Balance
Chapter 4
*******
Ran sat down on the picnic blanket, amid a field of wildflowers, watching his
sister and lover play. Aya-chan had made a crown of pink larkspur and was trying
to place it on Yohji’s head. The blond was mock frantically trying to avoid
the girl’s attempts, claiming that it would muss up his hair, and that his beauty
would put the lovely flowers to shame. Aya-chan laughed merrily at the smoking
man’s assertions, and even Ran felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Yohji, feigning desperation, suddenly sprang to his feet and jogged away. The
girl was quick to follow him, calling out the man’s name amid laughs. Ran just
sat there, watching the two people he loved most in the world slowly fade from
view.
After a few minutes he realized that he couldn’t hear the sound of Aya’s laughter
or Yohji’s protest anymore. Standing up, he headed in the direction he’d seen
them vanish.
About thirty meters away from the blanket the red head noticed a crumpled pile
of cloth lying in the near distance. Racing over to it, he found his imouto
on the ground, unconscious. Ran choked out the girl’s name and shook her, but
she wouldn’t wake up. Looking about desperately, he spotted his lover standing
several meters away. When he cried out to the man, the blond seemed not to hear
him. As Ran watched, Neu of Schreient appeared out of the woods surrounding
the field, and motioned to Yohji. The tall man slowly walked toward the visored
woman, moving as if in a trance. Ran kept calling out his boyfriend’s name,
only to have the man ignore him. Clutching the still body of his sister in his
arms, the red head felt tears stream down his face.
Suddenly, everything shifted into blurriness and the young man found himself
alone and surrounded by darkness. He wore his Abyssinian outfit, and was covered
in blood. In place of his sister he found himself holding onto his katana. "Aya-chan?
Yohji?" The two were nowhere to be found. "Don’t leave me. Why did
you have to go?"
There was a chuckle of amusement, and then green covered arms wrapped themselves
around the kneeling man. "Everyone always seems to leave you, eh Kätzchen?
Everybody but me, that is. You even dream of me when I’m not here, whispering
all those ugly truths you don’t want to listen to."
"Schuldig," Aya gasped out.
"Correct, Süßer. Such a clever kitty, but I already told you
that earlier, hmm? I warned you that you’d be left all alone, didn’t I? Seems
your subconscious agrees with me."
"Get the fuck out of my head." Aya tried to free himself from the
German’s hold, but found his body unable to move. "This is all your doing,
you bastard."
Schuldig just snickered some more as he nuzzled at the crimson red hair. "No
no no, meine weiße Kamelie, not before this. As I said, that was all you.
I was just paying you an early morning visit and found you like this. Mmm, such
delicious torment you put yourself through. Better than coffee, sex or nicotine
in the morning." The telepath trailed a hand up the assassin’s neck and
cupped his chin, tilting it upward. "You are so much more addictive than
all those things. So sweet to taste, mind and body." Smiling lips pressed
themselves against Aya’s exposed neck, tongue flicking out between them to savor
pale skin.
Aya wanted to cry from the anger and frustration locked inside his immobile
body. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
The hungry mouth paused for a minute, then moved up to his ear. When he started
to speak, it was in a tone that the swordsman had never heard in that nasal,
accented voice before. So serious and rough. "Because you’re mine, Abyssinian.
I helped make you what you are today. I’m the only one who appreciates the sacrifices
you’ve made, the murderer you’ve become. No one else would want to be near you
if they knew the darkness that’s inside you, if they could see all the blood
covering your hands." Aya began shaking, minutely at first, but steadily
increasing as the voice droned on. "You believe that Kudoh understands
what you are, don’t you? That since he is a murderer too it is safe to love
him, eh? You’re wrong. He just sees a pretty package and a challenge, feels
a thrill at possessing something that no one else has ever touched. He could
care less about your nightmares and fears, and he refuses to see what’s really
inside you. Because your lover knows it would revolt even him, Kudoh the murdering
man- whore. And when he realizes this, he’ll go back to those sluts he always
fucks around with. Maybe then you’ll realize how much you need someone who truly
understands you." That mouth, finally quiet once again, now traced the
outline of his ear with a wet tongue, before nibbling on an earlobe.
Trembling violently, Aya felt his hands twitch against the hilt of his katana.
He could move somewhat now. A steel grip was still about his upper arms, so
he moved his limbs the only way they were allowed. He brought the hilt up across
his body, and smashed it into the face so near to his own. There was a yelp
of pain, and a lessoning of the hold around his body, of the darkness surrounding
him. Still feeling a phantom caress against his neck and ear, the red head woke
up.
Body shaking, Aya opened his eyes. He was lying on his side, with Yohji curled
up behind him and a golden arm flung over his hips. Fighting to regain control
of his body, the swordsman just lay there for a minute or two. Gods, another
nightmare starring that German bastard. It wasn’t bad enough he had to invade
the red head’s life again last night, now Schuldig was back full force with
the mind games.
Shivering mostly suppressed, he gently grasped and lifted his lover’s arm off
of him and slid out of bed. For a minute it looked as if the older man would
wake up, but Yohji just grabbed onto red head’s pillow and squirmed deeper under
the covers. The man was exhausted. It had been a late night discussing what
Schwarz might be up to before the couple had gone to bed. Not long after falling
asleep, Aya had woken up from a nightmare featuring Schuldig torturing and killing
the blond. Yohji had awoken as well from the disturbed man’s loud gasp and trembling
form, and tried to soothe him back to sleep. Needing to dispel the awful images
in his head, the red head had turned to his lover in a passionate frenzy, and
all thoughts of sleep had fled from the two men’s minds for a while. Aya’s side
still ached from that bout of activity.
Quiet as his codename, the pale men randomly picked out some clothes and left
the room. Once in the bathroom, he took an almost blistering hot shower, desperate
to scrub away those vestigial feelings left over from the dream. Of Schuldig’s
mouth on his body. What he wouldn’t give for a clear shot at the fucking telepath.
Looking into the mirror as he brushed his teeth, fury blazed in violet eyes
at the bite mark on his neck. That man was /so/ dead.
Aya made his way to the kitchen, where he boiled some water for tea. He didn’t
think his stomach could handle coffee this morning, but he brewed some anyways
for Yohji and Omi. Steaming mug in hand, he headed to the flower shop. If the
Koneko’s patrons knew what was good for them, none of them would ask for any
white camellias that day.
*******
"Shit."
Yohji jumped out of bed and searched for something clean to wear. Since Aya
had all but moved into his bedroom, it was a much easier task than it had been.
Jeans, top and underwear in hand, the blond rushed into the bathroom. He was
supposed to have opened the shop with Aya this morning. Apparently, the quiet
man had woken up earlier and forgotten about setting the alarm before leaving
the room. So Yohji was now running late. Hopefully Weiß’s resident grouch
wouldn’t hold that against him. It really wasn’t his fault this time.
At least there was a pot of coffee this morning. Pouring a cup as he set two
frozen waffles in the toaster, Yohji gulped it down while waiting for his breakfast.
Searching through the cupboards for something to put on the pastries, he shrugged
his shoulders and grabbed the peanut butter. Smearing some on the waffles, he
poured another cup of coffee and then went downstairs to the flower shop.
