.

The same strategies I use to gain power in the legitimate business world also serve me well in the underworld. One of the secrets of success is building and maintaining strong connections–– especially with politicians and various law enforcement agencies.

I have a few well-placed connections within law enforcement; from police officers to prosecutors, including one notable district attorney. We attempted to send someone in to clean up Yamazaki's office, but the detectives were on top of it too quickly. Our man only had enough time to delete a file bearing my name from Yamazaki's computer. It's possible the information could be retrieved through computer forensics if they decide to dig deeper, but we'll deal with that if the need arises.

Politicians are very useful and notoriously easy to buy. In fact, it's difficult to find one the yakuza hasn't already gotten their hooks into yet. I had a good one on a leash who was currently up for re-election. I attended his fundraiser not so much for a show of support, but because of his surprising guest list. It appears he is also quite cunning with his connections. I chose my pet politician well.

I didn't expect to see Akihito working there as a waiter. I was pleased he hadn't given up on me after all. I had begun to wonder if the young photographer was all bark and no bite.

The first week after our encounter, he was very aggressive with his attempts to uncover information about me.

The second week, his attempts appeared to be less enthusiastic. I ran into him around the city a few times, but these meetings were obviously coincidental. He looked startled and dismayed every time our eyes met. To think our paths had been crossing all this time and I had never noticed him before.

The third week... nothing. I asked Kirishima if he had been having any trouble with Akihito.

"You mean that photographer? Besides catching him trying to sneak into the Shinjuku club, we also caught him trying to follow you home from work. We easily derailed him."

I see... my security measures had been too effective for him to overcome. I hadn't considered that.

"However," my assistant continued, "he was nearly successful at getting your phone number from the service provider. Fortunately, our insider caught it and notified us. She managed to block his access."

"Tell her to give him access to the number," I told him. "And my home address along with it," I added after thinking about it.

"Sir!?"

Kirishima hesitated for a moment. He can be quite thorough when it comes to my protection. I rely on him to let me know when he thinks my actions might call for some "reconsideration". How direct he is about it depends on how urgent he judges the situation to be. I waited for him to make a comment about my risky behavior, but instead he nodded casually, "I'll see to it."

It seems he considered it trivial, but sometimes he wears a good poker face. The subtle twitch of his eyebrow gave it away that he wasn't entirely comfortable with my actions.

It really wasn't much of a risk. The building I live in is very secure. The most Akihito could do was look at it from the outside. As for my phone number, what's the worst he could do with that? Give me a call at home? I seriously doubted he had the nerve to do that. Still, I wanted to throw enough at him to keep him interested.

I wanted to keep playing with him.

And as I had expected, he had finally come seeking me out at this fundraiser. I approached him and took a glass of champagne from his tray. When he turned to look at me, the shocked expression on his face told me everything.

He had not expected to see me here. This meeting was merely a coincidence.

I felt an unfamiliar and uncomfortable sensation... and then amusement as I realized the sensation was the feeling of my ego being bruised. I suppose an occasional humbling can be refreshing for the soul.

Akihito was going to make this a challenge for me.

And there's nothing I enjoy more than a good challenge.

麻見 隆一

.

The latest news to come out of Hong Kong was that Fei Long was unusually restless these days. The man I had assigned to watch over him in prison 7 years ago, Yoh, was still with him and sending me monthly reports. The latest report had come to me urgently, a few days before. Fei Long had finally made his move against me. His men had broken into a store that also secretly housed an office in the back, and they downloaded all the files off the hard drive from a computer. This particular computer had sensitive information about the people involved in one of our major trade routes from Hong Kong to Japan.

Yoh was not the only mole I had within the White Serpent triad. This second insider was able to steal the disk before it could be brought back to Hong Kong. We had tried to locate him, but he had gone into hiding. To complicate things further, Fei Long had come to Japan to personally retrieve the disk himself.

Fei Long had indeed re-ignited that inner fire of his. Using his hostile feelings toward me as fuel, he had revived Hong Kong's legendary White Serpent triad–– also known as the Baishe. I had mixed feelings about this. I was pleased to see he had managed to pull himself back up by his own effort, but I was troubled that it was his negative emotions toward me that was driving him.

