Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Unseen Smile ❯ Finding the Puzzle Pieces ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer/Warning: I do not own Sayuiki or any affiliated characters. Not for kids and the faint-hearted. (^_^)

 

Finding the Puzzle Pieces

 

When he woke up in a different room, all hell broke loose. Hakkai stumbled out of the couch and drew out the sword that Kougaiji had failed to find. Jien turned white at the sight of the sword and almost fainted. Kougaiji remained calm and looked at him as he reviewed his surroundings. His face was contorted in concern and anxiety. Kougaiji understood why he was feeling this way. He was, after all, in a whole new environment.

 

“Where am I?” He demanded, wincing at every step he made. The pain was undeniably still there. And he couldn't afford a confrontation and they both knew it.

 

“Don't you remember where you are, Hakkai?” Kougaiji asked slowly, inching closer to him. He looked steadily at him but did not answer. Hakkai, on the other hand, was inching towards the door, making his way to escape.

 

“You're not well, Hakkai. You can hardly walk, let alone run when you're out of this room.”

 

Again, he made no response. When he noticed Jien inching towards him from the other side, he glared at him menacingly.

 

“Jump me, and you both die,” he warned. “I may be hurt but I am very capable with my sword.”

 

“Hakkai,” Kougaiji soothed him. “Lie down for a while. It's not good for your wounds.”

 

“What's not good for me is being here,” he snapped. “Don't try and stop me from leaving because I will kill you both if you do.”

 

Jien stopped in his tracks and looked at Kougaiji helplessly. Kougaiji was just about to reason out again when Hakkai entered the bathroom door and closed it behind him. They both rushed to see if he's still inside but saw that the window was left open.

 

“We fucking lost him,” Kougaiji cursed angrily and shut the window close. “Hakkai's gone…again.”

 

After an hour…

 

Gojyo could feel the exhaustion and fatigue weigh down on him. He was starting to feel tired after searching for Hakkai all night. He had taken a short rest during the day but in the back of his mind, he knew he still had to go and look for him.

 

“Hakkai, where are you?” He whispered the question to himself as he scanned the crowd passing in front of a small side street.

 

“Gojyo, help me,” a soft voice came from behind him. He turned around and just in time caught Hakkai as he fell into his arms. Blood was dripping from the corner of his coat. Gojyo noticed that Hakkai's skin was cold and pale. He lay limply in his arms, his head resting weakly against his chest.

 

“Hakkai,” he mumbled quietly and brushed the damp hair from his face. “I'm here for you.”

 

Though he was tired from the search, he still carried him in his arms and brought him safely back to the apartment. There he laid him on the bed and managed to get him out of the tattered clothes. Within the few hours that he was asleep, Gojyo had tediously tended to the wounds and abrasions, carefully cleaning them with warm water and bandaging the cuts and injuries. After he had finished all these tasks, he checked if the apartment was secure and safe from intrusion. When everything was in order, he lied down beside him and watched Hakkai sleep until he too fell asleep, his body giving in to the exhaustion.

 

A few hours later, Hakkai woke up with his head resting on Gojyo's chest, a protective arm around him. He slowly removed himself from the hold, careful not to wake him up. He then examined his body and found that he was all bandaged up and treated. His cuts were cleaned and nicely patched up, and the bleeding from his back and side had stopped, though some blood had soaked through his shirt from underneath the bandages. He couldn't stop from smiling. He looked at Gojyo gratefully. Though most of the time they were arguing, even at each other's throats, he actually takes good care of him.

 

“Thank you,” he whispered softly and leaned closer to kiss Gojyo on the forehead.

 

“No problem,” he sleepily answered back. “I'm sorry if I can't talk straight right now. I haven't had any sleep since last night.”

 

Hakkai felt a twinge of guilt when he thought that Gojyo might've been out all night looking for him.

 

“Don't worry. I'll take care of you Gojyo. You go on and sleep,” Hakkai whispered and watched as Gojyo drifted back into his slumber. As he studied him, he thought that he looked so innocent while he was sleeping, a far cry from the killer that he is when he was in action. He could see a different Gojyo from this vantage point. He smiled again, and this time, he took his hand in his.

 

Maybe, just maybe, he could fall in love with Gojyo.

