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 17
In my skull
death echoes the song of the wind as it
hands up each winter defeat.
" Aya" said Schuldich laying a hand on his shoulder.
Aya jumped and shrugged out of the contact. He
already felt dirty enough.
" Don’t touch me," said Aya icily. " I just want to
get the hell out of here as fast as I can."
Schuldich tried not to show how much that jibe had
hurt by grinning. It had hurt and Schuldich couldn’t
remember the last time he had hurt except when he
thought about his past.
" Crawford is looking for you," said Schuldich leaning
on the door leading to where Crawford’s office was.
Aya put down the cup of water he was drinking and
fixed to leave the kitchen when Schuldich reached out
and forced a kiss upon Aya’s lips. At first Aya was
pushing against him but later started to respond.
However, Schuldich noticed the change, there were no
feelings attached to the kiss it was physical. Aya
had already rejected him. That angered the German
immensely. However, he had to admit it was easier this
way. Crawford was going to return Aya with Weiss and
with that Aya would return to Kudou. Pity. Breaking
the kiss Schuldich laid his forehead against Aya’s and
said, " You better not forget what we had," and with
that left to his room.
" Ran I will allow you to go back to Weiss on one
condition," said Crawford leaning back in his chair.
"You have to kill this man."
Aya stared at Crawford stonily. His pride wanted to
get the bastard and wring his neck. However, the more
logical part of his brain just wanted to leave
Schwartz and if killing another person accomplished
it…
Of course with Crawford there are always strings…
" The man is a politician who is becoming very
powerful, Saoe Yamano. He is a Japanese politician
who if came into power would not favor many of my
employers. You are to kill him at a banquet he is to
attend the day after tomorrow in the Hyatt," said
Crawford. " Are you going to do it?"
" Of course," said Aya quietly.
Yohji was nervous to say the least. After Crawford
had contacted him the last time, he waited for the
phone to ring again but so far it hadn’t. Also the
fact that Crawford had told him to back off from
protecting Yamano. He just hoped Aya wouldn’t be
involved with Yamano in any way, however, knowing
Crawford that was very unlikely. His cell phone rang
bringing him back from his musings.
" Hallo?"
* It seems Abyssian has agreed. *
" Is he okay? When can he come back?"
* Pick him up three blocks from the Hyatt on
Wednesday. He will need a ride *
" Hey wait…" but the phone had already gone dead.
Yohji glared at the phone, " This is just fucking
great. What the fuck was supposed to mean? Omi!"
Omi was passing by Yohji’s room when the blonde
spotted his younger comrade.
" Aya is in trouble," said Yohji seriously.
" How do you know Yohji-kun? Has something happened to
him?" asked Omi, eyes wide with fear for Aya.
" No, no…Schwartz has him. Crawford contacted me to
pick him up on Wednesday from the Hyatt. Is there
something going on there?" asked Yohji. Omi stared at
Yohji a little angry that Yohji had not told them
Crawford had called.
" Why didn’t you tell us?" asked Omi quietly. " We
had a right to know."
" Well I didn’t want to worry you guys, besides you
were ‘busy’," said Yohji winking at Omi. The younger
man blushed scarlet.
" Yohji-kun…" Omi whined.
" Omi! Yohji! I am back!" screamed Ken from the lower
floor of their apartment.
" We are here Kenken," said Omi screaming from Yohji’s
room.
" That’s sweet," said Yohji still teasing the younger
man.
" You are one to talk," said Omi glaring at Yohji.
Yohji blushed because of what the look implied.
Ken ran up the stairs walking into Yohji’s room, "
What’s new?"
Aya had gone to stake out the Hyatt before the meeting
took place. The meeting was supposed to be in a
closed room. However, getting in there was going to
be a pain, so he was going to put a bomb and if that
didn’t work he was going to be in the next building
and shoot the man down. It was a pain in the ass that
he had to do this to get Schwartz off his back.
Hopefully everything would come out right. Just a
small easy mission, resembling a last show before
goodbye. Passing a hand through his hair, Aya stared
at the hotel’s façade. Yesterday, Schuldich had come
to his room to give him the stuff he had left at the
hotel. The German had been acting weird. Aya didn’t
understand but it was okay because the guy wasn’t
trying to get into his pants anymore. Aya was
nervous. He didn’t know if it was because of the
mission or because he was going to see Yohji tomorrow.
He just hoped Yohji could not see how weak he had
become. How much he needed the comfort and security
Yohji had been more that willing to offer when he had
seen him last. Of course that had been over a year
ago. Hopefully everything would go as planned and the
mission would come off without a hitch.
[Tomorrow be at the Hyatt. Aya might need you. Yeah
right, the bastard failed to tell me at what time
exactly, 3:47]. Yohji turned to look at his watch for
about the twentieth time that hour. The blonde was
sitting in a café across the Hyatt, Ken and Omi were
in a less conspicuous place checking out for Aya.
