Crossing the Line

by Naomi Aoki

  He stifled his amusement as he reached the fifth floor, not forgetting that at three in the morning most of the buildings residents still slept. A hard task to manage as he exited the stairwell and walked the last few metres to his apartment as his thoughts drifted to the man sleeping inside it. Brian had been here for a week now, and the urge to kill or fuck him hadn’t waned, but then Kennosuke had made sure to stay out of the apartment and far from the temptation Brian presented. In that time, he’d realised Brian still saw Jamie as some straight-laced naïve country boy and Kennosuke had to cover his mouth to stop his laughter bursting out. Discovering Brian’s reaction to the truth of Jamie’s life here would be intriguing, but Kennosuke doubted the man would believe a word of it.

  Fuck it would be amusing to tell him though; to watch as Brian’s anger grew. Kennosuke licked his lips, imagining the hate-fuelled fucking it might lead to. All that restraint Brian currently held slipping... his mind drifted back to the three weeks he’d spent in New Zealand and he’d first met Brian. Rough, hard and nothing like what he’d experienced before because the men in Kyoto were too afraid of Kennosuke, of his father and his Uncle.

  Brian wasn’t scared.

  Feet scuffed on the concrete behind him and Kennosuke paused. He should’ve been paying attention to his surroundings and not gotten distracted by thoughts of Brian. But it wasn’t just because of Brian, security had gotten lax throughout the Araki-gumi since the Shirokawa-gumi had been defeated; the tension that had pulled tight across Kyoto gone. He’d arrogantly believed that there was no one left to fear. No one who’d dare try to take him out.

  His body tensed, a hand slipping into the pocket of his jacket and wrapping around the blade there. Another footstep echoed down the landing, stones skittering ahead of the unknown stranger, too big to simply dismiss as a cat. Kennosuke clutched the handle of his blade tighter and swivelled, peering into the darkness as he tried to find the man creeping in the shadows toward him.

  No, there was two of them as another footstep sent stones skittering behind him. His would-be assailants not disguisng their presence while remaining hidden in the shadows. He glanced over his shoulder trying to locate the second man, but the first had gotten closer than he thought and Kennosuke cursed as his attacker grabbed him, shoving him hard into the wall. He tried to pull out his weapon, to stab at the man with his blade and fight them off. It was to no avail as another hand wrapped around his wrist, squeezing it tight until he dropped the blade.

  He could see them now, their unfamiliar faces sneering at him in the glimmer of light from above the nearby doorway. This wasn’t a random attack. It had been planned, but by whom, Kennosuke couldn’t say. He fought against them, scratching at the man pinning him to the wall, but he didn’t flinch. Didn’t seem fazed at all as he chuckled and pushed Kennosuke into the wall harder. The chuckle that echoed around him, low and soft yet the danger it contained sent a fear racing down his spine in cold icy waves.

  And then that pressure changed.

  Something hard, sharp and cold pushed its way through the fabric of his suit, stinging as it scratched his skin. Stinging. Slicing. The pain that ripped through him as his brain caught up with what was happening almost blotted out the man’s words. “Takeshi says “Hello”,” he whispered in Kennosuke’s ear before letting him go and disappearing back into the darkness.

  He dropped his hand to his stomach, fingers trembling as Kennosuke curled them around the handle of the knife protruding from it. Blood stained his hand, a slickness that wasn’t unfamiliar to him and yet it was. It had never been his blood before... never. Oh, fuck. He clutched at the wall, shock threatening to send his legs crumbling from beneath him, but he had to make it home. The apartment was only a short distance away. He could make it. He had to. Pain, excruciating pain shot through him with each jarring step he took, forcing Kennosuke to lean against the door, breathing heavy before fumbling with his keys and stumbling inside.

  Kennosuke wanted it to stop. He wanted the pain to disappear, hand still pressed against the wound, the cold of the steel rubbing on his palm and it was tempting to remove the blade from his body. He needed... an ambulance... needed to stay focused, to stay alive. Kennosuke crashed into the walls, not caring about the noise. Keys fell from his grasp, clattering on the wooden floor. He wasn’t going to make it. He was going to die here, alone.