 

---

 

“I can't believe we lost him!” Kougaiji said angrily as he struck the wall with his fist. Jien quietly looked on at his continuous outburst.

 

“It's for the better, Kougaiji,” he said slowly. “We could've gotten into trouble had he stayed.”

 

“But we already have him! He was here, damn it!”

 

“But if he stayed the police could've tracked him down. How will we explain all the blood on his clothes and did you see the sword he held out? That was probably the murder weapon he used on the drug operative!”

 

“Shut up, Jien,” Kougaiji muttered. “There's no saying if he really killed—”

 

“No saying?” Jien repeated incredulously. “Are you out of your freaking mind? Hakkai had a sword, Kougaiji, a sword! And you're saying he's not the killer? What is he then, some kind of sword fanatic that waves a sword around?”

 

“We were still talking about Hakkai, a friend of ours,” he said through gritted teeth. “Why can't you get that through you're head?”

 

“Because, the Hakkai I knew didn't keep a sword! The friend I knew was perfectly incapable of killing a man using a sword!” Jien retorted loudly. “Why can't you get THAT through you're head?”

 

“Because I still love him,” Kougaiji shouted angrily.

 

“You don't love him Kougaiji,” Jien said slowly. “You're in love with being in love with Hakkai. But you don't love him anymore, you just have some issues to settle, issues that you failed to settle before.”

 

“What do you know? You never loved him.”

 

`I loved the Hakkai I knew, the friend, the co-worker, the great boyfriend. But the Hakkai I saw here a while ago was a far cry from the Hakkai I know of. He was cold-blooded, fierce, and had absolutely no concern over what could happen to us! That isn't the Hakkai you fell in love with or the Hakkai I knew. Kougaiji, why can't you understand that?”

 

“Because I still love him,” he repeated more slowly. “And even though he's been gone for almost 2 years, I still love him like the day I first saw him. It's still the same Hakkai for me, the same person I loved.”

 

Jien didn't say anything because he already understood that Kougaiji was not listening to him. His stubbornness had taken over and there was no use for reason.

 

“I'm going to get him back Jien, watch me.”

 

Meanwhile…

 

Ni Jieni, head of GSCE Technologies Incorporated, looked out of his office building. The death of their operative proved to be a great impact on their organization, losing millions of dollars on the black market. He was now ordered by the South American drug council to get rid of any further delay.

 

There was a knock on the door that disturbed his thoughts. His secretary entered with her filing folder, a serious look on her face.

 

“Sir, the Chinese has been found dead on a local park just north of the premises. He suffered severe stabs to the chest and a fatal wound to the head. The assailant is still at large Sir Jieni, what are you're further orders?”

 

“Deploy the Russian Miscka,” he directed without looking at the secretary. “And if there are any calls for me, tell them I'll get back to them.”

 

The secretary made notes and nodded a couple of times before turning to leave the office.

 

“Audrey,” Ni stopped her before she could leave the room.

 

“Yes, sir?”

 

“We'll have to postpone our dinner for tonight. The council might want to talk to me.”

 

The secretary nodded and left the room quietly.

 

“I'll crack down on you,” he said while gazing out of the window. “And when I do, I'll kill you, slowly.”

 

---

 

When Gojyo woke up and felt that Hakkai was not by his side, he was gripped by nervousness and quickly scanned the room. As soon as he stood up, he felt dizzy from the sudden rush of blood to the head but he didn't mind. He was set on finding where Hakkai was, even if he had to leave the house again.

 

“You really shouldn't be standing up yet,” Hakkai's voice came from the small kitchen outside of the bedroom. “You're still tired from last night.”

 

“And you shouldn't be walking around like that with those wounds of yours,” Gojyo replied in an annoyed tone as he walked out to find him fixing some dinner for them. “You're weaker than I am, so you should be resting.”

 

“If I started to rest, we'll both die of starvation,” Hakkai said slowly. “And besides, let me return the favor of taking care of you.”

 

“You don't have to,” Gojyo insisted. “It was all for the operative, all for the work.”

 

Gojyo walked towards him, sitting on a stool when he ignored him. He watched him busily whipping some mixture in a bowl. How could he look so adept to cooking, let alone know how to use the kitchen, when all he ever did was go out at night. When did he ever have the time to learn cooking? Then he realized that he must've gotten learned how to cook during the times he was with Kougaiji.

