Recon Afterman

[balinesian]

Dragging Aya as far as he could, the blond dropped the redhead off if his back and sat beside him against the wall in an alley that smelled like alcohol and urine.  He closed his eyes and shoved his glasses up and over his face to rest in his hair.  Shakey hands pulled off his gloves and he sorted through a pocket for his smokes and then his zippo.  Thank God for nicotine.

Aya had gotten the brunt of the pummeling but they had both been wounded.  Youji was just the hardier of the two.  He supposed, absently, that it came from being shot with a full clip in the chest a few years back.  Good old Kritiker.  They'd rebuilt him pretty solid.  Hardly a scar on his chest.  He was grateful for that.

Youji pulled one knee towards his chest and exhaled a smoke ring.  "Still breathin' over there, kid?"

Comments

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

"I"m fine," Aya responded, the word idiot not actually said, but implied. His voice was strained however, the tone cracking slightly with the words. He was not in the best of shape, but he'd live. He shifted against the wall, managing to stay half standing, braced against the cold brick.

Aya's fragility was a direct result of his seeming inability to eat healthy and frequently. He was too busy planning revenge to focus on the health of his own body.

"That was close," he muttered, pale lips curling into the barest of smiles. He shouldn't have felt exhilarated, but it was the closest he'd felt to being alive since his sister's 'accident'.

[killerbalinese.livejournal.com]

Youji did not share the same enthusiasm Aya did. Getting almost killed was never a fun thing. In all of his time working for Weiss, he really had not come across anything like...whatever that beast was. He just kept coming, those knives fanning out around him. He seemed unphased by anything they did--

Youji groaned and took another drag on the cigarette. "You decided to play hero so you get to give the report to Omi," Youji said, matter of factly.

Soon as I can move again, he silently added.

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

Aya was also unsettled, because he knew he stabbed him at least once in a vital area. The other man eyes were so inhuman, and even Aya had been unnerved by him. He didn't like not knowing what they were up against, especially considering the damage he'd done.

"I'm fine with that," he said coldly, running his fingers through his hair. His katana was propped up next to him. He rested his chin on his arms, staring at the wall while they caught their breath. "I want to know what he was... better put Omi on research mode."

[killerbalinese.livejournal.com]

Youji waved him off. Aya could want whatever the fucking hell he wanted. Sometimes he was stoic and emotionless, othertimes he was as chatty as a girl. Youji hated both versions. Well, hate was a very strict word. He didn't particularly hate his new, rash teammate, he just didn't think he belongs.

Having done research on Aya, despite his files being closed, Omi uncovered that Aya had done this before. Well. Mostly. Crashers. The Demolition guys.

Youji'd never met anyone from there, but he knew that they were bad news. And he knew that something had to have happened for Aya to not only become freelance, but to agree to join Weiss.

The Investigator in Kudou demanded information even after he told himself not to care.

"Also on you," he groaned, pushing himself up with dead legs.

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

"Maybe you should sit down?" he suggested dryly, still leaning against the wall. All his muscles were protesting any movement at all. He closed his eyes again, and took a deep breath.

He hadn't been in this much physical pain in a long time. What Weiss had done to him hurt, but it was nothing in comparison to how he felt now.

"At least until Ken comes to pick us up.."

[killerbalinese.livejournal.com]

Youji almost told the younger man off, but it was a good idea. Even if it meant sitting in an alley like this. Still, Youji was much too proud. He looked at his watch for the time and groaned. "No, ten minutes. He'll be here in ten minutes. And he'd better have the van and not the damned bike."

True to Youji's word, Ken pulled up and headed through the gap between the front seats to open the handleless van door for them. "In you...woah."

Youji waved him off, and Ken floored it, stopping several places first to detract from would be followers. In the back of the Van, Youji shrugged off his coat and looked at the gash in his side. "Dammit."

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

"Shit," Aya muttered, shrugging off his own leather coat to reveal the sleeveless turtleneck and leather pants. For whatever reason the Japanese man really loved clingy clothes; he claimed it was all practicality with nothing to grab onto.

"Let me take a look at that," he volunteered, keeping his voice flat. He had his fair share of bruises and cuts, probably a cracked rib or two, but he was good at internalizing and pretending he didn't hurt.

He leaned forward on his knees without waiting for permission and examined Youji's side, hair obscuring his face as he chewed on the inside of his mouth, assessing the damage.

[killerbalinese.livejournal.com]

Youji wasn't going to argue. Ken usually patched him up, but given the way that he was driving and how red Youji's fingers had come away, it was better to get him sewn up sooner rather than later.

He pulled down a med kit and shoved it over. He'd handled his own stitches once or twice, he could manage with an amateur doing it if need be.

"You two all right back there?"

"Just sitting down to a sewing bee."

"Fuck."

Youji laughed and Ken did too. Their way was easy. Aya would have to adapt. Eventually.

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

Aya's way of adjusting was ignoring and avoiding. He was doing just that, sharp violet eyes focusing on the wounds, long delicate fingers probing the flesh.

He'd sewn up his fair share of wounds, both with the Crashers and by himself. This was not new for him at all, but the skin itself was. He hadn't patched up Youji before, but he doubted this would be the last time.

Head bent, he took the needle and sterilized it with a lighter, and then cleaned the wound, face stoic, but inwardly wincing at the amount of blood dripping from the cut. He took the needle and began threading it through the wound, hands steady despite his own pain.

"In this case... I think it's worse that it looks," he said flatly, glancing up through thick bangs. "Sorry." He didn't really sound sorry, but it wasn't his place to care.

[killerbalinese.livejournal.com]

Youji's skin trembled because he could help it, but laying on his side, back to Aya, he hardly flinched. His glasses had fallen down over his eyes again, but he did not close them, he just kept staring outward.

Ken left the radio off and went over some football scores -- as if either of his passangers cared -- and Youji muttered up to the redhead that Ken use to be a professional.

He didn't get into details. He just waited for Aya to close him up.

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

Aya listened, but it didn't much matter to him what Ken did before working for Kritiker. They all had their own baggage, and he suspected even Youji with all his openness was hiding a great deal of himself from his team mates.

They wouldn't be here if their lives had been simple.

"All done," he said quietly, snipping the thread with a pair of scissors and pulling back. He probably needed stitching as well, based on the pain in his lower back, but he was stubborn enough to wait until they arrived back at the house.

[killerbalinese.livejournal.com]

Youji pulled down his half shirt and sat up without checking it He didn't bother with a bandage, he just shrugged on his coat and leaned down against the wall. "Hey, Hidaka, a little quicker will yah? Post mission and I'm behind on the drinking."

"Yes, yes," Ken sighed, pulling the car around to head back home. "Blood loss and you're in the need to get drunk. Smart, Youji."

Youji just laughed. "Shut it."

[epitaphassassin.livejournal.com]

"You always this excited after you almost die?" he asked dryly as the van slowed in front of the flower shop. He stood up, wincing as he felt the gash on his back pull again. He probably should have asked for help, but it sounded like Kudou was planning on getting smashed as soon as they got inside.

He opened the door and hopped out, nodding his thanks to Ken, who saluted him with a wry grin.