A/N:

I would like to thank the amazing Miyanoai for beta-ing for me. I have never had a beta before in my life, so I appreciate your hard work more than you'll ever know.

***Sunshine***

Chapter Five:

Asami arrived ten minutes later, but the street was so crowded that Suoh had to drop him off behind Club Peek. Red and blue lights spun in the inky night, and civilians were crowded in circles, quietly whispering. He found Akihito swarmed by his men, his blabbering friend––Kou, by his side.

"Ryu," his lover sighed as his men parted, allowing him to slip up alongside the boy.

Asami looked at his boy carefully. He was pale, and shaking from the adrenaline, but no worse for the wear. "You didn't dress up," Akihito frowned, but the crime lord knew he was not upset. He actually seemed to be comforted by the fact that his lover was unshakeable and consistent in the face of the chaos that surged around him.

"It's in the car," he said. Asami looked to his men. "Nakamura, what happened?" The superb bodyguard seemed to have done his job well. Akihito was physically unharmed, his friend appeared to only have a minor wound, and the dead bodies being carted away in ambulances were not his men. Whatever had happened in the minutes since Akihito hung up on him, none of it seemed directly tied to him.

"An unidentified female was kidnapped, sir," the goon dutifully reported. Kou's body flexed and Akihito shook his head, warning him to just stay quiet. Now was not the time to get all emotional over Hisana's name. "Though she was in close proximity to Takaba-san, they focused their assault on her."

Akihito was stunned. Hisana was the object of the attack, not him. That had to have been a first. The white guy, probably European now that he thought about it, must have been her bodyguard. That was why she was not perturbed by Madarame at the supermarket! Even dangerous people had to have protection, perhaps more so than ordinary citizens. Kidnappings were starting to happen with an alarming frequency, and Akihito could feel the rage boil inside him. It was getting risibly old.

"She killed one of them," Kou whispered. He pointed to the bloodstained concrete four meters away. "Like it was nothing. There was so much blood––" his friend choked, unable to continue talking.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Akihito patted Kou's back. His friend was as white as a wedding dress, and it looked like he was about to lose his lunch. He was not used to near death experiences, shootouts and gore. The first time was always the worst.

"It isn't your fault," Kou loudly gulped. "And it was not her fault either. Those men…" he trailed off, his thoughts too terrifying to voice. But he did anyway, because he had to know. "Are they going to kill her?"

He looked directly at Asami, her phone still clutched tightly in his palms. Maybe Akihito should not have assumed that his friends were blithely ignorant about Asami's true businesses. The way Kou stared at Asami, shaking but prepared for the truth, told Akihito that he had always known.

"No," his lover's voice was as sharp as a knife. Akihito flinched, unprepared for the declaration that fell from his lips. "I'm going to find her."

"Ryu?" Akihito stepped towards the crime lord. He said that Hisana was dangerous, so why would he go after her? Even if there was a score to settle between them, surely letting another syndicate extract revenge was an option. It was asinine to risk death just so he could have the luxury of killing her. Also, there was the possibility that the crafty girl had orchestrated this entire ordeal just to lure Asami to her. She might have assumed that his lover would give chase, wanting to be the one to take her life, and planned accordingly.

"Which one of you witnessed the kidnapping?" a detective interrupted him.

Asami looked murderous at the interruption and his friend noticed. Straightening his shoulders, Kou faced the officer. "I did."

"And you?" very aware of just who was standing with the two boys, the Tokyo detective made sure that there was not any witness intimidation happening just under his nose.

Kou answered for him. "He was in the club. He was keeping me company until you were ready to talk to me." He looked directly at Akihito and nodded. He knew what was going to happen next, that Hisana needed someone to save her, and he was trusting the photographer to do just that. "Thanks for letting me use your phone, Aki," he said loudly. He made a show of handing him Hisana's phone. Akihito was confused until he felt the slick, cylindrical cigarette beneath the iPhone. Kou must have nabbed it when no one was looking.

"She saved us, Aki," Kou hissed into his ear. "It's our turn to help save her." They locked eyes. Kou trusted his investigative skills and perseverance to save Cinderella. With Asami backing him, Akihito knew he could.

"Okay," he nodded staunchly.

As Kou followed the officer to the makeshift tent, the photographer looked at his lover. "Were you serious?" he asked. "Are you going to help?" this would be so much quicker and less painful if Asami was helping him. Akihito knew from experience that the longer you were imprisoned, the more it hurt. And no matter what Hisana had done to Asami, he did not want her to suffer.

