Chapter 4: Pain Never Comes Undone
Sleep never comes easily for assassins. It escapes their rooms with the
most effortless gestures, leaving them restless and coiled in the most
imminent torture. Tonight, as it did every night, it came for Tai.
The tossing and turning started very late. She was lying in her bed, twisting her body back and forth restlessly as light moans escaped her lips. The nightmares never ceased for Tai, over and over she saw them replay in her head. She lived them through, felt the blood, then the tears, and then would come screaming...and darkness. Her eyes squinted shut as she tore at the white sheets with all her might. That night, the terrible night that would never escape her, played through her mind like a movie the never ended. Tai and Aki had just celebrated their 16th birthday all alone together. It was always like that on evenings. Their father usually spent his evenings sitting with his politician friends, smoking cigars, and spending the nights guzzling the alcohol as if it was nothing but mere water. Frankly, Tai and Aki were terrified of their father; he was a big and rough man who showed no mercy, not even to his children. Terrible things happened whenever their father drank. Terrible things happened when he was sober as well. Yet Tai and Aki had each other. They never left one another's side. Twins was a bond that would never be broken, they had so much love and respect for one another that they didn't need their father's kindness or affections. They loved each other and that was all that mattered.
Aki placed a beautiful and delicious white frosted cupcake in front of Tai with a sole candle in it. The soft glow lit up the blackness that enveloped their small apartment. Aki was one of the most beautiful young men Tai had ever laid her eyes upon. He had light brown hair that flowed down to past his shoulders that he usually fastened back in a ponytail. That only gave more attention to his delicate facial features, cheerful face, and glamorous dark eyes. He sat across from her on the floor wearing a bright orange T-shirt and fitted blue jeans. Aki looked at her with excited eyes and whispered, "Okay, when I count to three we'll blow out the candle and share our birthday dessert."
Tai smiled back, she loved how kind her brother was. She ran a hand through her short brown hair and replied, "Thank you so much Aki! This is the greatest birthday anyone could ever ask for." Aki grinned, he loved seeing Tai smile. Tai was practically his entire world. His sister meant the most to him than any other living being. He would protect her from any harm and die for her if he could. He leaned over and kissed Tai on the cheek, she blushed in return. Aki was always so affectionate with her.
Sitting back he took a deep breath. "One...two..." Aki never got to three. The door to the apartment swung open and a large figure staggered into the room. Tai's heart tightened in her chest. Her eyes widened at the sight of her father wobbling in, obviously drink as anything. Tonight it was bad, they'd never seen him this out of it before.
Their father crashed into the table, his tie and sports jacket a complete array. Several plates crashed to the floor and Tai gasped in fear. Aki's eyes turned to slits as he heard Tai gasp. He put an arm around her protectively and his head snapped towards his father, watching him as a snake watches a rabbit. "What are you two little brats doing?" he boomed towards his children, a vicious sneer upon his face. Aki had a temper just like his father, he didn't like being messed around with. In their defense he shouted to their father, "It's our birthday if you didn't know! You treat us like crap, so I wouldn't expect a drunken bastard like you to remember our birthday. We're giving each other one because you're a no good lowlife drunkard." Tai gasped when she heard the venomous words of hatred pour from her brother's mouth. Aki had had it with their father. For years they've been deprived of a normal and happy family life. Aki wasn't going to let it ruin himself and Tai any longer.
Their father's face twisted in rage as he thudded over to Aki who pushed Tai behind him. Tai slid across the floor and pressed her back against the window, her jade eyes watching the scene in terror. Her body shook, she felt cold and frightened. Aki...Aki was standing up for them. Their father grabbed Aki by the collar and slammed his back into the wall with great force. He let out a yelp of pain as his eyes closed tightly and he winced, feeling the stinging sensation ride up his back. "What did you call me you disrespectful piece of trash?" His father's breath choked Aki as he let out a gag, it reeked of alcohol. The scent made it's way into Aki's lungs, suffocating him along with his father's hand that kept pushing his body harder into the wall.
