BAM BITCHESSS. FINALLY DONE. :D

Details and possible one-shot info at the END.

Sheltered beneath the golden guise of deep, dark, chestnut eyes, flawless skin, lengthy lashes, soft pouty lips and pin-straight raven hair was an incubus. A siren's voice was what aided her skill in persuasion and with a good amount of intelligence, it was no surprise that falling victim became quite easy. When armed with your hazy sight and malfunctioning instincts, her bait seems innocent enough, especially because of how much slack seems to be on your side of the line. With a gentle tug or two, you are dealt a blow- a yank both shocking and fierce piercing the roof of your mouth with one swift motion.

With a despondent smile, he decided the analogy was quite fitting and tucked it into a corner of his mind for later. Admittedly, her appearance had played a large part in melting his defenses but he knew he could not shove the blame onto her looks. His downfall was the consequence of his own unresolved darkness and he still found it all quite ironic how she had succeeded in turning him against what he had devoted his entire life to.

You look like a deer in front of the headlights and I'd like to note that it's unbecoming. I know you're hardly used to have your competence questioned, by a woman no less, so I'll explain it clearly.

"Are you listening to me?"

I'm not fighting an unwinnable war. All I need is a bit of help, specifically your help. Your profession doesn't intimidate me at all, so spare me the lecture and answer me this simple question: Is approaching you with such an irresistible offer a mistake?

"Yes or no?"

"I heard you loud and clear." He answered, almost scornful with his dismissal. "I'll leave now and you'll have what you want in a couple of hours. Knowing how you feel about our current snare... I'm trusting that you won't grow impatient or hesitant and release him."

Sliding off of the metal table and to his feet, he turned and headed towards the door. The fangs of the malicious glare dug deep into the back of his neck making him smile, again. How foolish she was, throwing away a good chance to start anew, perhaps maybe even to love and for what?- Petty vengeance, or something of that sort. He supposed that made him foolish, too but if this indeed worked, he would gain much, much more than she could ever.

Taking his mobile phone from his pocket, he dialed a familiar number, rejoicing in the pained voice that greeted him.

You lost.

Paralyzed and breathless, he watched her disappear from his sight. He didn't dare to say anything that may stop her from leaving, he only allowed himself to be consumed by a familiar feeling. It was a feeling that had taken root when he was younger, but he was unsure of where it had been first planted. Home, family, school, peers, friends, or simply within himself, he could not be sure.

Such a feeling only accompanied certain words, striking too deep- the chord of devastation. It did not matter that the words were seldom spoke, somehow they managed to linger beneath the surface but it was a fleeting sensation, never lasting too long. Only when spoken, did they seem truly real.

Loss; plain and simple. That was probably what he hated the most- losing or being proved wrong. Until he had met Kumiko, he was never frequently subject to that loss. Unfortunately, he was never good enough, never informed enough, strong enough, fast enough, brave enough, nor old enough to rival her. And, as life would serve it to him, he had lost to her, again.

He was not stupid. He was very intelligent and he could admit that without being vain about it. He could understand a lot of things without them being said, and he understood this. So, he let the feeling ricochet throughout him, something large and volatile but he welcomed it all the more; willing to understand and welcome what he had been running from the whole time He was not as grown as Kumiko. He still had lots to learn, lots to experience. Whether it be instigating or accepting a game over the woman he loved the most, could only prove that he was childish. He was still somewhat a child. Maybe, once he'd grown into more of a man, he could succeed in taking her back.

He smirked and nodded, touching his suddenly burning lips.

"Looks like..."

I lost.

"Well, If I'm compared to Shin? Whatchya say?"

The silence was unsettling.

Shaking her head fiercely she mumbled, "It's not about looks or money or anything so superficial! I like you for you!"

A snort of disbelief was sounded from the tall boy and it earned him a mighty glower from the cute girl in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw what he believed to be complete indignant determination to win him over. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes, exaggerating the motion so that his head moved slightly, as well, and opened his arms. Immediately, he was filled with a sense of warmth and he rested his cheek on her head.

"I dunno what yer problem is but I guess I like it."

"Ou." Came the beckoning call from the other side of the window. "Shin-chan is coming." He took a large bite out of his beautifully constructed onigiri. "I say you two go make peace- Ah! Wait! Wait a sec!"

Despair flooded the large boy's insides and it sure as hell was not from his cute little rice ball. Although, the fact that the door had opened to allow the red-haired spectator a full view of the lips and tongues that had engaged in fierce battle on his doorstep, probably had a whole lot to do with it.

"I love you." She whispered sweetly, quite content that her plans to break Shin from his friends had worked so smoothly.

A problem had surfaced, though...

