A/N Chapter 18

The shaken bunny sat in the waiting room in the police station. His heart was racing, and all he could think about was Misaki and how he had let the boy slip through his fingers. He had the urge to throw up, cry, beat someone to death, whatever could have been used for cathartic purposes. He kept snapping in and out of reality while an officer was trying to talk to him.

"Usami Akihiko?" The officer said. "My name is Yumi Yukiya."

No response from the author.

Yumi pulled up a chair and sat in front of him, lowering her face to make eye contact.

"You're not in trouble, Usami-san. We just want to know what was going on, that's all."

The man just breathed heavily, putting a hand to his forehead as he began to sweat. He read the girl loud and clear, but... he simply couldn't concentrate on anything in that moment. In his deep thought, he felt a warm blanket being wrapped around his shivering body. He came back to his senses and looked up at the officer. Yumi eyed him sadly.

"So are you going to talk to me?" She said.

Akihiko sighed. He knew he had no other choice but to rely on the police now, but, he still hadn't come up with a story that would result in Takana getting what he deserved, but also making Akihiko innocent. Which he knew, he was, but how could he explain everything that had happened? He would just have to give it a shot...

"I.. um.." the author rubbed the back of his head in anxiety. He was on the verge of tears, but he held them back in order to maintain his composed reputation.

"I have an idea," Yumi said as she sat back down. "Instead of trying to conjure up a report, which can be hard to do sometimes, I'll just ask you questions and if you know the answer you can tell me. Kay?"

"Alright..." Akihiko felt a slight rush of relief course through his body.

"Why were you in the parking lot?" Yumi asked, taking out a notebook and a pen.

Akihiko thought about lying, but saw no point. He was worried that he might have to face potential charges, but it struck him suddenly that, he didn't give a shit what happened to him. His goal before was to get Misaki back, but now, it was just to get Misaki out of Takana's hold, at least.

"A ransom." He finally answered honestly.

"A ransom," Yumi repeated amusingly. "That is interesting. With whom?"

"A man named Takana Hiroshi."

"For what?"

Akihiko swallowed hard. This was the gist of the conflict.

"A sex slave."

Yumi's eyes widened as she neglected to write down the last piece of information. She looked back up at the rabbit with a chiding expression on her face. Akihiko suddenly began to panic as he realized what he had said could have been interpreted in numerous ways.

"The sex slave boy... Takana had him," Akihiko wiped the bottom of his eye. "I wasn't trying to buy him... well, I- I guess I was, but it was to free him, not use him... I..." he felt his nerves clench up inside of him again.

Yumi raised a brow. "Do you know the boy?"

"Y-Yes..."

"What is his relation to you?"

"He's my best friend from high school's little brother."

"Name?"

"Misaki Takahashi. Age eighteen."

Yumi closed up her notepad and stuck it back in her pocket. Standing up from the chair, she put a hand to her hip. "That is a bad situation there. Why did you not just call the police in the first place?"

Akihiko squirmed nervously. "I don't know, I guess... I guess I wanted to be the one to find him."

Yumi closed her eyes and nodded understandingly. "Well there have been many- too many- sex slave incidents going on in downtown Tokyo. We've been investigating the matter for several months, now. There's a lot of that particular type of activity going on, and we're taking care of it. So you should just go home and forget about it."

Akihiko felt himself go bitter as he stood up forcefully. "If you've been on the case for such a long time, why have you failed to put an end to it?"

"It's not like tracking a dear, you know," she retorted. "Those bastards know what they're doing and they know the consequences. They've covered their tracks far to well. You can't just close a case overnight, Usami-san. These things take time and we just need to-"

"I know where they hold the underground slave auctions, and I know the license plate of the man who has Misaki!" The man shouted impatiently.

Yumi's eyebrows raised. "Oh?"

Akihiko nodded slowly. "You... you can track a vehicle's location if you have the license plate, right?" He asked hopefully.

"Sure can," she answered.

"If you help me find Takana, I'll show you where the auctions are held." Akihiko offered a deal as he reached out his hand. He knew this was a foolish last resort, because she was indeed an officer of the law. He was in no position to bargain, especially with a police officer, but Yumi seemed ethical enough to go along with it.

"You'd be a hero for being the one to bust all their asses," Akihiko added when Yumi wasn't responding. She then thought for a short time. before reaching out to shake his hand.

"Deal," the officer agreed.

"Be a good boy and clean out the bedroom when you're finished, that mess has been sitting there for a couple of weeks now, waiting to be cleaned by you. Don't you want a nice, clean bedroom to have sex in?" Takana said shamelessly.

Misaki's grip on the cloth he was holding tightened until his knuckles turned white. Takana had ordered the flower to cook him miso soup, and as he was delivering it, he tripped over his silk robe, spilling it out onto the floor. After a few blows to the face, he began to wipe it up.

He wiped off the remaining broth on the hardwood floor, and stood up, never once looking at the blonde haired man. He then turned and began walking towards the room he hated more than any other room in the world, even more than his own bedroom back home he had been locked up in for ten years.

The boy felt sick as he cleaned the room. Old food, dirty clothes, bugs and insects, foul smells and God knows what else were scattered all across the floor. After cleaning, and also suppressing his gag reflexes for about an hour, he exited the room, taking deep breathes as he experienced a bit of fresher air from the main room. He coughed a bit, feeling as though he had inhaled more than dust while in there. He didn't know how he stood it before.

After coughing, Misaki looked up at Takana who was already looking back at the slave with that smug look of his.

"Why don't you go ahead and clean the rest of the apartment for giggles?" he ordered.

Misaki clenched his fists before proceeding to fulfill the man's request. He hadn't said a word to Takana since he had been raped. He grew an animosity for the man more and more by the minute. He often thought about taking a swing at the man, but always decided against it. If the door was locked, there was no point, anyway. He was only strong enough to temporarily incapacitate Takana, and then he would face horrible punishment afterwards. He wasn't doing nothing, but simply waiting for the right time to escape, but every moment he spent under Takana's hold, he lost a bit of hope.

Misaki grumbled to himself as he threw the rag he was using in the laundry basket and got a new one. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but froze when a thought suddenly occurred to him. As he cleaned the whole apartment, he could look for the key to the door. At this realization, a small smile came across the boy's face.

Takana lowered his newspaper to glower at the flower when he noticed he had stopped moving.

"Takahashi?" he hissed.

"I'm going..." Misaki said, and ran off into the room across the hallway he saw. Takana chuckled as his eyes went back to his newspaper. This issue was a keeper, Akihiko had made the front page and was continuing to amuse the blonde to no extent.

Ino Death: Thanks! I've been working on ways to improve my writing style, so I'm glad it's noticeable! Please continue to read and enjoy. :'3

YaoiCookies-Chan:Yeah, sometimes I wonder how I managed to come up with such a beastly person... I always feel ashamed that I am the one who controls his actions. But then I think about the fact that I am also in control of his fate. XD So don't worry, I have plans for him and, they are staggering.

SuzukiChiyeko:Right? I picture Misaki in that outfit in my head and I just have to faint. xD I actually have a particular picture of the exact robe I see him in, but since these bastards don't let you put links in stuff I can't share my wonderful idea with the rest of the world. :C It sucks because I think imagery is very important and I love for readers to be able to see what I see but it can't always happen, so oh well.

TP009: While I feel bad for putting you through those emotions, I also have to thank you because it does mean you're very interested in my story which I appreciate a lot! Please stay interested, because you're just like me. I also read other fanfictions and they tend to reach through my electronic device and stab me in the heart at times so I know how you feel!

TBC,

-Tiny