"Is that her phone?" Asami took it from his hand. Gold eyes widened slightly when he felt the murder weapon.

"Yeah," Akihito had to run to keep up with Asami's long strides. Asami did not even notice, and that was very strange. Usually, his lover kept a close eye on Akihito, and once he saw one wince from the photographer, he would have slowed down. Not tonight. "Her purse is in the club at our booth."

"Ueda," Asami snapped the man's name. Goon Two easily melted into the crow, headed off to retrieve the expensive bag. "In," he jerked the door of the limo open.

"Asami-sama," Suoh gasped in surprise. He had not been expecting his boss for several hours.

"Hisana has been kidnapped," Asami growled. He waited by the door, his foot resting on the lip of the car. His leg bounced rapidly, and he thrummed his fingers on the roof of the car.

For the first time in his life, Akihito heard the stoic guard swear. "Fucking shit!"

"Asami-sama," Ueda appeared from the darkness. He offered up the oversized bag with a bow. Asami took it wordlessly, and slid into the limo beside the photographer. "Drive," he ordered his Chief Security Officer, who had barely been able to get his seatbelt on before Asami gave the order. Looking at Akihito, he said, "Tell me exactly what happened. Every detail."

Feeling like he was a criminal being shook down by the government, Akihito still told his lover every detail he could think of. Nothing was too miniscule. On tv, it was the small bits of info that created leads, so Akihito was as specific as possible. Not that it mattered because Asami was digging through her purse, and not paying attention to Akihito's story. He frowned and glowered, hummed and growled, and when he pulled out a packet of birth control pills, hellfire glinted in his eyes.

At last, he pulled out a room key for a hotel. "They're staying at the Imperial Hotel. He must still be there."

Suoh had worked for Asami long enough to understand unspoken orders. The yakuza wanted to go to prestigious hotel. He immediately texted the location to those in the car that trailed behind them, and then to Kirishima. The secretary was as furious as the rest of them.

"You're still chasing after Al Madani?" the photographer demanded. "What about Hisana?"

"This is for Hisana. I need to know if this is connected to him," Asami's gold eyes punched into Akihito's soul. His words were short, fiery and harsh. He had never used such a tone with Akihito before, even after all their time together. For the first time, Akihito believed that Asami would hurt him if he continued to push.

"What does Hisana have to do with him?" he cried. Never one to listen to reason, the photographer was willing to press his lover.

"They're dating," Asami said through clenched teeth. To admit that was more painful that getting shot. He viciously the unlock button on the phone, and the screen flared brightly to life.

"It's password protected," the photographer mumbled. It was pointless, because he knew that his lover was not listening to a word he said. "We already tried to unlock it."

Asami's thumb pounded the screen, and then it unfurled. Akihito's mouth dropped. "How did you do that?" He had never once in his life been able to hack someone's phone.

"It's Mumbs."

"Ehh?" he had no idea what his lover had said. It might not have even been Japanese.

"Mumbs. It was the name of her teddy bear. She always uses it as her password."

Rich people, screw them. Ordinary people could not get a five character passcode. "You know her," he accused.

Asami flinched, but did not stop looking at the phone. The screensaver was Hisana kissing the cheek of a handsome, tan man with a hooked nose. Akihito knew that he was finally looking at Mahdi Al Madani.

***Sunshine***

Much like Asami, Hisana and Mahdi seemed to prefer the top floor or the nicest suite anywhere they went. Asami said nothing when Akihito followed him out of the limo. He was dressed like an idiot, and maybe the rich assholes thought he was a hooker Asami picked up. He did not care; he promised Kou that he was going to save Hisana, come hell or high water. Asami led them to the door in a matter of minutes. Putting a finger against his lips to signal complete silence, Asami slipped the card into the electronic reader. The door clicked open.

"Hey beautiful!" a voice called in heavily accented Japanese. It was painfully obvious that he was a foreigner. Dogs rushed the group of six the moment the door swung open. Ruger's bark was a squeaky yip, and Asimov's was so deep it sounded like a cough. He recognized Akihito. Bounding over, he jumped up, licking his face.

"What did you think about the kid?" the Arab walked into the sitting room, drying his hair with a towel. He was shirtless, but had on a pair of plaid pajama pants. "Babe?" he asked when Hisana did not immediately answer him.