Once there, he quickly spotted his lover by the coolers and made a beeline for
the man. Cautiously evaluating the red head’s mood as he neared him, Yohji noted
the shadowed eyes and tightly pressed lips. No way to know if the anger was
directed at him or someone else, but might as well chance it. Wolfing down the
last of his breakfast, he quickly glanced around the shop to make sure it was
customer-free, and wished the smaller man a ‘proper’ good morning. Since Aya
didn’t protest the kiss in anyway, it was safe to assume it wasn’t a certain
blond assassin he was furious with.
Stepping back, Aya ran a slender finger across his lips. "Peanut butter?"
"Yeah, didn’t exactly have time for a fancy breakfast. Why didn’t you wake
me up before you left?" Aya looked over at some orchids, prompting Yohji
to believe it must have been a pretty early hour. "Did you get any sleep
last night?"
It sounded as if the man mumbled ‘a little’, but his head was tilted down and
scarlet bangs obscured his face. Making a tsking sound, Yohji lifted Aya’s face
up so he could see it. Something about that move made the smaller man shy away,
ever so slightly. The blond’s other hand moved to brush back ragged bangs. That
familiar gesture seemed to reassure his lover somewhat. "You didn’t, did
you? Dreaming about Schuldig again, huh Kitten?" Violet eyes blinked in
surprise at him, then were downcast as Aya minutely nodded his head. "What
did the prick want with you last night? You never did say."
The red head tried to step back, but Yohji didn’t let him. He quickly wrapped
his long arms around the frowning man’s shoulders. "Answer me, Aya. I think
I need to know. Don’t forget he was in my head as well, and most likely Ken’s
too. You said he didn’t talk about the mission, but just tried to get a rise
out of you. That might have been enough of an explanation last night, but it
won’t do now. Not if he has you waking up from nightmares in the middle of the
night."
Once again the smaller man mumbled under his breath, this time Yohji would swear
it was ‘you weren’t complaining.’ He just stood there, arms still about the
man, until Aya eventually spoke out loud. "He found out about the two of
us, and wasn’t happy." The red head wasn’t stupid enough to mention the
German’s possessive claim. Not to Yohji at least. "Made some disparaging
comments about you, and needled me about my sister." Nor was he going to
discuss Schuldig’s comments about him being not human. "Overall, he left
the impression he just wanted to fuck with my mind while the opportunity was
present." Aya remained quiet about the second nightmare. "I think
you need to be very careful, Yohji."
While it was touching that his lover was worried over his well being, Yohji
was still irritated over the quiet man’s lack of self-concern. All the telepath
had done to him was give him a headache; it was Aya who’d dealt with the brunt
of the asshole’s attention. "That sounds like some advice you need to follow
as well, love."
Aya looked as if he was about to say something else when a customer walked into
the shop. Shaking his head at the interruption, he turned back to the coolers
and the flowers within, leaving Yohji to deal with their client.
*******
It was just before noon when Ken arrived at the flowershop for his shift. He
was scheduled to work the afternoon, along with Omi when the boy got out of
school, but it was likely the youth would need another day off to let his arm
heal. He’d been cradling the wounded limb last night as Aya dropped his bombshell
on the team. Spending the night at the computer hadn’t seemed to have done him
any good.
Which meant that Yohji or Aya would have to stay and cover the chibi’s shift.
Ken sincerely hoped it was the red head, he didn’t think he could put up with
working along side Kudoh for several hours. He’d barely controlled himself the
past few days when it was the two of them in the shop. For some reason his anger,
instead of ebbing away, had only intensified. The thought that he’d just left
the club last night, not warning his partners that they were losing some back
up, didn’t help the situation. And the blond idiot claimed it was all Schuldig’s
fault. Yeah, right.
Of course it was Yohji who greeted him when he walked into the shop. "It’s
about damn time you showed up. Shop’s been too busy for one of us to leave for
lunch, and I’m starving." The older man ignored the glare Ken was giving
him. "Hey, Aya, what do you want to eat? I was going to stop by the sandwich
place, unless you want something else."
The red head frowned at his shouting boyfriend, interrupted in the middle of
assisting a young businessman. Directing the man towards some dahlias, he stalked
over to the register. "How many times do I have to tell you don’t shout
like that? I’m not hungry, so get whatever you want."
"Right. Tell me what you had for breakfast." Aya just glared at the
blond, as Ken took in the dark circles surrounding eyes sparkling like amethyst.
He’d be willing to go out on a limb and say the swordsman hadn’t gotten much
sleep.
Yohji didn’t seem fazed in the least by the anger in those unusual eyes. "Thought
so. I’ll pick you up an egg salad and ham, you need the protein. And some soup
as well. One of these days you’ll realize you need to eat. Unless you’ve been
holding out on us that you’re not human."
The blond was too busy lighting a cigarette to see his lover react to that last
comment. Ken was amazed to see the normally stoic man flinch as his face paled
even more. The brunet’s hands clenched into fists, and he growled softly. Yohji
just ignored him as he exited the premises, but Aya tossed him an odd look.
Ken tried to smile back in a reassuring manner, but felt too angry to make it
a very successful attempt. The red head returned to his customer.
The anger was still there when Yohji returned with the take-out. He promptly
tracked down the swordsman and handed over a bag of food. "Here. Eat eat,
you get any thinner and I’ll think I’m sleeping with a sack of bones."
Aya hissed at the smiling man as he glanced around him, trying to see if any
of their clientele had overheard that comment.
Ken couldn’t hold it in any longer. "I think you’re forgetting that Aya’s
an adult, Kudoh, and doesn’t need you bullying him. Why don’t you try to do
something more productive and actually work for once. The floor could use a
sweeping." Both men turned to look at the brunet, Aya with a raised eyebrow
and Yohji with a scowl darkening his features.
"What the hell business is it of yours, Hidaka?"
"Yohji, Ken, stop it. You want to fight, do it later." Turning to
his boyfriend, he gestured to front of the store. "There are a couple of
customers that need to be rung up." Once the blond muttered something under
his breath and left, Aya directed his attention back to Ken. "I can take
care of myself. Don’t use me as an excuse to start a fight with Yohji. ‘We’
really don’t need the two of you acting like this right now."
The athlete let out a long breath, trying to control the anger inside of him.
Why was he treating Yohji like this? Any other time he’d join the blond in teasing
their leader. But he just couldn’t let go of the negative emotions. He gazed
back at Aya, who was regarding him with a stern look, detracted from in no way
by the crimson lock of hair falling over his left eye. As if his hand was moving
of its own volition, it reached out and brushed the hair back. Oh, wow. He never
knew the red head’s hair was so silky. No wonder Yohji was always touching it.
It was then that he noticed the startled look in violet orbs, made all the striking
by thick black lashes. ‘He’s so beautiful.’ Spinning around as he choked out
an apology, Ken notice that Yohji was glaring daggers at him over the head of
a customer. Without him realizing it, the brunet’s lips stretched into a mocking
grin that his quiet teammate would instantly recognize as belonging to a certain
telepath.
Ken decided it would be best to keep himself occupied for the rest of his shift.
He concentrated on cleaning the store, busy sweeping and wiping things down.
It worked for a couple of hours, until the pre-afternoon rush lull. The three
men found themselves at loose ends, and congregated at the register.
