[A/N: Hi. ^_^ Well, this chapter is just a slightly redone version of An
Assassin and White Shaman which, of course, is no where anywhere near
belonging to me in any way at all. The rest of the chapters will be
entirely original... well, as original as I can be using some else's
characters. Heh.]
[Just Y/A for now, but I don't hear anyone complaining.]
[I can't get over the haunting feeling that "Insomnia" is a movie. It probably is.. and a book, too. Anyway, I don't own anything named "Insomnia" and this has nothing to do with it unless by some incredible coincidence it does.]
[Anyway. Yohji POV. He's the lighter of the two and I needed some kind of drama/angst relief.]
[Enjoy. Have a cookie.]
Chapter 1 Insomnia
I knew we were getting a new member; no news there. We all met him at a mission the night before. I don't really know why he was there, but I don't think it matters so much. Ken saw him first, and got into a fight with him within the following two minutes. That's Ken for ya. Then again, he probably isn't all to blame. The new guy was pretty fiery, too. Still is.
What I didn't expect was that neither of them got it out of their system that night. Too bad I was out of the house the following day. Omi tells me I missed quite the fight. By the looks of the place when I got back, I'd say I did, too. I'm not sure of the details of what went on, but I never felt any sort of urge to know.
I remember it rather well, though. I came home late that night. Well, later than usual. I had been having some serious nightmares lately, and there is nothing better to kill a nightmare than insomnia. I was actually in a good mood that night. If I had been in a bad mood, I would have definitely stepped right over the unconscious redhead, thus possibly changing the coarse of my life.
Maybe I exaggerate. Who I am to figure out destiny? Anyway, enough of this prequel crap. On with the actual story.
Upon opening the lock on the door of the Koneko, I knew right away there was something off; I couldn't get it open all the way. Never being a very patient person, I forced it open and heard a loud rumble of objects slide across the floor.
Damn, the place was turned inside out. I was surprised Omi could sleep knowing in the back of his mind that the shop was left in such a condition. Through all the mess, though, one thing caught my eye first. Sometimes I think about just how odd the circumstances of our meeting were.
I recognized him the minute I saw him passed out on the ground; the redhead from the other night. Even unconscious and bruised, he still had that invincible attitude about him. The night before, it took the three of us combined to keep him down, and I still had to put pressure on my wire to keep it from loosening around him. This looked like the work of one of Ken's welcoming parties. I got one, too.
Bruised and bleeding was not the way I expected to find our valorous and impulsive new member, but then again, I learned to take life as it comes. I felt somewhat charitable and, seeing as neither Ken nor Omi seemed too concerned with his fate, I picked him up and dragged him to my room.
Kami, was that hard or what! He wasn't heavy at all; that's not the problem. My major concern was how to actually pick him up and get him to the desired destination. He was a guy, so I couldn't carry him Superman style like any chick, and I wasn't about to make him the defenseless damsel- in-distress and throw him over my shoulder. Dragging him up the stairs by his legs was actually the option I considered the longest.
I stood over our new member (no one had mentioned his name to me yet), and looked around to see if perhaps we had an audience. When I was content that the coast was clear and that Ken and Omi were in fact asleep, I wrapped an arm around the redhead's back and slipped the other under he's knees. He felt cold.
"Ok, Lois.." I murmured and made my way up the stairs with him. This trip proved to be rather smooth much to my surprise.
When I got to my door, the real Houdini trick proved to be getting my key out of my pocket and into the lock without the use of either of my arms. It doesn't take a trained assassin to know that would never work. I placed the new Weiss gently on the ground and felt him stir before I let go of him. Looks like he may be waking up soon. I pulled my key out of my pocket and expertly unlocked the door within seconds. I was trained to do that sort of thing pretty fast. We all were.
Anyway, I picked him back up and kicked the door closed as I walked inside. Hard part over, I thought as I deposited him onto my bed. Little did I know that that was actually the very easy part. Nothing was ever as complicated with Ran when he was asleep as when he was awake.
I pulled up a chair next to the bed and plopped down on it. Great. Just when I thought I could give this sleeping thing another go, I have someone else completely occupying my bed. I sighed and pulled off my boots. I removed my jacket and tossed it to the nearest pile of clothes. My hair was down because that's how I usually like it when I go out, but on a casual basis, it was far too distracting. I found a hair band and pulled it up into a comfortable ponytail.
The redhead in my bed stirred and mumbled something. Dreaming, are we? I feel your pain.
