It's been soooo long since the last time I uploaded the first chapter of this story. And for that, I truly apologize beforehand! So here it is, the second chapter! Originally, this story was supposed to be a one-shot, but as I finished writing the first chapter, this being a one-shot just didn't sit right to me, and so I wrote this into two parts. Buuuuut, as I edited the second chapter (which I wrote years ago), I decided to just cut the chapter into two parts and therefore this story would probably has 3 chapters for the main story and one for extra. So, hopefully, you guys could wait for me on that!

Warning: self-beta'd. rusty writings!

I do not own the Finder Series.

Happy reading!

After checking out from the hotel, Akihito did not feel like going anywhere that day. The crowd that grew even merrier within seconds right in front of him dizzying his head, churning his stomach upside down with the intense urge to vomit the already nonexistent remnants of whatever that had been in his stomach. He tried to stand still and walk, walk like any other person on the street, walk like he had not been broken, but he failed immensely—not with the bloodshot eyes and the wavering stance, not with a line of mouth that seemingly had had more than enough to even hold a straight line. He did not have to think twice when his feet had brought him halfway back towards his apartment, the rundown building he used as his home (a.k.a a place where his heart should have settled in. Alas, he ironically could not find it anywhere in that place—probably because someone had stolen it).

He hated, loathed the fact that he could not sleep a wink last night. It was annoying, you know, the headaches you would have the next morning you were conscious when you were sleep-deprived—not to mention the massive weight you had to endure just to open your eyes because they were just too afraid of the sun. He hated it when he could not sleep properly—considering the fact that he was indeed a busy (kind of) person—but the vivid memories of last night kept him more awake than he had always been in his entire life. His ears listened to the soft ticking of the clock on the wall, and he suddenly recalled the seconds that passed when it happened. The words that the man threw at him felt like cold water, like reality; a reality that was cold enough to finally wake him up from his stupor—from his dream. A dream that he was not supposed to have, but he had it, anyway. Do not get him wronged, he was never a man of dreams. Akihito would live in reality, and stay real like he was supposed to do.

But if staying in that damn reality meant he have to face the fact that he could no longer be involved in that man's life—even if he was only considered as a small thing that filled in the blank spaces of that man's secret life and affairs—then maybe, maybe, living in a dream was better.

Akihito had known from the start that being involved with that man only meant bad news. Sure, he knew Asami was a businessman, a very successful businessman in whatever industry he ran in with the whole world in his hands. His face was reflected in every media, every broadcasted surface, every corner, that even made running away from him seemed to be a stupid idea because there was no corner that could be hidden from him, him and his million pair of eyes and his million ways. He was the man who leads, who conquers, and Akihito knew he got this dark side within him that only God knows what.

Still, he could not prevent himself from falling even deeper. The brief thought of seeing Asami standing on the altar in a clean, white suit with anyone but him beside him only got his blood boiled, his bones stoned, his flesh scrunched, and his heart drenched in adrenaline and fucking overwhelming emotions of wrath. Because that seemed to be so, so unfair. Akihito felt like knowing Asami more than that woman. He knew how Asami touches someone; he was harsh, but then soft, cold and then warm. Akihito remembered how calloused his fingers were, how stern his lips were, how bright his golden eyes shone whenever he looked at him, only at him—as if he was the only person that mattered to him that the thought alone brought back unwanted feelings within him. Akihito knew how he would lit his cigarette whenever the night got colder, or on a particular good night drowning himself in his favorite borboun. He knew how deep his baritone voice was, how Asami would lick his lips even though it was not chapped just to let him know that he wanted him. He knew them all by heart, counting the facts like calculating the years it took for a giant star to reform, but then perhaps minor details and unimportant things such as those were not enough to convince other people that this shit mattered to him than anything else.

Akihito let out a heavy sigh. This had been a shitty day indeed. Not only had he gotten his heart broken by a man who did not even know it, but he also had to get his shit together and get on with his life as if any of this had never happened.

He looked up to the sky and the clouds that hung above his head and watched them as they watched him, moving ever so slowly like the world around him. Bits of memories of last night occurrence came back and his heart thumped with a dull ache. Perhaps what he regretted the most was not the end of this.

