Tokyo Demons Book 3: Chapter 3, Part 2

For those first few seconds, Ayase thought she was dreaming. That she’d successfully succumbed to exhaustion in her bed, and her brain had fallen into its usual fantasy–Kiyoshi coming to her in the night, his sweet mouth catching hers as his hands ran over her aching body.

But this wasn’t familiar. This wasn’t a boy she’d touched in her dreams.

He was fire. And he was on top of her in an instant, the force of his rough kisses crushing her head back into her pillow.

“Mm…!”

He was heavy and sweaty, and his teeth caught on her lip when he switched the angle of his kiss. His trembling fingers clutched her hard enough to bruise. His bare chest heaved with his pants and crushed up against her breasts, in time with guttural, animalistic grunts that erupted up his throat and vibrated his tongue in her mouth.

He actually wanted her. They were alone in the dark. And it was clear, despite his awkward fumbling, that he could wrench her from the cold world and explode pleasure inside her that would tear her from the weak confines of her skin.

Her body opened like a flower blooming in the rain.

No!

She finally regained her senses and recoiled against the mattress. Her knees slammed shut, but he was already between them, so she accidentally clenched her thighs around his hips and brushed up against his–

He moaned into her mouth, his voice cracking into a higher pitch. “Aah-Ayase,” he begged.

Her body ached at that sound, ached to push up against him and dig deeper against that hard heat, but she fought the drunken lust in her body with every fiber of her being. She twisted her hips away, but his hands slid down and gripped her thighs to angle her back against him, her pajama top hiking up to push her bare stomach against the low sag of his sweatpants. She didn’t feel an elastic band from boxers crushed up against her–just the press of hot skin and the brush of a trail of hair.

“Ahmmn!” she protested as he sucked the word from her mouth.

He’s not a psychic! the back of her mind screamed. You have to say something!

She finally gripped his rocking shoulders and pushed back as hard as she could. “No!” she gasped as his mouth was torn from hers. “No no no!”

Kiyoshi tensed. He panted over her, blearily blinking his eyes beneath his sweat-damp bangs.

“Huh?”

Her body seared with need, hungry for this unrestrained desire that blew the virginal fantasies out of her head. She pushed up against the flushed skin of his chest with a shaking fist.

“W-we can’t do this,” she breathed. “It’ll ruin everything!”

Kiyoshi’s eyebrows slanted, but he couldn’t vocalize a clear reply. He released her hips and instead slid a hand back to her face.

“You don’t…want to?”

“Please,” she begged. “I can’t. I won’t. Please.”

He swallowed and rocked back on his knees, taking a wave of heated air with him. She panted against her pillow, trying to pull the cooler air of the room inside to extinguish the fire.

“I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled weakly. “I thought you…liked me back.”

Ayase’s eyes burned. She threw an arm over her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the look on his face.

“I do like you back,” she wheezed. “That’s the problem.”

“What? How is that a problem?!”

“Kiyoshi, I…I thought I was over you! And it was so much easier to be your friend when this wasn’t hanging between us–”

“We can be more than friends! Why are you acting like that’s a bad thing?!” His arm suddenly slid under her; her eyes popped open as he pulled her into a sitting position to stare into his face.

She cringed, but he didn’t kiss her. He just wrapped his arms around her, crushing her up against his chest as he clutched at her pajamas with achingly desperate fingers.

“What am I doing wrong?” he breathed.

Ayase started to cry.

Kiyoshi released her abruptly, pulling his body back from hers. He fell back on his knees, and through the blur of her tears, his horrified expression cut right through her heart.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she sobbed, trying to control the humiliating tears. But her body was releasing all her tension at once, and she couldn’t stop the flood. “It’s me! I just can’t make this decision–not now! Not when…!”

“When…Zayd’s power is doing this to us?”

“Yes! And when Sachi’s gone! Before Touya took him, I… We were already… And he confessed in that car, in the last second before we lost him!”

Kiyoshi went dead still. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

“You’re with Sachi?!”

“I don’t know!” Ayase sobbed. “I love him, and we… We kiss sometimes, but we didn’t want to make that decision during the drug war, and now…!”

Kiyoshi stumbled to his feet, his flush draining into a pallor. “Wh-why didn’t you just say that?!”

“We weren’t telling anybody! I mean, Daniel-san caught us once, but–”

Kiyoshi plowed his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe this.”

“Kiyoshi–”

“I’m such an asshole. I just made out with you while your boyfriend is being held hostage somewhere. By Touya.”

Ayase’s chest squeezed. “Let’s not talk about that part. Please.”

His teeth clenched, a flash of white behind a grimace. “Because I’ll just make it worse. Because I can’t do anything right.” He clutched his jaw. “I told Jo I didn’t want to talk to him about this, because I could handle it…”

“Kiyoshi–”

He suddenly turned and slammed a palm against the wall.

WHAM

Plaster cracked and fell from the edge of his hand. He dropped his head, his broad shoulders trembling as his hand dragged down from the crumbling indent in the wall.

