Disclaimer: I don't own Weiβ, I don't make money with this fanfiction and I don't want to be sued.
Chapter V.B: Autumn Kiss
Aya was in a mall, standing in front of a jewelry store. Aya had practically never stepped foot inside a mall, until now. He was accompanying Patricia, who wanted to pick up a few stuff. The 'few' stuff turned out to be not-so-few. Aya was now carrying several packages. Women, they love to shop, he thought.
Aya looked at the glass window, staring at the display of jewelry. There were various rings on display, most of them engagement or wedding rings. Without knowing why, he suddenly felt uneasy.
"Ne, Aya, are you OK?" an overly genki feminine voice asked him. Patricia grinned at him. "The jeweler had to look for the necklace. Did I make you wait for long?" Se was holding a medium-sized shopping bag.
"No," he said coldly, wrenching his gaze from the rings. Patricia gave him an amused smile, letting Aya know that she didn't entirely believe him. "Gomen ne, Aya. I shouldn't have asked you to help me with my shopping. I should have asked Youji or Omi."
Aya stared at the girl standing in front of him. The mention of Youji's name made Aya more than a little uncomfortable. He realized with some surprise that he didn't like Patricia anywhere near Youji Kudou or for any man for that matter. After all, she was his girlfriend, wasn't she?
His violet eyes narrowed at the thought. In every respect, Patricia was his girlfriend–except for the fact that they never actually admitted they were having a romantic relationship. Aya hadn't bargained for things to go this far. Nevertheless, as he spent more time with her, the more he felt drawn to her. Whenever he was with her, he felt that he was somehow at peace, that everything was all right. The fact that she was a Takatori seemed to fade in significance as the days they consumed together passed by. He hardly cared who she was. All he cared about was being with her. He shook his head. "I'm fine," he said brusquely. "Where to now?"
"The lingerie section?" she teased, laughing softly when Aya gave her a strange look. "It's not as if you haven't seen me without my clothes before." She took a few packages from him. "Let me help you out. Come on, I'll buy you something to eat for putting up with me. I know this hasn't been exciting for you." She was walking away when Aya firmly took her hand and walked beside her. Her eyes briefly widened with incredulity. Then a small smile touched her lips. Aya was such a constant surprise.
*******
"Where the heck have you been?" Youji demanded later that afternoon when he saw Patricia and Aya enter the room. "I waited a long time for the two of you. We have a meeting."
Patricia opened her mouth to say 'look who's talking, the king of lateness' but Aya beat her to it. "Look who's talking. Patricia was shopping with me," he answered coolly, following his announcement with a look that seemed to challenge Youji to counter him.
"Shopping, you?!?" Youji was flabbergasted. He never imagined Aya putting up with girly stuff like shopping. He cast Patricia a sly look. "It must be love, then."
"Shut up, Kudou. Shut up," Patricia replied through clenched teeth. She pushed away a stray lock of hair from her face then sat beside Omi. Aya stood behind her.
"So, uh, what are we going to do next?" Ken asked, hoping to bring everyone's mind on the matter at hand. "We know that Ukari is probably aware that we're hunting him down. What are we going to do about that?"
"We have to take extra precautions," Patricia suggested. "For all we know, he could already be on to us." She frowned. "I don't like this. We're supposed to be the hunters. Somehow, Ukari has turned the tables on us and now, we're the ones who's hunted."
"You can say that again." Omi looked at the picture Patricia took yesterday. "I've identified the guy Ukari was talking to. His name is Morgan Terrence. He owns–"
"Terrence Corporation!" Youji exclaimed, jumping up. The four looked at him questioningly. "He owns one of the largest chain of supermarkets in America," Youji explained. "You know, T-Mart. His nicknamed M.T."
"Why would a supermarket magnate associate himself with an assassin?" Omi wondered.
"Maybe he wants to have his competitor killed," Youji suggested in all seriousness. The others gave him a dark look. "What did I say?" Youji said innocently.
"I don't think Terrence is the type to risk that." Aya turned to Patricia. "What do you think?"
