Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Hope Diamond ❯ Gem - 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four

It is nearly midnight when we got home. We are all uncharacteristically subdued; it is only natural after the terrifying events of this night. As assassins of Weiss, we have seen more than anyone should in a lifetime - the decay and cruelty of humanity in all its sick glory. But tonight was different; tonight had been so heartbreaking.

We gather around the coffee table in our basement mission room. Omi switches on the low overhanging lamp and places an ofuda in the center of the pool of light on the coffee table. He clasps his hands together and murmurs a quick incantation.

Terse minutes later, a transparent image of Manx appear within the column of light. "Report."

"Identity confirmed," Omi replies. "The strange Techno-Mage is the Blood Diamond."

"I see."

Something about her expression sounds the warning bells in my head. I think it was her absolute lack of surprise. "You knew already, didn't you?" I can't help but accuse.

"We suspect, Balinese." Manx corrects coolly. "We have to be sure before we can do anything."

I lean forward. "Takatori is using him as more than just a conduit to the Nether Plane, Manx."

"Explain."

I take a deep breath and tell her what happened tonight in brief. "Manx, he spilled blood. You know what that means."

"Of course, Yohji. Weiss did a good job tonight. Have a good rest, boys, and don't think about it too much. Let Kritiker worry about it."

In other words, keep our mouths shut and stay out of what is clearly none of our business. "Understood."

The image of Manx vanishes, leaving behind the ofuda on the coffee table. Ken stirs impatiently beside me. "I don't get it. So what if a Gem spills blood?"

"A Gem is a passive creation, bound to his master's life. He must remains as only the Techno-Mage's conduit to the Nether Plane. He's forbidden to take actions of his own to prevent tainting. It is also his master's obligation to make sure he remains taint-free."

"Taint-free?"

"Taking lives, Kenken." I lean back on the couch, lighting up a cigarette. "Like their namesake, Gems resonates. Their actions cause ripples through the Mortal Plane, affecting everything else because of their unnatural existence. And since everything is connected, the consequences eventually boomerang back to the Gem's master. It's called retribution."

Omi continues, "But if a Gem gets tainted, the effects on the Mortal Plane is a lot worse."

"Like how?"

"The Holocaust is a good example."

"And so is the genocide of the Inca civilization," I added.

Silence falls as Ken absorbs the information, a frown on his face. I can make a good guess as to his thoughts. It's the same going through my mind. I can't understand why Takatori will deliberately taint his Gem. He has everything a person could possibly dream of. He has more money than he could ever use in a lifetime, he also has power one can only desire to have. So what is he up to?

I sigh, stumping out my cigarette. All these late-night thinking is doing me no good. "I'm going for a drive. Don't wait up."

"But Yohji-kun, it's very late," Omi points out in concern.

"I'll be fine, Omittchi." I smile reassuringly. "I don't think I can sleep anyway."

I leave our home before he can protest further. Sometimes, the boy's a mother hen. Omi isn't like me; he likes being around people. Sometimes even the flirt of the neighborhood needs to be alone for a while, especially if that flirt is me whose life has been nothing but trouble. But it isn't my past that occupies my mind; rather it's tonight's mission that refuses to leave me alone.

I don't know what drives that boy. I never really experienced the urge for revenge, even when she died. I don't know if he's foolish for even daring to go up against Takatori, and risking the chance to leave his sister all alone in this world. I do know he was probably consumed by so much hatred and need for vengeance, and that can make anyone dare anything.

I cruise the quiet streets, not really paying attention to where I'm going. In my mind, I keep seeing the boy's determination and later on, his terror and pain. I keep seeing the Blood Diamond, how he had looked at me, at the boy he had killed so easily. They say Gems have emotions, the only trace of their humanity they had left. I wonder how he feels about the killing. He must known about the consequences for taking lives. Did he taint himself willingly or not? What kind of hold does Takatori have over the human he once was? What did Takatori do to persuade him to give up his humanity? Or did he offer himself willingly? Why would anyone do such a thing? I'm an assassin. At some point in my assassin life, I think I have lost some of my humanity too. I didn't like what I have become but I didn't have a choice. Did the Blood Diamond have a choice in becoming what he is?

