"... , , !" Ruki muttered, running his fingers through his hair nervously. With shaky hands he took his pack of cigarettes - which he bought today, but there was only one left - lighted a cigarette up and took a long breath of countless poisons into his lungs before talking.

"We don't have much time, so I gotta keep this short. You gotta go straight away to Reita and Kai's room and wait for Aoi there. Then you take Kai safe to my place - if Aoi doesn't arrive, you two go alone. Reita will be taken somewhere else too, most likely to Gackt's 'cause it's the safest place available--"

"Wait, why isn't Kai taken to Gackt then?" Uruha asked quickly before Ruki could continue.

"It would be too obvious. My place is pretty obvious too, though, but Aoi's apartment is too close and others aren't safe. There's plenty of guns in my place, but you might not need them. If you do, the code number is 80085."

"Ruki, are you serious?! What kind of a code number is that?!" Uruha scolded.

"Shush! You two wait there 'til someone calls you to come back, or comes there to get you. Don't exit, lock all the doors, but curtains over the windows and the security system--"

"OI! Matsumoto, we need you over here!" A man in sunglasses had appeared in the doorway.

"... Go to their room now!" Ruki said, waved his hand to Uruha and ran away with the man. For a few seconds Uruha was frozen in shock and could only stare at the spot where Ruki had just been standing. Then he glanced at his watch, seeing he had about twelve minutes time to wait for Aoi and hurried to the room where Reita and Kai stayed at.

He was out of breath when he opened the door, so he needed a bit time before he could explain what had happened. "Ryuichi's men are coming, I gotta take Kai safe."

"What?! Now?!" Reita yelled and straightened up but regretted it immediately as the injury he'd taken hurt like hell. He hissed in pain, making Kai grasp his shoulder in worry.

"We have to wait for Aoi for ten minutes, if he's not here by then me and Kai are leaving alone", Uruha said. He fumbled with the gun he'd quickly taken from Aoi's night stand before he left. His hands were shaking and he felt like he would pass out, thanks to the extra stress this gave him.

"I'm coming with you", Reita said, his voice determinant.

"No, you're taken somewhere else", Uruha muttered, nearly dropping the weapon.

"I gotta protect Kai!" Reita protested.

"Me and Aoi are already protecting him, and you can't move around anyway!" Uruha yelled.

"L- Look, Rei, Uruha's right. It's better if you don't exhaust yourself too much", Kai pointed out quietly and worriedly caressed Reita's cheek. Uruha wasn't really paying any attention, he just waited for the door to fly open and Aoi to storm in. But no matter how much he waited, or how long Reita and Kai muttered silently, it didn't happen.

"W- We gotta go now." He swallowed. He had waited extra five minutes and Aoi still hadn't arrived. Kai rose shakily from the bed, his limbs stiff, and kissed Reita the last time. Reita could just watch as his love and his best friend left him alone.

"Uruha, why can't Reita come with us?" Kai asked, teary-eyed, as Uruha grabbed his hand and they started running in the hallway. The other people passing by gave Kai always a second look, but they both ignored it.

"For safety reasons. C'mon, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible", Uruha answered and picked up the speed. He hoped to run into Aoi, but didn't see the raven anywhere and got more and more worried. He didn't see his love even when they exited the building. At the parking lot, at least, he had expected to see Aoi, but he wasn't there. Uruha held back his tears, a lump in his throat, when he dragged Kai to his car and started it.

He drove quickly and answered Kai's worried questions quickly too. They arrived quickly, and when they did, Uruha looked around and then opened Ruki's door with his own key. No one aside from Ruki and himself actually knew he had the key to Ruki's home. The reason for it was because Aoi was really often out of the town, even the country, and at those times Uruha needed someone to talk to. Besides, he and Ruki shared a lot of hobbies, interests and even obsessions (except Ruki hated video games) so they got along well.

After pushing Kai in, Uruha made sure he locked the door. Then he pulled the shutters on every single window, locked the back door and checked no one had followed them. He sighed and led Kai to the kitchen where he so often had drunk tea with Ruki and talked about his problems.

"Do you want anything?" Uruha asked shakily as he motioned Kai to sit on the dining table, as he sat on the countertop next to the refrigerator. Kai shook his head silently. He was too worried to eat or drink, all he could think about was Reita. He rose his hand so that he could clearly see the bracelet around his wrist and stared at the three small words that meant so much.

