Chapter Text
Mrs. Takaba was clearing the breakfast dishes, when there was a knock at the door. She opened it and gasped. It was a bedraggled Akihito. His hair was matted and tangled, his face pale with dark circles, his eyes bloodshot, his clothes rumpled and dirty.
"What happened???"
Aki dropped his backpack on the kitchen floor and paced around. "Asami, he, he-- I had to leave, Mom."
Mrs. Takaba pulled out a chair and guided her son to sit. Aki leaned over and rubbed his face.
"Did he make you leave???" his mother asked. "Did he hit you?"
Aki shook his head. "No, no he didn't throw me out or hit me, but he, he, tried to choke me, thinking it would help me forget."
"He what???"
Aki closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then told his mother that someone had tried to choke him while he was "traveling." (That's what his parents thought he was doing while he was with Fei Long.) The experience, he explained, had left him traumatized. He told his mom how Asami had called a shrink, and while she was on her way, Asami had decided to take matters into his own hands.
"I forgot the whole thing," the young man said, "but suddenly I remembered while we were... in bed. It all came back, and I confronted him."
"Did he apologize?" asked his mother. "Did he say he was sorry for hurting you?"
Akihito began to tear up. He shook his head. "He just stood there, staring. He didn't even look sorry." Akihito sobbed. "I can't take him trying to control me anymore, Momma. I mean, he couldn't even wait for the doctor to arrive. He had to try to 'fix' me himself by 'overwriting' my choking experience."
"Overwriting?" Mrs. Takaba scowled. "You are a man, not a computer."
Akihito nodded. Then he broke down. "I remember being so scared, Mom. I ran out of the resort, and they were all chasing me on the beach, Asami and his men. I was so terrified. I ran into the water, and there was a shark, too."
Mrs. Takaba held her son against her and stroked his hair.
"And, and, then when I was packing to come here, he didn't say anything except to ask where I was going."
"Did you tell him?"
"No," Akihito said, snuffling, "but I'm sure he had me followed, he's such a control freak." He continued to cry. "I'm sick of it, Mom. This is the last straw, and I'm not going back." Aki pulled away to look up at his mother. "Can I stay here until I figure out what I'm gonna do?"
Mrs. Takaba regarded her only child tenderly and stroked his wet cheek. "Of course, baby. Your room has my sewing machine and Daddy's bonsai tools in it, but it's still your room with your old bed. I still have your Ninja Turtle sheets on it, too."
Aki laughed through his tears, and his mother smiled down at him.
***
When Asami arrived at Sion that morning, Kei immediately knew something had happened between him and Akihito, something bad. Not only did the boss look like shit, but he also looked dangerously pissed off and stank of whiskey and stale cigarettes. Kei dreaded dealing with Asami in this state, as nothing the secretary could do would be right, and the entire office would have to tip-toe around on eggshells, lest they detonate the bomb that was now their CEO.
Asami entered his office without saying good morning. Kei heard him drop his briefcase, then pour himself a drink. "Kei!" the crime lord boomed.
So it begins.... Kei rose from his desk and entered the office. Asami stood at the bar, swilling his tumbler.
"Did we receive the wire from Mikhail?"
"No, Asami-sama."
The crime lord went to his desk and slammed down his drink. "Call his office and ask what's the hold up."
"Yes, Asami-sama."
Asami sat down and powered on his computer.
"Anything else, Asami-sama?"
The boss didn't look up. "Akihito is visiting his parents," he said tersely.
"Oh," said Kei. Dare I venture a question...? "How long will Takaba-san be gone?"
"Dunno."
"Would you like breakfast?"
The crime lord shook his head and continued typing forcefully.
"Anything else, boss?"
Asami shook his head again. Kei turned to leave.
"Let me know about the wire," Asami called as Kei returned to his desk. "I'm in no mood for delays."
No kidding, the secretary thought, pulling up the Arbatov office number in his speed dial.
***
Aki spent the next several days visiting with his parents. He went fishing with his father and took long walks with his mother. He enjoyed his time with them, but his air of sadness never left. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and every morning, he'd come out to breakfast looking like he'd been crying all night. His mother prepared all his favorite dishes, hoping to cheer him up, but he only just nibbled at everything, which worried her even more. In the evenings, he'd sit out back in the swing, absently moving back and forth with his legs and staring off at the sunset....
By the following week, Mrs. Takaba had had enough and took the early train to Tokyo.
