"Okay. We got all that? Good. Now where the hell is Omi?" The words were barely audible through the crackling of the walkie-talkie.
"Chill Ay-"
"How many times Balinese? The name is Abyssinian!"
"See what I mean? He's the only hacker who could get through the firewall round the security systems. Just let him do his magic. He'll tell us when he's ready."
The receiver chirped again, and flicked channels.
"Balinese? You there? Balinese, come in!"
"Yes, Balinese here. Go on."
"The system is doubly protected. I got through the first layer, but for the other you need another disc. Which we don't have."
"Shit!"
"Hey, chill. You can do this is the time you've got without the system down. Persia thought this could happen. You and Abyssinian get in through the walkway, go through the north heading vent, and the target's in the middle of the floor, surfing on his laptop. It'll probably have a camera, so you use the wire."
Another chirp, another channel.
"This is Abyssinian. Have you got in yet?"
"Not yet. It's got more protection than we thou -"
The receiver cut out, battery dead.
"SHIT!!! OMI!! OMI COME IN!!!" Aya slumped back against the cold stonewall. His walkie had given out before he knew what to do. Youji was going to have a field day with this. He would have to get hold of Youji, and hope he knew what was happening. He crept round the corner, katana half unsheathed. The business park was deserted, only the inner rooms were guarded. Aya crouched as a cloud crossed the moon, leaving the landscape brighter than before. His reflexes were ready, if moonbeams made him want to fight.
A dark shape silently moved above him on the roof. Youji recognised it as Ken, flicking his receiver switch. He sighed, and then spinning his hidden wire out, he caught an outcrop in the rock, tugged, and climbed up the wall. He didn't bother to conceal himself that much, because he knew the estate was deserted. The older assassin walked up behind Ken, making skilled ninjas sound like a brass band compared to him.
"Well, hello there!" He exclaimed, intending to scare the uptight Ken.
"Shut up Youji. I can't get hold of Aya. He's either dead, or his battery's gone."
"He's Aya. He won't be dead. I'll go find him." Youji began to sulk off, when a faint yell rose up: "shit...Omi...Omi..."
"What the hell was that?" Ken was startled. His nerves got the better of him, at last. "My God! Supposing he's dead? Oh my god, Omi's dead, isn't he?"
"Erm, Ken? If he was in trouble, he would have told us, no? And besides, that was Aya yelling. It's just probably his receiver's cut out before Omi's told him what's happening." Youji grinned. "I told him to recharge it! Anyway, while you have a emotional breakdown, I'll go and put him out of his misery, shall I?" Ken merely gave him a death stare that would have killed if Youji hadn't had his glasses on.
"Ouch. Anyway, before I go and get killed for Aya's sake; how did you know I was there? I was dead silent!"
"That was the give away. It suddenly went quiet. The manic laughter stopped." Ken replied, with his back still turned, oiling his bugnuks.
"I was laughing? Really? I didn't even notice! I really am going ins-" He saw Ken's grinning face. "Oh, shut up." Youji headed for the fire escape, intending to go down the stairs, when he saw a dim spark of red moving on the ground. This way would be more fun.
Aya stopped and listened hard. He could hear nothing except a rushing of air as something hurtled towards him... He froze, heard it was coming from above, and spun round and up, whipping his katana round his shoulders, then jumping up and slashing the air.
"Is that a sword in my ribs, or are you just not happy to see me?" Laughter followed. "And up we go!" An arm wrapped round Aya's waist, and he was jerked off his feet, and travelling up. He didn't bother to resist, but some violence would work well. He slapped the flat of his still unsheathed katana against the knuckles of the hand that gripped his ribcage.
"Nyuh! That hurt Aya!"
"That was the idea." The air around Aya's words would have frozen. After 30 feet of stony silence, they reached the apex of the roof, and Youji let go of Aya, sucking his knuckles.
"Now you can't drop me, what the hell was THAT?" Aya yelled. He had just been snatched off his feet, in pitch-blackness, and carried up 50 feet of concrete, and his shoes were scuffed. "You could have just TOLD me to get up here, couldn't you? I mean, it's not that hard just to tell someone to go somewhere? Then you come swooping down and grab me by the waist, and carry me off! I could have taken your stupid head off! What the hell were you thinking?"
