Title: Middle of Yesterday
Chapter Three: Cigarette Ashes and Lies
Rated: R
Genre: Romance/Mystery
Warnings: Spoilers for Episodes 3, 17, and 21. If you are wary, turn back now. Also, prostitution, mild sexual situations, and language.

Description: Before Weiss, Kudou Yohji was a detective. His partner was a pushy, rude woman named Asuka. A girl goes missing, and they're hired for the job. They're world is turned upside down as the case evolves from a missing person, to a prostituion ring, to murder.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kudou Yohji, Asuka, Liott, Kusunoki Masataka, Nambara Tamaki, or Hirooki Hiroshi. That's mainly the whole cast. ^.^ Sasuki Megumi and Omotoyo Gaki are not actual characters within the series, and they belong to me.

Author's Notes: While watching my subbed Weiss types, I realized it was "Kusunoki", -not- "Kusumoki". ^^; Tee, oops. That's been fixed now! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I hope to get more (hint, hint!). If you find any mistakes in dialogue (I'm still not sure how the inclusion of "-san", "-sama", "-chan", etc. works), please tell me! I included Shwartz, for no very apparent reason other than to be mean. ^.^; Thankis!

"speech"
thoughts or emphasis
[ mind speech ]

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"Sleeping Ugly's up!" Yohji grinned, leaning into his bedroom. He couldn't describe how he felt at that moment. He was overwhelmed, really, with relief. For two days, he'd waited on her to awaken. The notion that Asuka might have died terrified him. He saw them as a sort of dynamic duo, as cheesy as that sounds, and he figured they were invincible. Like teenagers.

Asuka rolled her eyes at him, her blue-black hair rumpled and tossed in different directions. Yohji knew she was probably sore, but he'd tried his best to dress her wounds, and well, dress her. Her evening gown was pretty ruined, so he'd tossed it out. After bathing her and gently washing away the blood, he'd wrapped about a fourth of her body in bandages. Yohji had been surprisingly careful. He was almost proud, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

"Yohji?"

"Yep?" He approached bed and plopped down beside her. Yohji proceeded to stretch out, looking every bit like a cat.

"I'm sorry." Asuka sighed. "I just got so caught up in trying to solve this case. It..it just hits you right here, you know?" She motioned to center of her chest. Yohji smiled at her for a moment, his sunglasses gone for once. A real smile, not a grin or a smirk. It reached his eyes.

"Asuka, it's all right," he spoke gently, brushing her hair out of her face. He turned serious for a moment, his facade gone. Yohji frowned, his bottom lip twitching slightly before he spoke again. "Don't ever go there alone again. Just get some rest. I can take this case."

"Yohji. Has it occurred to you that I've been asleep for nearly two days? I don't want anymore sleep. I want a shower. And food," Asuka replied quickly. She was nearly scolding him, but she softened quickly, adding, "Thank you. For taking care of me. You didn't have to. But I'm not letting you go on your own. I'm going back, Yohji."

"Asuka, please." Yohji took a loose hold on her arms, staring her down. She shrank back into his bed slightly. He didn't need to hold her there with his hands; his eyes were doing the job just fine. "Asuka," he began again, his voice void of its usual cocky bastardness. "Do you know what they do to women? It's too dangerous! I don't want you getting hurt."

"Yohji..." She began, scared stiff.

"Listen to me! Don't go back on your own! Not unless I'm with you. You might get hurt."

"It's too late, Yohji!" Asuka straightened slightly, beginning to meet his gaze with just as much intensity. "We both knew this wasn't an ordinary case when we began investigating! Don't you see? It's too late to turn back now just because one of us might get hurt! And I'm not letting you do this one alone. I'm your partner, Kudou, not your girlfriend."

He studied her eyes for a moment, his grip on her loosening. Yohji raised his hand, caressing Asuka's cheek gently. Her skin was still so pale. Pale like it had been when he found her. Pale like it had been when he thought she was dead.

"Wh-what..are you doing? Yohji.." Asuka's eyes widened. She was petrified. He was so close. So close. And she couldn't move.

"Asuka, don't think. Just feel." She closed her eyes, nodding and swallowing the lump in her throat. Yohji gently brushed her hair away from her face. He pressed his lips to hers, stroking her cheek with his thumb. His skin was slightly rough, not quite clean shaven. A man's skin, Asuka mused. She responded to him slowly, resting her hands on his shoulders. He slid his free arm around her waist, nimble fingers playing over the cloth of his shirt on her body. Just as she found herself relaxing and melding against him, Asuka shivered, quickly pushing him away.

"Yohji, stop. I told you, I'm not your girlfriend. I'm your partner," she tried to state firmly. Somehow, her voice lacked its normal conviction. She looked away from him and slowly eased her way out of his bed. "I think... I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll show you where it's at," he replied, his voice soft with... rejection? Disappointment she expected, but not rejection. Could it have been possible that Yohji could feel something more for a woman than lust?