Tai couldn't watch her brother take this anymore, she shot up off of the floor and rushed at her father. Her desperate hands clutched onto her father's jacket. She could feel the hot tears streaming down her face. "Father, father! Stop it! Please leave Aki alone!" She wailed in desperation. Her father flinched momentarily. He released Aki from his grip and turned around to face his daughter. Aki slid down against the wall and scrunched up in pain. Their father stood face to face with the crying Tai. He had a heartless expression on his face as he raised his right hand. Within second, Tai felt wind, and then came the rush of pain across her left cheek. Her father had backhanded her. Tai was flying, flying straight across the room and into the door.
She hit the door with a loud thud. Her body screamed in pain as she rolled herself into a ball, crying harder every time she was forced to take another breath. Aki's rage surged inside of him. How dare his father touch his beloved sister. Aki's eyes blazed with fury as he shot up and leapt through the air and onto his father, wrapping his arms around his throat. "Run, Tai, run!" he cried as he struggle don the floor with their dad a moment or so. Their father was fighting back the forceful Aki, screaming obscenities. Tai didn't want to run, she wanted to stay there with her brother.
Everything from then on went in slow motion. She stood frozen for a moment as her back pressed against the door as much as it could. They rolled into the table. Their father reached up and wrapped his hands around a loose plate. He broke the plate. A punch was thrown and Aki was down. Then there was screaming.
Their father loomed over Aki like a giant over a blade of grass. Tears ran down Aki's face as he tried to break free of his father's heavy weight on top of him. A piece of broken plate glinted in the moonlight and it jammed down. It jammed down again, over and over and over. Blood poured from Aki's body, flowing with his screams of pain. Blood splattered on the walls in a spray of bright red. All over his father's clothes and face as well was the floor, table, and walls. After a while, the screaming stopped. That was when everything became blurry. She jumped. He hit. She grabbed a knife. Stabbed at him. He sliced her shoulder. She screamed. He ran. Aki's body. Pools of blood. Shadows of the past played upon the room. Then there was nothing but screaming and Aki's blood all over her body as she held her brother in her hands wailing in pain. Yohji couldn't get Tai to stop struggling, or screaming for that matter. Her frail body was slashing around in the sheets of her bed. She kept screaming over and over again, tears flowing from her eyes. Yohji had her arms pinned down as best he could. His face was cast with worry as he looked at her. She looked like she was in so much pain. He wanted her to stop crying, he wanted to ease her pain.
He bent his head down and pressed his lips against her moistly warm ones. He stayed there until he felt a flash of pain against his cheek. Well, she was awake now. "What are you doing?" Tai cried as she sat abruptly up in bed panting, drenched in sweat. She looked around the room. Yohji was rubbing his palm on his cheek and looking at Tai with concerned eyes. He looked wonderful there, his topless body bathing in the moonlight. "You were screaming and having nightmares. I needed a way to wake you up." He grinned, attempting to lighten the mood. He winked at Tai, a look of mischief passing on his face. Tai's face turned from hot-red angry to pale again.
She turned her head to the side and looked down, her brown hair falling over her face. Yohji stopped smiling and reached out a hand to brush her hair aside. He gasped and pulled away. Tai was crying. The tears fell from her eyes like endless waterfalls, making patterns along the white sheets underneath her body. Yohji's hear burst with pain; he didn't want to see Tai cry. Not now, not ever. His heart yearned for her and he couldn't help himself from falling in love with her. He would do anything in his power to make her pain go away.
Finally Tai looked at him. She let out a sob and pushed her head into Yohji's bare chest s she whispered, "Yohji, I love you." Yohji's eyes widened in complete disbelief. It took him a good few seconds to comprehend what Tai's words were. Did she actually say what she thought he said? Or was it just his heart pretending to hear those words because he longed for him to say them so? Yojhi placed a strong hand down upon her head and closed his eyes, smiling softly. His hear was content. "I love you too." He replied in the most gentle of ways.