Fei Long... after Tou shot him, I thought he might die in my arms that night. I swore then I would do everything in my power to protect him if he survived. Now all I wished was for him to move on and forget about me. It seems it was not going to be.

It was no secret that I would be attending the fundraiser. The mole attempted to meet up with me there. Unfortunately, the Baishe anticipated that he would come out of hiding to meet with me. They caught and stabbed him during the attempt to retrieve the disk. Fortunately for us, their plan was thwarted by one of the hotel employees. I was told about this shortly after I left the fundraiser, and was informed the man had been taken to the hospital. I made arrangements to see him as soon as he was allowed to have visitors. Unfortunately, the Baishe got to him before I could. In the hallways of the hospital, I overheard them speaking in their native language that they had learned the man had given the disk to someone wearing a waiter's uniform.

Could it have been Akihito?

I called Kirishima. "I need you to locate Takaba for me."

"Takaba? He was at Club Sion just a while ago, creating a disturbance."

"A disturbance?"

"He said he needed to see you... to give you something. He was drawing too much attention, so Suoh 'encouraged' him to leave the premises."

Ah, damn it! "Takaba has the disk. Find him and bring him to me... NOW."

麻見 隆一

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My men watched Akihito's place all night but he never returned home. Nor was he with his two friends. I had no doubt the Baishe had been staking out my clubs. If Akihito called as much attention to himself as Suoh had reported, then it was likely they figured out he was the one who had been given the disk and was now being held captive. But if they had taken the disk from him––

They had already killed the mole. If Fei Long thought Akihito was one of mine, then we might as well be searching for a body.

I had warned Akihito about the dire consequences of getting involved in the underworld and he had disregarded my advice. Then again, I did continue to bait him.

No matter how I spin it, I am the one responsible.

My men had located Fei Long's hideout in the city. We had to figure out how to close the net around them without losing the disk... or Fei Long. There was no way I would allow Fei Long to get away with this.

All these thoughts interfered with my ability to work, so I gave up and left work early. Kirishima called just after I arrived home, as I was checking my mail. He told me Akihito had failed to show up at his workplace. There was no doubt now that Fei Long had found him. Kirishima wanted to know what our next move was going to be. Before I could answer, one of the envelopes I pulled out of the mailbox caught my attention––

On the back was written, Takaba A. Inside the envelope was a MO disk.

Fei Long didn't have the disk which meant there was a good chance Akihito was still alive. And now I knew where he was.

"Tell our men to stand down," I told Kirishima. "We have the disk."

"And Fei Long?"

"I'll be paying my friend a little visit... and I'll be going alone, Kirishima. Do you understand?"

The tone of my voice indicated I would not tolerate any argument. "Y-yes sir."

麻見 隆一

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It is an important thing in business to avoid the involvement of emotions. This strategy serves me well in all aspects of my life. That said, there can be no denial that emotions still exist, though one can strive to keep them under control.

And that said, at some point one must open a pressure valve to allow them to vent when they reach a critical point. The trick is to find a proper time and place, preferably while one is alone.

I stormed Fei Long's hideout with a fury I hadn't experienced in a long time. It felt exhilarating to let loose at last! I still stayed in control as I shot to incapacitate, not to kill. I didn't want to inflame the conflict anymore than I had to, but I made sure to hurt them badly so they would hesitate before thinking about coming against me again. Even Fei Long knew better to return fire at that moment. He retreated not in fear, but in anger–– not that I would expect to ever see fear on that man's face.

By the time I was done, I was quite satisfied. It was comparable to having good sex, I suppose. I lit a cigarette and went searching for Akihito. Two men were still guarding Akihito, having not heard the commotion because I was using a silencer. I took them down with ease.

I heard the rattle of chains. They had stripped Akihito and then chained him inside a cage. I freed him with keys I took from one of the downed guards.

"You didn't get the disk!?" Akihito asked alarmed.

"I got the disk," I assured him.

"Then why are you here?"

The question caught me off guard. Why am I doing this? Because I'm the one responsible for getting you into this mess.

Because... I suppose I must care about you.

Of course I could never openly admit something like that to him.

"I don't like anyone stealing my property," I told him.

"Oh, you mean the disk."

"I mean, you."

He responded with a fierce growl.

麻見 隆一

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I carried him kicking and screaming outside. I put him down and he continued to verbally abuse me. I tried to get him into the car but he refused. He began to walk off, yelling that he'd get himself home.