Patricia shrugged. "I don't really know. Terrence isn't acting alone in this one. It isn't all that easy to hire assassins, you know. There's always the risk of exposure. Someone could be backing him up. Someone powerful enough to assure Terrence of his safety just in case the crap hits the fan."
"Question is, who are they?" Ken murmured.
"We'll worry about that another time. Right now, our concern is Hiroshi Ukari." Aya flipped over the file Manx gave them. "He lives in a hotel not far away from here."
"Surveillance?" Omi asked. Aya nodded. "Youji-kun and I could probably handle that."
Youji instinctively turned to Patricia. She was staring at him, her gold-green eyes giving him a silent threat: Try anything foolish, and you'll deal with me. Youji winked back at her then faced Omi.
"Try to be inconspicuous as possible. If Ukari is really aware that we're after him, we can't risk exposing ourselves more," Aya told them. He also gave Youji a very penetrating stare.
"I'll look into Terrence." Ken was staring hard at the photo that showed Terrence and Ukari. "I have a strange feeling that we really have to know what Terrence wanted from Hiroshi Ukari. Besides, it bothers me to see a supermarket magnate dealing with that kind of person. Who knows, maybe Terrence's putting something in his supermarket that's unpleasant. Supermarket magnates and assassins together? Not exactly a comforting thought."
"I'll help, Ken," Patricia volunteered. "He bothers me. There's just something wrong about the whole thing."
"What do you mean, something? Everything is wrong," Youji remarked in a grim voice.
*******
Omi and Youji began their stake out on Ukari the very next day. The two of them sat in a car parked near a nearby restaurant across Ukari's hotel. So far, Ukari hasn't made a move yet. Their target seemed to be intent on spending the whole day in his hotel room. "Come on, Ukari. You have to come out sometime," Youji muttered under his breath. "Damn, it's so hot in the car," Youji exclaimed, wiping beads of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. Actually, it wasn't exactly the heat in the car that was making him sweat.
Youji sneaked a glance at Omi. The eighteen-year-old was busy adjusting his binoculars so he could see their target clearly. Youji shook his head, amused at the boy's preoccupation with gadgets. That's one thing I have to overcome if I'm going to start something romantic with him, Youji mused.
"Youji-kun, you're not paying attention." Omi complained, noting the bemused expression on the blonde playboy's face. He leaned forward, peering at Youji's face. "What are you thinking?" Omi innocently asked as Youji suddenly looked bewildered.
The older blonde froze. Omi's face was just a few inches away from him, close enough for Youji to inhale Omi's youthful scent. Gods, how he wanted to put his arms around Omi and…
Shit! Youji thought. Take it slow, Kudou! Don't give in! he reminded himself, remembering Patricia's advice. Then Omi pressed closer, blue eyes wide with concern. Giving in to his desires that he held back for a long time, Youji groaned and softly kissed a very surprised Omi on the lips.
*******
"You didn't have to accompany me," Patricia grumbled to Aya. She was now sitting in Aya's sleek Porsche en route to her twin's apartment. "You know that I can drive myself to my twin's house." Aya's eyes were piercing when he glanced at her. "The last time you drove a car, you got kidnapped," Aya pointed out in his calm voice.
Patricia blushed. "That was a long time ago. I was tired back then and my mind was a little out of focus. It's different now," she insisted. She sighed. Facing the road once more, Aya frowned in thought.
It was weird, how fast her mood changes were nowadays. Yesterday she didn't mind his accompanying of her. Now, here she was, complaining. It drove him wild, figuring out what she was really feeling. Aya decided to ignore her present mood.
"Someone's following us," Patricia announced quietly, jerking Aya's attention back to reality. Aya discreetly glanced at the rearview mirror. Sure enough, a black car with heavily tinted glasses was following them.
"Looks like I'm not going to my twin's house after all," she murmured dryly. She tightened her seatbelt. Then she looked at Aya and nodded. "Let's go."