Hopefully, they were doing that. Those two couldn’t
keep their hands away from each other even if their
lives depended on it. It was kind of funny just
seeing them. It made Yohji think how a relationship
with Aya would be like. Nothing like Ken and Omi’s
that’s for sure. The redhead was high maintenance,
and with the guy changing his mind every five minutes…
Oh how Yohji hoped to see the redhead. Even though
Crawford had said that Aya would need him, Yohji had
changed outfits three times before settling with the
outfit he had tried first. Omi had found out that the
guy they were supposed to be protecting had a meeting
today at the Hyatt. Yohji hoped that Yamano was not
Aya’s target. However, thinking about Crawford’s
screwed up mind it would be something the precog would
do. [Aya just hurry the hell up and get here] A
moment later Yohji scramble for cover as an explosion
blew him and some bystanders away.
[Fuck! Why the hell do I have to do this? To achieve
freedom. To get away from Schwartz he would do
anything. Aya had entered the building disguised as
cleaning. Nobody notices you when you are the one
that cleans.
" Boy is the place done?" asked a bodyguard.
" Yes sir," said Aya keeping his head down. " I am
going to the basement to get more bags."
" You do that," said the bodyguard. He was looking
down on Aya. When the guy turned, Aya let a small
smile cross his features. The guy wouldn’t be so full
of himself in about an hour. Walking out of the
building Aya went to the next building and keep watch.
Crawford had said to make Yamano’s death seem like
the act of a gang. How ironic, Richard had asked for
the same thing. Well if Crawford wanted that, he
would get exactly what he asked for. Aya smiled at
that thought waiting for the show to begin. After
about 45 minutes all the participants were assembled.
The bastards didn’t even know what hit them. Aya
could feel the rumble where he was. Crouching in the
building’s sill, Aya positioned the rifle in front of
the entrance of the building. Some people would have
to die, just to make it more believable. Aya could
see the bystanders run everywhere. Closing his eyes
and saying a final prayer, Aya started shooting. It
was disturbing when he noticed he was crying. The
sobs where making Aya lose control of the rifle. Aya
shot a guy that was on a suit without realizing his
wife and daughter were with him. When he saw this, he
stopped shooting for a second before killing them
both. He would allow anyone to suffer what he had
suffered. After about a minute of shooting, Aya
dropped the gun and started running. He had to get
out of here. He ran the emergency steps in record
time. He had been dressed all in black, now he
removed that and put a yellow shirt with some baggy
blue jeans and a baseball cap. Entering the fifth
floor, Aya used the elevator to get to the first
floor. Stopping a second to look around him, Aya took
the back alley behind a building and started walking
rapidly. His breath was ragged and he couldn’t hear
very much over his loud breathing and the beat of his
heart. Aya had never killed without a good reason.
He had just murdered about fifteen people and in the
daylight. The daylight just made it more horrible.
" Oh, gods…" whimpered Aya now running. He was trying
to get away as fast as he could from the scene of the
crime. Oh Crawford would be amused. At last Aya had
thrown away the last bit of humanity he had. Aya
could hear steps but he didn’t know if he was
imagining them. He would not stop. He had to run.
Run to get out of there, [Just run and don’t look
back]. He suddenly stopped and hid behind a large
trashcan. Taking out his gun, Aya controlled his
breathing and waited in silence. Nothing. Peeking
from behind the trashcan he looked out and was
startled by a stray cat.
" Oh, shit!" said Aya out of surprise. " You
scared me little fellow."
Putting the safety back in the gun, Aya tucked in the
seam of his pants. However, when he turned he felt
something prick his neck. Taking it immediately he
noticed the darts.
" Omi…" and the world tilted before going black.
After getting up when the explosion had gone off.
Yohji had heard Omi and Ken scream at him through his
earpiece. He was bleeding he noticed. Must have hit
his head when he hit the concrete floor. Then came
the snaps like fireworks. That is when Yohji noticed
that people were getting killed, not monsters,
innocent people. Yohji had hoped it was Schwartz but
the voice in his earpiece had confirmed his suspicion,
it was Aya. Looking to where the snaps were coming
from, Yohji noticed the figure all in black shooting
from the roof. Yohji forgot to breathe; there was
Aya, his Aya shooting down people. The blonde saw
when Aya shot a guy in a suit and two seconds after
shot the wife and daughter. Fuck. Afterwards the
shots stopped, Aya was gone.