I slow down, realizing I have somehow made my way to Southbank Park in my musings. On an impulse, I pull over and enter the park. It's dark and quiet, despite the lamps, not a good place to go for a stroll at night. But I can be alone here with my thoughts and cigarettes. There's something calming about walking among the trees.

When I spy the swings, I can't help but remember Aya. Did he came by today? Did he wait around for me? And when I didn't show, I wonder was he disappointed? I wonder if he knows about that little girl's brother. Probably not. Aya doesn't seem the type to know about underground clubs. I sit down in one of the swings, glad to be thinking about the redhead than the depressing mission. Aya is such a mystery, and he seems so lost and alone. I think he needs someone to pull him out of whatever he got himself in. Maybe…

Snorting, I toss my cigarette butt to the sandpit. Yohji Kudoh, you're a hopeless romantic. What can I possibly offer to someone like Aya? He leads a normal, albeit mysterious, life. I won't be able to tell him about Weiss. Whatever I tell him will be a lie and somehow I don't think he appreciate people lying to him.

I rise from the swing; ready to go home when I hear something I don't expect to hear in a park late at night. I listen intently. There, a muffled sound. Almost sounds like…a sob? I look around, pausing when I see the thick corpse of trees near the swings. There's a reason why I wear shades even at night. It has night-vision integrated into it, one of Kritiker's new-fangled equipment. I thumb on the night-vision and cautiously approach the trees.

Very distinctly now, I hear sobbing. Still muffled but loud in this quiet despite its softness. I walk past the first line of tree, ready for battle just in case it's a trap. Through my night-vision, I see someone hunched behind another tree. He's sitting on the ground, hugging his legs tightly close to him, face buried. I can see his body visibly shaking and his crying is a lot clearer now.

I stop and slowly take off my shades, staring at the unusual but sad sight before me. Then I blurt out without thinking, "Aya?"

His head jerks up and he whirls round to stare wildly at me. Even in this darkness, I see the glimmer of tears on his pale face. It is Aya, crying his heart out in this lonely park at night. He jumps up and runs deeper into the trees, away from me.

"Wait!"

I give chase, stumbling through the trees. Whatever thoughts I still have about the mission are gone now, replaced by my worry for the redhead. He was still fine yesterday when I met him. What had happened to cause him so much distress that he finds it necessary to hide in this park to cry?

"Aya, matte!"

He's fleet and obviously knows the grounds better than I do. In frustration, I summon a glowing ball of light. There, to my left and ahead of me - the lithe slender form clad in a long black coat.

"Obex."

He skids to a halt before the glowing barrier. He looks around wildly but I have him trapped. He whirls round to face me. In the additional light of the barrier, I can see the pain, guilt and fear in his eyes.

"Let me go."

"What's wrong, Aya? I want to help." I take a step closer.

"Don't come near!" He shrinks back, as though in fear of me. I'm pretty sure it's not me he's actually afraid of.

"Aya -"

"Don't come near me. Don't come near -"

"All right, all right." He is almost out of his mind with distress. First thing I got to do is to calm him. He's not going anywhere with the barrier in place. "I won't come near you. Okay?" I can see him hyperventilating in the soft dim glow, each shallow gasp loud in the silence. "Calm down, Aya. I'm not going to hurt you."

A low laugh greets me. That laugh has a hysterical edge to it, a wildness that has nothing to do with panic but everything to do with sanity. "Hurt me? You can't hurt me. No one can."

I'm way in over my head. I feel like I'm groping in the dark, trying to figure out what's going on. "Aya, calm down please. I can't help you if you don't calm down."

"I'm bad luck," he continues as though he didn't hear me. I don't think he did; he sounds as though he's talking to himself. "Bad luck to everyone since I'm born." He reaches up to grasp and pull at his hair, as though he can pull out his agony at the same time. This has gone too far.

"Aya!" I give up keeping my distance and grab his wrists. I'm surprised to feel how thin and fragile they are. "Stop this now!"

"Don't touch me!"

He strikes me, a hard punch across the face. Despite the fragility of his wrists, he packs a mean punch. I stagger back, disoriented, as he darts past me. I lunge and grab him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. He struggles fiercely to break free but I refuse to let go. He is like a wild animal in my arms as I wrestle him to the ground.

