Sanctuary

Chapter 9

Omi was awakened from a dreamless sleep by a pair of hands that were
persistently shaking him. Slowly opening his eyes, he stared into a pair of
gorgeous amethyst colored eyes. Omi immediately sat up to stare at the
stranger. He began to back away slowly. He glanced over to see Claudia
lying upside down on the sofa with her legs dangling over the back of the sofa.
Nagi had his head resting on her stomach with one foot on the floor and the
other cocked upon the armrest of the sofa.

Omi returned his gaze back to the stranger. The man smiled at Omi. "Good
morning, you must be either Omi or Nagi. Marron told me about you boys.”
His voice was kind and gentle.

Upon mentioning the other man's name Omi relaxed a little, but then he tensed
up again. Who was this man? And how did he get into the apartment? The
stranger's smile became brighter and as though he read Omi's mind, the
stranger answered Omi's silent question.

"My name is Asato Tsuzuki and I have a key to the apartment. I came to
check on the little troublemaker." He tossed his head over at Claudia.

Wow! Claudia wasn't kidding when she said he was sexy. Tall with a slender
build, his soft brown hair was cut short in a fashionable style that
heightened his attractiveness. By God, the man should have been a model.

"I, uh . . . My name is Omi Tsukiyono." He couldn't help the crimson color
that he knew was darkening his cheeks as his eyes darted nervously away
from Tsuzuki's. The handsome man wore a pair of denim jeans and
a light blue shirt. The collar was opened and Omi could see the tiny fluttering
of a pulse at the base of the man's throat. The blond tried to listen to what
Tsuzuki was saying, but Omi's eyes were drawn helplessly to the fluttering
pulse.

"Omi." Tsuzuki called the young man's name over again.

Omi finally drew his gaze away from the hypnotic pulse to stare into those
gorgeous violet eyes of Tsuzuki's. Omi blushed as he lowered his gaze to
stare at the man's shirt.

"Excuse me, but what did you say?"

"I said would you like some breakfast. We could talk while the young prince
and sleeping beauty sleeps a while longer," said Tsuzuki smiling.

"Okay," said Omi. Tsuzuki held out a hand and helped Omi to his feet.

The two men went into the kitchen and Tsuzuki closed the door behind
him. Going to the stove, he turned the appliance on. He sprayed the skillet
with a nonstick spray and poured some eggs in the hot pan.

"So tell me, what should I call you?" Tsuzuki turned to Omi smiling, and
motioned to the blond to take a seat. Omi sat down and waited for the man
to elaborate.

"Should I call you, Omi or Tsukiyono. . .Suki or kid?"

"Omi will do just fine."

"So Omi, want to tell me why Claudia's television has a hole in it?"

Omi froze. He had forgotten about that. Last night when the lights went
out. Nagi had a panic attack and the telekinetic had lost control of his
ability. She didn’t freak out or start screaming. She just made sure Nagi and
Omi were all right and began cleaning up the mess. What really startled the
two boys was that she did not think Nagi was a freak. In fact, she was
excited and thought the younger boy was. . .cool. Then she so eloquently
changed the subject not wanting to pry. Gee, Claudia truly was a good friend.
He smiled at how quickly the girl had become important to him and
Nagi.

Omi didn't notice, because he was deep in thought. Tsuzuki had turned
away from the stove to watch the younger boy closely.

"So, you don't want to talk about it." Omi heard Tsuzuki say. The voice
of the older man drew Omi out of his thoughts. Omi tensed as he
waited for the man to start demanding what in the hell happened last
night. To his surprise, it never came.

"It's okay, as long as Claudia and you two boys weren't hurt." He turned
back around and finished making two ham and cheese omelets. He
placed the omelets on two plates and placed one in front of Omi. The other
one was placed on the table where Tsuzuki was going to sit. "I don't need
to know what happened. Would you like something to drink?"

"Some juice would be fine," said Omi.

Tsuzuki opened the fridge and took out the pitcher of chilled orange
juice. Taking two glasses out of the cupboard, he placed them on the
table. Tsuzuki sat down at the table across from Omi.

"So Omi, Marron told me of your plight. Of how you were kidnapped by that
creepy JJ."

"Yeah. Marron also told us that Claudia might get into trouble for bringing
us up here," said Omi.

Tsuzuki poured some juice into one of the glasses and passed it to Omi.
While he filled the other glass for himself. Placing the pitcher in the
center of the table, Tsuzuki looked up thoughtfully at the blond.

"Yes, our law is very clear on this matter. You have people waiting for
you back in Japan. The majority of the people is here because Dai-Guard went
bankrupt. Those who lost everything could not afford to go back home."