She walked into the executive suite of Sion Corporate by mid morning. A substitute secretary announced her arrival to Asami, as Kirishima had called in sick.
Mrs. Takaba entered the office, and Asami gestured to one of the chairs before his desk. Mrs. Takaba sat and set her purse on her lap. "Akihito does not know I am here, Asami-san. I left while he was still asleep."
"How may I help you, Takaba-san?" asked the crime lord, his face revealing nothing.
"I wish I could thrash you for what you did to my son," Mrs. Takaba said matter of factly, "but Akihito is still in love with you, as I believe you are with him, though you don't know how to express it or behave like a grown man in a relationship."
The Dunhill almost slipped from Asami's lips as he stared at this woman, who was speaking to him so brazenly, her hazel gaze direct and unwavering. This is where Akihito gets his fire, as well as his eyes....
Mrs. Takaba continued. "Akihito is a man, not a child. You want to control him, but he fights you now."
Asami found himself admiring this woman. She had guts and said what she thought. Akihito was so much like her, and it only made the crime lord miss him more.
"My world is dangerous, Takaba-san," Asami said. "If Akihito is to be in it, then I must protect him. It may seem controlling, but it is necessary."
The mother wasn't buying it. "How is choking my son protection, Asami-san? Where did you obtain your psychology degree? Yes, you must protect Akihito from the dangerous people you associate with, but you use this as an excuse to control him."
Asami continued to stare at the woman, and still, her eyes didn't move from his.
"You act like a jealous teenager. Are you so selfish that you must control the relationship entirely instead of giving my son room to grow? Are you so insecure about his feelings for you that you do not trust him to go about his day without 'checking in' with you regularly? You have him followed everywhere, including my house, isn't that enough to ensure his safety?"
Asami didn't reply. He tapped the ashes from his cigarette.
"Akihito is much younger than you are," Mrs. Takaba said. "When you met, you were a mature man and he was barely out of his teens. He'd had problems, delinquency and trying to find his direction. Perhaps he welcomed your control then. But he is not that boy anymore. He has grown up, and you need to realize this. Otherwise, you will lose him, Asami-san, no matter how much he loves you."
"Have you finished, Takaba-san?" the crime lord asked. Mrs. Takaba ignored him.
"Aki's father and I have been married for thirty years. That love has been like a river, changing course over time as we have changed. We've allowed each other to grow but also taken care so that we haven't grown apart. The key has been honesty, trust, and communication. I suggest you try those with my son."
Asami's face registered no emotion.
"Now I am finished, Asami-san," the mother said, rising from the chair.
"May I have my car take you home?" Asami asked.
"No, thank you," said Mrs. Takaba, moving towards the door. "I prefer the train."
***
Akihito was in the swing watching the sunset, when he heard someone approaching. He turned to see Kirishima walking across the lawn towards him. He'd apparently come in through the side gate. Akihito remained in the swing and watched him.
Kei stopped in front of Aki, who turned back around to resume watching the sunset and gently swaying to and fro.
"Good evening, Takaba-san."
Akihito didn't look at him. "If you're here to take me back, I'm not going."
"That is not why I'm here."
"Then why?" asked the blond. "Do you have a message from Asami?"
"The boss doesn't know I'm here."
Aki glanced at Kei. "How'd you manage that?"
"I took a sick day." Aki's eyes grew huge. Mr. Perfect-and-Loyal Secretary actually called in sick when he wasn't???
"You lied to Asami???" said Akihito. "Why???"
"So I could talk to you, Takaba-san," replied Kei.
"Is something wrong with Asami? Is he sick or something?"
Kirishima didn't reply. He walked a few feet away and stared at the sunset.
Akihito jumped out of the swing. "He's sick, isn't he? Really sick. What's wrong with him??? Tell me!"
"His heart is sick," said Kei, "figuratively. He's very unhappy without you, Takaba-san." Akihito stood beside the secretary, and their eyes met. "He's returning to how he was when you were presumed dead: working and drinking far too much, his temper ferocious and unpredictable. He is difficult to work for or even be around like this. I worry about his health and wellbeing."
"You're sure all that's because of me?"
"Yes," said Kirishima. "I've known Asami for many years, and since you've been in his life, he's changed for the better. He looks forward to going home, and in the office, he actually laughs. Asami never used to laugh. His eyes glow when he talks about you, Takaba-san. Now, they are empty."
