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 13
A Dialogue Between the Soul and the Body
O who shall from this dungeon raise
A soul enslaved so many ways?
With bolts of bones, that fettered stands
In feet; and manacled in hands:
Here blinded with an eye; and there
Deaf with the drumming of an ear:
A soul hung up, as `twere, in chains
Of nerves, and arteries, and veins;
Tortured, besides each other part,
In a vain head, and double heart.
Andrew Marvell (fragment)
Oniichan! Oniichan I want those earrings.
Aren't they a little too much for a girl your age?
Oniichan they are what all girls are wearing.
Hn
Lighten up.
Lighten up.and all Ran could see were the blinding lights of a car
heading toward his sister.
" Aya!" screamed Aya coming out of his dream. " Damn."
Waking up from dreams like that made him regret taking some missions
personal. It had been personal with Mrs. Woods. The thought of Lisa
suffering because of her father had made Aya take the mission
personal. Days like this Aya wished he had listened to Yohji when
the latter told him not to take the missions personal. He wished.
Getting up Aya looked at the clock seeing that it was 6am, he
sighed. This was getting to be more commonplace than he cared for.
Scratching his head and stifling a yawn, Aya walked to the bathroom
to relieve himself. It was too early to do anything else so he put
on his jogging clothes and went to take a jog. Jogging in when it
was still dark gave Aya a type of exhilaration. The air was
permeated with the smell of morning dew and wet grasses. The morning
was chilly allowing Aya to see the vapor of each breath he took. Aya
ran trying to clear his head from the morbid thoughts he had been
having lately. Why dream of Aya all of the sudden. Usually he
dreamt of the people he had killed, Aya was not in those dreams.
Also the fact that lately his thoughts deviated because he was
thinking about Weib. About the life he had led.
" Good morning," said an elderly woman who ran with her dog.
" Good morning ma'am," answered Aya. Ever since he moved to US, his
English accent had been getting better. Aya tried to speak with the
least accent possible, people remembered accents.
After running for about an hour Aya's hair started getting on his
face making him he had pulled it up. He sometimes wondered why he
kept his hair long, it bothered him more than helped him.
[It reminds me of Yohji]
A sigh escaped Aya's lips and he stopped jogging. He could feel
sweat rolling down his back and all over his face. Yohji, why had he
thought of him all of a sudden?
[Because you miss him]
He chuckled shaking his head in amusement. Yeah he missed someone,
what else was new? For the past six years he missed his family and
friends. He was used to it by now. Aya had accepted his fate and
that was to live alone. There are people not meant for companionship
and one of those people was him.
[I am made to be alone. I function better this way]
" Hello," a pretty brunette said. Aya smiled shyly and kept on
walking. People here were so open it bothered him sometimes. He
knew people were often attracted to him but it still baffled him just
how attracted they were. Girls would chase him just to ask for his
phone number or if he wanted to grab lunch. Crazy stuff like that.
Aya preferred being alone. [As you will always be] The run didn't
help much in the way of lifting his mood.
" Yohji get the fuck up!" screamed Ken banging the door. " We got a
job."
" I am up!" screamed Yohji not at all happy of being woken up. "
What the hell are you screaming?"
Ken eyed him quietly before shaking his head. " We got a mission. I
don't know about you but I need some money."
" Yeah, whatever. It surprises me how you guys can go at it all
night and wake up so early," said Yohji turning to look for a shirt
to wear. When he turned to face Ken, the latter was blushing scarlet.
" Oh did I embarrass you?" asked Yohji in feigned shock.
" Fuck you. Get your ass downstairs as soon as you get done," said
Ken turning to walk downstairs. Yohji shrugged. To tell the truth
he was exhausted because he had spent another night thinking about
the past. He had spent the night looking out of his window smoking
weed and drinking beer. Damn stupid things to do because now his
head hurt like hell. All of Ken's pounding didn't make it any
better.
" I better take an aspirin," muttered Yohji while he walked towards
the bathroom.
After raiding the medicine cabinet for a bottle of aspirin, Yohji
stared at his reflection. He looked like shit. He had dark circles
under his eyes, his hair was all in a tangled mess that he was sure
would make him suffer later on, and his face looked pale. All
because he couldn't sleep. Dreams of Asuka and Aya haunted him
almost nightly. Yohji was actually surprised at the amount of
imagination his mind had. The kind of scenarios his mind could come
up with, most of them dealing with Aya. The only comfort was that
some were so extraordinary in nature it was almost impossible for
them to happen.