His dark face paled and pupils dilated when he dropped the towel to see the small gang in his room. "Oh, fuck…"

Asimov instantly sensed Al Madani's tense demeanor. He shifted on his feet, and growled at the intruding party. Asami was having none of it. "Sit," he commanded. Akihito was pretty sure that everyone in the room wanted to obey the command.

"Asami Ryuichi," Mahdi whispered.

Asami sniffed derisively. The foreigner flinched, and quickly scanned the entourage. He was looking for Hisana in askance, and when he could not find her, he squared his shoulders before bravely stepping forward. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

Asami completely ignored the offered handshake. It was a power play, and he would not acknowledge Mahdi Al Madani as an equal. "I need to know if you have offended anyone to the point of retaliation," he got straight to the point.

Mahdi chuckled uncomfortably as he dropped his hand. Apparently, he expected Asami to snub him, and Akihito could only wonder about the history between the two. What could have happened to make Asami, who was always painfully genteel, act so rudely? "Present company excluded?" He knew that Asami had put a bounty on his head. When no one answered him and the oppressive silence became too awkward to bear, he started talking. "I am sure I have. Nothing that would interfere with yo––"

Asami cut him off. "Hisana has been taken."

Mahdi looked around wildly. Black eyes searched desperately for her, like it was some kind of sick joke. "You are shitting me," he whispered. "I just talked to her an hour ago––"

Asami hated hearing the man speak. He was barely younger than Akihito, only a handful of years older than Hisana, and Asami Ryuichi thought he was a louse. He hated the defiler that twitched before him. "I don't make jokes about my daughter," he snarled.

Yeah. That's right. Asami never made jokes about anything, much less nasty ass girls–––wait, what?

Mahdi gulped. "I haven't––we haven't done anything recently." They had been in school until June, and then they vacationed in Sicily until mid July. Hisana wanted to sneak into Japan nearly two weeks before Asami Ryuichi's birthday, so he would never expect a birthday surprise.

"Huh?" Akihito grunted. Nobody heard him, thankfully. His brain was short-circuiting, trying to figure out exactly who had a kid.

That was what he was afraid of. The unknown enemy had first targeted Akihito, and after that had failed, Hisana had become a convenient second target. She had no idea of the danger frothing in Tokyo, awarding him the blind trust of a child. This was his city, his country, and she had been taken because he failed to anticipate that she would want to meet Akihito in an unbiased situation.

Mahdi's hands fisted into bloodless coils. He stared directly at Asami. "Who have you pissed off?" They all knew now that she was taken because of Asami. He was the big fish in the ocean, far more deadly than the nephew of a small syndicate lord.

"Unlike you, the list is endless," sneered the Japanese kingpin. He never bothered to keep track of his enemies, assuming that everyone would screw him over if given the chance. Asami had even lost three loyal guards during three different assassination attempts. He was secure in power, still, and knew his regime was relatively impenetrable––even with Akihito at his side. No matter who rose up against him, he would crush them like a tsunami on the coastline.

The imperative question was: who knew of Hisana? She had been his greatest secret, and until recently, his biggest weakness. He had kept her secluded from the world, encapsulated in his shadow until she was nothing but a part of him. The list of possible culprits was short, but deadly.

Mahdi glowered but rather than snap some acerbic retort, he grabbed his phone off the table. He pushed some buttons and swore in Arabic. "I want in," he demanded in stinted Japanese.

Gold eyes narrowed. "I don't need your help, boy." He said it scathingly, letting the foreigner know exactly what his place was: trash under Asami's Armani shoe. His anger hid his fear, and gave him some modicum of control over the situation.

No, seriously. Akihito must have heard wrong. Who had a daughter?

"You'll have to kill me to keep me out of this," Mahdi retorted. Had it been anyone else, any other couple, Asami would have relented. The safeguarding of a lover was paramount in the underworld, and he would disembowel anyone who dared stand between him and Akihito. But it was his precious daughter, and he would be damned if he kept the little snake who wanted to slither between her legs by his side.

Asami jerked a gun out of its hidden holster on his side. A click echoed in the suddenly silent room as he swiftly jerked the safety back. "With pleasure."

Akihito yelped, but Asami was oblivious; he only had eyes for Mahdi Al Madani. Suoh noticed, and moved in front of the photographer. He anticipated the Arab's brains getting blown out all over the luxury room.

"Look, I get it," Mahdi sounded composed, as if having a gun pointed at his frontal lobe was a common occurrence. Since Hisana was Asami's daughter, it stood that maybe he did. Akihito groaned as realization swept over him, numbing his limbs and ricocheting lightning bolts in his brain. Suoh glanced worriedly over his shoulder. Holy shit––Asami had a daughter. A daughter about his age. He was going to pass out.