"I can't go back," said Aki. "Not with him trying to control every part of my life. I was suffocating. I'm not the same person I was before all this stuff happened. I need to make my own decisions about what I do and how I live."
"Asami needs you, Takaba-san," said the secretary.
Aki snorted. "Asami doesn't need anybody. He may want me, but he doesn't need me."
"Yes, he does," said Kei. "He needs you far more than you need him. Can you not see that?"
"What Asami wants is control. In our relationship, he has all the power, and that's how he likes it."
Kei suddenly looked very serious. "You are the one with the power, Akihito. Asami was lost without you. You were dead, and so was he, inside. He was angry and dark and full of pain. I've never seen him driven to such depths. I will tell you something, Takaba-san, and I will only say it once, and you must promise never to repeat it...."
Akihito nodded. Kei took a breath and continued.
"You have control over him as no one ever has. For a man like Asami Ryuichi, who is used to being the master of everything and everyone in his world, that is incredibly difficult. So he tries to exert control over you. But you have the upper hand with him, and he knows this. Never forget that, Takaba-san, and realize he is this way with you because of the power you have over him."
This was a revelation for Akihito. He knew Asami cared for him--why else would the crime lord have rescued him twice?--but he'd never thought of himself as the powerful one in their relationship. Krishima had given him something to consider, but when Aki looked up to respond, the secretary was gone, and the sun had set.
***
Two days later, flowers arrived for both Akihito and his mother from Asami. The day after that, the crime lord himself appeared with Mrs. Takaba at the sliding-glass door to the backyard. Mrs. Takaba pointed to the far end, where Akihito was pushing a lawnmower and wearing headphones, his head bobbing in time to the music. Asami headed across the lawn. He was dressed in casual attire, and his hair was loose and in his face. He looked delicious, but Akihito was focused on his mowing and music and didn't see him approach. The man stood directly in his path, and Aki looked up. Seeing Asami, he shut off the mower and removed the headphones.
The two men regarded each other. Then Asami stepped forward. "I am sorry, Akihito," he said hoarsely, just as he had that night on the ship. "For hurting you."
Akihito nodded. "Apology accepted." Hazel eyes and golden eyes met, relaying all the feelings neither man seemed able to adequately express in words.
Slowly they moved into each other's arms, their bodies coming together by memory. Asami buried his nose in Akihito's hair and inhaled his scent. Aki lay his head against the crime lord's strong chest, closed his eyes, and sighed.
"Will you try, Asami?" he whispered. "To understand...?"
"Yes," murmured Asami.
***
Several weeks after Akihito had returned to the penthouse, Asami announced that the CEO of BOIL Biotech had given permission for another visit to the unnamed satellite island. He'd also invited Asami and Akihito to tour his biotech facility on Sialapaku and then join him for dinner afterwards.
For this trip, Asami had engaged a yacht so that he and Akihito could spend several days at sea comfortably. When they reached the satellite island, he, Akihito, Suoh, and Kei took a small motorboat to shore. Kei waited in the boat, while the other three made their way towards the hill where Suardika's hut had been.
Aki found himself becoming very emotional when he saw the familiar places.
"That cave," he said, pointing to the small opening in the sea cliff. "That's where I lived when I first came here. I wanted to be safe from the cannibals." Aki stopped and stared at the cave while the waves crashed below. "I remember lying in there waiting to die after I'd stepped on that poisonous fish."
"But your were saved," said Asami, putting a hand on his shoulder, "by Ryuichichi and Suardika."
"Yes."
Asami and Suoh followed Akihito up the hill. Brush or no brush, the blond knew the climb by heart, and he was soon at the top and running. He reached the site of the hut and garden, but, just as Suoh's earlier photos had shown, neither was there. Akihito inspected the area carefully.
"I don't understand this at all," he said, confused. "Ryuichichi! Ryuichichi! Hey, boy, are you here?" He glanced around, hoping to see his hairy, brown-eyed friend come flying out of the trees, screeching in greeting, and land in his arms. But there was only the sound of the birds and the distant surf.
"Suardika!" he yelled. "Suardika, it's Aki!"
No response.
Akihito was heartbroken, and it showed on his face. Asami ruffled his hair. "Come, my kitten, let's get back to the boat."
The blond nodded and followed his lover and Suoh down the hill and back to the motorboat, where Kei was keeping watch. They climbed in and Kei started up the motor. They were just about to leave when Aki yelled, "Wait! There's something out there!"