Tai looked up at him, her emerald eyes glistening as she softly smiled up his way. She looked like a wingless angel in the moonlight and he looked like a handsome warrior who had taken his armor off just for her. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his muscular torso, sighing as her sobs ceased.
Yohji's heart was pounding in his chest as she slowly lifted her body up against his, pushing her into him so he could hold her in a warm embrace. Tai's heart burst with happiness. She wanted Yohji, she needed Yohji. He made her complete. Yohji needed Tai for the same reason, she made him complete. Their hearts were bound to one another that night for all eternity.
"Stay with me tonight." Tai whispered, burying her head into his chest. Yohji looked won at her and smiled. "I'll do much more than that." Tai looked up at him, a look of confusion crossing her face. "I'll stay with you forever." Tai's smile widened to a point where Yohji had never seen before. It was genuine happiness that Tai was feeling. Yohji returned the smile and softly placed his fingers beneath her chin. Tilting her face slightly upwards, she closed her eyes waiting for what she had been waiting for for what seemed like an eternity. Yohji shut his eyes, knowing that this was more right than anything he had ever done in his pathetic and callous life. All the pain of Asuka, killing, murdering, deceit went away. He was with Tai now, and Tai was all he needed to feel like a better man again. He loved her and she loved him. Tai also felt with Yohji she had the power inside her of to be strong. This was possible because she had him and he was all she needed to feel like a whole person again.
Yohji's face slowly moved downwards until their lips pressed against one another. Moments later the two disappeared into the sheets to spend their final night before the pain and suffering was to come. All that mattered was this moment, this one moment they had to intertwine their bodies and their hearts. Deep kisses, bare skin pressing against each other, caressing hands. Touch. Taste. Passion. Love.
Yohji and Tai stayed there that night lying in each other's arms, forgetting about the torture that would certainly coming the evening after. But right now, they were with one another. They lay there holding on another for the few hours they had left. But Tai was in Yohji's arms and right now and they loved each other more than anything else in this world, and at this moment, they were the only ones in the world that mattered.
The tossing and turning started very late. She was lying in her bed, twisting her body back and forth restlessly as light moans escaped her lips. The nightmares never ceased for Tai, over and over she saw them replay in her head. She lived them through, felt the blood, then the tears, and then would come screaming...and darkness. Her eyes squinted shut as she tore at the white sheets with all her might. That night, the terrible night that would never escape her, played through her mind like a movie the never ended. Tai and Aki had just celebrated their 16th birthday all alone together. It was always like that on evenings. Their father usually spent his evenings sitting with his politician friends, smoking cigars, and spending the nights guzzling the alcohol as if it was nothing but mere water. Frankly, Tai and Aki were terrified of their father; he was a big and rough man who showed no mercy, not even to his children. Terrible things happened whenever their father drank. Terrible things happened when he was sober as well. Yet Tai and Aki had each other. They never left one another's side. Twins was a bond that would never be broken, they had so much love and respect for one another that they didn't need their father's kindness or affections. They loved each other and that was all that mattered.
Aki placed a beautiful and delicious white frosted cupcake in front of Tai with a sole candle in it. The soft glow lit up the blackness that enveloped their small apartment. Aki was one of the most beautiful young men Tai had ever laid her eyes upon. He had light brown hair that flowed down to past his shoulders that he usually fastened back in a ponytail. That only gave more attention to his delicate facial features, cheerful face, and glamorous dark eyes. He sat across from her on the floor wearing a bright orange T-shirt and fitted blue jeans. Aki looked at her with excited eyes and whispered, "Okay, when I count to three we'll blow out the candle and share our birthday dessert."
Tai smiled back, she loved how kind her brother was. She ran a hand through her short brown hair and replied, "Thank you so much Aki! This is the greatest birthday anyone could ever ask for." Aki grinned, he loved seeing Tai smile. Tai was practically his entire world. His sister meant the most to him than any other living being. He would protect her from any harm and die for her if he could. He leaned over and kissed Tai on the cheek, she blushed in return. Aki was always so affectionate with her.