"You're going to take the train... like that?" Akihito had my coat draped over him but it really wasn't hiding much. He was really going to do this, my little spitfire. This I had to see.

I turned to follow him but my attention was caught by the high-pitched sound of a gun being fired with a silencer. I quickly pulled my gun out and turned around. I knew it had to be Fei Long.

I didn't really want to kill him, but now he left me no choice. I aimed my gun between those enraged eyes of his.

But there was something deeper behind those eyes.

It was a look of pain. He didn't want to kill me either.

So there we stood, with our guns pointed at each other. It seemed like an eternity passed before Fei Long lowered his gun. He gave me a bitter look and then retreated quickly.

I became aware of Akihito's warm body against my back. He was trembling violently. When I turned around to look at him, he had a terror-stricken look on his face.

"Takaba?"

He didn't respond. He just stood there–– shaking, withdrawn, and oblivious to his surroundings.

麻見 隆一

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I took him back to my place. During the ride back I tried verbally goading him to bring him out of his shock, but there was still no response. Once we got to my place I pushed him into the bathroom. A good shower after his ordeal would probably help.

"You're filthy. Clean yourself up."

He just curled up against the wall, with that look of terror in his eyes. I walked over to him and took him into my arms. "Are you really going to let a minor thing like that unhinge you?" I was genuinely worried now. I leaned my head down and kissed him.

Snap out of it, Akihito.

I pulled back and tried goading him again. "What happened to the data on the disk? Are you trying to outsmart me?'

Finally his eyes focused on me, and then a small glimmer of a smile. "Oh? Is the data missing? I can't imagine what might have happened to it."

"Naughty boy... it's going to cost you." I pulled him toward me to kiss him again, but this time he pushed me away.

"Too bad I'm too filthy." He glared at me defiantly.

I smiled in return. "Then I'll clean you myself."

I grabbed the showerhead and sprayed him down with water, and then tried applying soap to his body. He twisted and turned and blocked me with his arms, trying to avoid it. I pulled his hands away and got him soaped up everywhere except for his ass, which he had tightly clenched shut.

"You can drag this out all night, if you want. I have plenty of time."

He reluctantly spread his legs apart so I could clean between them and I saw that his small, puckered hole was swollen and red. It looked like Fei Long had done some damage to him. I swiped a soapy finger across the hole. Akihito flinched, and then I saw a thin stream of white dribble from the opening.

There aren't strong enough words to describe how I felt about Fei Long at that moment.

I growled at Akihito that I intended to scrub every trace of Fei Long from his body. Akihito squealed and tried to bolt out of the bathroom. As slippery as he was from the soap, I managed to hold onto him. I pulled off my tie and used it to tie his wrists to the faucet. I bent him over onto his stomach so that he was laying across the edge of the tub, and then I gently but firmly parted his legs. I had a shower kit that had been given to me as a complimentary gift from a hotel. One of the bottles contained mineral oil. I decided to use that to clean him out, since the soap would cause any wounds he had to sting. I drenched my finger with the oil and then ran my finger around the perimeter of the opening.

"AHH!" Akihito cried out. "Don't touch it!" I couldn't tell if the noise he made was from pain or pleasure, but it sounded very erotic to my ears. Hearing it gave me the desire to take him again.

However, I didn't want to intentionally add to his trauma. I would have to remain dressed to resist the temptation. My clothes were already soaked at this point anyway.

I slowly inserted my finger. Sliding it in and out, I scrubbed out all evidence of Fei Long. The hisses and grunts coming from Akihito were obviously those of pain this time. It couldn't be helped; it was the only way I could thoroughly clean him. Even though I fully enjoyed the noises he was making, there was no reason for him to suffer any more than was necessary, so I curled my finger toward his pelvic bone, seeking the pleasure gland inside him.

"Oh!" He jolted upwards, with a surprised look on his face which indicated I had found it. This time the noise was definitely pleasure. He tried to act as if this was not the case. "That... that's gross what you're doing!"