"Look, I'm going to see if--" Kai didn't know what Uruha was going to go see because his words were replaced by a loud bang - the front door had been broken down. Uruha had his gun ready and he was pointing at a dark-haired man with it.

"Hand him over and you won't be hurt", the man said calmly, also having a gun in his hand - which, unlike Uruha's, was very steady.

" off and I won't shoot you", Uruha responded, trying to sound dangerous, but his voice cracked and he was obviously very nervous. The man chuckled and commented: "Tough words, considering how you look."

"What's that supposed to mean?! " Uruha snapped, his finger ready to pull the trigger.

"Nothing, I just didn't know mafia let little princesses like you work with them", the guy said with a smirk. Uruha's eyes narrowed, and Kai was shaking behind him. Who was this guy? Uruha didn't remember seeing him in his previous yakuza. He had only seen the most important men, there was no way Ryuichi would let someone from lower class go get Kai. And he knew there was no way anyone could make it to Ryuichi's top 50 without years of hard work, unless they really proved to be worth it like Uruha had. So this man couldn't possibly be one of Ryuichi's...

"Mind telling me your name, pretty boy?" the man said, cutting off Uruha's thought.

"Tell me yours first, and I might give you my own", Uruha replied in a poisonous voice. The man raised his eyebrow and said: "Well, I suppose it won't hurt. Ishihara Takamasa, also known as Miyavi, age 32 occupation; A detective. I don't work for anyone, but the police usually aren't able to solve anything without me." A grin spread on his lips after he finished and he saw the shock written on Uruha's face.

No... He can't be Miyavi! Uruha thought in panic. He had once before seen Miyavi - the latter hadn't seen him, though - and he had looked way different! He had a lot more make-up, his hair was blueish, he had several piercings on his face, his clothes were unique... Now, even while looking gorgeous and having make-up, he looked so simple compared to the Miyavi Uruha had seen!

"Oh, yeah, I've changed my style a little, keeping it simple is wise when it comes to this job, don't get noticed as easily... But hey, you were different too the last time I saw you. Sad thing I can't see your thighs anymore, they were really pretty..."

Uruha panicked more. Miyavi had seen him? But that wasn't possible, Uruha was so well masked! He had worked so hard on his disguise, there was no way Miyavi could recognize him! All he should've seen was a male stripper - don't ask, it had been Uruha's worst mission ever and he would never, ever, let any old man touch his skin again after that.

"Hey, look, I don't wanna hurt you - neither of you. So if you just--"

"I'm not doing anything for you without putting up a fight", Uruha said, trying to remain calm.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped, then..." Miyavi sighed, "Keiyuu, come out, I need you!"

A short man, even shorter than Ruki, entered the house. He looked a bit afraid and nervous, trying to avoid Uruha's look. The honey-blonde snorted and said casually, mocking Miyavi: "Hi, Kei, it's been a while!"

But Keiyuu didn't smile. He closed his eyes, sighed and said quietly: "Sorry, Uruha..."

Uruha's smile faded. "Kei...? What...?"

"I don't wanna do this, I really don't", Keiyuu added as he walked closer to Uruha, who had lowered his gun as he saw the short man. Uruha stayed frozen, he didn't want to believe what was happening. Keiyuu took something out of this pocket, but Uruha couldn't see what. And the next moment he felt electricity shoot up from his side painfully and he collapsed on the floor, unable to do anything. Keiyuu was clearly shaking above him, tears starting to form in his dark eyes.

Miyavi lowered his gun now and walked to Kai, who immediately backed up.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you... I'm gonna take you back home", Miyavi said softly, smiling gently at the younger male. Kai could only stare at Uruha, then he quietly whispered: "Is he going to be okay...?"

"Of course, he'll recover soon enough. Come on." Miyavi offered his hand, as if he was afraid Kai was too weak to walk himself. Kai started shaking, almost as roughly as Keiyuu was. He nearly jumped when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"If that's okay with you, I'm taking you to a hospital before you go home", Miyavi said calmly, like he was talking to a mentally unstable child. "You're in a shock, it'd be better if they checked you out first. I'll call your mother as soon as we get to the hospital..."

And then Kai finally managed to walk. Miyavi wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, and they left the house. Kai glanced behind him before they headed to the car. Was Uruha really going to be okay?

