Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Two more chapters to go!
The narrow street tucked between a row of buildings and the JR line was bustling with late afternoon crowds. The smell of fish and baked food vied for dominance in the air, along with the slightly rancid odor of garbage coming from the bins close to where Akihito was hiding. He'd checked his disguise in the bathroom at Okachimachi Station-his old high school uniform, a pair of glasses, a medical face mask, and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes-and he was sure even his own mother would have a hard time recognizing him on first glance.
He blended in quite well with the crowd of shoppers, gawkers, and other assorted passerby. The provincial atmosphere seemed almost festive, at odds with what Akihito knew was going to happen soon. He had made sure to arrive a couple of hours before he knew the meeting was to take place. Finding a good place to listen and observe was critical. He hoped the plan hadn't changed because he was missing all his classes today, and who knew how many more he'd have to miss before he resolved this. If he missed too many, he'd be in trouble with a couple of his professors, and he still had his big photography project to finish up.
The Ameyoko flea market was a pretty inspired choice for an illicit meeting, he had to admit. Yama-san and Shiga could definitely talk without drawing attention, and with hundreds of small shops to experience, as well as the colorful crowd of locals, visitors from other neighborhoods, as well as a decent proportion of foreign sightseers, they probably wouldn't draw even a second glance. It was good for him too, for the same reason.
For now he was holed up in the pachinko parlor across from the fish market where the meeting was supposed to take place, feeding coins into the slots and pretending to play, where he could he could get a good look down the street in both directions through the front window. It was Yama-san he spotted first, coming from the direction of Ueno station. He glanced from side to side, taking in his surroundings, and Akihito hunched further down in his seat, ducking his head as peered out from under the brim of his cap.
Yama-san checked his watch, then began to stroll among the displays of fish on ice. Not five minutes later, Shiga strolled up alone, meeting Yama-san's eyes across the tables and jerking his head to indicate they should walk. As Yama-san pointed out a whole fish to the vendor, Akihito quietly slipped out of the parlor, pressing his iPod earbuds into his ears to complete the look of his ensemble.
Yama-san accepted his wrapped parcel and began to follow Shiga down the narrow street at a casual pace. They ended up against the retaining wall, between a stall staffed by Iranians who were selling international telephone cards to the locals, and a larger clothing mart specializing in cheap, graphic tee-shirts. The conveniently placed racks offered a lot of choices for concealment.
Akihito trailed along, merging with a large group of chattering teenagers until he could slip between the aisles of the clothing store and duck beneath a circular rack in the back corner of the when no one was looking. He could see the two men through the gap of the hanging clothes, but more importantly he could hear them.
"We'll double what we offered. We need you in now, and your daughter needs her bills paid, doesn't she? I heard she had to go in for another round of tests."
The false sympathy in Shiga's voice made Akihito grimace. Apparently, Yama-san didn't appreciate it either because he scowled, distaste and anger making his voice gruff.
"Watch your mouth, Shiga. I don't want you talking about my daughter."
Shiga lifted his hands in a conciliating gesture. "Okay, settle down. But you said you think about our offer."
Yama-san didn't back down. "What I said is that I'd agree to meet with you one last time. You picked the wrong guy." Bitterly, he added. "I'm sure you can find someone else to do your dirty work easily enough."
Shiga shook his head. "Don't underestimate your worth to us. You're the right man. Your precinct has jurisdiction over the wharfs where we want to do business. You have the right contacts. You're smart. You have integrity."
"By that you mean you think you've got something to hold over my head."
The angry disgust in his eyes would have made Akihito take a step back, but Shiga just smiled his oily little smile again.
"It will be to your benefit too. You wouldn't be here if you didn't think so. And you know trouble is brewing. That's prime real estate and everyone wants a piece of it. You want a war on your hands? Help us, and we can eliminate that possibility."
Yama-san snorted. "Not from what I hear. Someone seems to be primed to take over that territory and it's not your petty gang."
Shiga's eyes went cold, and he stopped smiling. "If you mean Asami Ryuichi, he's overstepped himself these past few months." Akihito's heart lurched into his throat, and he clamped a hand over his mouth as if he were afraid he'd give himself away. "Some people are already saying he's untouchable."