All of a sudden a shower sounded great. Maybe he'd be awake when I got back, and I could just shoo him out of my room and take my long awaited nap. I left my room quietly and went down the hall to one of the two bathrooms the three... uh, make that four, of us share. No fun details here, folks.
After my shower, I went on a treasure hunt for the sweats I usually slept in. That is, when I don't collapse in my usual attire. They were under my bed, in case you were wondering. When I pulled my head up from under the bed, the first thing I heard was the word "Aya" coming from our new roommate's bruised lips.
"Aya, eh?" Now this was getting interesting. Not only did he dream, but he dreamt of a woman. Is that a coincidence or what? I looked down at the temporary occupant of my bed. Hah, interesting term. How many "temporary occupants" has my bed had thus far? Ran, of course, was there for entirely different reasons. Alright, I'm getting ahead of myself. I hadn't learned his real name yet. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even gotten as far as his pseudonym.
Anyway, when I looked down at the temporary occupant of my bed, I realized that Ken had been pretty rough on him. His lip was still bleeding a bit, and there was a large cut on his eyebrow. Can't have him bleeding all over my pillow, now can we?
I made a quick trip back to the bathroom and brought back a moist towel and a box of Band-Aids with me. I sat back down in my chair and started fumbling with getting the box open.
"No.." sighed the redhead and turned towards me. I thought he might've woken up, but the look of pain flashing across his closed eyelids made me rethink that. "..Aya.." he added as his fists tightened around the bed sheets under him.
"Aya, Aya, Aya..." I sighed and moved the towel to wipe the dry blood off his lip. He gasped as I touched him, but I think it had less to do with me than with what was going on in his mind at the moment. All of a sudden, though, he got very quiet and still. I moved the towel over to his forehead, and he calmed almost completely; as if the nightmare were over.
I pulled out two small Band-Aids and placed one on each cut. I felt my hands shaking, which was highly unusual. I'm the most composed person I know. He just seemed as such a fine porcelain doll. If I pushed too hard, he might break. I briefly wondered how Ken managed to throw these punches at him without worrying that he'll just shatter into pieces.
Well, I've done my job. I stood up to put the towel away, but I wasn't even half way out of the room when another sharp gasp from the redhead stopped me in my tracks.
"..No," he said, barely audible to me. I put down the towel and Band- Aids on the nearest table and went to sit back down next to him. I put my hand on his forehead and became royally freaked out when he completely calmed down again. Alright, enough of this game.
"Aya-chan!" I said in my most cheerful 'I'm-not-an-insomniac' voice. His eyelashes flickered and he looked up at me. He appeared cute and innocent for about a quarter of a second. "Yo."
"Who are you?" He sat up in my bed and looked around as if he'd just fallen from the sky.
"Kudou Yohji, but just Yohji to you. Could be a little more courteous; you have no idea how hard it was getting you up here."
"Where...?"
"In my room, Red. And that's my bed you're currently occupying so shoo so I can get some sleep. Besides, you need to make up with Ken and help him clean the shop."
"What happened?"
"Just full of questions in the morning, aren't we? How are you feeling, by the way? You were out of it pretty bad. I thought we might have to take you to the hospital if you didn't get up soon."
"That woman.. and then the shop.." He held his head and kept his eyes fixed on his lap, totally ignoring my concern. Pleasant kid.
Woman? Oh.. "Birman?"
"Is that her name?"
"You really don't know anything at all do you?" I clicked my tongue and placed my hands on my hips.
He glared at me. Oh this one looked like a ray of sunshine. "I was attacked."
"I know, I know." I sat down next to him on my bed, giving him my smoothest smile. He doesn't need to think we're all assholes. "It's a little welcoming Ken likes to do. I got one, too."
He stood up and begin walking out of my room.
"Hey! I told you my name. Won't you return the courtesy?" I frowned at him, but he didn't respond. "Well, in that case I'll just call you Aya then." I was definitely not anywhere near serious with that.
He suddenly stopped and looked as if he had completely flipped out. He marched right back to the bed and grabbed me by my shirt. Fiery. "She told you everything, didn't she? What are you trying to do? Make me say it?!"
I gave him my best disarming look. "Birman said nothing to us about you, but I was hoping you could tell me. You were saying it in your sleep."
He let go of my shirt and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Aya will be fine."
I almost choked on my own air. "You're not.. serious?" Of course, he didn't even bother answering. He turned around and walked right out of my room. I looked after him for a few moments and then just laid out on my bed.
