As You See Me.. (4).
Disclaimer: Same as in previous
Pairing: Yohji x Aya/Ran
Warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-ai, Angst, AU
"Asuka! I'm baaaa-"
The voice was cut off, choked, as the state of the room was slowly taken in. Blood… the tang of it got into Yohji's nose, making him nearly wretch. It was everywhere inside of Asuka's office…
"Yoh-ji… stop… don't come… in."
The young man immediately rushed to the source, his green eyes going wide, "ASUKA! What the hell happened to you?!?"
A voice from the shadows nearby, "I happened to her, Balines…"
The young assassin whirled around to see a man with long, orange-red hair and glittering green eyes, "Schuldig!"
The man being addressed snorted and took a long pull off a cigarette, "Balines… you left so abruptly. We weren't really done talking…"
"I was done talking, Schuldig," Yohji said lowly, kneeling down next to the dying woman, "It's okay, Asuka… I'll get you to the hospital."
"You're not going anywhere with her," came a sudden growl. Yohji was turned around, to stare into furious jade eyes, "I can't bear to see you with that little tramp!"
"It's over between us, Schu," he said firmly, "Get that through your head!" The blond pushed Schuldig off and glared at him, "I don't want to spend the rest of my life killing people."
The German's voice was a purr, "But you're so good at it, Balines." He reached out, tracing a line down Yohji's cheek, seething as his ex-lover flinched away, "Damn you! How could you do this to me? We were so good together…"
"You'll find someone better-"
Schuldig hissed at the words, "I don't want 'someone better', Balines! I want you! Us!" He looked over at the young woman who lay bleeding on the floor, "I could have saved her, if you'd just let her go…"
"I can't do that, Schu." Yohji knelt down again, his hands going to Asuka's wounds, trying to fathom another way to save her. He was losing options fast.
"I loved you, Balines… And you tore my heart out because of her!" Schuldig was shaking with righteous rage, "Fucking left me for a little nosy whore of a P.I.!"
"Bastards like us have no right to love anyone," Yohji countered angrily, his mouth set in a firm line. "Not each other… or anyone else…"
"Bullshit! We can do what we want! It's not too late, Balines," Schuldig implored, "Come back and the boss'll forgive you."
Asuka was gasping for breath in Yohji's arms, her life nearly gone. The blond looked up at Schu, torn, "No. I can't. I have to live for a change, Schu."
Rage, hurt, and loss colored the German assassin's face, "Then you'd better live alone, Balines! I'll kill anyone who might mean more to you… I swear it." With that, he was gone and the young man was alone with the dying woman.
"Asuka, I can't… I can't save you…"
"Yohji… shhhh. You have to be strong…" Asuka gave a last gasp, her body heaving, and then stilled in the long limbs of the blond.
"Asuka?" Yohji's breath hitched and tears began to fall down his face. He'd not meant for this to happen. He never wanted the darkness that had been so much a part of his life to snuff out the bright intensity of hers. "Asuka, please… this isn't funny…"
She didn't respond.
"ASUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Yohji came, bold upright, out of the dream and looked around. His green eyes cleared within a few moments and he took in the fact that his room was still pristine. "Just a nightmare… Nothing's wrong… Just a damn nightmare…"
He reached out and snagged his pack of cigarettes off the bedside table, lighting one up quickly, and taking that first blissful drag. The memory had been painful, to say the least, and Yohji wondered just what had triggered it. His eyes went to the open window and he shuddered at the cool breeze wafting in.
Rising on silent feet, Yohji moved to it and looked outside. 'Everything's okay,' he told himself. His hand reached out and closed it with a firm thud, "No danger. Everything's okay."
Just to be sure, the blond singer opened the door and stepped out into the main room. All looked well there, too. His eyes scanned the room and fell on Ran's door. Without even a thought about privacy, he moved over to it and steeled himself. 'I'll just take a quick peek to make sure,' Yohji told himself firmly.
It opened on silent hinges, revealing its interior, and he gave a sigh of relief. The redhead was sprawled across the bed, arms and legs flung out as though sleep were something to be reveled in. Yohji smiled at the sight and shook his head.
Crimson locks draped down around the young face, giving Ran an almost vulnerable appearance. The sheet had slipped down, riding low on the youth's hip, nearly falling to his upper thigh. Somehow, the thin covering had not yet revealed all the redhead's assets to whoever might be looking. Yohji's mouth quirked into a slightly lustful grin, 'I'll bet you're one hell of a beauty, Ran.'
He sat down, in the chair beside the large bed, and just watched the boy sleep. Every rise and fall of Ran's chest as he took air was absorbed by the intense green eyes. 'You remind me of her in so many ways, Ran… But you're not her. Her strength was different.'
