A/N: I will not even make any excuses any more. I am a slow updater, and I am sorry for that. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with the story anyway. I promise to keep updating, even if it isn't very often, for as long as you are willing to stick around and wait for the next chapters. Thanks again!

Chapter 10

Please God make it stop... I can't anymore... It's too much and it hurts and please, please make it stop please God I'll do anything - no junk food and no sex and I'll start donating to at least eight differens charities if only this pain will stop... Please...

Akihito had been standing for hours, naked, hands above his head, chained to the ceiling. Everything hurt. His feet and legs were constantly either cramping or on fire from muscular exhaustion, and also still hurting from the recent kickings. His back stung enough to make his eyes water, due to more recent injuries. His arms hurt from being trussed up for so long. But all those were physical pains he knew would subside eventually. What made him feel even worse was his raw throat and throbbing head. The physical and mental exertions, lack of sleep and the gushes of cold water that had been poured down his throat and possibly into his lungs in the previous room of hurt had probably made him sick as well. A fever most likely, pneumonia or something like it if he was really unlucky.

Or lucky, depending on how you looked at things. Maybe he had pneumonia and maybe it could kill him before Eddie the Asshole and his crew would get back into this room again for a whole new bout of questions and punishments.

He really felt like just giving up and kicking the bucket right now. The fog that had seeped into his head due to his possible fever was actually sort of a blessing. It made it harder to think about how desperate his situation really was.

And no. Akihito had decided he did not want to die just yet and he was determined to stand by that decision.

Not before he could see Asami's eyes again. Not before he could feel that comforting heat searing from his naked body and absorb it with his own skin.

Kirishima held the door open for his boss as he approached the car, and then carefullt shut it as soon as the crime lord had stepped inside the vehicle. For once Asami wished his secretary would not behave so immaculately, since he was in the mood to slam the door behind himself hard enough to shatter the windows. The rage that was building up inside him was worse than anything he had ever felt in his life, it was a hundred times more intense than what he had felt the last time Akihito had been taken from him. That time he had gotten some release from the bullet wounds inflicted on him, the pain had helped spur him on. Also, that time he had known exactly where the boy was and been able to formulate a plan as to how to get him home to Japan and to his bed.

This time he was at a complete loss.

His contact at the police station was no help, the police had no clues to follow up on since their two witnesses had been spirited away. Asami himself was positive that Akihito's friends had nothing more to give, and the only thing he himself had to go on was the label on the box, that red snowflake.

Which he had no idea as to where he had recognized it from.

It was driving him crazy, even though he could not show it on the outside. He would allow his men, as well as his enemies, yo see the anger - the red hot fury that he felt - but never the desperation, never the obsessive thoughts of revenge and torture that occupied his dark mind.

Never the fear.

They had stormed into the room where Akihito had been tied to the bed, with Eddie sleeping as good as on top of him. Had he not been gagged he would have puked. Eddie had been woken up by the intrusion, sat up in the bed and shaken his head slighly. Then he had looked down on the boy.

"Thanks for the nap, sweetie," he had said ironically and had sort of stroked the side of Akihito's face, almost lovingly, with his rough palm. His index and middle finger had paused for a moment on Akihito's taped lips, softly, almost as if planting a kiss on a lover. Then he had playfully sqeezed the boy's nose and given a honking noise.

This fucker... Akihito had thought and turned his face as far away as possible as soon as Eddie's fingers had let go of him.

"Looks like he hasn't warmed up to me just yet. Can't se why."

Eddie had gotten up and started loosening the bonds on Akihito's hands, legs and feet.

For a few seconds Akihito had been free. No one had made to seize him, his arms and legs had been free and the door right in front of him had been open.

Open. Leading into a corridor. On the umpteenth floor. Of a ship. A gazillion sea miles away from Asami and from home. Akihito hadn't even tried to get up, as all the men in the room had very well know he would not. Beacause where the hell would he go even if he could get away from them?

No, Akihito's way of resisting had instead been refusing to move a muscle, forcing them to lift his limp body all the way back down into the basement.

Or whatever the basement of a ship was called. At the moment the photographer could not give less of a flying crap about proper shipping terminology.

Anyway, they had chained him to the ceiling, grilled him for a while about Asami and about the crime lord's business. Fortunately, Akihito did of course not know much about these sort of things, given how careful the yakuza usually was about keeping him in the dark as much as possible when it came to his day to day dealings with the underworld.

Unfortunately for the skin on Akihito's back, every question that had gone unanswered had resulted in a few lashes from a leather riding crop or something like it. Or a shower of cold, salty sea water from buckets on the floor. Hence the intense stinging.

The few questions he actually had managed to give some sort of an answer to had instead resulted in the magical gift of a few mouthfulls of fresh, delicious water that had tasted like nectar from the gods. If that stuff could even taste that good.

Then, before they had left for the time being, they had tied a cloth over his eyes to blind him and replaced the gag on his mouth. For the life of him he could not understand why - no one could possibly hear him scream, even if he had had the energy to do just so. And even if someone could, would anyone on this ship actually care? In no reasonable scenario could he imagine that there were innocent passengers on this ship. It was not like Fei Longs floating casino or anything of the sort. Most likely it was a cargo ship, transporting guns, drugs, trafficking victims or some other horrible shipment.

Akihito tried to stifle a cough that found its way up from deep down in his lungs. He wanted to spit, but of course that was impossible due to the tape over his mouth. Maybe that was its purpose, he thought feverishly.

Was it also the fever and his recent thoughts that made him hear the squeeking sound of the rusty door opening? It was done so softly, not at all in the impetuous way that Eddie's goons typically used to do it, buy slowly, carefully and quietly. So quietly that Akihito was not even sure that that was what he was hearing. He could not hear it close again, but instead something that sounded like really light feet getting closer.

The air in the room shifted ever so slightly as the person got closer to him.

He was sure now this was for real. He could hear the quick breathing, the whooshing of clothes as if from a skirt, smell the sweet tang of lemony perfrume or shampoo. A woman?

She was at his side now and gave a shushing noise while placing one hand over his already sealed mouth.

"Please be quiet, sir", she whispered in his ear. Akihito gave a muffled moan at the friendly sound, promting her to shush him again. "Quiet, or they'll know I'm here. The whole crew is asleep right now, but they could come back any minute and before they do we have to figure out a way to help you."