" Omi get after him," whispered Yohji before turning
to go. There wasn’t a thing he could do, so there was
no use in him being there. Turning Yohji saw Aya stop
outside the building and look at the damage. He had
to admit, Aya was taking more risks and being
careless. The redhead started running behind the
building in an attempt to leave the scene. Yohji kept
close behind, Aya wasn’t paying attention. Either the
redhead had totally lost his skill to blend in or he
was nervous. It seemed to be the latter. When Aya
got scared because of the cat, Yohji knew Aya was
scared shitless. His whole posture told it, Aya was
jumpy. Not that Yohji could blame him after pulling a
stunt like that. Two steps and Omi had gotten a dart
into him. When Yohji arrived to where Aya was, the
redhead had already passed out. Yohji crouched to
pick up the redhead. Aya was nearly weightless so
thin he was.
" Is he okay?" asked Omi worried. Yohji grunted a
response. Yohji could see that Ken was angry.
" How-how could he do that? Aya of all people?" said
Ken with a mix of anger and apprehension.
" We haven’t seen him in a year Ken, we have no idea
what he has gone through," said Omi laying a soothing
hand on his arm.
" But…" said Ken protesting.
" We will ask him when he wakes," said Omi and started
to walk toward the car. Yes, thought Yohji, they had
a lot to talk about.
Aya felt groggy, like he had been hit on the head.
Slowly waking, the first thing Aya noticed was the
ceiling. He didn’t recognize it. His heart started
thumping loudly on his chest when he thought that he
could be back with Schwartz. Gods, he hoped not, he
couldn’t go through that again. Not Schuldich and
Schwartz, he would rather die. A sob escaped his lips
as he tried to get up and the room spiraled. He felt
nauseous. Putting a hand over his mouth Aya tried to
get up and go to the bathroom when a basin appeared in
front of him.
" Here," said Yohji quietly.
Aya stared at Yohji in amazement before emptying his
stomach in the basin. Aya could feel Yohji rub his
back helping him through it. When he was done Aya
laid back on the bed. He just felt like sleeping it
all away. Sleeping his trouble away, maybe his dreams
would be more optimistic. Yeah right.
" How are you feeling?" asked Yohji soothingly. "
I’ve missed you."
Which was not what Aya wanted to hear. He wanted
Yohji to show how disgusted he was with him. How he
deserved the worst.
" Aya talk to me. Please," implored Yohji. " You
don’t know how confused we are right now. You killed
innocents."
" Please!" screamed Aya turning to look at Yohji. Aya
noticed he was shaking, he wanted to cry and scream.
" Please Yohji just leave me alone. I—I…" and tears
started streaming down his face. Yohji was getting
close to comfort him no doubt.
" No!--- no just---just leave. Please," whispered Aya
not looking at Yohji. He didn’t want Yohji to see him
when he finally broke. Aya didn’t see Yohji leave but
heard the door open and close again. Aya finally
broke down and cried into his pillow in an attempt to
muffle his screams. Outside his door, Yohji leaned
against the wall and heard Aya cry as it broke his
heart.
Yohji re-entered the room when he finally hear Aya’s
muffled cries subside. Aya looked achingly young in
his sleep. However, even asleep he seemed as is in
pain. There were tears coating his lashes. Yohji
caressed his face removing a red strand from Aya’s
eyes. Yohji had been surprised when he had removed
the baseball cap and noticed the length of Aya’s hair.
It was as long as his own hair, and it looked
beautiful. Yohji decided that Aya had changed. He
looked tired and jumpy. He smiled more but it was
more a sneer than anything else. It was as if Aya had
given up. It saddened Yohji that Aya had given up;
Yohji had always seen the redhead as the strongest of
them.
" I guess I never realized you were the most fragile
of us all," whispered Yohji. Aya stirred and hugged
the blankets closer to himself. The redhead was
shivering Yohji noticed. A tear fell to Yohji’s lap.
He had wanted to see Aya so bad but had never stopped
to think in what condition Aya would be. Today, Aya
had looked like a stranger totally focused on the
mission. Not batting an eye when he killed all those
people. Crawford had sounded amused when he had
talked to him. [I bet the bastard knew this would
happen]
" I just hope you would talk to me," whispered Yohji
before settling on the chair in front of Aya’s bed and
fell asleep.
The sound of water running woke Yohji up. Looking at
the watch beside the night table, he noticed it was
6:00 am. Aya was not in his bed, probably taking a
shower. Aya came out of the bathroom around fifteen
minutes later combing his hair. Yohji must have
looked ridiculous because Aya smiled.
" You look like you have seen a ghost," said Aya
sitting on the bed to stare at Yohji.
" Are you feeling better?" asked Yohji cautiously.
Aya’s face faltered for a second but he recovered
quickly.
" I am fine," said Aya dismissing Yohji’s question. "
I am just kind of hungry. Do you guys have anything
to eat?"
Yohji was stunned. Aya was acting so ‘normal.’ Maybe
Aya thought if he acted normal everything would be
dismissed.
" Yeah," said Yohji getting up to go out the room. "
You should come down to eat something, let Ken and Omi
see you.