"Unbelievable!" Shin groaned, thinking aloud unconsciously during his desperate gasps for air.

For the moment he had ceased his run to catch his breath, as well as curse himself and plan for the upcoming battle. This was a complete and utter mess! He had exhausted every option within his mind and the only conclusion he could come up with was that he would either end up dead, or heavily screwed.

Entering the mansion through the front door seemed a bit too direct, it could be guarded by armed men or plain booby-trapped and that would be the end of his mission then and there. If he decided to be sneaky and climbed over this imposing brick wall, he could sneak his way around and maybe find an open window or something but he'd have no idea where he was or where he wanted to go, either, leaving him to wander aimlessly around until he would encounter something that most likely would not accommodate his fancy.

Kumiko had left with that shitty cop once she had received a call that was a bit too conveniently timed but he could not object, Shinohara had won and Shin's suspicions would be passed off as jealously. The kumi would probably already know the news and have abandoned him.

There was something that threatened to overwhelm him and it possessed his heart, mischievously tossing the organ up into his throat where it pitifully attempted to pump life to the rest of his body, he forced it down and shook his head. No, he would enter through the front door! If his reasoning was right, he would not be killed on the spot. Azumi liked games, being the daughter of a gambler, of course, so she would want to play with him in order to drag the suspense out.

He took a deep breath, stepping out from the shadows and in front of the gate. As his hands gripped the bars, preparing to climb over, they began to open. He grunted, shoving his hands deep within his pockets though he knew that put him in a vulnerable position and proceeded towards the door. That opened, too.

Guards were stationed just like he had suspected but they did not aim to hurt him. They only directed him towards the stairs. He nodded his head in recognition but not thanks, he could never thank anyone working for that greedy lady. Ascending the long flight of stairs that wound so magestically up to the second story of the mansion. The level was dark, all the lights had been shut off. It was probably meant to insert anticipation in his gut, fortunately, it could do no such thing when he was already pretty much consumed by it.

Beneath a door, a bright light was shining, casting a suitably eerie glow onto the floor. It beckoned him and he accepted it's call, trying to keep his footsteps as light as possible. With a slight tap to the door, he flung himself out of the way, fearing that he would be maimed by an oncoming assault. The coast had been deemed clear and he twisted the doorknob, shoving it open so that he could see inside. Peeking around the corner, he caught a sight that made his stomach lurch, panic taking him into it's horrid embrace and moving his unwilling body to step over the threshold.

"Noda..." He called, his voice now a raspy whisper.

Silence was the only thing that reached him besides the tell-tale movement of his friend's eyes to a corner of the room yet to be seen. Instinctively, Shin found himself dropping to his knees and rolling away. Just in time, too as Morioka Azumi and the spiked ball of her hand-held mace came into view, attacking like a maniac. With the absence of matter where Shin had once stood, the metal found nothing to collide with thus throwing her off balance, the mace making a large dent in the wall.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO EVADE ME!" Azumi shreiked, tugging the metal ball out of the wall and turning, a feral expression poisoning her face and her eyes as she began to swing over and over, again, making an 'X' towards the space where Shin lay.

Barely dodging her blows he pulled a sudden feat and made a desperate attempt to somersault backwards. He succeeded, finding his feet on the ground again. With a mighty push, he was standing but he was rid of his new position because the time he had wasted in performing that stunt caught up with him and the spiky metal collided with his left shoulder, causing him to lose a chunk of his skin to the graze.

"Shit!" He groaned, his hand rushing to his clasp his shoulder as he turned and headed back towards the stairs.

Thankfully, he was a much faster runner than his former-fiancee and got the stairs moments before she did. He paused, knowing that in order for this work, he had to time it perfectly. Remembering everything Kyo had taught him, everything he had watched his precious Kumiko do, he ducked at just the right time just as the mace had come swinging. Again, she was thrown off balance by the lack of substance to hit and she flew. His torso turned, arm coming to wrap around her legs and throw her down the stairs or at least, make her fall. Unfortunately, he was a bit too weak and the only thing he accomplished was the latter.

"You'll pay!" She screamed, desperately reaching towards the mace that lay only inches away from the hand it had just left while she fell to the floor.

Shin scrambled, crawling ontop of her and stretching his injured arm out to throw the mace effectively far enough from her reach with his last ounce of willpower. So much action had caused him to lose quite a bit of blood. He continued to pin her down with his dead-weight and the elbow of his good arm. It rested in a position atop her cheek, shoving her face into the ground in a most painful way.

"You do the most unnecessary things." Shin sighed.

"GUARDS! COME HELP ME!" Azumi ordered, her voice louder than the first time.