Kei quickly shut off the motor, and Aki jumped out of the boat. He was about to run towards whatever it was he'd seen, but Asami grabbed him and pulled him back. Suoh already had his rifle trained on the bushes.
"What the hell???" Aki yelled.
"You are wise not to run," Asami called towards the bushes. "But then you know Suoh's accuracy, even at this distance."
The thing stepped out of the bushes: a man with long, tangled, blond hair; a filthy beard; and rags for clothes. Akihito gasped in shock, as he immediately knew who it was.
"Is this your new vacation spot, Sudou?" Asami boomed in amusement. "Are we intruding?"
Sudou didn't reply, but his eyes were wild with anger as he glared at Akihito.
"You may have other visitors soon," Asami continued. "Mikhail owes me a great debt, and I told him if he could deliver you to me, it would be forgiven."
Even with his thick beard, they all saw Sudou's expression of horror.
"I will give you a choice," said Asami. "You may return with me, and I will make your death quick and painless, or you can take your chances with Mikhail. If Mikhail delivers you to me, your demise will be neither quick, nor painless."
The crime lord's expression was murderous now, and Akihito shivered, very glad that he was not on the receiving end of it. He rarely got to see this side of Asami, though he knew quite well it existed.
Sudou turned and ran, disappearing into the jungle. Asami chuckled.
"You would rather take your chances with Mikhail and the cannibals than face me?" he yelled. "I am flattered." He laughed even louder.
***
The next morning, Asami and Akihito arrived at Sialapaku for the facility tour and dinner with the BOIL Biotech CEO, Prananda. The island was a community unto itself, like a military base, and the employees and their families all lived there.
Aki had been rather subdued since returning to the yacht the previous evening. Asami had hoped to get the boy's mind off his disappointment with ardent lovemaking, but when the crime lord had gone below deck to the bedroom, he'd found his kitten fast asleep with the pillow pulled over his head.
The blond didn't say much during the BOIL Biotech facility tour, either, though he did find it interesting. He was quiet during dinner, too, listening as CEO Prananda and Asami talked about business matters in the comfortable dining room of Prananda's residence.
Then the conversation turned to Sialapaku's re-emergence via volcanic activity, which led to a brief discussion about such activity along the Pacific Rim, plate tectonics and such.
"Of course there are still those who believe such activity is governed by the gods or triggered by witches," Prananda commented with amusement as he sipped his wine.
Akihito's ears perked up. "Really? You mean the tribes believe this?"
"Yes, and their descendants," said Prananda.
"Like, what do they believe?" Aki asked.
"Well, Sialapaku's destruction was supposedly the result of a curse," said Prananda. "A curse in the form of a volcano."
Aki starred at Prananda with interested hazel eyes. "A curse from a wronged woman," the CEO continued.
"A woman???" Aki said, his eyes widening. "What was her name?"
The CEO shook his head. "I don't know. Just a young woman who was wronged by a chief's son and who cursed the island and everyone on it."
Akihito looked at Asami. "Suardika! That must be her!" Asami stared at his lover and sipped his wine.
"I have some old documents about this," said Prananda, rising from his chair. "Let me get them, and I'll try to remember the rest of the story." He returned shortly with a small pile of yellowed papers and parchments he set on the dining table between himself and Aki. The CEO began carefully leafing through the papers. One was a sketch of a volcano erupting and lava flowing down it. People were running into the ocean.
"This, of course, depicts the actual event," Prananda said. He continued to move through the papers, finally stopping on another sketch. Aki gasped when he saw it.
"This is supposedly the wronged woman," said Prananda, "who was also a witch."
"Suardika!" Aki exclaimed, starring at the drawing. "That's her when she was younger, I'm sure of it!"
"You know of her?" Prananda asked, surprised.
Aki smiled. "She saved my life when I was on the island. I stepped on something that stung me, and I was dying of fever. Suardika took me to her hut and treated my foot. I would've died without her and Ryuichichi."
The CEO looked puzzled.
"He's the chimp," said Aki. "I named him after Asami."
The CEO glanced uneasily at Asami, who was quietly observing the exchange.
"What's wrong?" Aki asked.
"I don't understand how Suardika could've saved your life," said Prananda. "She couldn't still be alive."
"Well, she did, and she is," Aki said adamantly. "That's who we went back to the island to look for."
"But it's been many years, Akihito," said Prananda.
