Chapter 8

Youji

Funny. . . Most would think that I'd have been the one suffering on this assignment. . . Poor Aya, that pride of his must be wearing thin. We've been here for one whole day and already in those twenty-four hours he's experienced more embarrassment than probably in the rest of his life combined! Were I not feeling so low myself I'd probably laugh, as mean of me as it sounds it's the truth.

Well enough moping for the both of us! Smiling, I looked at the brochure that I had just picked up in the lobby. No, today was going to be a good day. My poor little Aya-koi was going to have fun whether he liked it or not!

"Oh Yuuuki," I called entering the room. Mr. Ice Man was sitting in one of the hotel chairs, away from the camera's sight, reading some book. Puh-lease, who reads on their honeymoon?. . . Well who reads non-pornographic material, anyhow?

"Youji."

"Hm?"

"Look at the plant," his hand was in the point gesture, aimed towards the artificial shrub.

"What about it?" Looked the same as it did last night, only with a higher proof. What did that have to do with anything?

"No, the carpet underneath it." Walking closer to the plant, I was shocked at what I saw. The pastel blue rug had turned an odd orange color where the liquid had leaked out of the flowerpot. Throughout the stain were little singe marks.

"Now we're even." Looking up, I saw him smirk a little. So his paranoia had paid off, well I'll be damned. Well I would have been damned, but my little Aya koibito saved me. Suddenly I was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Now more than ever I was determined to make this a wonderful day!

"Oy, Yuki-chan. I already told you the thong incident made up for the elevator thing. . . Therefore, I owe you. And I know just how to repay you. . ."

Aya

Hn, whatever the idiot had in mind I was sure as hell not interested. All of Youji's ideas seemed to earn me nothing but mortification and more items to add to the pro-list on my suicide debate.

"I'm going to take you to the Great Kyoto amusement park!"

Nande?!

"Ran ni-chan I really want to go there! Pleeease? I love you!"

"After my final car payment, I promise Aya-chan."

"Really?!?!"

"Really."

Shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I promptly refused. "That has nothing to do with the mission."

"But Yuki, won't it be suspicious if we just stay in our room all day?"

"They'll think that we're horny newlyweds," I scoffed in return. He did make a good point though.

"Well if you're up for another show for the camera then be my guest." Upon hearing that my eyebrows drew together with a flux of emotions, none of them pleasant. Hadn't the bastard tormented me enough in the past two days?

"Please Aya; I just want you to have some fun on this trip. Besides we need to give the killer some time to plant traps for us and all." Yes, that was another important thing, although it seemed that our killer worked fast, as in the incident with the elevator. But still, perhaps it would be better to give the culprit time to prepare. The sooner the killer went after us, the sooner we could go home. . . Being the decoy with no backup was not my idea of a walk in the park.

"I don't like this mission. We can't defend ourselves when we're bait." Upon hearing my coldly muttered lamentation, I heard Youji snicker to himself. The look I gave him was a question in itself.

"Sorry, it's just that all this talk about traps and bait makes me think of one of the movies I rented this morning."

"You were watching the bass wrangling network?" Never could I grasp the concept of fishing for recreation, much less wanting to watch other people fish. My feelings towards golf were much in the same.

"Huh?. . . No, it was another one of those YAOI movies, called 'Fish in the Trap'."

I felt my eyes expand to twice their normal size. If I hadn't been shocked at the fact that he had rented one film this morning I certainly was now. TWO YAOI movies? "Exactly how many of those did you watch?!"

"Well," he laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I got up pretty early in the morning."

"Hentai baka."

"Oh Yuki, you know me so well!. . . But c'mon, please come with me! I'll let you pick all of the rides! I won't even look at the girls getting off the water rides in wet t-shirts. I swear!" No good Youji, and that was a sizeable offer coming from him. "I. . . I'll. . . I'll buy you one of those gigantic suckers the size of your head!"

Youji

I could tell from the grimace on his face and the pained look in his eyes that my Aya was currently thinking something along the lines of: "Damn my love for candy!" It's funny to think that such a bitter man is the owner of such a large sweet tooth. . . Hmm, one could make the connection that through his love for all that is sugary, that my little Aya would be receptive to food in the bedroom. Heee. . . . Non-hentai thoughts, non-hentai thoughts.