"Hey, Myv... I'm gonna stay here for a while", Keiyuu whispered before they closed the door behind.

"Okay, but don't be too long", Miyavi answered, biting his lip. Then he helped Kai to the front seat of his car and they left.

"It must have been hard for you... You were there for several months, the police were almost giving up, they were sure they'd already killed you", Miyavi stated after a while of driving. As if he'd woken up from a deep sleep, Kai realized what was going on.

He was being taken away. Taken away from the yakuza, from the safety, from Reita. Everyone supposed he was in shock, that he'd been starving, abused and locked up for months. No outsiders really knew what had happened, no one knew how painful it was to leave Reita.

"When I found out where you were, I immediately went to the yakuza's base, but didn't find you anywhere. No one noticed me there 'cuz there was so much going on, it seemed like some other mafia had attacked..." Miyavi continued.

"Was anybody hurt?" Kai asked all of the sudden, probably startling Miyavi because he almost drove past red lights.

"Yeah, I saw some were even dead. But you don't have to worry about that now, all that matters is you." Oh, Kai was worried, and he immediately asked: "Who were dead?"

"I don't know any names", Miyavi replied, confused by Kai's questions. The brunette was getting separate when he asked the next question. "What did the bodies look like? Was there a blonde guy covering his nose?"

"No, I didn't see anyone like that, I searched almost everywhere. Good thing I didn't get myself killed", Miyavi answered thoughtfully. Kai could relax a bit, but it still wasn't confirmed. Besides, what about others?

Miyavi drove Kai to the hospital to be checked up. Apparently Kai had been all over the news no matter how much the police and Miyavi tried hiding it, so when the lady at the reception saw him, she gasped and covered , and so did everyone else in the hospital. While the doctors were checking Kai, Miyavi called his mother. Unfortunately the doctors said Kai needed rest, so they couldn't meet yet - besides, she was at work anyway and wouldn't be back until morning.

Both Miyavi and Kai stayed at the hospital for the night. Miyavi said he needed to be there in case police or news reporters or something came, and he would have to tell them to leave Kai alone for the time being. When Kai woke up in the morning, his mother came storming in and hugged her son tightly, crying on him and saying: "Oh, God, Yutaka, I was so worried! Dear Lord, I'm so glad you're okay..."

Kai returned home that day, but the police had questions to ask from him - but he lied. He knew it wasn't a good idea to tell anyone what had really happened, so he said he had no idea what had happened. He said he'd been held in a room, but that he got food every day and got to go to the shower and bathroom. Since Kai still needed rest, the police had to leave, but he still requested Miyavi to stay because he had questions.

"Do you know what happened in the base?" Kai asked quickly after Miyavi shut the door of Kai's bedroom. The older man sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at Kai softly.

"Yeah, a friend told me everything. A few people died, pretty many were hurt", he said. Kai asked who those people were, but luckily Kai knew none of the names Miyavi listed.

"Some were caught by the police, actually", Miyavi added when he suddenly remembered it. The four others he listed were not anyone Kai knew, but at the last name the brunette held back a gasp.

"...and Matsumoto Takanori. It's actually a really good catch, if I can say, he might get a death sentence even. He's worked with the mafia for years, did a lot of bad things... I'm glad he was caught", Miyavi finished. Kai, who'd been holding his breath until now, asked: "What's the prison he's in?"

Miyavi told him what prison it was, but then frowned and said: "Why do you wanna know?"

"No reason", Kai muttered.

The next day some police came by again, and once again Kai had questions for Miyavi, but there was nothing more interesting. The day after he asked his mother: "When will I go back to school again?"

"We don't know yet, honey... You do need plenty of time to recover still, and this situation needs to calm down a little too. Aside from that, you're also left behind a lot, so you probably need some extra tutoring before and after you return to school... So it might take a month or two", she explained in a soft, calm voice. Kai's voice cracked as he spoke; "So long?! But I wanna see my friends again!"

"You can see them soon, don't worry, sweetheart. They can visit when you're feeling better", his mother answered and wiped some dark strands behind Kai's ear.

"I'm already feeling better..." Kai muttered childishly, but his mother didn't hear. She said she would go and make some dinner, and Kai was left alone.