Perhaps what he regretted the most was the fact that he did not have the chance to rip this irritating feeling off him and throw it right on the man's face so that he would know just what he had broken—if he ever cared, that is.

Akihito just shrugged off the sadness that kept bugging him like a sore thumb since the moment he stepped out of the hotel. He needed something to refresh his mind, something that could actually get his mind off a certain man he knew. And the first thing that popped into his mind was a fun hangout with his friends. But that seemed impossible now.

He had not contacted Kou and Takato for some time now. They had been busy this entire week, that was why they rarely communicated lately. Akihito was not even sure those two, crazy guys would still remember him.

He shook his head briefly to let the idea go as he made his way through the crowded street and dragged his feet through the remaining distance between him and his familiar apartment building. He paced up his walk, for what he did not even know—considering that he was tired and all—but the need to actually get into his apartment and throw himself onto the bed nagged him painfully on the head. And so, he speed-walked, and before he knew it, he was already jogging up the metal stairs to reach his apartment that unfortunately resided on the third floor. He had fished for his keys before he even reached the door to his apartment and he did not even waste any more time to slip it in the keyhole and worked for it to unlock the door, which opened with an audible 'creak' for anyone to hear.

The first thing he realized when he got himself into his own establishment was the fact that most of, many of the lights were on, which was weird because he had been out all this time and why would he waste electricity bills on lights when he wasn't even home? Before he could figure it out, though, it was kind of a finality when his ears caught the distinct sound of voices—voices that he somehow recognized but still unsure about because of how distant they sounded. Then with pure hesitation and carefulness, he skillfully tiptoed towards the source before slowly lifting his backpack up as a weapon in case an unidentified person(s) broke into his house.

As he rounded the corner and neared the area of where his small kitchenette was located, he saw one, no, two shadows. His heartbeat quickened as he brought himself even closer towards the crime scene, eyes sharpening their gaze as they tried to focus on what was going on, and it weirded him out greatly when they found out the two shadows were currently busying themselves with... cup noodles?

Slowly, he brought his backpack down onto the floor, and with a resolute thud, he finally made his way towards them, feet still warily stepping onto the floor as he greeted, hesitantly, "Um... Hey..."

"Aki-chan?!", the familiar voice greeted him back, and before the blond could register whose voice that was, the shadows turned around to face him, only to show him the familiar faces that he really wanted to see at the moment.

A wide grin split across his face then, and it was seconds later when Akihito realized he was already running towards the two guys who were still bewildered by his presence there and gave them a tight bearhug, "Kou! Takato! What the fuck! Guys!", he half-shouted excitedly, not really caring about the unintelligible words he spoke out as his heart swelled with undeniable happiness, his mind was finally at peace for the first time that week.

"Yo, Aki!", Takato shouted just as excitedly, ruffling his blond head vigorously like it had been decades since he touched it.

Kou joined in on the excited duo then, hugging Akihito with as much intensity as he had been hugged, "Where the hell have you been? We couldn't contact your phone last night!", the black-haired guy pulled back just enough to inspect his long-gone friend, before finally letting go and dragged him all the way from the kitchen towards the living room, "What happened?", he asked, the worry that was etched across his face was also so obvious in his voice.

Akihito sat across from Kou then, shrugging his shoulders, "It's been really tough without you guys. I will tell you later. Anyway, how do you get my spare keys?"

"You gave it to us since you moved into this apartment you idiot," Takato responded blatantly as he came out from the kitchen with his and Kou's warm cup noodles in his holds, subsequently joining the other two on the floor, "Anyway, could you just tell us right now? We're really curious about the reason why you suddenly went missing," he sat down and gave one cup to the black-headed, adding sarcastically, "It's like, we're missing half of the population of the people in Tokyo, you know."