Ken and Youji stood there, stunned. Aya usually had a silent icy cold anger that froze all within 100 yards. However, he had just spewed molten lava over the near vicinity.
"What?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Neither Youji or Ken moved. A sudden crackle from Youji's receiver made them all jump.
"Balinese? Balinese? Where the hell are you? Get in now!"
"Sure, Omi."
"And was that Abyssinian yelling just then? What happened?" Aya glared at Youji.
"Uhh, yeah, you'll hear about it later..." Youji replied, keeping his eyes on Aya, just in case he decided to attack again.
"Whatever. Just go now! And get Ken-kun to stay back"
"MY NAME IS NOT KEN-KUN!!" A crackle answered him. Aya and Youji looked at each other."Ken-kun?" They both said together."Uhh, yeah, you'll hear about it later too..." Even through the darkness they could see the red storming across Ken's face."Okay. Moving on swiftly. Aya. We're going in through the walkway, after Omi clears it, and then through the north vent. Drop out through the last exit, target is in the middle of the floor, at a maple wood desk, surfing the Internet on a silver laptop. I'll use the wire, the laptop will have a camera on it." Youji reeled this information off easily. Perfect memory had some use in his life, except for phone numbers."Okay, Omi told you all that, right?" Aya was incredulous. Omi had only been in for about tem minutes, and he had seen all that?"Not all of it. I can see him through the window over there." Aya spun round, half falling to ground as he did so. He ended up staring at a concrete wall. He didn't look back at the other two."Youji?"
"Yes?"
"I am going to kill you."
"Oh right. And what would this be with?" Aya pushed himself off the ground, one arm reaching behind him to grasp his katana.
"That stick?" Youji continued teasing Aya, knowing he was safe.
"Stick? STICK? This is not a - " Aya looked at his right hand. He was, in fact, holding a stick of dead wood. He looked up. Youji was grinning wide enough to be the Cheshire cat. He was holding out his hands, the katana in one, and his own wire in the other.
"You're going to kill me with a stick?"
"Watch me." Aya sprung forward, landing an inch away from Youji. He froze, waiting to see Youji defend himself. Of course, being the cocky jerk he was, he didn't. Fine, Aya thought, we'll do this my way. He cracked the stick over the back Youji's neck. Youji didn't move. Again, Aya attacked. Again, Youji didn't move as the stick smacked across his back. He flung his arms out in desperation.
"Youji! Please! At least fight back, I can't kill an undefended person - "He stopped, interrupted for the second time in so many minutes. He felt the tug on his upper arms and wrists. He tried to move, but the fine wires were taught, held fast in Youji's grip. Youji flicked his wrist, and Aya's leg moved forward, throwing him off balance "Youji! YOUJI! I am ordering you to stop!!" Youji was moving him like a puppet, tugging on the wires to jerk him limbs along. It was unnerving for Aya, he was always in control of himself, and now he was helpless. He let himself be moved around, waiting to see what Youji would do. Aya was now right at the edge of the roof, his heels clicking on the metal tiles. It began to rain.
Youji was getting annoyed with Aya. He was just trying to lighten the load a bit on the mission, wasn't he? And it's not like he had never fought Aya. Just this time, he didn't feel like losing.
Aya's hair was beginning to turn a chestnut brown with the rain. The fringe that insistently stayed in his eyes was plastered to his forehead. The violet eyes weren't burning, as they should do, they usually bore into your head, like Aya was staring at a point about six inches in from your face. Like he was trying to see what you were feeling and thinking. Something was up with Aya, and pulling him around on wires wasn't going to help. He waited till Aya seemed to be steady, and then slowly took off the wires, one by one. Aya stood still, not blinking, his amethyst eyes still fixed on Youji's face.
"You okay? Aya?" Okay. This is the bit in the cheesy movie that I run towards him thinking he's dead. He wasn't right, he hadn't seen him like this before, and it was weird. As in scary weird. And he didn't freak that easy. Ever since he joined Weiss Aya had taken control. Just like that. And Youji wasn't exactly the type to do that kind of thing. The King of Glaciers had strolled in, and taken team leader. But he wasn't looking too icy right now, more like drunk on the verge of going into a coma. The wind caught Aya's jacket and billowed out behind him, like a giant sail. Aya gently spun round on his heels, and fell backwards off the tiles.
