Chapter 5

Summary: Ken is confused by what he feels for Aya. He has made up his mind to not do anything, but Yohji's confession that he sees the attraction between the two has confused him again. A mission has been given, so Ken's been given a reprieve from the talk that Aya wants to have with him. What will Ken decide?

21.08.04 - Hugs to:

Rosetears2218 - Umm... I actually had lemon goodness in chapter 6 - but this fic got pulled because of it - so when I repost it'll be very tame - I can mail you the original version if you like

Tenxjigoku - Sorry for the late update! I can only blame uni and trying to finish my other WK fic - but I was very amused that you take my little story to school!

Sand Panda - Thank you for liking my fic! And yes this fic is actually finished, and the next (and last) chapter will be posted very soon!

... (grr... am not liking this QuickEdit tool at all...)

I'm poised in position behind the crates. Omi is nearby with his arrow gun at the ready.

It's an easy mission. Kritiker had all the information, all they needed were the assassins to go kill the bad guys.

It really must be my lucky day. I've been paired with Omi, not Aya or Yohji. And it wasn't even my suggestion. Omi said we needed long range weapons teamed with short range weapons and said he will be my partner. That left Aya and Yohji together. Aya's all business when we're on a mission and Yohji wouldn't ask Aya anything, I think.

Some henchmen enter the room. I look at Omi and he nods. On the count of three, we jump out and engage them in combat. I spin, dive and slash out at the bodies in front of me. I aim for their chests, ripping through soft flesh, disregarding their cries of pain.

It's over in a matter of minutes. Six bodies on the floor with blood pooling around three of them. Omi's weapon is a hell of a lot more humane than mine.

By mutual agreement, Omi and I move through the warehouse to the planned point of contact with the target at his office.

Suddenly the sound of gunfire is heard from outside.

"Guns," I murmur, "Damn." Guns are messy. That's a bit ironic coming from me, huh?

"Abyssinian. Balinese. Report status. Over." Omi initiates the contact with the other half of our team.

"Bombay. Unexpected backup troops have arrived. Probably about twenty or so. They are armed with hand guns. Half of them are headed into the warehouse. Abyssinian and I will handle the others out here. Over." Yohji's voice is even over the line.

Great. Trust Kritiker to give us wrong information on such an easy mission.

My claws are already dripping with blood. What's a little more to decorate them with?

Together Omi and I move in sync through the maze of crates. We develop a pattern for our kills. Omi disarms them first and I move in to end their misery.

I barely wince when a stray bullet hits my thigh. I fling myself at the shooter and bury my bugnuks in his stomach. I rip upwards and the man speaks no more.

"Siberian! Are you okay?" Omi is looking at the blood soaking my blue jeans.

"It's fine. Flesh wound only. Let's go." I block out the pain and keep moving.

By the time we've taken out the target, the pain has increased substantially. I rip off a piece off the dead man's shirt and bind it around my leg in a rough bandage. That'll have to do until we get back. It's only a flesh wound, thank goodness, but it's a ripped away a big piece of my flesh. Ouch.

We meet the other two in the designated rendezvous point. Yohji is smoking and Aya is just standing there expressionless in the night.

"New accessory for your outfit, ne Kenken?" Yohji eyes the red spotted rag on my leg.

"You're so funny Yohji." I glare at him but there's no heat in it. I need to get home and fix the hole in my leg.

"Mission accomplished. Let's go home, and stop teasing Ken-kun." Omi pulls Yohji away towards the car.

I almost smile at the way Yohji obeys Omi's command with alacrity.

Aya falls into step with me. There's a crescent moon tonight. Just enough light to see the colour of his hair, not enough to see the expression in his eyes.

"What happened?" is all he says.

"Damn bastard got lucky, that's all." I say nonchalantly. But then I spoil the effect by wincing as I stumble on a patch of uneven ground.

Aya grabs my arm and places his around my waist supporting me. His touch is firm and I lean gratefully on his strength. Together we make it to the car.