"So, Aya got to leave work early yesterday, I guess that means you’ll be
taking off soon, huh Yohji?" Maybe he could calm down if he got the blond
out of his sight for a while. And it wouldn’t be bad to be alone with Aya for
a while, either. Yohji looked first at him, and then at his boyfriend.
"What do you say, Kitten? I wouldn’t mind sticking around til closing if
you wanted to try and get some more sleep." Since the shop was empty, the
blond felt it safe enough to pull the smaller man towards him and wrap him in
a loose hug. Ken felt something in his chest twinge at the sight.
Frowning slightly, Aya shook his head. "I really don’t feel like sleeping
right now. But I’d like to run an errand before dinner." One didn’t need
to be a telepath to figure out where the red head wanted to go.
Yohji tightened his hold around the swordsman. "I don’t think it’s a good
idea for you to be heading out on your own. Especially to the hospital. Schuldig
has to know you’ll be going there."
"All the more reason for me to go and make sure my imouto is safe. "
Aya glared up at his lover. "I thought we didn’t need to have any more
discussions on me being able to take care of myself." Yohji quickly shook
his head, trying to explain it wasn’t that. The red head first shot a glance
at the door, then wrapped his arms around the playboy’s neck. He stood on his
toes, brushing his mouth against the blond’s ear. "You know I’ll be careful,
especially after last night. I need to make sure Aya- chan’s fine right now."
Ken watched the expressions crossing the older man’s face before he buried it
into Aya’s hair. Lust and fear and something which he refused to acknowledge
that looked a lot like love. After a minute Yohji leaned back and twined an
eartail about a finger. "Okay, I’ll stay and cover the shop. You’ll owe
me one though. I really do hate to work." The brunet was shocked to see
a tiny but definite smile curve the swordsman’s lips as he whispered something
in Yohji’s ear as he released his arms and trailed pale hands down the man’s
chest. He arched a crimson eyebrow at the tall man, who laughed and used his
hold on that long piece of hair to tug Aya in for a quick kiss. "I’ll hold
you to that. Now go, before my innate laziness gets the better of me and changes
my mind."
Smile now gone, Aya nodded to Ken as he walked towards the back of the shop.
Keeping his eyes on the pale man until he was gone, the brunet turned to find
Yohji treating him to an assessing glance. There was a small frown on the man’s
face. Ken felt the unexplainable resentment return, so he headed over to fuss
with the display stand, just so he didn’t have to look at the blond.
Once business picked up again, he was distracted enough to forget about his
irritation. At least until Sakura Tomoe appeared, inquiring on Aya’s whereabouts.
Yohji all but snarled at the girl, telling her that the red head wasn’t here.
Something petty sparking inside of him at the blond’s display of jealousy and
annoyance, Ken couldn’t resist walking over to the pretty schoolgirl.
"Aya’s working the mid-shift tomorrow, and won’t be back on afternoons
until next Wednesday." Why the hell was he giving out the shift coverage
like that? The swordsman would kill him if he found out about this, especially
since it was Sakura Ken was talking too. Just because he knew it would piss
Yohji off, to see the girl fawning all over his boyfriend? Why was he acting
so petty?
"Oh thank you, Ken-san. I should have time after cram school to stop by
tomorrow, maybe I can make him another meal. He’s been so thin lately."
With that, the short haired girl bowed and left the store.
A strong hand gripped his arm. "What the hell was that about, Kenken?"
Yohji was so furious the question was hissed out.
Shaking free his arm, Ken smiled back sweetly. "Just being nice to a customer.
Why don’t you go flirt with some more underage girls, Yotan?" The blond
snarled briefly and did just that. Ken turned back to his own fan club, rubbing
his temples in an attempt to rid himself of a headache.
*******
Omi glanced up from his dinner and at his quiet teammates. Aya appeared more
withdrawn than usual, and Ken and Yohji were careful to avoid looking at each
other. Great, so those two were still at it. He was ready to take the red head’s
sword to both of them and whack some sense into their thick skulls. At least
it was understandable why their leader was acting the way he was. Nobody felt
much in a jolly mood after having a psychotic telepath muck about in your head.
"So, was dinner that bad and you’re all afraid to say something?"
The genki youth had cooked tonight, since he felt bad about missing another
day of work. Usually everyone liked his seafood linguine.
"No no chibi, another culinary masterpiece. It was so good I think I’ll
let you take over my turns for dinner the next few weeks. It’ll be way too depressing
to eat my stuff after feasting on this."
Omi giggled. "Only you, Yohji-kun, could come up with such a flattering
way to dump your chores on a person." Even Aya looked a little amused with
the comment. "I think I’ll pass, you always end up ordering takeout anyways.
And since you don’t spend most of your money at bars anymore, it’s been something
other than cheap pizza all the time."
The older blond glanced over to his lover and growled. "It’s all your fault."
Aya just raised an eyebrow, but managed to seem more lifelike for a few minutes.
Until the topic of the assignment was brought up.
"So, you guys heading back down to Tardus later tonight?" That was
the name of the club they’d investigated the night before.
Ken and Aya both said yes, as Yohji responded no. Omi internally groaned.
Yohji was the first to speak. "There is no way in hell we’re going back
there. Schuldig will probably be waiting for us, and maybe this time he’ll bring
the rest of Schwarz with him."
"We have to go back, it’s the most promising lead we have. I came across
several people who talked about using the drug last night. Another night or
two and we can most likely track down the dealers," Ken argued back.
Yohji looked over at his silent lover, waiting for his response. "Kritiker
wanted us to check the place out, we will keep going back until it proves to
be a dead end or the mission is finished. I refuse to let Schuldig frighten
us away. That may be why he was there last night."
Omi decided to throw in his two cents. "Aya is right. It’s imperative for
us to /not/ abandon the club right now. Not to mention that Kritiker will be
rather upset. Manx was very careful to impress the importance of this mission
on us during the initial debriefing. You guys know what to expect now, and will
be more careful."
"Are all of you nuts? We are /so/ not stepping foot in that place again."
Ken didn’t know if he was the only one to catch that ‘we’, but felt something
inside of his head needle him to tease the blond about it. "What’s the
matter Yotan? Afraid you won’t be able to protect your ‘kitten’ tonight. Pretty
hard to fight a telepath, huh." All three of his friends glared at the
brunet, as he tried to figure out what had just come out of his mouth. That
tiny part of him was satisfied though, to see Aya turn that shi-ne glare on
his lover.
"Tell me that is not what you are worried about." His voice was a
dangerous whisper, and the younger members of Weiß felt as if they weren’t
in the same room anymore. As far as the swordsman was concerned, it was just
him and Yohji.
It seemed the blond felt the same. He reached across the table to grasp a pale
hand, refusing to let go when it tried to jerk away. "This isn’t a repeat
of Tuesday night. Yes I’m worried about you dealing with Schuldig. It’s a terrifying
thought. How the hell do you fight someone like him? And if anybody should know
about that, it’s me. I just have a really bad feeling about tonight, and would
be much happier if /all/ of us stayed out of the place. Can’t we try the club
in another couple of days, maybe the bastard will have gotten bored and moved
on."
Aya kept his gaze focused on his lover’s emerald eyes, but the glare softened.
"What if he doesn’t get bored though? And what if there is a very important
reason for him to be there, other than messing with us? Kritiker will be asking
those questions if we try to go someplace else, and they won’t accept that we
ran scared from Schwarz. You want to tell them the other reason why we abandoned
the place?"
