Gemstone Eyes

A/N- Hello everyone! I\'m back at school now, and I\'m hoping that it will not affect my writing schedule too badly. :) At the worst, I think reviews may drop to weekly. Please don\'t kill me! It just depends on how many papers my Shakespeare classes want. But here is a new, action-packed update for you! And as always, I wish to thank all my wonderful readers and reviewers for making me so happy. I\'m glad everyone still likes this story so much! :) Enjoy!
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“Iie, Aya. The time has come for this to end.”

Turning like a cornered animal, Aya tore past Yohji and made for the stairs and his room. He found the door similarly barred by a defiant Omi, who likewise resisted the assassin’s attempts to push him aside. Aya turned quickly, jerkily, a trapped cat searching for any escape route. Then he fled up the stairs and to the roof. Omi and Ken both relaxed as they heard the door fly open and slam shut, and both looked at Yohji. Nobody spoke as the blonde’s smirk eased into a grim line, and he took the stairs calmly, up to the door that Aya had fled through.

Ken made his way up the stairs just in time to catch Omi as his knees buckled. He followed his beloved to the ground and held the younger boy against his chest as he trembled. He rested his chin atop the blonde head. The look in Aya’s eyes as both younger teammates had defied him was enough to make even Ken shiver. A soft voice caught his attention.

“Ken…do you think we just did the right thing?”




Aya’s mind was reeling as he stumbled out onto the roof. Yohji…the bastard…had followed him! Had listened to a private conversation with his sister, and what was worse, the one conversation that had been all about him! Aya had no doubts now that Yohji knew exactly how he felt about the blonde, the confusion attached to those feelings, and everything else. He looked up into the rapidly darkening sky. It was going to rain. He looked around for a tarp or something to cover himself with, because he sure as hell wasn’t going back downstairs. He heard the door open softly and his head jerked toward it.

Yohji stepped through the door and closed it politely behind him. He turned, meeting Aya’s acidic stare head-on, and to his surprise the swordsman looked away first. Yohji didn’t want Aya to look away. He was keyed up, his adrenaline pumping, and he expected a fight. Aya couldn’t back down now. This needed to be finished.

Aya felt worse than naked. He shivered as if those cat-bright eyes could stare right through his soul. A raindrop fell on his nose and ran off the end as Aya turned his head away. “Go away, Kudou.”

“No.” The answer came, deep and determined. “You can’t just order all of us around, Aya, whenever you want to. We’re a team here, remember?” Aya didn’t look at him. “Come on, Ran, say something, at least.” Yohji wiped a raindrop from his cheek. “It’s not like you have much left to hide, after all. Not after that little sibling conversation.” He was provoking the redhead, and he knew it. He also knew there was a chance he might not come out of this encounter without some severe injuries. As much as he hated to admit it, he had no plan for what he was doing at the moment. He was playing by ear perhaps the most dangerous symphony he had ever tried to learn. The rain began to come more frequently, and thunder rumbled around them.

Aya tried valiantly to contain his rage, but a part of him was screaming to unleash it upon this man who had betrayed him multiple times already. Yohji’s comment bit through the wind that was beginning to pick up, and Aya snarled, still looking out over the rooftop.

“You admit it then? You admit that you went beyond all semblances of professional or personal protocol, followed me, and eavesdropped on me, and now have the audacity to throw it back in my face?” He turned to face Yohji then, scared of what he would see. His teeth ground together and his fists clenched as he saw what he had been dreading; Yohji was smirking, his eyes closed. Ran’s hands itched for the man’s throat. Every inch of him wanted to be beating the shit out of this man. The tension that had been dancing between the two of them for days had encircled them both, drawing them together as thunder rolled again. Then Yohji’s eyes opened, his smirk disappeared.

“I’m not throwing it back in your face Aya. You had to stop attacking Omi and Ken down there, and quit snapping at everyone because you’re pissed at yourself for being in love with me.” His body tensed as Aya took a step back as if he had been slapped. His watch was downstairs on the table, and Aya’s katana was in his room. Good things for both fighters, because Yohji had the sickening feeling he had just pushed the redhead too far.


Aya growled, backing up a few steps, and then as lightning flashed in the sky, followed by a roll of thunder, he launched himself at the older man. His fist drew back to smash the blonde across the face, but Yohji ducked and whirled behind him. Aya spun on his heel and jerked to the side as he watched Yohji’s fist pass through the air where his jaw had been. Snapping his eyes to Yohji’s, he saw that the other assassin’s lips were drawn back in a snarl, his emerald eyes flashing dangerously. Both men drew back and circled, adrenaline pulsing through their veins like ecstasy. The force between them threw them together again, and Yohji rushed Aya, not expecting the kick that landed hard against his side. He moved with it, regaining balance quickly and glaring at Aya.


The swordsman reached, out of habit, for his katana, and finding himself without it, glared in return at Yohji. Lightning flashed again, the storm getting closer, and the rain began to pour down. Circling again, like two brawling alley cats, they rushed and met each other again, fists flying, each seeking the upper hand against the other one. Yohji landed a punch alongside Aya’s cheekbone, and at the same time Aya swept the blonde’s feet from underneath him. Yohji fell and rolled, back on his feet in enough time to block the hail of Aya’s fury. He crouched as Aya came towards him again, teeth bared like a ferocious animal, and as the younger assassin reached for him, he tackled Aya’s knees, taking him down.

Aya fought madly for balance as Yohji took it away from him. He mentally berated himself for not seeing that coming. He was good and down, and Yohji hauled himself up until they were face to face, the redhead’s arms pinned securely to the ground.