"Fifty years," the blond asked. "That's when Sialapaku re-emerged, right? That fits perfectly, 'cause Suardika's an old woman now, though you'd never know it by the way she acts." He laughed.
The CEO glanced at Asami again, and the golden-eyed man set down his glass and rubbed his temple. The CEO said gently, "Sialapaku re-emerged fifty years ago, Akihito, but it was destroyed by the volcano over two centuries ago, two-hundred and fifty years, to be exact."
Aki felt as if he'd been struck. All the air rushed from his lungs, his face grew hot, and his head began to spin.
Prananda continued. "The legend says that the young woman was in love with the chief's son, and he with her. He got her pregnant, and then didn't have the courage to stand up to his father, who wanted him to marry another girl, the daughter of a tribal elder. So the young woman and her child were cast off, and woman became so angry, she cursed the chief's son and his new wife. Within a month, they both became ill and died. The tribe accused the woman of being a witch, and they took her and her child to another island and left them there. The boat that took them sunk on its return, drowning everyone on board, and a month after that, the entire village and most of Sialapaku were wiped out by the volcano. The woman's and her son's spirits are said to haunt the entire area. She called him her little monkey."
By now, the tears were rolling down Akihito's cheeks. He quickly rose from the table.
"Excuse me. I, I need to use the bathroom." Aki stumbled down the hall to the bathroom, where he locked the door, slid to the floor, and broke down. His friends, the woman and the chimp who saved his life... Were. Both. Dead.
I was living with ghosts, talking to ghosts. I must be mad!
Aki cried and cried. All the sorrow that had been pent up since the visit to the island came pouring out, and he didn't even try to stop it.
After about twenty minutes, there was a soft tap on the door, and somebody tried the handle.
"Akihito." It was Asami. "Hey. Are you okay?"
Aki snuffled. "Yeah." He quickly got to his feet, splashed water on his face, and opened the door. Asami's face was etched with concern as he studied the boy's red, puffy eyes and blotchy skin. "Can we leave now?" the blond asked quietly.
Asami nodded.
***
When they returned to the yacht, Aki once again went straight to bed without a word. Asami soon joined him, lying behind his kitten. His arms slid around Akihito, drawing the blond against his chest and gently stroking his body. The crime lord was silent, but Aki knew he was trying to comfort him in the only way he knew how. Aki reached back to run his fingers through the slick, black hair, then slowly turned to face his lover. He put his arms around Asami's neck and began to sob, but Asami took Aki's mouth in a passionate kiss, filling it with his tongue possessively. Aki's sobs soon turned to moans of desire. His loins were aching with need, and he rolled onto his back and spread his thighs, inviting Asami to take him now.
The crime lord needed no other encouragement, and he moved on top of his lover, supporting his weight with his arm. His other hand grabbed a squirt of lube and snaked down to work Aki open. Asami was unusually gentle and tender in his ministrations, continuing to kiss the blond deeply as he slowly inserted fingers one at a time and stroked the blond's sweet spot. Aki moaned through the kisses--his breath soft against the other man's lips--setting the crime lord's body on fire, and he took one of Aki's long legs and bent it up so he could penetrate his boy to the core. The blond eagerly grabbed the leg with his hand, wanting to be filled by Asami, needing it so very badly.
Asami guided his prick down and pushed past the ring of muscle to enter Akihito and slide his lubed penis deep into the boy. Akihito moaned and shivered with delicious pleasure at the smooth stroke against his prostate and the sensation of being filled.
"More," he murmured. "Deeper." Asami was more than happy to oblige, pushing until he was fully sheathed in Aki's warm, tight body, then pulling out and thrusting back in again. Aki grunted at the friction, his own prick hardening, and Asami continued to pump, the tension building with each stroke.
Finally, the crime lord positioned himself for better fucking and set a rigorous pace, the slapping of flesh and squelching of lube making obscene sounds against a background of heavy breathing, moans, and grunts. Both men were sweating as their thrusting grew more frenzied, and somewhere in the disoriented haze of lust, Aki thought that they must be rocking the boat with their activities, no matter how large the yacht was.
Then Asami took Aki's prick in hand, and it was only a half-dozen strokes until the blond was shooting cream into the darkness and howling in ecstasy, not caring which of Asami's men and the crew (or if all of them) heard. The crime lord's climax soon followed, filling Aki's ass with cum that overflowed and ran down the blond's crack and onto the sheets.
