Nothing Gold Can Stay

Chapter 7

*******

Yohji was trailing after Aya, wandering through a crowded department
store filled with Nakashima look-alikes. The redhead would stay just
out of reach, tossing back heated looks out of indigo dark, passion
filled eyes. All he wanted was to grab the man and haul him off to
the nearest changing room, ravish him silly until they got tossed out
of the store for making too much noise. But the man kept flowing
through the horde of women like water. It was so very damn
frustrating.

Just when he was finally gaining ground on his kitten, the store and
everything else faded into smoke, Aya last of all. Next came the
voice, feminine and with a trace of an accent. "The Five of
Pentacles is at hand. It brings the star child loss."

"Princess, is that you?" Yohji glanced around, trying to catch sight
of the petite woman dressed in rags. There was nothing but grey
smoke and a hint of flowers in the air. "What the hell are you
talking about now?"

"The star child. Your lover. The Erinyes are poised to strike. His
soul will be snatched away, breaking him. Be there you must, he
can't choose the right thread to follow without support. Hold him
close and do not let him go until back he comes." The grey world
darkened, and before Yohji could question the matter any further it
suddenly flared to light, making him close his eyes in pain.

Opening his eyes, Yohji realized that he'd been dreaming after having
drifted back to sleep. It appeared that Aya had as well, the man was
bonelessly pressed against his side, a pale arm flung over his
chest. Brushing back crimson bangs that desperately needed a trim,
the playboy lightly traced a finger along an arch of cheekbone, down
along his lover's jaw. Long dark lashes fluttered for a second but
remained closed. Guess the kitten was worn out. Male pride crowing
over that fact for a moment, the blond started to stroke his hand
through Aya's hair.

With his other hand he searched out his pack of cigarettes, pulling
one out and lighting it quickly. Now this was the life. Or would
be, once his hangover completely went away. Yohji swore to never mix
sake and whatever the hell he'd been drinking at the bar ever again;
he'd felt like shit when he'd first woken up. Fortunately Aya had
taken pity on him and gone to the bathroom to fetch him some water
and pain medication, not to mention clean himself off from last
night. Too bad the pale man hadn't remained clean for long, Yohji
had managed to persuade him to serve as a `distraction' from the
pain. Not that Aya had needed much coaxing. He didn't know what
sudden change had come over the man, but Yohji whole-heartedly
approved of it. They'd spent a couple of hours in bliss, making love
again and again. Now wonder they'd fallen back to sleep.

What was even nicer was the fact that this was all they had to look
forward to today. The door was locked, preventing any suicidal
agents from trying to drag them off on some mission, he had his
cigarettes and Aya had taken his medication. Food would become
important at some point that day, well for him at least, but they
could easily hold out for another couple of hours. He'd let his love
sleep a little longer and then wake the man to see if they couldn't
beat their all-time record for sex on a Sunday. Nothing like having
a goal for the day.

Cigarette finished and eyes growing droopy again, Yohji felt Aya
shift against him. The arm about his chest suddenly hugged a hell of
a lot tighter, and it sounded as if the man was mumbling the
words `come back' over and over. His hand resumed stroking through
Aya's silky hair as he tried to soothe the nightmare away. "Aya
love, wake up. It's just a dream." The slender form suddenly went
stiff for a few heartbeats, when it relaxed a pair of dark violet
eyes were slowly revealed.

"Yohji?"

"Hmm, here kitten. You alright?" The older man watched as Aya sat
up, hugging his arms tight against him. For a moment the redhead
looked so young and defenseless it tugged at Yohji's heart. "Another
bad dream?"

"Yeah." When his boyfriend held out his arms in invitation Aya
didn't hesitate to fall into them, letting the man hold him
close. "But I can't make sense of it, everything's a blur." All
that he was sure of was someone he loved was being taken away from
him, and he was helpless to prevent it from happening. The feeling
was getting quite old. "I hate this."