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The hot water collided against Asuka's bare skin. Steam rose from within the shower, settling in a fog on the single mirror. The pelting, liquid heat somehow seemed to help her think. Water ran over her skin in rivelets, washing into and out of the scratches and deeper wounds. The heat soothed her bruises and aches. It was almost as if someone was caressing her, healing her. Like Yohji had tried to do.

Yohji. She frowned, closing her eyes and working shampoo into her hair. He'd kissed her. At that instant, her heart had swelled. But her mind, her undying logic, took a vise grip on her heart and squuezed it back to its normal size. She was just another girl to him. Another pretty face to touch, to sweet-talk. To pretend to love. A sigh escaped her lips, the air from within becoming one with the steam. Asuka rinsed out her hair. She'd have to make amends with Yohji. They were partners and nothing more, but they had to keep what relationship there was intact.

Asuka shut the water off, nevermind the excess drops. She took Yohji's bathrobe off its rack and slipped it on. She was greeted with the faint smell of cigarettes, the sweet scent of his shampoo, and something undeniably Yohji. She closed her eyes, welcoming the faint traces of various aromas. She realized that he hadn't been smoking before he kissed her. That was a relief.

The sound of a pan sizzling reached her ears as she descended down the wooden stairs in the robe. Gratefully, Asuka took in the somewhat spicy smell of food cooking. She smiled and ran a hand through her wet hair.

"It's nice out tonight," Yohji looked up at her, smirking slightly. Asuka looked radiant in the light, every droplet of water giving off a gleam, which in turn caused to her to sparkle. He shook his head slightly, somewhat surprised that he'd just thought Asuka was beautiful.

"Do you like stars, Yohji? I've never really bothered to look at them," she asked, nonchalantly. Hopefully she hadn't notice him shake his head. He kissed her, she'd pushed him away. If that wasn't a hint to back off and find someone else, he didn't know what was. Usually it took only moments for Kudou Yohji to recover from such blatant rejection, but somehow... He wanted Asuka, and she didn't want him.

"Not really. What's the point in loving something that's so far out of reach?"

"You tell me," Asuka smile and shrugged. "What's for dinner?"

"Yakisoba."

"Sounds good," Asuka grinned and sat down. "I'm starved."

"We'll eat when you get dressed," Yohji smirked. "I'll loan you a long shirt or something."

"Thanks, Yohji. For everything."

"It's my job to help a damsel in distress," he quipped with a wink. Asuka rolled her eyes, amused.

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Yohji stood outside, relishing the feel of the warm summer air. Insects sang sweetly, and frogs cried out for the rain. He enjoyed living outside of the city. Everything was tangible here. Everything was real.

A cool breeze tugged at his hair, his shirt abandoned on one of the chairs inside. He lit up a cigarette, slowly taking a drag and watching the smoke dance with the breeze.

"Yohji?" Asuka's voice drifted out onto the deck. He could hear her footsteps approach, slowly and almost cautiously. He nodded in response, glancing over his shoulder. She was there, clad in one of his long shirts and a pair of boxers. Yohji smiled, bemused.

"I'm here." He lifted the cigarette to his lips, disliking the taste but still addicted nonetheless. Asuka drifted up beside him and took the cigarette from him. "Hey!"

She grinned mischeviously, then took a drag. Yohji was decidedly stunned. "I used to smoke," she offered, her shoulder length hair pulled into a ponytail. He nodded, his gaze falling elsewhere.

"What are you looking at?"

"What's the point in loving something that's so far out of reach?" Yohji asked for the second time that evening, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. Asuka could barely detect the pain, buried underneath layers of cigarette ashes and lies.

"You tell me, Yohji. As far as I can tell, what's the point in loving at all?" He looked at her, slightly alarmed and almost hurt. He then plucked the cigarette from between her lips.

"No need for both of us to be addicted."

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A large man stood near the back of a very large office. He opened the curtains, letting the sun filter through the large windows. Behind him stood a sturdy, wooden desk--cherry, most likely--and a plush, leather chair. On this desk sat a computer and various files. All along the walls hung paintings and rare obviously expensive artifacts. He turned, a slightly bushy eyebrow raising as a young woman entered the office.

"Kusunoki-sama?" she asked quietly, bowing her head. "All of the files containing Sasuki Megumi's name have been destroyed. Hirooki-san has sent our men across the city in search of the unnamed young woman at the event last week. He believes she may be a journalist, or a police officer from another district."

"Is that all?" He asked gruffly, straightening his tie. Her head was still down, and he admired her curves appreciatively. There were advantages to this business.

"Hai, Kusunoki-sama."

"Has the young woman been identified?"

"Hirooki-san thinks she may be a private investigator. He believes her name is Murase Asuka, sir."

"Very well. If they find her, she must be... disposed of."

The young woman nodded timidly and backed out of his office. Kusunoki Masataka frowned. The last thing he needed, as president of Liott, was outsiders snooping around. He would have to discuss this with Reiji.