Omi is pulling out the substantial first aid kit from the Seven, but I shake my head when he approaches me.

"It's fine. Let's just go home. I'll fix it there."

Omi shrugs and puts the kit away.

On the ride here, it was Omi and me in the back as we went through some last minute plans. Since I'm injured, I now get the front seat. I settle onto the seat as low as I can, leaning my knee against the dashboard, elevating my thigh. I press one hand against my wound in an effort to stem the flow of blood and close my eyes.

"Hey don't be bleeding over my upholstery now Kenken."

"Just shut up and drive, Kudou." Aya speaks before I have a chance to respond.

When we arrive home, my hand is damp. I clamber out of the Seven and head gingerly for the bathroom to get my wound cleaned up.

An arm wraps around my waist.

"Let me help you, Ken-kun." It's only Omi.

I nod and we slowly manoeuvre up the stairs.

"I'll leave you to get out your clothes first. I'll be back in a minute." Omi blinks big blue worried eyes at me and I am touched.

"It's just a flesh wound. I've had worse. I can probably fix it myself. Thanks for helping me up the stairs." I wave him out of the room. "Go and check up on the others, and then you better get to the mission report before bed. You do have school tomorrow you know."

"Are you sure? I can miss a day of school." Omi hesitates by the door.

I paste on a reassuring smile. "Yep, go do your thing."

"I'll come back and see how you're doing a bit later then."

I nod as Omi closes the door. I limp to the sink to wash my hands before I do anything. The blood taints the soap a pink colour. I watch as the bubbles clear as they go down the sink. I wish it was that easy to wash my guilt away.

I pull off my goggles and then shrug off my leather jacket. My jacket's splattered with blood. I drop it on the floor with the bloody sides tucked in against each other. I don't like to get blood everywhere. It's just a habit of mine. Nobody in this house needs more blood to clean up.

Next is my orange sweater. This sweater is an idiosyncrasy of mine. It's my lucky charm. I can't do a mission without it. I can't explain it, I just feel lucky when I have it on.

I'm still considering how to pull my boots off without jarring my leg as I tug my dark blue t-shirt over my head.

Now to tackle the boots. I sit on the edge of the bathtub and pull off the boot on my uninjured leg. Easy. But I'll have to bend the other leg to get the other off. I'm angling down trying to minimise the stretch in my thigh. I'm not careful enough. The skin near the wound pulls and tears causing the bleeding to begin again.

I swear under my breath. But at least my boots are off. I pull off my socks slowly.

I'm not looking forward to getting these jeans off. The bullet was fired at close range and whilst I'm lucky it didn't lodge in my thigh, it did blaze quite a trail through my flesh. I untie the makeshift bandage and examine the hole in my leg. One side of the wound is bleeding a little again and the other side has dried and is sticking to my jeans.

I press down on the bleeding and also try pulling the dried side away, but it hurts. I grit my teeth as I contemplate how to rip it off my leg when there's a knock at the door.

"It's open. Ne… Omi, can you give me a hand with this?" I'm still occupied with trying to gently pull the edge of the hole in my jeans out of the wound.

"You may need these. The jeans will probably have to be thrown away anyway."

I blink in shock at the sound of Aya's deep smooth voice and look up to find the redhead holding a pair of scissors in his hand.

"Stop pulling. It looks like the wound has formed a scab already. Let me take a look at it."

The next thing I know is Aya is kneeling on the floor examining my thigh as I sit on the edge of the bathtub. I look down on his red hair and realise his face is only centimetres from my groin.

Ooh. That's a pleasant connotation. If he'd only move back just a bit, he'd be in a position I've often dreamed he would be…

Aya looks up. "Ken, are you okay? Is it very painful?"

I open my eyes. Aya's eyes look concerned.

"It's nothing. I've had worse injuries. I just wish my bloody jeans weren't stuck in the bloody wound."

"You'll have to soak them off. That will cause less stress to the wound. I'll start the bath and then I'll cut around your jeans for you. Keep pressing on the bleeding so it will stop before you get in the bath."