Yohji wasn't too happy about the nightmares plaguing the younger man
himself. "Well, there is one solution we can try. Just have to keep
you from sleeping." He grasped a pale hand and lifted it to his
mouth, nibbling on the palm. "What say you to giving that a go?"

The hand was jerked away, coming back to briefly bink him on the
nose. Pushing up on his arms, Aya regarded his lover
bemusedly. "How can you still want more after this morning? Don't
you ever get tired of sex?"

"Now that," Yohji commented as he rolled Aya onto his back, "is an
incredibly stupid question. Of course I never do, it's the whole of
my existence." He leered at the redhead before swooping in for a
kiss. When he pulled back he was happy to see Aya actually smiling
for once. "It's our day off, I've got you in bed, what else did you
expect me to do? Gonna take advantage of this for as long as I
can." Dark blond eyebrows waggled up and down, making the smile on
the swordsman's face go up a notch in intensity. Yohji bent down for
another swift kiss.

"Huhn, maybe I will look into getting you neutered. Tomorrow." Aya
tucked back a strand of Yohji's hair, wanting to see the man's face.
Which was grimacing over that last remark. Letting his hand rest on
the blond's shoulder, it skimmed down until it traced the outline of
an inverted cross. A thought suddenly occurred to the quiet
man. "So who won the bet last night?"

Thrown off track by the question, it took the playboy a moment to
decipher it. "At the bar, you mean?" Aya nodded. "Uh, you know, I
don't think we ever figured it out. Just looked back at the table to
check up on you and Saito, and once we discovered you two gone we
panicked." The amount of alcohol Teddy and him had imbibed hadn't
helped matters either, Yohji wasn't sure he wanted to go back to that
particular bar any time soon, might find out he'd made a few offers
that he had no intention of keeping. "Great, you do realize that
Stout will probably insist on finishing it one night, just to find
out who's the winner."

"I wouldn't worry about Stout much anymore," Aya said with a hint of
an evil smile on his lips. Yohji knew that look very well and
decided he didn't want to question the matter any further. Whatever
the American had coming the poor bastard deserved it.

"Then I won't. Now back to what we were first discussing. Something
about sex, if I remember correctly." Once more kissing Aya, Yohji
let a hand trail down the man's smooth skin, stopping to toy with a
silver navel ring. He tried to decide how he wanted to take his
redhead this time. From behind or face to face or maybe even him on
his back for once, so many options to choose from. While trying to
make up his mind there was a knock on their door.

Shit.

*******

Balancing a full tray on one hand, Omi quickly knocked on the closed
door. When the first two knocks failed to generate a response he
rapped the wood again, blowing a lock of hair out of his eyes. "You
guys awake in there? It's past noon, thought you might like
something to eat." Nothing that he could hear, maybe they were
sleeping. About to give up and take the food back downstairs, the
youth was startled to see the door suddenly open but no one emerge
from the room.

Cautiously entering the bedroom, he caught a quick flash of Yohji
diving back underneath the covers, clearly naked. The man settled
the blankets over his lap as a sleepy Aya fumbled for something on
the floor by the bed, which turned out to be his
sweatshirt. "Morning, chibi. Thought you were Manx or Birman for a
minute, didn't want to unlock the door for them." One of Yohji's
hands reached over to straighten out a lock of his lover's hair that
was sticking up in the air. Aya batted the hand away and pulled on
the sweatshirt. Then he curled up beside the older man, resting his
chin on Yohji's shoulder.

Distracted with watching the redhead's actions, Omi was surprised
when he felt the tray being tugged from his hands. "Wah- Yotan, be
careful not to spill the drinks. Brought some eggs up for you guys,
sorry but there isn't much left in the fridge besides that. I'm
about to head out and do some shopping, you two want anything?"

Setting the tray on the bed, Yohji nodded his head. "Yeah, I need a
new carton of cigarettes. Get me a couple of six-packs too while
you're out, there's some money on the dresser."

