A few hours later…
Click.
The door creaked open.
Frank stepped in quietly. "Aki… Chief is calling you."
Aki looked up slowly, voice low. "...Coming."
He gently placed Akira's hand back on the bed, careful not to disturb him. But as he pulled away, a single loose thread from Akira's torn sleeve caught on the button of Aki's cuff.
Aki paused, looking down at the little snag.
His eyes softened. A quiet moment passed.
He leaned down, kissed Akira's cheek gently, rubbed his head with care, and then—snapped the thread loose.
Then he turned and left the room.
—
Downstairs, Leo sat in a large chair, relaxed. Frank stood nearby like always.
Aki stepped in and stood firmly in front of him.
"You called, Chief?"
Leo looked up with an uncharacteristically soft smile. "Aki… I think I went too far. I'm really sorry."
Aki blinked, confused.
"I won't stop you two again. I promise," Leo added, smiling kindly.
Aki's eyes widened in disbelief.
Leo continued. "But… can I ask you to help with something? Just until Akira wakes up. It's an emergency job. Can I count on you?"
He smiled again—warm, almost fatherly.
Aki nodded slowly. "Yes, of course."
His heart felt a little lighter. Maybe things would be okay now.
He took the address and headed out, trusting every word Leo had just said.
---
The building loomed ahead—tall, dimly lit, and eerily quiet.
Aki stepped inside cautiously. The large double doors creaked shut behind him, echoing ominously through the vast, empty space.
The lights inside were faint, just enough to make out shapes and shadows.
He called out, voice uncertain.
"Hello…? Is anyone here?"
A quiet shuffle of footsteps.
Then he saw him—Guard U, standing a few meters ahead.
"U!" Aki rushed forward. "What are you doing here alone? Where's everyone else?"
U didn't reply. Instead, he gave a simple command. "Boys."
Aki froze as four guards silently emerged from behind him.
Before he could react, strong hands gripped his arms.
"What—what are you doing?" Aki struggled. "Let go!"
Guard U stepped closer, his expression darkening. "What do you think we're doing, Aki? We're here to kill you."
Aki's eyes widened. "What? But… they told me this was an emergency—!"
Guard U smirked coldly. "It is. You are the emergency."
Aki's blood boiled. He clenched his fists. "I'll kill you…!"
U laughed. "If you get out alive."
Without another word, Aki twisted his body and broke free from the guards' grip. In one swift move, he slammed his elbow into one guard's jaw, punched another across the face, and drove his knee straight into the third's groin. All four collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain.
Aki turned and grabbed U by the collar, fist raised to strike—
But then—
Snap.
The apartment lit up all at once.
From above, the railing surrounding the upper floor came to life, guards in black suits lined along it—silent, watching.
Aki's breath caught in his throat.
Guard U wiped the blood from his mouth and sneered. "Now what will you do?"
Aki's eyes flared with rage. He slammed his fist into U's face and dashed for the exit.
"Don't let him leave!" U roared.
A wall of guards blocked the door.
Before Aki could dodge, a steel bat came crashing down onto his head.
Crack.
The world spun.
He hit the floor hard, blood trailing down his temple, vision blurring to black.
---
Chains rattled.
Aki hung in the center of the room—arms and legs shackled, suspended in the air. Blood dripped from his forehead, staining the floor beneath.
"Secure the chains. Wake him up," U ordered coldly.
One of the guards threw a bucket of ice-cold water at him.
Aki gasped, his eyes snapping open, dazed but burning with fury.
U stepped closer, grinning. "Welcome back."
"What the hell is this?!" Aki shouted, struggling. "Let me down right now—that's an order!"
But U only chuckled. "Are you saying your orders matter more than the Chief's?"
Aki's blood ran cold. "What…?"
U leaned in, voice laced with cruel amusement. "Yes, Aki. Or did you really not notice how many familiar faces are standing around you?"
Aki looked around, eyes flicking across the crowd.
Guard U's lips curled into a wicked smile, his boots clicking against the concrete floor as he slowly circled Aki's bloodied, suspended form.
"Do you know why I'd love to kill you?" he spat. "Because someone like you—a filthy, low-ranking guard—is standing next to someone like him. While I'm stuck beneath you both."
Aki's breath was shallow, chest heaving.
Guard U's eyes burned with jealousy.
"No match, no comparison, yet there you are… And me?" He let out a dry, bitter laugh. "Today is my day. Once I kill you, I'll finally become the Chief's special guard. Hah!"
He leaned in, eyes wild.
"But before that…" he gestured to the other guards, "we need to follow the Chief's orders, don't we? He said to torture you until you agree to leave his son. Not to kill you."