" Yohji get moving!" screamed Ken from the bottom of the stairs
bringing him back from his reverie.
" Yeah I am coming harpy," muttered Yohji under his breath not at all
happy.
Aya had nothing to do today. Most of the people that knew him didn't
know what he did for a living. A girl once had asked him if he lived
off an inheritance. Aya did nothing to contradict her. Living by
himself and hidden from most of the world had its advantages. Very
little people remembered you, a person had more privacy and he could
come and go without attracting much attention. His house was a small
two-story house at the edge of the woods. He had very few neighbors
and most of them worked giving him a sense of anonymity. Of course
he wished more of it when his neighbor Meg came asking for a date.
Aya had felt bad afterwards for rebuffing her so he agreed to a home
cooked dinner. At the dinner he learned the limits of his patience.
After taking a shower Aya settled in the living room. The living
room was decorated in a rustic theme; fall colors decorated the walls
making the room look homier. Aya grabbed a cup of tea and settled on
the honey colored couch to read the morning paper, nothing very
interesting was happening. The death of Carl Woods was mentioned as
well as some local things. Getting up to stare out the window Aya
could see reflected the amount of loneliness he felt. Even though
most of the time Weib bothered him, he didn't feel alone. Never
alone.
[Time to snap out of it and look for some work to do] With that Aya
smiled at himself before leaving the room.
Yohji knew he was kidding himself every time he gave up on a girl
because thoughts of the redhead lingered. You would think that after
a year he would realize Aya was not coming back.
[But you still love him]
Yeah, he still loved Aya and that is what made it so difficult to
accept. The fact that someone he loved left him. So to kill time
Yohji was being a pain on Omi's ass. The lanky blonde would get in
the Internet and surf for hours frustrating Omi to no ends. When Omi
would constantly ask him what he was doing, Yohji's only response was.
nothing. Yohji knew what Ken and Omi thought of him. The two
younger members thought he was falling apart. Falling to pieces
because Aya was not there to keep him whole. That would not entirely
be a lie. Yohji was falling apart and he was using the Internet to
search for some clue to find his lover's whereabouts. However, he
hadn't come across any assassinations with a blade, which meant that
either Aya had changed his weapon or had gone deep underground.
Yohji hoped to the gods that it was the first one. He couldn't bear
with the thought of never seeing Aya again. Yohji remembered that
Asuka once had asked him how would he know love. Well now he knew,
it hurt like a bitch.
Aya decided on a walk through downtown Seattle. It was a rather
beautiful afternoon with a slight chill in the air. Wearing a long
sleeved shirt could do the trick. Aya was wearing a black long-
sleeved turtleneck and black jeans. He wore his hair in a ponytail
but a few stray strands fell on his face. It was a bit windy6 making
his hair fall on his face. Days like this Aya became exasperated
with his hair. However, he couldn't bear to part with it. It
symbolized his last year alone. Sometimes he would think of Japan,
of wanting to go visit Aya-chan's grave or the other members of Weib,
but he would lose his nerve. Especially when Aya thought of seeing
Yohji again. No he couldn't see Yohji again. It was part of the
reason he had left Japan, a way to leave emotions behind. Leave all
those problems behind. The last few months he lived in Japan his
life was so confusing. One emotion after another and always
contradicting each other. As Aya walked the streets in Seattle, he
could feel the utter calmness with which he had been living the last
year. Of course, the missions required a degree of risk, but Aya
feared his emotions more than his body. His body could resist pain
of the physical kind not the emotional. Aya remembered when the
first month he arrived in Seattle, in was utter hell. He missed
Yohji, hated Schuldich and was confused over which person he loved.
Not that it mattered. Aya has promised himself to avoid that kind of
problems. His life was in the ruts and he needn't add more fuel to
the fire. Aya walked for what seemed hours stopping short in front
of the television. A news bulletin, there had been an assassination
attempt against computer mogul Sean Richards. Mr. Richards was
trying to build a computer chip that would allow the creation of
A.I. As with the latest development not many people were very happy
about it. [Oh well not everybody can be pleased]
Shrugging Aya kept on walking with no destination in particular.