"Mah, I feel like such an enabler, helping you with your addictions,"
the youth commented as he sat down on the end of the bed. Blue eyes
watched as the older blond handed a mug of tea to his silent lover,
then picked up the coffee and bottle of aspirin with a grateful smile
on his face. Omi acknowledged the unspoken thanks, well aware that
the man had to be feeling some effects of all the alcohol he must
have consumed last night. Yohji had definitely seemed rather drunk
when he had woken him and Ken up last night with his yelling. The
archer couldn't quite believe that the man was in one piece and
looking relatively unbruised after coming home the way he did. Aya
must have taken it easy on him.

The terror in question took another sip of his beverage and set about
eating his eggs. After a minute Yohji did the same, wrinkling his
nose for some reason before shoveling a forkful into his
mouth. "Something wrong, Yohji?"

"Just convincing my stomach that it's a good idea to eat after all."
Here he'd lived with the boy going on what, three years? And it was
Aya who knew that he liked his eggs over easy when he had a
hangover. He knew there was a reason he loved the man so much. But
food was food, and meant that he didn't have to leave his bed to raid
the fridge until evening at the very earliest now. The two of them
made quick work of their meal, not saying a word as they ate. When
finished, Aya stacked the plates back on the tray and refilled his
teacup from a small pot. Green eyes looked up to find blue ones
regarding him and Aya intently. "Thanks again, kiddo. It was nice
of you to bring us something." Did the kid want something, was that
why he was still hanging around? Well, if it was a demonstration of
the advice Aya had given him the other night, Omi was out of luck.
No way in hell he was putting on a show for a minor. Not to mention
what was sure to be Aya's reaction to the matter. Yohji reached over
to gather his lover in his arms, in case the man decided to go for
his sword when Omi made his request.

Omi nodded his head as a blush spread along his cheeks. "It wasn't a
problem, and I knew that you wouldn't want to uhm, get out of bed for
a while yet." The couple was never often seen on Sundays until late
afternoon usually, unless something came up to disturb their
idyll. "Just wanted to show my appreciation to Aya for the
suggestion he gave me."

In the middle of being pulled onto Yohji's lap, Aya glanced at the
boy in curiosity. A crimson eyebrow lifted eloquently. Omi
continued on. "I uh, tried one of your suggestions on Ken
yesterday. It worked pretty good."

Flummoxed that any romantic advice his anti-social lover had
dispensed hadn't blown up in the chibi's face, Yohji rested his chin
on top of Aya's head. "Oh come on, you can't leave us hanging. What
did you do to the poor dumb jock?"

Picking up a fork, Omi prevented himself from throwing it just in
time. It wouldn't do to hit Aya by accident. Yohji seemed to think
this as well and just smirked at him from behind the safety of his
boyfriend. "He's _not_ a dumb jock." Well, not very much at least.
What with his ridiculous insistence that Omi was too young to know
his own heart. "He's just got some stupid ideas stuck in his head.
Anyways, I tried ignoring him yesterday." The youth just grinned.

"And? Come on, spill Omittchi, it's not nice to tease."

The youngest Weiß stuck out his tongue. "But you do it all the time,
Yohji-kun." As the two older assassins glared at him the boy
relented. "You should have seen it, he followed me around all last
night, asking me if there was something wrong, if he'd done something
to upset me." Omi had enjoyed every minute of it, relishing having
the tables turned for once. It was about time Ken tried to please
him, he was sick of chasing after the man and not getting anywhere.

Yohji burst out into a laugh, arms wrapped tight around his
lover. "Oh my, I think you've created a monster, kitten. Poor
Hidaka. Just how long are you going to let him suffer, Omi?"

"A little bit longer. I think he deserves it." Omi sniffed as he
stood up, serious expression breaking out in a grin as the older
blond kept laughing. "Don't you?" Yohji nodded his head as the
teenager walked over to the dresser to grab some yen. He then picked
up the tray and headed for the door. "You two have fun, are we going
to see you for dinner?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Yohji just barely managed to block a bony elbow
from impacting against his ribs. "Wasn't planning on it, but I think
I wanna catch a glimpse of Ken groveling through dinner." Omi
flashed him a quick smile before closing the door behind him.
Shaking his head, Yohji sighed at the thought of how much his brunet
teammate was going to suffer. Oh well, better Ken than him. Somehow
he'd managed to stay on his boyfriend's good side even with the stunt
he'd pulled last night. About time someone else was in the romantic
doghouse. It was time as well to get back to the matter at hand.
Catching Aya's chin in his hand, he tilted it upward until the man's
neck was stretched and exposed. "Now where were we?"

