Chapter 4
Bright violet colored eyes widened upon hearing his name upon the man's – his enemy's – lips. How could he possibly know his name? What the hell did he even want? He found himself staring into those almost hypnotic orbs of swirling emerald, much like Yo… A gasp of surprise escaped his slightly parted lips. Behind him was the very hard surface of the brick wall of the building. He was being pushed back against it, held there regardless of his wishes. He felt his katana slip from his fingers. In fact, felt his whole body relax despite his silent reprimands to stay focused. He was on a mission, this was the enemy. Why was this happening now of all times?
Aya found it in himself to struggle – although somewhat weakly – against his rival. Schuldich held him too strongly, however, too damn firmly for him to even have a standing chance at a decent protest.
"Shh, my kitten." Came that mercilessly, torturously taunting voice. His breathe touching Aya's neck with an almost seductive purr. The hands on his leather-clad chest firm and no longer met with resistance. Simply the rhythmic rise and fall of the Weiß leader's chest.
"I…" Aya croaked, finding it even hard to speak. He felt unnaturally weak. His head was leaned back against the wall, amethyst eyes drifting shut beneath heavy lids as a faint exhale touched his lips.
"Your friends come to your rescue. How sweet." Through his haze Aya felt the other man slowly let go of the grip he had on him, but not before pressing a forceful kiss to the base of his neck. The black turtleneck would hide any marks of evidence from his teammates – for now at least. But Aya would know, he was still conscious as he felt the tease of silky lips, the scraping of sharp teeth, the flick of a taunting tongue. It was engraved in his memory whether he wanted it or not.
Mere seconds later Schuldich was gone and Aya found himself sliding down the wall to finally collapse on his side to the concrete floor beneath. For the second time that day he drifted from the ever-hectic world. No sounds from within the club stirred him; the annoying music still beat, the bass line being ever so slightly heard through the thick walls. He wondered idly if the others had completed the mission. He remembered them calling out to him… something had gone wrong, or probably proved more problematic as they had expected. They could handle it though. Someone was screaming into his head. The com was still on, he realized. Had they been silent all this time or had he just blocked them out somehow? He couldn't make out the voice… it was fuzzy but calling out to him, trying to figure out where he was and if he was all right.
Aya couldn't answer. Couldn't move.
Consciousness had left him once again. There was little else left…
Darkness…
Silence….
* * *
"Aya…" came the whisper from trembling lips.
Not this dream again...
Bubbling laughter sounded so sweet to his ears… it put him at ease almost, brought him back to the once happy world he used to belong to. A world torn away from him… from her all within the length of one fateful minute. That cute little innocent smile taken away, a smile that used to bring him to his knees – figuratively speaking – when he tried to oppose her of something. He never won a battle with her. But now there were no more battles to win or to loose, in fact he had already lost it all… that night. It was raining then, just like it was raining now, he could hear the steady beating against the window. It was soothing, but he couldn't think of rain as soothing anymore. It was torturous, every falling drop a memory lost, another that would never happen.
The screeching tires… the muddy ground due to the downpour of rain that night… the never wavering headlights… not even a scream of complaint. Just… the dull thud, a wicked grin flashed back at him as he stared in shock, screaming her name… gone… all gone.
* * *
Aya sat up suddenly with a gasp to find himself back in his room. A dozing Yohji sat in a chair beside the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. He still wore his mission outfit, minus the long coat. What had happened? Why was Yohji sitting there as if standing watch? His heart raced, distraught from the vivid dream that haunted him for two years now. Always the same… always the same ending. His head was throbbing, a dull pain as if he'd been hit. Reaching up with shaky pale fingers, he touched that pained spot. A flinch was enough to confirm the obvious. How it had happened he was not sure but it didn't matter much now.
Exhaling quietly, he noticed a bundle of black at the edge of the bed: a bundle he recognized as half of his mission clothes. He blinked. Someone had taken the liberty not only of dragging him up to his own room but also release him of his coat and turtleneck before letting him rest. This made him feel awkward. He hated to have others do things for him; after all, he was quite capable of taking care of himself. Well… there were a few incidents in which things did not turn out as well as expected, but those were the special cases. … such as this one.
He lay back down, staring at the plain white ceiling above him for a moment when it hit him. Amethyst eyes widened ever slightly, his breath caught in his throat for a moment by the soft purring in his ear… the brightest of green eyes.
Schuldich.
He remembered now. Desperately, he touched the side of his neck, then quickly pushed himself out of bed and dashed to the dresser to look at himself in the mirror. There it was, faint but still there: the evidence that he hadn't just dreamed all of the previous night's events. The well defined print of teeth and the dark outline of forceful lips upon pale skin. Had the others noticed? Perhaps it had been too dark… they had been too worried to notice.
His desperate scramble toward the dresser had stirred Yohji out of his light slumber but the older assassin hadn't said anything yet. It was when Aya caught those piercing eyes of shimmering emerald looking at him through the reflecting surface of the mirror that he turned, his cold mask falling like a heavy curtain over his previously vulnerable expression.
Both men looked at one another. Yohji was the first to break the almost unnerving silence. "You alright?"
"I'm fine." Was Aya's only reply. Not a surprise. Why is he still here? He thought to himself. And why is he looking at me like that?
"We found you out cold in the parking lot. What happened out there?"
Aya glanced away. "Nothing."
"The hell it was nothing." Yohji stood. "You said something about Schwarz before cutting off communications with us. What the hell happened to you?"
"Aren't you supposed to be in someone else's bed right now?" Aya responded bitterly, moving past the older assassin. Or trying to – Yohji had grabbed his shoulder and turned the younger redhead around to face him, who simply responded with his copyrighted glare.
"Don't give me that bullshit. I've been here all fuckin' night looking after your sorry ass. I'm really getting tired of playing nurse every time you decide to go at it with someone and end up KO-ed!"
"I never asked you to do anything." Aya responded almost weakly.
"We're a goddamn team. Open your eyes and start realizing that before going all kamikaze on us."
"Let go of me."
Yohji blinked, not having realized he was still holding onto Aya's bare shoulder. He moved his hand quietly but continued to look firmly at the younger man.
"What?" Aya questioned, beginning to feel awkwardly uncomfortable beneath that intense gaze.
"Uh.. oh nothing." Yohji muttered and started to walk away. However, before he reached the door he came to a halt. "Aya?"
"Nani?" Came the irritable reply.
The older man turned. The short distance between them was covered with just a few steps. Before Aya even had the chance to react he felt the warm silkiness of Yohji's lips upon his own; the grip of slender fingers twisting into his hair. Stunned, he did not return the gesture but did not pull away from it either. The playboy broke it himself moments later.
It all would've ended fine if he hadn't opened his mouth, however. "Eh, Aya… how did you manage that hickey?"
Amethyst eyes narrowed. Aya responded the best way he knew how: a vicious backhand connected the with older man's jaw.
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Yohji's got a big mouth, ne? ::Grin.:: Remember, reviews get me writing faster. ^_^