"I'm the dick that's fucking your daughter, and you hate me. I know you want to shoot me," he nodded to the shaking gun still leveled between his brown eyes. "And that scares the shit out of me. You scare the shit out of me. But I am completely in love with her, and I am going to get her back. If you want to stop me, you will have to kill me right now, because nothing less than death is going to keep me away from her."

The speech should have sent warm fuzzies through Akihito, but his stomach was roiling too loudly for him to process anything else. Asami had a daughter. Oh God, he had a hot daughter that he tried to get to hook up with Kou.

Fucking hell.

"I don't want your help," the yakuza growled.

Mother fucking hell. Asami was going to kill him when he figured it out. It was fair though, because how the fucking shit was Akihito supposed to have known that he had a godamned daughter!

"I don't care," declared the intruder on Hisana's affections.

Suoh was impressed, Akihito could tell. Most people caved to Asami's demands. Really, the photographer was the only person to challenge him, and even he gave in after rigorous and convincing sex. Then again, love made you do stupid things. Akihito was still standing idly by while his lover threatened to shoot Mahdi's head off. It did not make the list of things that bothered him, at the moment. Because, seriously, Asami Ryuichi had a daughter that he had just forgot to mention.

"You will follow my lead," Asami pressed the gun to soft skin. "Your opinions and ideas mean nothing to me. You have no authority; I expect your full cooperation and obedience. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I am still going to kill you once she's home safe. I'll tell her you died in the crossfire," Asami kept threatening the straight faced man.

"I will cross that bridge when it comes," he shrugged slightly. A lot could change in twenty-four hours, and he was hoping that Asami Ryuichi's opinion of him was one of them.

Only at the blithe acceptance did Asami lower the black Ruger. "Get dressed. We have work to do."

***Sunshine***

It took Mahdi no time to switch into jeans and a lavender button up. It was surprising to see a crime mogul in such casual dress; Asami was always rocking a three piece suit and tie. Even Hisana had been dressed in professional attire at the club. It could be a family preference, and it certainly explained why Asami kept trying to "update" Akihito's wardrobe.

Asimov followed Asami like a shadow, obeying him as diligently as he did Hisana. Ruger quickly lost interest in the Japanese men. She scampered around the hotel room, chasing a furry pink ball that squeaked. Asimov stayed silent, sapphire eyes fixed on Asami, waiting for instruction. He seemed very aware that Hisana was missing, but stayed calm lest he be needed. It was astounding how Asami could elicit such devotion from even an animal.

Doggie beds were strewn in front of the large fireplace. In the big one was a golden bear. It had large black eyes, one hanging by a thread. The fur was patchy, bald in some spots, and matted. When Asami dismissed Asimov, the pit bull trotted to his warm bed and curled around it. This was Mumbs, the loved companion of a lonely princess on the night when iniquitous business kept her father away. It was the bear who stood strong, having witnessed the monstrous deeds of Asami Ryuichi, but still loved his daughter.

Asami finally noticed his gaze. "That bear was her constant companion when she was young. She never went anywhere without it." His voice garbled like a gurgling stream, washing over Akihito with heavy emotion. He was acknowledging the reality of the situation: yes, she is my daughter, she is loved, and she is coming home.

"He looks like he's traveled the world," Akihito's own voice warbled. He had known that Asami existed before their relationship, but he imagined it was a sterile and routine life. A child was vivacious, and warm. It meant a life of love and laughter, a life full enough to be called happy. It meant that Asami Ryuichi could continue on should he every tire of the photographer, should they ever cease to be.

"He was my eyes and ears when I was gone on business," Asami said through tight lips. A protector from Monsters-Under-the-Bed while Daddy was away. Neither had been able to protect her this time.

Akihito saw how quickly Asami's composure was slipping. "It's going to be okay," he put his hand on the crime lord's back. "We're going to find her."

"Yes," Asami jerked away from his touch. "And I am going to bleed dry anyone who gets in my way."

He turned on his heel, deigning to wait in the limo. Akihito waited a moment before following. He had no idea how to handle this Asami.

***Sunshine***

A/N:

SURPIRSE!

Hope it got some of you at least. I have been waiting for this chapter forever, because I knew it was coming. And I just wanted to knock your socks off!

I want to give a shout out to Yaoifav456 (from AO3). You were the closest to guessing just who Hisana was.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully, you enjoyed it.