The Fight

PART I

The phone rang but once, before Asami picked it up.

He didn't even bother with small talk.

"Did you find him?" He asked; his cool tone masking a deep anxiety even he was surprised to be feeling.

"Yes, sir." Kirishima replied on the other side of the line. "He's down at Shinjuku's police station. He's been under detention for the past two days…I'm on my way there now."

"Shinjuku's police station?" The business man thought surprised, but quickly regained back his composure. "What are the charges this time?"

He thought he heard his assistant sighing on the other side. "Battery charges. It seems Takaba-kun engaged in another street fight. Although this time he managed to send two men to the hospital with broken bones."

Asami's eyes widened at the remark. "Is he alright?"

"According to the police officer I've just spoken to over the cellphone, he just has some minor bruises and scratches. Nothing serious."

Asami leaned his back against the living room's wall, feeling suddenly very tired.

"Asami-sama?"

"Yes?"

"..Hm…Given that this is not the first time that Takaba-kun has had problems with the law this year, it will probably be difficu-"

"Pay the cops whatever they want. If they give you trouble, call Kuroda. He'll deal with them directly…Just make sure you bring him home tonight."

"…Yes, sir... I'll phone you again when we're on our way to the apartment."

The call soon went dead on the other side of the line, but still Asami did not move from his spot.

He did not know whether he should feel upset or relieved by the fact they had finally managed to track down Akihito's whereabouts after 5 long days of absence.

Truth be told, given the way things had gone down between the two of them the last time they had been together, Asami would not had been too surprised if the photographer had gone purposely M.I.A. for a prolonged period of time just to spite him.

They had had fights in the past, but that last one had taken the cake.

The weird part was that Asami had not seen it coming at all, even though in retrospect he now realized that Akihito's antics had already been a little off for the past few weeks.

Slowly, the business man made his way out of the silent living room and into the hallway, stopping only when he reached a familiar door.

He pushed it open, leaning against the doorframe as the room came into view.

Akihito's bedroom was exactly as the photographer had left it before disappearing, save for two things: a lamp was now missing from the bedside table, and the bed's comforter, which had been splattered with Asami's blood, was still at the cleaners having the stains removed.

The business man caught a glimpse of himself in the large mirror beside the bed; the white bandage covering a section of his forehead just above his right eyebrow, impossible to miss.

He had an appointment at the doctor's office the following day to get the stitches removed. The nurse who had stitched his forehead cut had warned him he'd probably be left with a small scar though – a shard of glass from the lamp had cut too deep into his skin.

Asami touched his fingers to the bandage, noticing that the 5 day old wound still hurt.

Such was of little importance to him though. After all, Akihito's words that night had hurt him far more than any physical wound could.

(Later that same night)

Asami glanced at his wristwatch.

According to his calculations, Kirishima would be arriving at the apartment building any minute now. Shinjuku's police station wasn't that far away from the business man's neighborhood after all. He needed to wrap things up with Kuroda asap.

"Are you sure the cops won't send the case to court then?" Asami asked, in what he assumed was a neutral tone.

He was greeted by silence from the other end of the phone line at first.

"…It will depend on whether or not the victims will press formal charges." Kuroda finally replied, making sure to emphasize the word 'victims'; something that did not escape the business man's notice.

"Have you managed to track down the men?"

"I have. They were both released from Tokyo University Hospital yesterday. One of them is at home recovering from a broken arm. The other one seems to have been well enough to return to his job. From what I could gather from the hospital, the latter was only treated for a broken nose and some minor cuts."

"Can you find out their home addresses?"

"…Yes."

"Good. Once you have them, pass them over to Kirishima. I'll instruct him to stop by the men's homes in order to settle the matter discreetly."

"Ryuichi…"

Asami snickered at the prosecutor's voice tone. "Relax, Kuroda. I'm not going to order Kirishima to finish the men off. I'm sure a minor financial compensation will be enough to make them both forget about the incid-"

He heard Kuroda sigh. "That's not what I meant, Ryuichi."