  No. He wasn’t alone.

  “Brian, he called out, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Brian.” He tried again, forcing it out louder as panic squeezed his throat. Kennosuke leaned against the wall, blood smearing along it as his legs struggled to hold him up and hit the floor with a heavy thud. Head spinning, he gave on last desperate shout, “BRIAN... I could use a little help.”

  “What the fuck, Ken?” Brian roared as he staggered from the bedroom clad only in boxers. Any other night and Kennosuke would have appreciated the view, but all he could do was watch the anger on Brian’s face transform to one of horror as Brian noticed the knife sticking out of him. Was this how Brian looked as a cop? A strange thought to have when Kennosuke was sure he was dying. “What the bloody hell happened?”

  “I got stabbed.”

  “Yah don’t say. When? Where?”

  “Now. Outside. Must have been waiting for me.”

  He bit back a pained groan as Brian’s hands moved to apply more pressure to the wound. Kennosuke hadn’t noticed Brian grab the towel he was using, nor had he noticed him leaving to pull clothes on. Blacking out couldn’t be a good sign.

  “Fuck. Brian. I need an ambulance.”

  “No shit-” Brian spluttered rummaging through Kennosuke’s pockets to find his phone. He whimpered as the movement jostled the blade. “-and what the hells the number? I don’t think 1-1-1 will work.”

  “1-1-9.” His eyes fluttering shut.

  “Don’t you fucking dare die on me, Ken.”

  Ken grinned. Brian had called him ‘Ken’, twice now and he sounded panicked, like Brain did care whether he lived or died. “Not dead. Yet. Don’t... call my family.” He didn’t want anyone else getting involved. “And don’t... you, fucking... dare call... Jamie,” he managed to gasp out before everything went dark.

  Chapter Five

  Kennosuke groaned, wincing as the strangled sound forced its way out his parched throat. Muffled voices swirled around him, almost distant and yet they weren’t, feeling the touch of hands on his body. Doctors or nurses at whatever hospital Brian had gotten him to he assumed, but there was a familiarity to them Kennosuke couldn’t deny.

  He brushed off his mother’s fussing to seek out Brian and scowled. “I thought I said not to call them!”

  “Of course, I fucking told them! Have you meet your family?” Fear tinged Brian’s words, yet the way it shook, Kennosuke doubted it was his family that had Brian so scared. “And I’m a bloody cop. It’s automatic to notify the next of kin.”

  Kennosuke wasn’t buying that either, but before he got the chance to push the issue his uncle, the head of the Araki-gumi that controlled Kyoto, stormed over to his bed. Fists balled at his sides as fury rippled over him along with fear. Fear that they were on the brink of another conflict with some unknown outside force, upending the peace they’d all suffered to gain – Jamie most of all.

  “Who did this?”

  And this was why he didn’t want Brain to call them. Murderous intent clung to each syllable and Kennosuke knew if he repeated the message his assailant had uttered, the streets of Kyoto would turn red as the family hunted Takeshi down. They couldn’t know that Takeshi had returned, not before Kennosuke had dealt with the man himself.

  “It was just some stupid punk. Don’t think he realised who he’d stabbed until after. He’ll be long gone. Running scared.” He lied through his teeth and hoped like hell Brian backed him up.

  Brian fucking owed him.

  “It was a random attack just as Kennosuke said,” Brian continued, selling the lie he’d started. “The lack of defensive wounds points to
them having taken him by surprise...” Brian’s voice droned on as he went into full cop mode.

  Or at least that’s what Kennosuke assumed Brian would be like, he was just missing the blue uniform. He’d seen Brian wear his uniform once, but it didn’t stay on long enough for him to truly appreciate it... his mind wandering away from everything around him.

  Kennosuke shook his head, he needed to focus on his surroundings and not get caught up in fanciful drug induced fantasies. He’d managed to make it to the private hospital that the Araki-gumi used – funded – and only further proved Brian had rung his family once he’d blacked out. His room was all too familiar, the family having gathered here several times in the last few years and he’d hoped never to see the inside of it again for a long, long time. He especially didn’t want to be the one lying on the hospital bed.