*******
Omi was absolutely still for a moment. He ceased to be conscious of his surroundings. He was only aware of Youji's lips, warm and moist, firmly pressed against his own. Of the sudden warmth rushing to his heart and body. Then, a chill that seemed to fall down on his whole body like a bucket of ice-cold water suddenly replaced the heat. Omi roughly jerked away from Youji. "What are you doing?" he shouted in a harsh voice, not out of anger, but mainly from the sudden confusion in his emotions Youji's kiss had elicited. He backed away from Youji.
Youji stared at him. Omi could clearly see the look of regret and anguish that crossed Youji's green eyes. Youji's mouth opened to speak. "Omi, I–"
"Youji-kun, I–" Omi suddenly stopped. He glanced at where Ukari's car was. It wasn't there. "Ukari's car is gone!" Omi exclaimed, turning to Youji, the incident temporarily forgotten. "Where did he go?"
*******
"Down!" Aya commanded sharply, roughly yanking down Patricia's arm as another spray of bullets was showered on them. Aya swerved sharply as he avoided another car. "What do you think you're doing?" the cerise-haired young man demanded of the raven-haired woman beside him who was busy loading a handgun.
"What else but trying to save our ass!" she snapped, eyes flashing. She glanced back as a bullet whizzed past her head. "I can't believe they haven't run out of bullets yet," she muttered, cocking her gun.
Aya gritted his teeth in silent agreement. The black car had been chasing them for hours. Aya hoped to beat them through his Porsche's speed. However, the black car still managed to catch up with them. The bullets came as soon as Aya made his move to evade them. So far, bullets had grazed his two arms while Patricia got a nasty gash on her tight when a bullet ripped through the bottom of her seat, managing to slash past her thigh.
"Hold it steady, Abyssinian!" Patricia hissed. To Aya's astonishment, Patricia was leaning out the window, hair whipping against the wind as she aimed her gun for one of the black car's tires. Mentally cursing the girl, he reluctantly did what she said. Another bullet bored through the window, this time shattering it. Patricia fired.
There was a loud pop as the other car's wheel's burst. The squealing of brakes and tires and the harsh, choking scent of burning rubber followed it. From his rear view mirror, Aya saw the black car spinning crazily in circles before ramming into an electric post with a satisfying crunch.
Aya sped away from the scene. When he was sure they were safe, he turned to his Patricia. "What do you think you were doing?" he said in a tightly controlled voice, ready to let out a stream of recriminations at her.
She turned to him, her face very pale and covered with sweat. Aya noticed she was breathing hard. Unbidden, his gaze wandered to her chest, where her bloodied right hand was covering a blood-stained patch on her blouse–the patch over her heart. She gave him a wry smile, and then said calmly, "I got shot."
*******
"The first part has been accomplished," a man in a dark blue suit said to a man with sickly green hair.
"Are you sure?" Ukari persisted, running his fingers through his newly dyed green hair. The man in the suit was one of the goons the organization that hired him. He was the perfect goon–not too bright and not too dumb, able to obey orders to the letter but also able to use one's common sense.
"Yes," the man in the suit answered.
"Good." Ukari glanced at the photograph. Such a pretty face, Hiroshi Ukari mused. The girl was something of a legend in Kritiker. Joining at the young age of twelve, soon becoming one of Kritiker's best agents. She had the talents and the will to be the best. Just like his beloved wife. She was one of the best as well, skilled in the arts of assassination and espionage. He clenched his fists tightly and closed his eyes, letting the fury he felt subside.
I'm terribly sorry. We didn't know there was a leak. Forgive us.
Ukari opened his eyes, his eyes bright with angry tears. Forgive them? How could he forgive the people who had caused his wife's death? He will destroy them, no matter what!
*******
"What the hell happened? How is she?"
Aya lifted his face at the familiar sound of the voice. Aya had been sitting in a bench outside ER room in the hospital where he brought Patricia an hour ago. To Aya's surprise, Patrick was standing in front of him, his gold-green eyes wide with anxiety. "How did you find out that she's here?" Aya asked him.
Patrick shrugged. "Let's just say it's a twin thing." He sat down beside Aya. "So, how is she?"