"Dissimula," I cast a spell of invisibility over us. It wouldn't do to have the cops cruise by and interfere in this rather precarious moment. "Everything's going to be fine. I won't hurt you."

I don't know how long we both sat there on the ground, hidden in the shadows of the trees. I hug him close to me, his back to my chest, whispering the same soothing words over and over again. His struggle dies down, until I'm holding a violently trembling Aya. He's no longer trying to get away but simply breaks down. I let him cry; I think he needs this release. I take down the barrier; I don't think he's going anywhere soon. Besides, the glow from the magical barrier will attract the attention I don't want.

It is odd for me though, to be in a position of giving comfort. I have never done so before; she would have laugh if I had tried. It's odd but…I don't dislike it. Somehow it makes me feel closer to this beautiful redhead in my arms, makes me feel so protective of him. I'm not supposed to feel for other people outside Weiss but I can't help it and I don't really care.

Gradually his tears stop and he lies limp against me, too exhausted to move.

"Feeling better?" I ask gently against the silky mass of his hair.

"…"

Quite suddenly, I become aware that I'm stroking his hair. Have been doing so for the past minutes already.

"Don't…" he says quietly when I take my hand away. "It…feels good."

I smile even though I know he can't see my face. "I won't stop then." He has gone too long without comfort if this small human contact can calm him so much. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask.

"…"

"It will do you some good."

"I can't," he answers at last.

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

I sigh. "Aya, it's hurting you."

"I'm all right."

He sits up and looks at me, still sitting in the circle of my arms. His eyes are red from crying and his cheeks still wet from his tears but he is still so beautiful. I never thought I would use these words to describe a man, but he looks so pale and ethereal, like some fey creature from the Otherworld. And that look in his eyes…so full of grief and misery, mutely screaming for help - I have never seen someone so tormented as he.

"Oh Aya…"

I can't resist the temptation to touch him, reaching up to tenderly stroke his pale smooth cheek, instinctively comforting him. He accepts my touch, even leaning into my palm. There's a wealth of emotions in his purple eyes. I can't make them out, not completely - there's wonder, puzzlement too, and not a little sadness and fear.

"How can you care so much for someone you barely knew?" he whispers.

"I don't know," I confess. "I just know…that I'm drawn to you."

"You shouldn't." He pulls away from me. "I shouldn't have let this begin in the first place."

"Aya?" I know I sound plaintive but I'm confused! What is he talking about? Why is he pulling away from me? "Aya, you're not making sense."

"Forget about me."

"What?" I scramble to my feet. I know he is leaving. I'm afraid this may be the last time we will see each other. I don't want him to go. I think…I think he may be that special someone I have been looking for so long.

Aya stands there, a look of resolve in his eyes. With his long black coat, he blends into the dark like a ghost, something I can never grasp and hold.

"Don't look for me anymore, Yohji."

He disappears into the night, leaving me standing alone among the trees, completely bewildered. I rake a hand through my hair, wondering how this night managed to turn so strange.

Interlude

Like a shadow, Aya slipped noiselessly back into his bedroom. He stood motionlessly in the center of his room, his gaze fixed to the full-length mirror in the corner. He didn't bother with the lights; the moonlight shining in was enough to show him his hated image.

But that man Yohji hadn't hated his looks, he remembered. He had liked what he saw, even if Aya was a blood-haired monster that really didn't deserved to live. But Yohji hadn't been just after him for a lay. Yohji had cared and comforted him when he found his life too unbearable tonight, kept him from completely falling apart. For the first time in more years than he cared to count, Aya had felt at peace.

One fair slender hand touched his cheek. He could still feel Yohji's soothing touch on his skin, could still feel his arms around him, making him feel safe and warm. It had been such a long time; he almost forgot how simple touches, touches that give without asking for anything in return, feels like.

He would never forget Yohji's kindness and warmth.

He would not get Yohji in trouble either.

Aya sighed. He watched his mirror image as he allowed the disguise to melt away. He watched as his skin took on a pale moon-sheen glow, his hair gleaming ruby red and his eyes the cold vivid brilliance of amethysts. He felt his emotions retreating back into the deepest recess of his heart, as he became the icy emotionless Blood Diamond everyone had come to expect from him.

