"Takaba sama, please wait!"

Akihito gave a quick backward glance at his temporary guard before focusing to the front again. "Speed up or I'll lose my scoop!" he yelled as he chased on.

Akihito spent two weeks identifying a Diet member's boy toy after receiving a tip-off from one of his sources that the politician is having an extramarital affair. Yoshida Mari, a strong headed woman who fought like a tigress in the parliament and boasted strong family values in front of the media – was rumored to have a young man by her side.

It was all good for Akihito. He waited at the lobby for the boy toy in the rumors, planning to secretly capture some photographs of the said affair before going back to the penthouse. His plans would have gone perfectly, if it weren't for his guard, who spoke a little too loud about his plans alerting the salacious couple. The boy toy escaped via the back door, running for his dear life.

So, hell no—Akihito wasn't going to wait for his guard to catch up. He'd have his story, one way or the other.

The young man turned at a back alley; and halted when he noticed that it was a dead end. Akihito managed to catch up with him, took a quick succession of photographs; and left him there on his knees, pleading Akihito not to have the photos published.

"Takaba sama!" The guard panted as he caught up with him.

"Shinji, you blew my cover back there!" Akihito fumed as he checked his camera.

He got a shot of the politician walking out the elevator, but he didn't have a good angle on the man, which was why he needed to run after his target for a clearer shot. He enlarged the photo of the said man, confirmed it was usable before switching the camera off.

"I apologize, sir – but –," Shinji halted when he noticed the boy from before lunging towards them, trying to grab Akihito's camera. He skillfully pulled Akihito away and knocked the other guy out with a single punch.

"Let's get out of here before everyone starts crowding," Akihito said.

The guard nodded his head and quickly called for Kanda.

"Shinji, the next time you blow my cover like that, I'll have your head photoshopped on a model in a bikini and send it to everyone in Sion," Akihito threatened the minute he entered Asami's luxurious sedan.

"What happened?" Kanda asked.

Shinji reluctantly told his senior what happened at the hotel lobby just now. By the time he finished explaining, Kanda actually pulled the car aside, knocked Shinji's head with his knuckles before driving again.

"Idiot, I told you to follow the boss because I had to be on the lookout. Not only did you blow Takaba sama's cover, you couldn't even keep up with him!"

The young guard looked troubled. He looked at the rear mirror at Akihito. "You wouldn't tell Asami sama, right? I'll be in deep trouble if you do."

Smiling cheekily, Akihito replied, "No, because Asami will replace you with another guard—one that I'll have trouble escaping from."

"Takaba sama, please don't joke about this," both Kanda and Shinji said simultaneously.

"Just kidding," the photographer lied. Imagine having Suoh watching over him. The bulky guard would never leave him in peace.

He shuddered at the thought. He checked his wristwatch, the same watch that Asami had gifted him on his birthday and noticed that it was close to six thirty in the evening.

"Kanda, we're meeting Toru and Ando at seven. Drive us straight to the restaurant."

"Roger."

Xx Business as Usual xX

Nestled in the suburbs of Tokyo, away from the hustle and bustle of the main streets, the Japanese fine dining restaurant was a rare find. Akihito honestly wanted to take Toru and Ando to an eat-all-you-can buffet restaurant but felt it was a bit too cheap to do so, considering his guards did so much for him.

He researched for days and chose a place he was sure didn't belong to Asami. No way he was going to buy Toru and Ando a meal at a restaurant that Asami owns.

Toru and Ando were already seated in the private room when he came inside with Kanda and Shinji. Both guards had their bandages and casts removed two weeks earlier and started rehabilitation at the hospital. Akihito was informed personally by Kanzaki sensei about their progress.

"Takaba sama," both guards greeted as they stood up and bowed.

"Sit," Akihito quickly gestured to his guards, removed his coat and sat down on the legless chair.

Toru poured a fresh cup of green tea for Akihito. "Takaba sama, I received Kanda's report that you were chasing after one of your targets?"

Akihito sipped his tea, nodded. "The guy was running away and I need a clear shot of him."

"Please be careful. You don't know if the man is armed," Toru said disapprovingly.

"The only weapon he has was his phone," Akihito replied cheekily. "I need to go to the bathroom," he stood up, walked to the door and turned back at Shinji, "—and you don't have to follow me there."

Shinji looked at Toru, who nodded his head. Since Akihito announced that he'd buy them dinner, Toru had the location checked several times. There were also more guards than usual surrounding the restaurant in plain clothes. Call him paranoid, but after the kidnapping incident with Mikhail, Toru was not taking any chances.

So, minus a couple of guests, the remaining seventy percent of people eating and chatting in the restaurant were all arranged by Toru, with Asami's approval. Of course, Akihito didn't have to know about that. The boy would flip if he does.

The second Akihito left; Shinji immediately turned to Toru. He sat, placed his hands on his folded knees and bowed.

"Toru san, please teach me how to keep up with Takaba sama!" Shinji pleaded, before looking up at the senior guard.

Toru zeroed his gaze on Shinji, making the younger guard slightly nervous. "You have to train harder, Shinji. Mistakes like today should never happen in the first place."

"You're a good fighter but you lack stamina, Shinji," Ando added. "Your duty is to catch up with Takaba sama, no matter how fast he runs."

"But—Takaba sama is really fast. I was shocked when he started sprinting. Although it was partially my fault that the guy bolted. I spoke a little too loud, alerting Yoshida and her boy toy."

"When serving the boss, remember two important things—" Toru took Akihito's coat, passed it to Kanda who proceeded to hang it neatly at the designated hooks. "—One, do not do anything that might jeopardized Takaba sama's safety and two –,"

"—learn to keep your mouth shut," Ando finished off for him.

Shinji scratched his head. "It's not easy standing in your shoes, no wonder everyone says that you're the best," he said, referring to both Toru and Ando.

Generally uncomfortable with praises, Toru gave a rather awkward nod while Ando smiled a little. When Shinji continued to ramble on how great Toru and Ando's performance during the incident with Mikhail, Toru quickly interrupted,

"Kanda, switch positions with Shinji. You have more experience with Takaba sama, you'll accompany him instead," Toru ordered.

Kanda bowed slightly. "Understood."

"It's a pity Shiba-san is busy with another matter. He could have taken over –"

Shinji stopped talking and as if remembered something. "Toru san, you won't put that in the report, right? If Asami sama knows what a failure I've been, he'll demote me."

Toru understood all too well how nerve wracking it must be to face the big boss. "No," he replied, and Shinji let out a big sigh of relief.

Ando gave Shinji a friendly smack on his arm. "Anyway, I don't think you'll need to be on the job for long. Toru-san and I are almost healed."

"Thank god, I don't think I can continue like this any longer. It's not easy doing what you do."

Akihito chose the moment to walk back into the room, looking annoyed. Judging from the way the photographer fumed, it wasn't hard to guess what put him in that mood.

And Toru was right. Asami walked in seconds later behind Akihito, with Kirishima and Suoh following closely behind.

"Why did you come?" the boy grumbled.

"Dinner," Asami replied as he took his seat in the middle. Toru and Ando immediately went seiza style, bowed before moving a seat away to allow Akihito to sit beside Asami. Both Kanda and Shinji took their seats at the far end of the long table. Kanda behaved rather awkwardly since he wasn't used to sharing a meal with Asami but Shinji had it worse. The poor guy hit his knee on the table, knocking off the sake cup.

"Relax," Akihito said, before turning to Asami. "You're making them uncomfortable."

Shinji shook his head quickly. "No – no, it's our fault for being careless."

"You can buy them dinner. I only have enough for Toru and Ando," Akihito somewhat ordered, causing both Shinji and Kanda to look at each other before shaking their heads. Akihito then added. "—and I'm not using the black card you gave me. It has to be from me."

The older man smirked. "Don't worry about that Akihito. You can buy them dinner as promised."

Akihito raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Asami's answer. The man was agreeing far too easily, making Akihito think that he was planning something. He thought for a moment, browsing through the ridiculously expensive menu as he did.

The waitress came in a moment later, bowing before them. Akihito waited for everyone to order before placing his own. The waitress tapped a few buttons on her tablet, bowed and murmured, "Understood, Takaba sama. We'll have your orders prepared immediately."

Weird. How did she know my name? Akihito thought as he sipped his tea. He made the reservations through phone and while it was customary for servers to remember the names of their guests, she couldn't have known his name, given that there were six other men in the room.

Perhaps she took a wild guess?

No, it couldn't be. Akihito looked at Asami, then at Kirishima and Toru. They revealed nothing.

But Akihito wasn't about to give up. He recalled clearly booking a table for three but was shown to a private room of ten when he came. The manager escorted him personally to the room and the waitress knew his name.

All these clues were telling Akihito something. He placed his cup on the table, turned to his lover.

"Asami – ," he said, unsure if he should voice out his opinion.

The older man looked at him, an eyebrow raised slightly. The rest of the guards went silent as well, waiting for Akihito to speak.

"You –," Akihito halted, thinking of a better way to ask, "—I don't want to sound stupid – but did you just happen to buy this restaurant and put it under my name?"

Asami smirked. "You noticed it quicker than I thought."

It took Akihito's entire willpower not to flip the table turtle. He gritted his teeth, turned to Asami's subordinates. "Sorry guys, can you give us 15 minutes? I need to speak with your boss," he glared at Asami "-privately."