Aya looked at the floor, unable look straight into Patrick's eyes–eyes that remind him of Patricia. "They haven't said anything yet." He clenched his fists, trying to rein in his emotions. Once again, he had failed to protect her. Now, she was badly hurt. K'so! he swore to himself savagely. He felt like hitting something.
At that point, the other members of Weiβ Kreuz appeared. Aya had called them to the hospital a while ago, though Aya didn't say why. All of them were breathing heavily when they arrived. "What happened?" Ken demanded of Aya breathlessly. He crouched, hands on his knees, trying to calm down himself. He looked around, eyes searching. "Where's Patricia?"
Patrick glanced at the ER room in response to Ken's question.
Ken's eyes widened. "Nani?!" he exclaimed. Ken turned swiftly to Aya. "What the hell happened?"
Aya briefly recounted the events. All of them were frowning when he finished. "I don't get it. You let her lean out the window and shoot the car?" Youji asked Aya.
Eyes showing nothing of the inner turmoil going inside of him, Aya gazed at Youji and replied. "Yes."
"That's probably the wisest thing you could have done at the moment," Patrick remarked, startling them. "Patti might have just jumped out of the car and took care of the pursuers herself." He gave them a small, wry smile. "My twin's always been the stubborn one in the family." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I wouldn't worry about her too much. She's been through situations like this before. She always survives. She's too lucky to die."
The words did little comfort to Aya. Not only was he worried about Patricia's life, he was also worried that something else behind that shooting, something far more important but so simple that he had overlooked it. There were so many unanswered questions like who was the one behind the shooting was or even why they were shot at.
Think, Aya said to himself. The shooters only attacked the two of them and not the others. If this were part of a plot to kill all of us, why did our would-be-killers attack only Patricia and me? Moreover, why didn't they kill us? During the whole chase, Aya had a feeling they were holding back, though he did not know why.
Aya turned to Omi, whose face was in an unnatural shade of white. Omi's blue eyes were very wide, which indicated he had come to a horrifying conclusion. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Omi said to his leader.
*******
He had no trouble getting in. It had always been ridiculously easy to get inside a hospital undetected, no matter how exclusive it was. No one was patrolling the hallways, no guards on the doors. He gestured towards his comrades, giving them the signal to enter. They entered stealthily, like thieves in the night.
He finally reached the room. He tested the doorknob, turning it carefully. He was more than a little surprised to find that it gave in quite easily.
Are they such fools to do this? He wondered. His target's more dangerous guardians left an hour ago, probably to buy some food, which left his target's twin to care for her. He smiled maliciously. If this were a trap, then so be it. He was up to the challenge.
He burst into the room, guns ready, and senses alert. To his utter surprise, no one was there, except for his target. She was lying on the bed, back turned to him. He proceeded to her cautiously, looking around the room every now and then. When he reached her, he whispered, "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."
She turned and to his utter shock, the figure was not his target, but a young man with blue eyes, pointing a loaded crossbow at him. "Say sayonara, Prince Charming," the young man said softly.
*******
Somewhere in a secret room in the hospital, Aya heard a dull thud and the scampering of feet. A small smile of satisfaction curled his lips. Ukari had taken the bait, and was now facing his action's consequences.
A soft murmur made Aya's thoughts turn back to the task at hand. Aya stared at Patricia, who was propped up against the pillows in a bed next to him. His features softened for a moment, then as his gaze wandered towards to her wounded chest, his features hardened. Gripping the sheets, he felt a sudden surge of anger directed to him and to fate. Once again, he had been unable to protect someone he greatly cared about from harm. First, it had been his family, then, it was Patricia.
She was better now, the wound in her chest fast healing, but it did little to assuage his anger. He nearly lost her. Someone had hurt her and that someone would pay. He closed his eyes as he tried to subdue the powerful emotions he was feeling. He needed to have a clear head tonight. He didn't need his feeling clouding his senses.
"You shouldn't be sleeping during guard duty," a weak though teasing voice chided him. Aya opened his eyes and found himself staring at Patricia's gold-green eyes.
She smiled at him, her tired but nonetheless sparkling eyes telling Aya she was pleased to see him.
