It had been a normal day for Akihito, he had been out searching for a scoop like usual when he had come across it, that dangerous man, but out of either sheer stupidity, or pure arrogance because he had Asami on his side he chose to take the pictures of that beating his son, not knowing how those pictures would effect his life.

*Akihito Takaba*

I coughed as the man held me by the throat up against the wall.

"You brat, I will be taking those photo's." I snarled.

"No, you wont!" I stated kicking him in the gut and hitting the ground with a thud. I then pulled myself to my feet and had almost gotten away when the man grabbed me and pulled me back, slapping me. I grabbed my cheek then glared at him. "You better apologize for that, or your gonna end up dead tommorow, the moment I show Asami this." I stated pulling the guys ID from my pocket.

"Wait a second, Asami?" He asked then gasped when he realized that I had pick pocketed his ID Card.

"Yeah, I am someone that Asami holds dear so he wont take kindly to you hitting me."

"Give me that film and I wont have to hurt you."

"No thanks." I stated then pushed him off and ran away from him, around the corner, almost running straight into my guard. "Let's go!" I grabbed him by the arm and yanked him in the other direction, running away from that alley as fast as I could.

"Takaba-Sama, what is it?" He asked.

"Nothing I just..." I trailed off when I heard a gun shot from behind us and as the bullet imbedded itself into my gut, the second bullet imbedding into my lungs. I looked down in shock as blood soaked into my pure white T-Shirt then collapsed allowing my guard to catch me as my eyes flickered closed and my mind went blank.

*Ryuichi Asami*

I sighed as I put my smoke out in the ash tray then looked at Mr. Ootori.

"So you want me to go in on this half and half with you so that I can help with funding?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, the Ootori Group would run the actual park itself while you would run the resort." I tapped my finger against the desk. I opened my mouth to reply then stopped when my phone vibrated. I sighed and grabbed my phone from off my desk. It was a call from one of Akihito's three guards.

"One moment, Yoshio, I have to take this." I flipped my phone open and answered it with a hello.

"Asami-Sama! It's bad, I am at the hospital right now." I blinked in surprise.

"What is bad?" I asked.

"It's Takaba-Sama, he was shot. He is in surgery right now but they said that the wound is bad and that he may not survive." I gasped.

"Which Hospital?" I asked.

"The Tokyo Hospital, the one not far from your apartment."

"I will be over there soon, if anything happens call me."

"I understand, Asami-Sama." I hung up my phone then stood and slid the phone into my pocket.

"I apologize Yoshio, but there has been an emergancy so I need to head over to Tokyo Hospital, we will have to talk about this at another time."

"That's fine, but would you mind me coming with you, while you were on the phone I got a page from my son saying that I was needed at the hospital anyway." I nodded.

"I dont mind, now let's go." We both exited the building together and got into the car headed for Tokyo Hospital.

*Kou*

I sighed as I walked back into my apartment with Takato and took all the groceries to the kitchen.

"Thanks for helping me carry everything, Takato." He nodded.

"Dont worry about it." My phone then went off followed by Takato's. I answered mine quickly.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hello, is this Kou?"

"Yes, and who is this?" I asked.

"I am calling from the Tokyo Hospital, I was told to contact you for a friend of yours who was admitted, Mr. Takaba Akihito." I gasped.

"What happened!? Is Akihito alright!?"

"He is in surgery, and it isnt looking good."

"Alright, I will be there as soon as possible." I hung up then grabbed Takato's wrist and ran out the door as he finished his call.

"We have to get to the hospital!" I nodded.

"Your right, it shouldnt take too long it's only about four or five blocks from here." It didnt take us long to run to the hospital and when we got there we saw the guy that had picked Akihito up on new years walking into the hospital in a hurry followed by another man. We ran in after them and headed straight to the waiting room. The guy looked at the two of us then looked away. Now that I thought about it I had seen Akihito with that guy on numerous occasions. Maybe they were friends or something. A doctor then walked out.

"Akihito Takaba." She stated and Takato and I rushed forward along with the other guy.

"Is Akihito alright?" I asked worriedly.