Another drag off the cigarette, 'You, though… You've been beaten and yet you still get back up. You make it sound like you've lost all hope, but… I know better. There's still hope somewhere inside of you - even if it's just a tiny spark.'
Yohji rose from the chair and trailed his fingers down the youth's cheek, whispering them gently so that he didn't wake him, "I'm going to make sure that you don't lose that spark…"
He whirled from the room, closing the door quietly behind him, and picked up the phone. His fingers ran on auto as they sketched out a number he knew by heart. It took several rings before a sleepy voice picked up, "Hello, Omi."
"Mr. Kudou?" The voice woke quickly, "What can I do for you?"
Yohji smiled. Omi Tsukiyono. He was the best hacker around. He was also another fan of the singer. When they'd met backstage a year ago, the young man offered his services to arrange a second identity for Yohji just in case he ever wanted to be able to flit through the world unnoticed.
The singer had paid him handsomely for that service. Omi was also a whiz when it came to money, so Yohji kept him on retainer to handle his finances. He was, quite literally, putting the kid through college as he worked for him.
He found that he could trust Omi better than any lawyer when it came to his money.
"I need something sneaky this time." Yohji grinned around his smoke, "I've got a kid who needs money but won't take it. He's pretty stubborn."
Omi's voice was amused, "Taking in strays again, Mr. Kudou?"
"Something like that. I need an account that can't be traced back to me." Yohji quickly sketched out other details of the situation. He spoke lowly, so as not to wake the youth in the next room.
"Think you can do it?"
"With my eyes closed," Omi laughed, "I'll need his family name to finish it, but I think I can get the basics started." There was a pause and some tapping of fingers on a keyboard, "Want me to use the Zurich account?"
Yohji smiled, "Yeah. That money needs to be put to good use. I'll leave it in your hands then."
"I'll call you in a week for the rest of the information, Mr. Kudou," Omi said just before the line went dead.
Green eyes turned to the door that separated the two men, 'I promised to protect you, Ran… I never said I would revoke that protection once you left here.' Yohji smiled, 'In fact, I'll make damn sure you never have to walk the streets again…'
The singer went back to his room, eyes flitting around to make sure of the safety, and crawled into bed. His plan was in motion. Nothing could change that now. He snuggled down into the comforter, assured that the young man would be better off after Yohji deemed he was well enough to leave.
But… why did Yohji feel so empty at the idea of never seeing the youth again?
Ran looked up and put down his pencil. God, but he was exhausted. It had been a week since Yohji Kudou had taken him in and things were pretty quiet. The blond made sure that nothing disturbed the two of them. For the singer, it was a matter of trying to get work done.
For Ran, it was a matter of healing.
He already felt worlds better. The rest had done him good, despite his arguments to the contrary. Ran almost thought he could even take on the bastard who'd been taking his money, and his favors, for free.
Yohji had done this to him - given him all this confidence.
The redhead looked at the musician, thinking of all the words he'd love to say. Thinking of the things he wanted to show him. He'd never had the gift for romantic speech, though. Ran's real gift had been for poetry and writing. In fact, the youth had just been writing about his favorite subject of the last week in his notebook.
He sat; watching as the blond's teeth worried at the pencil eraser. Did that man do anything that didn't automatically look sexy?
'No,' Ran's brain answered for him, eliciting a 'shut up' response. He looked down at the attempt he'd just made at poetry concerning the rekindled obsession in his life. Horrible… absolutely horrible…
Ran ripped the sheet from the book and pitched it before starting on a new attempt. It had simply been so long since he'd gotten anything good on paper. Too long. The asshole who'd called himself Ran's 'pimp' had thrown away all his other 'Yohji' poetry.
He sat back down a the little table out on the balcony and let his hand poise above the notebook. It didn't hurt that he had the real thing to sit and watch. In fact, Ran lifted his eyes to do just that and found the verdant gaze on him.
Something in that look made the redhead shiver. Not from fear - it was more of an anticipation. He fell in love with the look in the singer's eyes. He wished that he could wake up to that look. It was giving his stomach flutters.
"Doing okay out there," Yohji's voice reached him. The singer would probably bring him anything he wanted just to make sure that Ran stayed resting as opposed to moving around as he wanted to.
The young man smiled, "Fine… I've got everything I need out here." Which was the truth. He had a pitcher of lemonade, a pack of Yohji's cigarettes, and his writing stuff. Ran was perfectly content with that right then.
Well, it *could* be better… but only if Yohji was there - holding him…
That single thought followed the redhead into his sleep an hour later, after he'd taken another of his meds.
TBC