Yama-san made another scornful noise and Shiga nodded, while Akihito, making a sudden decision, dug into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone, hastily hitting the video recorder and pointing the tiny camera in between the hanging clothes.
"He's not untouchable yet, but how many cops does he have in his pocket? What other connections? Higher up even? Doesn't that get in your craw? Upstanding cop like yourself?" He grinned. "You really want a guy like that with a monopoly over all of Tokyo?"
"And who's gonna take him out? You?" Yama-san barked out a laugh, lighting up a cigarette and turning his head to blow out the stream of smoke.
It was all Akihito could do to stay crouched down and hidden. This shitty little slimeball wanted to take out Asami? Shit. He felt sick. His hands started trembling, but he gripped his wrist to hold his camera hand steady.
"Not just me," Shiga said, a hint of steel in his voice, his eyes shading to a vicious spite when Yama-san's face turned away.
Akihito held his breath, willing Yama-san to see it, to stick to his guns and tell Shiga to fuck off, but Shiga's expression had faded back to neutrality when Yama-san met his gaze again.
"Then who?"
"Arai and Goto are willing to work with us to eliminate his chokehold on the city."
This was bad. This was so bad. Akihito bit deeply into his bottom lip, thinking frantically. First Yama-san and now this. If Yama-san...
No! Yama-san wouldn't do that. There was no way...right? Chewing at the already abused flesh of his lip, Akihito tried to sidle closer as Yama-san walked a few steps toward the retaining wall behind the vendor stalls.
"Listen, Yamazaki," Shiga wheedled in what he obviously hoped was a reassuring tone. "How about a trial run, we'll give you the bonus we promised upfront. You do one little favor for us involving our...territory dispute, and you can make up your mind after that. If you want to walk away, fine. You keep the money and we part ways. Simple as that."
Yama-san turned around, his face creased with conflicting emotions. Akihito watched, holding his breath. Yama-san began to speak just as a train rumbled by on the JR tracks, and Akihito cursed in frustration as Shiga stepped close to Yama-san and blocked his view as well.
"Excuse me!" Akihito whipped his head around as a shopgirl crouched next to him. "What are you doing?"
"Um, I-" Akihito cast a quick look over his shoulder. They were still deep in discussion, the train shuddering along above them. He stood abruptly, pocketing his phone. "I lost a contact. I was just looking for it."
The girl's face brightened in understanding. "Oh!" She smiled at Akihito, but it began to falter almost immediately. "But you're wearing glasses."
"Sorry!" Akihito bobbed quickly. "I'm leaving now." He threaded quickly through the racks and blended into the crowd of shoppers, circling around and trying to work his way quickly and unobtrusively back to the alley where he'd left Yama-san and Shiga. By the time, he made it to a spot where he could check without being caught, they were gone. A variety of colorful curses tripped off his tongue, leaving him blushing and apologizing after a middle-aged woman carrying a basket of produce gave him a scandalized look.
Akihito hustled off toward the station. He needed to think. He needed to plan. This was just a monkey wrench in the gears. He would deal with it. It was messy, but he could do this. He could fix things. Calm deep breaths-that's what he needed. But his breath continued to come short and fast.
No. Get a grip. He did not need to sit down and put his head between his legs. He was not feeling light-headed at all. He could do this. He could...
Akihito groaned, stopping in the middle of the crowded and street to tug at this hair. The baseball cap fell forgotten to the ground.
Who was he kidding? What the fuck was he going to do?
"So you're telling me Takaba Akihito was within twenty fucking feet of our men and that worthless piece of shit, Sawada, and no one noticed?"
Kirishima winced. It was never a good sign when his boss started cursing.
"Takaba was wearing a disguise, and he was turned away from the camera in most of the shots. Even I had trouble-"
An 8x10 glossy spun across the desk and Kirishima reached out instinctually to stop it. It was the full face shot of Takaba that had been cropped out of the original wide angle shot that showed Shiga and the cop with their heads together. Granted, he was wearing that mask and those ridiculous glasses, only the ends up his brightly colored hair sticking out from underneath his cap, but it was obviously Takaba. Even in the picture his eyes seem to shine with his own patented brand of mischief.
Kirishima repressed a sigh. He couldn't give a shit about Sawada, but their own men he'd hoped to spare a little of Asami's wrath.