"Akihito," Asami moaned lowly as he road out his orgasm. "My Akihito." Akihito once again slid his arms around his beloved Asami and buried his face in his neck, tasting the man's sweat with his tongue and savoring his scent.
Sweaty and spent, the two men lay in each other's arms, just the sound of their breathing as it slowed to normal, and the soft, lapping noises of the sea outside.
"What did I interact with on the island, Asami?" Akihito said in a soft voice. There was a long pause before the reply.
"I don't know, Kitten."
"It was real, though, whatever it was. I was able to touch it, and it touched me. It wasn't just spirit."
"It was real, Akihito," Asami murmured. "It saved your life and allowed you to communicate with me, Tao, and your mother."
"Yes, it was real," the blond said, feeling better. He burrowed deeper against his lover and fell into a troubled sleep.
"Akihito! Akihito!"
The witch was hovering over the bed.
"Suardika!" Aki said in dreamspeak. "Where have you been? You know how long I've been looking for you? Waiting to hear from you?"
"I'm no longer on the island or anywhere else on the earthly plane because I was able to move on. My son and I were both able to move on because of you. We are now at peace because your kindness set us free."
"Your son was Ryuichichi, wasn't he?"
"Yes. My little monkey...." Suardika held out her arms, and a young boy appeared in them. He grinned at Aki. Suardika continued.
"I heard you were looking for me, so I traveled back to put your mind at ease and to thank you."
"Why didn't you tell me you were a ghost?"
"I did not wish to frighten you, Akihito," said Suardika. "I wanted to help you, we both did."
"But you're dead, Suardika, and your story is so sad."
"I've been dead for over two hundred years, Aki," the witch said matter of factly. "I was dead before your grandparents were born, and their parents, and--"
"I get it," said the blond. "But you're my friend, you saved my life, and I just found out you are a ghost. Let me be sad about that, okay?"
Suardika chuckled and regarded the blond affectionately.
Aki continued. "I was hoping we'd find you and maybe you'd come live near us in Tokyo. Maybe even in the same building. And I could show you around and take you places and stuff. We were going to have so much fun. I imagined it all."
Suardika's dark eyes glistened. "That is so kind, Akihito, but it wasn't meant to be."
"And your story. You were so unfairly treated. Did you really do all those things?"
"As I told you before, I did not do all the things they accused me of."
"But did you sink that boat? Did you make the chief's son and his wife sick and die? Did you really destroy the entire island with a volcano?"
The witch regarded him with her piercing stare. "Do you really want to know, Akihito...?"
He was going to say yes, but something inside stopped him. He thought about Asami and how he'd decided not knowing the particularly unsavory and gruesome acts his lover had committed in the course of "business" had been for the best.
"No," said the blond.
"I will tell you that whatever I did was deserved, not because I was wronged, but because my son was."
"Your son?"
"The gutless man I chose to father my child denied our son was his, the grandson of a chief. He denied our son his rightful place of honor in the tribe, and for that, I cursed him and all who supported him."
"You must have been so lonely on the island, Suardika," Aki said mournfully.
Suardika shrugged. "Did I seem lonely to you, Akihito? It was only my son I felt sadness for, the life and future of a chief's grandson that he was denied. He was so young when we arrived on the island. It was all he knew. And after I died, he had to go on for many years alone. But he was strong, just as I was."
"I still don't understand. Why did you stay on the island after you died? Why didn't you move on?"
"I was angry and stubborn, and after I died," said the witch. "I was welcomed on the other side by ancestors, but I refused. I could not let go of my anger, could not make peace with it. I preferred to stay on the island and in the waters nearby and stew in my own misery. After my son died, he refused to leave without me. So there we stayed, my little monkey and me."
"But how did you take living form?" asked the blond. "You carried me to your hut, you treated me for fever and poison. I held Ryuichichi in my arms. You were not just ghosts."
Suardika's eyes twinkled. "I have many gifts, Akihito, and my son has them, too. We both found that if we concentrated hard enough, we could manifest physically. It was very difficult at first--we could only hold form for a few minutes--but with practice we became better at it. My son found he preferred the form of a chimpanzee because he could swing through the trees."
Seeing the blond's expression, Suardika added, " Do not be sad for us, Akihito. Your presence on the island, your kind and loving spirit, brought us joy, peace, and finally, closure."
"You were the best friend I ever had, Aki," said the little boy, gazing at Aki with the same warm gaze he had as a chimp.