Sitting back he took a deep breath. "One...two..." Aki never got to three. The door to the apartment swung open and a large figure staggered into the room. Tai's heart tightened in her chest. Her eyes widened at the sight of her father wobbling in, obviously drink as anything. Tonight it was bad, they'd never seen him this out of it before.
Their father crashed into the table, his tie and sports jacket a complete array. Several plates crashed to the floor and Tai gasped in fear. Aki's eyes turned to slits as he heard Tai gasp. He put an arm around her protectively and his head snapped towards his father, watching him as a snake watches a rabbit. "What are you two little brats doing?" he boomed towards his children, a vicious sneer upon his face. Aki had a temper just like his father, he didn't like being messed around with. In their defense he shouted to their father, "It's our birthday if you didn't know! You treat us like crap, so I wouldn't expect a drunken bastard like you to remember our birthday. We're giving each other one because you're a no good lowlife drunkard." Tai gasped when she heard the venomous words of hatred pour from her brother's mouth. Aki had had it with their father. For years they've been deprived of a normal and happy family life. Aki wasn't going to let it ruin himself and Tai any longer.
Their father's face twisted in rage as he thudded over to Aki who pushed Tai behind him. Tai slid across the floor and pressed her back against the window, her jade eyes watching the scene in terror. Her body shook, she felt cold and frightened. Aki...Aki was standing up for them. Their father grabbed Aki by the collar and slammed his back into the wall with great force. He let out a yelp of pain as his eyes closed tightly and he winced, feeling the stinging sensation ride up his back. "What did you call me you disrespectful piece of trash?" His father's breath choked Aki as he let out a gag, it reeked of alcohol. The scent made it's way into Aki's lungs, suffocating him along with his father's hand that kept pushing his body harder into the wall.
Tai couldn't watch her brother take this anymore, she shot up off of the floor and rushed at her father. Her desperate hands clutched onto her father's jacket. She could feel the hot tears streaming down her face. "Father, father! Stop it! Please leave Aki alone!" She wailed in desperation. Her father flinched momentarily. He released Aki from his grip and turned around to face his daughter. Aki slid down against the wall and scrunched up in pain. Their father stood face to face with the crying Tai. He had a heartless expression on his face as he raised his right hand. Within second, Tai felt wind, and then came the rush of pain across her left cheek. Her father had backhanded her. Tai was flying, flying straight across the room and into the door.
She hit the door with a loud thud. Her body screamed in pain as she rolled herself into a ball, crying harder every time she was forced to take another breath. Aki's rage surged inside of him. How dare his father touch his beloved sister. Aki's eyes blazed with fury as he shot up and leapt through the air and onto his father, wrapping his arms around his throat. "Run, Tai, run!" he cried as he struggle don the floor with their dad a moment or so. Their father was fighting back the forceful Aki, screaming obscenities. Tai didn't want to run, she wanted to stay there with her brother.
Everything from then on went in slow motion. She stood frozen for a moment as her back pressed against the door as much as it could. They rolled into the table. Their father reached up and wrapped his hands around a loose plate. He broke the plate. A punch was thrown and Aki was down. Then there was screaming.
Their father loomed over Aki like a giant over a blade of grass. Tears ran down Aki's face as he tried to break free of his father's heavy weight on top of him. A piece of broken plate glinted in the moonlight and it jammed down. It jammed down again, over and over and over. Blood poured from Aki's body, flowing with his screams of pain. Blood splattered on the walls in a spray of bright red. All over his father's clothes and face as well was the floor, table, and walls. After a while, the screaming stopped. That was when everything became blurry. She jumped. He hit. She grabbed a knife. Stabbed at him. He sliced her shoulder. She screamed. He ran. Aki's body. Pools of blood. Shadows of the past played upon the room. Then there was nothing but screaming and Aki's blood all over her body as she held her brother in her hands wailing in pain. Yohji couldn't get Tai to stop struggling, or screaming for that matter. Her frail body was slashing around in the sheets of her bed. She kept screaming over and over again, tears flowing from her eyes. Yohji had her arms pinned down as best he could. His face was cast with worry as he looked at her. She looked like she was in so much pain. He wanted her to stop crying, he wanted to ease her pain.