*******

Schuldig rested on the living room couch, his head tilted back on the
furniture. Balinese was ravishing his precious again, what was with
the man? He could understand why Aya put up with it, the other
redhead was desperate for assurances that he was wanted and loved.
But the man-whore didn't have any excuse besides rampant
hormones. "Was für ein Schwanzlutscher."

Ah, but he was gaining quite the insight into his tuberose's
preferences, at least. What things the man truly liked and what he
put up with because his over-sexed boyfriend enjoyed doing it.
Knowledge that he looked forward to putting to good us one day.
Soon, it wouldn't be long now, not after tonight. Things would be
set into motion that would lead to his dreams coming true; Aya would
be his before the year was out. All he had to do was wait.

The sound of footsteps distracted the telepath from his link with the
catalyst. Opening his eyes he found Crawford standing in front of
him, a serious look as usual on the handsome face. "Mein Fuhrer, how
best can I serve you?" Schuldig so loved getting a rise out of the
man, seeing that slight furrow between the ebony brows.

"I want to have a talk to you about something."

Schuldig sat up straight and clapped his hands. "Bradley-kins! I
knew it would only be a matter of time before you became interested
in sex. You want me to explain about the birds and the bees now, or
are bees and bees more your type of thing? Stay here, I have some
magazines that will help explain things perfectly." He made to get
off of the couch.

"Mastermind, _sit_." Crawford didn't need to be psychic to know he
was going to suffer through one hell of a headache before this
discussion was over with. Why couldn't he have selected the medium
from South Africa when he was assembling Schwarz? No, he had to go
with a troublesome telepath, even had ignored the warnings others had
offered him about the man. They better be able to free themselves
from Esset's hands after all, or Crawford was going to take out some
of his frustrations by shooting Schuldig repeatedly before the elders
dragged him off to be punished for his attempt at betrayal. "This
isn't about my sex life, but a topic I believe you are even more
interested in. I want to talk about Aya Fujimiya." Out of the
corner of his eye the American caught sight of a lurking
figure. "Nagi, leave us alone, we're in the middle of discussing
something here."

Schuldig leaned back in the couch and waved his hand. "Let the boy
sit in on this, Crawford. Maybe he'll learn something. Besides,
isn't he already involved?"

Blue eyes regarded the telepath for a moment as Nagi warily crept
into the room, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee
table. "You knew about the search I had Prodigy conduct, didn't you?"

"Ja." Schuldig flashed his teeth at his leader. "If you had any
questions, Brad, you could have just asked me. What do you want to
know about the Kätzchen? About how he shivers if you massage the
small of his back? Or something more boring, like how he always has
to floss before he brushes?" He pulled out a cigarette and lit it,
being very careful to mask his tension with flippancy. The old
witch's words echoed in his head, how he wasn't supposed to lie to
the precog, but didn't have to tell him the whole truth about his
heart either.

It was time to cut to the chase, try to shake up the damn smug man.
See if he couldn't have a few suspicions confirmed. "I want you to
tell me about his power, Mastermind. Just how long were you planning
on keeping that small fact a secret? Didn't you ever think that
Schwarz might be interested in knowing that one of our enemies is a
talent?"

Blowing out smoke before he answered the question, the German caught
the focused attention that Nagi was directing towards this
conversation. He paused to scan the boy's thoughts. Hmm, seemed
that his tuberose had gained a supporter already. Something
important to keep in mind. "He's latent, well mostly. I didn't see
how his talent would matter if he wasn't actively using it." That
was one lie that he knew the precog would see through, but didn't
think it would negatively affect things. Besides, the uptight
bastard would be suspicious if he didn't bend the truth at some point
in their conversation.