It was something that was so unfunny that it was worth a snort, but Akihito could not find it in him to react that exact way. Instead, he looked up to the two guys in front of him, whose eyes and faces spoke volumes about how ready they were to hear whatever it was that was going to come out of his mouth, before letting out another heavy sigh for the umpteenth time that day. He let his shoulders dropped in a slump while bringing his fingers to rub the bridge of his nose—the tension from today's highlight of the day had really gotten into his head.

Unbeknownst to him, the two men watched him and all his movements, all gestures just screamed something like I've had more than enough and other suicidal thoughts that they were too afraid to conjure in their heads. So, after looking back at each other for a moment, Kou finally decided to speak, "Aki-chan," he was kind of glad when the aforementioned guy responded to his call, "We need to know, please? After all you're our friend. Be it happiness, or sadness; ups and downs—we have always been together, right?" Akihito looked silent for a moment that Kou decided to add up, "you are a part of us, a family. So please," he took hold one of Akihito's sweaty palm and gave it a gentle squeeze, "let us in."

Kou let go of his hand before sliding backwards a bit, giving Akihito as much space as he needed to ready himself to talk. Takato sat silent beside him, his mouth tightly shut but his eyes comforted him more than any words that could possibly come out from his mouth. Akihito watched them as they waited—waited for him to let his whole heart out right in front of them—and the sight of them being so damn sincere and caring towards him was more than enough to melt the last piece of resistance he put around his heart away. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, breathing it out, before nodding his head briefly and spoke, "When I got that Sion membership card from my boss I—kind of got carried away and got drunk that night," he raised his eyes for a bit to inspect their reactions, and seeing that they were unbudging from their seats, he went on, "then I met this man—um…, Asami Ryuichi —and we…, uhm, kind of—slepttogether..", he said the last part hurriedly, as if a log just magically appeared in his throat and choking him whilst tumbling down all the words that he had perfectly planted on his tongue. He squeezed his eyes shut, palms already clenching a handful of jeans tightly on his lap, but no harsh comment or any gasps could be heard coming from in front of him. He stole a glance upwards and it was both surprising and delighting as well to know that his friends still seemed unfazed—receiving all the facts that spilled out from his mouth like warm cups of coffee in the morning. He looked at the silent Takato and it was relieving when he gave him an encouraging look, a slight smile that was etched on his lips almost undiscovered by the dimmed lights of the room. Akihito nodded once again, probably for Takato to let him know that he would continue, before swallowing down the lump that was suddenly built inside his throat and continued, "Since then, our relationship somehow developed from mere strangers to sex buddies. You know, those kinds of relationships where you meet the other person just when you want to have sex… sort of," he bit his lower lip at that.

It finally dawned on him when he retold other people how it actually felt. He suddenly recalled their first night, how they actually met, and it was kind of painful to be suddenly reminded by the warm pair of golden eyes that once searched for his hazel ones in the darkness of the hotel room. It felt so soothing, so calming, that it made his heart torn painfully at the difference in between then and now. He felt the salty tears stung in the back of his eyes and he reflexively bit his lip even harder, preventing any kind of sobs that could possibly come out for once he let them out he was sure he could not stop. Akihito was back on staring down at his own lap that it took him a moment to finally realize that his whole body was trembling and a warm, comforting palm was patting him on his back, drawing small circles to calm the loud, painful thumping of his heart that seemed to have just enough of emotions. He took a deep breath before continuing, painfully aware of the possibility of the shakiness in his voice, "It was so sudden, but then I felt something different and alien whenever I was with him. I suddenly wanted to kiss him, so, so much—to not only have sex but make… something that lasts more than sex instead. It scared me. I feel like I'm starting to get attached to him. I want to know more about him. But it is wrong because we are only sex buddies and sex buddies don't do anything to know each other—", his voice broke then, trembling with emotions that slowly yet surely broke out from the cage he had put around them. He felt one tear ran down his cheek and he wiped it vigorously, totally enraged by the fact that it dared to flow out.

"Aki…," Takato called his name softly, reaching out a hand to join Kou's in comforting their blond friend.