A cruel grin spread across his face. "But honestly, how can I stop myself?"
Aki's hoarse voice broke through the room, trembling with disbelief.
"U… this isn't right."
Guard U's grin faded into something darker. "Boys, what are you waiting for? Let's send the Chief a nice little confession. Then we begin my plan."
At once, the guards stepped forward—bats in hand, steel rods glinting under the lights. One had a hunter's whip. Another held chains.
They descended on him.
Aki's screams echoed.
"AAHHH—!!"
The bat slammed into his ribs. The whip sliced across his chest. Blood splattered on the ground.
"Say it!" Guard U shouted over the chaos. "Say you don't love the Young Master! Make it easy for us!"
Aki's voice cracked, but his eyes glared through the pain.
"You disgusting piece of shit—!"
BANG.
A gunshot rang out.
Everyone froze.
The bullet pierced Aki's chest. His head fell forward, limp.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" one of the guards screamed, grabbing U by the collar. "WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM!"
Guard U shoved him off, snarling. "So what? This was my plan from the start!"
Panic set in.
Blood pooled beneath Aki's hanging form. His head lolled, and a fresh gush of crimson dripped from his lips as he coughed weakly.
"We have to take him to the hospital or he'll die!" one guard yelled.
"We can't take him to a hospital!" U barked. "They'll trace everything back to us!"
"Then what do we do?!"
U's voice dropped, terrifyingly calm.
"…We finish him."
---
Meanwhile, back at the mansion—
Akira jolted awake, breathing hard.
He reached for Aki—
But the bed was cold. Empty.
"Aki…?" he whispered, sitting up.
No response.
He tore through the rooms, searching—hallways, gardens, training rooms—his heart hammering louder with each step.
"Aki! Where are you?!"
"Young Master!"
He spun around. Frank was standing behind him.
Akira ran to him, panting. "Have you seen Aki?!"
Frank hesitated. "The Chief sent him… to this address." He handed over the location.
Akira's eyes widened.
He didn't wait.
He ran.
---
Back in the building, Aki's eyes fluttered shut. His body was cold. His breath… gone.
"Cut him down," Guard U muttered.
One by one, the chains were unlocked.
As the last shackle on his left hand was about to be cut—
CRASH.
The doors burst open.
Akira stood in the doorway, eyes wide in horror.
"AKI!!!"
He ran faster than he'd ever run before.
The final chain snapped loose—
Aki's body began to fall—
And Akira caught him in his arms.
They collapsed together on the floor. Aki's head lay against Akira's lap, unmoving.
"No… no no no…" Akira whispered, hands trembling as he cupped Aki's face. "Aki, wake up… I'm here. I'm right here. Please…"
His fingers gently brushed Aki's cheeks, stained with dried blood.
He placed a hand over Aki's chest.
There was no movement.
His palm came away soaked in red.
"…No…"
Tears welled in Akira's eyes. His voice cracked.
"This… This isn't funny, Aki. It's not a good prank. Just… please… open your eyes. Look at me… say something, please…"
His hands shook violently now, stroking Aki's hair, desperate to find any sign of life.
"Please…"
A hesitant voice behind him spoke.
"Young Master… he's already…"
But the words never finished.
Akira's scream pierced the room—
A scream so raw it shattered every ounce of silence in the building.
Akira's trembling fingers pulled away from Aki's lifeless cheek.
His voice was no longer trembling.
"...Did you kill him?"
One of the guards—pale, lips quivering—stumbled backward. "N-No, Young Master! I didn't even touch him!"
Akira's eyes didn't blink. His tone didn't change.
"Then who did?"
A voice rang out from behind the group—loud, arrogant, unrepentant.
"Haha… It was me, Young Master!"
Guard U stepped forward, chest heaving with adrenaline. There was a wildness in his eyes, but fear was already curling at the edges.
Akira turned, his bloodstained hands carefully laying Aki's body on the floor. He stood, his back straight, his gaze locked on the man.
"So it was you…"
A slow step forward.
"You really think any of you are walking out of here alive today?"
Guard U froze.
"B-Boys! GET HIM!"
A few guards bolted forward, one of them wielding an axe. He screamed, charging straight for Akira.
But Akira didn't move.
Not an inch.
He caught the man's wrist mid-swing.
CRACK.
The bone shattered like thin glass. The man collapsed, shrieking.
Akira took the axe from his limp hand and continued walking.
Another guard stepped up—only to hesitate as Akira passed him.
No one saw the strike.
They only saw the man's head fall to the ground, eyes still wide in shock.
Gasps filled the room.
"Wh-What the hell is he…?!"
Two more came at him, their hands trembling on their weapons.