It's nice to be doctored by Aya. It doesn't happen often. Actually it hasn't happened for a damn long time. Probably 'cause I'm such an excellent assassin and haven't got any big injuries for a while, or is it just that fools are lucky?

Generally we help whoever needs it. I've had Yohji and Omi patch me up before and vice versa. I can count the number of times I've doctored Aya on the fingers of one hand. He doesn't like people touching him, so we've only needed to assist him when it was a big hit. And every time I was with someone, so no time to drool over his hot body by myself. But I'm not that much of an ecchi to think those kinds of thoughts when the main concern is to get wounds cleansed, flesh stitched together again and limbs bandaged up.

Aya's hands are gentle as he cuts through my jeans. I close my eyes and imagine those hands on other parts of my body.

"All done."

I'm awakened from my temporary daydream to find Aya's hand in front of my face. I obey the silent command and he pulls me upright.

"I'll help you get cleaned up then you can soak in the tub until the cloth comes away from the wound."

"Aya, I didn't know you were that eager to get your hands on my body." I wink suggestively at him.

Surprisingly Aya blushes. What the fuck? Is this a dream?

I pinch myself surreptitiously. Nope I'm definitely awake. Though the throbbing in my thigh should have been enough to tell me that.

I notice that his eyes seem drawn to my naked chest. How much more did I miss when I had my eyes closed?

Whilst I don't mind Aya seeing me half naked, I don't really want to explain about some other interesting scars on my legs. That would lead to a discussion that I've been avoiding.

"It's fine I can manage. Thanks for your help." I take pity on a pink-cheeked Aya.

"I… I want to help you Ken."

"It's fine. Really. You've done enough. I can manage."

Aya gives me a slightly uncertain look. But he leaves, closing the door with a quiet click.

I pull off my jeans and underwear. I clean quickly using the hand shower, washing off as much blood and sweat as I can. Then I settle into the tub.

The water stings the open wound, but it dulls to an ache after a few minutes. Like I told Omi, this is nothing.

I sink into the warm water enjoying the way it soothes my sore muscles. I settle in for a long soak. Plenty of time for considering the paradox that is Aya Fujimiya.

I can't understand the man. This week has been a real interesting time. One minute he's just being his normal asshole Weiss leader self, next he's blushing as he offers to help me clean up. I remember the surprised look on his face at the club when I placed his hand on my groin and the fury on his face when he slammed me against the wall after my little chase scene.

Then there's the issue of his imouto. Why did he tell me? I don't think any of the others knows. Nope, if Yohji or Omi had known they would have told me, I'm sure.

I recall the way he responded to my provoking during our shopping trip and the way he felt holding onto me on the back of my bike. And that's the day he kissed me. I cannot believe that Aya Fujimiya would kiss me. Just goes to show, you should always ask, huh? Even now, it just blows my mind. Admittedly he was pulling away after only a second, but I felt his response to my kiss after I grabbed him back for a proper kiss.

And there's the fact he thought of me when I had a headache this morning. Of course, being the cool emotionless type, he didn't say anything before he left, thus making me think that he was mad, so I left. What a farce. But I can't deny the happiness bubbling through me at the memory of the waiting food and drugs for me.

Oh and he's still trying to 'talk' to me as well. But that's the Weiss leader wanting to talk to me. The question is, is his concern for Siberian or Ken?

I soak in the tub until the skin on my fingertips resembles wrinkly prunes.

I hop gingerly out of the tub and dry off carefully. I easily dress my wound with the amply stocked first aid kit and wrap the bandage securely around my thigh.

I wrap the towel around my waist in the absence of clean clothes and open the door.

"I'm finished in the bathroom," I yell.

Yohji appears at the bottom of the staircase. "About time. What were you doing in there?"

I put on a hurt face. "I'm injured, remember?"

Yohji looks contrite. "Oh shit yeah. You okay, Kenken?" He comes up the stairs to give me a hand.