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Asuka stared at herself in the mirror, frowning. The less severe bruises had faded away in the past days, and she looked relatively like herself, but the circles under her eyes suggested otherwise. Her shoulder length hair fell around her face, making her look even more tired and...broken, somehow. Used. [Raped], a voice whispered maliciously in her head.

Her eyes widened suddenly. It hadn't occurred to her earlier that she might have been raped at Liott. But the thought had seized her, terrified her. Her hands shaking, she opened the drawers in Yohji's bathroom. Asuka drew out a pair of scissors, her eyes narrowed slightly. As long as she looked like...this, she was in danger. Somehow, she had to change.

Asuka raised the scissors to her face. Her hands shook as she stared at them, tears slowly filling her eyes.

Clumps of hair fell into the sink. First, they were about an inch long. But she began to cut more furiously, the strands becoming two, three, then four inches. Soon, the sink was full of what had been her fairly long, beautiful hair. She looked in the mirror, her hair now short and pixie-like, save her bangs. She sheared those as well.

She walked out of the bathroom feeling dazed. Asuka ran into Yohji's back, face-first into his shoulder. He turned around quickly, startled. Then, his eyes widened at the sight of her. "Asuka! What the..? Your hair!"

Asuka forced a smile. "Well, do you like it?" Yohji merely stared at her, flabbergasted. "Yohji, I'd like to go home today. Get some of my clothes. That'd.. It'd be nice." She stumbled over her words and her smile faltered.

"Why did you cut your hair, Asuka?" He asked, his voice gentle once the shock had passed. She frowned at him.

"It's none of your business, Yohji." He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Tell me," he replied sternly. It was an order. Asuka glared and blew up.

"Why does it matter to you, Yohji?! It's just my hair! It's not like you care about me or what I do, anyway! I'm just another girl to you! I don't mean a thing!" she yelled, then slowly sank to her knees on the floor. "I'm not worth anything! Nothing at all!" She repeated 'nothing at all' while sobs wracked her body. Yohji kneeled beside her, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her. He possibly came to the most no-brained conclusion he'd ever made. Something had happened.

"Asuka, what are you saying? You're not worthless. We both know that," Yohji whispered, cradling her against his chest.

[It's all his fault, you know. He had the card...] The voice whispered again. It's his fault this happened to you. She pushed him away, her anger returning.

"Don't touch me! It was filthy men, filthy men like you, Yohji, who did this to me! Don't you ever touch me again!" Alarmed, Yohji backed away. The timebomb had finally gone off.

Had either of them looked outside, they might have seen a man with flaming red hair and a malevolent grin spread cross his face. But they hadn't, and so he left.

[What are you doing, Shuldich?] an irritated voice echoed in the red-haired man's mind.

[Just some work for Takatori, Bradley. He said Kusunoki Masataka was after Murase Asuka. She won't be a bother for long.] Schuldich sneered. If he was lucky, the self-doubt and pity he'd placed in her mind would drive her to suicide. But she was a strong woman. If her own mind didn't get her, someone from Liott would.

[Hurry back, you idiot]

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The drive to Asuka's house hadn't been a pleasant one. Yohji drove, and Asuka seemed like she was trying to get as close to the door as possible without falling out. The tension, needless to say, was high. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Asuka couldn't have meant what she said. He'd never seen her that upset before. She was prone to outbursts and being loud, sure, but she never broke down like she had.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye, silently hoping against hope this would come to pass. She was only going through a phase, he told himself. She'll be okay again in a few days, he assured himself while his palms grew sweaty on the steering wheel. She will. She's Asuka. She's my partner.

"You missed the turn," Asuka spoke softly, her hands folded in her lap. Yohji frowned and nodded, deciding to take the long way around. He was going to help her for reasons not even his libido understood.

"Asuka, what happened to you? Or what do you think happened?" Yohji asked, trying his damnedest not to look at her and to keep his eyes on the road. It didn't help that the road was less interesting.

"They beat me. Ripped my dress. Yohji, Liott is a prostitution ring! I think... I think I was raped," Asuka spoke hesitantly, her tone full of remorse. Yohji's eyes widened and as quickly as he could, he found a suitable spot to pull over in.

"Asuka, I swear, if they did anything to you, I'll kill them," he stated solemnly, his eyes dull for a moment. They were almost animalistic, cold and unreadable. "But before I commit murder on your behalf," Yohji half-heartedly joked, "why don't we visit a physician?"

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"Can't we just kill them?" a low voice cut through the darkness of the room, hinting impatience. It was almost like a child whining for its favorite toy.

"Patience, Farfarello. The human mind is extremely amusing to manipulate. It's almost... sweet," a nasal voice responded, laughter on the edge of the tone. "How can a telepath such as myself have fun if I'm not allowed to play with my victims?"

"Quiet, both of you. Schuldich, if any word on Liott escapes from Murase's pretty lips, I'll deem it your fault."