(BL) Mafia Love; He who falls the hardest loses-Chapter 56: More love

"I did not come here for an apology. I came to check if you’re alive and have dinner with you regardless of what the outcome would be."

Hiroshi smiled at her joke. "It’s a relief you were able to get home safe and . . ." he began but stopped halfway.

"And I still have a bad sense of humour?" she asked him.

"Hmm that," his smile broadened slightly as he responded.

"I was scared that our friendship would end after what happened yesterday. I should never have asked you to be a stand-in. I told my mother and she called me a fool for doing something that stupid. I didn’t think it was stupid when I planned it, but now I know it was dumb. I intended to clear things up with him."

"Oh, you don’t have to, I . . ." Hiroshi began but stopped when he realized he almost said some things he should keep secret.

"Mhh . . ." she urged him to go on.

"No, I just don’t think it is necessary but if you want to, then you can."

"Okay, I will. Do you want to eat with me today?" she asked Hiroshi.

Hiroshi was surprised by her invitation, considering their last meal together had not been a pleasant experience.

"Are you okay with that?"

She blinked her eyes as her gaze met him before nodding, "Of course. I am trying to chase you, I can’t afford to slack out."

"I . . ."

"I don’t want you to stop me. I guess knowing I have a powerful rival has made me even more determined to win."

Hiroshi paused a bit surprised by her words. "Who do you speak of?"

"I think you like the person you’re pursuing a lot. I know I might not be able to beat them in the game but if that person tells you to stop will you stop."

Hiroshi’s brow furrowed slightly at her words. He wondered if she truly knew nothing or if she was only pretending to be oblivious by changing the subject.

"I won’t stop," Hiroshi said thoughtfully. Would he stop pursuing Haruki simply because Haruki asked? Haruki had not said that blatantly but he could see the walls tall as the firmament around Haruki that prevented him from fully getting in.

He knew, however, that even if Haruki told him not to try to pursue him, he would not give his words any heed. He would follow Haruki wherever he went. Well, unless Haruki gets married . . . then he would have to live with the love flowing through his veins without being able to voice it out.

The love he had for Haruki was stronger than anything he had ever felt for anyone, even himself. It was beyond commonsense, it was beyond rational, and he would die if he ended up failing. He will hate himself until he is unable to take another breath.

"What are you thinking about?" Miyoko asked him touching his arm lightly. "The person you love?"

"Yes. I don’t think I will win but I have to keep trying," he told her determination weighing heavily in his tone.

She looked at him with a hint of sadness as she parted her lips slowly to speak, "You keep trying while I will keep trying. If you need a shoulder to cry on if you fail, mine will be available. Whatever feeling you have for that person, always remember I have just as much bottled up for you."

Hiroshi turned to her admirably. She was more than lucky to be able to vocalize her feelings to the person those feelings belonged to but he could only keep them hidden rather than helping him win, those feelings could be the reason he fails around Haruki.

"Did you hear me?" she asked him when she noticed he was lost in thought.

"Yes, I heard you." He heard her words but he was certain she could not love him as much as he loved Haruki. She will never love him as much as he loved Haruki, how his mind and body adapted rapidly to whatever Haruki wanted.

Things he had never imagined he would do, things he had condemned became a pleasure to me just like a sinner falling for every temptation he’s given even when he once openly condemned those very same sins.

He had loved them all simply because they came from Haruki. His boss whom he should respect and fear had become the only person on the planet his body has ever craved and desired enough to make him lose his mind.

He kept it all locked up in his heart, only allowing his body to express it to Haruki during intimacy, afraid he would lose his only chance to fight.

He hardly got the chance to see Haruki since the first day he met Haruki in his unconscious state, but every time they met, his feelings for Haruki seemed to double.

He was certain the last time they met was truly his point of no return and his feelings will most likely increase further the next time they meet.

"So, do we eat together?" Miyoko’s voice cut through his busy mind.

He turned to her hiding the surprise her sudden words gave him. "Yeah, I am hungry," he replied mechanically.

"I’ve been trying to get your attention," Miyoko laughed a bit awkwardly.

"Oh sorry," he apologized without meaning it. He had no reason to apologize for thinking of the beautiful man he loved and how much he loved him.

"You don’t mean it," she laughed carefree when he began heading to the staff cafeteria. "What’s on the menu today?" She asked actively.

****

Souta was completely out of it when Haruki arrived. The young man barely had any injuries on him but his eyes were filled with so much fear anyone would think he had just escaped death and of certain, he was lucky to still be alive after all he went through under Kiyoshi’s guidance.

"There is something you’re not telling us," Haruki said sitting down facing Souta on the chair Kiyoshi brought to him.

Souta, who usually dressed in expensive custom-made clothes as if trying to appear twenty years younger, now looked pathetic. Stripped down to only his briefs and restrained to a chair, he could barely meet Haruki’s gaze.

"You set him up for the accident, and for that, I’ll hand you over to his father. But if he’s dead, where is his body? His father will be here tomorrow, and I need something to give him."

Souta sighed helplessly, "I have . . . I have said it again . . . and again that I did not know what happened to him after the ambulance left the track. I . . . I was happy I taught him a lesson for winning against me in the last race. I was satisfied with his injuries. I had him sent to the hospital because I did not intend to kill him. That is all I remember."

Souta’s voice had become hoarse and very shaky as though even the act of speaking was very difficult.

Haruki heard all that from Kiyoshi but hearing it from Souta’s mouth again enraged him.

"I don’t care if Ethan Sergei is dead because you will take the fall for that. All I want now is his body, his father will arrive soon, I want his son’s body cleaned and placed in a casket with your bloodied head in a box beside it but without the body, that’s a bit tricky."

"I am okay with dying, I did wrong but I swear. . . I swear I don’t know what happened afterwards," Souta said tiredly with his head hanging low. "Find the doctors involved, investigate the hospital, why is it on me?" his voice came out even more tired with a hint of frustration. "I made sure an ambulance was part of the plan I made, I did not want to kill him."

Haruki knew that much but he could not help but feel it had something to do with his granduncle and his other sons. He wanted a name from Souta. "Give me a name," Haruki asked him.

"No. . . No!" Souta shook his head. "I . . . told you I don’t know you bastard! What else do you want?! Just kill me!"

"I never said I wouldn’t, it is just a matter of how."

Haruki rose and gestured to Kiyoshi before walking to the door. Kiyoshi approached the man trembling man when Haruki got to the door.

"No—please!" His voice cracked, raw with terror.

Haruki paused and looked back as a stench filled the room. He looked down at the polythene covering the tiled floor of the basement, there was a puddle under the seat.

"Don’t leave me with the devil. Haruki!"

There was a loud smack. The man’s face was turned to the side from the impact of Kiyoshi’s slap.

"You’re so terrified now, yet you had the guts to harm an innocent person over a petty race. You should have considered your actions more carefully."

"No! I have a name!"

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