He bent his head down and pressed his lips against her moistly warm ones. He stayed there until he felt a flash of pain against his cheek. Well, she was awake now. "What are you doing?" Tai cried as she sat abruptly up in bed panting, drenched in sweat. She looked around the room. Yohji was rubbing his palm on his cheek and looking at Tai with concerned eyes. He looked wonderful there, his topless body bathing in the moonlight. "You were screaming and having nightmares. I needed a way to wake you up." He grinned, attempting to lighten the mood. He winked at Tai, a look of mischief passing on his face. Tai's face turned from hot-red angry to pale again.
She turned her head to the side and looked down, her brown hair falling over her face. Yohji stopped smiling and reached out a hand to brush her hair aside. He gasped and pulled away. Tai was crying. The tears fell from her eyes like endless waterfalls, making patterns along the white sheets underneath her body. Yohji's hear burst with pain; he didn't want to see Tai cry. Not now, not ever. His heart yearned for her and he couldn't help himself from falling in love with her. He would do anything in his power to make her pain go away.
Finally Tai looked at him. She let out a sob and pushed her head into Yohji's bare chest s she whispered, "Yohji, I love you." Yohji's eyes widened in complete disbelief. It took him a good few seconds to comprehend what Tai's words were. Did she actually say what she thought he said? Or was it just his heart pretending to hear those words because he longed for him to say them so? Yojhi placed a strong hand down upon her head and closed his eyes, smiling softly. His hear was content. "I love you too." He replied in the most gentle of ways.
Tai looked up at him, her emerald eyes glistening as she softly smiled up his way. She looked like a wingless angel in the moonlight and he looked like a handsome warrior who had taken his armor off just for her. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his muscular torso, sighing as her sobs ceased.
Yohji's heart was pounding in his chest as she slowly lifted her body up against his, pushing her into him so he could hold her in a warm embrace. Tai's heart burst with happiness. She wanted Yohji, she needed Yohji. He made her complete. Yohji needed Tai for the same reason, she made him complete. Their hearts were bound to one another that night for all eternity.
"Stay with me tonight." Tai whispered, burying her head into his chest. Yohji looked won at her and smiled. "I'll do much more than that." Tai looked up at him, a look of confusion crossing her face. "I'll stay with you forever." Tai's smile widened to a point where Yohji had never seen before. It was genuine happiness that Tai was feeling. Yohji returned the smile and softly placed his fingers beneath her chin. Tilting her face slightly upwards, she closed her eyes waiting for what she had been waiting for for what seemed like an eternity. Yohji shut his eyes, knowing that this was more right than anything he had ever done in his pathetic and callous life. All the pain of Asuka, killing, murdering, deceit went away. He was with Tai now, and Tai was all he needed to feel like a better man again. He loved her and she loved him. Tai also felt with Yohji she had the power inside her of to be strong. This was possible because she had him and he was all she needed to feel like a whole person again.
Yohji's face slowly moved downwards until their lips pressed against one another. Moments later the two disappeared into the sheets to spend their final night before the pain and suffering was to come. All that mattered was this moment, this one moment they had to intertwine their bodies and their hearts. Deep kisses, bare skin pressing against each other, caressing hands. Touch. Taste. Passion. Love.
Yohji and Tai stayed there that night lying in each other's arms, forgetting about the torture that would certainly coming the evening after. But right now, they were with one another. They lay there holding on another for the few hours they had left. But Tai was in Yohji's arms and right now and they loved each other more than anything else in this world, and at this moment, they were the only ones in the world that mattered.