Disclaimers: I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. If

you see this fic and want to sue me the only thing you will get will

be my anime collection, cuz I have no money (

Author: Max Ikari

Pairings: Yohji/Aya, Schuldich/Aya

Warnings: NC-17, Lemon, non-consensual sex, violence, adult language,

etc.

[] Inner thoughts

/Mind talking/

The Devil's Own

Chapter 12

Beauty, truth, and rarity,

Grace in all simplicity,

Here enclosed in cinders lie.

Death is now the phoenix' nest;

And the turtle's loyal breast

To eternity doth rest.

William Shakespeare.

March 13, 2001

Good morning Seattle. It is 7:00 am, rise and shine. For all the

motorists out there please have some caution driving. A heavy fog

has settled in the metropolitan area making it almost impossible to

see. It is 55 degrees with partly cloudy skies and fog. This is

Jermaine Bradford with WKYN News.

" Hn," Aya rolled in his bed before shutting of the alarm and getting

out of bed. He had had another nightmare as he always did. It had

been months since he could recall having a good nights sleep, not

dreaming about his rape, the blood, and death.

It had already been a year since Aya had left Japan for good. A lot

of things had changed, Aya had changed. The redhead now wore his

hair as long as Yohji used to have it and had changed his name. He

was now known to the world as Nicholas Lee a computer analyst. The

truth of the matter was that Aya was still an assassin. However, now

he only did it for money. Aya had become the best in a matter of

months since he was already a perfectionist. Aya now took all kind

of missions and in each of them he had a different disguise, a

different person. He was a ghost as he had been for the past six

years of his life.

Seeing his reflection in the mirror Aya noticed that even though he

looked healthier on the outside he was more lost. At least in Japan

he had people who told him what to do. The ringing of the telephone

interrupted his thoughts.

" Hello?" answered Aya.

* Mr. Richards a friend of mine told me you know how to fix problems

* said the voice on the phone.

" I might," answered Aya vaguely. Since Aya now worked alone he had

to be more cautious. The police could be hearing in the conversation.

* Can we meet? *

" Today at 10 in the 17 pier. I am never late," answered Aya before

hanging the phone. Aya always liked to have a meeting the same day a

call came to make sure the client was serious. By now Aya was very

good at disguising himself, even people that knew him wouldn't

recognize him. Today he had decided to be a blonde. Returning to

the bathroom Aya pulled his hair in a band and started to become a

new person. Honey colored eyes, hair that looked as if it was his

own, and a pair of glasses. Picking up a navy blue business suit and

silver tie Aya was ready to work.

" Yohji-kun I am late for class! Will you hurry up?" screamed Omi

from the bottom of the stairs.

" Alright, alright," said Yohji exasperated. " I swear why don't you

get your boyfriend to take you?"

Omi blushed three shades of red at the comment.

" Shut up, just get me to school or I could take the car," said Omi

smiling.

" No way. I have places to go, people to see all that shit," drawled

Yohji.

" See who? All your girlfriends? They all hate you, you know?" said

Omi smiling.

"Naw, they all love me," said Yohji urging Omi to walk toward the car.

" Yeah whatever," mumbled Omi passing a hand through his hair. Omi

no longer dressed like a fifteen year old. He looked more e like

Ken. Omi was now wearing a pair of black jeans and an orange T-

shirt. His hair had become a little bit darker and his features were

becoming less girlish. Ken and Yohji noticed the change but didn't

say a thing, he was still their Omi. Thinking of the past made Yohji

remember Aya and that last fateful call. Aya had called to say

goodbye. It still hurt Yohji but it surprised him at the same time.

Aya had been so open and confused almost as if he was looking for a

reason to stay.

[And I gave him none]

When Aya had hung up, Yohji had gone to the hospital to look for the

redhead. Obviously the redhead was gone. Yohji looked everywhere

but Aya was gone. That's about when he, Ken and Omi decided to

move. By the end of that month the group had relocated in Vienna.

The country was beautiful. Green fields, clean cities, fresh air but

nothing that made Yohji love it. Not like Japan, which held memories

of Asuka and Aya.

Memories of what he had loved and lost. At least Ken and Omi had

better luck. They were together now more than ever. Some nights

when Yohji stayed in he could hear the both of them studying or

laughing together. How he missed Aya.