Ken was walking to the school in which he now taught soccer. It was
ironic how Yohji the playboy was falling apart because he had been
played. Ken felt sorry for the blonde and felt awful because he was
happy with Omi. Ken felt as if he was rubbing his relationship with
Omi on Yohji's face. Yohji had become very withdrawn ever since Aya
left. Ken was sure that Yohji missed Aya even though the latter
refused to acknowledge it. The blonde was getting drunk on a
constant basis but if a person tried to reason with Yohji it was like
trying to get a whale out of the ocean. Stubborn as hell. Aside
from the fact that Aya was gone and Yohji falling apart, Ken was
fairly happy. He was with Omi and that made everything okay.
Whenever Ken was with Omi, he felt a kind of tranquility as if they
could just sit forever and not say a word. Comfortable with the
simple act of being near each other. A total contrast from Yohji and
Aya's relationship. Those two are the kind that get angry with each
and other and then make up. Kinda like the saying `Can't live with
or without them.' Come to think of it Yohji and Aya were a very weird
couple anyway. Both of them trying to get killed in missions. Yohji
slowly dying with his constant smoking and drinking and Aya by
killing his emotions. Still Ken hard no right to keep secrets from
Yohji as he was doing now. After Aya had left Omi had set to track
Aya down. The trail had died with a plane he took to US and being
Aya had disappeared. However, it seems that lately some hits have
Aya's scent on them though Omi is not sure. However, he is not
allowed to say, Ken promised Omi. Oh well. It may all be for the
best.
Lately Aya had the feeling he was no longer safe. Being in the
assassin business made it more dangerous, however, he didn't think it
was that. Aya had the distinct feeling he was being watched or at
least monitored. Aside from the fact that Weib could be looking for
him, Aya feared that Schwartz could also be looking for him. Thank
the gods that he had learned to become much better at what he did.
Now he could melt with the crowd, kill with different weapons and get
out without the slightest amount of confrontation. Not that he was
afraid to fight but when you confronted a person you are more
accident-prone. Smiling to himself Aya signed into his e-mail
account only to find a message.
I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
Aya stared at the screen frozen by those five words. It could have
been a mistake, someone out to get him or a simple joke. Aya didn't
believe in coincidences, but a message was not enough to drive him
out of his home. He would just have to be more careful. Extremely
careful. The ringing of his telephone made him jump back startled.
[Not a good sign if you are jumping at shadows]
" Hello?" answered Aya quietly. Aya couldn't accept the fact that he
had a knot of fear at the bottom of his stomach. A fear he hadn't
felt for over a year.
*Hello? To whom I'm I speaking? *
An amused smile spread across his features. Work usually came when
there was a cat and mouse kind of conversation.
" Who would like to speak to?" asked Aya seriously. Unconsciously he
started rubbing at his shoulder, a gesture he did to chase away his
nerves. The e-mail message still had him worried. Who the hell
would send something like that? Unless they expected you to know who
it was.
* Are you the one they call to clean up? * asked the voice. The guy
at the other end was nervous, maybe they were tracing the call. Have
to hurry up.
" Yes, I am called to clean. What is your problem?" asked Aya now
eager to get off the phone.
* I am having a problem with rats *
" Meet me at 2:30 in the Space needle restaurant. I am never late,"
said Aya and hung up the phone. Damn it now he was nervous. Walking
to the computer he stared at the message again. He knew that trying
to track it down would be a waste of time. Looking at his watch, Aya
confirmed that he had les than an hour to get there. Aya hated when
things didn't go smoothly and this was one of those days.
Yohji was feeling somewhat better. A nap had helped chase away all
those feeling of self-loathing and self-pity. Yohji felt like going
out and getting laid. A night of having fun something he had not
indulged himself in for a long time. Searching his room for his
phone directory he searched for the right name. He dialed the number
and waited for someone to pick up
* Dynamo Industries, this is Rita how may I help you *
" Hello Rita, this is Yohji," drawled Yohji. There was a silence at
the end of the line that was starting to make Yohji doubt his great
idea.
* Y-Yohji how are you? I didn't expect you to call.*
" I know but I was thinking if maybe we could get together tonight.
A dinner date," and maybe more Yohji thought with a smile.