Kirishima, Suoh, Ando and Toru bowed and motioned Kanda and Shinji to move out of the private room.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Akihito asked, the minute the door slid shut. "You can't be buying every damn restaurant I go to."

"Actually, it was a coincidence. The takeover was at the final stage when you called for reservations."

Akihito shot daggers at his lover. "That's not the point. Why did you have to buy properties and put them in my name?"

Asami sipped his tea. "Aside from the obvious reason that I can, it is also satisfying to watch you react."

Akihito straddled Asami, grabbed the older man by his collar.

"You –"

"—And for this," Asami cut his lover off, wrapped his hand around Akihito's waist and pulled him closer. Placing his other hand on the back of Akihito's neck, he held the boy firm and kissed him.

"Nhn –"

Akihito placed both hands on Asami's chest, trying to push him away but to no avail. Asami pulled him closer, effectively caging his hands between their chests and continued kissing him. He wanted to rebel but under Asami's masterful kisses, his mind went blank; his anger dissipated.

He began to respond to the older man and slowly he felt his hands loosened as he was being lowered on the tatami flooring. He wound his hand around Asami's neck, pulling him closer.

Xx Business as Usual xX

Shinji stood at the door to the private room, waiting. Like his seniors, he had been standing there for the past 15 minutes but no one showed any signs of reentering into the room.

Suoh and Ando chatted quietly, while Kirishima had his eyes glued on his tablets, his fingers busy tapping the device. Shinji moved to Toru, who stood still next to Kirishima.

"Uhm Toru-san, shouldn't we be going in?"

Toru shook his head. "Asami-sama is still busy."

"But we've passed the 15-minute mark."

"They're not done." Kirishima looked up from his tablet, smiled.

"Trust us, kid," Suoh interjected. "We'll know when it's time."

Shinji merely nodded his head. He looked up at Toru again. "Toru-san, has it always been that way?"

"I mean –." Shinji quickly added when Toru didn't answer. "—is that how Takaba-sama communicates with the big boss?"

It was Ando who grinned. "Yes, you'll get used to it." He gave a friendly smack on Shinji's shoulders. "When I first joined the team, I was as surprised as you are."

"Imagine how I felt when I heard Takaba-sama calling the boss a bastard." Kanda grinned when he said that.

Shinji's jaw dropped. "You're not joking? And the boss is not upset?"

"No. It's how Takaba-sama calls Asami-sama," Toru reaffirmed, and Shinji's jaw dropped another inch. He was obviously not used to seeing someone behaving so rudely in front of the big boss.

"I don't know who is scarier, Asami sama or Takaba sama," he muttered. "Thinking how I nearly couldn't keep up with Takaba sama today – damn, I don't want to think what would happen if the boss knew about it."

"That's why I told you to keep your eyes on the young boss," Kanda said. "Thank god he wasn't hurt in today's scuffle."

"What happened?" Kirishima asked.

Toru told the secretary and Suoh what happened earlier and by the time he was done, both seasoned guards looked at Shinji disapprovingly.

"Kanda is right. If the young boss is hurt, I don't want to imagine what will happen to you," Kirishima said.

Suoh folded his arms. "Shinji, report at the training center the day after tomorrow. You need to train."

Shinji's face fell at Suoh's orders. Obviously, he didn't enjoy the harsh training at Sion's infamous training center. "Understood," he murmured.

Kirishima's phone beeped twice at the moment, a signal for them to enter. The secretary switched his tablet off, signaled the waitress to serve the food before knocking the door to the private room.

Xx Business as Usual xX

The private dining room looked exactly the way it was when the guards left. There was no indication anything took place, but the elite guards were no fools either.

Akihito's face was beet red, and he kept looking down on the tatami mat, refusing to meet everyone's eyes.

And since the guards knew better than to speak, they merely sat at the seats and waited. Poor Shinji was so uncomfortable that he almost knocked over the glass in front of him. Kanda nudged his elbow at him, warning him to compose himself.

The door to the room opened once again with a few staff bringing in their dinner. Dinner was relatively quiet since Akihito was still pretty much embarrassed. The guards were used to silence and merely ate their dinner.

Kirishima continued to update his boss about his endless meetings and reports to look at for the next day. Really, only Kirishima can calmly order the boss to do his work.

Since the silence became unbearable, Akihito pushed away his embarrassment and spoke, "How was the food?"

He asked no one in particular, but Toru took it as his cue to answer. "It's delicious."

Ando nodded his head in agreement. "I've not tasted anything like this."

Akihito cheered up. "I knew this would suit your taste. I had a hard time thinking what to order and –,"

Ring Ring

"—who on earth would call me at this hour?" Akihito grumbled as he dug out his phone. His brows furrowed when he noticed that it was a number he didn't recognize.

"+852 –," he trailed off, puzzled. "—where is this from?"

"Hong Kong," Asami answered, "Give it to me."

Akihito placed the phone on Asami's palm. The crime lord's eyebrow raised slightly when he recognized the familiar number. He swiped to answer, placed it on a loudspeaker.

"Hello?" Akihito answered in uncertainty.

Asami expected the familiar voice of the Baishe leader. Instead of the usual slightly husky voice, a high-pitched younger male rang out.

"Akihito-san, is that you?"

For a moment, Akihito looked lost. He looked at Asami then back at his phone. "T—Tao?"

The relief on the boy's voice was immediate. "Yes!"

"What's wrong?"

Tao immediately sniffled. "It's – it's Fei-sama. He's missing!"

"WHAT?!"

"He – he went out for some business, but he didn't come back."

"May –Maybe he's just late," Akihito said reassuringly.

"No –," Tao hiccupped. "Fei sama wouldn't go anywhere without telling me or anyone in the headquarters. He hasn't contacted us for 2 days. His phone is turned off too."

"What about Yoh? Isn't he always with Fei Long?"

"I can't get hold of him," Tao cried again, "—Aki-san, do you think something bad happened to Fei sama?"

"Calm down, Tao," Akihito said but he too felt a surge of panic. He looked at Asami, who in turn nodded at his subordinates. Kirishima immediately tapped his phone.

"Sir, Both Yoh and Fei Long's phone are unreachable," the secretary said after a short moment.

"Aki-san, please help me look for Fei sama."

"How?"

"Please come to Hong Kong. I'm scared!"

"B—but-"

"—Please! I don't know who else I can ask. You're the only one I know!"

Akihito stared at Asami, lost. He wanted to help, wanted to acquiesce to Tao's wishes but he couldn't travel to Hong Kong without Asami. Even if he made it to Baishe, he wouldn't know what to do.

"We'll be there in the morning."

"Who is that?"

"Asami," Akihito answered quickly. "Asami will be there in the morning and he'll help you to look for Fei Long, okay?"

"But—but you'll come, right?"

Akihito didn't have the heart to reject the boy, especially when the boy is in such a distress state. He nodded his head and answered. "Un, I'll be there."

"Thank you, thank you so much! Please hurry!"

The phone line went dead. The photographer took his phone from Asami, pocketed it.

"Akihito, you don't have to go. I'll send some men to handle it."

The photographer shook his head. "I promised Tao that I'll be there. I'll be the biggest jerk ever if I broke my promise."

"We do not know the situation there. It might be a trap," Asami said, eyeing Akihito coolly. "With so many uncertainties lying ahead, do you think I'll take you to Hong Kong?"

Asami's voice had gone dangerously soft and it wasn't a tone Akihito liked to hear, because it was a clear indication that Asami was pissed.

"I can't say no to Tao. The boy's scared to his wits, that's why he called me—"

When neither Asami nor his guards made any attempts to refute, Akihito continued, "—Besides, I'm sure you'd bring your battalion of guards with you. I'm nowhere safer."

Akihito's voice was soft, almost pleading. He wanted to argue but he knew he'd never win with Asami. He had lived with the crime lord long enough to understand that stubbornness and forcefulness could never be a way when negotiating with Asami.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Asami finally said, "I'll take you with me –,"

Akihito's eyes lit up.

"—with conditions," Asami finished off and Akihito's face fell.

"What conditions? If it involves accompanying you to work, you can forget about it because I –"

"—I wasn't thinking about that but since you brought it up—," Asami's lips curved, "—I shall put that down as well."

Akihito slumped backwards, groaning.

Akihito, you're so stupid!

Xx Business as Usual xX

The next morning

"Sir, is it really okay to take Takaba sama to Hong Kong?" Kirishima asked.

From the tarmac, Asami gazed at his lover entering the plane with Toru following closely behind. Worry and anxiousness etched all over Akihito's face, so much so that he nearly knocked his head at the entrance of the plane. It was the same look he had the day he was bound for Cambodia last year; a mission that nearly caused his life.

He understood his secretary's concern. Even the usually quiet, abiding Toru disagreed with his decision to bring Akihito to Hong Kong. But Asami knew Akihito better.

"Akihito is stubborn. Even if I made him stay, he'd find a way to Hong Kong. It's better to keep him close."

Kirishima didn't look convinced but for the lack of a better argument, he remained quiet. "Sir, something about this trip isn't right. What if it's a trap?"

Now Asami flashed his trademark smirk. "You know what will happen to people who dare to cross paths with us, don't you?"