Ken had seen the puppet show, but had tired of it long before it ended. He had listened to the silence, and waited. He turned, and saw a silhouette fall back and disappear.
"AYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" he felt pointless yelling it. What could he do, except pick up the pieces?
Youji was at the edge of the roof milliseconds after Aya fell. He could still see Aya's crimson hair whipping around his violet eyes, still staring passively at Youji's screaming face. Spinning out his wires, Youji flung his arms down and round, the glinting threads speeding faster than Aya. He pulled hands up sharply, catching Aya in a glowing net of silver, stained with blood.
He strained at the wires, taking Aya's weight. The strands cut into his hands, they were weapons after all. He slowly brought Aya up, with Ken panicking round his elbows.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod, he's dead isn't he oh my god he's dead" Ken strung his words together, nearly passing out when he saw Aya's face, eyes half open and rolled back. Youji hauled him up the last few feet then laid him on his back. Aya's back was shredded. But it was less damage that would have been caused by hitting the concrete ground from fifty feet.
"Tell Omi that we've failed, and we're going." He saw Ken's face. "Now." He picked Aya up and headed down the fire escape, towards his car. He would get the target later. "And we're not going to the emergency ward."
Youji waited by the car till Omi and Ken arrived.
"What the f - " Omi goggled at his leader in Youji's arms.
"Don't start. Get in the car, and let's go." Youji glared. He might be immature, but he'd grown up fast. "Omi. Drive."
"I can't, can't get a license yet."
"Fine. Ken, you do it." This was stranger than seeing Aya half dead. You just did not touch Youji's, hair, wire or car. And he was telling ken to drive it. "Omi, you're in front." Youji levered the door open with his knee, and sat down, moving Aya's legs to make him fit in the back.
Within fifteen minutes and 40 miles of freeway, they arrived back at the flower shop, and everyone unloaded, Omi opening the car door for Youji, who had picked Aya up again. Ken ran up to the shop door, and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, searching for the keys.
"Who's got the keys?? I can't find the keys! Were are they?" He was getting nervy again, winding himself up.
"Aya usually has a copy, I'll check his pockets." Omi dove into Aya's coat, searching in the hip pockets. He took out his hand, with keys in tow, drenched in blood. He went pale staring at his fingers.
"Get the door open. He's bleeding to death." Youji showed no emotion as he stated the obvious. Omi didn't move, he eyes still fast on the red on his hand. Youji strode up to the door, and lashed out with his foot, shattering the thin glass pane. He stepped through, careful not to let the broken edges touch Aya, but cut his upper arms and shoulders as he ducked through. Omi and Ken stood watching Youji retreat into the darkness at the back of the shop among the lilies.
Youji kicked a door open, the wood splintering around the lock, and he stepped into a hallway, and turned left, down a few more stairs, and opened the door to Aya's room. He didn't think much; he left Aya lying on his own bed, and then ran back to his room. He snatched the sheets off it, and ran back, head down, white cotton clutched to his chest.
Omi and Ken followed Youji about 10 metres behind, silently striding along the corridor, with brief glances at each other, trying to not believe that Aya could die. They walked in on Youji tearing up sheets.
"Someone get his jacket off." Youji didn't look round. It was an uncanny trait of his, he always knew if he was alone in a room or not. Ken edged over to the side of the bed, avoiding Youji's flailing arms, while Omi flicked the light on.
Omi turned and saw the spreading colour around Aya's torso.
"JESUS CHRIST!" For a second time, he realised just how close Aya was to dying, the crimson seeping onto the bed like a blooming rose. However, in his speech, he wasn't being quite so poetical. "How the fuck did that happen...nyuh" Omi slumped back against the magnolia wall, and fainted in a heap, the stress too much for the seventeen year old. Ken and Youji didn't notice. Aya was stripped to the waist, the red slashes from the wire blazed across his back. Ken dragged out the standard first aid kit from under Aya's bed, and opened it. Everything was perfect, nothing had been used at all, not even the plasters. He pulled out the antiseptic spray, and sprayed a few of the makeshift bandages Youji was furiously producing. Ken lifted Aya up, trying not to touch the wounds. Youji leaned close to Aya and put arms around his back, passing the strips of cotton back and forth, binding up the wounds that were still bleeding.
Go to Chapter 2! GO gogogogogogogogogo! But review please!
