NEVER THE LAST
Kaede twitched in his seat, his face an angry mask of confusion. Five nights. Five whole fucking nights he'd stay away from home. And now he heard Akira was not coming back to their mansion.
It'd been Sakuragi, tells him that Akira was not coming back for three days already. Of course, he swore at his underlings until he was six feet underground. Kaede, himself, had flown home via his private jet, only arriving now at 5.00pm.
"Where's Akira?" As soon as Kaede reach their mansion, he ask his underlings. Kaede could tell his men were scared. They gulped down their lumps of fear, but none moved their asses.
"Where is he?" Kaede repeated his question. His voice was crisp, authoritative, and cold.
"He's not here, boss." Sakuragi stammered.
"Where is he, then?" Kaede roared again, fist slamming on the mahogany desk.
His men jumped a mile high up the roof. They flinched, their eyes scrambling about, as if trying to think of some excuses for why Akira wasn't inside his mansion.
"Sen... Sendoh is not here."
Kaede didn't answer. He was waiting for Sakuragi to carry on. Seconds ticked by. But Sakuragi still didn't flinch. Of course, Sakuragi couldn't keep up with the pressure anymore. He burst like a broken dam.
"He's gone, boss. Gone. We don't know where Sendoh gone to, but he disappeared three days ago."
Kaede jerked Sakuragi up, clutching him roughly by the collar.
"Repeat that?" he hissed in Sakuragi face.
"We...we don't know, boss." Fujima answered instead. "Sendoh just said his goodbye and left to go school, but he never came home after that."
"And you tell me this now?" Kaede annunciated these cold words, while directing his heated gaze at Fujima.
"We tried to call you but you only picked up today," Sakuragi whimpered on the other side.
Kaede jerked his attention back to Sakuragi. "Fuck! What the fuck is going on?" he scowled at both Sakuragi and Fujima. "Did Akira run away?"
Sakuragi shook his head. "I don't think so, boss. Sendoh acted normal enough when he left."
A thread of fear drummed through Kaede at Sakuragi explanation. Perhaps Akira was kidnapped, then? Swirl of dark thoughts raced through him.
Sawakita! Could Sawakita have kidnapped Akira? Fuck! No. Kaede remembered Minami warning. They'll get back at him. But that couldn't be. Akira had nothing to do with the mafia business. God, kaede hoped Akira was all right.
"Boss, someone on the line want to talk with you." Suddenly, Maki came with phone. Kaede pick the phone from Maki and answered it.
"Hello, Rukawa, my friend. Long time no see. How have you been? How's Hong Kong? I haven't heard from you for a while."
"Sawakita, are you trying to fuck with me? Why the fuck did you take my man?"
"Who?"
"Don't fuck with me, Sawakita. You have my man. I want him back."
"Is that a demand?"
"It's a fucking order."
"Tsk, Rukawa. You are always so demanding."
"I could say the same to you."
"What can I say, we were born of the same breed. Mafia blood always runs strong. I still can't believe Mitsui and Miyagi still tolerate you though, with that foul mouth of yours."
"Leave my friends out of this."
"They are my friends, too."
"In your fucking dreams. Now tell me where your residence is so I can get Akira back. Are you still in Akita?"
"Akira? Who's Akira?"
"He's my boy, you fucking idiot, the one who you fucking kidnapped."
"Oh. I didn't know he was yours. How important is he to you?"
"Don't fuck with me, Sawakita."
"I'm the one asking the questions here, Rukawa. How important is this man to you?"
Kaede didn't reply. He knew the question was a trap. If he revealed that Akira was as important to him as the heart that was beating in his chest or the air he needed to survive, he was sure Sawakita would harm Akira, just to spite him.
"Rukawa. I can't hear you." Sawakita voice knocked him back to his senses, and when he was about to reply, a man voice floated into his earpiece.
"Kaede, is that you?" Akira. His lover. His heart pounded in fear.
"Akira, is that you? Akira, are you okay? Put him on the fucking phone, Sawakita." Kaede shouted down the line.
"I don't think so." Sawakita smooth and calm voice just irritated him even more.
"Fuck you, Sawakita. Fuck you."
"Hahaha." Sawakita chuckled, which just pissed the shit out of him even more. "Don't worry. He's safe. I haven't fucked him...yet."
"Don't you fucking dare lay a hand on him, or I'll fucking break your arm," Kaede yelled.