  His head spun, once more struggling to keep his mind focused. Kennosuke wanted them all to leave. He wanted to relax in peace without having them fussing over him. Though maybe Brian could stay... He vaguely remembered Brian’s face, the terrified expression he wore before Kennosuke had passed out. The panicked tremble that lingered beneath his calm exterior and Kennosuke needed to know if he’d imagined it. Had Brian lied about only wanting to be friends? But he wouldn’t get his answers any time soon as metal scrapped on the linoleum floor and chair plonked next to his bed.

  Kennosuke turned his head gingerly as his mother sat, flinching at the fury swirling beneath her calm façade. Her hand clutched his tight, while his father had settled a hand on her tense shoulders. His fearsome family gathered in a hospital room with all the fear and worry that others might think they understood. It’s just that their fear; their anger usually resulted in someone else’s death. Takeshi survived his last indiscretion against the family because of Jamie’s good will, but this time Kennosuke would make sure he never bothered this family again.

  But Kennosuke had no intention of telling them that Takeshi was the who’d ordered the hit.

  Not yet.

  “You’re looking tired Ken, shall we go? Let you rest for a bit?” his mother asked, patting the back of his hand.

  Kennosuke faked a yawn, taking the opportunity she was giving him to rid the room of his father and uncle. She knew he’d lied, he could see it in her eyes and if he didn’t sort the matter out himself, then she would take great delight in watching the fallout when his lie came back to haunt him. Of course, she’d be first in line to protect him as well. Still, Kennosuke breathed a sigh of relief as she stood, smoothed the fabric of her kimono and then proceeded to tug his father toward the door. His uncle didn’t leave quietly, protesting Jamie’s attempts to remove him from the room. Then finally they were all gone, the room silent and Kennosuke could relax.

  “That was some lie, you were spinning.” Brian’s voice filled the room and Kennosuke glanced at the door expecting Jamie to burst back in to drag his friend away.

  Brian smirked as though sensing what he’d been thinking. Maybe it was a cop thing. “Oh. No. I’m not leaving. I’m staying.” The easy-going smirk disappeared, and a hard-nosed I’m-going-to-throw-your-arse-in-jail grin took its place. Brian dropped into the chair Kennosuke’s mother had vacated and stretched his legs out. “You forced me to lie to Jamie. And I want to know why?”

  “It’s none of your, business. You’re an outsider... a cop. You’ll be gone in two weeks so no reason for you to get involved.”

  Brian snorted. He rose from the seat and leaned over the bed, a hand on each side of Kennosuke’s head. Arousal had lingered in his veins from the moment Kennosuke had picked Brian up at the airport; simmering away and easily ignored, but not now. Maybe it was the painkillers he was on, or the adrenaline rush that came with almost dying – he’d blame it on that anyway – Kennosuke couldn’t say, he just knew that all he wanted was to kiss Brian. Wanted to suck on the man’s bottom lip until the dangerous sneer he wore disappeared.

  “Your lie... making me lie, Kennosuke, has gotten me involved. My staying in your apartment has gotten me involved. And my being a cop?” Brian’s laughter confused Kennosuke, not understanding how the situation was at all funny. “It isn’t an issue. Hell, I came all the way here with a business proposition for your Uncle. From my father.”

  Ken blinked still confused. You didn’t just make deals with men like his uncle. And Brian was still a cop.

  “Let’s just say... the gift I brought for Gou from my father, if it was discovered on my person, I could no longer remain a cop.”

  Chapter Six

  If he leaned in a little more, he could kiss Kennosuke and fuck, it was tempting. Kennosuke wanted it too, but the emotion swirling in his eyes was more than lust; wanted more than Brian was prepared to give him. And that’s why the kiss couldn’t happen. Brian straightened, ran hand over his short-cropped hair and averted his gaze, not wanting to see the flicker of disappointment in Kennosuke’s eyes.

  “Did you even call 1-1-9? Because – asides from you – I don’t see any other cops present. And there was no way I was lucid enough to give you instructions.”

