02: Color Me Cute

In facing the truth— no, more precisely, in asking for the truth, Akihito's earlier confidence high deflated like a hot air balloon perversely upon his supposed friends' comments.

They called him cute.

Not sexy, but cute.

With their first stone cast, Takato and Kou then proceeded to dirty Akihito with their verbal mudslinging.

Despite his unprecedented speech, Kou's follow-up was anything but encouraging.

"We're sorry to say this, Akihito, but if you want to win Asami back, you'll have to hear it straight."

Akihito thought he was prepared but boy was he wrong. Between the two, the onslaught was overwhelming. He didn't have the forethought to dodge and let the assault happened full frontal.

"You're clumsy and you talk like a brat most times."

"Your dress style is sloppy too. There's no class to it at all!"

"It's like you live off the streets or something."

"Constant bed hair is not sexy, my man."

"You're pretty athletic though. Women like that, but you're on the scrawny side. Maybe put some bulk on."

"Though plenty of people think you're cute, that's not gonna keep a woman with you."

"Yeah, you got to give them romance. They like that."

"You got to be stable too. Chasing criminal photos isn't safe and not financially stable. How are you going to compete with the other guy?"

"Yeah, women like men in suits and drive fancy cars; they like dinners and dancing; presents too!"

"Oh, and cut out on the game time. My wife totally hates it when I spend more time with my PlayStation then her. Remember: focus on her."

"You got to cut down on the sweets too. Chicks hate it when a guy likes it more than they do."

"Overall, change your style!"

Surprisingly, they both had said that last bit of advice in unison.

Walking out after that lunch meeting, Akihito had never felt more depressed. His ears had bled out somewhere after the word cute was used, repeatedly. He needed some thinking time and somehow ended up sitting at the same dock where Asami had shot Yama-san. How he got there, he had no clue. He didn't even think the café and the docks were in the same area. It figures his sense of direction along with the rest of his other senses has all gone helter skelter ever since meeting with Asami.

It was bazaar how much has changed since. In the beginning, he was drugged up, raped by Asami then got betrayed by the cop he trusted. Now he's living with his rapist crime lord.

How did things come to this? Shouldn't he be seeking payback? That was his mission initially. His mantra for the longest time had all zero in on taking down Asami to exact revenge. Didn't he use to hate the guy?

If he truly hated Asami though, he could have done the deed many times over. There were plenty of times he could have done the Club owner in. It would have been easy, he had plenty of opportunity to stab the guy in his sleep or put poison in his food. Oddly, the thought never even occurred to the photographer until now. However, just the thought of killing anyone didn't sit well with him. And the disturbing thought of imagining Asami dead by those means or any other way made him queasy and sick to his stomach. To be honest, Akihito didn't know how it happened but his negative regards for Asami begrudgingly morphed into actual warm and fuzzy feelings.

A lot has happened in between. Not all was black and white as he saw them over a year ago. Asami may be on the wrong side of the law, but the man had his own set of codes that he follows. Somehow or other he ended up trusting him and look at where he ended up now? Back to square one.

His heart constricted once more. It was doing that a lot lately. Akihito hated the feeling as much as the thought of exacting revenge.

So he didn't want the man dead. That much was a given. It didn't mean he couldn't get the scoop of the century. Akihito had plenty of opportunities to gather incriminating material, but he just couldn't do it. Exposing Asami had been his mantra for the longest time but the whole stalker incident had clearly demonstrated where his loyalty lies.

What was he to Asami though?

He knew without a doubt the Club owner cares for him to some degree. Although Akihito thinks the man's pride played more a role as an incentive for Asami to extract Akihito back from Fei Long rather than affection. The photographer couldn't get pass the notion of the crime lord having any feelings stronger than that.

He knew he amuses the businessman as well as attract lust from him. But affection though?

"Don't toss my heart around…."

Unbidden that particular one liner stood out like a sore thumb. Truthfully, Akihito honestly had doubts about his memory from that night for the longest time. That couldn't have been what Asami said. Akihito was in shock at the time, most likely delirious with pain and suffering from blood loss. There was no way Asami would have said something like that. Everything the man has said and done since then only confirmed one thing to Akihito, that he belong to Asami as property. Embarrassingly enough, he had admitted as much to the crime lord sometime at the island.

So he was property: a passing fancy that caught the businessman's attention. Has his novelty worn out?

Akihito was beginning to think he was very much closer to the truth regardless how his feelings were towards the contrary. He may want to stay with Asami but how much of his pride was he willing to sacrifice to stay with the man?

Fight for him, Kou had said.

Yet, his friends had said many things.

This time around, remembering those remarks made him angry instead.

Who's chasing whom here?

Akihito couldn't be that poor of a catch if that damn crime lord with all his fucking blood money made him into the catch of the day.

And didn't Fei Long offer him the position of lover as well?

Then there was those perverted Russians and that Sakazaki guy…. Oh even that shady Politician and stalker had all put the moves on him too!

Shit!

Why the hell was all those people he just thought of were men! Did he have a sign on him that said man bait or something?

Wait up. That Momohara Ai had a crush on him. She even said so herself. So he's not entirely a lost cause.

But why didn't he take advantage of that? The idea of dating her didn't even occur to him until now. Even the thought of it didn't bring him any excitement.

Hold the fucking phone. It's true then.

His spirits all but plummeted from that realization.

Asami has somehow converted him, trained his body to attract men. That had to be it. He wasn't normal anymore. But what's the point in lamenting that fact now? Akihito has already made up his mind to fight for Asami. Right?

Argh! He wanted to punch something.

So the question he should be focus on is: how does one attract the attention of someone who's losing interest in you?

All those stupid comments his friends made earlier were lame. He can't imagine romancing Asami in any form they've suggested. Wear a suit? Shower the man with roses? Wine and dine him then bed him afterwards?

Hold up. Rewind. Those images were making him regret imbibing all those beer. What the hell was he thinking?

The truth of the matter is: Akihito has no clue what the hell he wants and thinks. But one thing was certain: he needed a fucking second opinion.

Probably from someone who understands sexual attraction between men.

His eyes glared at the horizon for a few minutes before he made up his mind to which he'll pay a visit.