Kirishima pushed his spectacles up, smiled. "Yes, sir."

Suoh, who had been briefing the guards, dismissed them and ordered the small army of eight men to be on standby. He walked towards Asami, bowed. "Sir, preparations are complete. We'll take off when you're ready."

"Let's go."

Akihito was sitting on his designated seat in silence when Asami walked inside the plane. He looked slightly worried but the furrowed brows soon eased up slightly when he noticed Asami walked in.

Asami took his seat beside Akihito and ordered the flight attendant to take off as soon as the traffic control gave the green light. The take off was smooth, and by the time they were cruising on air, Asami unfastened the seatbelt, did the same for Akihito.

There was a slight confusion when Asami pulled the boy up, gesturing him towards the bedroom.

"Asami, you're not thinking about sex right now, aren't you?" Akihito asked, slightly horrified. He looked around, checking the guards' faces but none showed any reactions. Suoh and Kirishima were immersed in their discussions. Ando and Toru were checking something on their phones while the rest merely looked outside the window, spaced out.

Asami closed the door, faced Akihito.

"What are you thinking?"

"Wh- what? I don't get what you're talking about," the boy replied, genuinely confused.

"You were off since last night after dinner. And now, you're unusually quiet."

Akihito averted his eyes, a habit he unconsciously picked up when he was about to be untruthful. he rubbed his face - another habit to indicate that something was troubling him.

"I -,"

He nudged Akihito's chin up, forcing the boy to look at him. "Look at me, Akihito."

Akihito did as he was told but only for a fraction of a second before he averted his gaze again.

Asami was thinking of using a more forceful method when the boy finally cracked.

"I -I'm afraid," he whispered. "I don't know why it reminded me of the time I went to Cambodia. I know they're not the same; I know that I'm not alone this time; -," he looked up, fixed his attention on Asami. "- but why do I feel this way? I can't shake the feeling that we're entering a trap."

"Do you want to stay in Japan?"

Akihito's eyes widened. "No! I promised Tao I'd be there for him. I'm just uneasy, that's all."

"This trip isn't like Cambodia." He sat on the bed, pulled Akihito to his lap. His lover, who would usually protest, merely sat in silence.

"And- are you forgetting something?"

"What?"

Gripping the back of Akihito's neck firmly, he bore his gaze at Akihito. The boy shivered lightly, most likely at the intense gaze that Asami wanted him to see.

"I'm not magnanimous. I'll destroy anyone who dares to cross paths with me."

"What if it's a trap?"

"I'm not dumb enough to walk into one but there will be times when we're caught off guard," Asami said, thinking about the incident with Mikhail. "That's why you have to stay close to me when we are in Hong Kong."

"You think someone will use me to lure you out?"

That isn't something new, Asami thought. He had foiled similar kidnapping plans over the years. Of the few who managed to succeed, he made sure to destroy them completely, mercilessly so no one would dare to lay a finger on him.

"It's possible," he admitted.

Akihito looked more troubled at the passing second. Asami sighed, and pushed him to the bed.

"Get some sleep."

"I'm not -."

"- the circles under your eyes are darker than the shade of my coat. Sleep," he ordered.

Surprisingly, Akihito didn't even attempt to argue. He did however, furrowed his eyebrows for a bit before closing his eyes and was asleep before Asami walked out of the bedroom.

Xx Business as Usual xX

Akihito didn't expect that he'd sleep the entire journey there. He guessed he was really tired, considering he didn't even sleep a wink last night. He replayed the call from Tao a million times in his head, trying to think of all different scenarios that Tao would call.

He wondered if Fei Long was using Tao to get Asami to Hong Kong. Or did someone force Tao to call him for help, knowing that Asami would definitely go to Hong Kong? Maybe Fei Long was really missing and Tao needed ran through a dozen more scenarios in his head and before he could reach a conclusion, dawn came and it was time to leave.

They reached Hong Kong International Airport shortly after noon. Being one of the busiest airports in the world, it was packed with incoming and outgoing travelers. Akihito was momentarily surprised that they joined the mile long queue because from experience, Asami never had to wait at airports - ever.

"I thought you never had to queue," Akihito commented.

"I want to keep our arrival here as discreet as possible."

Akihito moved closer to Asami, tiptoed so he could whisper to the older man's ears. "What about your guns? We can't pass through security with firearms in our briefcase."

"I didn't bring any."

Akihito's jaw dropped. He wanted to ask more but the lines were moving quickly and since the immigration isn't a place to discuss firearms, he zipped his mouth until they were out of the terminal, into a black luxurious sedan.

"You said you didn't bring any guns. What if,-"

Asami smirked.. "I think this is the first time that you're upset that I didn't carry a weapon."

"It's not funny, Asami. We are in the enemy's lair so to speak. Of course I'll be worried."

Asami pulled the hand rest in between them, opened it. Then he pulled the board up, revealing another compartment. There, he pulled two handguns out. He slid his hands under the middle seat, pulled out another compartment hidden under the carpeting. There was another smaller gun.

At the passenger seat, Kirishima did the same with the hand rest where two guns were held. He tapped the touch screen, keyed in a code. The on board monitor hummed slightly before moving forward, revealing a secret compartment. There lay another two guns.

"You didn't think we'd be coming here empty handed, did you?" Asami now replied, handing Akihito the gun he pulled out under the seat.

"Wh- what just happened? Am I in a James Bond car or something?" He looked at the gun. "And why are you giving it to me?"

"Takaba sama, Asami sama's cars are all specially made for purposes like this. We do not carry guns from Japan to avoid detections," Kirishima answered as he secured his guns in his shoulder harness. He passed another shoulder harness to Asami.

"Take the gun," Asami said as he helped the boy to wear his harness. "And use it if you need to."

The usual Akihito would have protested but he figured it was best listening to his lover when they were in Hong Kong. Besides, carrying it doesn't mean he has to use it.

"Do all the cars have compartments like this?" Akihito asked.

"Yes, even the ones back in Japan" Asami fastened the gun in Akihito's shoulder harness before doing the same for his own. He donned his own jacket, prompting Akihito to do the same.

"Asami sama, we're reaching Fei Long's residence in 20 minutes," Kirishima announced abruptly.

The anxiety and fear came back. Akihito moved closer to Asami, gripping his arm.

"Stay close to me."

Akihito could only nod. He stared outside the tinted windows, noticed that they were now off the expressways and leading to the narrower, two way traffic roads. The densely populated flats and roads all disappeared behind and Akihito could actually see the bay from a distance. He knew they were getting nearer to Fei Long's private residence in Repulse Bay.

Kirishima's phone rang, breaking Akihito's thoughts. The boy now focussed at the bespectacled man as he answered the call. He took it in loudspeaker mode.

"Kirshima san, we're being followed," Toru's voice rang loud and clear.

Akihito's reactions were automatic. He tried to turn around to check, only to have Asami stop him.

"How many?" Kirishima asked.

"Three white sedans. All behind the Kanda's."

Akihito knew that there were a total of four cars including theirs and the car Kanda was driving with Makoto was the last in line. Toru, Ando and two other guards were behind theirs while Shiba led the front. In short, the assailant would have to pass two cars before reaching Asami.

"Armed?" Akihito heard Kirishma ask again.

"Affirmative."

Asami removed his gun from the holster, released the safety catch. "Toru, take them down if you can."

"Yes, sir," the lanky guard replied and the line went dead.

Asami released Akihito, glanced backwards before sitting calmly again. His lips curved, one that Akihito recognized when Asami was in a mood for games.

"They sure didn't waste any time."

Akihito wanted to ask what Asami meant but experience taught him to be silent because his constant pestering and unhelpful questions would only distract everyone's concentration and plans.

The first gunshot had him jump from his seat. He looked behind, saw from a distance that two arms stuck out from Kanda's sedan, engaging in a battle. He couldn't see past Kanda's car but occasionally, the assailant's white sedan would try to overtake Kanda. They had to move behind Kanda again when there were oncoming cars.

"Akihito."

He looked at Asami, and his lover all but pushed him down until he was lying sideways, with his head resting on Asami's lap.

"Don't move. We're moving into wider roads soon. They will try to overtake Kanda and Toru's car to reach us."

That meant it'd be their turn to engage in the shootout. "Asami -,"

"- the car is bullet-proof. So are the windows but I'm not taking any chances," Asami interrupted him.

Soon, Akihito heard the engines roar from behind. Asami was right, the assailants were gaining speed on them. He heard gun-shots, presumably from Toru's car.

"Nice shot, Toru!" Kirishima commented.

"What happened?" Akihito managed to ask.

"Toru shot two men in the first car," Kirishima explained like a proud mentor.

Another loud bang and this time, Suoh whistled. "One down, two to go."

Akihito couldn't help himself. He sat up, looked backwards. A white sedan crashed to the left divider and stopped. The car behind somehow lost control and crashed onto the white sedan. They had somehow gained momentum but the final car was definitely persistent.

Somehow knowing that they wouldn't be able to get past Toru, they abandoned the idea of winding their windows down for another shoot out. Instead, the driver accelerated until it reached Asami's car and rolled the windows down.

Asami yanked Akihito down, burying the boy's head near his crotch. "Kirishima!"