"Fine." Yes! The ice princess finally admitted defeat, drawing me out of my little sex haven bubble that I sometimes wander off to. Walking across the room, he pulled a sweater out of his suitcase. "Well, are we going or what?"

The ride to Great Kyoto was a blur, a silent blur at that. After fifteen minutes or so, we were there, at Great Kyoto in all of its theme parky glory! With a surge of adrenaline, or immaturity. . . Whatever. I felt my heart rate increase as I looked up at the giant roller coasters, the roars of them zooming along the tracks mingled with screams of fear and excitement. Oh, I had not been to an amusement park in. . . . Well it's been so long that I can't remember.

Grinning widely I stole a glance over at Aya. His face looked remorseful for some reason. "Aya, the roller coasters aren't that scary." I teased in an effort to get the stoic man to finally lighten up.

Returning to his generally icy countenance, he glared at me. "Let's go get our tickets."

Aya

To make a rather long and tediously boring story short, we were finally in the park. I urge the word "finally" because we had spent the last hour or so waiting in line for a rickety little shuttle thing that comes out into the deep recess of the vast parking lot every now and then, taking unsuspecting tourists into the presumably innocent death trap. After that ordeal had ended, we were faced with yet another challenge: the peril of standing in a crowded line for our passes, surrounded by frumpy mothers with their dozens upon dozens of screaming demonic children.

Somehow, though we had made it in mostly worse for wear, the majority of the damage being psychological. Youji, who was now seated upon a bench beside me, was pouring over a colorful map of the park as though it lead to some sort of priceless treasure.

"So what kinda rides do you like?" He asked, giving me a brief glance.

"Saa. . . I don't care."

"C'mon Ayaaaa. You've got to care because I know that you don't want to spend all day in Chibi-ville!" He did have a point, the children's' section of the park kindled no flame within me whatsoever. . . Then again neither did the rest of this godforsaken tourist trap.

". . .Roller coasters." All right, so I was somewhat partial to one type of ride. Roller coasters, to me, had always been a more dignified ride. They were menacing and intimidating, real men rode the thrill rides. . . It's hard to be menacing on a giant pink pony that goes around and a round, up and down. Not only undignified but nauseating as well.

"All right! I see that we finally have something in common, Aya-koi!. . . So if we hit this one first, then. . ." At this point, I began to drown the baka out. Let him drag me around all day if it made him think that he was making me feel better. . . Actually, after the anger had subsided some, I realized how much Youji genuinely regretted the ordeal, and the sorrow that shown in his eyes was really rather. . . Sweet.

"That sound good to you Aya?"

"Hn?. . . Fine."

Smiling at me as he stood, the older assassin proceeded to grab my wrist so as to drag me off into the maze of lines and people. Somewhere through his talking, I had picked up that there were ten roller coasters, eleven if you dared call that thing in Chibi-ville a roller coaster, and Youji planned to hit them all before lunchtime. Yeah right. Soon though we found ourselves at the back of the line for an overhang-style coaster called Top Gun. To one side there was a four-foot tall cut out of some deranged Pokemon-ish thing that demanded one must be as tall as it to ride.

"Think we fit the height requirement?" I murmured sarcastically.

"What? Didya say something?"

"No. You're hearing things Kudou. . ."

Surprisingly enough the line seemed to move quite quickly. As we got closer to the front, there were signs and disclaimers about all the things that could go wrong if you were debilitated in any manner whatsoever. Trying to find a remedy for the silent boredom, I found myself actually reading the verbose signs. All of them seemed just to repeat one another until one. . .

Youji

It's in situations like these that I wish Aya were more of a talker. Don't get me wrong, the aloof thing really works for him. Very sexy, but just standing in line like this was rather droll.

Looking over to my taciturn companion, I noticed something very peculiar. His violet eyes were slightly squinted and a hand was placed firmly over his mouth, with shoulders trembling slightly. "Aya, doshite?" Then as I heard a small snickering sound escape him it occurred to me that Aya was. . . Aya was laughing!

