Chapter One
A/N: So this story was meant to be just a oneshot AU, but I got a bit carried away. It's shorter so there might be sequels. I have also decided that length doesn't matter as much as content; so the story can be shorter if shit gets resolved. I have a few more mammoth stories that have a few plot holes. *Cracks fingers* Some of my stories need fixing. This one though is brand new and I may decide I don't like how I wrote things, but no major rewrite is planned. Not like for 'Knightly Dance', which still feels a bit immature. I suppose my writing has changed a lot.
Anyway so this story is an AU or alternate universe where Youji gets sold into an S&M relationship that never fully breaks him and which Aya plays a bad ass as always and saves him from. Ken and Omi do not appear in this story. Just omitted not dead. They might show up in sequels but I don't know. This was supposed to be a oneshot like I said, but my muse was left hibernating much too long and was like "New story? Let me help." I swear its like a five year old that way. Okay here we go:
As he walked down the dark streets of Shanghai he thought about the dramatic turn his life had taken. On minute he had been part of a safe loving family and now he was alone and an assassin. Growing up he had wanted to be a doctor, now Aya Fujimiya was killing people for a living. Sometimes it wasn't always for money.
There had been a time or two that he had killed out of anger or self-defense. He wasn't exactly proud of those moments nor was he overly perturbed by the notion that he was currently considered a murderer. Aya had been separated from his heart for a while now. It wasn't gone and he had morals. He just didn't allow them to get in the way. He buried them deep, along with his emotions.
Aya wasn't naive enough to believe they were gone and that without them he knew he would just be a murder; cold hearted and efficient. So he kept his feelings at a healthy distance and let ethics guide him. Kill bad people, help good people. Sure it was kind of hard to separate the two, but he was a good judge of character.
A sound coming from an alley to his right distracted him. It sounded like fists and boots hitting flesh. Someone was probably getting mugged. Not his problem. He was going to keep walking when a thought occurred to him. It was his mother's voice telling him that he had the skills; so help. With a heavy sigh he turned to his right and stepped into the alley. What he saw was disturbing even to his skewed moral code. There was a naked blonde man wearing a collar and handcuffs on the ground with three Chinese men standing over him. They were yelling at the man in English and kicking him.
"This will teach you to disobey orders." One of them sneered. With Aya's experience in the world of Masters and Slaves; he knew what was going on and it made his blood boil.
"Takatori likes his pets submissive and obedient Slave." The second man spat. The third noticed Aya, who was just standing there. The name made his fists clench in anger. It was a name he knew and despised with every fiber of his being,
"Keep walking friend. This doesn't concern you." The third man had tapped the other two and pointed.
"Unfortunately for you I saw and heard enough to piss me off." Aya used his native tongue of Japanese, since he knew they'd know the language. They worked for Takatori after all. A man who would deem it beneath him to learn more than the language of business.
Hearing it surprised them. Even the man on the ground raised bruised green eyes to peer at him. Two of the men stepped towards Aya, but the first held out his arms to stop them. "Wait." He said in Cantonesese. "Red hair and Japanese. This is the assassin Takatori warned us about." Aya let him finish, let the words sink in then sprang into action. Within seconds all three men were dead. Aya kneeled next to the man on the ground, who was staring at him curiously. He opened the cuffs and stuck them in his pocket. No use leaving evidence of the fallen man's presence.
"Well that was interesting and a nice diversion." Aya commented idly.
"Who are you?" The man asked in broken Japanese.
"No one important. Now I suggest you run." Aya replied in English. "I know Takatori and I know his moods. I do not care what you do. You could even go back to him, but you are free to go where you wish."
"I'll never go back." The beaten man snarled with clear disgust. "My father sold me to pay off a debt. Both my parents are dead now so I owe that man nothing." There was a fierce light in the blonde's eyes. Good, Takatori hadn't broken this one yet. Aya was about to tell the man this when the green eyes rolled back and the man went limp. Well shit. He looked at the dead men. The police would be coming soon and with Takatori's contacts in the department; the blonde man didn't stand a chance. He would be in Takatori's hands by morning. The assassin's apartment was close. Closer than the hospital.