"You managed to recognize the kid within how many seconds of seeing the shots? Did those idiots not understand the point of tailing Yamazaki?"
"I am much more familiar with Takaba, Asami-sama. I realize excuses are unacceptable." Kirishima brought out the big guns. He bowed deeply at the waist. "I apologize, Perhaps I erred in not assigning myself the task of tailing Yamazaki. It was our best link to reestablishing contact with the boy. I should have made certain that the men assigned were better instructed in the task."
"Stand up straight, for God's sake." His boss shot him a narrow-eyed look that said he knew exactly what Kirishima was doing. "You know very well I can't spare you for a menial task like that. Replace those men with two who aren't vision-impaired and put two more on Shiga." His eyes darkened for a moment. "And send Sawada here. I want to fire him personally."
"Of course, sir. And the other men..." Kirishima tensed a little as he waited for the response.
"Reassign them." His boss's eyes glittered, then his mouth curved up. "Have those idiots clean the bathrooms of all my nightclubs."
Kirishima exhaled, well, that was demeaning, yes, but, all in all, not so-
"With their own toothbrushes."
-bad.
He met Asami's gaze and almost immediately realized the man was actually joking. How could he have not have seen it before? Asami was practically giddy-for him anyway. Kirishima had usually only seen him like this after taking out a particularly challenging opponent, and...whenever Takaba Akihito had done something to particularly amuse him.
Kirishima arched one brow. "Asami-sama?"
His boss actually grinned. "I received an interesting email from an anonymous source right before our meeting."
He pressed a few keys and spun his laptop around, allowing Kirishima to see the poorly shot, badly edited video playing on the screen that matched the stills scattered on top of Asami's desk. The sound wasn't the greatest either, but Kirishima could hear every word, up until the point when the train roared by on the tracks above.
Yamazaki had been cropped out of the frame. Only Shiga's face and voice appeared, but the gist of the conversation remained. Kirishima understood the good mood now. Three gangs were coming together to try and take Asami's organization down. Shiga's gang was barely more of a threat than any random group of low-level street thugs, but Arai and Goto could present a real problem.
No wonder his boss was giddy. He'd get to wipe the floor with the top members of three rival organizations, and Takaba Akihito had been the one to provide him with the information-a compelling and pleasing show of loyalty and concern, he couldn't deny. Kirishima knew his boss still had it bad. The way everyone was tiptoeing around these days was evidence of that. Oh, yes. He knew how this would end.
Being thrust out of Asami-sama's life hadn't seemed to keep the kid out of trouble one bit. God only knew what Takaba had planned next. Some cockamamie plan to help his cop friend, no doubt, that would land him in a mess he couldn't even begin to expect. On the other hand, the kid just might walk right into it with open eyes. He seemed reckless like that. Kirishima sighed. Of course, that was probably exactly what his boss wanted, not to mention why he wanted him.
Kirishima liked the kid. He really did. How could one not? But he did wreak havoc with Asami-sama's schedule. Even if Asami-sama had been pissed off in a major way lately, he had stuck to the schedule Kirishima worked out so precisely for him each day. That was sure to change.
Feeling a bit sorry for himself, Kirishima took out his phone and sent a quick text. A reply came back seconds later.
"Suoh will be here in five minutes, Asami-sama."
"Good." His boss leaned back in the chair, long fingers folding together on top of his desk.
The devilish grin was disconcerting, but Kirishima forgot all about that as a thought popped into his mind. Wasn't Takaba seeing someone else now? Not that it mattered if Asami-sama decided he was taking Takaba back. Still, he wouldn't want to be around for Takaba's reaction.
Vacation time. He definitely deserved it. After they gave Arai and Goto, and that insignificant dog, Shiga, the spanking they deserved, Asami-sama's position would be nearly untouchable. Surely, after that, he could take a couple of weeks off. The kid got so loud when something set him off.
"Kirishima? What are you thinking."
His eyes jerked up and met the amused gaze of his boss. "Oh. Forgive me, Asami-sama." He straightened, light reflecting off his lenses as he adjusted his glasses and allowed a tiny smirk of his own. "If I recall correctly, our files on Arai hold some very interesting information that will allow us to..."
Amidst cigarettes and whiskey, the planning lasted long into the night.