 

The thought of Hakkai and Kougaiji caused Gojyo to feel a little depressed.

 

“Stop staring at me. It's not nice to stare,” he said with his back still turned towards him. “If you want to help out, you can prepare the table. You do know where the fork and knives go right?”

 

“I'm not an idiot,” he grated out. “Of course, I know where they go.”

 

He wasn't even finished with the table setting when Hakkai placed a steaming bowl on the table. He looked at him and shrugged.

 

“Can't blame myself if your slow,” he said and went back to the kitchen. Gojyo shook his head and continued setting the table. He came back with some ravioli, fresh from the can.

 

“I didn't have time to go to the grocery for some real ravioli,” he said with a shrug.

 

“Why are you doing this, Hakkai?” He asked him, a look of confusion evident on his face. Hakkai shrugged and took a seat opposite the chair he was holding.

 

“I'm hungry, that's all,” he said and took a spoonful of ravioli on his plate. “If you're not hungry then you might as well bring the plate back on the rack and leave. Don't forget to lock the door.”

 

Gojyo stared hard at him, and sat down. They ate quietly, not looking at each other but politely minding their own business. Each time their eyes met, they'd quickly glance away. When it was time to clean up the dishes, Gojyo stood up first and took hold of his dirty plate.

 

“You did dinner already; let me do the dishes for you.”

 

As Hakkai watched Gojyo clean the table, one thing was running through his mind.

 

I could really fall in love with Gojyo.

 

---

 

After dinner, Hakkai invited Gojyo to get out of the apartment to sit on a nearby building's roof top. Gojyo had protested at the idea, reasoning out that he was not yet well. But before he could even reason any further, Hakkai was already out of the window and jumping up towards the fire escape. Gojyo could only grit his teeth and follow him, hoping that he wouldn't fall from all the jumping and leaping that he normally did. When he had caught up with Hakkai, he found him sitting on the ledge, both legs precariously dangling over the edge. He didn't look at him as he arrived but continued to gaze out into the horizon.

 

The building's ledge gave a great view of the metro. The wind was cool and relaxing, and would probably get their minds of things. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Hakkai stood up beside Gojyo, who was still sitting down, his right leg was now also dangling precariously over the edge.

 

“I never thought the day would come that we'd actually have some peace and quiet between us,” Gojyo said, looking up at Hakkai whose coat was billowing like a black cape behind him. He brushed back his red hair as some of it got into his face.

 

“We weren't exactly best of friends when we started,” Hakkai said with a smile. “You were such a jerk back then and maybe just a teensy bit of a jerk now.”

 

Gojyo stood up next to Hakkai and looked at him with a smug smile.

 

“That was because you were being so cold,” he said and raised an eyebrow.

 

“We were from different operatives back then,” he said with a laugh. “What do you expect? I wasn't going to blow my cover and so where you.”

 

“Ok fine,” he said and threw his hands up in mock surrender. “But why the cold shoulder when I was working with you already?”

 

“I didn't know you that well. I still didn't want to blow my cover,” he said with a smile. Gojyo moved a little closer and casually placed an arm over his shoulder which Hakkai noted with a raise of an eyebrow.

 

“Had we become partners we would have been great in operatives,” Gojyo said and waved a hand over the sky as if drawing a picture for them. Hakkai laughed at this gesture but did not move his arm off his shoulder. The warmth coming from Gojyo was different. It actually made him feel good.

 

“This is certainly a first,” Gojyo said softly and placed his arm around his waist to pull Hakkai close. He didn't protest but instead moved closer.

 

“You're not saying anything about killing me or anything. My flirting actually seems to be working on you,” Gojyo said slowly and looked at him. Hakkai continued to smile and the smile finally broke out into a grin. Gojyo looked surprised. It was so unlike Hakkai to show this much emotion.

 

“Maybe because it's the first time you actually flirted the right way,” he said. Hakkai turned to face him. “You actually made me feel good and not threatened. You actually said the right words and not the freaky flowers thing. You actually talked like a normal guy making normal flirtation moves. And you actually sounded like a normal human being and not the assassin I knew of.”

 

Gojyo looked at him seriously, pondering the things he had just said.