"Gomen, Youji." He softly said stifling a giggle.

The gesture was contagious for quickly my own lips curled up and I felt a small chuckle building in my chest. "What's so funny?"

"It's just that one warning over there." Looking to where his finger gestured I saw a small little plaque.

"DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS RIDE RIDERS OF LARGER UPPER DIMENSIONS MAY NOT BE ALLOWED TO BOARD."

Beneath the text was a small silhouette of a female figure with. . . Well, rather large upper dimensions. (AN: There's a sign like this for the Batman Escape at Magic Mountain! It was so bad!)

"Oh my God," I managed to choke out before surrendering to a large shockwave of laughter. "That is so wrong!. . . snicker I can't believe they put that there!"

"I know, it's discriminatory. . . Manx could never ride it."

". . . A-Aya!" If the sign hadn't shocked me, Aya's blatant comment about our dead boss' girlfriend's bust size certainly did! Looking at me, he gave a small sly grin, damn if it wasn't sexy! "Aya no ecchi!" Gently I gave him a small shove. Sighing happily, I made an internal note to thank the aforementioned busty redhead later. This mission was the best thing since sliced bread, probably better. Aya was just so. . . Un-Aya. If I hadn't been in lov---st, LUST, at first I certainly was now!

"Stop acting like you're offended." The glare that I was given was half-hearted but an icy killer had to try.

"Not offended, just surprised. . . Besides, Birman's more likely to be kicked off the ride than Manx."

"Hn, never really paid much attention." I am sure you haven't. Then against, with my little Ayan around to captivate my interest neither had I.

"Me neither. Manx isn't the sassy redhead that I'm interested in."

"Huh-"

"Oh look! The line's moving!"

Aya

Collapsing into a park bench, I sighed with relief as I was finally able to get the pressure off my tired feet. It was now nearing five o'clock and we had been on every roller coaster in the park. . . Degradingly I admit that that number does include the one in Chibi-ville. A choice few we'd made it on to twice.

"Hnhnhnhnn." The blonde giggled to himself as he looked over his favorite souvenir. Hn, whoever came up with the idea to place hidden cameras along the tracks of the rides was more evil than all of Schwarz and Estet combined. It was degrading and cruel, not to mention overpriced. "Yes! I, Youji Kudou, own the only picture of one, Aya Fujimiya, smiling in the entire universe! This is priceless!"

"Kudou-"

"What? Can't admit that Mr. Icicle-up-Butt can have any fun?"

"I was not smiling. . . It was bad lighting," I defended with a growl. Smiling is a perfectly natural thing, I have nothing against it. Occasionally, I even slip one. What I cannot stand though is the fact that the picture was taken while we were on the kiddie coaster.

"Sure Aya. Whatever. . ."

Suddenly, our conversation was brought to an abrupt halt by the sound of a child crying softly. Looking over a couple of benches down I noticed a small girl, most likely between four and six, sitting alone and sobbing. Looking around I saw that there were no other adults nearby or anyone that she seemed to be with. Oddly enough, I felt a tug at one of my heartstrings and got up to walk over to her.

Youji

"Aya-"

Watching the generally stoic man walk over a squat down, so as to be at eye level with the crying little girl, was fascinating. "Are you lost?" He asked her in an oddly gentle voice.

"I can't find my daddyyyy!" She wailed throwing herself against his chest and sobbing. So much for children not talking to strangers.

It took a while but he eventually managed to coax enough information out of the chibi to help her. The look of concern in his eyes as he smiled softly at her. . . "Let's go to the front office, all right?" That look. .. It was so adorable!. . . Man, and I thought that women were supposed to be the ones attracted to paternal guys. But my smile was uncontrollable, this side of Aya was far cuter than the embarrassed side any day! Before I'd known that both Ken and Omi were fairly good at handling children, but I'd never really considered Aya to fit that description. . Hm, guess I'm the only non-family type.

Taking the girl's hand, he began to lead her back to the front of the park where the lost-and-found-for-people was located. "Are you coming Shuichi?" he asked looking back at me, all right, back to the pet names.

"Of course Yuki-koi."