He missed Reita so much... His dark, sharp eyes... His charming smile... His low voice that made Kai melt every time he heard it... His strong arms... Everything. He missed everything about him, and he wasn't even sure if they could ever see each other again.

After a week or so, Kai could finally meet some of his friends. None of them asked about what had happened while he was kidnapped - Kai's mother had probably told them not to - and they just talked like usual, only a lot more carefully. But for some reason, they were a bit distant, and Kai wasn't enjoying their company as much as usual anyway, so they quickly ran out of topics and were left in awkward silence.

A few weeks after that, Kai was finally allowed to leave the house, but even then he had to had someone with him - usually Miyavi - so he couldn't do what he'd wanted for a long while.

When a month and a half had passed from Kai's return, he could return to school. He'd been given some tutoring before it so he wasn't as left behind from the others, and the tutoring would last for a couple of months, longer if needed. When Miyavi drove Kai to the school on his first day, he wasn't feeling too well.

"Hey, Miyavi-san... I'm feeling sick", he muttered. He knew many reasons why it might've been. 1. He had become an insomniac after he returned home, and kept thinking about Reita all night long. 2. He didn't eat much, because he didn't have an appetite anymore. 3. He was afraid of returning to school - he was afraid of questions, bullying, everything.

"You're just nervous because it's your first day. It's gonna be okay, nothing's changed", Miyavi comforted and flashed him a smile. Kai wasn't really sure about it, but didn't say anything. He looked at his bracelet again. He hadn't taken it off once, and it made him feel better when he looked at it. The small words carved to it made him feel more alive, and made him feel like Reita was with him again. But at the same time, it reminded him of how he might never see his lover again, and this made him want to cry.

"We're here. I'll come pick you up when the school ends, call me if you need anything at all", Miyavi said and then left when Kai exited the car. He stepped through the gates of his school, and everyone at the school yard fell silent, and they stared at Kai. This school, that had felt so nice and friendly before, had become cold and distant, foreign. His steps were unsteady, but he managed to walk to the class without falling. His first class was English, which wasn't his strongest subject, and everyone in the class stared at him like he had risen from dead.

Kai wanted to sink into the ground. Why had he come so early? There would be still so long until the class would start, and all that time he would have to sit there and listen how people whispered to each other, glanced at him while they were at it and flinched every time he moved, as if he would explode.

It hadn't lasted more than a minute when someone finally talked to Kai.

"Oi, Uke. I heard what happened. Is it true?" It was one of his worst bullies, who had been in the same class with him since elementary school. Kai used to not mind bullying, but right now he was in a weak state and wasn't sure if he could handle it.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Or did they cut your tongue?!"

Kai remembered first time meeting Reita. Reita had threatened he would rip Kai's tongue off and feed it to him... The brunette started shaking and he was about to cry.

"Hey, don't ! You know how rough time he's been through!"

He felt slim arms wrap around him, and his head was pressed against a pair of something soft and rather big. A girl. Girls had always been on his side, because they thought he was the cutest thing in the world. They didn't like him like other guys, they didn't want into the bed with him, they thought of him as a cute little panda, and defended him all the time.

"How do I know what he's been through when he doesn't say anything?!"

Another pair or soft and big pressed against his head and he heard another female voice screaming: "Cut it out, or no more in a month!"

A third pair or soft and big. "Yeah, stop it! Poor Kai-chan, he hasn't done anything to earn this!"

But in the hallways, girls weren't there to defend him and he was pushed against lockers and everyone asked what had happened. Usually his friends would've been there for him, but it seemed they avoided him for the whole day.

And it continued like that for the whole next week, getting worse day by day. On the next Tuesday the guys in the school said Kai was just trying to get the girls' attention, even though everyone knew  he didn't care about girls, some had even guessed he was in fact gay, but luckily that hadn't spread - otherwise he would've been mocked even more.

That Tuesday Miyavi couldn't come pick him up, so he had asked if Kai could walk home - Kai's home wasn't that far away from the school anyway. Kai had gladly agreed, since he really needed to stretch his legs. But then he realized it wasn't such a good idea, because it seemed there were reporters staying just a few meters from the school gates, waiting for him to appear - most likely they'd been there every day, hoping that Kai would walk home.

He was immediately surrounded and he saw white flashes of light every second as photos were taken. There were so many questions he could only hear some random words from here and there. He even recognized reporters from TV.