"I would like to say yes but unfortunatly I must give you the not so pleasant answer, it seems that he was shot once in the torso and once in the lungs. He has a large ammount of internal bleeding, and wasnt breathing when we brought him in. He is not looking good, but dont worry..."

"Dont give us that crap about how, "everything is going to be okay" my best friend just got shot and may die! Last time I checked that means that things are far from okay so dont even go there!" The doctor nodded.

"Yes, I apologize." She then turned and walked away and I sighed. Takato gently patter my back.

"It's alright Kou, im sure Akihito will be fine." I sighed then turned and found a seat to make myself comfortable in.

*Ryuichi Asami*

I sat down in a chair, tapping my foot nervously. I was anxious, I was worried and above all I fucking pissed off about the fact that I wasnt allowed to smoke or drink in the hospital. I glanced at Akihito's friends who sat together with worried expressions on their faces, obviously waiting for Akihito to get out of surgery. The three of us waited in the waiting room for hours, and well into the night before a doctor finally came out and called Akihito's name. I glanced at the two who were now asleep and after a glance at Kirishima he nodded and woke the two of them up. I then walked over to the doctor and they followed.

"How is he?" I asked.

"After a while we managed to stabilize him, we removed both bullets, luckily it seems that the first bullet didnt hit any major organs, so the majority of the damage is to his lungs, we managed to stop the bleeding of his lungs, luckily it seems the bullet just grazed his lungs so after a few months of recovery he should be fine. Now are any of you family?" We all shook our heads. "Then what are your relationships to him?"

"Childhood Friends." Both boys stated.

"And you, Asami-Sama." I took a small moment to think over what to say so I didnt embaress Akihito.

"Roommate." I stated.

"Alright, well the three of you can come see him, but he isnt awake yet." The two boys nodded and we all followed the doctor to Akihito's room. When we got into the room I saw Akihito laying in the bed, hooked up to numerous wires. He looked fragile, vulnerable. I discarded the jacket of my suit on one of the three chairs then walked over to the bed and sat down beside Akihito, gently running a hand through his hair. I sighed and took a moment to remove my tie and roll up my sleeve's before focusing my attention back on Akihito. I could see the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

So Small.

So Fragile.

So Vulnerable.

So Terrifyingly Close To Death.

The two boys sat down beside Akihito's bed and looked at me.

"Kou and Takato, correct?" They both nodded.

"And I assume you are Asami-San." I nodded.

"So you are the one Akihito has been living with." Takato stated with a sigh. The room then went into an awkward silence. We all sat in silence for about an hour before both boys fell asleep but I couldnt sleep. I couldnt sleep when I knew that Akihito was right beside me, so close to death. After a little while his eyes flickered open and he looked up at me.

"Ryuichi?" He asked and I blinked in surprise. That was the first time he had ever called me by my first name.

"How do you feel Akihito?" I asked.

"T-Thirsty." He stated and I sighed.

"Alright, stay here, and dont you dare try to sit up. I am going to go get you some water." He nodded and I gently kissed his forehead before heading into the bathroom and filling his glass with water. I took a sip of water to make sure that it wasnt bad, feeling the need to be especially careful. I then walked back into the room and to Akihito's side. I sat him up partially and held the glass for him, his shaking hands holding onto my hand. He took a few gulps before I pulled the glass away, once he had swallowed all of his water I held the glass back to his lips and we continued this process until he had finished the glass.

"Asami, it hurts." He stated as he layed down. I sighed and layed down beside him, resting my forehead against his.

"I know, but it is going to be alright now Akihito." He nodded as tears rolled down his cheeks. I gently kissed his tears away then kissed him gently on the lips.

"It's alright Akihito, I am never going to let anyone hurt you ever again." He nodded then rested his head against my arm, cuddling close to me. I kissed his forehead then closed my eyes and allowed myself to doze off with Akihito.

I had always believed that Akihito's strong will would help him survive everything, but I had been wrong. He had been hurt, through no fault of his own. It was my fault, my fault for dragging him into this dark, cold, dangerous world.