"He was the only friend you ever had, my little monkey," said Suardika.
"True," said the boy, "but he was the best friend any boy could've wished for."
Aki grinned. "We did have some fun, didn't we? What is your real name?"
"I don't want to tell you," the boy said with an impish look. "I like you calling me Ryuichichi."
"Will I even see you again?" the blond asked wistfully.
"Perhaps in your dreams, Akihito," said Suardika. "Definitely in the next life. How are you and Asami doing?
"We've had some issues," said Aki. "I'm seeing a therapist. We're trying...."
"Work through your problems, Akihito," Suardika said. "Asami loves you so. I felt it through the bond. He is devoted to you, but he guards his heart fiercely and you even more so."
Several days later, Akihito was about to leave for his appointment with Dr. Matsuno, when Asami joined him in the car. "Today, Kitten, we will see her together."
In the room with the psychiatrist, the two men sat facing each other. Dr. Matsuno had them maintain eye contact and tell each other how they felt during the recent ordeals. "What do you want Asami to know about your time in China and on the island, Akihito? Can you explain it to him simply and without anger?"
Aki gathered his thoughts and spoke. "Being with Fei Long and then on the island changed me. They kept me in a cage in Hong Kong; I almost went crazy. Fei Long and the Russians did things to my body, sex and drugs, and, and I couldn't stop them. I was powerless. They threatened to make me an addict and sell me into slavery...." Akihito shuddered at the memory, and his gaze dropped. Asami's eyes didn't move from his face.
"Eye contact, Akihito," the doctor gently urged. "Let Asami see how you feel."
Aki nodded, breathed deeply, and raised his eyes to meet the golden ones. "Then I was on the island, and I was just trying to survive. With Suardika, I was part of a team. She treated me as her equal. We both made decisions, and I had responsibilities. What I did or didn't do mattered. What I thought mattered. I mattered. I resent you trying to control me. Like you think I'm an idiot or you don't trust me. But I also feel guilty about worrying you. I make you weaker, Asami. If something happened to you because of me, I don't know what I'd do."
Then, it was Asami's turn. The crime lord sat silent for several minutes, staring at his lover, his face a cool mask. This exercise was obviously very difficult for him. While Akihito wore his heart on his sleeve, Asami guarded his behind a granite fortress.
"After Fei Long kidnapped you," Asami began. "It was more than a stolen possession. It was...myself. I was no longer complete." The crime lord shook his head, looking away.
"Eyes, Asami," said Dr. Matsuno softly.
Asami nodded once and stared at Akihito. "This was new to me, this incomplete...state. I was forced to consider your place in my life. Your...importance." Asami stopped, not intending to go any further, but Akihito and the doctor were both staring at him expectantly. Aki's hazel gaze was vulnerable and full of feeling. He wanted to hear more. So, Asami took another breath and forged ahead.
"Losing you...," the crime lord's face clouded over and he shook his head, "is my greatest fear." He was silent, remembering that terrible time. "When you were...missing, there were times I myself wished for death."
Aki's eyes grew huge.
"My days were also a struggle to survive," Asami continued. "I was at war with myself, with my thoughts. I would see my gun and have an urge to use it on myself. At night on the terrace, I would think how easy it would be to just slip over the side...."
Akihito sobbed. "I never knew," he murmured. He put his arms around Asami, and they held each other. "I never knew."
They were both exhausted after the appointment but decided to stop for lunch, anyway, figuring a nice meal outdoors would do them both good. They ate in silence, but their eyes met with new understanding. Their session had been painful and difficult, but it was a start. With effort they would grow and change together.
Aki was slurping his noodles when he suddenly saw a young woman on the sidewalk holding a little boy. The cheekbones; the long, black hair; and the penetrating dark eyes. It was the woman in the sketch, a young Suardika.
Akihito blinked, but there she still was. "Suardika!"
Asami looked up from his food. "Where?"
"Over there, by the curb. She's holding her son, Ryuichichi."
"I don't see them."
Akihito gazed into the dancing dark eyes of his beloved friend. "Suardika!" he called. "Show yourself to Asami. Please...."
Suardika grinned that knowing little grin of hers, the one that had creeped Aki out the first time he saw it, but now, he loved.
Asami's golden eyes widened in surprise. "I see them now."
Suardika laughed, and Ryuichichi waved and stuck out his tongue.
Aki mouthed "Thank you," and the witch nodded, still smiling. Then she and her son slowly faded away.