The secretary pressed a button, winding down half the windows. The opponents fired first but with the aim went to the bullet-proof windows instead.

"They plan to take us down with petty skills like this?" Asami smirked, poked his gun out of the windows and fired. The shot went to the perp's hand.

"Suoh, go closer!" Asami ordered.

"Yes sir," Suoh said in a tone that Akihito swore that the guard was enjoying himself.

The car swerved closer to the assailant's car, until they were inches from each other. Asami fired another shot and hit another man. That makes three down.

The last assailant grabbed his gun, aiming at Asami. By now, Asami had wound down the windows completely, giving the assailant a clear look at Asami. He widened his eyes, cursed and finally slowed down his vehicle, ending the chase.

"What just happened?" Suoh asked, confused.

Asami checked the rear view mirror and noticed that the car reversed, did a three point turn and left. Kirishima's phone rang at the same moment.

"Sir, should we go after them?" Toru asked.

"No," Asami replied. "Let them go. We'll talk when we reach Fei Long's residence."

Kirishima ended the call, glanced backwards. "Sir, this is weird. Why did they stop?"

Asami didn't answer Kirishima's question despite having a vague theory on his own. He helped Akihito sit up and checked for injuries.

"Are you all right?"

Akihito nodded.

"Good; call Tao. Tell them to open the gates and let us through."

Akihito nodded, fished out his phone from his jeans pocket. He spoke to Tao, giving him a brief explanation of what happened just now and told him to have Fei Long's men clear the securities and have the gates open.

The large white gates of Fei Long's residence were ready for Asami and his men. They drove straight into the estate, parked outside the driveway.

The huge oak doors flung open and a small figure ran out, flung his arms at Akihito.

"Aki-san, you came!" Tao cried.

A group of men in black shirts ran out with guns in their hands. They looked confused, mostly because their young boss had just ordered them to open their gates to a rival. And if that wasn't enough, Tao behaved as though Akihito was his long long brother.

"Guys, drop the gun," Tao ordered when he finally pulled away from Akihito. "I asked them to come."

"But young master, the boss is missing! I'm not sure if allowing them in here would be a good idea."

Tao may be only reaching Akihito's shoulders, but the young man was Fei Long's protege through and through. He glared at one of his men. "They're here to help us find Fei sama. Back off!"

The men still looked uncertain so Kirishima spoke. "If you don't want us to help you in finding your boss, we'll leave."

The men looked at each other and finally nodded their heads. Parting their ways, they allowed Asami to enter the house.

Xx Business as Usual xX

Asami had been to Fei Long's residence a few times but a few things had changed since his last visit. The black flooring had been replaced with earthly colored marbles. The living room, a large area that easily fit a party of fifteen was aesthetically pleasing. A huge phoenix, painted in different shades of brown, graced the center wall. In front of the painting, there was a three seater couch with a set of four chairs made of oak, all in the color of burnt umber.

His men and Fei Long's converged on the living area and for a moment, no one knew what to do. They looked at one another confused, and in silence.

"Aki-san, what happened just now? You said someone was chasing after you."

Akihito brought the boy to the couch, sat him down. "We don't know who is after us, but it's all right now." Akihito placed both hands on Tao's shoulder. "More importantly, what happened to Fei Loong?"

Hearing the Baishe's leader's name had Tao burst into tears. He was crying so hard that his subordinate had to step in.

"Fei sama went for a meet-up with Yang. He's the leader of the Tong group. He was supposed to return last evening with Yoh. We made all efforts to call him but his phone was turned off."

"Have you sent your men to check his whereabouts?" Asami asked.

The man donning a white shirt with khaki pants nodded. "We tried all our safehouses. No luck there."

Another man moved closer to Tao, placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing it gently. He had a scar that ran through his brows to the cheekbone. His eyes were small, slightly menacing but in front of the boy, they were soft. Asami overheard Tao calling him Tek.

"Just before the young master called Takaba san last night, there were rumors that Fei Long had died." Tek balled his hands into fists. "But there's no proof and until we see Fei sama's body, we will never accept that!"

Tao turned to Akihito, gripping his hands. "Aki-san, please help me."

The photographer pat Tao's hands reassuringly, stood up. "Asami," his voice was no louder than a whisper. "Can you help?"

Asami stared at his lover's hopeful eyes before taking a quick glance at his secretary.

"Who is the next in command here?" Kirishima asked.

"Usually Yoh but -," Tek trailed off, looking at Tao again.

"If there isn't anyone to call the shots here, Asami sama will," Kirishima said and immediately the entire living room erupted with protests from Fei Loong's men.

Tao stood up, climbed on top of the couch and shouted, "Silence!" His wet eyes narrowed at his men in front of him. "I call them for help. They will be in charge."

"We're not letting some Japanese calling shots here!" A few men protested simultaneously.

Asami took out his cigarette, lit a stick. "It's up to you. Fei Loong doesn't mean anything to me other than a business partner but to you-," he paused, took his time to take a drag of the cigarette, exhaled the smoke before continuing "- he's irreplaceable. Without him, Baishe will fall."

The Chinese looked at each other, then at Tek. Finally they nodded their heads. "We- we'll follow your terms, Asami san."

Asami crushed his cigarette. "Then, let's begin."

Xx Business as Usual xX

In the many years he lived with Asami, not once Akihito had seen how Asami worked. Sure, he saw a few when he was actively pursuing Asami years ago but those were merely dealings. But this –this was on another level.

The dining table was surrounded by eight men, with Asami sitting right at the center, drinking whisky. Occasionally, he twirled his fingers along the rim of the glass, deep in his thoughts. Then he'd entwined his fingers together as he gave out his insights and orders to his men. Kirishima and Toru had shed their jackets, pulled up the sleeves of their white shirts and started working their magic in front of the computer. Akihito knew they could hack but watching them in action both mesmerized and awed him. Their fingers were literally dancing across the keyboards. Really, Akihito had never seen anyone typed that fast before. Ando was on another computer and would assist whenever Toru or Kirishima needed extra information.

Suoh and Shiba had the map of Hong Kong sprawled on the coffee table in the living room. Tek sat with the duo, explaining the geography of Hong Kong and the places they have searched.

Occasionally, Kirishima and Toru would announce the results of their searches to Asami. His lover would then ponder, and order new searches to narrow down the possibilities.

Watching them work, it was fascinating to say the least. Akihito looked at Tao, who fell asleep on the couch. Slowly, without waking him up, he stood up and moved to the dining table.

"Sir, both Yoh and Fei Loong's phones are switched off. We can't run GPS," Kirishima said.

"Track his last calls before the GPS went off," Asami said.

"Near Kowloon city," Kirishima answered a minute later.

"Toru, cross check with the cell towers, then set up a perimeter."

"On that," the lanky guard replied and his fingers went back to the keyboard, typing furiously.

"Can you guys actually check the cell towers?" Akihito asked, grabbing a stool and sitting next to Asami.

Asami sipped his whisky. "If you're asking if we can find out using the normal way, no we can't. Toru is hacking into the system to check."

"Cell tower confirmed. I've set up a one km radius around the cell tower. Ando, I'm sending the data to you. Print it out and pass it to Suoh."

"Kirishima," Asami looked at his secretary, "hack into the street surveillance cameras on the streets around the perimeter. Back it up to an hour before Fei Long's cell phone got turned off. See if there are any traces of him and Yoh. Toru, assist Kirishima."

"Yes, sir."

"You guys should really work for the police. With your skills and intelligence, you'll solve a lot of cases," Akihito commented.

Asami narrowed his eyes. "Are you insulting me?"

Kirishima actually smiled. Without tearing his eyes from the screen, he said, "Takaba sama, please don't joke about this. We'll kill ourselves before becoming one of them."

"I'm just saying it," Akihito replied, trying to pacify his lover. "To think about it, the police don't really fit you either. You look more badass running the underworld."

The crime lord smirked. "Now, you're complimenting me."

They worked in silence for another 20 minutes before Toru announced, "Asami-sama, found it." He stood up, went round the table and placed the computer in front of Asami.

"This is from Camera 5201. You'll notice two people; one assisting the other, walking to the back alley. Camera model is slightly old and pixelated if I try to enlarge the image but judging from the height and the stature, it should be them."

Tek, who had been standing next to Tao, moved next to Asami. He was genuinely impressed. "You guys are something else."

"Where does this lead to?" Asami asked.

Tek bent a little, squinted his eyes, and looked hard. "I know this place. That's where the monster building is."

"Monster building?" Akihito asked.

Straightening his body, Tek folded his arms. "It's a densely populated place in Quarry Bay. You'll get lost if you're not familiar."

Kirishima tapped a few buttons on the keyboard, "The good news is we narrowed down the location. The bad news is the building is home to 10,000 people in 2243 different apartments. It'll be difficult to locate them."

"Ando, check the surrounding cameras to see if they exited the place. Put the time frame at 24 hours." Asami stood up, faced Tek. "Meanwhile, think of a place where Fei Long will hide in the building."

Tek nodded his head and went to gather his men. As they spoke furiously in Cantonese, Tao suddenly stood up. Apparently, no one noticed that he woke up.

"I think I know."

Tao walked to Akihito, tugged at his arm. "Fei sama once told me that he bought an apartment there."