"I wasn't sleeping," Aya responded dryly, quickly hiding the relief he felt. It was the first time Patricia had woken during her week's confinement in the hospital. They had feared she would never wake up.
"I know. I was only teasing you." To Aya's surprise, she slowly lifted her hand and touched the small bandage on his cheek. "How are you?" she asked softly.
"I'm fine," he replied coolly. He absently took her hand and held it. "How about you?"
"A little weak." She touched her chest. "My chest still hurts." She looked around, wincing as she tried to sit up a litter straighter. "Where's my twin and the others?"
"Doing their job," Aya said simply.
She frowned. "What job?"
*******
The fight was getting vicious. Nobody seemed to want to give up. Everyone wanted to win. Ukari had not come alone. He had brought many men with him, men carrying very dangerous weapons.
Omi swore under his breath. Ukari had skillfully evaded the arrow, and before any of them could make a move, several armed men made their entrance.
Omi hurled his shurikens towards the enemies with deadly accuracy. As soon as the shurikens sank into their targets, they exploded, sending bits of flesh and bone flying into the air.
"Nice job," Youji remarked from behind Omi. Youji was busy strangling the remaining enemies. Youji would coolly loop his wire around their neck, then proceed to choke the life out of them. As the other goons rushed over him, Youji pushed their late comrade's innate body towards them, knocking them off their feet.
"Where the hell is Ukari?" Ken shouted. He was also busy felling Ukari's men by plunging his bugnuks deep into their chests, puncturing their hearts. He kicked one of the inert bodies aside.
Omi scanned the mob for Ukari's distinctive green hair. Amidst the confusion that ensued during the battle, Ukari had managed to disappear. "He's not here!" Omi shouted back to Ken, suddenly sick.
"Then where the fucking hell is he?" Youji demanded.
*******
"You didn't think I'd find you, did you?" Ukari said in a gloating voice, his gun pointed at a poker-faced Aya. "You nearly had me fooled back there, but you're not smart enough."
Aya was silent, his face not showing his astonishment at Ukari's appearance. He briefly wondered how Ukari found out where he and Patricia were, but Aya reminded himself that it did not matter for now.
His violet eyes focused on Ukari. Hiroshi Ukari was a small man with dyed green hair and a rough-looking face. Although he didn't seem like the type of guy to take jobs like this, Aya knew better than to judge a person his looks. Aya put himself between Hiroshi and Patricia, shielding his girlfriend from Hiroshi. Aya held his katana tightly; his body tense and ready to strike if Ukari so as even make a single step towards him or Patricia.
Behind him, Patricia sat helplessly on the bed. Her face was impassive as well, showing nothing. Ukari stared at the girl. She was incredibly beautiful, prettier than most women he knew. She was wearing a hospital gown, and her hands were gripping the sheets.
Ukari then studied the cerise-haired young man in front of him. Hiroshi knew that this youth was the leader of the current Weiβ Kreuz, the one codenamed Abyssinian, Ran/ Aya Fujimiya.
Ukari cocked his head to one side, mentally sizing Aya up. There was a defiant look in the redhead's purple eyes that seemed to dare Ukari to make a move towards him and the girl. Well, Ukari thought, I'm up for that. "Give the girl to me, boy, and maybe I'll spare your life," Ukari said in a low, coaxing voice. Fujimiya only stared back at him, eyes flat. Clearly, Aya was not persuaded.
Hiroshi then decided to use another tactic. "I don't see why you're so intent on protecting her," Hiroshi said conversationally. "Isn't she the sister of the man who had your family killed, Ran Fujimiya?" he continued, taunting Aya using that very sensitive fact. "Aren't you betraying your family by protecting her?" He sneered contemptuously. "So you weren't immune to feminine wiles after all. She looks at you with her big green eyes, bats her sooty eyelashes and you get suckered. Fool!"