Decision made Aya slipped off his long leather coat then slipped it over the blonde. He picked the much taller man up and used side streets to get home...well one of his homes. He had many apartments all over the world. It was safer than a hotel, since he always chose a building with no cameras. He placed the man on the couch then switched the coat for a blanket. He'd get the man some clothes later. Aya cleaned up the man's injuries. Most were superficial. A couple cuts were more serious, but only needed stitches and a light covering. Nothing he couldn't handle.
Youji woke up warm. Not something he was used to anymore. His eyes shot open and took in the barren studio apartment. He was alone, in a bed and all his wounds had been cared for. Memories came flooding back and he glanced around for the red haired man who had saved more than just his life. All he saw was a couch, stove, refrigerator, a table and a chair. Nowhere was there a personal item to be found, unless you counted the myriad of weapons lying around.
There were a few guns, some knives, grenades and a sword. What the hell? Who was this dude? A door opened and in walked the redhead with a bag. Besides the door he came in there was one other, which presumably led to a bathroom. "You're either really trusting or super paranoid." Youji nodded at the weapons. "Grenades? Seriously?"
"I live dangerously and I suppose it is a bit of both." The redhead shrugged. "I trust my abilities and I have a healthy paranoia." He tossed the bag on the bed. "Clothes. I had to guess the size." Youji carefully dressed as the man began to cook. The clothes all fit perfectly and there were even some shoes. Sure it was just an old t-shirt and some jeans, not fancy, but Youji hadn't been allowed to wear clothes for a while. It was a punishment for disobeying. Something he did often.
After he was dressed he began to wonder why he was here and what this strange, armed to the teeth man wanted from him. He was used to people wanting him. Men and women. His father had given him to Reiji Takatori to pay off a financial debt. The older man had turned him into his own personal pet and sex slave so Youji figured this red haired man was the same. He knew Takatori after all.
"Why am I here? What do you want?"
"Want?" The redhead queried cocking his head.
"You must want something for saving my life."
"Ah. I see where you are headed." He placed a bowl of soup on the table along with some bread. "You must think that because I know Takatori that I want something similar." He stepped back from the table and gestured at the food. "Go ahead and eat. I know Takatori probably didn't feed you enough." Youji's stomach growled, but he ignored it and narrowed his eyes. This man knew way too much about something he shouldn't. Takatori kept his pets secret. "Eat. You don't know when you'll get the chance again. " The redhead muttered something in Japanese. Not a language Youji knew too well. His mother was Japanese, but his father was German. Youji had grown up in Germany So he was more familiar with English and German. He knew a little Japanese and Mandarin, but not enough to know what had been said other than 'trust me'.
"Huh?"
"Not important." The man waved a hand. "What is should be the fact that you are free to go after you eat. You are too skinny."
"Says the stick figure who knows too much." Youji folded his arms. "Why bring me here?"
"You needed the kind of help I provide?" The other man cocked his head.
"No, that tells me nothing and you want me to trust you right? So try again." There was a long pause before the redhead spoke.
"Um. Once, a long time ago, I found myself in a similar situation and-" The door burst open causing him to stop mid sentence. A few men in tactical gear ran in preceding Takatori himself. Youji saw his rescuer's lip curl.
"I was expecting to find you." Takatori pointed at Youji. "But not you." He turned to the redhead. "You have led me a merry chase Aya." The redhead snarled something in Japanese then threw a knife into the neck of the closest man. In the next second he had grabbed Youji's arm, pulled him out the door and started running. Behind them was an explosion. Seconds later they were in a car heading out of the city.
"And here was I thinking that no cameras would stall him longer." The redhead brushed his hair out of his face and sighed. "I did not think nosy neighbors were as bad, if not worse." He chewed a thumbnail as he drove and Youji just stared at him.
"What just happened? Who are you?"
"Well, what just happened was Takatori played with fire and got burned...again." The redhead snorted. "Who I am is a bit complicated so I'll start with my name. Aya...Aya Fujimiya."
"Youji...Kudou."
"Yes, Kudou, I did a bit of research on you." Aya smirked a little at the disbelief and confusion that was on the blonde's face. "I don't just let anyone into one of my...well I guess it's not so safe anymore." The exit to the airport whizzed past.