  “Had your phone, didn’t I. When you blacked out I rang Gou, well Jamie, but that’s pretty much the same thing. They organised getting you here.” He shrugged off the wide-eyed expression Kennosuke was giving him. Subverting the course of justice was nothing new to him, often being called on to ‘act the cop’ to save some greenhorns arse. “Though, I didn’t call your mother.”

  “Uso! Shinjinai!”

  Brain narrowed his eyes, Kennosuke’s switching to Japanese deliberate and frustrating, knowing full well he didn’t speak a lick of it. “Fucking speak English if you want to curse me out.”

  “You can bloody well learn to speak Japanese,” Kennosuke spat back, pushing himself upright before grimacing in pain. “Fuck. Is this what it felt like for uncle when he got shot?”

  The question rhetorical, but Brian answered it anyway. “Yeah, it hurts like a bitch once the painkillers wear off.” He bit back a laugh at Kennosuke’s stunned expression. “What? I’m a cop. Do you really think I haven’t been injured on the job before?” He pulled up his shirt to show Kennosuke the scar the man had seen on his abdomen before.

  “But you said...”

  Yeah, he’d told Kennosuke that the scar had been the result of a surgical procedure attempting to brush off the man’s curiosity over it at the time. It had been a lie; he was still lying. It wasn’t the result of an on-job incident. The truth was far more embarrassing.

  It happened not long after Brian had returned to Invercargill and he’d been too damned cocky; drunk on the power his role within his father’s gang and his rank as a cop gave him. Sneaking around destroying evidence and giving the initiates a damn good scare. And boy did the older members love to pit the young members, not just the initiates against him, never informing them that a cop – Brian – was one of their own and arranging for Brian to pull them over on some traffic offence. But this time had been different. He was only supposed to pull him over for an illegal vehicle modification only to find the idiot was stoned and not working alone, he could simply ignore it because the shithead would be a danger to everyone else on the road. It was the next day after the kid had gotten released on bail that he struck, attacking Brian as he strolled down the street toward the gang’s headquarters. The knife wound had hurt like hell for Brian, but he recovered... the kid however was still listed at the station as a missing person.

  “I say a lot of things, Kennosuke. Don’t mean they are true. Hell... there are things about me not even Jamie knows.” Brian knew that would soon change and Jamie was going to be fucking pissed at him. “But right now, that is unimportant. I want to know what happened last night... and why you are so adamant Gou and your father not know about it?”

  Kennosuke turned to face the wall, but if he thought that meant Brian would give up, then he was wrong. Brian was determined to get answers and grabbed a hold of Kennouske’s chin and forced him to look at him. “Tell me, Kennosuke. You
said they were lying in wait. They knew who they were attacking. It was deliberate and not the random event that you wanted everyone else to buy into. Someone wants you dead and I want to know who.”

  Brian wasn’t going to take ‘No’ for an answer, nor would he accept Kennosuke’s tight-pressed-lip silence, tightening his grip and batting away Kennosuke’s attempts to dislodge him. He could scowl at Brian as much as he liked, but Kennosuke would give Brian the answers he wanted.

  “Fine! There was a message, and I understood it.”

  He released his grip and watched Kennosuke rub the reddened skin. “Then why lie about it? Unless... it’s because of something you’ve done. Something stupid. Dangerous.” Not that Brian thought it possible. Sure, Kennosuke was young, a little hot-headed but not impulsive. And he was loyal. So damned loyal to those he viewed as family.”

  “It wasn’t my fuck up.”

  “Then why did they target you? And why won’t you tell your family?”

  Infuriating.

  Irresistible.

  Kennosuke yanked hard at everything Brian wanted to deny he felt about him. His anger blistered his veins as it rushed through him, demanding the name of the person he needed to kill, because like hell was he going to sit by and let someone target Kennosuke. And that fact he felt that so strongly about it; so possessive, protective of Kennosuke only angered Brian more.

  “Because the moment I utter the man’s name, Gou is going to fucking lock Jamie up again to protect him. This man won’t settle for just hurting me... hurting Jamie. He wants us both dead.”