Ukari watched as Patricia glanced at Aya's profile. Ukari saw Aya's grip on his katana slacken. A look of indecision briefly crossed his face. Then just as briefly as it had appeared, the look disappeared. His eyes narrowed and he squeezed the girl's shoulder. Whether he did that to assure her or just as a reflex, Ukari didn't know. "And aren't you betraying the memory of your wife by associating yourself with people not unlike the ones who had your wife killed?" Aya asked coldly, remembering what was written in Ukari's dossier. Hiroshi Ukari had a beautiful wife who was also a member of Kritiker. Unfortunately, the girl died while on a mission, after a spy in Kritiker tipped off the organization whose boss Hiroshi had killed in a mission by. Since then, Ukari had become what he was now.
That particular line of thought did not go well with Hiroshi. A look of outrage crossed his features. "My wife died because of Kritiker's ineptness. My wife would understand that I'm doing this only as way of avenging her death. Yes, she would have been proud."
"Still, your wife's death does not give you the reason or the right to betray Kritiker," Patricia suddenly said in a hard voice. Both men seemed to be startled when she spoke. "What do you want, monsieur?" she asked bluntly, weary of Ukari's mind games.
Ukari's gaze shifted to her, but the gun was still pointed at Aya. "Isn't it obvious? It's you they want, Himalayan–alive that is. They want the others too, of course, but they want them dead."
"Does them pertain to Terrence and his cohorts, whoever they are?" she inquired.
Ukari smiled slyly. "I don't disclose my employers. Your pictures don't do you justice, Sleeping Beauty. You're prettier up close and personal. No wonder Fujimiya fell for you." Ukari then turned back to Aya. "Enough of this." Without warning, Ukari pulled the trigger.
Aya immediately sprang into action as the bullet shot towards him. Aya covered a confused Patricia with his body, hurling both of them towards the wall behind the bed. Instead of smashing into the wall, the wall tilted open. They tumbled into another room, falling into a mattress. Aya was barely aware of Ukari's cry of anger; he was only conscious of the fact that Patricia was away from Ukari, cradled safely in his arms.
Aya heard a loud crash as the door in the other room burst open. He heard Omi cry out in a voice filled with fury, "I won't let you hurt my aunt!" Omi's cry was followed by several gunshots and crashing sounds–like a brawl had erupted in Patricia's room. Then a sudden shriek of pain that lasted for a second or so.
"What the hell is going on?" Patricia demanded of Aya.
Aya didn't reply. He was busy listening for the signal. There were three knocks, telling Aya it was all clear. Next, he heard Youji ask, "Are you two all right?"
"That depends what you mean by all right, Kudou," Patricia replied wearily.
*******
They were back in Patricia's original room. Omi had killed Ukari by burying an exploding shuriken into Ukari's chest. Ukari's bloody remains were now dumped somewhere in the outskirts of the town, along with several of his men. It took a while to get the room cleaned up, but they managed it anyway.
"I don't understand. Ukari was after me?" Patricia wanted to know. She was propped up against the pillows, a confused look on her pale but pretty face.
"That's our theory, princess." Patrick turned to Aya, who was sitting beside Patricia's bed. "Ukari called her Sleeping Beauty?" He scratched his head. "That's weird. Mom used to call Patricia by that name."
"Yukino called her by that name too," Ken supplied in a quiet voice.
"Yukino? As in Shin Yukino, the ob-gyn?" Patrick turned sharply to her abruptly silent twin. "Wasn't he our mother's ob-gyn?"
"I see," Aya suddenly said in a cold voice. He stared at Patricia but said nothing. He didn't have to, since his amethyst eyes said it all.
*******
"The assassin failed," Hermes reported. "I take full respon–"
"Don't be foolish, Hermes. The assassin failed because of his own shortcomings. You are not to blame. However, this will be the last time we shall ask for outside help. Next time, we will deal with those tasks ourselves."
"You are merciful, my lord Zeus. Rest assured that the next time we hunt, we will use our own hounds."
*******
"Looks like those two are going to have some showdown," Ken remarked with a knowing smile, closing the door of Patricia's room after Aya asked for them to leave him and Patricia alone in the room. "Isn't that nice?"
"Yeah," Omi remarked in an unenthusiastic voice.
Ken discreetly glanced at Omi. The boy had been acting strange for the past few days. Ken noticed that Omi was quieter now. What disturbed Ken the most was the fact that Omi seemed to be suddenly avoiding Youji.