He was hoping for someone to come and save him as he was squeezed between all the reporters. Some were even filming a video. He tried telling them to go away, but it didn't work and he was pressured more. When it was starting to get unbearable, he suddenly felt his arm being grabbed tightly, and he was dragged away. There were so many reporters and the chaos was so out of control no one even realized he was gone.

For a few seconds, he couldn't see anything but the reporters, but soon he got fresh air and he felt like he had been underwater for a long time and finally got oxygen. Unfortunately he could barely it into his lungs when he was already being dragged further away, all the way to a deserted alley.

Just now he had time to look at the stranger, as they stopped and the stranger peeked at the reporters in case they'd noticed their victim had gone missing - they didn't .

The stranger was a man, he had a light blonde hair that was a bit longer than Reita's, but a lot lighter color, near white. He was wearing a leather jacket with silver studs on the shoulders. His pants seemed to be leather too, and he was wearing black boots. When he turned around, Kai noticed he had a rather attractive face and he had plenty of silver jewelry too. He was wearing make-up, about as much as Ruki usually did, and he had large sunglasses on.

"Who... Who are you?" Kai asked curiously, not really caring how blunt and impolite he was being. The man smiled and took his sunglasses off. His eyes were very light color, and Kai figured he was wearing contact lenses.

"You can call me Ryoga. Sorry I was a bit rough back there, I wouldn't have gotten you away from them otherwise", the man answered. His voice sounded like it was being used a lot, like its owner sang many times a day or something like that.

"Thank you..." Kai muttered and bowed a little. Ryoga chuckled, but got serious quickly and said: "What were you thinking anyway, being out all alone like that? The news are all about you, you should know something like that would happen."

"Yeah, sorry. I wasn't really thinking", Kai apologized quietly.

"It's not really the reporters you should watch out for. I'm more worried about others..." Ryoga stated thoughtfully and stared right into Kai's eyes.

"Eh? Others?" Kai repeated in surprise.

"You weren't kidnapped without a reason, y'know. If you've been told anything about what's going on, you should know there's a lot of people who wouldn't mind having you right now. It's dangerous out here, you shouldn't move around on your own", Ryoga explained.

"Oh. Sorry", Kai apologized once more.

"No, don't apologize, you're the victim here. I'm just saying you should be more careful", Ryoga said quickly.

"Hey, Ryoga-san", Kai muttered.

"Yeah?" Ryoga said, now leaning against the brick wall behind him and fumbling with his sunglasses.

"Who are you?" Kai asked. Ryoga bit his lower lip, then replied: "I already told you."

"I meant why did you save me? Why are you warning me, how do you know why it's so dangerous out for me?" Kai corrected with curious, worried eyes.

"I... I just happen to know stuff. I'm not in a yakuza or anything, I just have... connections of some sort. And I saved you because you didn't seem to enjoy the fame very greatly", Ryoga answered.

"Oh... What kind of connections do you have?" Kai asked quickly, wanting to know if Ryoga could tell him about Reita or the others.

"I'm not supposed to tell you that", Ryoga said, flashing another smile at the brunette.

"Sorry, I just really need to know... Do you know a person called Rei-- I mean, Suzuki Akira?" Kai looked at Ryoga, hope in his eyes and worry written on his face.

"I've heard of him, but never talked to him", Ryoga answered. He frowned and asked: "Why do you ask?"

Kai suddenly realized it might not be a good idea to tell anything about Reita to a stranger, so he just mumbled: "No reason."

"Hmm... Well, I haven't heard anything about him recently, so he should be okay, if that's what you're worried about", Ryoga stated. Kai sighed in relief.

"What exactly is he to you?" Ryoga asked curiously, putting a cigarette between his lips and lighting it up.

"Nothing." Kai knew he had responded too quickly and Ryoga was suspecting something, but luckily the blonde didn't ask anything else.

"Well, you should be going home now. I'll walk with you, just in case."

They didn't really speak when they walked to Kai's home, and merely waved hands when they separated. As soon as Kai was out of sight, Ryoga took his cellphone out, lighted up another cigarette and put his sunglasses back on.

He had plenty of things to tell his boss...

______________________________________

Aaaaaand, here's chapter 9! It actually took just two days to write this, I was just too lazy to start the chapter itself.... (shame on me)

I hope you enjoyed, though!