Tek went to Tao, placed both palms on his narrow shoulders. "Did he say which unit?"

As Tao shook his head, Tek cursed. "How are we supposed to know which one? There are more than 2000 units there!"

"That's easy," Kirishima smiled. Pushing his glasses up, he intertwined his fingers, stretching them.. "Toru, are you up for a challenge?"

Toru nodded.

Between Toru's nimble fingers and Kirishima's god-like hacking skills, they were able to locate the unit Fei Loong was suspected to be in.

"How sure are you?" Tek asked, slightly skeptical.

Akihito stood up, facing Tek. "It's a little difficult to understand for non-geeks like us. Till now, I don't even know how they do it." He took the paper where Toru had scribbled the address on and passed it to the Chinese. "Just trust them."

Tek looked at Tao for confirmation. Still clinging to Akihito, he returned Tek's gaze and nodded. "I'm going over to bring the boss back."

Xx Business as Usual xX

Monster Building was originally a housing estate built in the 1960s before it was sold and split to five residential blocks. They were densely populated, and as many as 22,000 people lived in the buildings. With amenities such as shops and clinics out front, residents did not even have to leave the neighborhood.

And that was the main reason why Liu Fei Loong bought a unit in one of the mansions. Even if his enemies could guess where he was, there was no way they could knock door-to-door looking for him. Most apartments were subdivided and rented out, and it wasn't surprising to find more than ten people crammed up in one small apartment. That made knocking door-to-door even more difficult.

The apartment Fei Long was in was located on the 9th floor. The highest floor was on the 18th, but Fei Loong preferred to stay in the middle where he'd have the option to either go up or down if his enemy approached.

The ramshackled apartment had nothing but an old three seater couch and a table. They weren't fancy, just something he had his subordinates pick up at a second hand store. Fei Loong purposely kept it that way, knowing that a clean, well-maintained apartment would attract attention.

"Fei sama, we've been here for two days. The wounds on your hands are getting worse," said Yoh worriedly as he dressed Fei Loong's infected wounds.

Fei Loong sat up from the uncomfortable couch, glanced at his arm. By luck, one of the assassins managed to graze him and while it wasn't his first time taking a hit; it was certainly his first to have a wound infected this badly.

"No, we have to lay low for another few days. We still have food here right?" He said, looking at their rations around the corner.

"We do but-," Yoh looked at Fei Loong's arm worriedly. "This wound, it doesn't seem ordinary. You have to get it checked."

Fei Loong knew where Yoh was heading. Damn it, he felt that too. He felt weak, slightly nauseous and started to have chills despite sweating profusely.

"Sir, let me call the men," Yoh said, whipped out his phone.

Fei Loong's good arm shot out, grabbed Yoh's hand. "No, they'll be monitoring the house. I don't want Tao to get involved."

Yoh opened his mouth to argue but stopped when there was a knock on the door. They exchanged glances and nodded.

Fei Loong pushed his weakened body up, took his gun in his good hand. He hobbled to the left of the door while Yoh went to the right.

The nausea was back again and he willed for it to go away. He couldn't fall here. He had to survive. For Baishe, for Tao. He tried to recall how everything had come to this.

No, now isn't the time to think about it.

The knock on the door became more urgent this time. Beside him, You bit his lips. Most likely, he too, had realized that they were probably trapped with nowhere to go.

"Fei sama, I'll block them as much as I can. You run away."

Fei Loong wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, nodded. He doubted if he could, because his visions were getting blurred every passing second.

The door knob turned and to his surprise, it went unlocked. The bastards actually lock picked?

As the door creaked open, both Fei Loong and Yoh aimed their guns at the door, intending to take down whoever came through it.

"Boss!"

Fei Loong froze. Was he hallucinating? Did he hear Tek calling him? He shut his eyes, opened again, and saw four men inside the room. He recognized two as his men while the other two -

"Liu Fei Loong, Asami sama ordered us to come and get you."

"Suoh? What are you doing here?" Yoh dropped his gun, stunned.

"Talk later. Let's get out of here," Toru said, keeping his gun.

Fei Loong wasn't imagining it. Asami's two best men were here, in Hong Kong, standing right in front of him. He had a hundred questions for the Japanese but somehow he couldn't get those words out. Dropping his gun to the ground, he clamped his hand on his mouth and vomited.

"Fei sama!"

But Fei Loong couldn't reply. The voices calling his name were distant now, his visions began to blur and finally he fell, succumbing to darkness.

Yoh caught Fei Loong just before he fell on the ground. "He's injured. The bullet merely grazed him but it got infected badly."

Toru inspected the wounds. He removed the bandages, checked on it. "This is not good. The bullet is most likely poisoned."

"What!?"

The lanky guard looked at Yoh. "Get him back to the house. He needs medical attention."

Xx Business as Usual xX

Asami sat on the seat, patiently waiting for the team to come back. If his calculations were correct, Suoh and Toru would be bringing Fei Loong back any moment now.

Kirishima found that out of the 2000 units there, there were 10 names close enough to Fei Loong's alias. Asami ordered Kirishima and Toru to focus on those who have finished off their repayment loans to the bank and eliminate the rest.

For a person as smart as Fei Loong, there was no way that he'd draw so much attention to himself by purchasing the apartment in cash. That'll prompt authorities checking on his finances that would lead to his illegal activities. He'd want to lay low and keep a clean record with the banks.

That narrowed down to 2 units. Between the two, Kirishima and Toru guessed that it was probably the unit on the 9th floor. The other, a unit located on the 2nd floor, seemed a little too open and vulnerable.

Asami shared the same conclusion.

There was no way it could be wrong, he thought. His gaze panned to Akihito. The boy had been sitting at the same spot since their arrival. Initially, he sat with Tao but when the boy fell asleep, Akihito moved to a single seater couch to make room for Tao.

Akihito was watching Fei Loong's men pacing the room uncomfortably. Often,his eyes darted to the few men standing by the door, where they kept their hands inside the jackets, presumably at their guns.

Fei Loong's men were understandably agitated about the entire situation. Their leader's whereabouts remained unknown; their base was invaded by Asami who, at the moment, was calling the shots on the entire rescue operation.

"Akihito."

The boy startled, tore his gaze from Fei Loong's men. "Huh?"

"Come here."

Akihito, who hated to be commanded, willingly stood up. "Asami, "Is everything going to be alright?"

"If you mean the rescue; it should be."

Akihito looked like he had a hundred other concerns about the operation but he held his tongue.

"Sit down."

Again, Akihito obeyed without any fuss. It was evident how troubled the boy was. Asami wrapped his arm around Akihito's shoulder, then casually moved downwards, feeling the gun secured in Akihito's shoulder harness.

"A- sami."

He leaned closer to Akihito, said softly, "Use it if you have to."

"But what if I killed someone? I don't want to end up in prison."

Asami actually smirked, obviously amused by Akihito's thoughts.

"You can shoot the bastard on his leg. And don't worry, even if you kill anyone, you won't go to prison."

Again, Akihito looked like he wanted to probe further. Instead he merely nodded his head. They sat in total silence for another minute before a loud screeching sound at the front door. The front door threw wide open moments later with Yoh carrying an unconscious Fei Loong inside, bridal style.

"Boss!"

The loud voices finally startled Tao. The boy scrambled awake and froze on the spot, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Fei sama," he muttered weakly at first, before rushing up to his side, "Fei sama!"

"Asami sama, it is as we predicted. He was in the building," Suoh reported. "Kirishima and Toru's predictions were spot on."

Asami nodded, followed Yoh to Fei Loong's bedroom and watched the former spy lay the Chinese on the bed.

Fei Loong's bedroom had enough space to house at least 10 men inside. A single king size bed stood in the middle with two intricately carved wooden chairs at the sitting area, near the 4 large panel windows. The wooden rectangular table in front of the chairs was decorated with an exquisite set of Chinese tea cups.

"Is he hit?" Asami asked.

Yoh stood up, proceeded to draw the curtains close. " He was only grazed but the wounds were badly infected. Toru said that the bullets are most likely poisoned."

Tek brought in a pair of scissors and cut the stained white shirt open, ripping it away from Fei Loong.

Asami leaned closer, examined the wound. The wounds are now open with pus leaking out. The skin around the wounds were in dark shades of purple. The Chinese was sweating profusely, his lips turning white.

"Toru."

As if Toru already knew what Asami would ask, he stepped forward, "Sir, this type of method is a common practice among terrorists. When I was sent to peacekeeping duties in the Middle East, they laced their bullets with poison for a deadlier effect. Even if the bullet doesn't kill you, the poison will."

"The antidote?" Yoh asked urgently. "Will he die?"

Toru answered the latter question first. "Fortunately, the bullet merely grazed him. It won't kill him that quickly but so many hours have passed since he was hit. I'm afraid time is running out. This type of poison can be treated but it requires a special antidote."

"Where can I get them? I'll send the men and -,"

"- it's not available. If my memory serves me right, the middle easterns, or the Russians will have it. Because they are always at war, they develop all sorts of poisons and antidotes."

Tao, who had been listening to the entire conversation, rushed to Asami. He fell to his knees, "Asami san, please help Fei sama, please!"

Akihito helped the boy up, comforted him by patting his head gently.

"But where are we supposed to get it? We can't be flying to the middle east now to get it! We're running out of time!" Tek said angrily as he watched Fei Loong.