I straightened my finger and continued to vigorously scrub him out. There were more grunts of pain, and then I curled my finger and rubbed the spot again. He made a very nice moaning sound. "Ahh... no...! "

I inserted a second finger. This time as I was sliding my fingers in and out of him I kept my fingers just slightly curled, barely brushing across the sweet spot. His grunts of pain ceased and he began to pant. His hips began to sway as he subconsciously tried to position himself so my fingers would directly hit the spot. Each time I pushed my fingers in, I teased him by thwarting his attempts to hit it. Suddenly, his whole body thrust violently backwards onto my hand as he finally forced my fingers across the spot himself. "Unnhhh!" he cried out, before he gasped in embarrassment of what he had just done.

"You sick, perverted old man! Why are you doing this to me when you know I hate it," he growled.

I pulled my fingers out and turned him over onto his back. He was as hard as a rock. "I can see how much you hate it." I ran my finger along the underside of his erection, and watched it pulse and twitch. It was incredibly enticing. I very much wanted him at that point.

So much for the tactic of keeping my clothes on.

I bent him back over the side of the tub and unzipped my pants. When I pushed into his tight ass, he cried out in pain. I knew it was going to hurt him. His swollen insides felt very soft and very hot around me. The sensation was exquisite. I squeezed more of the oil onto my hand and reaching around him, I grasped his erection and stroked him slowly up and down until he started breathing hard again. I thrust into him again, and again he cried out in pain. I held still and began pumping him again with my hand until I heard the sounds of pleasure, and then I thrust into him once again. I began a cycle of giving him pleasure, pleasure, pain... pleasure, pleasure, pain.

Eventually, the pleasure and pain melded together for him. He cried out my name, and then I felt warm liquid squirt into the palm of my hand. I came inside him not long after.

Now it was me marking him within, instead of Fei Long.

He gave a sharp yelp when I pulled out of him. He lay there, still panting, with his eyes screwed shut. As wonderfully intense as the act had been, I knew I had injured him even more.

I like hearing cries of pain during sex. I can't explain why, but for me it is deeply erotic.

It's just the way I am.

This kid before me... those cries of his were arousing, but now that I had satisfied myself with him I felt a little unsettled by what I had just done. I needed to make it up to him somehow.

I wanted to give him nothing but pleasure this time to erase the trauma of his experience. I know with women when they orgasm, they remain at a high level of arousal for a couple of minutes. If you go back at it again within that time frame, they can orgasm again very quickly and more intensely. It's the same for a man, except the window of opportunity is extremely narrow. Too soon, and it becomes painful. Too long, and he's already cooled down too much. I untied Akihito and helped him to sit up. His face was still flushed. I rinsed him off and then knelt between his legs. He was still semi-hard. I kissed the tip.

"W-what are you... no don't! That's dirty."

I kissed it again, flicking it lightly with my tongue. "You taste clean to me." I licked the head roughly, and I felt his whole body flinch as he tried to scoot back. Not yet... he was still too sensitive. I ran my lips up and down the shaft. Within a minute, he went from being semi-hard to pulsing, fully erect. Now he was ready again. This time I licked him with my tongue, hard, from the base of the shaft all the way to the tip. I was rewarded with a drop of sweet nectar at the very top. I ran my thumb around the slippery head and then dipped the tip of my tongue into the slit. I heard a low moan come from him.

I looked up and saw that his mouth was parted slightly, and his eyes were glassy but focused on me with an intense look of need. This was the boy with the low libido, the one who couldn't see what the big deal was about sex. I swirled my tongue around the head and then took him all the way into my mouth, as I alternated between sucking and tonguing him. He pressed his hand to his mouth trying to stifle the sounds he was making, to no avail.

Suddenly, I felt his hands grasp me on either side of my head as he pushed me away. "I can't... I'm going to come!" he panted breathlessly.

"You want to come in my mouth... don't you, you dirty boy?" He didn't resist as I took him back into my mouth. I felt his body shudder violently as he shot, and I hungrily sucked him dry. He collapsed backward in sheer exhaustion.

I dried us both off and then carried him to my bed. He was out before I even laid him down. I stroked his hair and looked at his face. He looked so cute and innocent as he slept.

I still want to keep him within my reach, but somehow I need to keep him separate from my world. Akihito has a brightness in his eyes that I would do anything within my power to protect.

It seems I am fated to repeat my mistakes.

麻見 隆一

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MO disk: (magneto-optical) a type of disk used in Japan in the early 2000's, known for its reliability and high storage capacity