Jia knew he would repent that action later. The entire drive back to their apartment, Toki and Jia were fighting. Toki was going off on him and Jia was fighting back. The two were having different views on what should have been done. I noticed then that Toki was truly heartless. He would have shot both Sung Hyun and Alexandra despite any conditions either one would have been in. Jia had too much heart...he couldn't do it. Toki called him soft for it. He said he felt too much and that was weak and it was gonna break them.

"You should have killed them both."

"I couldn't do it."

"You're so fucking spineless Li! Now when shit goes down later you're gonna be pissed off you didn't do it!"

"How could I shoot a defenseless man and his pregnant wife?"

"Who the fuck cares!? He would have shot you and you know it. You spared him and it's gonna come back and bite you in the ass watch."

Jia sighed as he pulled his hair back and said,

"Toki, I couldn't kill him. I will though. Now wasn't the time to do so."

"When is the time gonna be Li? When he shoots someone else? He already got Aya and Jiki. Who's next huh? Who's it gonna have to be so you can grow a fucking backbone and kill this motherfucker?"

Jia looked away, bringing his hand to his mouth as Toki looked at him.

"Yeah it'll have to be me right? So maybe I should get this shot by this bitch so maybe you'll do something."

Jia said nothing, just continued looking out the window. Toki looked out the other window just as I pulled up to their building. The car stopped as Toki got out and waited for Jia. Jia looked at me as I said,

"Anything else tonight Jia?"

He shook his head as he said,

"Go home for now. I'll call you in the morning."

I nodded as Jia got out of the car, slamming the door behind him as he and Toki went inside. I waited for a little while before actually leaving, just in case and then I went home.

I slept for the rest of that morning, my stereo blasting the random CD I burned so it went from Japanese to English from pop, to rock, to rap. I woke up later by hunger as I heard X-Japan screaming "standing sex" through my living room. I sat up as I went to the bathroom and then went to get something to eat. It was there I realized that the kitchen was practically untouched. There was no silverware, no cups or glasses, no plates, no pots or pans, no food, not even a Goddamn ice tray. I sighed seeing I would have to go out to eat again. I showered and dressed again as I got my necessary items and went to eat. I was still a little groggy when I went to eat. I was tired from lack of sleep over the course of a few weeks. I sat at a small restaurant, just picking at the sushi in front of me as I drank some of the bottled water in front of me. They would card me if I asked for anything stronger. I took my cell phone out as I rested it beside me, yawning as I did so. Once I finished eating I picked up my phone and left, wandering around New York for a little while. I eventually got a call from Aoki.

"Ne?"

"Joryu, I need you to come to the hospital."

"Something wrong?"

"No, but Jia needs me right now and no one else can stand guard for Aya."

"Oh...okay sure, I'll be there in a minute."

So I went. A few minutes after I arrived, I went to Aya's room where Aoki was standing, pacing a little. I apologized for not getting their sooner and Aoki shrugged it off.

"It's okay you got here faster then I expected. Listen, Aya's slipping in and out of consciousness. So he might wake up wanting something. If he's in any pain, get someone in here fast don't listen to what he says. If it's any worse then discomfort you call one of us. Don't wait."

I nodded as I then said,

"Where's Jun at?"

"He's working. There was no one else that could come and Jia and I don't ever leave one of ours alone at a hospital. The security sucks here."

He checked his clip in the gun as he then took off the safety and said,

"You need any help don't be afraid to kill someone okay?"

I nodded as he then left and I was left alone to take care of Aya. I sat down where I once saw Aoki before as I looked at him. I noticed how pretty he was even without make up, his hair still falling softly around the sides of his face his puckered mouth slightly open, his arm still in the sling, his other arm with less tubes and wires then before. I noticed his free arm, the kanji for Deception tattooed in black ink on the inside of his left wrist. His fingers were so long and slender, curving delicately towards his palm. I noticed he didn't have any callouses there, the skin still white, tints of pink highlighting certain areas. I looked back up at his face when I heard him breath a little harder. His eyes opened a little as they fluttered for a moment and light brown hazel eyes stared into space for a moment before he looked at me.

