(BL) Mafia Love; He who falls the hardest loses-Chapter 177: Released

They met as Aiichiro got to the pool. He passed beside it as everyone began to sing. Aiichiro smiled.

Haruki hated to see the triumph in his smile. He sighed knowing he had to play along until it was over. That was perfect for catching someone unaware.

He returned the smile, although it didn’t reach his eyes. He watched the man approaching replaying his plans in his mind. Aiichiro paused raising a hand to his head. He winced and blinked.

Haruki noticed something was wrong as soon as their gaze broke. Aiichiro tried to steady the cake with one hand as he stopped on his track.

The cake slipped from his hand to the ground getting smashed in the process as it was overturned to the ground. Aiichiro raised both of his hands to his head. He shook his head as he blinked his eyes repeatedly.

The cake falling made everyone stop singing. The place was eerily quiet and dark. All eyes watched as Aiichiro swayed. A few very worried friends began approaching him.

"Are you okay?" someone asked.

Hearing that, Haruki approached curiously.

Aiichiro nodded. He stopped swaying as though all they had just witnessed was an illusion. He looked down at the cake. "Oh. I ruined your birthday cake. I’ll have them bring another."

Aiichiro’s voice came steady as he met Haruki’s gaze calmly. Haruki hid his disappointment with a slight smile and a quick nod. Another moment without Aiichiro in his space, he could use it.

"Thanks," he added as his smile broadened. This was very different from the thought he had. Aiichiro must not have recovered from the injury that landed him in the hospital. It was a relief to know that. An injured predator was just another prey.

This time, his smile was sincere. It was pure joy that showed in his eyes.

Aiichiro nodded in appreciation before turning towards the garden.

Haruki’s smile only broadened as he replayed his plan with a weak Aiichiro. Aiichiro paused his back turned to Haruki. He wondered what else the man had to say irritated by the man’s lingering but the man continued forward beside the pool.

Everyone had turned to do what they wanted since Aiichiro had brushed off what happened easily. A staff member rushed forward to clean the cake that had become a mess on the floor.

Haruki’s gaze remained fixed on the man’s departing back. He watched Aiichiro stop on his track once again swaying. It looked serious and it was obvious that the chatter began to die down just in time for Aiichiro to fall into the pool causing an uproar.

Many were running forward to pull him out. Haruki looked down at his neat suits and shoes. He sighed without moving forward. He watched them rushing in to pull out Aiichiro from the pool. When he was finally pulled out, he was limp and unmoving.

Someone immediately began chest compressions. He had spent less than a minute in the pool with how fast people had gone in to save him but he was limp and unresponsive. A lady was calling the emergency line while the staff member cleaning the cake ran to get his assistant.

The assistant arrived with some paramedics and a doctor. Haruki watched them and he was certain they had prepped a chopper to take him to the hospital immediately or they were going to wheel him to a home clinic, if it was fully equipped.

The guests were immediately told to evacuate that area. The guards were quick to move them out of the large room while Haruki stood watching everything happen.

They were obviously trying to get Aiichiro to breathe, get his heart beating again . . . however, they seemed to be failing at that.

The man on the stretcher wasn’t responsive. From where Haruki stood, he could see how pale Aiichiro’s skin had gotten. Aiichiro had died. There was still this nagging feeling that he could get resuscitated but as Aiichiro watched, that would need a miracle.

They were quick to respond, they had done their best but the man on the stretcher wouldn’t wake up. It was a mystery that left Haruki frozen where he stood.

It happened too fast. Could someone die without any chance of recovery in such a short time? He knew nothing about medicine but he still found it confusing.

They wheeled him out of the place. Haruki remained fixed on that spot. The man hadn’t woken up through it all but he could see that they were unwilling to either make it obvious or were determined to bring him back to life.

Life could be that fleeting. His grandfather despite being powerful and wealthy had died just as fast. He had collapsed shortly after he arrived and died. They had also tried to save his life but he died.

Who he was didn’t save him from the claws of death. Those were the words Haruki used to reassure himself as he walked out of the house. If wealth and power couldn’t save his grandfather, then they couldn’t save Aiichiro.

Aiichiro had to be dead. He mustn’t survive it. He had to die. Kiyoshi stepped out of the car and approached him wearing a confused and concerned expression as he asked, "Is everything alright?"

Haruki nodded. "Where is Kataro?" he asked looking around. He needed to get the younger man to leave. That was one of the reasons he came to the party.

Kiyoshi looked around and shook his head. "I don’t know."

Haruki sighed. He had no one to ask. He had no one to speak to about releasing Kataro. Aiichiro was either dead or unconscious and his assistant was with him.

He sighed and walked to the car. Kiyoshi opened the door for him and he stepped in.

The drive home left him in a state of confusion. His emotions and thoughts were all over the place he could get nothing out of them even as he stepped out of the car into his house. He just needed to rest.

His plan would have to halt for the moment. He could not plan someone’s death without knowing if the person was alive or dead. He hated being left in the dark but he knew there was nothing he could do aside from waiting.

It was almost midnight when he cleaned up and went to sleep.

***

Haruki was eating breakfast the next morning when Kiyoshi rushed in. "Kataro was dropped off by a car at the gate."

Haruki paused and placed his chopsticks down. "Have him brought in immediately and call the doctor," Haruki replied. He didn’t know how Kataro was released. It made him wonder if Aiichiro was still alive and had released him since he kept his part of the deal by coming to the party.

He picked up his phone and dialled Aiichiro’s number. The call went but it wasn’t connected. He looked down at the screen and sighed.

"Confirm Aiichiro’s present state," Haruki said to Kiyoshi.

If Ren were still alive, he would have left Kataro in his care. If the man hadn’t betrayed him and thought of him as disposable. If he hadn’t found out.

Kiyoshi nodded and left the room. Haruki continued eating his breakfast despite the unrest he was feeling.

Kataro was brought in. He was done with his breakfast so he went to see him. When he stepped into the room, Kataro was sitting on the bed. When he saw Haruki, he rose and bowed slightly.

Kataro had no wounds visible at the moment. He hadn’t seen Kataro for a while so he was uncertain if the weight loss was due to the confinement.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I am not," Kataro shook his head bowing.

"Look at me."

Kataro raised his head to meet Haruki’s gaze cautiously. "How did you get released?" Haruki asked. He knew the young man was lying about not getting hurt but he wanted to know about Aiichiro more. "Sit," he added a sign of concern.

"I was released by his assistant this morning," Kataro replied bowing his head once again.

"Did he tell you anything?"

"He only said it was part of the deal. I could go back home."

"Did Hiroshi order you to kill Aiichiro?"

"No, he didn’t. I was tortured into giving them that response. I made it clear to them that he only told me Aiichiro was behind my brother’s death and the decision to avenge my brother was all mine."

"Hope you aren’t trying to cover up for him?"

Kataro raised his eyes to meet Haruki’s before shaking his head firmly. "I wouldn’t want to cover up for him if I couldn’t withstand torture and lie."

Haruki nodded. He turned and walked out of the room. As he stopped on his track seeing Hiroshi walking towards him. Their gaze met and Hiroshi looked down avoiding Haruki’s gaze.

When he got to Haruki, he stopped and bowed deeply. His greetings were too cautious, too perfunctory. It sounded as irritating as a gritting sound in Haruki’s ears.

"Check on him and ensure he is alright," Haruki said a bit hurriedly. He didn’t want to deal with Hiroshi avoiding his gaze respectfully. He hated not being able to see the man’s brown eyes.

Hiroshi nodded and passed by Haruki into the room.