After his men had gone, Asami pulled out the folder that held the entire dossier on Akihito. One by one, he flipped through the shots the surveillance teams had taken over the past several weeks. The line between his eyes deepened every time he came across one that included that cocky, upstart who had dared to set himself up against Asami Ryuichi.
Wakai Hirosuke.
Hmph. Even though it was beneath him, he wished he could exterminate this annoying little weed as easily as the other more poisonous plants that would soon be extracted from the Tokyo landscape. Akihito wouldn't be pleased, though.
He took another drag on his latest cigarette, relishing the hit of nicotine. It was practically all he was surviving on these days. A picture caught his eye and he drew it out of the pile. Akihito stood next to a motorcyle in the shot, his hand placed lovingly on one of its curves. Wakai lurked and leered in the background.
Irritation flared, and Asami flipped the picture over with a testy flick of his wrist. If Akihito had really fallen for that guy...
Asami let his cigarette smolder in the ashtray while he unlocked a drawer in his desk. From it, he drew the small, framed print Akihito had given him months ago now. His fingertips brushed the contours of the shot, his eyes softening, the line between his forehead smoothing out.
He wouldn't believe that. Whatever attractions Wakai held for Akihito, they certainly didn't hold a candle to him. And even if it was true, he would never let it stand in his way. What was the email but an engraved invitation from Akihito to come back into his life? If Akihito was so willing, then Asami wouldn't deny him. The kid surely knew that, and if he didn't, Asami would make him understand. He could even admit-in the privacy of his own thoughts-that he had made a mistake. He could protect Akihito much better with him by his side. It would be for the kid's own good.
Takaba Akihito was his. He would always be his.
Akihito took a deep breath and made his way to the corner table in the cafe in central Shibuya where Shiga sat glowering out the closest window and looking out of place in the midst of the youthful crowd. The place was full of midday lunchers, just the way Akihito had wanted it.
"You should try the cake set here. It's really good."
Shiga glanced up, sneered, then looked away, dismissing him immediately. "Get lost, kid."
"But I came all this way just to meet you, Shiga."
His eyes snapped back to Akihito, then narrowed. "You're the one?"
Akihito could see the shock fading to smug amusement on his face. Shiga actually smiled and relaxed back into his chair. His thoughts were readily apparent. The threat he had taken at least somewhat seriously when Akihito had contacted him had turned out to be merely a pesky little matter. He obviously thought Akihito could do him no harm, or else that he could easily intimidate him.
Well, he had another thing coming, if that was what he thought.
"That's right."
Akihito slid into the seat across from him and placed a plain, brown envelope on the table in front of him. Shiga's eyes crawled over him, looking him up and down.
"Who're you working for, a snot-nosed punk like you?"
Ignoring the insult, Akihito spoke pointedly. "I'm not working for anyone. I'm doing a favor for a friend. And if I were you, I'd be a little more polite, or have you forgotten about the pictures I have of you and your men engaging in extremely illegal activities?" His finger tapped the envelope lightly. "And there are lots more of these in safe places."
That wiped the smirk right off Shiga's face. He all but snarled, "What friend would that be?"
"Yamazaki Ichiro."
"Yamazaki? That fucking cop put you up to this?" The anger in Shiga's voice made Akihito panic a little.
"No!" Akihito lowered his voice hastily when people from nearby tables looked at him curiously. "He has no idea what I'm doing, but he is why I'm doing it."
"Is that so?" Shiga sneered.
"Yeah, it is." Akihito's eyes turned fierce. "You're trying to push him into working for you. It's terrible trying to taking advantage of the fact that his daughter is sick! You're awful!"
"Is that so?" A snide laugh cut into the air as Shiga leaned back and lit up a cigarette. It was short and unfiltered, and he clutched it between yellowed fingers. "Whose gonna pay all those bills of his then? Cops don't make shit, and his little girl-she's a cute thing, isn't she?-she's gonna need more treatments from what I hear."
"Shut up! Don't talk about her like that!" Akihito leaned forward. "And Yamazaki has friends, lots of friends. Me for one, and I'll-"
"You'll what? You gonna pay it off-his debts? Oh, how touching!" Amusement shading his coarse features, Shiga puffed at away his cigarette, a condescending smile twisting his lips. "How will you do it, hm? You have that kinda dough? You wanna work for me? I'm sure we can find you a position in our organization-pretty little thing like you."