* Well.I am working late today so I am out until 8pm. Is that okay? *
" Sure. So where do I pick you up? Work or your apartment?" asked
Yohji seductively.
* Mmm.at my apartment at 9. Will that be okay? *
" Yeah. That's perfect, see you then." Replacing the phone to its
cradle, Yohji wondered were all this excitement came from. Aside
from the fact that he had called Rita who looked like Aya. Yohji
knew it was selfish from his part but even someone that looked like
Aya could help. Aya was more selfish for leaving him like this.
Getting up Yohji went to get ready for his date.
Aya arrived at 2:20, which was pretty good considering he almost had
to run to get there. Looking around for a place to sit that wasn't
totally obvious, Aya scanned the faces in the restaurant. None of
them looked worried, or suspicious. Sighing Aya followed the waiter
to a table facing a window. Taking out his laptop Aya looked around
and starting searching the backgrounds of people that attracted his
attention. Feeling a presence over him, Aya was startled out of his
musings.
" Hello Mr. Ridgeford. I am pleased to meet you," said a man who
seemed to be in his late twenties. Black hair, blue eyes that still
held a bit of adolescence amusement. He was very imposing.
" Hello," said Aya trying to hide how startled he was by the
situation.
" Mrs. Woods recommended me to you," said the young man taking a seat.
Aya said nothing, it could be a bait to get him to admit doing the
job.
" By the way I am Richard Barry," said the young man. " I am having
a problem I need dealt with."
" What makes you think I will do it?" asked Aya quietly. Mr. Barry
stared at Aya uncertainly before a smiled spread across his face.
" Oh, so you are making beg? Okay," said Mr. Barry taking a drink
from Aya's white wine. " I am told you are cheap but also very
efficient."
" What do you want to discuss?" asked Aya becoming irritated with the
man's carefree attitude. Reminded him of Yohji.
" Well one of my partners is becoming a pain in my ass. He wants to
take over my company that deals with computers. We'll leave it at
that. I want that man gone, but not here since I would be the first
suspect. We have had a rather difficult relationship," said Mr.
Barry smiling into the glass he was drinking from.
" Why would you be suspected?" asked Aya arching a brow.
" Because I am his lover," said Mr. Barry easily. " Yes, I am a
bisexual but I only started sleeping with him out of trying to smooth
things over. Of course they got worse."
" And this Mr." motioned Aya with his hand for the answer.
" Smith," answered Mr. Barry
" Ah, Mr. Smith, where is you want him gone?" asked Aya seriously.
" In Vienna. He is going for a conference there. If he
is `disposed' of there it may be blamed in a gang of something,"
answered Mr. Barry.
" I see," said Aya quietly.
" You are wearing a disguise aren't you?" asked Mr. Barry smiling
mischievously. " I bet you are very handsome."
That startled Aya, again he had to remind himself how Americans could
be very forward.
" Don't we all Mr. Barry?" said Aya giving a smile of his own.
" I guess you could say that," said Mr. Barry shrugging.
" As for your offer maybe something can be arranged," said Aya
quietly.
" I would like to have you for dinner," said Mr. Barry looking at Aya
with something akin to lust. " To discuss this of course. Without
the disguise."
" I am sorry I can't do that," said Aya becoming very irritated. " I
don't get involved with clients."
" So you don't mind that I am bisexual?" asked Mr. Barry, eyes
widening. " Interesting.okay I will have the information sent to
you." And with that Mr. Barry got up and left Aya. Aya felt very
confused by the turn things had taken. He wouldn't deny that Mr.
Barry was very handsome, but Aya didn't feel anything further. Only
a person had been able to get to him and now Aya was paying the
price. Signaling for the waiter, Aya ordered something since he was
already there.
Yohji had picked up Rita at exactly 9 and had gone to an Italian
restaurant. Everything had gone beautifully. Rita reminded him so
much of Aya, how Aya would have been if his family were alive. So
Yohji had been looking forward to the events after dinner. He
didn't force her, she invited him in for a drink and everything
developed from there. They had sex and Yohji felt so much better
this morning. Excusing himself Yohji walked the silent streets of
Vienna back to the house. Omi and Ken were asleep when Yohji checked
in on them. He was happy and refreshed. Ken noticed his mood and
gave him a weird look before sighing as if Yohji had done something
wrong. Well fuck them; Yohji knew what Ken thought of this. The
brunette was still loyal to Aya and felt as if Yohji were cheating on
the redhead. Yohji couldn't blame him, however, Rita reminded Yohji
so much of Aya that it was almost as if he had slept with Aya. Well
at least that was who Yohji was thinking about when he was having sex
with Rita. Well today is another day may as well make the best of it.