"Is that a warning?"
"It's a bloody demand. And you better--"
"Rukawa, Rukawa. Stop talking like a fighter." Sawakita interrupted him, which just sent him into another tailspin. "I think your fighting skill is rusty a best. When was the last time you fought?"
"None of your fucking business."
"It is my business. Now enough of the chitchat. Listen carefully to what I have to say. Here's what I want. Bring the land deed of Kanagawa. I want to deal with all the trades in that territory. Tell all your minions that I'm now their new boss."
"In your fucking dreams. Don't you have enough shit going on already with your business in Akita? Don't try to wear pants that are too big for you. Kanagawa is not your territory."
"Try saying that again with your boyfriend on the phone while I slide a knife down his perfect handsome face."
"I'll fucking kill you, Sawakita. If you dare lay even a hand on a strand of his hair, I swear to God, I'll fucking kill you myself."
"Bring the land deed, Rukawa. I'll see you, say, 10am tomorrow morning. I'll text you with my residential address nearer the time. And don't fucking turn up early. You will not be welcomed until 10am."
And Sawakita cut the call.
Kaede was vibrating with so much anger he flung the phone with so much force, it smashed against the wall.
Fuck, Sawakita. Who did he think he was? Some kind of fucking mafia God who everyone must obey? Well, too fucking bad. He wasn't going to listen to his shit.
"Sakuragi, Fukuda, Fujima, Maki," Kaede shouted from inside his office. "Get the fucking ready. We're going to Akita."
Kaede was out of his fucking mind. Nothing in this world had him this coiled up with dread that he could piss in his own pants. But he had to take charge, take control of the situation. Now!
As soon as he'd heard of Akira kidnapping, he went ballistic, damning Sawakita and his clan to hell. The fucking bastard was fucking with his head. If he saw him, he'd make sure to pay him the same respect as he did, by cutting his balls off. The fucking bastard.
How dare he take his beloved Akira. He'd been successfully hiding Akira for all these months with no fear and interruption until now. Maybe he'd miscalculated his moves. He'd been so excited, so fucking in love, he'd forgotten his surroundings. He backtracked his moves and remembered that situation back in meetings. Sawakita was there too. He must have planned Akira kidnapping since then. The fucking bastard.
How the fuck did Sawakita know about his one weakness? Did he have people spying on him and Akira? The fucker! What a lowlife. If he wanted Kanagawa so much, he'd have given him the whole fucking land deed. His beloved Akira just an innocent bystander. He didnt know shit about life in the mafia world.
Fuck! He was going insane. The thought of losing Akira wasn't just an emotional pain anymore, but a palpable physical pain, where his heart was wrenched, like a knife had been stabbed into his heart, again and again. He couldn't imagine not seeing Akira again. Akira was his love, his life, and his soul. If Sawakita wanted to see his downfall, he'd succeeded. But he wouldn't be easily defeated. If he was still breathing, he'd fight until the very end, and the fight started now, with their verbal assault.
Kaede launched up from his seat and instructed his underlings to go with him. They all slammed into the car, with Fukuda tugging the engine into drive.
While veering out of the driveway Sakuragi asked worriedly, "Where are we going, boss."
Kaede replied coldly, his face a dark mask, "To Sawakita. To get Akira back."
It was approximately 8am when Kaede and his gang arrived at Sawakita residence. Sawakita was already dressed, waiting in the dining room, having his breakfast of egg and toast, with jasmine tea as his drink.
"It's fucking 8am, Rukawa. You are interrupting my breakfast. I did say 10am, did I not?"
Kaede pulled out the chair opposite Sawakita and sat down, folded his leg elegantly, and smirked at his frenemy. "Have I ever listened to you?"
Sawakita paused, his knife and fork in midair. He assessed his old-time friend, who somehow along the way had turned into his frenemy. "You have a point," Sawakita said. They got down to business. "Have you got the land seed?"
"I have a better idea. Why don't you tell me how much you want? I'm willing to pay," Kaede said instead.
"Are you willing to pay for your boyfriend or for the price of the land deed?"
"My boyfriend, of course."
"So you're not going to give me the land deed?"
"Of course not."
"You are willing to pay for the life of your boyfriend, but you aren't willing to give me the land deed. Do I have this information correct?"
"Why do you fucking want the land deed?" Kaede slammed his fist on the table in his effort to try to get his message across.