[I hope wherever you are you are okay]

Aya was sitting in a coffee shop that was right across pier 17.

Sitting quietly while pretending to be reading the newspaper was

pretty easy. The only hard part of all this was trying to figure out

who was to be his future client. He could see the nervous teenagers,

late businessmen and the little groups of friends. All Aya had to do

was single out his client which divided into three groups, a snot

faced kid that was scared because he had banged his girlfriend and

wanted her gone, a spouse that wanted their partner gone to collect

insurance, or a successful man who had enemies and wanted them gone.

However, sometimes you got a few surprises and you were handed a good

job. So he sat there waiting for his surprise, waiting for something

to give any meaning to the monotonous life he now led. The worst of

his memories came back when he had nothing to do but brood. He would

remember happier days with Aya-chan and his family. Even Weib in the

midst of their killing had their good times. He missed them even

though Aya didn't want to admit it. He missed Yohji and all the

promises of comfort the blonde uttered. However, Aya knew he had

made the right decision in leaving. It had already been a year,

Yohji must have gotten on with his life as well as Omi and Ken. Aya

smiled a little at the memory of the younger members of Weiss. Aya

had been surprised to no ends when he found out about the

relationship, now he was glad. Both boys were alone in the world

just like him and Aya would never wish his fate to them. They

deserved so much more.

The arrival of a black car with a neatly dressed blonde woman caught

his attention. She was dressed in a gray business suit and white

blouse. Her blonde hair was held up in a bun at the nape of her

neck, in other words she was stunning. Taking out his laptop, Aya

punched in the license plate number and came out with very

interesting information.

The car belonged to a Rachel Woods. She was 30 years old and the

heir to the Xander fortune. Her father had been an oil tycoon but

had died abruptly of an aneurysm. Her husband Carl Woods had taken

over the company. They had a daughter Lisa Woods who was five years

old. The family lived in Victoria, Canada but their offices were

located in Seattle. Interesting.

Aya closed the laptop and walked up to Mrs. Woods. She turned to

look at him and smiled shyly.

" Mrs. Woods I was expecting you," said Aya with a smile. She looked

back at him and shifted nervously looking around her.

" Are you---my assistant called you earlier?" she asked wearily.

Mrs. Woods looked like she hated the idea of being there.

" Would you like to join me for an early lunch? I know a great

place," said Aya mildly. He was very much trying to put the woman at

ease. Truth be told, the redhead was a little curious as to what

Mrs. Woods wanted.

" Hum? O-Okay. Sure, " said Mrs. Woods and followed Aya to the

restaurant. After about three blocks of walking in silence, Aya and

Mrs. Woods came upon a restaurant named Charlie's Place it was a nice

restaurant that Aya had ordered from once of twice. The place was

homey and the smell of garlic bread and seafood permeating the air.

Aya chose a table at a corner from where he could see who came in.

Once they sat down and had ordered drinks Mrs. Woods started the

conversation.

" So how should I call you?" asked Mrs. Woods hand visibly trembling

when she picked up her glass of white wine.

" Scott Ridgeford," said Aya smiling at her. All this year, Aya had

been learning to smile more. People tended to remember your face

much more if you were rude and closed off. Besides in his disguise,

he looked like a normal blond guy on a date. The thought amused Aya.

" Okay. Mr. Ridgeford, my assistant told me you could help me. I

really don't know where to start," said Mrs. Woods making knots of

the napkin on her lap.

" It's okay," said Aya soothingly. " Just start from the beginning."

" Okay. I guess you know I am married?" asked Mrs. Woods pausing to

see if Aya agreed. When he did she went on. " I met Carl in

college. I was instantly attracted to him he was just so charming.

Also the fact that he didn't know who I was. I thought all my

previous boyfriends had dated me because of my father. You know

connections."

Aya nodded taking a sip from his drink. Mrs. Woods continued.

" Well when he talked to me Carl made me feel as if I was the most

important person in his life. After two years of dating I married

him. Father loved Carl right away. You see Carl has a way with

people. Father gave Carl control of half of the company, in other

words 49 percent of the company. Of course that angered a lot of

people." She stopped to take a drink of water and brushing a strand

of hair from her face.

