Chapter 5
Aya
"Youji. . . Did you find that woman to be suspicious?" I asked. It was the first words that had passed between us since leaving the pool and heading back up the our room. Currently we were waiting for the elevator.
"Eh? You mean the munchkin? Nah, I'd say she's harmless." The blonde shrugged casually with his answer.
"I wouldn't be so sure."
"Hee," his laugh was small and condescending as he reached over to pat my head like I were some baby animal. "Is someone mad because they just acquired a new most embarrassing moment ever?"
Bastard, were it not for him I would never have even gotten the damn thong in the first place and we wouldn't be in this current. . .situation.
"You think we can get a refund on that thing?" My partner wondered aloud.
"Nande?!" Youji's casual attitude about this mortifying situation was more than I could bear. "There are no refunds on swimwear."
"But it was faulty swimwear! They should at least replace it."
"No! That was the first and most definitely the last time that I will ever wear such a thing!"
Ding! Oh thank God. The elevator had finally arrived, meaning that soon I would be back in the hotel room where I would be able to slip into a nice warm pair of pants. As it was, my risk for hypothermia was increasing. Why was the thermostat turned on so low in the halls anyway?
Oddly enough, the elevator was empty when it arrived. Stepping in Youji pressed the digits and we were soon off on our way back to the sanctuary of our room.
It seemed almost reflexive to move to Youji's side and lean upon him. Sure it was all show for the camera but still, sometimes you just have to love what you do for a living. . . Even if it did involve embarrassment.
Along the slow climb to our upper floor the elevator suddenly made a halt, but not at a floor for passenger pick up. "Youji?" Slightly it lurched up again but after that sank. Then the lights went out.
Youji
"Aya. . . Give me a boost."
"What? I can't even see you."
Inside of the elevator was pitch black and I could feel it lurching downward as the cables above us started to moan and creak with the strain. "Just give me a boost, I need to open the latch." Reaching over I felt for his hands, which he's laced together obediently. Placing my left foot between them I stepped up and began to feel the roof for the latch door. It was with much difficulty that I kept my balance, much less found the door.
After much struggle, I finally managed to get it open- hopefully in enough time I mentally begged to some unknown deity as I heard one of the cables above us snap, making the elevator lean far to the side and scrape against the back wall of the shaft. Quickly I scrambled through the latch and onto the top.
"Give me your hand!" I commanded in a tone that was far too desperate for my tastes. Reaching into the darkness, I tried to feel for his grasp.
"Youji." Even the stoic redhead's bland tone was beginning to sound panicked.
A loud noise came from the elevator and I felt it beginning to decline.
"AYAAAAA!"
AyaOne moment I was in mid freefall reaching blindly for an unseen hand and the next I was surrounded by two strong arms as we swayed back and fourth with only Youji's wire to hold us up.
"Youji. . . " I softly whispered, not really meaning to.
"You all right there Aya?" His tone sounded panicked. I knew it was wrong but I couldn't help but take pleasure in the worried tone that his voice conveyed. He actually cared. . .
Gently I lifted my head and brought my lips to his, they lingered there for a moment or two in a chaste kiss of affection, and then retreated.
"Aya. . ." His tone was soft and I could detect a slight confusion.
Clearing my throat gruffly I mumbled, "we need to get out of here."
"Yeah, yeah. I actually kinda like being alone in the dark with you. You know just hanging out?" At the sound of my growl, I can safely assume that the blonde realized I wasn't up for playing around here. "Alright, alright. Going up?" With that the wire began to coil furtively back up into Youji's watch and we had lift off.
"Okay," Youji began as soon as the wire stopped reeling in. "See that ladder railing to the side?"
Despite the fact that my eyes had grown quite accustomed to darkness in my years with Weiß, I still had to squint to make out the outline of the rungs. "Hn."
"I'm gonna swing you over there." With that I felt his body moving in an effort to get us swaying which worked quite well actually. "Okay, on three you've got to jump."