With precise moves, he changed his clothes, carefully hanging them back in his walk-in closet. He put on an oversized white silk pajamas shirt, buttoning it loosely so the open collar would offer a generous glimpse of his well-formed chest. The long hem of the pajamas shirt reached mid-thighs, showing off his long graceful legs - the alabaster thighs tapering to perfectly formed calves and slim ankles. The pajamas shirt also covered his bottom modestly, though invitingly. As a last touch, Aya fastened on a slim silver anklet with a tiny bell attached to it.

Aya knew he looked alluring. He certainly hoped it would distract his master from whatever punishment he would dish out. After they returned from the Chess club, he had gone out again without asking for permission. He badly needed to see his sister again and be alone to wallow in his guilt, but he knew his master would not allow a second visit for the day. So he took off without a word. What he had done defied his master's rules. His master would be very angry with him and an angry Takatori was often a cruel one.

Putting on the white mask he had wore to the underground club, Aya silently made his way to Reiji Takatori's chambers on bare feet. Takatori's chambers were dimly lit. Aya entered quietly, looking around until he found the heavyset man standing outside on his balcony. He crossed the room to the balcony doors and knelt, looking down onto the floor.

"I see you have returned," Reiji Takatori spoke at last.

"Hai. I was…visiting my sister, Reiji-sama."

"You had visited her earlier today, Ran."

"Gomen nasai."

"Take off your mask."

Obediently, Aya took off the mask and laid it beside him. He heard the heavy tread of Takatori as he approached. Seconds later, a hand grabbed him by his hair and roughly pulled him up. Aya had no choice but to rise up as well. It was either that or has his hair pulled out by its roots.

"You do not ever leave my estate without my permission."

"Gomen nasai, Reiji-sama. I won't do it again."

"See that you don't." Takatori released him. "Now you know what to do."

Aya did know what to do and tried not to think about anything. He knew exactly what would happen and he learnt a long time ago to keep his mind empty and still. It was easier this way.

The covers had been turned down. Aya lay back on the black silk sheets and averted his head to the side. He didn't have to look in the ceiling mirror to know what he looked like - a whore waiting to be fucked. At least his ploy had worked. The punishment had been averted. Aya hadn't liked having all his magic drained away until he was barely more than an insubstantial ghost. It had taken him weeks to recover all his power that one time.

Aya closed his eyes when he heard Takatori climbed into bed, didn't move when he felt the naked body pressing against him. He accepted the kiss passively, submissive to the tongue demanding entrance. The hungry hands that crept under his shirt to stroke and caress his body were nothing new; the hard desire pressing into his thigh familiar though unwanted.

"Is killing so terrible for you, my Gem?" Takatori asked as he nipped down the ivory column of his neck.

Aya couldn't help but shudder, his body responding to the older man's touch. After so many years being his possession, Takatori knew all his erogenous spots, knew just how to make his body react.

"I don't understand… Why? It'll make everything worse in the end."

"You don't have to understand. You just have to follow my orders and you will get your sister back." Takatori rose up above him, insistently parting his thighs so he could fondle and explore his warm entrance. "That is our deal."

"Our deal…"

Obediently, Aya spread his legs wider, allowing the older man access like always. He cried out and arched his back as Takatori drove into him in one hard thrust. He stared unseeingly up at the ceiling mirror as Takatori moved hard and fast inside him, the older man grunting as he raced for his climax.

For Aya-chan…

Author's post-script notes:

I knew there had to be a reason why Yohji wears his sunglasses even at night. They didn't give him one in the anime, so I thought I would take the liberty to do so.

Writing spells are difficult. The one Yohji cast was partially inspired by Gandalf (yes, you heard me correctly), and it's cobbled from several myths.

Latin words used:

Contega - shield

Concrema - burn

Obex - barrier

Dissimula - ignore

I took all these words from an online English-Latin dictionary, so the accuracy of the meanings might not be so accurate.

Oh yeah, the Empress Yang Gui Fei apparently was a historical figure in Chinese history. According to the legend, she was so beautiful that the Emperor got completely besotted with her. He neglected his country and when the enemies invaded China, he and his court were forced to flee. His court advisors told him to get rid of her because they deemed her a danger to the country's security. The Emperor refused but she, knowing somehow it was partially her fault, decided to take her own life. Tragic story. I hope I remember it correctly.