Yohji sighed in defeat. Trust Abyssinian to see all the angles of a problem.
It was more than just the telepath’s presence. Weiß had to turn in a successfully
completed mission, or things would go very badly for the couple. "Okay,
you guys are right and I’m wrong. Just promise me you’ll be careful, I don’t
trust the situation with that German about."
*******
Crawford looked up from his computer terminal, and caught a face full of smoke.
Schuldig was once more sitting on top of his desk, blowing smoke rings his way.
Didn’t the man understand the concept of chairs? "Shouldn’t you be getting
ready to go out?"
"Just wanted to see if you were satisfied with the information I brought
back last night. I take it our eminent leaders want more of the same?"
"Yes. You’re to keep observing subjects under the influence of the new
drug, and see how amicable they are to mental suggestions. Why don’t you go
start now."
Schuldig laughed as he flicked ash all over the spotless desk, earning yet again
the American’s fury. Uptight bastard. "Why Crawford, you’re not trying
to get rid of me, are you? And I so enjoy our private chats together. Speaking
of which, I have a question for you. Why didn’t you tell me what the two kittens
were up to?"
If he allowed himself to show humble emotions, Crawford would have sighed. One
didn’t need to be psychic to figure out who the German was referring to, or
why he was so upset. "Because there was nothing you could have done to
prevent it, short of killing Balinese, which is unacceptable at this time. One
could say those two were destined for each other."
"And what about my claim to the lovely Abyssinian?" It was disturbing
to see the telepath so still and serious, his joking manner completely set aside.
Crawford knew he had to be very careful here. The wrong phrasing and Schuldig
could ruin all of his painstakingly constructed plans. Kudoh could /not/ be
killed anytime soon. "The possibility is still there, just as it’s always
been. If anything, it is even stronger, now that you can use Balinese and the
emotions he’s broken free against Abyssinian. However, your best chance lies
in the future, not the present. And not at all if you push him too far too soon.
So just stick to the game plan for right now, have a /little/ fun, and wait.
Anticipation should make you savor the eventual conclusion all the more. Shake
Weiß up, and obtain the information that Esset seeks."
Pale green eyes focused on him, still deathly serious. "You /will/ let
me know when Kudoh is no longer necessary, won’t you." It wasn’t a question,
and that fact alone angered the clairvoyant, but not enough to risk pushing
the German over the edge. "Yes, I will. And another thing, leave Bombay
out of your games for right now. There’s something important he’s working on,
and it will go bad for both Weiß and us if he’s distracted."
"Good. Just gives me more time to focus on the Kätzchen. " Schuldig
jumped off the desk, once more his usual annoying personality. "Well, I’m
off to prepare myself. Have to let the dear boy get a good look at what he’s
missing out on." The American did let out a tiny breath, not quite a sigh,
at the man’s departure. A sudden vision came to him of what the telepath had
in store for the kittens tonight. He almost felt sorry for the couple.
*******
Yohji glanced over at his lover. Aya was trying to take as few chances as possible,
and had seated himself at the far corner of the bar. He kept his back to the
wall, sitting sideways on the bar stool. It was obvious that he didn’t want
the telepath to sneak up behind him again. However, it also left him open to
a lot more advances from the crowd surrounding him. Gods, the man was so fucking
gorgeous when he was furious. He should know, he inspired that state in the
red head often enough.
With a mental shake he returned his attention back to the woman standing beside
him. If possible, Mika was wearing even less of an outfit tonight. He must have
made quite an impression on her yesterday. The woman was all but throwing herself
at him, and he was trying to play it a little cool. There was no way in hell
he was going home with her, so he didn’t want to lead her on too much. Besides,
he was trying to string out the conversation until she mentioned ‘Sybil’.
He wasn’t paying her a full mind though. Part of him was constantly scanning
the club, looking for a gaijin with long, reddish orange hair and a flashy dress
sense. So far no luck. Which was why he kept glancing over at Aya. Something
told him that the German wouldn’t be too far from the man. And that the red
head had left something out about his run-in with the telepath. He would have
to make an effort to get it out of the taciturn man later.
For her part, Mika was getting very frustrated. At first she’d been very happy
to see Senjurō walk into the club, and it had been pretty obvious that
he was looking for her. But for the past couple of hours he’d ignored her rather
blatant come-ons, more interested in discussing a wide range of topics. And
in something over by the bar. He kept gazing over in that direction, so distracted
that he missed hearing her completely several times. What was he looking at?
She placed her hand on his arm and asked "Senji dear, want a fresh drink?"
That brought Yohji’s attention back to his companion for the night, and he smiled
down at the woman. "I’m up for another round. Here, let me get them."
Before Mika could say anything, he headed over to the bar, to the side Aya was
sitting at. There was some young woman standing next to the red head, trying
her best to get the quiet man to talk to her. Yohji walked right up behind her,
and ‘accidentally’ bumped into her. "Sorry, it’s so crowded in here."
His apology was drowned out by the girl’s shriek at having her drink spilled
all over her. Rushing off to the bathroom, the woman failed to notice the smile
on the blond man’s face. Turning around, he flashed a quick wink at his lover,
and then waved over the bartender. The entire time it took for the man to take
his order and mix the drinks, Yohji used as an excuse to lean ever so slightly
against the smaller man. As long as he was here, no one could try to hit on
Aya. "Find out anything yet?" he inquired, sotto voiced.
The red head picked up one of the drinks in front of him, swirling it around
between his hands. "The name Kenchō Uehara has been mentioned, seems
he deals the stuff. Hoping for a bit more evidence."
"Huh, any sign of you-know-who?"
"No." Aya put down the drink and rubbed his right hand on his sore
side. Yohji felt a quick stab of guilt, he hadn’t been very gentle with the
injured man last night, not with the thought of Schuldig messing with his lover
in his mind and Aya needing him so desperately after the nightmare. He prayed
that the mission would be over soon, so the man had a chance to recuperate.
Just as he was about to ask his kitten about the wound, the bartender returned
with his order. The blond paid the man, hand brushing over Aya’s knees as he
put his wallet back, and left with the drinks.
Mika watched the whole scene, trying to figure out what the tall blond was up
to. Was he attempting to pick up the gorgeous red headed man sitting at the
bar? Senji didn’t strike her as gay, but then again he’d been resisting her
pretty much all night. Which didn’t make her very happy. Here she was on Friday
night, looking for someone to pick up and have a good time with. She hadn’t
minded the good-looking man leaving her yesterday, she’d needed to work in the
morning, but now she was in a mood to party. Maybe the man was looking for someone
a bit more fun. Mika hadn’t wanted to do any drugs tonight, but she had to admit
that when she took the new drug, she always had a great time. Well, at least
the little she could remember of it. Oh, but what she could recall was pure
bliss. Deciding that she wanted to feel that way again, with or without Senji,
she started to search the club for the two men she knew who dealt the drug.
Yohji came back with the drinks right before she spotted one of the dealers,
Roy, over by the ladies room. Noticing that he had a couple of customers already,
she spent some time flirting with her date for the night. Oh, but the man could
tease and flirt. If only he had some intention of following through with some
of those innuendos he tossed back at her, emerald eyes sparkling with amusement.
As soon as the dealer was alone though, she made an excuse and headed towards
the restrooms.