 

“And maybe,” Hakkai said softly, putting his arms around Gojyo's neck as he moved closer. “Just maybe, we could be partners.”

 

Gojyo looked down at him from the tip of his nose. The idea made him smile and comforted him.

 

“Maybe,” Gojyo agreed. “Do you want to go back to the apartment?”

 

Hakkai nodded and gave his hand a firm squeeze. As they were climbing down to the roof, Hakkai noticed a faint movement in the shadows of the building's exhaust. He motioned to Gojyo to check it out with a nod. Gojyo nodded back and moved cautiously towards the corner. Before he could even bring out his Desert Eagle, a cat sprang out of an empty box. Hakkai almost threw his sword at the cat in anticipation. Gojyo laughed at his surprised reaction.

 

“Caught off guard, weren't you?” He said in an amused tone.

 

“You're such a je—GET DOWN!” He suddenly yelled and brought out her sword again.

 

As Gojyo dropped to the ground, a bullet had whizzed just above his head and hit the ground with an empty sound. Hakkai had already sprung into action despite his injuries. Gojyo brought out his gun and aimed it where the bullet came. With the sudden turn of events, his senses became sharp and attune with his surroundings.

 

“Show your self,” Gojyo yelled into the darkness, as he stood back to back with Hakkai.

 

“Coward uses a freaking gun while hiding in the shadows,” Hakkai mutters angrily. “I'll kill him.”

 

“Hush,” Gojyo said softly. He suddenly turned to fire a single shot. Hakkai moved his head away so as not to suffer from the terrible noise the gun made. There was a dull thud beside the door leading to the inside of the building. Gojyo walked cautiously towards the door and opened a light switch he found. On the low door step was a man, about 6 feet in height, with a bullet hole in his forehead.

 

“Neat shot,” Hakkai commented as he nudged the dead guy with his foot. Gojyo picked up the gun with a rag lying nearby and examined it. The man was white but his features were not English or American.

 

“Guy didn't even stand a chance against you,” Hakkai added.

 

“Let's go home before anything else happens,” Gojyo said and pulled Hakkai along.

 

“But what about the dead guy?”

 

“The police will turn up sooner or late. What we have to do is get moving,” he said and pushed him to start moving. “This isn't actually a night out anymore. I don't know what they want, but we're going to get to the bottom of this.”

 

---

 

Kougaiji looked up from the computer. He and Jien had been researching about Hakkai's identity for the past three hours but so far not even a birthplace has come up. Kougaiji rubbed his eyes to keep himself awake. Jien had obviously dozed off.

 

He shook his head. Their friendship was on the rocks because of Hakkai. But he was not ready to give him up just yet. There has to be a reason why they met again. After so long, he's actually back in his life, and he's not about to give up on him.

 

“I'm going to bring you back and when I do, I'll never lose you again.”

 

Meanwhile…

 

Ni waited as the council debated the situation inside his office. He looked down at his newly-shined shoes; the death of Miscka was running through his head. Whoever killed the Russian spy definitely was a different assassin.

 

“The Chinese died because of sword stabs and Miscka died because of a bullet to the head,” he said to himself. “An assassin specializes in one or two fields but the approaches are totally different. I can't quiet put my finger on how they are different but there's no denying about it.”

 

“Sir,” the secretary politely disturbed him from his thoughts. “The Council wishes to speak with you. This way, Mr. Jieni,” she said as he ushered him back into the room.

 

She slowly closed the door as Ni Jieni faced the council, his face as somber as the atmosphere inside the office. The head operative placed his hands on the table and looked at him seriously. The rest of the operatives quietly watched on.

 

“Ni, the death of our finest assassin merely shows that who we are dealing with is extraordinarily adept with this business. We believe that the operative should not make this a personal problem anymore. Since we cannot continue to keep on losing our hit men, we have decided to take this matter out of your hands. Questions?”

 

“Sir, I believe that if we allow other operatives to handle this situation, we are projecting a weak and insufficient circle that might prove worse for our operations against rival operatives. And this would mean a weaker stand on the market.”

 

The other members of the council nodded in agreement.

 

“Then what do you suggest Ni, that we continue to loose our hit men over a single problem?”