His dirty leer made Akihito's skin crawl. "Prick!"
Shiga just laughed. "Maybe I should just sell you, then." He cocked his head, feigning friendly curiosity. "Are you willing to peddle your ass? Sell yourself to save that dirty cop?"
"He's not dirty!" Akihito's fist slammed down on the table, but he didn't even look around this time when the people at the nearby tables stared.
"Is that so?" Shiga grinned knowingly. "Sure about that, are you?"
Akihito continued to glare, but a tiny thread of uncertainty kept his mouth shut. He hadn't spoken to Yama-san since before he'd spied on them at Ameyoko market.
Shiga nodded. "You understand right? That's just the way the world works. I have something Yama-san needs, so he'll give me what I need in return. Nothing wrong with that is there?"
"I'll take you down if you don't leave him alone."
As if he hadn't heard, Shiga treated Akihito to another once over. "Come to think of it, you would fetch a nice price on the market. I know a guy who loves sweet-faced boys just like you, with a bit of fight in them to make things more interesting."
"No way in hell!" Akihito's lip curled in disgust.
"No? Not even for your friend? Pity." Shiga's shoulders heaved in an exaggerated sigh. "Maybe I'll just have to take you anyway and keep my bargain with Yamazaki. I wouldn't want to disappoint him after all. He was quite enthusiastic in the end."
"You're a liar!"
"Watch your mouth, boy." Shiga leaned foward, all humor fled from his expression. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
Akihito's churned unpleasantly, but his chin lifted. "Yeah, a two-bit hood not smart enough to conduct his business out of sight, apparently."
Shiga made an aborted gesture, his hand reaching into his jacket and then freezing just out of sight. Akihito's eyes widened, and he froze instantly. The sounds of the coffee shop seemed very distant in his ears, dimmed by the rapid beat of blood thrumming through his veins. They both stared at each other for a long, unblinking moment before Shiga smiled, his hand coming back into view-empty.
Akihito expelled a breath, but Shiga wasn't done.
"What's to stop me from killing you now? Tomorrow? A week from Friday?"
"You could," Akihito allowed. "But if I disappear, then copies of all these pictures will be sent to various police stations, the Police Commissioner, all the major newspapers and several of the daily gossip rags too." Akihito smirked. "Oh, and a special courier will be made first thing to Asami Ryuichi, also containing a detailed report of your plans to mess with his organization."
If Shiga had been pissed before, his eyes were pure ice now, though a brief look of horrified panic flitted across his face before he could control it.
"Where did you hear that name? Did that fucker Yamazaki open his fucking mouth?" Shiga's reached across the table and grabbed Akihito's shirt, jerking him forward. "You think this a game, punk? I will kill you right now, and then I will hunt Yamazaki down and stick him like the pig he is."
Akihito tried not to flinch. He met Shiga's glare with one of his own. "He didn't tell me anything, I overheard your little conversation at Ameyoko." Shiga's eyes went wide. "And, no, you won't. Because your whole world will come crashing down if you do. Right now, I'm offering you the option to walk away with no consequences. All you have to do is leave Yamazaki alone, and..." Akihito swallowed, not entirely sure this was a good idea, but he had to try. "And you have to forget about taking out Asami. Stay away from him."
"What the fuck do you know about Asami Ryuichi?" His eyes sharpened. "Why do you even care?" Mocking disbelief twisted his mouth. "Is he a friend of yours too?"
"He's not my friend." Akihito scowled. "It's none of your business why. These are my terms. Agree to them or else the pictures go public."
Shiga stared at him coldly, his mind obviously ticking over various scenarios. A sick feeling began to build in Akihito's stomach. Surely, Shiga would see reason. He couldn't possibly do anything in such a busy, public place like this.
Unless he felt so backed into a corner he panicked, or he decided it was worth the risk to slaughter a room full of innocents.
Akihito pulled out his phone, his fingers faintly trembling and he hit play on the most recent video. He pointed it toward Shiga, watching the unmitigated fury that lit his eyes as he made a grab for it. Akihito swept it out of reach, pocketing it hastily as they drew attention again.