I make a play of limping forward a few steps. "Yeah, but I'm hungry. Do you think you could make me something to eat Yotan?"

"Sure buddy. What do you want?"

"Some ramen would be great."

Yohji nods and I suppress a smile at his gullibility.

"I'd better get dressed." I make a move to hobble to my room.

"Nah, come as you are." Yohji looks appraisingly at my bare chest. He lowers his voice to a whisper, "Aya was in the kitchen before. It's the perfect opportunity to dazzle him with your manly chest."

I laugh at Yohji's exaggerated wink, but I follow him down the stairs to the kitchen.

"So you're gonna go for it?" I'm not surprised by Yohji's quiet comment. After all I did just agree to his plan to come down to the kitchen just wrapped in my towel.

"I need to think on it some more. But thanks for your concern Yotan. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime Kenken. I know all manner of seduction plans if you need any help." Yohji is wiggling his eyebrows at me now.

I'm still smiling when we arrive at the kitchen, which is unoccupied.

"Oh well. The best laid plans." I shrug and move to get some noodles, meat and vegetables out of the fridge.

"I'll do it for you, injured boy." I know that Yohji's realised I'm not seriously hurt by the emphasis he puts on the word injured. "You move pretty fast for someone injured."

"Well as long as I have the right incentive." It's kinda nice to be able to talk so freely in front of Yohji. "Hey Yohji I can do it. You go use the bathroom."

"It's cool. Sit down. Rest your leg. Besides Omi's gonna come in soon to get any extra information for the report. So I may as well hang around. And I have to say that I'm a better cook than you Kenken."

"Oi!" Yohji laughs at my annoyed tone.

Soon enough Omi enters the room. After fussing over me, he asks his questions from the mission.

After that's settled, Omi joins us to eat. It's quite pleasant sitting here chatting with these two, but I can't help looking at the empty chair and wishing Aya was here with us.

Lucky for me, Yohji asks the question. "Where's Aya?"

"After he checked on Ken for me, he gave me his information from the mission then went to his room."

Oh so he only came to check on me because Omi asked him to? I feel like a see-saw with the way my emotions keep changing direction. I don't like it.

I finish my noodles. Now they feel like a weight in my stomach.

"Thanks Yohji. I might go to my room now. My leg's hurting a bit, I should elevate it."

"Your face looks a bit pale Ken-kun. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry." I wave off their concern.

"I'll take your morning shift tomorrow Ken-kun. Don't worry about getting up until you feel like it." Omi's such a sweet kid.

"Thanks Omitchi. You'll be working with Yohji. Keep him in line now. Oh and you might need to wake him up in the morning to make sure he gets up."

"Oh I'll make sure he gets up all right."

Hmm. Was that a double meaning there? Nah. I have such an ecchi mind. I glance at Yohji to gauge his reaction.

"The only way you'll get me up that early is if you send a gorgeous scantily-clad lady to wake me. But then I might be late anyway…" Yohji gives Omi one of his patented sexy exaggerated winks.

Omi doesn't even blink. "Well you might miss seeing me in the new outfit I bought today then. I found a store selling the clothes that Shindou-kun wears."

"Shindou-kun? You mean Shuichi Shindou? The lead singer from that band Bad Luck?" I ask.

Omi smiles sweetly. "Shindou-kun is so kawaii."

Yeah. The pink-haired singer is cute… but I recollect his outfits as being on the skimpy side. Very short shorts and midriff singlets, if I recall correctly.

I see Yohji noticeably swallow. Oh he remembers too. We watched a music show on television a few weeks ago featuring said band. I noticed Yohji's fixation on Shindou. Shindou looks a little bit like Omi.

"Omitchi… That outfit might not be suitable for working in the shop."

"How can you say that? You haven't even seen it yet?!" Omi's big blue eyes suddenly glisten with unshed tears.

"I'm gonna go now guys. Play nice now." I feel like a third wheel.

"Oyasumi Ken-kun!"

"See ya Kenken."

I head out the door and stand just out of sight, shamelessly eavesdropping on the continuing conversation.