 

“I am merely suggesting that we find the assassin that can handle this problem. Perhaps we have overlooked that aspects when we deployed Tse-Bien and Miscka.”

 

“Very well, it seems that our plans have to wait then. You have a year Ni, for the success of your plans. If after that date you have not given us any concrete improvement, you might want to change your name and identity. Or if you have enough resources, perhaps you would like to hire this certain hit man to protect you from the operative,” he finished solemnly. “Is that understood?”

 

“Yes,” Ni said as he bowed his head in respect and agreement.

 

“A year Ni, everything must be accomplished within that time frame.

---

 

Hakkai stared out the window. He was aware that Gojyo had just placed his coat on the table, a sign that he was going to stay for the night. He felt uncertain if he wanted Gojyo in the house.

 

“Maybe you should go,” Hakkai whispered. “I don't want you getting involved in my problems.”

 

“Are you out of your mind? Someone is after your head, and you want to be left alone!”

 

“This is my fight Gojyo,” he said slowly. “I should be the one dealing with it.”

 

“I thought we were going to be partners?” Gojyo demanded. “Partners don't leave each other.”

 

“I said we could become partners. I didn't confirm anything.”

 

Gojyo fell silent and breathed out heavily. Hakkai could feel Gojyo's eyes burning a hole in his back. He could feel the sharpness of his glare but he remained impassive.

 

“I'm not going to leave you,” he announced. “If you want me to leave, you'll have to kill me first.”

 

Hakkai gritted his teeth. He did not like it when Gojyo acted this way. He reminded him of a brat.

 

“Why do you dislike having people around you Hakkai?”

 

“Because I'm afraid of losing them… “ came the detached response.

 

Gojyo opened his mouth to ask a question but decided other wise.

 

“I've been losing people left and right ever since I went into this business.”

 

Gojyo sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Hakkai could only sigh at the weight of his hand. He knew that Gojyo only wanted to make him feel better but despite the heroic attempt, he still felt empty. He still felt like every single person who died because of him blamed him for their deaths.

 

“I could careless if I killed the people who wanted to see me dead,” he said slowly. “But remembering all my friends who died in battle to save me or protect me…it's just a different case.”

 

“But it doesn't mean that you should close yourself from others,” Gojyo finally said. “You can't blame yourself for their decisions. They chose to protect you through death or wounds.”

 

“But if they hadn't known me, they wouldn't have made those decisions.”

 

“But that's still their choice, right? They knew who you are and they accepted you for that. So you can't go on blaming yourself for every single decision they make that involves you.”

 

“I just wish you wouldn't make it sound so simple, Gojyo because it isn't.”

 

Irritated by the fact that Hakkai doesn't seem to be stepping down his argument, Gojyo forced Hakkai to turn around and face him in order to see him eye to eye. Crimson red eyes stared intently into a pool of soft emerald ones. Uncertain of what he should say next, Gojyo did what he thought was the most natural thing to do. He slowly leaned forward, allowing Hakkai the option to turn away and push him off. When he saw that Hakkai had already closed his eyes, lips slightly parted waiting for him, he continued.

 

“It's as simple as me falling in love with you,” Gojyo whispered against those slightly parted lips.

 

“Don't fall in love with me, Gojyo,” Hakkai whispered back against the moist lips of the red-head. “If anything happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do.”

 

“Hakkai, you don't know what you're asking me,” Gojyo said in between soft, unhurried kisses. His lips almost floating on Hakkai's face, sending shivers down the smaller man's body. `It's like asking me to hold the moon in the palm of my hands.”

 

“Then just don't get yourself killed,” he answered. “I am never going to lose another partner in my life.”

 

“I like the sound of that… partners,” Gojyo mumbled as his lips trailed down the curve of Hakkai's ear, nibbling and sucking the soft flesh, relishing the taste of Hakkai. Slowly, his hands crawled underneath the soft fabric of Hakkai's shirt, memorizing every curve of the lean stomach and the ripple of muscles on the strong chest. His fingers delicately brushed against the soft nipples, causing the raven-haired assassin to moan in anticipation.

 

Offering the last bit of resistance, Hakkai willingly took of his shirt, displaying toned muscles and soft skin. Gojyo feasted his eyes on such a delectable portrait of beauty. The femininity of Hakkai's face was completely lost in the sculptures of his body. Taking in the invitation, Gojyo took of his own clothes and placed an arm around Hakkai's waist to press his body against him.