A gasp left his mouth before he even knew it, and it was against his will when everything he had kept in just suddenly flowed out, his chest ached vividly from holding back for so long. Akihito rubbed the bridge of his nose before continuing, "Yesterday, we met up at the usual hotel and we did it," he looked up in time for his friends to see the glimmering sadness that resided in his burning hazel eyes. Kou looked at him sympathetically before gently urged him to continue, so he did, "The next time I woke up, he was already ready to leave," Takato scooted closer, "then he simply told me that—", the sobs grew heavier the more Akihito remembered those words, the words that felt so hot like a burning knife it scalded the sensitive skin off his bones.

"He told me that—H–He is going to be engaged—next week— ", the sobs then turned into cries as soon as he finished his sentence.

Kou and Takato immediately went to his aid when he let out uncomfortable hiccups between the cries, his mouth struggled fruitlessly to gasp in the loss of air. Kou took hold of the trembling shoulders that belonged to the blond sitting next to him and urged him to sit up straight, "Oh God—Aki... Really? Come on, it may not be that bad," Akihito went back to stare at his hands that were on his lap as Kou added, "everything is going to be okay— "

"What's going to be okay?!", Akihito snapped suddenly, his eyes burning with hot anger as he spat, "He's going to be someone's husband for God's sake! And there's nothing I can do that can stop him—not even if I tell him that I love him!"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Akihito immediately realized what was happening to him. Everything suddenly felt more real to him when the reality itself came down to embrace the restless feeling within him. I love him? Akihito repeated in his head, "oh God—", it finally dawned on him, "motherfuck—I love him."

Okay, maybe it was physical attraction. But, love? That was certainly a dangerous idea that Akihito knew he would not like elaborating. Love was when you commited, when you stayed through the ups and downs for a certain someone. It was heavy, it was such a responsibility that he knew it was not his forté, but after hearing his own declaration… it suddenly became much clearer in his head.

"I love him," Akihito choked once again as he looked up to eye his friends, his hazel eyes glinted in fear as he once again repeated, "guys, I love him!"

"Aki-chan," Takato was the one who called him out through the silence with that soothing voice of his, silently trying to reach out the inner side of him that was so scared to be reached out, "hey, it's not a bad thing, okay?", he coaxed the blond to look back at him and it kind of broke his heart a bit when he saw the usual cheerful eyes now looked so wounded, "it is love—it is not something to be afraid of. Afraid of the pain, maybe, but not of the love," Akihito watched him thoughtfully as he paused for him to understand, and when a breath was passed in between the silence, Takato added, "when you realize it is love, you know it is worth it, Aki."

It took him a moment to understand the real meaning behind those words and when he did, he calmed down much somehow. He averted his gaze away from Takato to look at Kou, who was still surprised judging by his expression by his sudden outburst, and immediately felt the need to apologize, "Kou, I'm sorry for suddenly yelling at you."

"No, it's okay Aki," Kou smiled, "It's my insensitivity that was to blame. And besides— ", he leaned backwards on his hands before adding, "now I know this is not something superficial."

It was outstanding, how these two gentlemen in front of him understood him and accepted everything that was him wholeheartedly. Something like acceptance, or understanding got him smiling weakly towards them, the trail of tears that was dried under the light felt like past then. He whispered, "thanks."

"Now, back to the topic at hand," Takato's stern voice brought the group back into the actual discussion, "What did he tell you exactly last night?"

Akihito quirked an eyebrow at the sudden sharpness that was coming from Takato (since he knew Takato was one of those annoying dense as fuck kids that practically did not care about the smallest details), but he answered anyway, "He only said something like 'we shouldn't see each other anymore'," the blond recited carefully, as if the words were dangerous enough to bite him back in the ass if he spoke it any wrongly, "—and then he told me that he is getting engaged." It was at the end of his sentence did he realize that remembering that was not as painful as the first time he did it. Talking to his friends really had a great impact on him. He was glad nevertheless.

Kou thought about his answer carefully before asking, "Has he told you about… you know, his feelings towards you?", that caught Akihito's attention immensely and the black-headed immediately felt the need to elaborate, "I mean, even though he said that you two should stop seeing each other anymore, there must be an actual reason of why you two shouldn't see each other anymore, right?"