Crawford leaned forward in his seat, hands resting on his
knees. "You didn't think that I should know that Weiß is lead by a
precog, even a latent one? You know as well as I do what sort of
trouble he could cause us."

"You in particular, ne?" Blue and green eyes stared at each other, a
smirk being met by a slight frown. Prodigy glanced back and forth
between the two men, curious as to what that comment had meant but
afraid to draw attention to himself. <Go ahead and ask it, Nags.
Bradley-poo won't kick you out for doing so; you'll be learning
something. Right oh illustrious leader?> Crawford nodded his head.

Shifting about nervously, Nagi did as he was bid. "What does he
mean, Oracle? What trouble could a latent precog cause you?"

"It is possible, if one has the talent and will, for one precog to
block the visions of another. Which seems to be the case here. I
believe Abyssinian has been preventing me from accurately seeing the
outcomes of our clashes, among other things. Even if he is unaware
of doing so." Schwarz's leader stared hard at Schuldig. "Just how
latent is he?"

The German waved his hand lazily through the air. "He's still mostly
powerless." Relatively speaking, the boy wasn't using a fraction of
what he had inside of him. "The power slips through the leash he's
put on it every now and then, especially when he's fighting or on a
mission, but for the most part he doesn't touch it except
subconsciously. Poor kitty is terrified at the thought of not being
normal, it'll be a real challenge to get him to acknowledge what he's
got and consciously use it. I've been helping to rein him in some as
well, trying to push back the time his talent breaks free until he
can properly handle it." Schuldig was very careful to not exactly
spell out what Aya's talent was, it was to their benefit that
Crawford assumed the man was a precog, much like everyone else.

"But why would he be afraid of it?" Nagi was confused. It wasn't as
if Abyssinian's power was like his, extremely destructive if not
carefully controlled, or like Schuldig's, which could be very painful
for its owner if not kept under wraps. "And how can he be blocking
Crawford, especially if he doesn't even know he's doing it?"

Crawford glared at the youth for a second, anger and embarrassment
written on his face for a heartbeat before it became impassive once
more. Schuldig's grin grew wider. <Not a smart question to ask,
Nagi-kins. What it means is that Abyssinian's power is stronger than
Oracle's. Even if he's not aware of using it. As long as the talent
is there, and the will knowingly or not focused on it, even a latent
precog can block another one. If they are as strong or if not even
stronger than the other.> Nagi was still a bit confused, but decided
not to press the issue at the moment. "The boy was raised to detest
the idea of being abnormal. It's in the psych files that Kritiker
has assembled on him, guess you guys haven't had the time to read
through all those yet."

"Not completely, but I've gotten the general idea from them." The
American noticed when his unruly subordinate's shoulders tensed for a
moment. Mastermind had good cause for not being happy over him
seeing those files. "Abyssinian definitely has some issues. What I
want to know is who gave you permission to kill or drive insane
Kritiker personnel the way you did? That was incredibly reckless and
stupid, what you did. Repeatedly." Esset would have the man's hide
if they ever found out what he'd been up to.

"He's _mine_, those fuckers were messing with his head, trying to
break both the shield around his power and his will at the same
time. If I hadn't have stepped in the bastards would have destroyed
his mind." Schuldig was snarling in a possessive fury, hands
clenching on the remains of his cigarette until the filter was
shredded. Nagi looked on in shock as Crawford let a slight smile
curve his lips. Yes, it was much better when Schuldig was reacting
and not plotting. Now that the man was shaken up he could ask the
rest of his questions. "You only served to bring him to the
attention of his masters all the more, what with you playing with
their psychiatrists and the dreams. You are partly responsible for
the hell that Abyssinian has been put through. And you think he's
ever going to forgive you for that fact and willingly join you here?"

"He will. Aya is _mine_, deep down he knows that and has even
acknowledged it. It will only be a matter of time."