 

While Gojyo continued to play with the soft lips, his hands were busy freeing Hakkai from the confines of his pants, slowly picking a button at a time just to feel the throbbing hardness underneath the fabric. Hakkai moaned in frustration, knowing that Gojyo was doing this to tease him. Slowly, ever so slowly, Gojyo pushed the pants down Hakkai's firm legs and threw the article of clothing somewhere beside the bed. Without breaking the kiss, Gojyo pushed him towards the freshly made bed and carefully assisting the brunettete to lie down.

 

As soon as Hakkai was lying comfortably on the bed, Gojyo's lips trailed down to the well-chiseled chest to play with the taut nipples, sucking at one as his hands freed him from his own tight pants. Hakkai moaned at the wet sensation of Gojyo's tongue, swirling around the flat bud, biting just to the edge of pain. Involuntarily, his hands came to hold strands of red hair in a grasp as Gojyo continued to tease around the now sensitive nipple.

 

Sensing that Hakkai now wanted something more than just teasing, Gojyo momentarily left him to search for the lube he had chanced upon when he was looking for bandages. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Hakkai, Gojyo's hands stumbled on the unused tube hidden beneath stacks of paper on the night cabinet.

 

“I'll never leave you, Hakkai,” Gojyo whispered as he coated his hands with the liquid. As Gojyo bent down to take the throbbing erection in his mouth, the fingers slick with lube made its way to the tight passage of Hakkai.

 

“Gojyo!” Hakkai gasped out as a finger entered him, his body tightening at the intrusion. He forced himself to calm down but no sooner than he had thought of this when another digit slowly forced its way inside him. He moaned out loud as he felt those long fingers probe deeper, stretching the tight ring. Gods, what is this feeling? Hakkai thought as Gojyo's finger started to slide in and out, searching. Finally, as if guided by some instinct, those fingers brushed against something that sent strong heat waves of pleasure through out his entire body. It hit that same spot over and over again, causing the heat to accumulate more and more in Hakkai's erection, the tip growing harder inside Gojyo's mouth.

 

With his free hand, Gojyo squeezed a considerable amount of lube on his own hardness, spreading the cool liquid over his manhood. He knew that Hakkai was writhing in pleasure and his own body could not be denied any longer. Gojyo leaned over, leaving the salty tip of Hakkai, to kiss the sweet soft lips. Hakkai whimpered against his lips, wanting to beg for release.

 

“Do you trust me Hakkai?” Gojyo whispered against the slightly parted lips, staring deep into his lover's eyes. Hakkai, even though his body felt like a stretched wire, tried hard to focus on Gojyo.

 

“I trust you with my life, Sha Gojyo,” he whispered his answer. He saw the sincere smile coming from the red-head. “Do you trust me?”

 

Gojyo leaned closer and rested his forehead against the man beneath him and sighed, a soft languid sigh.

 

“I trusted you way back before, even when you always threatened to kill me,” he answered. “And this will mark the trust we have for each other.”

 

Before Hakkai could muster a question, he felt something hard and big pressing against his opening. He gritted his teeth as Gojyo's member slowly inched its way inside. His hands holding firmly onto the sheets as he felt Gojyo's hands gripping his chest as he eased his erection into him. Hakkai moaned out loud as he felt the head of Gojyo's erection pop into his tight space and slowly started filling him up. Gojyo leaned in, pushing deeper into the caverns of Hakkai's virginity.

 

“Gods!” Gojyo sharply said as his thrusts started increasing in pace before finally settling inside as his length was now fully enveloped in the walls of Hakkai's opening. Slowly, he started thrusting inside again before increasing his pace once he felt Hakkai moan in pleasure, signaling that he had gotten used to the sensations.

 

As Gojyo pounded his erection inside Hakkai, his hands traveled down to take the other's member in his hand, wanting to reach their satisfactions at the same time. With each thrust nearing his climax, he palmed Hakkai with the same intensity. Soon enough, a bolt of electricity raced through Gojyo's veins and exploded in his erection. He moaned out as he spasmed, spilling his seed inside the tight walls. As he felt his legs weaken, Hakkai moaned loudly as he also reached his climax, his seed shooting out to land on his stomach and spill on Gojyo's hands.