"Russians, huh?" Asami repeated, his lips curved slightly before gazing at Yoh. "I need Fei Loong's phone."

"Why do you need it?" Yoh asked but quickly fished the phone out of Fei Loong's pocket and passed it to Asami.

Asami ignored the question, unlocked the phone using Fei Loong's fingerprint, scanning through it. "Not this one. Suoh, check Fei Loong's other pocket."

The bulky guard patted down the Chinese's dress pants and pulled out a smaller phone. He handed it to Asami. The phone was an older model, probably developed in the early 2000s and could only perform basic functions of calls and messaging.

Since it was old, there wasn't any password lock. Asami pressed the last call button, and there was only a single foreign number.

These two- how laughable. He dialed and waited.

"Asami sama," Yoh began, puzzled.

It rang only once before the other party picked up.

"Miss me?" the voice purred.

"No," Asami said bluntly.

"Asami, why do you have Fei Loong's phone?" the sweet voice turned cold and hard.

"I have no time for small talks, Mikhail Arbatov."

"What happened to him?"

"He was poisoned and needs a specific antidote."

"Give me the name of the poison," Mikhail said without further questions.

Asami told him. "He has been without medication for close to 48 hours now. How soon can you get to Hong Kong?"

"I'm already en-route to Hong Kong. Three hours and I'll be there."

"The antidote?"

"I kept some in my plane, just in case."

"Keep an eye when you're in the car. We were attacked when we came," Asami warned.

Mikhail's voice was icy cool. "I'll blast those bastards before they can pull their guns. Asami, we'll talk when I arrive," he said and ended the call.

Asami passed the phone to Yoh. "Tell your men to expect Mikhail in about 3 hours."

"Sir," Yoh began, looking slightly puzzled. "How did you know that Fei sama has been keeping in contact with Mikhail?"

"After the last kidnapping incident, it's not hard to guess."

Xx Business as Usual xX

Mikhail Arbatov stormed into Fei Loong's residence with a gun in his hand, pissed. He had about five men behind him, all armed. He was dressed down in black slacks and a collar T-shirt of the same color. His hair was slightly tousled, and he looked like he was about to murder someone.

Or he just did.

"Where is he?" He strode to Asami, gripping his gun.

Asami raised his eyebrow. "Problem on the way here?"

"A car tailed us about 7 miles before we reached. It stopped after we took a detour." Mikail zeroed his glare at Asami. "I'm not afraid of those bastards. But I don't have time to play with them. Not yet. Where is he?" He repeated the question.

Asami looked at the direction of Fei Loong's bedroom. "Yoh, lead the way."

Mikail took the briefcase from his subordinate, followed Yoh upstairs.

"Fuck," Mikail muttered the moment he saw the Chinese on the bed. He sat on the bed, pulled the covers away.

He removed the bandaged, cursed. Yellow pus oozed from the severely inflamed wound, the skin surrounding it had turned dark purple, almost necrotic. Fei Loong was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. A few times, he gagged and tried to throw up but nothing came out.

"Are you sure about the poison?" He asked no one in particular.

"Positive," Toru replied.

The Russian mafia opened the briefcase. At least 20 different vials arranged neatly in their compartments. He selected one, and turned to grab a sterilized needle from his subordinate.

"About 0.5ml administered every six to eight hours for two days," Mikhail said, drawing out the antidote.

He did it quickly, professionally. This obviously wasn't his first time administering any drug into a person.

"It should work within a couple of minutes," Mikhail said.

They waited for about five minutes before Fei loong finally showed signs of improvement. His breathing no longer labored and he stopped sweating.

Mikhail stood up, turned to Yoh. "Have his personal physician come and fix him with a saline drip. He's dehydrated."

Yoh carried out his duty without questions.

The Russian faced Asami. His eyebrows narrowed. "It'll take a while before he wakes up. In the meantime, why don't you fill me?"

"Let's take this downstairs," Asami replied.

Xx Business as Usual xX

The first person that Fei Loong saw when he opened his eyes was Tao sleeping next to him. The boy had curled up next to him in his king size bed, his hand clasped tightly on his arm. Slowly, he caressed the boy's hair, stroking his smooth cheeks.

Tao's eyes shot open.

"Fei Sama,you're awake! Are you okay?"

Fei Loong nodded. "Where is everyone?"

Tao placed his palm on Fei Loong's head, and another on his own. Satisfied that their temperatures were almost identical, Tao smiled. "If you meant Yoh and the rest, they are downstairs with Asami san."

So it wasn't a dream. Asami really did come and got him out.

"Why is Asami here?" He asked, slightly confused.

Tao looked away, slightly guilty. "I called Aki san." He fiddled with his fingers before continuing, "I was so worried about you. You were missing, Yoh was missing, they couldn't find you and I got panicked. I know I wasn't supposed to -,"

"- Tao," Fei Loong interrupted the boy. "It's fine. Thank you."

Tao beamed at the compliments. "Toru san and Kirishima san were awesome! You should have seen them working on the computer. I don't understand much but they found out where you were. Then Asami san ordered Tek to go get you."

Fei Loong had no doubts about the capabilities of Asami's men. But to be able to locate him so quickly meant that his security was still very much lacking.

"Tao, can you call Asami for me? I have questions for him."

The boy nodded happily. "I'll tell the kitchen to prepare something for you to eat, okay?" He bounced off the bed, flung the door open.

Fei Long heard his little steps rushing down the stairs before announcing rather loudly that he had awakened. The Chinese smiled at Tao's antics. He sat up, taking care not to rip the needle on the back of his hand and propped a pillow behind to support his back.

He checked his wounds. They were already neatly bandaged and the excruciating discomfort he had when he was in the safe house was gone.

How long was he out? Did Dr Chan come and fixed him?

"Finally awake?"

Fei Loong gazed at the door, and saw Asami walking inside, followed by his ever dependable secretary and Suoh. Yoh and Tek followed closely behind.

Tek looked like he wanted to cry. "Boss!" He lunged towards Fei Loong but quickly halted when the head of Baishe gave him a warning glare.

He turned his gaze to Asami. "I heard from Tao that he contacted Akihito. How did you find me?"

Asami folded his arms, smirked. "Think of a better alias when purchasing your properties next time."

"You know what I'm asking," Fei Loong answered impatiently.

Kirishima stepped forward. "On Asami sama's orders, we tracked your GPS, hacked into the CCTV footage on the places you were last seen and deduced you were in the Monster Building vicinity. Little Tao told us that you have a property there so we checked the sales and purchase records."

Awed, Fei Loong widened his eyes a little. "You did all that in a few hours?"

Asami merely smirked. Fei Loong turned to Yoh."I remembered feeling terrible after the bullet grazed me. Was the bullet laced with poison?"

Yoh went to the foot of the bed, clasping his hands behind him. "Sir, you were lucky that the bullet merely grazed you. We nearly lost you when we brought you back here."

"Where did you get the antidote? Did you go to Dr Chen?"

Yoh looked somewhat ashamed. "I'm sorry sir. I don't know the name of the poison. It was Toru who identified it. And Asami sama called -,"

"-Me," came the reply.

Since there were so many people crowding in his room, Fei Loong had to move his head slightly to see. His eyes widened but they quickly narrowed into slits.

"Mikhail, what the hell are you doing here?"

Mikhail walked him, sliding his hands in his pockets. "Now I'm hurt. I did save you, you know."

"Cut the crap, Mikhail," Fei Loong snapped, looking at his subordinates for further explanation. When no one offered any, he sighed. "He wasn't lying, was he?"

The Russian huffed. "Did you think I came here to meet up with Asami? If it wasn't for you, we'd have a gun in our hands now, ready to blow our heads apart anytime soon."

"You have a point," Fei Loong admitted, sighed. "My brain is a bit messed up."

"Unsurprisingly," Asami said, taking a seat at one of the wooden chairs at the sitting area. Kirishima and Suoh moved behind Asami, their arms folded behind. "You were near death and if Mikhail hadn't arrived on time, you'd be in the coffin by now."

Mikhail went to the edge of the bed, crossed his arms. "It's unlike you to be so careless. What happened?"

The Chinese looked away, his ego slightly crushed. "I trusted the bastards too easily."

"Which bastard?" Mikhail's voice went deep.

Fei Loong curled his fingers into fist. "They never take us as equal partners because we're from Hong Kong."

"Who?" Mikhail grew impatient every second.

"Tian Yue, Luo Shen and Charles Leong."

"The trinity of triad," Asami said. "Tien Yue and Luo Shen are from China and Charles is based in Hong Kong. They were initially a small group but expanded their territory lately. Tien Yue specializes in firearms, Luo Shen took over the cocaine business. Charles only does the transportation work and is also the weakest of the trio."

Mikhail looked slightly lost. "How are they connected to you?"

"Tien Yue and Luo Shen initially asked me to join them. I refused. So they turned to Charles."

Asami eyed Fei Loong. "They wanted you to oversee the route when they shipped their goods past the Hong Kong harbor."

"I'm not going to be their puppet," Fei Loong gritted his teeth. "I do things my way. Partnership was never on their mind in the first place. They'll use me for a year or so and when they find a better way to move the goods past the harbor, they'll throw me under the bus. That's their modus operandi."