As if on cue Nagi added his two cents to the discussion. Crawford
was careful not to let his smile get any bigger, things were going
just as he had planned. "But, Abyssinian is one of us. Of course he
has to join Schwarz. He can't be left with a bunch of _normals_.
They'll only turn on him when they find out the truth, we can't leave
him there now!"

"I don't need my power to see that forcing the man to join us would
be a disaster. Abyssinian will need some sort of incentive to
willingly come here, maybe being betrayed by his teammates would
do." For a moment the clairvoyant thought of the one vision he'd had
of Schuldig and Fujimiya together, he knew it had involved a betrayal
of sorts from the hands of Balinese. But he had seen nothing else to
judge if the man would break from Weiß and his lover permanently or
if it would just be a single incident. Yet Schuldig was very
incessant about the swordsman coming to him of his own free will, how
did he know? That was a matter that he would have to look into more
closely. He waited for the teenager to speak again.

"What if they try to kill him? Schuldig says his talent is latent,
and it's not like my telekinesis, which would help protect him. He's
just a precog." The telekinetic was about to add something else but
quickly snapped his mouth shut when he realized what had just come
out. It has sounded as if he was implying that precogs were
helpless, something that Oracle was anything but. However, when his
remark was met only with silence, Nagi finished his thought. "Isn't
he?" The American had said something last night about Abyssinian
possibly possessing another talent.

Once more Crawford stared at Schuldig. "Isn't he," he asked, echoing
the teenager.

It took a few seconds before the German would answer that question,
and then clearly begrudgingly. "He's more than just a simple
precog." The telepath was clearly not happy with that admission.

"What is he, Mastermind?"

Schuldig pulled out another cigarette, letting irritation settle on
his face. <You seem to have all the answers, oh mighty Oracle. Why
don't you enlighten us? Tell us what you think Abyssinian has been
doing.>

"He's doing more than just blocking me, he's actually influenced
certain outcomes." Crawford waited to see how his teammate would
react to that statement. If he would try to deny it or not.

"Ill wight." That was it, two more words even more begrudgingly
uttered in a harsh tone of voice. The precog wondered why he didn't
feel so victorious for forcing the confession from the other man.

"What-." The word slipped from Prodigy's lips, causing both of the
men to look at him. When he wasn't yelled or glared at he continued
with the question. "What's an ill wight?"

An ebony eyebrow was cocked in query, an unruly mop of hair nodded in
response. "An ill wight is someone who can, in a small way, direct
fate. Can make certain events happen by sheer will alone." Bradley
Crawford's eyes took on a distant sheen as he recalled what he had
been taught at Rosenkrantz. "Literally, they are an `ill wish', they
mean harm for usually someone they hate or seek vengeance against.
It's a very rare talent, and requires a very strong will to control
it, harness it enough to focus on certain individuals exclusively.
Most often it manifests by people who have harmed or angered the ill
wight having misfortune fall upon them."

"Abyssinian sought Takatori's destruction. Can he have used it
against him even if he's latent."

<Can and did, Nagi-kins. Can and did.>

Which explained how the short-tempered fool had managed to survive
for so long, Crawford thought. "Ill wights are extremely rare, along
with their counterparts, blessed be's. Who are talents whose powers
bestow good fortune as opposed to tragedy to them and their loved
ones. Both are highly sought after, and only a couple ever appear at
any given time, over the whole wide world."

Schuldig let a proud grin spread across his face. "Meaning my little
kitty is infinitely precious. Now you see why I didn't want you to
know, at least while I thought you were still Esset's willing
puppet? If they catch wind of what he is they'll snatch him up and
lock him away so quick, break him until he was obedient."

Oracle nodded his head. "Like Cassandra." Nagi, to no surprise,
appeared confused at mention of the woman. Interesting enough
though, Mastermind again tensed for a fleeting second. Was that how
the man was getting his information, had he made a deal with the
madwoman? Crawford knew something that the telepath didn't; a reason
why the woman might want to help him, but as far as he knew the man
was in the dark about his parentage. "So Abyssinian is an ill
wight. The man has irreparable value."