Sawakita didn't even flinch. He just went back to eating his food, and Kaede hated it when people ignored him.
"Well, too fucking bad. You can get it over my dead body." And quicker than lightning, Kaede stood up, pulled out the pistol from his inner pocket, and aimed it at Sawakita head. "Now, do I need to spell it out for you that I will not give you the land deed, or do you want me to blow your brains out right here and now?"
"Rukawa. Rukawa. Calm down." Sawakita pushed his plate away, having had enough of the food. He drank his jasmine tea, and when he thought he was ready to speak, he stood up too. "I was only joking. I don't fucking care for your land deed. I was just messing with you. Do you really want your boyfriend to see you in action, blowing a friend's brain out like this? It's not a pretty picture. I'm sure he hasn't seen you kill before, right? You only let him see your good side. What would happen if, say, he were to walk in right now and see you like this? Pointing a gun at my head. How would he feel?"
Kaede was stuck. On the one hand, he so wanted to pull the trigger and be done with this stupid bastard, but he knew the implications was too hard and too messy to deal with. Although both Sawakita and he liked to play a game of cat and mouse, taunting each other every so often, they'd never reached this stage before where they had to pull the trigger for real.
He retracted his pistol and slipped it back in his inner coat when Kaede saw two men race down the stairs.
"Kaede." It was his lover, Akira. Fucking god, Kaede was happy to see his lover still alive.
"Akira, are you okay? Did the bastard do anything to you?" Kaede ask me. I can't move closer to him because Minami still beside me.
I shook my head. "He didn't do anything to me."
"You don't have to be scared of him, Akira. I'm here now. I won't let anyone hurt you," Kaede kept saying.
I'd never seen him this worried before, and it only cemented the fact that he loved me, just as much as I loved him.
"Kaede, I missed you," I said to ease his worry when Sawakita suddenly interrupted us.
"Alright, you two. Shows over. Stop mooning over each other. It's fucking earsore."
"Then shut your fucking ears," Kaede barked back. "I'm having a reunion with my boyfriend, here. Leave us the fuck alone."
"I wish I could, but this is my house, Rukawa," Sawakita said all too calmly. "Or do I need to plaster it on your forehead to remind you that this is my house and you are standing in my territory."
"Minami, let fucking go Akira." Kaede turn his attention to Minami who still stood beside me.
Minami pulled my hair while his knife slide down over my neck and hissed beside my ear. "You really in love with this asshole, Rukawa?"
"Fuck, Minami! Touch him one more I will kill you." Kaede warning him.
Minami laughed. And then I watched as Kaede insulted Sawakita. "Why do you fucking irritate me so much, Sawakita? It's your voice. It's so scratchy, like a fucking fingernail scratching on a chalkboard. So fucking annoying."
"You're showing your age, Rukawa," Sawakita retorted. "I don't think I'm old enough to remember what a chalkboard is at school."
"Fuck you, Sawakita," Kaede swore again.
"Are you done with the swearing?" Sawakita calmy said. "Do you have anything else to say? Because I'm done here. Let's get down to business."
"What do you want? The land deed again? All the trades in Kanagawa, is that it?"
"Like I said before it was a joke. I just wanted to see how you would react. And it was a fun reaction. You sure haven't changed from all those years ago. Still a spitfire, always so hot tempered."
"I could say the same to you. At least I am hot tempered. At least I still have warm blood running through my veins. But you, you are so cold-blooded, you don't even know what the word mercy means."
"I don't. That's why what I'm about to do, I will surely enjoy it."
What did Sawakita mean? Is he trying to do something worse?
"How much do you love your boyfriend, Rukawa? Now is the time to test it. Could you lose your pride and beg me for the life of your boyfriend?"
And my heart dropped. Sawakita. He wanted...he wanted to test Kaede love for me.
"You're asking me to get down on my knees to beg for my boyfriend life?" Kaede put it in simple words.
Sawakita clapped his hands and nodded his head in the affirmative. "That's right. You put the words right in my mouth. Bravo. That's exactly what I wanted to say. For your boyfriend, I think it shouldn't be that hard of a decision to make. If you love him, go on, beg me. Grovel like the dog shit you are. Beg me and then I'll let him go."
And in the blink of an eye, Kaede pinned Sawakita with a gun to his forehead. "You want to fuck with me, Sawakita? Why don't I pull this trigger first and see if you are willing to get down on your knees and beg for your life."