Eyes following the woman until the crowd of people blocked his view, Yohji then
resumed his search for Schuldig. Who was standing on the other side of the room,
watching him in return. The German knew that the blond assassin would expect
him to be around his lover, and so was staying away. With Abyssinian on one
side of the bar, Balinese not far away and Siberian trying to keep an eye on
both of them, it left a portion of the club that they weren’t covering. That
was where Schuldig had settled for the night, telepathically keeping track of
Weiß the whole time. And of those they were interacting with. If Abyssinian
had actually managed to pay attention to any of his many suitors that night,
he’d have noticed the unfortunate events that happened to them. The telepath
was enjoying causing the people intense migraines, unexplainable clumsiness,
inappropriate physical and verbal responses, and so forth. Many had already
left in either pain or embarrassment, and a few had been tossed out of the place.
Of course he had also been keeping track of Yohji’s little piece of ass all
night. So, the tramp was a ‘Sybil’ user, huh? Time to kill two birds with one
stone then. And treat the Schwanzlutscher to a night he wouldn’t soon forget.
Carefully sliding through the crowd until he approached the bathrooms, he spotted
the woman busy purchasing the drug. Entering her mind with ridiculous ease,
he mentally whispered a suggestion to her. Considering her frustration at the
lack of interest from her paramour, it was no problem at all to convince the
slut to buy two tablets instead of one. And before leaving the rest room pause
to purchase a condom from the vending machine. Or to have her stop by the bar
and order two shots, and place a pill in each. Esset would be pleased to know
that repeat use of the drug apparently rendered the taker very susceptible to
mental commands. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d influenced someone so
effortlessly.
Nerves on edge from waiting for Schwarz to show up and start fucking things
up, Yohji didn’t give much thought to the drink Mika handed him, smiling as
she offered up the shot ‘for a bit of luck’. Maybe it would help him relax a
little bit. Years of hard drinking had left him with a strong tolerance, so
it shouldn’t affect him at all. A little bit of paranoia did kick in though,
making him take the glass she held back, just in case. Toasting the beauty of
his companion, he quickly downed the shot and forgot about it. Time for some
more small talk. "Club seems a bit rowdy tonight."
"Yeah, I heard in the ladies’ room that they’ve already kicked a few people
out. That usually doesn’t happen this early." Mika smiled up at the man,
feeling the tingling effects of the drug start to take effect. She knew she
wouldn’t remember much past this point tomorrow.
"Oh really? What happens later in the night?" Yohji smiled down at
the scantily clad woman, eyes roving over the displayed flesh. She was a rather
provocative picture, all but promising a guaranteed fun time with the way she
dressed and posed her body. He forgot about his train of thought, of questioning
her about the drug, as Mika pressed up against him. His muscles were no longer
so tense, and the blond couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt this at ease.
As if there were no worries in the world at all. Everything but the warm, willing
body standing so close faded away.
Recognizing lust appearing at last in those gorgeous eyes that she just adored,
Mika let a seductive pout settle on her lips as her hands roved all over the
blond’s chest. "I’m not so worried about later tonight as I am with right
now. Aren’t you getting a bit tired with this place?"
Yohji laughed as he pulled the young woman against him. "Where do you suggest
we go?" He let Mika feel his hardened arousal.
"Oh not far, not far at all. Depends on how bored you are." This was
turning out even better than she had imagined.
" I’m very, very bored. So what are we still doing here?"
Schuldig couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the two Penner heading towards
the door. How they deserved each other. And with the Warmduscher occupied with
his whore, the telepath could go play with the man’s ‘kitten’. It was so easy
to reach into a drugged mind and give Siberian something to keep the brunet
busy. Now it was time to deal with /his/ Abyssinian.
*******
Aya continued his vigil at the bar, eyeing a young man with spiked blond hair
and wearing a leather Yankees baseball jacket. So this was Uehara. The man had
received a lot of attention in the past hour or so, with various club patrons
coming over to talk to him and find some reason to shake his hand. The red head
personally thought that the pusher had watched too much American crime shows,
what with the way he was acting. So here was one lead back to the source of
the drug, he’d have Siberian or Balinese follow the man home and pay him a visit.
He really wanted this mission completed as soon as possible. Schuldig’s presence,
and possibly Schwarz’s as well, did not bode well for a successful assignment.
Even if the telepath hadn’t indicated any involvement with the new drug, the
swordsman didn’t believe in that strong of a coincidence. Weiß would just
have to focus on finding the source of the drugs and take it out while keeping
an eye out for their enemies. Which he had been doing all night long, while
Balinese flirted with some barely clothed tart and Siberian proved his skill
at pool. Aya rubbed his temples. Lack of sleep and being forced by injuries
he wasn’t giving his body a chance to heal to sit still all night was making
him very cranky. Which Yohji would say was a very, very bad thing.
Once again he surveyed the bar, taking in all the activity. The bouncers had
been very busy so far tonight, and it looked as if the drug was taking effect
on about a fourth of the crowd. Morals were… definitely loosening as people
paired off and several fights broke out. One of which was right near Siberian’s
post. Aya craned his neck, trying to get a better view of the brawl, only to
be blocked by a curly haired man whom he’d just witnessed buy some drugs about
fifteen minutes ago. The man shoved his way up to the bar right next to Aya,
and with no thought or warning at all slammed his elbow down on the assassin’s
wounded thigh. Choking back a yelp of pain, the assassin was too distracted
from the burning agony in his leg and resisting the urge to break the man’s
neck when strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him back into his seat.
"Really, Knuddelhäschen, we have to stop meeting like this."
<What’s the matter, your boo-boo hurting you? Want me to kiss it and make
it all better?>
"You bastard." Aya strained against the hold, only to have the German’s
hand wander down to his cracked ribs and press against them threateningly.
<Behave, or I’ll have to hurt you some more. And the threat from last night
still stands. Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to have these
drugged fools slaughter everyone in this place?>
"So Schwarz /is/ involved with the drug."
Schuldig mentally cursed himself. Trust Abyssinian to notice that little slip.
Even enraged and in pain the man was still focused on what was happening around
him. The German had been too distracted by the feel of his favorite toy’s body
against his and the knowledge of what was happening out back to remember that
little fact. "Who says I’m just not taking advantage of the situation?"
One hand still pressed against the younger man’s side, the telepath threaded
the fingers of his other hand through silky ruby locks. He quickly grabbed a
handful and viciously jerked Aya’s head back. "Have I mentioned yet how
upset I’m with you for interrupting our little chit chat earlier? That wasn’t
very nice at all, Kätzchen. I had a headache for hours afterwards."
"Too fucking ba-ah." The smaller red head bit into his lip, Schuldig
had smacked a fist into his side.
"Such a pretty mouth shouldn’t spout filth." The telepath waited for
a response from the enraged man, but was only rewarded with a truly ferocious
glower. Thoughts of what the assassin would do to him if the man had his sword
in hand bombarded him, along with the feeling of fury, disgust and pain. Mmm,
delicious. He used his hold in that brilliant hair to tilt the pale man’s face
up, and licked at the blood gathering on the bitten lip.
Increasing the pressure on Aya’s ribs made the man open his mouth in a gasp,
which the German took promptly took advantage of. <Try to bite me and I’ll
have our friend over there kill the bartender.> Thrusting his tongue in deep,
he leisurely explored the trembling man’s mouth. <So sweet for such a bitter
young man, did you know that? I like very much.>
‘/Shi. Ne./ Now.’