The boom of the sound shocked Ayase’s body out of its sobs. She swallowed and tried to catch her breath, her legs shaking as she stood. She stared at his looming back.

“I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled, his voice unsteady. “For pushing that far with you when you didn’t…”

He trailed off. She didn’t know what to say, so they stood in silence. And after a long moment…

He hiccupped and ran a fist across his eyes.

“Why am I so bad at this?” he wailed weakly.

The tension in her softened. She blinked away the last of her tears and stepped toward that trembling back.

“You’re not,” she breathed. “It’s just…hard.” She straightened her ruffled pajama top. “And you didn’t know any of this. I’m worse at this than you.”

“Please don’t hate me.”

Ayase stopped mid-step. She dropped her blurry gaze to the floor.

“Please don’t hate me, either,” she whispered.

She heard his feet creak on the floorboards. “Ayase…”

She shook her head, her heart rising to her throat. “I can’t…I can’t always separate out what I’m feeling,” she said softly. “Or what kind of love I want–I’m still working that stuff out. Maybe it’s different for you, because you grew up with people who loved you, but…I never even had friends before this, Kiyoshi. So when things get complicated for me, it can ruin that, and I just… Nothing is worth losing the friendship.” She took a breath. “Nothing.”

He didn’t reply. When she finally looked up, he was staring at her.

And the pain was gone from his face.

Ayase’s chest tightened. A hint of her desire was still in her heart, as it always seemed to lurk in the shadows of her relationship with him–but it was overpowered by that pure, innocent affection she’d known long before her crush. When he’d smiled at her behind a shaggy mop of hair, and she’d flown into an enemy stronghold to stay by his side.

Slowly, he closed the distance between them. He tentatively reached out and stroked her hair.

“I get it,” he said quietly.

“Do you?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I mean… Hell, I think everyone knows what that’s like.” He sighed. “When it’s hard to separate out what you’re feeling, and wondering if maybe you’re just…pushing something in a weird direction because you feel like you need some sort of…”

Ayase frowned, and he pulled his hand back from her head. He awkwardly clutched his arm.

“Maybe this is a bad time to make decisions about this stuff. Not just because of Zayd’s power, but because we might, y’know, die in one of these fights, and it gets you thinking of stuff you wanna experience before you die.”

Ayase paled. Kiyoshi flushed and threw up his hands.

“That’s not the reason I like you!” he blurted. “But…maybe it’s part of the reason I thought we should hook up tonight. No offense, Ayase…but you’re the only girl around here who’s not married, my sister, or a lesbian.”

Ayase grimaced. “Thanks,” she said sourly.

Kiyoshi coughed, but his lips curled at the edges. He tried to cover it with his hand.

“This is hard,” he agreed.

Ayase sighed. “Yeah.”

“Um… I’m happy to just stay your friend right now. Especially with all the Sachi stuff.”

“…Thank you.”

“But is it okay if I don’t give up on you? Like, long-term?”

Ayase turned red. “You’ll probably get over this,” she wheezed automatically. “When you’re not just holed up with me and no other options.”

His arm suddenly snaked around her shoulder. She stiffened, but didn’t pull back; he stepped closer so he could pull her into a hug.

“Don’t count on it,” he murmured into her hair.

Ayase swallowed the heat burning her face. She slid her arms around his bare torso.

And finally hugged him back.

***

Jo was told the team going after Zero would be small. They needed to get to him–wherever he was in his massive home–before he had time to slip out and escape. Nakajima was insistent that they be quick, subtle, and quiet.

Which ruled out most of Byakko.

Zero’s “house” was more like a mansion–a giant, traditional structure in a densely wooded area. Jo wasn’t exactly sure what prefecture it was in…but they had to drive more than an hour out of Tokyo to get to it. When he finally had a chance to peer at the place through Miki’s binoculars, he frowned.

It looked like a single-floor ryokan. There were a few small buildings attached to the sides–like servants’ quarters or bathing houses. According to the intel, there was a dense pattern of paths, shrubbery, and water around the premises, but Jo couldn’t see much in the dark. At two in the morning, there wasn’t much to see by–only a few glowing windows and a smattering of outdoor lights hanging from the roof awnings or poking out from the gardens.

But he did see the guards. At least four people were outside, sitting in chairs or actively patrolling the area. They looked very awake for the middle of the night.

Jo handed the binoculars back to Miki. “Where did Mitsuko and Adam go again?”

“Farther up, a little east of us. Someplace safe.” Miki peered through the binoculars himself. “Apparently these woods are booby-trapped to all hell. That’s gonna be fun in the dark.”

Takeshi grinned and slapped Miki on the back. “We’ve just gotta follow the old bitch when she gets here. She said she disarmed a little path.”

Miki scowled at the mention of Nakajima. “You get to go in front,” he said darkly.

Jo watched Miki put down the binoculars and tap out a message in his mobile phone. The boy pulled his mouth into a tight line, but his expression was…neutral. For him. Jo couldn’t glean any meaning behind it.