" Father was stubborn and once his decision was made no one could

make him back down. I was angry. I didn't want Carl involved with

the company, I didn't want him pulled into that world. However, that

didn't happen. Carl was vice president of Xander oils and was

suddenly a man with a lot of power. I was so worried he would change

and become horrible, but it didn't happen. He was a great husband

and father. Lisa was born three years before father died which was

quite sudden. Of course that brought problems since I am the sole

heir to Xander oils." Mrs. Woods had to when their orders arrived

Cavatini for her and a plate of seafood pasta for Aya.

While they ate, Rachel eyed Aya out of the corner of her eye. He

didn't fit the role of an assassin, his eyes were so warm. The

thought made her sad because it reminded her of Carl. How warm his

eyes had been then. Halfway through her plate she started talking

again, Aya hadn't pushed her.

" Well all of the sudden I controlled 51% of the company. It angered

Carl to no ends, I couldn't understand. He became violent and got

drunk on a constant basis. I feared leaving Lisa alone with him. It

was the worst year of my life, so I asked for a divorce. I thought

that would end it, but Carl wouldn't hear it. He threatened me with

hurting Lisa and killing me. I was so afraid and I had no one to

turn to. My friends had their own lives and I couldn't barge in on

them. I feared staying late from work because of him." Said Mrs.

Woods with almost tears in her eyes. Aya soothed her and smiled

saying " You are safe now." Mrs. Woods nodded drying her eyes.

" Well, finally I got Carl to move out. Oh, he was so angry because

I dragged him to court for it. Afterwards I found out that Carl

could only keep his 49% of my father's company by being married to

me. So you see it was a kick in the gut that I wanted divorce

because that meant I would then control 80% of the company and the

other 20% would be Lisa's. Carl came to beg me to reconsider but I

knew it was all bullshit, he wanted the company back not me. Since I

wouldn't take him back. The bastard took me to court to gain custody

of Lisa. Called me a horrible mother that was never there. The

court allowed him to take Lisa during the summer while I stayed with

her the rest of the year. About a week ago I arrive home early and

he is there to pick up Lisa, but he is on the phone. He is talking

about how he can't do anything until Lisa in with him in Florida so

they wouldn't suspect him. I enter the room right after and he turns

pale. Ever since that day I have had bodyguards around me. About

three days ago I was attacked. The bastard wants to kill me to gain

control of the company. If I am dead Lisa inherits everything and

since she is a minor Carl would have to control the company on Lisa's

behalf. Now I am afraid to be alone and the worst part is that he

has all summer to try it. I went to the police and they said there

is not enough proof. I guess until I am dead they will take notice.

I don't know where else to turn for help, you are my last hope."

Aya eyed her a few moments before responding. She seemed sincere

enough but Aya had learned long ago not to trust one's feelings.

" First I have to check out your story, if it checks out okay I will

help you. However, I will let you know I am expensive," said Aya

with a serious face. The mask he had wearing a moment ago was gone.

Business was business.

" I understand," said Mrs. Woods lowering her gaze to the table. " I

feel as if I am committing a horrible mistake, but I have no choice.

I never thought I would ever want to kill the father of my child."

" You have to be sure," said Aya talking to Mrs. Woods as one would a

child. " I know what regret brings."

Yohji eyed the girl across the table. She was a shy one with shiny

red hair and blue eyes. Her skin was almost as pale as Aya's had

been. This bit disturbed Yohji a bit since he had thought he was

over the cold redhead. The girl was talking quietly and Yohji was

just smiling not really paying any attention. He felt horrible, it

was not the girl's fault but his own. Sometimes he wished he were

like other guys that could forget things faster. He just wished Aya

were suffering as much as he did, but knowing Aya the latter would

never admit having any emotions.

" Are you okay?" asked Rita quietly. " You see kind of pale."

" Um, I am sorry. All of a sudden I feel sick, I hope you can

forgive me." said Yohji embarrassed but needing to get away from Rita

as fast as he could.

" It's okay I understand," said Rita with a shy smile. " I had a

good time."

" I'll call you," said Yohji and left abruptly. Rita sadly Yohji's

retreating back knowing that she would hear from him again.

Yohji was muttering a string of curses as he walked back to their

apartment. [Why can't I forget about him? He won't come back]. The

rational part of Yohji's mind thought but his heart wasn't so

understanding. Yohji missed Aya. He missed the cold redhead who

most of the time ignored him. Aya had gotten a grip of his heart

even though the latter had no idea. Or if he did he didn't care.