The German burst out laughing, finally ending the kiss. "Oh, you are just
too fun for words. Maybe I should call you my little tuberose, neh?" He
really couldn’t help but chuckle at the swordsman, body shaking in anger as
those violet eyes glowed with fury. "You make me forget what I came here
for, you know." No response, what a surprise. <Kitties are supposed
to be curious by nature, Abyssinian.>
"If I ask you why you’re here, will you leave me alone?"
Bending down so his lips brushed against Aya’s, Schuldig sighed. And then smiled
as the man shivered in reaction to the warm breath of air on his face. "For
a little bit, just long enough for you to enjoy your present. You’re way too
delicious for me to leave alone for long. <Interrupt one of our dreams again,
and I’ll lower your teammates IQ’s by a good hundred points each. You’ll be
able to watch them drool away the rest of their lives.>
Struggling with the rage that wanted him to shout ‘fuck off’ and then try to
gut the man with a broken beer bottle, Aya retained enough control to growl
out the question. "Why are you bothering me now?"
<Tut tut, didn’t your mother ever tell you manners will get you everywhere?
Or did she get blown up first?> "I’m giving you a little gift, meine
weiße Kamelie." Oh how the Japanese man /hated/ it when he called
him a term of endearment. Hee hee. "A taste of the future, of what Balinese
has in store for you." Aya went still at his lover’s name.
"You know, Kritiker has it all wrong. ‘Sybil’ doesn’t create a whole new
personality, it merely strips the Super-ego away and lets the Id run free. It
just seems like a another personality, when it’s the same one with no annoying
conscious telling you ‘that’s wrong, don’t do it’. The drug turns its users
into socio-paths, and when the Super-ego returns it makes them forget all about
them slipping their mental leashes. All they remember is the pleasure ‘Sybil’
rewarded them with for giving into all those suppressed desires, turning guilt
into bliss. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? I wonder how you’d react to the drug,
hmm? After all, the only thing separating the two of us is that nasty little
voice in your head telling you how guilty and filthy your soul is. A monster
with a half a conscious, that’s all you are anymore Fujimiya. One that feels
the guilt /after/ blood is spilled. Never stops you before, does it?" His
Kätzchen was so close to the edge, threatening to drag the telepath over
with him, the emotions were that strong. Wunderbar. Just a little further, and
he could lead the man to his gift. "You know what tiny, insignificant thing
that is holding you back, don’t you? Dear little Aya-chan. Just think, if you
took that shiny blade of yours to the little bitch’s body, how free you would
be afterwards. She’s only a corpse that refuses to rot, time for you to realize
that." Wow. He could live off the buzz from contact with Abyssinian’s mind
for days. Who needed conventional drugs when one could savor this. While the
man was shocked still by the intensity of his rage, Schuldig leaned forward
for another kiss, then let Aya go.
It took the swordsman’s overloaded senses a moment to figure out he was free.
Then it was just a matter of getting to his feet and chasing after the laughing
German, who was always at least two steps in front of him. Out of the bar and
into a darkened parking lot. There was the bastard, standing next to a hatchback
with steamed up windows. Aya charged towards the man, only to have a car door
flung open before him. <Look inside, Schatzilein, and see what your lover
is truly like.> As if compelled, the red head’s eyes shifted downward, and
he felt his legs threaten to collapse. He didn’t even notice when the telepath
came up behind him, arms around his chest and mouth nibbling on his neck. There
was Yohji, half undressed, thrusting into the young woman he’d been talking
to all night. The blond finally realized that the car door had opened, and looked
up at the two spectators. "Hey there, Kitten." The woman was too lost
in the sex, her eyes closed.
A flare of pain on his neck brought him back somewhat. <A little reminder.
Don’t forget what I told you tonight, any of it. We’ll be seeing each other
very soon.> It suddenly became too much, Aya knew he had to get away from
there or he’d lose the precious little bit of sanity he still had left. Running
to his car, it took him several tries to key the lock and get in. Shock starting
to fade, the pain from his wounds crept back into his consciousness, joining
the pain in his head and chest.
That fucking German bastard. He had to be behind what was happening in that
car. There was no way Yohji would have willingly betrayed him like that, was
there? A little voice whispered that the man was a hedonist, always looking
for a new thrill. Maybe he finally got bored with screwing a man. No, it had
to be the drug, somehow Schuldig had slipped Yohji the drug. The fucking idiot.
He wasn’t sure who he was swearing at, the telepath or the blond. Damn both
of them for doing this to him. Part of him went on about how he needed to get
back to the bar and complete the mission, but Aya didn’t know how much more
he could take before he actually snapped. He had to get home and try to calm
down, to figure out why Schuldig had done this. To get the sight of his lover
fucking another person out of his head before he turned around and went back
to the couple, katana unsheathed. Aya kept driving towards the Koneko, oblivious
to all the speed limits and traffic lights and the traffic mayhem he left in
his wake.
*******
<Thanks Balinese, such a good boy. Now why don’t you finish up there and
go comfort the poor kitten. And don’t feel the need to be too gentle.>
Yohji heard the amused voice inside his head moments before an orgasm overtook
him. He collapsed on the squirming body beneath him, taking a moment to come
to his dazed senses before pushing off from the woman.
Feeling the man pull up and out of her, Mika opened her eyes. "Where you
going, lover?"
"Home, gotta check up on somebody." Yohji removed the used condom
and dropped it to the floorboards before straightening out his attire.
"But we’re not done here. What about me?" Indignation was taking place
of the pleasure she’d been feeling moments before. How dare the prick leave
right now, after getting /his/ release.
"Sorry, sweetie, but just don’t care right now. There’s a much better piece
of ass waiting for me at home, you were just the appetizer." Yohji lit
a cigarette as he opened the car door, got out, and shut it on the obscenities
being shouted at him. He headed for his own car, humming softly at the thoughts
of what he was going to his lover when he got back home.
Mika continued screaming at the disappeared man. The fucking bastard! She bet
is /was/ the red head from the bar he was driving off to find. She’d fucking
kill them both if she ever saw them again, the blond faggot and his prissy,
pretty little fuck toy.
<Now now, can’t have you slander my little Knuddelhäschen like that.
I think you should do something for me to apologize, yes? Start the car.>
Without understanding why, Mike climbed into the front seat, found her keys
and started the car.
<Good. Now drive down the road, no towards the left, yes that’s it.> She
did as the voice told her. <Now go faster, keep giving it the gas, hmm. You
see that building over there, the nice big brick one? Push the gas down all
the way and drive right into it. That’s a good girl.> Tears streaming down
her face, Mika did exactly what the nasal voice told her. The last few seconds
of her life were filled with an amused chuckle. <This is /way/ too easy.
Crawford should be so pleased.>
*******
Yohji pulled his car into the garage, and got out to feel the hood of the Porsche
he’d parked next to. It was starting to cool. Aya must have really outdone himself
to get home so quickly. Shrugging his shoulders, the blond started up the steps
toward his room. Upon reaching his destination, he found the room empty. Humming
to himself, he went down the hall towards the red head’s room. Empty too. ‘Now
if I was a hurt little kitten, where would I hide?’