"Aoki?"

"No, it's me Joryu."

He blinked a few more times before he said,

"Oh...you looked like him for a second."

"Are you okay? You need anything?"

He turned to move a little but stopped once he felt pain. He hissed as he then said,

"Where's Aoki?"

"Jia needed him so I was sent here for a little while."

He nodded as he said,

"Can I have some water please?"

I stood up and got him something to drink, helping him drink it as he then laid back down. He rubbed his nose as he said,

"How long you been there?"

"Twenty minutes or so."

He smoothed his hair back as he cleared his throat and then looked at me as he said,

"You look like Aoki."

"So I heard. I don't see it though."

"Just a little. The resemblance is there. You have his jaw line...and his nose. That mean look in your eyes like him too."

I laughed, never really thinking I looked like him. He then said,

"Sorry I should say eyes for you. Eye for him."

"I heard he's only got one eye."

Aya nodded as he brushed his hair back again.

"How'd he loose it?"

He looked at me as he sighed and said,

"Never asked him yourself?"

"I don't really talk to him and he doesn't really talk to me."

"A gunshot blast went off near his face when he was around your age. It was suppost to be temporary but the doctors saw they could do nothing. So he lost eyesight in that eye."

"Oh..."

He yawned as he said,

"I'm so bored. What's been going on since I've been down? Aoki won't tell me anything."

"Sung Hyun's wife is pregnant. So he's trying to move her out before the situation gets worse. Jia shot him last night but nothing fatal."

Aya nodded as he said,

"Anything else?"

"Jiki's doing better."

"What happened to Jiki?"

"Oh...that's right. He got shot the same night you did."

"Oh...but he's okay?"

"Yeah. He'll be fine. How do you feel?"

"It hurts to breath."

"You'll be okay."

Aya nodded. He stayed still a few more moments before I saw his eyes starting to close again. Suddenly he just drifted off to sleep again. I sat back again and put my earphone in my ear as I listened to my mp3 player.

A little while later, a nurse came in as she checked his vitals. She was very motherly with him, picking up his free arm with care as she pulled up the sheets around him. She then checked his vitals, making sure everything was normal as she said,

"Hello. I don't know you."

"Hi. I'm Joryu."

"That's a nice name."

"Thanks."

"You a friend of Pretty Aya's?"

"Yeah. Just keeping him some company."

She smiled at me as she then turned back to Aya and smoothed back his hair as she sighed and said,

"He's so lovely isn't he?"

"Yeah."

She then checked the machines and the tubes and wires in his arm as she then patted his forearm and said,

"He's good. Hopefully they'll release him soon."

"Good to know."

She then smiled once more before she left and I was left to watch over him.

Later that night, I woke up as I felt something crawling through my hair. I sat up right away as I felt Aya's hand fall from my hair. I looked at him as he said,

"Sorry. I was bored."

I shook it off as I said,

"I thought it was a bug or something."

He laughed as he laid on his back again and said,

"What time is someone else going to be here?"

"I don't know."

I checked my watch as I saw it was only seven. I said,

"I don't know...if they didn't get here by now the situation might be more serious then I thought."

He nodded as he said,

"Why don't you call someone?"

"I can't. I was told to call if something happened here."

He reached up to his hair as he frowned.

"I need a shower."

I smiled as I said,

"You look fine."

He thanked me as he relaxed his arms and within a little while, he fell back asleep. I put my earphone back in my ear as I put my head down on his bed again and listened to Dir en grey play Jessica in my ear. I woke up later on to Into the Sun from Luna Sea as I felt something touching me again. I thought it was Aya again but it was around my stomach. I sat up right away knocking back into who was touching me, who it turned out was Toki. He pulled the earphone from my ear as he said,

"That's why you don't sleep with these things in your ear when you're on guard."

His hand came up as I saw he had my gun in it and it was pointing back at me. I took it back from him as he let go of me and said,

"Come on, your shift is up."

I saw Akio coming in to take my place as I said,

"Okay."

I walked past Akio, saying bye to him as I walked with Toki.

"Is everything okay?"