"I don't understand. Why would they betray you if you can work alongside them?" Mikhail asked.

It was Asami who answered. "The Chinese are shrewd. Why pay Fei Loong a substantial amount of money every month if they can use their own people?"

"That means Charles will eventually become their scapegoat."

"Charles is blinded by the promise to become the next kingpin of Hong Kong" Fei Loong eyed Mikhail. "It isn't a bad offer actually- having unlimited funding to take me down and getting a huge reward if he succeeded; he thought it was a deal of a lifetime."

"Except his brains were non-existent," Asami said. "Tien Yue and Luo Shen will get rid of him the minute they get what they want."

Mikhail walked to the window, stared outside for a while, as if he was trying to absorb all the information in. It took him a full minute before turning back to Fei Loong. "If you have known all these, how did you fall into their trap?"

Fei Loong curled his hands into fists. "The spy I sent to Charles double crossed me. He wanted to meet me to relay a crucial piece of information. We met several times so I went unsuspectingly. The minute I got out of the car, we were attacked."

There was a moment of silence before Asami spoke, "So, what do you plan to do now?"

"Initially, I planned to ignore them but now that they've overstepped their boundaries, I'll -,"

Boom!

A loud sound of what Asami perceived as a mini bomb exploded just outside of Fei Loong's house before the thunderous sound of gunshots firing towards the direction.

In a flash, Asami whipped out his gun, so did Mikhael and the rest of their subordinates. He heard Fei Loong's men shouting from outside as they probably scrambled for cover.

Asami heard the counter attack, heard his own men barking out instructions and firing back at the intruders.

"Yoh, you stay here with Fei Loong. Mikhael, we'll go downstairs."

Mikhael gritted his teeth, nodded. "I'll teach those bastards just who they are messing with."

Kirishima exited the room first, along with Suoh. Asami moved behind quickly, followed by Mikhael and the rest. They moved downstairs quickly, in a single file.

TAKABA SAMA!

The shout had Asami running down the stairs.

Xx Business as Usual xX

30 minutes earlier

Akihito walked out of the house to the gardens the minute Tao burst out of Fei Loong's room, announcing that he had awoken. Asami went upstairs, followed by Kirishima, Suoh, Mikhail and his men.

He didn't feel the need to go inside with them, considering he was still uneasy around Mikhail. Memories of him and Toru in that cold, meat room still haunted him. The carcasses of animals hung along the moving chain, the freezing cold temperature – everything was a nightmare. Not to mention Toru and Ando got hurt in the process of protecting him.

All that was because Mikhail wanted Fei Loong's attention. Now that he thought about it, his blood actually boiled. The bastard actually used and hurt Toru and Ando just because he wanted Fei Loong.

Sick bastard.

So no, he wasn't staying in the same room as Mikhail. Besides, the three crime lords probably have their multi-million dollar deal to discuss.

"Takaba sama, are you all right?"

Akihito glanced left at Toru before focussing his attention at the bonsai garden Fei Loong had meticulously kept in his backyard. The quaint little trees were displayed artistically at eye-level, allowing guests to gaze at the trees while strolling along the quaint garden. Though concrete walls surrounded the backyard, Akihito didn't feel suffocated because facing the backyard was a small hill.

Fei Loong had no other neighbors; at least not within the next mile. It was secluded, private and also dangerous.

Which was probably why Fei Loong had men patrolling the house twenty-four-seven.

Ando jogged up from behind, standing on Akihito's right.

"Yeah, I just don't like that guy."

As expected of Toru, he had no problems identifying whom Akihito was referring to. He remained quiet, waiting for Akihito to continue.

"You guys can go in if you want. Aren't you curious about Fei Loong's condition?"

Both guards remained rooted beside Akihito. It was Toru who spoke first. "No, Takaba sama. I have orders not to leave you alone. And to answer your question, I am not concerned about Fei Loong, not even a bit."

"Same," Ando replied. "We're here for you Takaba sama–," he trailed off before continuing, "-of course, it's Asami sama's orders but –"

Akihito gave Ando a friendly pat on his arm. "I get it." He smiled. "Thank you for saving my ass all the time. I don't think I could live this long if it weren't for you –,"

"DOWN!" Toru roared suddenly, and Akihito felt himself being thrown to the ground, face down. Training and reflex prevented him from smashing his face on the concrete floor. He hadn't had the time to process what happened when a hail of bullets began to shoot from all sides.

Toru whipped out his gun, fired a few shots to the directions where the bullets came from. A few of Fei Loong's men started firing but since they couldn't detect their enemy's exact location, the shots were useless.

"Ando, get Takaba sama into the house!" Toru shouted.

As soon as he finished the sentence, a second hail of firing began.

"TORU!" Akihito shouted when Toru took a hit on the chest. He scrambled up from his place, rushed to Toru but Ando held him back and pulled him towards the direction of the main house. " Ando, we can't leave him!"

"He's wearing a bullet-proof vest!" Ando shouted, pulling Akihito to move quickly.

Ando wasn't lying. Toru merely lost his balance after the shot. He stood up seconds later, firing back. Then he moved backwards, quickly, all the while firing at the directions where the bullet came from.

Why haven't they run out of bullets yet?

They were almost at the door; a few more steps was all Akihito had to take and he'd be —

"ARG!"

Akihito felt his leg numbed, and the sensation resembled when he got his ear pierced for the first time; only the pain was more profound.

"Takaba sama!" Ando shouted, holding onto Akihito as he collapsed on his guard.

Akihito's eyes darted to his left thigh; his hands automatically reached for the wound, pressing onto it where the blood was already oozing out like a leaking tap. He hadn't been shot before, had no idea how it felt. He thought it wasn't too bad but as panic set in,his adrenaline started to subside. Pain exploded like a bomb and every pulse on the wound felt like a hammer banging on it.

"Arg!" Akihito let out a scream before biting his lip to control the pain.

By then, Toru had reached him and together with Ando, they managed to pull Akihito into the main house and shut the door. Outside, the war continued but none of the guards cared.

Akihito lay in the middle of the hall, groaning as he held his leg.

"TAKABA SAMA!" Toru shouted, patting Akihito's sweaty cheeks.

Akihito gritted his teeth as the pain got more unbearable every passing second. He felt nauseous, and his heart beat ferociously, hammering against his ribs. Feeling suffocated, he opened his mouth to take full gasps of air but every gasp he took had little to no effect in relieving his conditions.

Beside him, he could hear Toru and Ando shouting his name, asking if he was okay. He could hardly utter a single word as his breath thickens, struggling to breathe.

Xx Business as Usual xX

Asami reached the bottom of the stairs just as his guards dragged his injured lover through the main door. He ran towards the boy, ignoring Mikhail and his men charging outside.

"Akihito."

The boy was panting heavily, groaning. His hazel eyes darted at Asami before he shut them again and gritted his teeth. "A–sa–mi," was all he managed to utter before he groaned again.

"Sir, Takaba sama was hit on his left thigh," Toru reported, struggling to stop the bleeding by pressing his already bloodied hands on the wound.

Akihito screamed, causing Toru to retreat his hands and cursed.

"Asami sama, we were ambushed. A dozen men surrounded the house. I tried dragging Takaba sama inside but the shots were coming all over the place," Ando reported quickly.

Asami said nothing at the information, opting to wipe the sweat off Akihito's face. He felt his rage coming like a storm but he needed to take care of his injured lover first. Slipping a hand behind Akihito's neck and another under his knees, Asami carried his lover upstairs.

"Asami san, over here!" he saw Tao standing in front of a room two doors away from Fei Loong's. He brought the boy inside, placing him on the queen size bed. From the design and decorations of toys and comic books, it wasn't hard to guess to whom the room belonged to.

"Argh!"

Strange. Asami thought when he saw Akihito's condition. The boy was sweating profusely. Occasionally, he gagged, as though he wanted to vomit.

Fuck, could it be..?

Asami grabbed a pair of scissors from Tao's study table and cut Akihito's pants. He tore off the pants, leaving Akihito in his boxers and checked the wound. It was bloody but Asami could see the wound protruded from Akihito's thighs. The bullet was halfway embedded, suggesting to Asami that it probably ricocheted and hit Akihito in the process.

Asami confirmed his fears when he noticed that white-ish liquid on the edge of the bullet.

"The bullet is laced with poison," Asami heard Fei Loong stating the obvious.

He turned, saw Fei Loong limping inside with his walking stick. Mikhail walked in seconds later, cursing. "Those bastards got away; I have my men assessing the situation right now," He placed his gun on Tao's bedside table. "How is he?"

"He's poisoned by the same substance as Fei Loong," Asami said darkly. "Do you still have an extra antidote?"

Mikhail walked closer to Akihito, checked the wounds. "I do but –,"

"- but what?" Fei Loong asked.

The Russian bit his lip, as if he didn't want to say what he was thinking. "We have to remove the bullet before I can give him the antidote. Remove the bullet, sucked out thepoison around the wound, then inject the antidote in."

"There is no other way?" Asami asked, realizing what Mikhail was implying.

"No–and we do not have time to send him to the hospital. Our enemies are still outside. We have to do it here."

There was a moment of silence when Mikhail finished, with only Akihito's agonized groans could be heard. Clearly no one in the room was an idiot, and understood that a bullet extraction without anesthetic could be dangerous and extremely painful for Akihito.