"Um."
"Airports are really not that safe." Aya looked at him. "Luckily this happens to be a huge country attached to other countries. Disappearing will be easy. Imagine if we had been in Hong Kong." He shuddered. "Now that's a hard place to get out of."
"Okay." Youji frowned. "Am I to assume you are running from him too?"
"Have been for three years."
"Can I ask why?" Another long pause. Was the man searching for the right words in the common language or was he debating on whether to respond or not?
"...I suppose you could. Doesn't mean I will give you a straight answer."
"Do you give a lot of those?" Youji had a feeling that this man played things pretty close to the chest.
"To be honest; no." The corresponding smile didn't reach his violet eyes. It seemed a rare expression. As if he wasn't used to smiling. It made Youji wonder again why this man had saved his life...twice now when it was obvious that Aya wasn't just a good Samaritan.
"Will you tell me why you saved me?" Youji asked as the scenery flashed past. There was a long period of silence.
"Essentially it was because I could." Aya said finally. "No other reason besides that. I was just out for a walk. I heard what I thought sounded like a mugging and I was just going to keep walking."
"What stopped you?" Youji whispered.
"Let us call it my conscious. I don't hear it very often."
"Well I'm glad you did." Youji smiled. Aya glanced at him and nodded. The blonde sat back. "So what do you do for a living?" He asked after a while. There was a snort.
"You really don't want to know."
"Why?"
"I kill people."
"For a living?" Youji asked dubiously.
"Those weapons were not decorations." Aya looked at him then back at the road. "I did tell you that I live dangerously, right?"
"Yeah, but I figured you were like a soldier or adrenaline junkie. "
"Nope, more like an assassin or mercenary."
"That's illegal."
"Yes but there is a market and it happens to be what I'm good at." Aya shrugged. "It was either that or...never mind." His mouth set in a grim line and he seemed to glare at the road.
"Where are we going?" Youji knew it was time to change the subject.
"At the moment just away."
"Wasn't that you're home back there?" Youji cocked his head as Aya let out a harsh laugh.
"I do not have a home as you mean it. What I have are different safe houses...well they used to be safe. I'm not so sure anymore. Takatori's private investigators can do a lot with a name, even a fake one."
"So you have nowhere safe to go because of me?"
"Don't flatter yourself." Aya glanced at him. "I have nowhere safe to go because of Takatori. He's kind of...what's the English word? Oh yeah tenacious. He is tenacious."
"How do you mean?"
"Like a dog with a bone that one. He can't just let things go."
"I know what tenacious means." Youji wanted to laugh. "What I'm asking is what makes you think so?"
"Right." Aya was silent for a long moment then he sighed. "I might as well tell you. It's just not something I like thinking about." He passed a slower moving vehicle. "I was at one point in time right in your shoes."
"How do you-"
"Takatori's pet." Aya spat. He made a face like the words tasted bad. "In a way I chose that life. I needed to pay my sister's medical bills. When she died I decided I'd had enough, so I left. Unfortunately you don't just get to leave his playroom. He thinks that once he 'owns' you that he actually owns you. Odd that." He shook his head and sighed. "Basically I went to him as a child, never knowing that he was the one who killed my parents and put my sister in the hospital. I was 16 at the time, naive as hell, and he was my father's boss. I had no idea he had his men kill my father when he refused to sell me to him. All I knew was that this man was rich and I thought a friend of my father's."
"How old are you now?" Youji had to ask because the man looked about 15 really.
"22." He sent a grin Youji's way. "You probably think I'm what-"
"15" He admitted.
"Whoa guess I'm getting younger." Aya shrugged.
"Wait, you were only 19 when you left?" It was hard to think of this stronger, much younger, man going through what he had for three years, Youji had only been there three months.
"And some change." Aya replied then muttered something in Japanese. "Hold on." He increased speed and dodged a few cars. After a few minutes he sighed and went back to the speed limit. Youji heard a distant crash and the squeal of tires. He looked back but could see nothing because Aya had left the freeway. They drove for another few hours then stopped at a roadside motel. Aya got them a room after telling Youji to stay in the car.