"Well," Akihito gave it a brief thought, "maybe he doesn't want to be rumored to have a brief affair with me?"

Takato picked up his abandoned cup of noodles before commenting, "that could be true," he spooned the noodles carefully only to watch it slip away from his plastic spoon, "but then, we are talking about Asami Ryuichi, right? Never know anything fishy coming from that guy except the fact that he was a rich-ass. He could just pay off the media and say sayonara to any kind of gossip that could do him harm, couldn't he?"

Akihito and Kou only watched as Takato finally succeeded on spooning some noodles before gulping them down his throat. The object of their observation, however, quickly turned his attention back towards them, and added, "my point is," he put his cup of noodles down, "I can't see the benefit of him casting you away. I mean, if he just wants to have a healthy, happy marriage life without some affairs then maybe he could just tell you to stop meeting him for fucking reasons," the blond snorted while Takato winked, "get it, lad?"

"Yeah…", Kou clasped his hands together, "that could also be true. I'm with Takato. So, has he?"

Akihito thought about it a little, before subsequently shaking his head, "No… he had never told me about his personal life, of course his feelings included. And I don't think he would ever tell me that."

"Then I don't think this problem has ended.", Kou stated, "There was still a tie that bonds the two of you. His reason to cast you out is still unclear, and that's not how you end a relationship."

"And the Akihito I know won't stop fighting till he gets the answer he deserves, don't you think so?", Takato added as a giant grin broadened underneath his nose, his eyes filled with determination for him.

It was the hopes that these guys just gave him that made three fourth of his burden vanished away to the very thin air. He watched at the people who brought him back to stand at his two feet again, and smiled warmly, "Guys… thanks. I—I know I can do this with you both."

"Hey, it's no problem," Kou grinned, "So what will you do next? Will you call him or text him or maybe confront him?"

"No, I wouldn't do any of that.", Akihito sighed, "I don't think I'd ever need to do that."

"Why? Don't you want to fight for him until everything's clear?", Takato spoke with a little uncertainty coloring his voice. His eyebrows eventually furrowed into a curvy line that could only express confusion.

"If fate says so, I will eventually meet him. And when that time comes…", he wiped all his sadness away; facing the other people with a gentle smile plastered under his nose, "I will fight for him."

And when the conversation ended wholly, he knew he could finally face that man.

It was another tiring day at the studio. Takaba Akihito was currently reluctantly setting up his camera on his tripod while the crowded crews and staffs around him were getting restless. The assigned model was late, again. They had delayed the photo shoot for about 30 minutes just to wait for her, and her high-pitched voice only apologized lightly through the phone. The blond just sighed, whilst playing with his camera casually. What does she take this job for?

It was about ten minutes later when the giant door at the corner of the room was opened from the outside, indicating that someone who was supposed to come in on time finally arrived. Pairs of eyes immediately ran towards the source of the ruckus as the familiar high-pitched voice that was heard through the studio phone earlier greeted the whole studio, "I'm so sorry everyone!" Her tardiness did not seem to faze anyone, however, as all Akihito saw from his point of view were only sighs of relief. Even his boss did not seem to care about the delay of the scheduled of the photo session as he only came to the girl and greeted her appreciatively.

She was a beauty (of course, she was a model) Akihito realized, with brown curly hair tied into a loose ponytail. She had a small figure for a girl but he could not deny the fact that she got curves at every perfect spot—it was no question as to why people often thought of her as sexy. She had dainty feet and elegant fingers, soft skin and no acnes. She was actually the ideal girl.

Well, despite the fact that she was tardy and seemed to take this job half-heartedly (which was an aspect Akihito did not like about her), she was perfect.

The stylists and the make up persons immediately took her to the dressing room to get changed into the assigned clothing while from the corner of his eyes a middle-aged woman that was also her manager was busy talking to his boss, probably explaining the million useless excuses as to why they were late to the photo session. His boss did not seem to mind though, judging by the fact that he only shrugged her off with a smile while scratching the back of his head timidly like some friendly American old man (though it was no doubt that he would most likely cuss the woman out when they were done and gone from the studio. Backstabbing guys).