Asami's eyebrow arched in confusion, but before he had the chance to ask the other man what it was that he had meant instead, Kuroda beat him to it.

"What's going on with you as of late, Ryuichi? You have been acting quite out of character, you know?"

His comment made Asami chuckle. "Have I?" The older man retorted amused.

"Yes." Kuroda replied firmly. "You have."

"Do enlighten me then. In what way?"

"You know very well in what way."

"Pray, do tell. It appears that I don't."

Kuroda snapped. "Takaba Akihito!"

"What about Takaba Akihito?"

"Honestly, Ryuichi! When are you going to admit to yourself that you are unable to act rationality in any situation in which that kid is involved? I mean, you just had me bribe half of Shinjuku's police force so that Takaba could walk out of jail. The kid did beat two grown men to a pulp, you know? Not to mention his prior misdemeanor criminal record. Quite impressive, to say the least!"

"So he was a troublesome kid growing up."

Kuroda huffed, unimpressed by the older man's statement. "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe Takaba could actually benefit from a little time spent in jai-"

"Kuroda." Asami's tone was sober, calm, yet deadly lethal all at the same time. "I would appreciate it if you kept your opinions regarding Takaba to yourself. He is my responsibility, not yours… If you were opposed to tonight's assignment, you could very well have told me so before you went down to the police sta-"

"He has too much of a hold over you." The prosecutor said; his voice as firm and decisive as Asami's.

The business man suppressed a laugh. "And may I ask on what exactly are you basing such a ridiculous assumption?"

"Kirishima told me about the incident between you and Takaba earlier this week."

Asami suddenly felt like cursing out loud. He was going to have a little chat with his assistant about this indiscretion. "It was an accident." He nevertheless informed the prosecutor.

"Takaba could have blinded you, Ryuichi!"

"I told you, it was an accident."

"Well, then excuse my momentary bafflement, since I've seen you make people disappear from the face of the earth for far less… Let's face it Ryuichi, if you had been acting anything like your regular self, Takaba would have found his feet stuck in a block of cement and would be fish food by now."

"Are you by any chance hinting that I should have Akihito killed because of a broken lamp?" Asami asked, his voice reeking with irony. "An interesting suggestion coming from a law enforcement agent."

A moment of silence ensued.

"Ryuichi…Please let us not argue on this matter. If I'm bringing the Takaba Akihito subject up again it's because I'm concerned about yo-"

"Do you honestly think that Akihito could ever be responsible for my demise, Kuroda?"

"…No…I don't, no."

"Then what?"

"I…I just don't understand it."

"Understand what, Kuroda?

"You…Takaba…The two of you together... Ryuichi, I've known you since college. Takaba is the complete opposite of everything you are and stand for. Plus, you used to loath people like him; people who live their lives recklessly, without a plan or vision for the future and that don't know any better than to get themselves wrapped up in problems all the time. Heck, you still do to this date! To see the both of you together like this…To see you lowering your guard and exposing yourself to someone so unworthy of you."

"Kuroda." Asami warned; his patience wearing thin.

Yet the other man went on.

"Granted, at first I thought that you kept the kid by your side just for fun. You've done so in the past, after all. But it's been two years already. Not to mention he's sharing the same roof as you... Never mind that, he's sharing the same bed as you!"

"I think you've said enough for one night, Kuroda."

"I swear, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a reason that could explain why someone like you would ever wish to associate himself with someone like him. It's just illogical. It doesn't make any sense... Unless..."

"Enough, Kuroda! I'm putting the phone down."

"Ryuichi…could it be that... you're in love with Takaba?"

Asami did not have a chance to answer the unexpected question, for as soon as Kuroda pronounced the words, the front door bell rang throughout the penthouse.

Kirishima had returned...and he had not returned alone.

(to be continued)