Schuldig warned himself to be very, very careful. Damn Brad for
being an observant bastard, he knew the older man had caught his
slight reaction to hearing the witch's name. As a slip it wasn't
quite so bad, he would assume that any foreknowledge that he had was
attributed to her and not his heart. But to give anything about Aya
away… that would be disastrous. His head nodded, supposedly in
agreement. "There is only one talent even more valuable and rare
than an ill wight or blessed be."

"Catalyst." The words were almost reverent on the black-haired man's
lips. Schuldig nodded again, this time truly in agreement, being
very careful where this conversation went. To not bring up that
talent would possibly raise Crawford's curiosity over why he had
avoided mention of it. Now, with Nagi here, he could pass it off as
a lesson, use it to lay any suspicions his leader had on the matter
to rest. It was bad enough the uptight prick had figured out the ill
wight part. "I can feel the question burning in your mind,
Nags. `What's a catalyst?'. Well, if you think the other two that
Unser Führer mentioned were rare, imagine what you get when you mix
the two together, only not can they influence what is around them and
the people who have attracted their attention for good or ill, but
they can influence _anything_. Fate becomes a willing whore for
them."

"A wonderful analogy there, Mastermind. What the man is trying to
say, Prodigy, is that a catalyst can twist the future however they
see fit, sometimes on a small level, sometimes global. Usually they
have some sort of impact on history, most cataclysmic events can be
traced back to them."

<Hence the name, cute, ne?> He received a glare for that thought.

"Schuldig, don't interrupt me, you'll confuse the boy. As I was
saying, many of history's pivotal events can be traced back to them,
or happened in their name. Sparta won the Peloponnesian war with the
aid of a Syracusan catalyst. In 410 AD the Visigoths invaded Rome on
an oracle's prophecy that a catalyst had been born in the city. No
one knows if the prophecy was correct, but considering how they faded
from history, it's doubtful they ever found the child, or if one had
indeed been born. The failure of Kublai Khan's army to fully land in
Japan is attributed to a typhoon willed into being by a young
catalyst living in a monastery near Hakata Bay. Saladin was himself
one, the rarest of all in fact, a catalyst that actively took part in
history, instead of pulling the strings on someone else's behalf. He
successfully brought the Arab world together and fended off the
Crusaders in the twelfth century." Brown eyes went wider with each
cited example.

"These impacts have been felt in recent times as well. A niece who
many believed to have committed suicide in 1931 aided Hitler's rise
to power, in all actuality he'd hid the child away, somehow sensing
her power ever since she was born. The United States Army's
intelligence found out about the young woman, and it was her
subsequent capture that led to the man's downfall, and that country's
rise to prominence after the war. The catalyst didn't survive on
American soil for long, her uncle had broken her too much, but she
set in motion much of the cold war at Truman's insistence. Those are
but a minute example of how these people have affected various
civilizations throughout the world."

Shaking his head, the telekinetic tried to absorb all of these
facts. He'd never heard of the three talents the older men were
discussing this afternoon, let alone imagine they could be so
important. "Just how rare are these people?"

"Extremely." Schuldig rested his head back on the couch, playing
with a long strand of his hair in a manner that clearly expressed
just how bored he was with the discussion. "It is an exceptional
circumstance if more than one is born in a century. In almost all
cases they are heralded by a prophecy of sorts, one psychic who
foresees them and passes the news on. Then comes the mad scramble to
lay hands on the poor child, raise it so one can benefit from its
talent. You have to be careful, they are often emotionally fragile
creatures, and most of their power is focused on those they love,
gain that and you can make things happen however you want. Push them
too far, and well, like Crawford said, poor Geli resulted in the
concentration camps and the atomic bomb. She twisted things in
madness, and that manifested in the events that took place around
her. Sometimes they change big things and sometimes little, but they
always leave their mark, either by making something happen or
preventing it. Now Schuldig-sempai is tired and hungry, any more
questions Crawford or can I go get something to eat?"