"How do you know I won't look good Yohji-kun?" Omi's almost purring. Woah. Yohji's in trouble.

"I'm sure you'll look great chibi." Yep, Yohji's back pedalling fast.

"Maybe you better come and check it out. You're such a fashionable guy. You'll be able to give me a true opinion." Omi pauses for a second and I smile to myself thinking of Yohji's reaction. "I'll even model it for you."

At that statement drawled by Omi, I straighten up and shuffle soundlessly to the stairs. I don't want to be caught by those two.

Well I guessed that Omi was going to notice that Yohji wasn't immune to his boyish good looks and lithe figure. Looks like I was right.

I feel happy and sad at the same time as I walk back to my room. I'm happy because like Yohji said to me, we do need something to hold onto to survive in this life. And those two will be very cute together. But their togetherness just reminds me of all I don't have.

There's no light from the gap under Aya's door. He must've gone to bed already. Can my heart sink any lower?

I open my door but I don't turn on the lights. I'm happy in the dark and the weak moonlight provides enough illumination for me.

I go to the wardrobe and pull out clean clothes for bed.

I drop the towel as I put on my shorts.

"What's that scar on your thigh?" Aya's deep voice comes from behind me.

What the fuck?! I spin around dropping the T-shirt on the floor.

Aya is standing against the wall beside the window. He blends in with the shadows, no wonder I didn't notice him.

"What scar? I only have this wound." I gesture at the bandage on my thigh.

I lean over to pick up my shirt, but give up as Aya approaches me.

Aya gives me a hard look. He grasps my shoulder.

"I'm not talking about the bandage. Don't think you can fool me Ken. I'm talking about the row of red scars on your other leg."

"Must be from one of the last missions. It's nothing."

"You didn't get injured on any of the last missions. What are you doing to yourself, baka?"

"Nothing. What the fuck do you care anyway? There's no impact on my performance in Weiss or the Koneko, so just leave it alone." I break out of his grasp angrily.

"I can't." Aya shakes his head as he looks at me. "Ken, I know what it's like to be all alone in the world. Don't lose yourself to the darkness."

His words take the defiance out of me. I walk over to my bed and sit on the mattress against the wall stretching my legs out in front of me.

"What do you know about what I'm feeling?" I laugh derisively. "You only care about getting revenge on Reiji Takatori."

Aya sits on the end of my bed, facing me. The moonlight shines on his beautiful red hair giving it an ethereal glow.

"That's not completely true. When my parents were killed by Takatori and my sister was injured, I was completely alone in the world. No one wanted anything to do with me. The son of a disgraced banker. I lost my reputation, home and family in one fell swoop. I know what you're feeling Ken." Aya's voice trails off.

I say nothing. I'm gripped by Aya's life story.

He continues. "I felt like killing myself. It was an easy solution. But what if my sister woke up? How could she survive without me? So I had to be strong and live for her sake. I had to find a job that paid a lot of money to pay for her medical bills. And I did want to get revenge for my family. Lucky that Birman found me before I got myself killed. I was brought to Weiss and that's my story."

"See, at least you have a reason for living. For your sister. Me? I don't have anything." It's so easy to be sitting here in the dark, talking to Aya. Almost like a dream.

"I really wanted to believe Kase. He was my lover, you know. I can't believe he wanted me dead." The words spill out of me and I can't prevent them.

"I know what he meant to you Ken." Aya's quiet voice soothes my frazzled nerves.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"I followed you every time you met up with him," is the reply.

"You did?" I give him an incredulous look.

"What can I say? I'm good at following you."

"And there's Yuriko. I could be riding bikes in Australia with her right now." I sigh. "But there's too much blood on my hands. It would only taint her innocence. She got caught up in that Freunde mission. I'm glad she got out. But still there's another person I care for removed from my life."

"Ken you're not alone. You have me and the other members of Weiss."