Toki sorta waved his hand as he said,

"Sorta...more or less. We found out Sung Hyun's wound is taken care of..nothing much else. Oh Alexandra managed to get out of New York."

I nodded as he went into his pockets, searching for something as he found his cigarettes and took one out. He offered me one as he said,

"You don't smoke?"

"Never bothered to."

He shook his head as he said,

"There's about three yakuza that don't smoke."

He put the pack away and as he started to light it, a nurse started following him saying,

"Sir...sir...sir....sir...you can't smoke in here. Sir!"

Toki kept walking as he then exhaled. He stopped suddenly and grabbed the nurse's arm and pulled her towards him. He wrapped his arm around her as he said,

"I'm leavin' anyway baby. Relax."

He smacked her backside as she gasped loudly and he let her go as he kept walking. I was surprised he did that. I couldn't believe someone had the gaul to do that. Once we got outside he said,

"So now we go back to the building. How's Aya?"

"He's good. A little discomfort but otherwise fine. The nurse hopes they let him go soon."

"She don't hope for that. She's probably in love with pretty Aya."

I shrugged as he hailed a cab. It was only about ten at night. I rubbed my eyes as I said,

"So we're gonna go see Jia?"

"I don't know about you but I am."

"Why...me?"

"I don't know. Did Jia call you?"

"No..."

"Then why go see him?"

I shrugged again as he said,

"Go home for now. He'll call you if he needs you."

I nodded as a cab finally stopped and we both got in. He gave directions to the building as he leaned back and as he said,

"You're a heavy sleeper."

I looked at him as I said,

"Why do you say that?"

"I fondled you for a good five minutes. You didn't stir at all."

I inched away from him as I said,

"Why did you do that?"

Toki turned and smirked as he said,

"Because I don't bother asking for anything I want."

He had that look in his eye again. I turned away and looked out the window as he laughed. When the cab got to the 36 Moons building, he got out and paid his fare as I then went home. I was exhausted again coming in and out of sleep since I was taking care of Aya for a while. I took a shower once I got home and went back to bed, my radio playing Glay's Heavy Gauge again.

I woke up again in the middle of the night, the silence being so overwhelming. I realized my CD probably finished and since I forgot to turn on the repeat before I went to sleep, it just stopped. I was about to get another CD and turn it back on so I got out of bed and grabbed the CD case sitting on my night stand when I heard something. A floor board outside creaked as I heard a hushed whisper. I moved back from my door as I grabbed my gun from the same night stand and went to my closet where I got inside and closed the door slightly. I stood perfectly still, listening as they made their way to the bedroom. I counted four of them, all armed. I would be killed if they found me so I stayed still, hardly breathing as they searched my bed. They pulled back the sheets and pillows and checked under it. Then they came towards the closet, I ducked down and hid behind the clothes there. It was still dark since they didn't bother turning on any lights as they finally said out loud,

"He's not here."

I leaned against the wall still hoping they would leave. They finally started leaving my room but they lingered outside the hallway for a while, turning out the hall lights as they searched the other rooms. I held onto the gun firmly, hoping they would leave, praying I would not get shot tonight. Eventually I heard them leaving, the front door clicking closed. I got out of the closet and grabbed my phone off the dresser as I called Jia right away. As the line rang I went to the living room when I suddenly saw someone still standing there. Jia's line picked up but by then I had raised my arm and all too quickly shot who was standing guard. I could hear Jia yelling at me but I flipped on the hallway lights as I saw it was some Korean guy. I finally responded to Jia as I said,

"Someone broke in the apartment. I just shot someone standing guard here...apparently waiting for me."

"Get the fuck out of there right now."

"I'm out the door."

I picked up the small bag I've been traveling with as I grabbed all my stuff and hopped over the dead body now lying in front of the door as I got out of there. As I jogged down the hall, my jeans now hanging down my hips, a wifebeater on me, my hair all over the place, my gun in my cargo pocket I realized how all too easy that was to do. It's been easy. I felt no backlash for what I did, no remorse, no sadness. Nothing. Just annoyance for having to get out of my apartment in the middle of the night.