The answer coming to him, Yohji took a moment to stop back by his room, strip
off his jacket and shirt, and pick up his gloves and tube of lubricant. One
benefited from being prepared. Heading up the stairs to the exercise room, he
put on the gloves and pulled out several feet of wire from his watch. It was
safe to assume that his kitten would be practicing with his sword, and an armed,
pissed off Aya was not a good thing. He’d always know it was worth his life
to cheat on the red head, but hadn’t seemed to care about the consequences tonight.
His lover would probably take that damn sword to him if given the chance, so
he better get him under control pretty quick. Besides, he’d been fantasizing
for weeks about having the smaller man bound and naked, helpless to fight him
as he took his pleasure from that delicious body. Time to make the dream a reality.
Stopping in front of the room’s door, the blond paused to listen. There was
the sound of feet shifting across mats, and short hisses of breath. Yohji waited
until the footsteps moved towards the far end of the gym and burst into the
room.
Startled by the door being flung open, Aya whirled around, blade raised high.
Wires flew over to him, covered him and jerked him to the ground. His arms were
trapped, forearms against his chest, the thin metal biting into his flesh. Similar
lines were wrapped around his legs. He rolled over and looked up at a smirking
blond. "What the fuck are you doing, Kudoh? Let me /go/."
Shaking his head, Yohji knelt down besides the trapped man. In his hands was
Aya’s shirt, which the swordsman had removed before starting his katas. As soon
as the man opened his mouth to yell again, Yohji shoved the cloth in, muffling
the shout. "Hush, can’t have you waking up the others and spoiling our
game, can we?" His lover graced him with a look that should have reduced
him to a smoky pile of ash. "Don’t worry, sweetie, I just want to have
a bit fun with you. As long as you behave, everything will be just fine."
He reached into his left boot and pulled out the switchblade he carried there
during missions. Aya watched him as he flicked the blade open, and then started
to struggle against his bonds.
Yohji moved back from the thrashing figure. The red head was ripping open several
cuts along his arms, chest and back with his struggles. "Aya, stop it.
Do you hear me? You’re only hurting yourself, so quit." No reaction. Cursing
the smaller man’s obdurate nature, the playboy reached out a hand and grabbed
Aya’s wounded thigh, fingers digging deep into the half healed bullet wound.
Cry muffled by the fabric in his mouth, the swordsman blinked back tears as
he felt the injury re-open. He stopped struggling as blood poured down his thigh.
"There now, that’s calmed you down a bit. Stay that way if you know what’s
good for you." The red head kept telling himself that this really wasn’t
his Yohji who was hurting him, who was busy cutting off his pants. \‘Sybil’
doesn’t create a whole new personality, it merely strips the Super-ego away
and lets the Id run free. It just seems like a another personality, when it’s
the same one with no annoying conscious telling you ‘that’s wrong, don’t do
it’.\ Schuldig’s voice droned on in his head as Yohji yanked down his own pants.
He started to fight again as the older man pulled him onto his lap. A gloved
hand smacked his face before falling down onto his torn thigh. Aya stilled again.
"I told you to stop that. I don’t want to hurt you, sweetie, I said I just
want to have some fun. If you stopped fighting me all the time, like you always
do, you could enjoy the situation. Here I spent the whole night imagining what
I would do to you when I got you alone, and you don’t want anything to do with
me." One arm around his waist, pinning back against the taller man, while
the other roamed over his body, trying to provoke a response. It was all Aya
could do to stop himself from shuddering at the touch. There was no telling
what this Yohji would do in response.
The blond growled in frustration. Sure the smaller man was hurting, but did
he have to be so stubborn about this? "Why do you keep fighting me? All
I want is for you to give yourself to me, but you always hold something back.
Making me work for everything I get. Well I don’t feel like working right now.
I left someone who was very willing to be here with you, the least you could
do is express some happiness to see me." Yohji’s grip made his cracked
ribs grind together, threatening to black him out. Lips moved against the back
of his neck, an eerie echo of this morning’s nightmare. Aya concentrated on
what he would do to the damned German the next time he got his hands on him,
desperate to blank out what his lover was doing to him.
Feeling the bite of wire against his chest, the blond kept a careful arm around
the still man as he unwound some of the strands. He left the man’s legs and
arms bound. Yohji used his teeth to pull off one of his gloves, and fetched
the lube out of his pant’s pocket. Quickly slicking two fingers, he reached
down and entered the smaller man’s clenched body. Working the fingers about
for a bit, he stretched the tight opening as much as he could. "Things
would be so much fucking better if you’d just relax, but fine, be that way."
Opening the tube again, he smeared some of the cool lotion on his leaking erection,
and shoved his way into Aya.
Biting down on his shirt, the red head struggled to breath through the pain.
It radiated throughout his body. He could swear he heard the German’s chuckle
in his mind as his boyfriend raped him. Yohji kept thrusting into him, moaning
and calling out his name. "Oh gods, Aya, so good, so good. Love you ohhh
yes, never felt this tight before." It was easier to focus on that evil
laugh than listen to the blond tell him how much he loved and wanted him as
he pounded into his resisting body, the pain unbearable.
Nearing the end, Yohji bit into Aya’s shoulders, trying to stifle the yell building
in his throat. Gods, he never felt anything this intense before. Between the
tightness surrounding his cock and the feeling of euphoria that just increased
as the pleasure grew, he couldn’t handle himself anymore. The orgasm almost
shattered him, the gratification being too much to bear. He collapsed forward,
pushing Aya down onto the mat face first.
Several minutes later he rolled off of the red head, who was lying very still.
Frowning down at the bloody form, he pushed Aya over til he was resting on his
side. The smaller man used the opportunity to swing his bound forearms against
a blond head. Stunned by the blow, Yohji was knocked over and didn’t move as
Aya wrestled to his knees and brought his fists down again on the older man’s
temples. That hit managed to knock the man unconscious. Body shaking, Aya used
his hands to pull the shirt out of his mouth, and then searched for the switchblade.
He cut himself several times as he freed himself from his bonds, due to the
sharpness of the blade in his trembling hands, and from producing more tension
on the wire. But he didn’t care. Once he was completely free he removed the
watch from Yohji and bound the man much as he himself had been tied. It took
him several tries to stand on his feet, due to pain, blood loss and shock, and
he had to clutch at the wall as he struggled downstairs to the bathroom.
*******
"There better be a very good explanation for this," Ken thought as
he found the vehicles of the two older Weiß parked in the garage. One
minute he’d been talking to some fellows about a man pushing this new drug,
only to have a fight break out with him smack dab in the middle. As soon as
that mess had been settled, he’d searched the club for any sign of his teammates,
only to find none. Deciding to return home, he’d been delayed yet again by an
accident on the way. Some idiot decided to see which was more immovable, their
car or a building. And now to find his suspicions confirmed, that his backup
had abandoned him at the club by himself.
Realizing that Aya at least wouldn’t have left without a very good reason, the
brunet headed to the mission room, in case he was there researching something.
All he found was Omi typing away at the computer, headphones blasting out some
J-Pop. He was careful to approach the youth from the side, so the other assassin
wouldn’t be too startled. As soon as the young blond realized he wasn’t alone,
he stopped the music. "Ken, how did tonight go?"
"There were a few problems. Have you talked to Aya or Yohji yet?"
"No, why, are they home?"