I laugh again. I know that Omi and Yohji care for me, but I want to provoke Aya. "A genki kid, a playboy and you? You must be kidding. This is the first time you've ever mentioned how you came to Weiss. I asked you a few times but you never answered. And how long has it taken? Nearly one year."

"Everyone has their past and it takes some of us longer to get over it than others." Aya sounds a bit pissed off now.

I shake myself from my thoughts. "Yeah yeah. Well consider your job done, fearless leader. I'll be fine."

"Don't call me that. I'm not here on behalf of Weiss." Yep, Aya is definitely pissed off now.

"So why are you here?" Why won't my mouth shut up?

Aya looks at his hands. "I'm here as a friend."

I smirk. "Oh right. You don't know anything about me, friend." I put emphasis on the word friend. I wonder if he'll get it.

"I know you're happiest playing soccer with the children you coach. I know you are loyal to those that you trust. You want to protect people from the bad things in the world. You're hot-headed and a bit reckless, but you easily charm the customers in the store to buy things. I know these things, and what I don't know, I want to know. Let me in Ken. I do want to be your friend."

It might just be my imagination running away, but there's something about the way Aya's voice lingers and draws out the word friend.

"I'm not looking for a friend Aya."

I note the sudden stillness in Aya's body. He makes a move to rise from the bed, but I've anticipated this and move forward to grab his wrist.

I use my other hand to skim down his cheek on his down-turned face. When I reach his chin, I tilt his face towards mine, but he stubbornly keeps his gaze away from me.

"I'm looking for more than that. I need someone who can understand me, see the good and bad in me, and accept that. And to help me accept the things I've done. I've spilled so much blood, the guilt is overwhelming me. I need a reason to go on living."

Aya is looking at me fully now. I run my fingers over his lips before I release his wrist. Will this be the last time I feel their softness? I move back and settle back into my original position against the wall.

This is the first time since Kase that I've opened myself up to someone. Time seems to be frozen as I wait for Aya's response.

"Ken… I never realised you felt this way. You always seemed so happy. Smiling all the time, but it was just a mask wasn't it? Just like mine…"

Aya leans over on the bed until he's leaning on his elbows, looking up at me. He pulls himself up onto all fours and moves towards me until he's barely two inches from my face.

I stop breathing as I watch his slow approach.

"If you won't live for you, then will you live for me?" Aya says before his head descends and I feel his lips brush across mine.

If I was surprised before when Aya humoured my drunken request, now I am completely blasted away. Aya's lips are warm, smooth and pliant as they move against mine.

I grab his head and pull him against me for a full satisfying kiss. His lips are once again perfect against mine, our tongues tangling together, drowning me in a new definition of pleasure.

Seconds, minutes, or hours later, we stop to gasp for breath and I gaze into Aya's slightly dazed eyes. I return to licking his bottom lip before I'm once again grinding my mouth against his, moving to new angles as my tongue tastes the sweetness of his mouth again and again.

I pull at his shirt. I want it off to feel the body that I've been dreaming about.

Aya sits back on his heels as he pulls off his black top. I don't think I've ever seen anything as sexy as Aya dressed only in black pants sitting on my bed.

I'm about to grab him, but Aya places a hand against my chest.

"Ken, can we take this a bit slower please?" He's almost whispering. "It's been a while since I've allowed myself to be close to anyone."

The ice around my heart is melting away. For now I have nothing but the beautiful redhead in my arms, and strangely it's enough.

- tbc -

Author's note: I apologise for any inaccuracies with Ken's bullet wound. I've no experience with them, so I hope it sounded okay. Thanks to my ne-chan Moonraven for her wonderful help with it! Don't want Ken bleeding to death in a bathtub – that's not a dignified way for an assassin to go!

Since Yuki made it into my story in a previous chapter, Shu-chan demanded an entry too! Hope you enjoyed it!

And if you're desperate for more Aya-Ken, maybe you can go read my other unfinished Aya-Ken called 'Unexpected' or my new oneshot 'On the Train'. I'd appreciate it! (blushes slightly at the shameless self-promotion)

Ok, enough babbling from me now…