He’d been trying to gauge Miki’s mood all night. Miki had spent most of the car trip buried in his PDA; he’d laid out their plans, made a few backhanded comments if anyone questioned his choices, and then left the final decisions to Takeshi. When he wasn’t working on that, he was texting on his mobile phone.

He didn’t seem compromised, but Jo wasn’t sure it would be obvious. He knew better than to ask if Takeshi had delivered that letter.

“This’ll kill him.”

Jo wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

The telltale crunching of forest matter drifted from behind them. Jo abruptly turned.

“It’s just us,” Kiyoshi called from the darkness, his voice dropped into a long-distance whisper. When he finally crunched into view, he pushed aside a low-hanging branch, revealing his strung bow gripped in his other hand.

He caught eyes with Jo. He smiled.

“Hey.”

Jo tipped his head. “Hey.”

Zayd was right behind Kiyoshi, which brought Jo a little wave of comfort. But behind him, practically materializing in the darkness over silent feet…

Was a very familiar goth.

Jo jerked back at the sight of the not-vampire, his heart leaping to his throat. He was about to scream his protest to whatever the hell this new plan was when the not-vampire opened her mouth.

“Oda-kun,” Nakajima said sharply. “Calm down.”

Jo blinked. In the darkness, he only saw the woman’s dark trench coat, her sunglasses, the glint of her pendant…even the hint of a silver gun tucked into her belt. But as she neared, he finally saw that she was shorter and denser than usual, and there were streaks of gray in her unbound hair.

Takeshi cackled quietly. “Nice cosplay, piggy.”

Nakajima ignored him and swept back her trench coat. She adjusted the two hidden nightsticks strapped against each leg, right below a police pistol at her waist and more gear Jo couldn’t identify. “Any unusual activity from the guards?”

“No. They seem to be doing normal patrols.”

She tossed a small mesh bag at Takeshi. “From the hacker,” she said. “Headsets. We won’t have time to use our mobile phones, but Core won’t have time to hack our frequency.”

Takeshi clipped one of the devices to his ear. “Sweet. Can you hear me? Testing!”

Nakajima grimaced and touched the device already pushed against her eardrum. “What’s that metallic clacking noise?”

“Must be my piercings.”

“Take them out, you fool.”

Jo took an earpiece from the offered bag, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Nakajima. There was something…eerie about her. Jo didn’t know if it was seeing the not-vampire’s confiscated effects up close again, or just the fact that Nakajima looked far too comfortable armed to the teeth and dressed head to toe in black. He scowled bitterly.

She used to be a ninja, he reminded himself. Or something. It still sounded so stupid in his head, and didn’t exactly mesh with her wannabe vampire gear.

“Are those the goth’s sunglasses?” he asked.

Nakajima nodded. “She had them on her person when we arrested her. My appearance only needs to fool the guards long enough for me to find an opening.”

“Can you even see out of those things at night?” he asked sourly.

Her head snapped to him. She clicked the glasses off her eyes and slid them onto Jo’s face before he had time to jerk back.

She suddenly blazed greenish-yellow in his eyes, along with everything else; Jo could see the outlines of the trees around them, the several insects settled on Kiyoshi’s shoulders. He blinked and touched the glasses, which were heavier than he’d expected… The lenses were thick, and something was definitely built into the wide frame.

Nakajima whisked them off his face and slid them back onto her own. “They helped her see at night,” she said thinly. “Stop assuming the obvious and start thinking like Core. They’re always more than what they seem.” She tugged her coat sleeves straight. “And Zero is the most paranoid, brilliant tactician of them all. This won’t be easy.”

Miki sucked his teeth rudely. “This raid is based on your lead,” he growled. “If he’s not in there–”

“With any luck,” Nakajima cut off coldly, “I won’t need any of you. You are not to approach the property unless absolutely necessary. Understood?”

Zayd squinted. “You are planning to complete this mission alone…?”

She didn’t answer as she checked the chamber of Prick’s gun.

One of the insects buzzed on Kiyoshi’s shoulder. “Oh,” he said. “I think Ayase’s ready.”

Nakajima opened her collar and let one of the insects fly inside. “Watanabe-kun,” she said into her earpiece. “Are you in position?”

Jo’s device crackled. “Yeah,” came Ayase’s scratchy voice a moment later.

“Can everyone hear us?” This time it was Mitsuko’s voice in Jo’s ear, which made something twinge in his chest. “Adam-san’s keeping a look-out, and Shouri-san’s strapping the corrosive to Ayase’s bugs. The vials are a little big for her insects, though…”

“You can’t fly with them?”

“I’m not sure,” Ayase murmured. “I’m…trying.”

“You might find a better way to take out the security camera once you get there. Just keep us posted.”

Jo noticed Kiyoshi shift beside him in the darkness, his head tilted to the insect mounted on his arm. He gently stroked the bug’s back.

“Good luck,” he said softly, his voice rumbling on the audio line.

Proceed to Chapter 3, Part 2, page 3–>