Today had been the weirdest day Aya had had. First the cryptic note,
then the appearance of Mr. Barry and constant flirting. Getting out
of the shower, Aya toweled himself and put on a white shirt and black
sweat pants. The gall of that man. It made Aya want to reject the
mission just out of spite. The bastard's confidence was amazing.
Booting up his computer Aya sighed as he looked at the forest outside
his window. Running his hands through his humid hair Aya decided
that he would accept the mission just out of boredom. There was a
knock at his door that made his heart hammer in his chest. Picking
up a gun from his drawer he walked quietly to the door.
" Who is it?" asked Aya keeping his voice neutral.
" Delivery for Mr. Ridgeford," said the voice on the other side.
" I didn't order anything," said Aya seriously.
" My boss told me you were expecting some information," said the
voice. The damn info, Aya had forgotten everything about that.
Working at the five dead bolts at the door, Aya finally opened the
door and stopped short. At the door Mr. Barry stood with the widest
smile on his lips.
" What the fuck." whispered Aya not believing for the moment that a
client had tracked him down.
" I see that you are more beautiful without your disguise," said Mr.
Barry taking advantage of Aya's surprise to step in the house. That
brought Aya out of his stupor.
" What the fuck are you doing here?" snapped Aya pointing the gun at
Mr. Barry's head.
" To the dinner date we had, of course," said Mr. Barry not caring
that Aya had a gun to his head.
" What?!" asked Aya not believing his ears. " How did you find me?"
" I had you tracked. I put a tracer on your laptop when I picked
your drink," said Mr. Barry as if talking to a stubborn child. "
Call me Richard."
" I want you to get the fuck out of my house," said Aya angry. "
Now!"
" Okay, ok, so I guess you are not having a good day. Tell you what
hear me out a second without the gun in my face and if you still want
me to leave I will," said Mr. Barry lifting his hands up in surrender.
Aya didn't agree to anything but he did lower the gun pointed to the
man's head. " Talk"
" Okay.what's your name?" asked Mr. Barry as a purr.
" Aya," said Aya seriously. What was the pint of keeping it a secret
anyway?
" Aya, umm so pretty." murmured Mr. Barry to himself. " Okay, Aya I
want you to come with me to Vienna."
" Was the whole story about your partner bullshit?" asked Aya
lowering his eyes into slits. Mr. Barry must have noticed the look
because he raised his hands in surrender.
" Yes and no. You see I* do want my partner dead but also a number
of other people. I want it to seem as if it was a terrorist attack."
" You want a bomb?" asked Aya snorting. " You are ridiculous." Aya
walked to the fridge to get a bottle of water oblivious to the look
of lust Richard was giving him. Richard was tracing the contours of
Aya's body and felt himself responding to his thoughts. [Damn the guy
is hot and I thought he was hot with his disguise on, but that is
nothing compared to those eyes and hair]
" A bomb they think I am hardware store or something," said Aya
amused. He stopped when he noticed that Mr. Barry was staring at
him. " What?"
" Oh, nothing," said Richard smiling. " I brought some dinner so we
may as well eat it. It's not poisoned."
Aya snorted. He picked the bag Mr. Barry had brought and started
taking the food out and placing it on the oak dinner table.
Richard came and stood behind Aya tempted to touch but not knowing if
he should.
" You know even though I just met you I feel as if we are connected
somehow," purred Richard. " You are just so beautiful to me."
Aya turned startled at hearing so much crazy things. " Are you
high?" asked Aya startled.
" Hmm not really," said Richard looking into Aya's eyes. His eyes
moved toward Aya's lips and Aya knew what the guy was thinking.
Shrugging out from Richard's path Aya placed a considerable amount of
space between them.
" Do you want dinner or what?" asked Aya not really knowing what to
say. Richard kept watching him behind half-lidded eyes.
" Dinner is fine for now." said Richard amused at how an assassin
could become so nervous if he was given attention. [In Vienna
everything will come together]
TBC