake when some of the files on the desk fall hardly on the floor. She cursed at herself for falling asleep when she had just made a promise with Hitomi. The moment the woman stepped out, everything went haywire. Thankfully, she managed to keep the problems at bay and solved it even. At least she had fallen asleep when everything was settled. Maybe Hitomi won't be so pissed off with her after all.

She glanced at the clock and cursed again when she noticed the time. It was already 11.43pm, which meant she was at least one hour late from calling Hitomi and report that everything was fine. Picking up her phone, Akihito stepped out of the lab to give a call. She was about to pressed the call button when she heard whisper of voices coming from Dr. Hiroshi's office.

That's weird thought Akihito. Normally, Dr. Hiroshi doesn't invite people inside his office unless it was important. Maybe he has a guest, but at this late hour?

With a sinking suspicion, Akihito edge closer towards the office and peeked inside between the blinds. There were indeed two men with Dr. Hiroshi at the moment. And like Dr. Hiroshi, the two men didn't look friendly at all. Akihito suppress a chuckle from coming out. It is true that the same type of birds flock together. Even his friends' looks just like him.

But somehow, the atmosphere surrounding them seemed thick. It seems like they were discussing something rather crucial. Dr. Hiroshi looked disheveled, while the man seated across him looked somewhat… enraged? Akihito tried to press forward to hear what was being said.

"This is a mistake, Takumi-sama. The virus is too viral! The outbreak would kill billions of people… including you!" said Dr. Hiroshi.

"That's why I've hired you to create a vaccine for it" snapped the guy called Takumi. "And now you're saying you can't do it, Hiroshi?" he eyed Dr. Hiroshi with a deadly glare.

"I…I…" Dr. Hiroshi stammered. "I can't do it. Billions of lives are at stake here! I thought it wouldn't be harm if the vaccine would be distributed to people in time. I thought…"

"I don't care what you think!" snapped Takumi with a growl. "Why do you think I've spend my money on this research? It is to gain back what I've spend ten folds. I'm a businessman, Hiroshi. I do what deems fit for me and my well-being."

"Are you going to back out now of all times? After months of research, you can't simply abandon what I've spend so much on. It was you who thought of the plan in the first place!"

"But I didn't mean it to be used like this! It was to help you gain power against your competition… not against the public!" Dr. Hiroshi finally snapped. "I won't do it… not anymore."

"What about the vaccine? Is it completed?" Takumi asked simply.

"Almost… yes…" Dr. Hiroshi nodded timidly. "I've given a sample vaccine structure to my assistants. It wouldn't be long now. Maybe a few more months."

"Very well. Seems you want to be out so much, I'll grant you the permission" Takumi said with a cold tone that sends shiver down Akihito's spine, but Dr. Hiroshi didn't seem to catch the warning sings as he let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll just find someone to replace you then" a cruel smirk graced Takumi's lips before the man behind him stalk towards Dr. Hiroshi, pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger to the center of Dr. Hiroshi's forehead. It was a silent kill with the help of silencer on the gun. Nobody would have noticed it if they weren't present on the scene. But the fact that Akihito was rooted to the place she was standing didn't change a thing.

There were splashes of blood (and… was that pieces of brain) on the glass window from the blow. Akihito was directly facing Dr. Hiroshi's dead body that was limp on the chair. She was frightened beyond her mind. The men inside didn't seem to notice her presence just yet. And she knew, she needed to get the hell away. Like fucking now!

But to her dismay, her legs seemed to be dead after witnessing such shocking incident. Her heart was beating furiously against her chest and her head was getting dizzier by the minute. After what seemed like eternity (in reality, five seconds tops), her numb legs finally come to life. She tried to step back, but she had forgotten the fact that she wasn't wearing her comfy sneakers.

Clop, Clop. The sound of the heels hitting the cement ground was deafening in this corridor void of sound. It echoed throughout the building, as if giving a clear signal to the two men inside that they were being watched. The men snapped their head towards her. Their eyes met with hers. Theirs surprised, hers… frightened beyond words.

She stepped back further, before turning to run but was stopped abruptly from the sound of the cocking gun. Takumi tsk-ed at her, as if she had been a child that was misbehaving.

"Not so fast, missy" Takumi said in a cold tone. He strolled towards Akihito with interest. "Well, will you look at this … I just thought of replacing that old guy and bam!" he snapped his fingers "here you are, and a girl at that."

Akihito could only gulp nervously at that. She was such in a deep shit. Oh god, why? Why did she have to be the one to witness such thing? Not like she was hoping for Hitomi to be her instead, but still…

"Takaba Akihito, huh?" he reads the name tag on Akihito's lab coat aloud. "You're the assistant then. This is great, just great" he said in a delighted tone as if he had just found a treasure filled with gold.

"That means you're already working for me!" he said in glee. "Well then, I think you've heard most of conversation anyway. Or do I need to brief it to you then?"

"To make matters simple, I need you to finish developing the vaccine. Don't worry, I'll give you time, plenty even" he continued on with a glint of coldness in his eyes.

"What makes you so sure I'll do it?" Akihito tried to say it bravely, but her voice betrays her when it gave out a squeak instead.

"Oh dear, well… I guess I have to make it clear for you then" Takumi drawled on while circling her around in interest. "You don't have a choice dearie. Oh wait, maybe you have. I'll give you three options, you should choose wisely…."

"Option one: my man here would pull the trigger and you're free, of this world."

"Option two: you can be my very first test subject. I would love to see how it works, actually. I heard many theories so far, but none of the actual thing. Maybe I shall see it tonight?" he holds up a vial directly across Akihito's face. It has been three days since she had eyed the thing, so she knew very well what was inside of it. One drop of that and she'll be dead within minutes.

"You'll be dead along with me if you do" Akihito hissed between clenched teeth.

"Sad, but true. Well then, onto option three: complete the vaccine and I'll release you… eventually" he deadpans the obvious option for Akihito to stay alive, which is for a mere few more months. Akihito wasn't stupid enough to believe he'll release her after all of this. She was a liability, a witness in fact. She was someone who he should be gladly to be disposed of, but not if he thinks she's worth it to be kept alive.

She could die now, or die later. There is so much possibility of dying while doing the research for him that she thought it was better for her head to be blown to smithereens now. If she was a weak willed person, she would have given up. But not her. Not Akihito.

If there's a little possibility, a single thread even, for her to be alive after all of this, she would choose that option. No matter how hard it'll be, she was a fighter. She'll never give up until the very end, which was what her father had drilled into her brain since she was a child. She was about to give her answer when the clop, clop sound was heard down the corridor. Within seconds, Hitomi materialized out of the dark corners.

"Oh, Aki… I was worried that you…" she trailed off when she saw the gun that was pointing directly at Akihito's head. In obvious shock, she dropped everything that she was holding to the floor while gaping at the scene unfolding in front of her.

Shit! Akihito cursed silently. Hitomi wasn't supposed to be here! It was her fault that Hitomi had come checking up on her after she didn't call, long after their promised time. From the corner of her eyes, Akihito saw Takumi raising his own gun towards Hitomi and in reflex, Akihito jumped in front of it.

"She's the other researcher. She works with me" Akihito said desperately to protect Hitomi. "We'll take your offer. We'll complete the vaccine in Dr. Hiroshi's place."

There was silence before a chuckle erupted from Takumi's throat. "A wise choice, indeed. But you girls are coming with me. You'll be under my men's surveillance until the vaccine is completed. Until then, you are staying close to me. It'll be troublesome if one of you breathe a word about this."