"Marron told me about that." Omi took a bite of his omelet. "It must
have hurt those people who couldn't get back home."

"Yes, it did. Many of the people invested their lives into this move. When
Dai-Guard transferred them here, the company said that the workers would
have a better future if they came to Hong Kong. It was a chance for a lot
of them to start a new life," said Tsuzuki taking a sip of his juice. "My
father gave up everything back in Japan when he moved us out here. When
the company went bankrupt. . .Well, let's just say he died of a broken
heart. Leaving me to take care of my mother and sister."

"I'm sorry." Omi swallowed a lump in his throat. "What about Claudia?
Was her parents in the same situation?"

"No, Claudia's father didn't come until later; after Sanctuary was
established. Her father was an accountant, but his wife died shortly after
giving birth to Claudia. As you might expect raising a child on your
own is very expensive and stressful. Then there's the high cost of living.
He couldn't make it. So, they were evicted from their apartment."
Tsuzuki stared into the glass of juice lost in thought. "I found him on the
street one day cradling this small dark skinned infant in his arms.
He was dirty, malnourished and desperate. My heart broke, but what made
me want to cry that day was. . .I knew Claudia had to have been
starving. But she didn't make a sound. Any other child would have been
crying its head off because it was hungry. Claudia just rested in her
father's arm. Not a peep coming from her.

Her father lashed out at everyone that came near them. It seemed to
me that he was going to fight any and everyone to protect his little
dark angel. Tsuzuki smiled. "That's what he used to call her. His little
dark angel. . .But I'm straying from the point."

"No, it's okay," said Omi. "I understand. Marron told us about the
trouble you had with the police and military."

"True, but thanks to Yakamo we know that our safety is secure inside and
outside of Sanctuary."

Omi placed his fork down on the plate and stared Tsuzuki in the eyes
seriously. "Nagi and I don't want to get Claudia into trouble. So. . ."

". . .you are willing to stay until you are free to leave whenever you want."
The older man finished the sentence for Omi and smiled. "You and your
friend are so kind." Then the smile faded. "But why would you do it? You
know nothing about her. Why would you do something like that for a
stranger?"

"Because. . .she's not a stranger." Omi said hesitant at first. He recalled
all that Claudia did for them. She didn't have to help them. She could have
walked on by, pretended not to see them, but she didn't. She could have
let that jerk Edward insult them. Or call Nagi a freak, a monster because
he was a telekinetic. What would she say if she found out, they used to be
assassins? Knowing her, she would probably think it was hard-core and
would want to hear about our assassin days. Omi had to smile. No, she
wasn't a stranger. She was. . .Omi looked up at Tsuzuki with firm
conviction in his eyes. "She's not a stranger to us. Claudia is our
friend."

Tsuzuki's smile returned. The man's smile was so warm and friendly
until Omi could not help but to blush. Tsuzuki looked so fucking
gorgeous. Almost like a dream. Dammit, a man shouldn't be able to look
that desirable. Omi felt the uncomfortable push of his groin against his
pants. Shit, better not let Nagi know he had gotten a hard on from staring
at that sexy man across the table. The telekinetic might sling Omi through
the wall.

"I'm glad to hear it ," said the older man. "You needn't worry about Claudia.
She won't get into trouble. I can tell that you're not here to harm us. You
and your friend are free to go anytime."

"Really," Omi said surprised but pleased.

"Yes, but why don't the two of you stay until the end of the celebration. I'm
sure it would make Claudia happy."

"Okay."

"Good, now that that's settled, I’ll talk to Yakamo about letting you go out
and call your family," said Tsuzuki.

Just then, the kitchen door opened and Claudia walked in with Nagi behind
her.

"Tsuzuki!" She said jubilant when she saw the man sitting at the table.
She ran to her friend and sat in his lap. Claudia kissed the older man
several times on his cheek.

Nagi walked over to Omi and stood behind him. He placed a hand on the
blond's shoulder. "It's all right Nagi.” Omi patted the hand on his
shoulder.

"So Prince Charming, what do they call you?" asked Tsuzuki smiling up
at the younger boy. Claudia was still sitting in his lap.

"Nagi. Nagi Naoe."

"Well, Nagi. Nagi Naoe.” The man stated teasingly. "I am Asato Tsuzuki
and it's a pleasure to meet you." He stood up holding Claudia in his arms.
Then he sat the girl down. "Why don't you take a seat, and I will fix you
two some breakfast."

"As long as its not curry, I'll eat anything," said Claudia.

"Just for that I'm not fixing you anything." Tsuzuki had turned to the stove
when Claudia started to whine about being hungry and Tsuzuki being a
bully. Omi could do nothing but laugh helplessly at the scene.