"You can see I wasn't bluffing. You want that to get in the wrong hands?"
Shiga fairly vibrated with potential violence, but after a few moments he seemed to channel it into a calm iciness. "And if I agree?"
"Then you'll never hear from me again. Those pictures will never see the light of day. I won't show the video to anyone else." He'd already sent it to the most important person, so that wasn't even a lie.
The tension grew unbearable as Shiga attempted to stare Akihito down, but he didn't waver. He almost even laughed from sheer nervous energy as he remembered Kou's advice for this meeting: imagine Shiga in his underwear.
This time it was Shiga who broke the silence, and once more his eyes crawled over Akihito, a lingering assessment this time as he calculated the situation.
"What are you? Some whore of Asami's? I'd heard rumors he was a fag, but I could never believe it." Shiga gave a short, disgusted laugh.
A slow burn spread up Akihito's chest and throat, flushing his cheeks with a heated glow. Okay, now he was pissed.
"I'm not a whore." A muscle jumped in his jaw as he held Shiga's gaze. "And whatever he is, Asami's a hundred times the man you'll ever be. Hell..." Akihito produced a smirk that would have done Asami proud and pointed across the room at a group of junior high school girls who were twittering over a plate of pink, frosted cakes. "Those little girls are a hundred times the man you'll ever be."
"You little-"
The vicious hiss was cut off as Akihito stood abruptly. "I understand, you're not interested in a deal. I'll just be leaving, then."
"Wait!" Shiga's voice lashed out, his hand closing around Akihito's wrist.
Akihito stopped. "What is it?"
"You swear this goes no further?"
"Yes. If you agree to my terms."
After a moment of grim silence, Shiga nodded. "Fine."
Akihito couldn't resist a final jab. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Shiga released his arm. "You should watch your back. The world's a dangerous place for kids who don't know what they're getting into."
"I don't need you to tell me that."
His heart hammering in his chest, Akihito moved toward the door, forcing himself to walk at a natural speed. The skin between his shoulder blades itched, as if he expected a knife to be planted between them while his back was turned. Once he made it out of the shop, he couldn't help a quick look over his shoulder. Shiga still sat at the table, glowering at Akihito's retreating form.
He let out a shuddering breath, and once he was out of sight, began to walk faster, putting distance between himself and Shiga. His breath came in short pants. God, he need a paper bag, or something. He felt like he was going to hyperventilate. His hands were trembling as he lifted them to his face and scrubbed. Maybe this was why Asami smoked. Did he do stuff like this all the time?
All of a sudden Akihito laughed out loud. If the sidewalk wasn't so crowded with people he would have whooped and danced around like a madman. He had been scared enough to almost piss his pants, sure, but what a fucking thrill it had been. He had done it! Yama-san was free of that man's influence now. And Asami-his smile faded a bit. Asami could take care of himself, he knew that. But maybe this would help him a little. Maybe with Shiga out of the picture, those other guys wouldn't be able to hurt him. Maybe they'd just give up all together.
He scowled, thinking of Shiga's words. Shoulda kicked his ass for calling me a whore. Disgusting old creep.
His phone beeped, startling him out of his thoughts. Akihito grinned when he read the message from Kou, and his thumbs pressed rapidly at the tiny keys.
Mission accomplished. Bad Guys: 0, Team Aki: 1
His phone beeped seconds later.
Victory party at HQ! Bring beer!
Grinning from ear to ear, Akihito headed for the station. The fifteen minute walk didn't diminish his buzz of accomplishment at all. He couldn't wait to see his friends. He'd pick up some beer, the good stuff too, to show them how much he appreciated their support. They really were the best.
He wouldn't drink too much, though, because he really needed to finish his assignment before classes on Monday. At least while he had been tailing Shiga and his men and getting all those photos of them in compromising situations, he'd been able to take some great shots that would work beautifully for his big project. He couldn't wait to get back in the darkroom.
Happily thinking of the way he would work his magic with his beloved pictures, Akihito ducked into alley, taking a shortcut that would get him to the station two minutes faster. On the other side, two men grabbed him by the upper arms and hustled him into a waiting car. Akihito barely had to time to struggle before he found himself in the backseat, a gun pressed to his ribs.