Ken then turned his attention to Youji, who was smoking in a corner despite the 'No Smoking' sign above him. The blonde playboy had been quiet as well. Youji also no longer flirted with girls (in this instance, with the nurses), something, in Ken's opinion, was a shocking thing for Youji to do. Youji's green eyes seemed to have an anguished expression in them. What's going on? Ken thought.
Omi sneaked a glance at Youji. Since the kissing incident, Omi had prudently tried to avoid any forms of contact with Youji. Omi wasn't ready to face whatever happened between them and Youji. He was ashamed to admit that he was thankful for his aunt's recent mishap, for it took his mind off the matter.
Omi sighed. Avoiding Youji wasn't going to be easy. They worked together and lived in the same apartment building. They would inevitably see and bump into each other.
He absently raked his fingers through his hair, recalling what happened a few days ago. What had happened back then? Why did Youji kiss me? Was Youji simply teasing him? On the other hand, did the kiss meant something deeper, something that went beyond lust? More importantly, what are my feelings about the kiss? Omi shook his head. It was all so confusing. At first, Omi was outraged the Youji would dare do such a thing to him but now, after a few days…he wasn't too sure what he felt. Part of him wanted to kill Youji for the audacity of it but another secret part of him wished the kiss would never end.
Omi closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, praying that everything would be back to normal, even though he knew it would never be.
*******
The questions came as soon as the door closed. The first one was predictable. "Why didn't you say anything about Yukino to me?" Aya asked in a flat voice. "You should have."
Patricia looked down and began to pleat the edge of her blanket. "I didn't think it was any of your concern," she replied lamely. "Besides, you never asked."
"I never asked?" Aya repeated mildly. Aya resisted the urge to shake and shout at her. She was his concern, damnit! She was his girlfriend! It was his right and responsibility to know! Aya crouched in front of Patricia, tilting her head so that her eyes looked directly into his. "You promised you'd never let this happen again."
"I did? I don't recall making any promises like that." She looked totally confused.
"After Yuriko died, you promised–"
Patricia stared at him. "Oh, that promise. I was pertaining to my carelessness and not–"
"I was talking about your safety," Aya cut in his quiet voice. "By the gods, didn't you realize how worried I was about you? How much I cared?" Then he bit his lip. He shouldn't have said that. It revealed too much of what he felt for her. He turned his back at her.
"You care about me? Why do you care?" She said in a wistful voice. "I didn't think that you knew that you found me worthy of being cared about. I always thought you didn't know you cared for me." She began to pleat her blanket again.
Surprised by Patricia's answer, Aya was silent for a moment. "The reason why I never said that I cared for you," he began, "is not because I didn't know I cared about you, but because I do know but I thought you knew what my feelings for you were."
Silence followed Aya's words. Then she burst out, "I'm not psychic, Aya. I can't always know what you think or feel." She smiled suddenly and took his hand. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you what Yukino said. I'm used to dealing with my problems alone and I find it hard to share them. I can't promise you anything but I'll try not to do that again. I'll promise I'll try not to keep my problems a secret from you. Is that good enough?"
Aya found himself unable to stay angry with her. Hating himself for being so weak, Aya didn't reply for a while. This girl meant a lot to him, probably more than Patricia realized. He squeezed her hand, reassuring her. I'll ever let anyone hurt you, he vowed silently, gazing into her gold-green eyes. I will protect you.
But from whom am I protecting you?
~T.B.C~
Notes: Thank you to Ai-chan for giving me loads of ideas. And to Neko and Ka-chou, too!
Oh, gosh! The shonen-ai part's here! I'm sorry if it's too oversimplified. I'll try to write better.
It's interesting to note that Koyasu Takehito (you know, Aya's Japanese voice actor) said in an interview (found in a website owned by someone named Sumire *scratches head* not sure…) that if Aya were to say I love you, he'll say it by saying, "I'll protect you." I didn't get the line (in the fanfic) from there, but it's interesting how coincidences crop up every now and then.