"Sir." Toru moved next to Akihito. "We'll take Takaba sama to the hospital. All we need is a diversion."

"No," Mikhail raised his hands, stopping Toru. "There isn't time. The bullet is embedded and the poison works quickly. He'd be dead before he reached the hospital."

"Asami," Fei Loong's voice softened. "We have to do it here."

Asami pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes. He opened them again, placed his hands on Akihito's shoulder.

"Akihito, look at me."

The boy opened his eyes, stared straight at Asami. "A– sa–mi," his voice was shaky, fearful. "- do it."

The crime lord moved his hands to Akihito's sweaty cheeks, cupping them. "You can do this."

Akihito gritted his teeth. "I'm – I'm not – going to die– before I kick – your ass."

The usual Asami would have smirked from Akihito's bold remarks. This time, there was none. Standing up, he removed his jacket, rolled the sleeves of his white shirt.

"Toru, Ando, give him a glass of whisky and hold him." Asami pulled a chair, positioned it next to Akihito's leg. He went to the bathroom, washed his hands and came back to the room.

His guards were already positioned on Akihito's left and right, preparing to hold the boy down. Suoh stood at the foot of the bed, holding Akihito's legs in position.

Yoh came next to Asami, placed an emesis basin, with two pairs of tweezers and medical pliers. "Asami sama, I've sterilized them for you."

"Mikhail, get the antidote ready," Fei Loong ordered. Thankfully, the Russian did not argue and merely took the briefcase from his subordinate's hands. He took out a small liquid vial, grabbed a sterilized needle. "Once you extract the bullet out, I'll jab him."

Kirishima knelt next to Asami, and pushed his spectacles up. "I'll help you, sir."

Asami looked at his lover again. There was pain and fear in those hazel eyes that he adored. Akihito breathed heavily, clenched his fists and nodded his head.

As the guards held him down, Asami began his work. Removing a bullet from a human body wasn't something he hadn't done before. After all, he did extract one from Chey's body. He took another off from his own chest once years ago but this– this was something he hadn't experienced before.

Clearly, the task was more daunting than he thought. Seeing any form of bruise on his lover could make him go apoplectic in rage, let alone causing him pain. Asami grabbed the tweezer, checked the wound. There was no easy way to do this.

The area where Akihito was hit had ballooned up with half of the bullet stuck inside and the other half exposed. Asami placed the tweezer on the bullet, gripped it tight, and pulled it. But the bullet remained in its position, firm. The poison on the bullet was either laced with oil or Akihito's blood had made the bullet slippery.

"It's like the skin is sucking it in," Kirishima said, worriedly. "Asami sama, we have to dig it out."

Asami pressed the sides of the wound, preventing the bullet from sucking in. Akihito jerked from the pain and Toru held him down. Using the tweezer, he dug past Akihito's skin.

The boy screamed. "ASAMI, please! No— no more!"

The bullet began to move, and Asami took the chance to pull it out.

"Fuck," Asami cursed when the bullet refused to budge.

"Stop – please! Oh god!" Akihito cried, his body shaking uncontrollably from the pain.

"Takaba sama, just a little more," Toru tried to calm him but Akihito was in such great pain that he nearly overpowered Toru.

"NO, PLEASE! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!"

Asami dug slightly deeper, trying his best to ignore his lover, whose body was already convulsing as he pleaded Asami to stop. When he finally thought that he got a good grip, he pulled it. This time it moved and Asami managed to pop the bullet out.

Bright red blood immediately gushed from the wound, thick and strong like a leaking tap.

But it wasn't over. Asami still had to remove the poison before Mikhail administered the antidote. He pressed the sides of the wound, squeezed out the white-ish liquid. The action had Akihito screaming. "Stop, please!"

When Asami thought that he had done all he could, he reached his bloody hands out. "Kirishima, gauze!"

His dutiful secretary immediately passed the gauze to him. Asami grabbed the gauzed, packed them into the wound to stop the bleeding. The action had Akihito screaming again. The crime lord held onto the wound but no matter how much pressure he applied, Akihito's blood continued to gush out between his fingers.

Akihito, trashed his head from side to side. "Please – Asami – stop!"

"We're done, Takaba sama. It's okay," Toru soothed, wiping the sweat from Akihito's forehead.

"Mikhail, what are you waiting for?" Fei Loong barked. "The antidote!"

The Russian who was stunned by the entire bullet removal process earlier, quickly moved to Akihito's side. Yanking off the needle cap with his teeth, he jabbed the needle in Akihito's arm.

"He'll be alright," he said after replacing the cap back on the needle.. "He still needs a second dose after 6 hours. You still need to get him to the hospital. Even if the poison doesn't kill him, the infection from the operation just now will."

Asami said nothing. He waved his hands at his guards who took his non-verbal command to release Akihito.

Asami placed his hands on Akihito's sweaty face, stroking the sobbing boy gently. "Ssh, it's over now. You did very well."

Too tired and in pain to answer, Akihito merely closed his eyes and drifted unconcsious.

Xx Business as Usual xX

Asami stood in front of the sink, staring at the mirror. There were blood splatters on his cheeks, neck and nearly half of his white shirt was soiled in bright red. He tilted his neck and there were streaks of blood near the back of his neck. The blood must have spurted when he operated on Akihito just now. He raised his blood dyed hands and scrutinized. Every inch of his skin was covered in Akihito's blood.

Placing his bloody hands on each side of the sink, he closed his eyes. He recalled how Akihito screamed when he dug the pair of tweezers into his delicate skin; remembered how the boy convulsed in pain when he tried to pull the bullet out. It was something Asami did not want to hear again.

Opening his eyes again, his gaze had gone hard and cold. He turned on the tap, placed his bloody hands under the water. Washing away dried blood was harder than he thought. No matter how many times he rubbed his hands, the blood remained. It was as though he had tattooed his entire hand red. The blood underneath his fingernails was nearly impossible to remove so Asami decided to give up trying.

It was also a good reminder how much Akihito had bled. Frustrated, he curled his hands into fists and punched the mirror in front of him, smashing it into pieces.

Now that you've crossed your line, don't blame me for hunting you down.

"Asami sama," Kirishima appeared behind him. "I brought you a towel and a fresh change of clothes," he said carefully, knowing his boss's temper was treading on thin ice.

Asami unbuttoned his shirt slowly, looking at what was left of the broken mirror as he did. He passed the shirt to Kirishima. "Don't discard the shirt."

"Sir?" Kirishima was confused at the bizarre request.

As Asami dressed, he stared at his secretary through the mirror. "When I get hold of the bastard, I'll slice his belly open and soak the remaining white spots with his blood."

Kirishima shuddered at Asami's declaration because he knew his boss meant every word.

Omake

"Asami doesn't look good." Mikhail said as he walked into Fei Loong's bedroom, casually pulled a chair next to the bed and sat.

Fei Loong, propped up with the help of multiple plush pillows behind his back, placed the newspaper he was reading on the bed.

"Given that his cute kitten got injured, I'd be surprised if he can still remain calm."

Mikhail crossed his arms across his chest, displeased. "Are you worried about the brat too?"

"If you mean Akihito, yes." Fei Loong met Mikhail's gaze. His eyes went to slits. "I'm warning you, Mikhail. Touch Akihito and consider us done."

Mikhail gritted his teeth. "Do you like Akihito that much? Or is it Asami that you can't forget?"

Fei Loong's eyes immediately hardened. "I don't have to explain it to you but since you have a brain the size of a pea, I'll let you know. What I feel for Akihito is the same as Tao. As for Asami, he and I are good business partners, that's all."

"Are those words from your heart?"

"It's up to you to believe," Fei Loong said calmly despite his heart was raging in anger. "If you're only here to agitate me, then get out."

The Russian stood up, turned to leave. As he held the door knob in his hand, he heard Fei Loong.

"Get this in your head, idiot. If I'm not willing, I wouldn't even let you fuck me. Do you know what it means?"

Mikhail froze, his hand still held onto the door knob. Slowly, he turned and moved to Fei Loong's bed. Sliding his hand on Fei Loong's cheeks, he smiled. "Yes."

"Moron," Fei Loong said softly.

"I'm sorry," Mikhail leaned closer, gently kissing Fei Loong. When he pulled back, his eyes turned cold and hard. "I'm not letting the assassination slide. I'll hunt the bastard down and avenge you."

"I don't need you to avenge me." Fei Loong's eyes flashed. "I'll do it myself."

Mikhail ran his tongue across his upper row teeth. He smirked, almost sadistically. "I'm not letting the bastards who did this to you scot-free. They'll suffer, just as much as you did."

The corners of Fei Loong's lips curved. "The bastards will regret it. You, me and from the looks of it, Asami. We're out for blood."

** to be continued

I'm really sorry for the late updates. Originally, I wanted to finish this arc before I upload this chapter but for some reason, I am having problems with the plot. This chapter has been sitting in my Drive for the longest time so I thought I'd post it (despite the incomplete status)

I will try my very best to finish this story although I don't know when I can post again. Please forgive me!

Thank you for all your reviews and well wishes. I am touched that many of you send me messages to ask about my well-being despite my lack of updates. Thank you so much!