Everyday Yohji wondered where Aya was and if he was okay. Was he

taking good care of himself, eating properly? Was he going to see a

doctor if he got sick? Things like that worried Yohji because when he

was with them Aya tended to ignore his body. Aya thought his body

was unimportant because he thought himself unimportant. Fishing his

pockets, Yohji found his cigarettes and brought one to his lips.

[Oh how he tasted when I made love to him. At least I felt love, I

don't know what Aya felt]

Yohji exhaled the smoke into the night wondering if he would ever be

able to go on with his life.

Aya was getting ready for his assignment. He couldn't call it

mission, however, if you asked Mrs. Woods she sure felt it was. It

had already been a week since she hired Aya after which Aya had spent

most of his time in Florida. One had to hate Florida, it was humid,

hot and a pain in the ass if you had to dress in black on a humid

night. Walking quietly on the roof of the Four Seasons hotel, Aya

had made sure to act when Mr. Woods left the hotel. One shot to the

head would be the way to do it, the least painful way at least. Aya

knew that Mr. Woods, Carl was on a date. That had given Aya the idea

of shooting him while he entered the hotel to make it seem as a hit

from the people he had been working for before. Besides, it also

gave him the most distance from the scene of the crime. Still Aya

was moody because of the thick air and lack of breeze. [I should

charge Rachel extra just for this]

Aya laid down on the dirt and looked through the scope in the gun.

After fifteen minutes of watching closely, he saw Carl Woods come out

of a cab. The man seemed nice enough but what was a face? It was

just a façade. Everybody had an evil part, a part most usually kept

hidden. Like Carl had until he was cornered. Aya almost felt pity

for him, but he felt more pity for Lisa the one stuck in the middle

of it. He hoped Lisa never learned about this. Aya was going to

make sure she never knew. When Carl turned to pay the cab, Aya shot

him. He saw through the scope how the bullet hit Carl before he even

realized it. Aya had to shoot him through the back so he couldn't

see Carl's eyes. He didn't need more nightmares.

" He was a great man and that will live forever in our hearts.."

Aya was leaning against a tree watching the ceremony go on. Today

Carl Woods was being returned to the ground. It was depressing

really how easily a life could be ended. Rachel and Lisa Woods had

attended the funeral. Funny how neither of the two seemed to shed a

tear for him. They must have suffered more than what Mrs. Woods

related. Today Aya was at the funeral as a brunette; Mrs. Woods

should not be able to recognize him. It was a kind of torture to

come to the funerals of his victims. It made him feel pain and if he

felt pain it meant he was still alive. He walked closer and gave his

condolences to the widow before leaving not before placing a single

orchid on the top of the coffin.

" He was a great man. How did you know him?" asked a man who maybe

was a family member.

" I didn't," said Aya before walking away.

Getting into his car, Aya went straight to his apartment. The money

was being transferred from one of Mrs. Woods accounts in

Switzerland. No use in making her a suspect. Logging into his

account Aya noticed it was there. Getting up, he walked to the

kitchen and started a pot to make some tea. Allowing the water to

warm up, he walked back to the computer and did a search about any

crimes that seemed suspicious. He found them, wire and claw marks.

Ken and Yohji. [So there are still in the business] Schwartz seemed

to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Nothing that would

even hint if they were still alive. Bummer.

Hearing the screaming of the teakettle Aya went and poured hot water

into a mug with a pack of green tea. How he hated instant tea but at

the moment he was too tired to care. He needed some sleep after not

sleeping for the past four days. Taking a sip of the tea he walked

to the bathroom and started taking off his disguise. It took him

almost half an hour and by the time he was done taking a shower it

was after 9pm. He opened the medicine cabinet and found the bottle he

was looking for. [Damn it, I don't want to take them.] However, Aya

knew that if he wanted to get any amount of sleep, he was going to

have to take them. It made Aya nervous to sleep so unguarded but if

he was to perform well, he needed sleep. He opened the bottle and

swallowed two pills before settling in his bed to watch the news.

. In local news. The remains of Carl Woods the ex-husband of the

heiress of the Xander fortune Rachel Woods was laid to rest today in

the Lakewood cemetery. Carl Woods was assassinated in front of his

hotel in Florida last week where he had been vacationing with his

daughter Lisa. He was 38; his daughter Lisa survives him.

[No need for more nightmares.]

TBC