The brunet frowned. "Their cars are here, they left the club early tonight.
Didn’t Aya check in with you, to tell you what he found?"
"No." Now Omi was frowning, it wasn’t like their strict leader to
just come home and not report in. Taking in the grim expression on his friend’s
face, he added worriedly. "You think something’s wrong?"
"I didn’t see any sign of Schuldig, but things were crazy down there tonight.
And now Aya is acting weird." Without saying anything else, he ran up the
steps, intent on the red head’s room. If he was in there screwing around with
Yohji, Ken was going to gut both of them. Coming to the top of the stairs, he
noticed that both the bedroom doors were open, and that there was a trail of
something on the floor. Bending down and touching the substance, his fingers
came up red. "Shit." He followed the blood to the bathroom, and found
the door locked. "Aya, Yohji, it’s me. Open the door." No response,
Ken stepped back as far as the opposite wall would allow, about ready to rush
the door. Only Omi grabbing his arm prevented the action.
"Wait a moment, let me get my set of keys." The youth dashed into
his room, only to return a few seconds later. It took longer to open the door,
what with the way his hands shook. Shoving the door open the two teenagers found
Aya sitting on the floor, naked and covered in blood, trying to staunch the
wound in his thigh. "Aya!"
Omi knelt on the floor next to the red head, helping him press a bandage into
the wound. "What happened? Where’s Yohji, is he alright?" Aya just
shook his head.
Ken left the room, only to walk back in a couple minutes later, a grim expression
on his face. Omi was busy wiping off the blood so he could find the wounds that
needed doctoring. "Wanna tell us why Kudoh is half naked, tied up in wire
and lying unconscious in a pool of blood that isn’t his up in the exercise room?"
Aya remained silent. "Okay, fine, I’ll go wake him up, maybe he’ll tell
us something."
"No," the red head choked out, wincing as Omi dabbed at a deep cut.
"Leave him alone."
"Why Aya?"
"Schuldig…." The man’s eyes unfocused, taking on a cloudy, grayish
tint. "Schuldig slipped him the drug tonight. He’s, he’s not in his right
mind. There’s no telling… what he’ll do if you wake him up. Just let him sleep
it off."
Omi and Ken exchanged a worried glance, and then looked back down at their injured
leader. "What did he do to you Aya? Was he the one to hurt you?" Ken
wanted to smack the blond over that question. Of course Yohji had hurt him,
what, did he think Schwarz had snuck in the house, beat Aya up and left Yohji
to take the fall? As for what he had done, it didn’t take a rocket scientist
to figure out what went on between two mostly naked men, one beaten and by the
marks tied up, and the other drugged out of his mind. He’d kill the blond. Very
slowly. He was just waiting for him to wake up so as to get the full effect.
No sense torturing the prick if he didn’t feel it.
Aya avoided the questions, his mind refusing to think about what had just happened,
and tried to inform his teammates of what he’d discovered. "Schuldig… let
something slip. Something about being able to… to control the addicts minds
very easily. I saw him do it in the bar, and I think that’s… what happened to
Kudoh."
Omi nodded his head, a grim expression on his face as he set about to stitch
several of the wounds closed. "That’s why he’s there then, to see how the
users react to mental stimuli. This is not good. If he’s involved, so is the
rest of Schwarz. We have to inform Manx. Now rest Aya- kun. We’ll keep an eye
on Yohji until the drug wears off. Let me close these wounds and then we’ll
put you to bed. Ken, give me the painkillers."
"No." The red head started to struggle against the small blond, frantic
to get away. "No medicine. I’m not sleeping. He’s probably waiting for
that, to gloat over, over what he’s done." Fighting to keep his friend
still, so he didn’t injure himself anymore, Omi tossed a desperate look Ken’s
way. The brunet quickly grabbed a hypodermic needle, filled it with the strongest
pain medication they had, and injected it into the thrashing man. Aya let out
a gasp and in a weak voice cursed the two younger men before his eyes glazed
over and drooped shut.
Ken gazed down at the limp body in his arms, and gently stroked back the disarrayed
red hair. Settling Aya against the tub, he quickly jumped to his feet.
"Ken, where are you going?"
"To take care of Kudoh. The bastard’s dead for doing this."
"Wait." Omi grabbed at the man’s calf, frantic to prevent the athlete
from leaving. He was about to yell out it wasn’t the older man’s fault, but
the look in Ken’s face hinted that he wasn’t going to listen to reason. Whatever
cause the man had to be anger at Yohji these past few days had too strong a
hold on him. So the youth tried another tactic. "I need you to stay here
and help me tend to Aya, and then get him to bed. We’ll deal with Yohji later,
he’s not going anywhere." Seeing the feral gleam partially leave those
brown eyes as the furious man gazed down at the red head, Omi mentally heaved
a sigh of relief. Hopefully Ken will have calmed down by the time they were
done taking care of Aya. But just in case the brunet was still intent on murdering
the drugged man afterwards, Omi secretly pocketed a needle full of the same
stuff Ken had given Aya. Something was driving members of Weiß insane,
and he was willing to bet he knew who it was.
*******
Needing a caffeine jolt to help him through a night of computer hacking, Nagi
was startled to switch on the kitchen light and find Schuldig sitting at the
table, a blissful smile on his face. Great, the man must have been into drugs
again, Crawford was going to be /pissed/.
<Now now, Nagi dear, Crawford’s not going to be anything other than happy.
And who needs drugs when I’ve got a litter of kittens to play with, one of who’s
mind is the sweetest ambrosia. So much better than anything one can buy on the
street, especially right at this moment. Hee hee.> "Hope Kudoh didn’t
hurt him too much, or he won’t be able to come out to play for a while."
It was even worse than the boy suspected. The German evidently had just royally
fucked up some poor soul, belonging to Weiß from the sound of it. Oh well,
better one of them than him. "So why don’t you go report to our boss, instead
of skulking around the kitchen?"
Schuldig stuck his tongue at the youth over that prissy tone. Nagi just ignored
it as he brewed a pot of coffee. As soon as the drink was finished, Crawford
entered the room, snatched the pot out of the young brunet’s hands, and poured
himself a cup. "It’s past your bedtime, go log off and get to sleep."
The telekinetic opened his mouth to protest, but one look from cold blue eyes
was enough to send him on his way. He heard the German laughing inside of his
head, and quickly shifted his chair until the man smacked into the table before
fleeing the room.
Grumbling as he moved his seat back, Schuldig looked over at his silent leader.
"So Crawford, need an update on tonight? Or did you take a look inside
your crystal ball before coming out here?"
"You found out the drug is everything Dr. Gotō promised it would be.
And you ‘played’ around with Weiß. Don’t you think that was a little bit
rough, even for you?"
"Had to teach my pretty little red head a lesson. Besides, you said you
wanted them thrown off balance, right? They shouldn’t be causing us any problems
for some time to come."
Crawford glared at the smug man over the rim of his cup. "I said to shake
them up, not break them. I think you’re letting your emotions for Abyssinian
get in the way. And I hate to tell you, but all you did was buy us a few days.
The brave white hunters are going to be all the hungrier for our blood after
tonight. But still, we now have the time we need. This mission will be resolved
by the middle of the week."
The smile that spread across the long haired man’s face was one of pure evil.
"And then I can devote my full attention to my sweet little Kätzchen."