"Rukawa. You think you have your men here to save you. Let me tell you. You are on my territory. That's one wrong move already. If you fire your gun at me, I'll make sure to annihilate every single person in your clan. See those men upstairs? They are my men. They have their eyes trained on your boyfriend already."
I stood still, watching as all guns were pointed at me. Somehow, the second Kaede pointed that gun at Sawakita, dozens of guns were automatically pointed at me.
"You think you're quick enough with the trigger." Sawakita continued taunting Kaede. "Let me tell you something, Rukawa. The second you pull that trigger, your boyfriend brain would explode into million pieces. Do you still want to pull that trigger?"
I watched as Kaede paused. And the he smiled.
Kaede dropped his gun. And turned to me, he smiled and mouthed at me, "I love you, Akira."
Kaede turned his attention back to Sawakita. And he slowly dropped to his knees.
"How easily fooled you are, Rukawa," Sawakita muttered on the side. "For the love of your boyfriend, you are willing to grovel like a dog. Go on. I still want to see a dog like you grovel at my feet."
And Sawakita waited. I was literally shaking in anger. And it was that very moment that I went ballistic. I dashed to Sawakita and aimed to punch his face. Except Minami had caught me in time.
"The fuck are you try doing, asshole." Minami pulled me back to him.
"Let go of me, Minami! Or I kick your ass," I yelled at Minami. Minami hands clamped on to my arms tight. I pushed him off, and punch his face. Minami trembled to the floor. His mouth full of bleeding.
"Hahaha. Your boyfriend really is a spitfire. You two are really suited for each other. The hot blooded mafia boss and his spitfire boyfriend. I've had enough." Sawakita jerked his eyes to me.
"Akira, that's enough. Leave Sawakita to me." Kaede gave me a sly look.
"No. I want to kick him," I shouted at Kaede, then directed my wrath at Sawakita. "Sawakita Eiji, you dickhead. You think I'm scared of you? You motherfucker! You just watch me."
"Don't worry, Sendoh," Sakuragi said. "Let boss deal with Mr. Sawakita."
"Deal? What's the deal?" Sawakita laughed like madman.
Finally Kaede stood up from his knees. "Take a look around you, Sawakita." Kaede smirk.
Sawakita is about to speak, when he heard someone shouting. "Put your gun down, now!" Sawakita surprised when he sees his men now kneeling down with their hands on the head. "What the fuck!" Sawakita shock in horror.
"You think I'm really that fool, Sawakita? The ones was fool here, it's definitely you." Kaede pointed his finger to Sawakita. "Don't you notice? When Akira punch Minami, why your men's didn't pull that trigger?"
"Fuck you, Rukawa!" Sawakita swore.
"You're the one who's swearing now." Kaede show his victory smile.
Kaede turned his attention to his mafia clan. And give them orders. "Brings out all those bastard out. And leave us here. I want to deal with this motherfucker. We still at his territory, if we go out just like that, I know we will be at dangerous situations."
Kaede knew. He maybe wins inside Sawakita mansion. But as soon as he stepped out from this mansion, he might endanger their lives. He'd should deal with Sawakita first.
"Oh. I see. Yeah, that's right. Let's fight like a gentleman, Rukawa." Sawakita challenge him.
"This is gonna be fun." Kishimoto appears. Then he swung his attention to Sakuragi. "Long time no see, you redhead asshole."
"Oh. I think you're dead already." Sakuragi mocked him back.
"You think you managed to kill me?" Kishimoto taunted Sakuragi.
"Nice." Kyota shows up while clapped his hands. "Boss, our men's already kicked out. There's no one at this mansion. Only five of us left." Kyota address his boss, Sawakita.
"Eleven of us now, Rukawa. Me, the boss, Sawakita Eiji. My right-hand, Kishimoto. And my underlings Kyota, Minami and Ikegami." Sawakita smirk at Kaede.
"And me, the boss of mafia, Rukawa Kaede. And my brotherhood here. Sakuragi, Fukuda, Maki and Fujima. And..." Kaede looked at me, and smiled. "My beloved, Akira."
"Hahaha! Your boyfriend didn't know anything about fighting, Rukawa. He even doesn't know how to use a gun." Sawakita jerked his laugh.
"Kiss my ass." Sakuragi said then pulled out their gun and... bang!
The war has begun!