Insensitive

Thanks
so much for the comments, guys. Pat, TrulyWished, Phoenix, Zetsuai,
gretel, whipoflight--it is much appreciated.

Believe
It or Not

Look
at what's happened to me,

Flying,
oh yeah, was the good drugs this time, must’a got smeared
flat...

I
can't believe it myself.

Right.
Come on, brain, you know the drill. Calling all body parts, check
in...

Suddenly
I'm up on top of the world,

...and
check. All present and accounted for and still flying. Whee!

It
should've been somebody else.

"--in
here!” Rustling noises, heels—Manx. Know that perfume
anywhere. And—

Believe
it or not,

Aya.
Wasn’t, didn’t, didn’t need to, wear cologne. The
man himself was just intoxicating.

Really
should stop thinking like that.

I'm
walking on air.

Whee!!

I
never thought I could feel so free.

"--know
quite well they were not to know the real mission!” Whoo boy,
Manx was pissed... “Abyssinian, you are fast approaching the
point where your usefulness is outweighed by your capriciousness.
Have you forgotten that your sister—“

Thumping
noises, a gasp from Manx, what the—eyes! Open eyes, wakey
wakey, need to see—

Aw,
come on, please?

Flying
away on a wing and a prayer.

"I
never forget,” Aya hissed. “Not for one instant does she
leave my mind. I have killed hundreds, I have bathed in blood for
her. Are you certain you wish to threaten her?”

"Abyssinian,”
Manx’s voice was muffled, what was he doing? Go Aya! Manx had
needed to be taken down a step for years... “Abyssinian, I was
not threatening her. I was going to point out the costs of her care
and education, which we pay.”

"I
pay the price. You merely change my currency.”

"Will
you let me go?”

Who
could it be?

Hello?
Conscious! Somebody help, something’s wrong! Body—move!
Eyes—open!

Aya?
Aya, please...

Believe
it or not it's just me.

Door
opening, footsteps...

"There
you are!” Omi. Limping? What...right, he’d known the
chibi was wounded, Ken too, before he got hit, and Aya...

Hee
hee, they were all on Manx now, that’d teach her to give up on
everyone’s favorite Kudou Yohji, try to have him killed. Send
Aya to—

It's
like a light of a new day,

Aya
had come for him. Aya had come to kill him, but he hadn’t done
it. Had planned to die with Yohji but hadn’t done that, either.
Instead he’d completely blown Kritiker’s plans to hell by
bringing him back.

It
hit me from out of the blue.

That
meant...don’t count Yotan out yet.

Breaking
me out of the spell I was in,

Get
up, move, go grab the redhead, the others would get embarrassed and
leave pretty quick—just open the eyes and walk over there and—

Damn.
Anesthesia. He was coming out of anesthesia which meant he had a new
and significant hole somewhere and probably shouldn’t be
grabbing redheads anytime soon.

Fuck
that.

Making
all of my wishes come true.

Aya...did
love him. Grab the redhead. Grabby, grabby, grabby, don’t let
him get away...

"Enough!”
a new voice snapped, hadn’t heard the door... “Out, all
of you! Tsukiyono, back to your bed now! Hidaka, see he gets there or
it will be Nurse Takama giving you your bath. Fujimiya-sama, if you
can remember how to conduct yourself, you may stay. Manx-san...”
The voice—Dr. Nguyen?—hesitated. Oh, he really must have
been torn up if Nguyen was his—

"I
was leaving,” Manx said, and heels clicked out, followed by a
limp and a shuffle, Omi and Ken.

Believe
it or not,

Aya
was still there.

I'm
walking on air.

Creak
of chair, and warmth near his hand. Turn it, grab, Aya wasn’t
going to—

Ow!
Damned sadistic bastard, what was that for?

"If
you don’t wake up in the next ten minutes, Kudou, you’re
going to regret it.”

I
never thought I could feel so free.

How
could it not show on his face, how he was laughing? Only Aya would
threaten him if he didn’t recover fast enough.

Flying
away on a wing and a prayer.

And
then—kiss him. Come on, tongue, couldn’t he at least use
his—

Che.
Aya pulled away, sighed, took his hand and started thumping the
joined hands on the bed.

"Damn
you. Why didn’t I just kill you?”

Who
could it be?

Why?
Because I’m Yotan, Aya.

Believe
it or not it's just me.

And
you love me.

"Nine minutes,
Kudou.”