Loud, thundering footsteps began to approach at a menacing pace. Shin couldn't risk running because then she would get up and pound his skull in but that would happen either way. He could hear his heart thundering in his ears, he could feel his pulse moving his chest. He was so royally screwed!

A dark chuckle came from behind the two, sending shivers up and down Shin's spine. "Guards? I ain't seen no guards. How about you, Tetsu?"

"No, aniki!" Came the faithful reply.

Relief surged throughout the red-haired teen like a tidal wave as he whispered, "You guys..."

In a few moments, he was being tossed aside in the gentlest way a Yakuza knew how to toss a bleeding man and the girl was successfully restrained in Tetsu's arms. Realization struck him and he stood, yelling his thanks as he returned to the room down the hall.

It did not take many steps at all before Shin found himself dropping to his knees in front of the wriggling bound and gagged boy, drenched in red. Pulling the cloth out from Noda's mouth, he heard his friend gasp his name in delight, instantly saying that the blood was fake and the only thing he needed was to be untied. Shin set to it, dutifully unwrapping the boy's restraints as he pondered to himself why Azumi had not cut him up and injured him... It seemed so strange.

"Fuck man... I fell for a psycho." Noda groaned.

"Does that mean thank you?" Shin asked, heavy sarcasm filling his voice.

"Thanks, dude..." Noda acknowledged, standing with the help of Shin. As they reached their full heights simultaneously, his eyes landed on the darkening splotch that now adorned the crimson-coloured fabric. Letting his air out in a hiss he exlaimed, "Yer bleeding like a motherfucker!"

There was a light rumble from Shin, the signs of a laugh. "S'okay. I enjoy battle scars. Come on, let's ditch this place."

"Er... It probably ain't the time but... Why are you dressed up so fancy?" Noda asked, blinking innocently as they stepped across the threshold of the door together. A wistful smile broke out of Shin's face and Noda returned it, patting his buddy on his good shoulder. "Next time let's fall for each other~!"

A shrill scream rang throughout the hall, making both of them stop in their tracks, covered in shadow by the hallway that was not illuminated. They watched as Azumi flew backwards, falling almost in slow motion and then landing with a soft, deep 'thud' on the ground behind her.

"Oujo!" Kyo squeaked as he watched his beloved mistress straddle the girl on the ground, gripping the collar of her expensive dress and yanking it forward.

Azumi's head lolled back in misery as if she was already half-dead and she whimpered as she was dropped back to the floor like a piece of garbage. "I don't think I've met men more despicable than you!" Kumiko shouted to the girl that lay on the floor beneath her hips. "How dare you attack innocent people with threats to kill their loved ones and how dare you utilize your men to carry out the things you are too pitiful to do yourself! You toss them all away like worthless tissues after they have done your bidding and for what? What exactly did you do it for? You're so generic! I want my money, I want my fucking social status! You superficial moron and there is so much more but the only thing that matters is that you..." Kumiko bit her lip, standing and moving backwards. "You tried to destroy everything that Shin loved... His friendships, his relationship with me, his ties with Ooedo and also, a respectful relationship with a Shinohara-san."

There was silence as Kumiko turned her head towards the two figures in the shadows. "I'm still upset that you did not tell me earlier, Shin but I'm glad that you and Noda are all right... You guys, please take care of them." Then she turned to leave, her footsteps being heard as she descended the winding staircase. "Oh and Shin!" She called. "I can say it now! I love you!"

THE NOT-TOO-SHABBY-BUT-STILL-KINDA-SUCKY-END.

Yer, I know it is not mind-blowing but I had to get it out there. It covers all the basics.

THEY SHALL GO AND HAVE HOT SEX NOW. USE YOUR BRILLIANT IMAGINATIONS.

Ohai, my lovely reader. Read on if you are confused.

Shinohara helped Azumi escape jail. He did it because Azumi promised him the chance to break the case (homocide, gambling, prison break etc.). Also, he would get Kumiko since Shin was out of the way. Besides liking her, attaining her would mean inside scoops on the Kumi's activities. He fell for Azumi because he had a horribly condescending outlook on women criminals and the way she presented herself just shocked everything right out of him. I guess she sounded very promising...

Besides that, the gang made such a quick arrival because as you know in previous chapters, they were already on alert about Azumi. They kept pretty good tabs on her and always had a bug on Shin's phone.

As for Kumiko, she's got great instincts and thought the way Shinohara called her to pick her up knowing exactly where she was a bit strange, of course.

If you're still reading, YEAH, if you squint there is NodaxAzumi. I think I may write a oneshot for them but who knows.

Kthxbye. I love you all. :D

Leave a review or I'll cry and never make a fic, again. Teehee. Just kidding but leave something all the same.