Having long since gone into "mission mode" I just nodded affirmatively.
"One. . . Two. . .Three!" The spilt seconds between being held by Youji and desperately grabbing out for the ladder were heart wrenching. Odd that it would be more terrifying to fall to an ominous death in a mere elevator shaft than it would be to face any living enemy, even Schwarz.
Gripping the icy cold rungs between my fingers I consciously forced myself to breathe, urging my heart rate to come back down to a normal pace.
Within seconds I heard a small "oof" as Youji clung to the ladder beneath me.
"What now?" I asked simply.
"Well we could escape but that wouldn't keep up the tourist façade now would it?" Right for once. "I guess we'll just have to wait it out."
"Hn." That was easier said than done. Not only was it cold enough to freeze hell over in here, but I was also wearing soaked jeans. After a few moments of just sitting there, clinging to the ladder, I felt my teeth begin to chatter.
"Cold?"
No shit Sherlock. "Hypothermic would be far more appropriate."
"Saa. . . Hmm. Give me a moment, I'm thinking."
I wanted to say don't hurt yourself but the words just wouldn't come in lieu of the fact that I now owed the man my life.
"Look Youji, if we managed to get out of the elevator and onto the ladder why would it blow anything to merely climb the ladder until we find a door?"
"Ah, my wonderful intelligent honey bunny."
Youji
Never will that cold bastard know how scared I was when I thought that I might not grab his hand in time. A sick feeling rose in my stomach at the mere thought of it all. . . Now though we were safe. Safe and freezing, clinging to a ladder and screaming "TASUKETE!" For anyone who wasn't deaf. Someone would have to press the elevator button. They just had to! If not my precious baby would freeze to death. . . Wait a minute. Did I just refer to him as my precious baby in a non-joking manner?. . . Oh dear God!
"Youji. . ."
"Hai."
"This has got to be the worst mission ever."
"Aww Aya, it's not all that bad pretendin' to be a couple now is it?" That actually kind of hurt when he said that. For the most part I'd been rather enjoying myself.
"It has nothing to do with that. I'm freezing and mortified with a mangled thong and wet pants. Hn, sounds more like I'm a hooker than an assassin." Then I heard something that I'd never really heard Aya do before. It started off small and then got a little louder. Aya was. . . Laughing.
Helpless to the contagiousness of it all I began to laugh too. I laughed so hard that my stomach cramped and tears were rolling down my cheeks.
After a period of sharing good maniacal laughter together, the chuckles died down. "What were we laughing at again?"
"I don't know. . . Aya."
"Hn."
"You know this mission. . . It's not so bad. Really. Actually I kinda. . . Well, what I mean to say is-"
Suddenly my horribly emotional and out of character confession was blown by us being rescued. God damn them! "Are you alright sirs!" A voice yelled down.
Aya
Thank god. We were finally free. Stepping out of the cold dark tunnel we were greeted by a maintenance repair man. Alongside him was an attractive woman that I'd place somewhere around thirty. Her uniform was a business dress suit, and l she looked to be one of the higher ups.
"I am so terribly sorry gentlemen!" Her large brown eyes looked pleadingly up at the pair of us. "You're both very lucky to be alive. I honestly have no idea what happened to the elevator. . ."
"It's all right Miss. We're alright," Youji assured her with a good natured smile. It wasn't quite flirting but he'd better not push it!
"Are you sure that you don't need medical attention?"
Sharing a glance we both shook our heads negatively.
"Please gentleman, accept your weeks stay here at the Hoshiko hotel as a free gift from us. Also my name is Ayame Junko. If you need anything, and I mean anything, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Huh, you'll probably be wishing you hadn't made that offer when you see the room service bill that we rack up." Although it sounded as though the blonde was joking I knew he was not.
Also it struck me as odd that this woman knew that we were staying for at least week. Manager or not, no one memorizes things like that. . .