"Aya, huh?" I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "No point in using a match to melt a glacier."
[Just Y/A for now, but I don't hear anyone complaining.]
[I can't get over the haunting feeling that "Insomnia" is a movie. It probably is.. and a book, too. Anyway, I don't own anything named "Insomnia" and this has nothing to do with it unless by some incredible coincidence it does.]
[Anyway. Yohji POV. He's the lighter of the two and I needed some kind of drama/angst relief.]
[Enjoy. Have a cookie.]
Chapter 1 Insomnia
I knew we were getting a new member; no news there. We all met him at a mission the night before. I don't really know why he was there, but I don't think it matters so much. Ken saw him first, and got into a fight with him within the following two minutes. That's Ken for ya. Then again, he probably isn't all to blame. The new guy was pretty fiery, too. Still is.
What I didn't expect was that neither of them got it out of their system that night. Too bad I was out of the house the following day. Omi tells me I missed quite the fight. By the looks of the place when I got back, I'd say I did, too. I'm not sure of the details of what went on, but I never felt any sort of urge to know.
I remember it rather well, though. I came home late that night. Well, later than usual. I had been having some serious nightmares lately, and there is nothing better to kill a nightmare than insomnia. I was actually in a good mood that night. If I had been in a bad mood, I would have definitely stepped right over the unconscious redhead, thus possibly changing the coarse of my life.
Maybe I exaggerate. Who I am to figure out destiny? Anyway, enough of this prequel crap. On with the actual story.
Upon opening the lock on the door of the Koneko, I knew right away there was something off; I couldn't get it open all the way. Never being a very patient person, I forced it open and heard a loud rumble of objects slide across the floor.
Damn, the place was turned inside out. I was surprised Omi could sleep knowing in the back of his mind that the shop was left in such a condition. Through all the mess, though, one thing caught my eye first. Sometimes I think about just how odd the circumstances of our meeting were.
I recognized him the minute I saw him passed out on the ground; the redhead from the other night. Even unconscious and bruised, he still had that invincible attitude about him. The night before, it took the three of us combined to keep him down, and I still had to put pressure on my wire to keep it from loosening around him. This looked like the work of one of Ken's welcoming parties. I got one, too.
Bruised and bleeding was not the way I expected to find our valorous and impulsive new member, but then again, I learned to take life as it comes. I felt somewhat charitable and, seeing as neither Ken nor Omi seemed too concerned with his fate, I picked him up and dragged him to my room.
Kami, was that hard or what! He wasn't heavy at all; that's not the problem. My major concern was how to actually pick him up and get him to the desired destination. He was a guy, so I couldn't carry him Superman style like any chick, and I wasn't about to make him the defenseless damsel- in-distress and throw him over my shoulder. Dragging him up the stairs by his legs was actually the option I considered the longest.
I stood over our new member (no one had mentioned his name to me yet), and looked around to see if perhaps we had an audience. When I was content that the coast was clear and that Ken and Omi were in fact asleep, I wrapped an arm around the redhead's back and slipped the other under he's knees. He felt cold.
"Ok, Lois.." I murmured and made my way up the stairs with him. This trip proved to be rather smooth much to my surprise.
When I got to my door, the real Houdini trick proved to be getting my key out of my pocket and into the lock without the use of either of my arms. It doesn't take a trained assassin to know that would never work. I placed the new Weiss gently on the ground and felt him stir before I let go of him. Looks like he may be waking up soon. I pulled my key out of my pocket and expertly unlocked the door within seconds. I was trained to do that sort of thing pretty fast. We all were.
Anyway, I picked him back up and kicked the door closed as I walked inside. Hard part over, I thought as I deposited him onto my bed. Little did I know that that was actually the very easy part. Nothing was ever as complicated with Ran when he was asleep as when he was awake.
I pulled up a chair next to the bed and plopped down on it. Great. Just when I thought I could give this sleeping thing another go, I have someone else completely occupying my bed. I sighed and pulled off my boots. I removed my jacket and tossed it to the nearest pile of clothes. My hair was down because that's how I usually like it when I go out, but on a casual basis, it was far too distracting. I found a hair band and pulled it up into a comfortable ponytail.
The redhead in my bed stirred and mumbled something. Dreaming, are we? I feel your pain.