Yohji was breathing hard as he leaned over Aya. His eyes were narrow and water was dripping off his face. He couldn’t tell if it was rain or tears. Thunder cracked ominously close as he leaned in towards Aya. His heart was hurting him. After the first few minutes, he hadn’t wanted to fight Aya anymore, not really. Not the duel-to-the-death he had started at any rate. He and Aya always fought, but usually it was harmless. This fight held higher stakes, and Yohji didn’t want it anymore. He looked into Aya’s smoldering violet eyes and saw only hate, and his heart sank.


He stood roughly, pushing Aya against the ground and backing up. The swordsman lay there, breathing heavily, before hauling himself up to a standing position. His eyes were narrowed against the rain and the wind, his hair dripping, and every muscle taut as he waited for Yohji to start the cycle again.

The blonde took a deep breath, his body still singing with nerves and adrenaline. “Aya..” he said, “I don’t want to fight you anymore. I love—“ he didn’t even get to finish the words before Aya was coming at him, a low cry of rage ripping itself from his throat. He worked fast to block the rapid succession of blows Aya threw at him, his arms bruising with each battery. He heard a choked breath from the younger assassin before he backed away again, breathing hard. The two began to circle each other again as lightning flashed.


“How dare you.” Aya growled dangerously. “Is it not enough, Kudou, that you consistently make my days hell by taunting me to death? Now you follow me to my one place of sanctuary and eavesdrop on me, only to use that stolen information against me later?” The two assassins had closed their circle, the distance between them lessened. “First my name, which I had already warned you not to use, then you attack me by insinuating that I have allowed this…infatuation…to cloud my judgment in my work, and finally you use my feelings themselves to torture me.” The redhead shook the hair from his eyes, their piercing anguish catching Yohji’s attention for the first time since the fight began. Aya spoke again, a biting edge to his tone. “How. Dare. You.”

Yohji stopped dead in his tracks, his mind working as fast as his heart was beating. The wind whipped the rain into a frenzy around them, and Yohji’s words were almost lost.

“Aya…I’m not using it against you.” He stared into those disbelieving, pain-filled eyes, and the urge to hold Aya close to him overwhelmed him. Blinking back the sting of tears he whispered to no one, “that night at the club, when you danced, I promised myself that I would keep the pain from your eyes, Ran,” he used the name in all seriousness, none of his earlier sarcasm present at all. “But all I’ve done is caused you more.” He locked eyes with his opponent again, his voice strengthening. “I love you, Ran.”


Aya was unprepared for the wave of emotion that hit him as the words tumbled from Yohji’s lips. His stomach flopped, and he felt the unmistakable prick of tears. The part of him that carried the forbidden name was ecstatic beyond anything he could recall, but he, himself, Aya, grew even angrier that the lanky playboy could sink so low as to use those words against the softer persona he now knew Aya had within him. The conflicting emotions hit his brain all at once, the anger and joy pulling him apart at the seams, and in his confusion his instincts took over. He lashed out at the cause of his distress, going after Yohji with a ragged cry, his mind crying for bloodshed.


Yohji paled as he saw Aya reel, the gemstone eyes clouding as happiness and anger collided in them. When the scarlet-haired assassin steadied himself, locking eyes with Yohji, the blonde knew he was in trouble. Aya came at him with the speed of the lightning that flashed behind him, but Yohji was done fighting. He had said all he had to say, and if words were not going to get through Aya’s skull, he could only hope that actions would before his teammate found a way to shed his blood without the katana.

Aya closed the space in between them startlingly fast. Yohji stood his ground, and a part of Aya’s brain crowed in victory. He was itching to kill the arrogant playboy, and his fist drew back for a powerful punch.

It never reached Yohji’s face. The other assassin’s reflexes proved their worth, and Yohji caught the fist in one hand, the other immediately moving up to catch the other one as Aya growled in anger and swung at him again. The two struggled against each other, savage whimpers working their way free of Aya’s throat as he strove to make the blonde feel the agony he felt. Yohji was backing up steadily with the force of Aya’s anger, barely sparing a thought to hope that it was not the edge of the roof that the redhead was driving him towards. Their faces were close, violet eyes promising certain death if Yohji let down his guard for even a second. The elder assassin stared into those violent depths and his heart, even now, leapt at the fact that the man he loved was so close to him. He had stopped moving backwards now, straining against scarlet-haired fury, and Aya was now so close that Yohji could smell the scent of the shampoo he used. Their breaths mingled as they strained against each other, and part of the blonde Weiss’s mind stopped to wonder at the sensuality of the situation. It was almost like sex, this fighting of theirs, Aya’s breath beating on his neck, hands clasped, trying to overpower the other, except for the fact that Aya was trying to kill him.

As the similarities struck him, he almost laughed, his trademark smirk spreading itself across his face. Aya stiffened and his eyes went wide, taking the habitual facial expression as another stab at his dignity. Instead of pushing against Yohji, he began to try and pull away.

“Let go, Kudou.” He quietly snarled. “I do not desire to be this close to you any longer.” He wasn’t prepared for the flash of anger, followed closely by one of pain, in the emerald eyes, and he was even less prepared when Yohji hauled him up close to his chest and growled.

“Don’t lie to yourself, Ran, or to me any longer. It hurts both of us.” As Aya’s eyes went wide in resentment yet again, Yohji took the opportunity offered to him, swooping down to crush his lips to Aya’s.

TBC....

I know...I bet you all hate me now. :) But leave a review anyway!!

~Tareacel