Akihito was suddenly jerked away from playing with his camera when the sound of heels clicking on the floor was heard throughout the spacious studio. He turned his face towards the source of the sound, only to find himself dumbstruck at the woman who strode confidently away from the dressing room towards the photo booth, her cheeks the color of a lovely rose as her eyelashes kissed them softly when she blinked. His hazel eyes followed her every movements as she greeted her manager, giggling at one moment to another at some comment the middle-aged woman spoke to her. She was dressed in some dress that looked as fluffy as herself, the color of the sun itself seemed to be drenched and molded into a suit that matched her oh-so-finely. Her hair was loosely tied in a braid—a nude red ribbon tied them all up in a lovely seal. She had white teeth as she opened her mouth, cute dimples as she smiled, and her voice was the sounds of every lullaby the sirens would sing. She was gorgeous, in every way possible. A true beauty with or without make up.

Realizing he had stared too long, Akihito ripped his gaze away from the model and went back to his camera, adjusting some effects here and there for the succession of today's photoshoot.

It was against his will, however, when whispers and gossips started swirling hotly just behind his back, the staffs and crews that just came out from the background after working on her for the shoot started whispering and talking about unwanted topics, so unwanted that Akihito actually strained his ears just to catch on on what they were talking about.

"She is the one, isn't she?"

"The lucky girl?"

"Yup, the one who's going to be an Asami."

They kept going on until he could not hear them anymore, did not want to strain his ears to hear them anymore. He kept his mouth in a silent grim as his thoughts consumed him, his hazel eyes blown open in shock but not exactly directed at anywhere in particular. He did not even realize that he was gripping his camera in a tight, crushing grip until the voice of his boss rang throughout the studio to cue the photo session to start.

She is the model who is going to get engaged to Asami? At that, Akihito brought his vision back to focus, only to find himself staring at the woman who was currently on the limelight of the studio.

It took him quite a surprise, however, when he realized that the model was currently looking back at him; her blue jade irises looking up just in time to meet his hazel ones. For a moment they just stayed there, time stilled as they were engaged in an unavoidable eyecontact, and it was kind of brief but Akihito swore she lifted a knowing smile on her lips upon seeing him—as if she knew just what was going on inside his head, as if she knew just how broken and screwed up he was inside because of one man they both knew. Before he could find out which was which, unfortunately, the woman immediately broke her attention on him and set the new one on the cameras instead, getting ready on her actual job at the studio as the pose director called her.

The blond also focused his attention on his camera then, fiddling mindlessly on the angles and other photography stuffs but then a thought just kept bugging on his mind, chewing at his brain annoyingly to get noticed, and it was seconds later did he finally sigh in defeat, realizing that it was kind of pointless because he knew more than anyone else that his mind was anywhere but here.

Does she know about my relationship with Asami?

There were possibilities, he thought, but then why would she care about some petty affairs if she would have the real deal as her legal wedded husband soon? Akihito sighed, before getting back on the appropriate position, finally being able on focusing on his own job as he got that annoying thought into the open air of his head.

He set the camera to catch the model at just the right angle, the lenses focusing under his deft fingers to catch even the smallest details a camera could ever provide. Through the lenses, Akihito could see how bright she smiles, how her presence alone could lit up the whole studio just by hearing her giggles. The theme for that day was 'happiness', and the blond could actually see that all the smiles and laughs were for work. But it was good, anyway—they didn't look that fake.

The pose director that stood just in front of him (but not exactly in front of him, you know, to not cover up the model from the cameras' view) started leading her poses then, and it took him by a major surprise when the lady director asked, "Mayako – san, are you happy?"—her voice coming out just a little bit louder than the noises made in the backgrounds for the model to hear.

What replied her was a smile that he thought was genuine; the kind of smile that stretched your mouth to push against your cheeks—the kind of smile that brought stars on the night sky to shame compared to the twinkling happiness that swam across the bright orbs that were your eyes. The model posed then, a smile so bright it might rival the sun etching across her face, and it was with wild confidence and determination did she open her mouth to speak, "Of course! I'm going to be engaged next week, how can I not be tremendomously happy?"