 

“Are you okay?” Gojyo whispered as he removed his limp member from Hakkai to lie beside him. Hakkai, though panting through the nerve-wrecking climax, managed a smile and a soft kiss on Gojyo's lips. Within a few minutes, Hakkai was sleeping soundly, his head nestled against the crook of Gojyo's neck. For Gojyo, that kiss was all he needed as an assurance before finally slipping into a peaceful slumber next to his lifetime partner.

 

---

 

Lirin knocked on Hakkai's door for what seemed to be the seventh time. She was growing impatient. It wasn't like Hakkai to wake up so late in the morning. Just as she was about to knock again, the door opened wide enough for a crimson eye to peak through.

 

“Gojyo?!” Came Lirin's surprised question. “What are you doing in Hakkai's apartment?”

 

“Nothing,” came the obvious lie as Gojyo opened the door to let the informant in. Lirin cocked an eyebrow and walked to the living room, still not taking her eyes off the red-head who was walking shirtless around the small flat. After a few minutes, Hakkai came into the waiting area, a towel rubbing furiously through the wet and tangled hair. The former obviously had just finished a shower. Lirin eyebrow lifted higher at the sight.

 

“Still some hot water in the tub?” Gojyo asked casually. Hakkai nodded and handed him a fresh towel. They watched Gojyo leave until his back disappeared behind the bathroom doors.

 

“So, what's up with you and Gojyo?” Lirin asked, leaning back against the couch. Hakkai continued to dry his hair using the towel.

 

“Nothing,” he answered, still toweling his hair dry. “So, what's up with you?”

 

Lirin laughed and threw her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I won't pry into your personal affairs. As long as you both do your jobs, operatives won't give a damn.”

 

Hakkai waved the topic away and looked at the small girl in front of him. Finally, Lirin's face grew serious.

 

“We found an ad for your head,” she began and handed him a folder. “And though we do not have a definite list of candidates, we do have an idea who posted the ad up.”

 

“Is it the same guy that sent out the Chinese assassin and the last one?”

 

“Tse-Bien and Miscka were working separately. You know very well who Tse-Bien is but Miscka was an operative that was just too hard to track down.”

 

“So did you get anything on him?”

 

“Miscka,” she began slowly, “is a Russian operative, working for GSCE Technologies Incorporated. He works as quality controller over the borders for the drug empire of Ni Jieni and the Council. He was one of the finest assassins in the trade. We actually handled him for a few years before he got a little too greedy for his own good that he went into the drug business. Last thing, we heard about him before he started erasing his tracks was an exchange in Amsterdam.”

 

“Wasn't good enough for me,” Gojyo smugly said as he went into the living room to sit next to Hakkai. Lirin shot Hakkai a knowing glance as Gojyo settled next to him quite closer than usual.

 

“Well,” Lirin said without taking her eyes off Hakkai, “you were with Hakkai that night, something Miscka probably overlooked. If Hakkai was alone that night, he would've been killed or seriously injured…again. But thank goodness, you were with him, Gojyo.”

 

Both decided to ignore the heavily loaded comments of Lirin.

 

“So what's Ni Jieni and the Council planning?” Hakkai asked again. “Besides getting me killed.”

 

“Well, that's all they're planning,” Lirin said. “They figured that if they kill you then the operative would cripple, which is an accurate assumption.”

 

“Guess we have to do our own research about Ni Jieni and the Council,” Hakkai surmised while tapping his chin. Lirin nodded and stood up to leave.

 

“I'll leave you any information we could find,” she said and started for the door. “Oh, and before I forget,” she paused and looked at both of them, “since the Council thinks you're not working alone, Hakkai, they'll be after Gojyo as well.”

 

Gojyo nodded and glanced over at Hakkai. What is he thinking? Gojyo thought.

 

“So expect more assassins to come your way. They won't stop until both of you are dead,” Lirin said before opening the door to step out. As soon as Lirin had closed the door, Gojyo drop an arm around the brunette's shoulders to quickly reassure his doubts away.

 

“Don't die on me, Gojyo. Because if you do, I'll follow you into the afterlife and kill you all over again.”

 

To Be Continued…