They ignored his shouts and questions utterly, except for one blow to the face with the side of the gun.
"Shut it, punk."
Akihito cursed himself as the car slid to a stop a few blocks away to allow Shiga to slide in next to him.
"Hello, again," Shiga offered with false cheer.
"I have people waiting for me, if I don't show up-"
Another blow landed across his cheek. Fuck, that hurt. Akihito glared.
"Did you really think that I could let you go after you mentioned Asami Ryuichi's name? Do you know how long I've worked convincing the other groups to go for taking him out? I'm not letting any stupid punk mess that up. You shoulda stuck to trying to help out that loser, Yamazaki. I might have let that go."
Akihito's stomach sank. "What are you going to do? Those pictures, the video..."
Shiga smiled. "We're gonna get to know each other real good. I want to hear all about you and Asami and why you're doing this. As for those things...well, maybe they will be sent out. I'm not so sure. Even so, there are ways to handle the cops. You should know. As far as Asami Ryuichi goes, well, I think I may have something here he might be willing to bargain for."
"Me? He's not going to bargain for me!"
"For your sake, you'd better pray that he does, boy."
Shit. This was bad. He had fucked everything up. By trying to help Asami, he'd only gotten himself in deep shit and Asami dragged further into it too. He should have just left it at sending Asami the video. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Akihito cast a desperate glance out the window of the car. They were traveling down the busy streets, heading into Shinjuku now. He knew Shiga had one of his operations there. Was that where he was taking him? For a moment, he thought longingly of Asami, knowing he was probably working hard in one of the tall buildings nearby. A tiny part of him wished that he hadn't ditched those men tailing him. He was almost certain they had belonged to Asami.
But what if he was wrong? Akihito was on his own now. Asami had dumped him. That was a fact. Even if those men had belonged to him, it didn't mean that Asami still...
"What's the problem?" Shiga sounded supremely irritated, and Akihito noticed the car had slowed almost to a crawl.
"There's a jam up ahead, boss."
"Get us off this street, then. Idiot!"
That was easier said than done, and the car creeped forward. No one was expecting it when a car hit them from behind, sending all the occupants crashing forward.
Akihito groaned as his already bruised face met the seat back in front of him. The driver was groaning too, and Akihito saw that his nose was bleeding a little.
"Fuck!" Shiga swore. "Get out there and take care of it." His gun pressed into Akihito's side. "You. Don't try anything funny."
The man on Akihito's other side got out and the sounds of an argument filtered through the open window. Shiga listened for a moment, then stuck his head and shouted at the men from the car behind them. He barked orders at the driver, and he got out and went back to deal with them too.
Shiga turned back toward Akihito, his eyes narrowing watchfully. Just then, Akihito's phone began to ring, and it was all Akihito could do to keep a full-blown grin from spreading across his face. It was a special ringtone, set up for only one person. He hadn't heard it in over three months.
"Don't even think about answering that," Shiga snarled.
The sounds of the voices got louder. Angry insults were passed. Akihito craned a look over his shoulder. He recognized those men. One of them threw a punch.
Shiga, distracted, let the gun shift just a bit. Akihito's elbow connected with his nose before he could react. Shiga howled. Akihito dove for the door and practically rolled out of the car, scrambling past the door when a shot bounced off the sidewalk next to him.
Holy shit!
Someone screamed, and Akihito saw a body land with a loud thump against the back hood of the car.
"Get the fuck outta here, kid!"
That came from one of Asami's men, and Akihito didn't need to be told twice. He ducked straight between two buildings, chased by the sound of shouts and sirens. Those sounds were rapidly overridden by the loud roar of engine as he rounded the corner of the alley and turned onto another major street.
A large, custom bike, gleaming like it had just been polished to a high shine, pulled up with a bone-jarring rumble right in front of him. Akihito took in the powerful machine and the long legs that propped against the pavement as the man riding it held the bike steady. He stared while the man reached up, leather jacket creaking as he pulled his helmet off his head and tucked it under one arm.
"Asami?"
Akihito gaped in disbelief.
That well-known, arrogant smirk made it's appearance. Asami acknowledged him with a slight dip of his head. "Akihito. Get on and I'll give you the ride of your life." The smirk grew. "And then I'll give you the ride of your life.