Her declaration brought a warm happiness throughout the studio, witnessing such a pure and naive act of a woman proudly speaking off on her next step of life, but then Akihito could not find it in him to actually cheer back for support. Instead, he found himself sinking on his seat; he could even feel his heart crashing onto the lowest pit of his stomach with a distinct sound—the sound of the end the world; the sound of his life draining out of life itself and ran cold.

He hissed a little when he felt his knuckles gone white from gripping onto the camera too hard—hissed a little even more as another part of his broken heart fell down for the umpteenth time in an uneven crash. Akihito took her pictures begrudgingly as he nursed himself back to health, telling himself over and over again that he could get through this and everything would be fine in the end. The photoshoot felt like it could last for decades, and the blond wondered then just how long he could hold on watching the woman that would steal the love of his life away from him before he actually broke down to pieces.

It was sooner than he had expected, however, when the familiar voice of his boss echoed across the studio again, the words he spoke brought both relief and dread to his guts, "Great job everyone! Unfortunately, this is the last day Mayako Yuri – san work with us," upon hearing the disappointed sounds from the crew, his boss continued, "Let us have a little cheer for her engagement next week."

Everybody in the studio cheered delightfully and gave her a round of applause, congratulating her on her engagement with her bowing in an attempt to show her gratefulness towards the support. On the other hand, however, Akihito still couldn't find it in him to be happy for her. While everyone was still busying themselves cheering for her, he instead worked on tidying up his camera, slowly yet carefully unplugging each parts of his sweetheart before putting them into the bag that sat just beside his stool. He was so focused on his task that he didn't even realize a figure that walked towards him, even got himself shocked out of his bones when said figure stuck the cold surface of a cold coffee can on his cheeks to make her appearance.

Akihito quickly whipped his head towards his offender, only to be met with the familiar, haunting blue jade eyes, who only pulled back a little before smiling, saying, "Takaba - san, right?", when the blond could only numbly nod, her smile got even wider and she proceeded on handing him the coffee can, which he also numbly accepted.

"Um... Thanks?", he said, and it cringed him down to the core when she said no more. Sensing that she wasn't going to do anything any time soon, he clicked opened the seal and busied himself on gulping down the coffee in the can down his throat, trying so hard to shield himself away from the awkwardness that started slowly seeping between them.

Yuri only watched him as he drank his beverage, and she waited a generous amount of time to speak, not actually wanting him to choke on his own drink in surprise. So, when he finally came down from his extreme drinking, she finally got him to look her in the eyes, and started, "I want to talk to you. Can we talk somewhere, uh, private?"

When it came out as a low whisper, Akihito could only quirk up an eyebrow, sensing something unusual and suspicious coming from her invitation. But then again, his curiosity got the best of him, and he couldn't really win the battle against that. So, letting out a heavy sigh he didn't realize he had been holding for awhile, he finally put down the can on the stool just beside his camera bag, before cueing for her to lead him out from the crowd, out and away towards the dressing room which was deserted and empty.

Just as they arrived there, the blond didn't waste any minute of his precious time, and he immediately started, "What do you want to talk about?"

Yuri was just closing the door when the question was thrown at her. She turned around then, facing her talking companion as he stared at her so intently in the eye, before letting out a sigh. She had expected this though. Sporting herself a sweet, business smile, she spoke, "You sure know my soon-to-be husband, right? Asami Ryuichi."

Upon hearing that name on her lips, Akihito immediately stilled his movements, his hazel eyes blown wide in shock and there was panic obviously and openly etched across his facial expression. Yuri only needed that to know what she wanted to know, and she only nodded away in understanding as she added, "Don't worry. I've known it all along. He's gonna be my husband—of course I've done some researches beforehand.", she added a smile then, hoping to somehow put him at ease.

But it unfortunately didn't work at all as Akihito was still frozen on his spot, his eyes just followed her wherever she went even as she walked pass him towards the big mirror, looking at her own reflection in the mirror as she fiddled mindlessly on the cosmetics that were left on the mirror desk, "You know, this kind of marriage is… not something every girl would want to happen in their life.", she said, catching the man behind her off guard.