One was split down the middle—his skull opened with a clean arc.
The other screamed as his ribs shattered under Akira's blade.
Step by step, Akira moved forward.
His movements were eerily fluid—like dancing in blood.
Every step he took, fear thickened in the air like smoke.
No mercy.
No hesitation.
No light in his eyes.
He was a walking nightmare.
"G-Go!" Guard U stammered, shoving the man with a chainsaw in front of him.
Another guard behind him pulled out a gun, aiming shakily—
THWACK.
Akira threw his axe like a phantom.
It buried into the shooter's skull. His body slumped with a sickening thud.
The chainsaw roared to life, but before it could be raised—
Akira ducked.
One smooth movement.
His hand snapped around the attacker's throat.
SNAP.
The chainsaw clattered to the ground, buzzing uselessly beside the fallen body.
Guard U turned slowly—his eyes locking with Akira's.
He saw the dead around him.
He saw the blood on Akira's face.
And then…
He felt the warm wetness in his pants as his legs gave out in fear.
Akira towered before him, picking up the running chainsaw.
The roar filled the room, but his voice was calm.
"Bring him back to life."
"I-I can't… Akira, please—please—it was the Chief's order! We didn't mean to! We were helpless!"
"Bring him back," Akira repeated, each word a stone.
Guard U trembled like a leaf, his eyes flicking toward Aki's body—cold, still, painted in red.
"I… I can't… I can't bring back the dead!"
"Then die."
"WAIT—!! AHHHHHHH—!!!"
The chainsaw tore through flesh, bone, and blood.
From stomach to skull, Guard U was split in half, his scream dying before the chainsaw finished its climb.
Akira stood motionless.
His body was soaked in red—hair dripping, hands trembling. His eyes, still empty.
He tossed the chainsaw aside. It clattered to the ground with a metallic whine.
He turned to the remaining guards—what was left of them.
"…Next."
They didn't wait.
Weapons clattered to the floor.
Some fainted.
Some tried to crawl away, sobbing and begging.
But there was no saving them from what they'd brought upon themselves.
Not without paying the price in blood.
---
Just as Akira raised the chainsaw once more—
"YOUNG MASTER—WAIT!!"
A shout rang through the blood-splattered silence. One of the guards—trembling, pale, and crouched beside Aki—called out in desperation.
"He's still breathing!"
Akira froze.
His eyes widened.
He dropped the chainsaw with a metallic clang and turned back, rushing to Aki's side like a storm unleashed.
"What did you say?!"
The guard didn't speak again—he only moved aside.
Akira dropped to his knees, pressing two fingers against Aki's pulse point.
And there it was.
Faint.
But there.
Still beating.
Akira's heart surged as if it had just been defibrillated.
"There's a hospital!" the guard said, pointing to the narrow path outside. "Just ten minutes from here—on foot!"
Without a word, Akira slipped his coat from his back and wrapped it tightly around Aki's body, pressing it to stem the blood flow.
Then he lifted him—light as a memory, heavy as his own soul—and took off into the night.
—
Rain poured down.
Thick.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
Akira ran with Aki in his arms, soaked to the bone, the blood mixing with water and sweat as he gasped for breath between whispers.
"Just hold on a little longer... Just a little more…"
The guard ran beside him, shouting at pedestrians to move, but none dared approach. The sight was too horrifying—Akira, drenched and blood-soaked, clutching a nearly lifeless boy in his arms like a broken doll.
The hospital doors burst open. Staff turned to see the scene and screams echoed down the corridor.
"What happened?!" one nurse gasped. "Oh, lord—he needs emergency care, now!"
Doctors rushed forward. Aki was pulled from Akira's arms and placed on a stretcher. Blood trailed behind.
"He's critical! Get the OR ready—NOW!"
The doors slammed shut behind them.
Akira stood still.
Hands shaking.
Mind blank.
Time froze until, an hour later, the doctor emerged—coat stained, expression grim.
Akira surged forward.
"What happened?! Tell me!"
The doctor gently placed a hand on Akira's shoulder.
"Sir… we managed to stabilize him for now, but… it's very serious."
He handed something to Akira.
It was a bullet—dark with fresh blood.
"This was closest to his heart..we stitched what we could, but he's bleeding internally."
Akira clutched the bullet tightly in his palm.
The doctor continued, slowly.
"We… don't know if he'll wake up. He might fall into a coma… or he might not survive at all. The next hour will decide everything."
The hallway spun.
Akira's legs nearly gave out. He stumbled to a bench, collapsing onto it, breathing unevenly as his bloodied hands gripped the bullet tighter.
The nurse crouched in front of him. "Please, sit back… deep breaths…"
Outside, the storm raged on.