1 Chapter 1: Love and Hate

"As far as places go to hide out, Hawaii was not at all bad." Akihito thought as he looked over the sea whilst sipping his coffee in an American-style diner. Akihiko had been amazed to learn that there was a large American Japanese community in the Hawaii Islands. After arriving here, Akihiko decided to settle on Kauai for a while. It still had a large enough population to hide in, but it was off the beaten tourist path. This was good because Akihiko was currently one of the most wanted men in the Syndicate Gang world.

Akihiko wished he could say it was all a big misunderstanding, but it wasn't. He had given the Drakes Gang the money they needed to create a virus that allowed them to spy on every gang. "Why would he have gotten involved in that? I hear you ask. Over a woman, of course!" Akihiko thought bitterly. He had thought Alannah had been his soul mate when in reality it was a teenage crush that had gotten out of hand. Alannah had gone on to be an Evans and a Medvedya, two of the most powerful gang families in the world. Added to that, she was married to Kurt Blackwood, the Syndicate Chair of the British Gangs. Alannah also had allies all over the world from her time in the fighting family, the Nine-Tails. In short, Akihiko did not have many places he could go. He still had friends and money, of course, but he had to keep a low profile for now.

"Refill," Akihiko ordered the waitress who passed him. The waitress ignored him and went to the next table to take an order. When she walked past him again, he repeated, "I said refill."

"I heard you the first time, Mr." The waitress retorted.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Akihiko snapped. He was unused to waiting for anything.

"Waiting for you to learn some manners!" The waitress snapped back. At this point, Akihiko really looked at the waitress. She was 5 feet 7 with long brown curly hair that was forcibly put into a bun, with China blue eyes. Her face was heart-shaped and she had on red lipstick, a dinner uniform dress, and black flats. The name tag said "Zoe."

"Is this how you speak to all your customers, Zoe?" Akihiko said with a raised eyebrow.

"Only the rude ones! Now if you don't mind, I need to get these nice people their food and coffee," Zoe said. "Arsehole!" Zoe thought furiously.

"Meinu," Akihiko said. (Japanese for "bitch").

Zoe heard and turned round in perfect Japanese and said, "I might be a Bitch, but you are an arrogant arsehole who needs to learn to say please!"

The look of shock on Akihiko's face was priceless. After a few seconds of glaring at each other, Akihiko got some money out and slammed it on the table. He then walked out of the diner and slammed the door.

"Like a bloody teenager!" Zoe thought unimpressed.

"Everything OK?" Jo, the cook, said, popping his head out of the kitchen. He had heard the door slamming.

"Fine Jo! Just a rude customer, who I don't think we will be seeing anytime soon," Zoe said with a smile as she continued to serve customers. The man was soon out of Zoe's mind; she had much bigger things to worry about.

Akihiko, on the other hand, was constantly thinking about what had happened. At first, he was furious; "How could a waitress speak to him in such a way?" He thought furiously as he got into his Volvo and sped home. He was still thinking about it when he arrived home, a simple four-bedroom bungalow built in the local style. It had stunning views of both the mountains and the sea.

Akihiko slammed his front door shut and threw his keys to the side.

"Master? Is everything OK? " Ena said, coming out of the kitchen. Ena was a man in his 50s who had salt and pepper hair. He had been Akihiko's friend since he was young and had been loyal throughout. Akihiko had ordered him countless times not to call him master, but Ena was old school-manners matter.

"I am fine." Akihiko snapped

"Obviously! I have not seen you this worked up since... " Ena said

"Do not say her name in my presence! This has nothing to do with her," Akihiko snapped again.

"Thank God for small mercies," Ena muttered. Akihiko might be starting to recover from his obsession with Alannah.

Akihiko said nothing and went to his outside training area. He proceeded to let his furry friend loose on an unfortunate punch bag. After about a half-hour, Ena came out with some tea.

"Care to tell me about it?" Ena said

"A woman disrespected me, that is all," Akihiko said in a dismissive tone.

"A woman? Interesting, "Ena said.

"It is not like that! I am just used ..... " Akihiko said.

"Women throwing themselves at you? Well, apart from her. " Ena said

"Ena" Akihiko warned.

"So are you going to see her again?" Ena asked innocently.

"Why would I want to see her again? She is just a waitress, for God's sake, and not a good one at that! " Akihiko said

"That comment is beneath you, Akihiko. You were brought up better than that," Ena scolded.

"Maybe I will go back tomorrow and apologise." Akihiko grumped.

"She has obviously got under your skin. It might be closure," Ena wisely suggested.

"Right old man, that is exactly what I am not going to do. What I am going to do is grab a shower, "Akihiko said.

Ena chuckled to himself, for some reason he had a good feeling about this woman. It took someone special to turn Akihko's head. Yes, he brought home one-night stands, but there was no emotional connection there. "Love and hate are the different sides of the coin," Ena thought.