All of a sudden a shower sounded great. Maybe he'd be awake when I got back, and I could just shoo him out of my room and take my long awaited nap. I left my room quietly and went down the hall to one of the two bathrooms the three... uh, make that four, of us share. No fun details here, folks.
After my shower, I went on a treasure hunt for the sweats I usually slept in. That is, when I don't collapse in my usual attire. They were under my bed, in case you were wondering. When I pulled my head up from under the bed, the first thing I heard was the word "Aya" coming from our new roommate's bruised lips.
"Aya, eh?" Now this was getting interesting. Not only did he dream, but he dreamt of a woman. Is that a coincidence or what? I looked down at the temporary occupant of my bed. Hah, interesting term. How many "temporary occupants" has my bed had thus far? Ran, of course, was there for entirely different reasons. Alright, I'm getting ahead of myself. I hadn't learned his real name yet. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even gotten as far as his pseudonym.
Anyway, when I looked down at the temporary occupant of my bed, I realized that Ken had been pretty rough on him. His lip was still bleeding a bit, and there was a large cut on his eyebrow. Can't have him bleeding all over my pillow, now can we?
I made a quick trip back to the bathroom and brought back a moist towel and a box of Band-Aids with me. I sat back down in my chair and started fumbling with getting the box open.
"No.." sighed the redhead and turned towards me. I thought he might've woken up, but the look of pain flashing across his closed eyelids made me rethink that. "..Aya.." he added as his fists tightened around the bed sheets under him.
"Aya, Aya, Aya..." I sighed and moved the towel to wipe the dry blood off his lip. He gasped as I touched him, but I think it had less to do with me than with what was going on in his mind at the moment. All of a sudden, though, he got very quiet and still. I moved the towel over to his forehead, and he calmed almost completely; as if the nightmare were over.
I pulled out two small Band-Aids and placed one on each cut. I felt my hands shaking, which was highly unusual. I'm the most composed person I know. He just seemed as such a fine porcelain doll. If I pushed too hard, he might break. I briefly wondered how Ken managed to throw these punches at him without worrying that he'll just shatter into pieces.
Well, I've done my job. I stood up to put the towel away, but I wasn't even half way out of the room when another sharp gasp from the redhead stopped me in my tracks.
"..No," he said, barely audible to me. I put down the towel and Band- Aids on the nearest table and went to sit back down next to him. I put my hand on his forehead and became royally freaked out when he completely calmed down again. Alright, enough of this game.
"Aya-chan!" I said in my most cheerful 'I'm-not-an-insomniac' voice. His eyelashes flickered and he looked up at me. He appeared cute and innocent for about a quarter of a second. "Yo."
"Who are you?" He sat up in my bed and looked around as if he'd just fallen from the sky.
"Kudou Yohji, but just Yohji to you. Could be a little more courteous; you have no idea how hard it was getting you up here."
"Where...?"
"In my room, Red. And that's my bed you're currently occupying so shoo so I can get some sleep. Besides, you need to make up with Ken and help him clean the shop."
"What happened?"
"Just full of questions in the morning, aren't we? How are you feeling, by the way? You were out of it pretty bad. I thought we might have to take you to the hospital if you didn't get up soon."
"That woman.. and then the shop.." He held his head and kept his eyes fixed on his lap, totally ignoring my concern. Pleasant kid.
Woman? Oh.. "Birman?"
"Is that her name?"
"You really don't know anything at all do you?" I clicked my tongue and placed my hands on my hips.
He glared at me. Oh this one looked like a ray of sunshine. "I was attacked."
"I know, I know." I sat down next to him on my bed, giving him my smoothest smile. He doesn't need to think we're all assholes. "It's a little welcoming Ken likes to do. I got one, too."
He stood up and begin walking out of my room.
"Hey! I told you my name. Won't you return the courtesy?" I frowned at him, but he didn't respond. "Well, in that case I'll just call you Aya then." I was definitely not anywhere near serious with that.
He suddenly stopped and looked as if he had completely flipped out. He marched right back to the bed and grabbed me by my shirt. Fiery. "She told you everything, didn't she? What are you trying to do? Make me say it?!"
I gave him my best disarming look. "Birman said nothing to us about you, but I was hoping you could tell me. You were saying it in your sleep."
He let go of my shirt and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Aya will be fine."
I almost choked on my own air. "You're not.. serious?" Of course, he didn't even bother answering. He turned around and walked right out of my room. I looked after him for a few moments and then just laid out on my bed.
"Aya, huh?" I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "No point in using a match to melt a glacier."