"W-What do you mean?", Akihito asked, a bit warily and hesitantly.

She gave him a knowing look, "Asami Ryuichi may be the 'almost' perfect man on this entire planet, but with no feelings, I could imagine that this marriage would not work out.", the blond watched as she turned her body around to face him then, a clear frown drawing itself across her lovely features, "This loveless marriage is not something I really am hoping for."

Akihito kept his mouth shut even as she continued, "My father is a businessman like Asami Ryuichi is. Thus, those two become something like partners in crime in whatever industry they are currently running. Because of the successful ties and an unbreakable trust between the two, my father plans to improve their partnership by bonding me and him in a tie called marriage. An arranged marriage on top of that."

Something clicked inside his brain, "Why are you telling me all of this?", he had to ask.

Yuri glanced at him through the corner of her eyes as she answered, "I actually have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?", he asked, feeling his curiosity nagging him annoyingly on the head.

She strode towards him and leaned closer, her face just inches away from his, as she muttered out, her eyes not leaving his for even a second, "you like him, don't you?"

She said it so lightly, so open and so raw for anyone to hear, but it got all the blood running towards his head in a horrifying speed it actually got his face to redden up, his heart pumping much faster than before to provide him the replacements for all the loss blood that had gone to his head, which was futile because all the replacements also went for his head but whatever—he didn't really understand biology to begin with. In fact, what he could understand right at that moment was the fact that future wife of Asami just fucking stated his feelings for the man out in the open; and she did it so casually it pissed him off, "Where the hell do you get that?"

"It's written all over your face.", Yuri pulled back slowly, a slow smile started gracing on the beauty of her lips, "it says, 'Oh, I'm a heartbroken man because the one I love is going to get engaged to this bitch'," she laughs at that, "okay, not that vulgar, but you know what I'm saying."

"Then what do you want me to do?", Akihito counters her then, feeling the hot, white anger rising his temper to the clouds, "telling him I love him and get him to live a happily ever after life with me? It's all futile!", he backed away at that and only after he felt the hard surface of a table on the back of his hip did he slowly lower down his voice, the words that came out next from his mouth sounded so hopeless it triggered some unwanted emotions within him, "he's dead-set on marrying you."

Seeing his reaction, her heart grew larger with sympathy, and before she even realized what she was doing, she was already standing just beside him, touching his arm ever so softly with her palm, "He's not, if a certain kind of man stops him on doing so."

Akihito brought his vision towards her then, and it kind of choked him up uncomfortably as he questioned, "Why don't you want to marry him?"

"I told you earlier, I don't like loveless marriage like this," she twisted some curls of her hair, watching them ever-so-obediently wrapped around her fingers, "I also have someone I like, and of course I want to fight for him as well," she let go of the curls then, staring at them as they fell back onto their places which was her shoulders, "I will not let this kind of funny family tradition ruins my love life."

"Then...", the blond started, not really sure about how to phrase it out loud, "why don't you just tell your father to cancel the engagement?", the blond asked furiously, "I don't think this is something that you must do. You can just cancel it. After all, the engagement is one of hundred ways to bond a tie between two businessmen, right?"

"Nope. Can't do, Takaba - san.", she breathed out a little, "My father won't change his mind unless Asami does, Asami Ryuchi was like—a freaking God to him! Oh, and also,", she stopped a little before continuing, lips widened in a mischief smirk, "I want to know, what kind of person would willingly fight for a man as powerful as Asami Ryuichi."

She pushed herself off the table that she had been leaning against beside him and strode towards the door, saying, "I will give you the address of where the engagement will take place. You can either choose to come or not, be my guest. But make sure, you won't regret every decision you'll make."

As she reached for the door, Akihito stopped her, "Wait."

She turned towards him, "What is it?"

"Why do you look so happy when you tell the others about your marriage earlier even though you don't like it?"

Yuri only smiled, before finally landing her palm on the cold door handle and responded, calmly, "They told me to be happy in front of the camera. So, I did."