Aya nodded not looking at Yohji. Ten minutes later
Aya descended the stairs to the kitchen looking like
the old Aya. The scowl was back as well as the cold
demeanor.
" Ohayo Aya-kun!" beamed Omi. " We really missed
you."
" Ohayo Omi," said Aya uncertainly. Well at least Aya
seemed unnerved by Omi’s actions. The redhead leaned
against the kitchen door and crossed his arms in front
of his chest as if he had no idea what to do with
them.
" Come sit Aya," said Yohji not looking up from his
food. Aya nodded and sat down. When Omi put a plate
in front of him, Aya took a few bites before pushing
the plate away from him.
" I thought you were hungry," said Yohji becoming
irritated. Aya looked at him and just seemed tired.
" I am just tired. I will eat later," said Aya
getting up.
" Why did you kill them?" asked Ken out of the blue.
Aya’s eyes widened momentarily before he turned his
eyes down.
" I---I wanted my freedom," mumbled Aya quietly before
slipping out of the kitchen.
" Yohji…" complained Ken trying to understand the
answer. Yohji understood perfectly.
" Let it go Ken," said Yohji and continued eating his
food.
Yohji knocked on Aya’s room before slipping in. Aya
had been staring off into space with a book opened on
his lap. The book was opened to the first page.
" Aya are you feeling okay?" asked Yohji quietly.
" Yeah, I think so," said Aya passing a hand through
his hair. At the moment the simple gesture seemed
incredibly sexy to Yohji. The hunger most have been
apparent on his face because Aya stopped the gesture
and blushed.
" So what have you been doing this past year?" asked
Yohji as he seated on the floor leaning against the
wall. The blonde felt the urge to smoke, he tapped a
cigarette watching for Aya’s expression, the redhead
surprised him.
" Go for it," said Aya waving the question away.
" Well I was in USA," said Aya quietly.
" I noticed. You have a different accent," said Yohji
smiling. " I like it."
Aya smiled shyly, the redhead seemed to be deciding
something.
" Yohji, do…are you disgusted by me?" asked Aya
looking him straight in the eye.
" No!---no Aya why would you think such a thing?" said
Yohji
" You saw me yesterday didn’t you?" asked the redhead
seriously. No use in denying it now.
" Yes. Honestly I was surprised to see you there,"
shooting all those people went unsaid.
Aya snorted and the started outright laughing. Tears
were running down his cheeks while he laughed. Aya
was hysterical allowing himself to finally cry in
front of Yohji.
" Oh gods I am so sorry," whispered Aya in between
tears. " Do you think they will hear me?" Yohji knew
whom Aya meant. All those souls that tormented them
continually.
" I don’t know," said Yohji honestly before taking a
drag from his cigarette.
Aya stopped crying and stared at him. His eyes
widened momentarily before understanding crept into
them.
" I should have let Schwartz kill me," whispered Aya
defeated. He laid his head back on the chair closing
his eyes. He didn’t even notice when the blonde got
up until he felt his face sting from the backhand
Yohji gave him.
" How dare you say that?! Are you that selfish? I have
been waiting for you for a year, always with the hope
you would come back. It’s so pathetic, Yohji,
lady-killer waiting for you to come back. And
you---YOU simply gave up," said Yohji all in one
breath. He stopped because he felt foolish now that
everything was said.
" I’m sorry," whispered Aya. Yohji couldn’t take it
anymore, Aya apologizing for everything.
" Don’t," said Yohji annoyed. " You drive me crazy
you know that? Just sitting there I still think you
are the most beautiful person I have seen. Why after
surviving your sister’s death did you give up?"
" You assume I survived," said Aya getting up to look
out the window. " Part of me died with Aya that day.
She was what kept me sane and you were not there when
I needed you. You still had a reputation to uphold.
That is one thing I learned in US, I am weak. I was
never as strong as everybody thought me to be. I am
human after all, not a machine. I needed you so much
and you never came until I had already given up, so
don’t give me that bullshit that I gave up."
Yohji stared at Aya’s profile and thought how much he
loved this man. How much it had taken him to finally
accept how much he needed Aya and Aya needed him.
Acting before he lost his courage, Yohji took Aya by
the shoulders and kissed him. It was a desperate
kiss. It surprised Yohji when he felt the redhead
surrender to him immediately. The kiss deepened when
Aya opened his lips willingly and Yohji tasted Aya.
He wanted everything this man had to give and if that
meant that problems to hell with that. Yohji was
willing to make that sacrifice. He broke the kiss out
of necessity needing air.
" Gods I want you so much," said Yohji hugging Aya
tightly to him.
" I need time," whispered Aya into his neck leaning
closer into Yohji.
" I waited for you a year. I can wait," said Yohji
smiling.
TBC