"One more, what are your intentions with Fujimiya?"

Green eyes gazed coldly back at the emotionless man. "To have him,
plain and simple. To use his power to protect me and mine. Make
sure that I never dance on the end of someone's strings ever again.
Random chaos and mayhem would be nice as well, but I'll settle for
the first three. A word of warning, never once let it enter your
head to control him, _I_ will be the one to do that. He's mine."

The threat didn't seem to much faze the other man. "Don't threaten
me, Mastermind. That is not a very wise thing to do. But I
understand your concern. Abyssinian is yours, just see to it that
you never forget what you owe Schwarz. Nor that you will never be
free without us." That said, Crawford waved the man away, reaching
down for the remote to turn on a news channel.

Still holding a tight rein on his emotions, Schuldig got off the
couch and walked to the kitchen. Once there he pulled a beer from
the fridge and a pizza from the freezer, preparing the oven to bake
it. That taken care of, he turned around to face his young
teammate. "Lunch will be ready in twenty minutes." He sat down at
the table, waiting for the boy to do so as well. "Listen Nagi, you
have any questions on what the illustrious leader or I were talking
about, don't by any means go searching online. I don't care how good
a hacker you are, using any three of those terms on any electrical
apparatus will attract attention none of us want."

He read the boy's jumbled thoughts, trying to figure out what he
wanted to ask first. Nagi felt his presence and slammed a shield up
in place, producing a stab of pain in the telepath's mind. "Now that
wasn't nice at all, Nags."

"Neither is messing around in a teammate's head. What are you going
to do now, are you going to bring Abyssinian here?"

"Yes, when he's ready." Schuldig grinned in anticipation of that
day. Then imagined the look on Crawford's face when he found his
team possessing not an ill wight and precog but a catalyst. At that
point it would be too late for the American to try and sink his hooks
in his tuberose, in fact it was already too late. "He still has to
realize just how completely he is mine."

Tracing a finger over the crosses that Farfarello had carved into the
tabletop, Nagi voiced the question that he had been holding back the
past few minutes. "Do you know that you make him sound like a
possession, Schu? How can he be yours?"

"He. Is." The older man spared his companion a frown.

"Okay, so he is yours then, just like we are Esset's. What's the
difference between you and the elders? They own us, which is why we
are trying to break free of them. Why should you own Abyssinian when
you want freedom yourself?"

Schuldig crushed the can between his hands, wishing it was the
teenager's arm or some other body part. How dare the little prick
compare him to those senile bastards? "It's not the same at all.
He's mine because he is, I've protected him these last few years,
I've helped to make his wishes come true. If it wasn't for me he'd
be dead the past three years, along with his family. That day he
became mine."

Clearly seeing that it would be very dangerous to continue this
discussion, Nagi wisely dropped it. "Will he like it here, with us?
You said he was brought up to hate those who were abnormal."

The older man shook his head and offered the boy a friendly smile,
calm once again. Any time he thought of Aya by his side permanently
it put him in a good mood. "No, he was brought up to hate thinking
_he_ was abnormal, there's a difference. Once he's here he'll be
happy, I'll make sure of that." Much more than the man-whore did,
constantly hurting his precious heart. Once he had Aya near there
would be no more need to hurt the man anymore. "He'll be happy."
Schuldig's gaze shifted over to the window, where he was surprised to
see that it had started to rain. Letting his thoughts drift he felt
what the catalyst was up to at the moment. He too was staring at the
rain, thinking of his sister, about visiting her. The dread and
sense of loss was still there, Schuldig pushed it back as far as he
could, feeling the other man's talent struggle in its cage to entwine
with his. As soon as he was done with lunch he would have to go lie
down upstairs, reach Cassandra and make sure that everything was set
for tonight. That power would surely try to break free, he needed to
be prepared for it. "But first I have to break his heart." The
telepath didn't even realize that he had spoken the last out loud,
lost as he was in Aya's thoughts.

Nagi glanced worriedly at the German, wondering what the man was
thinking of. He didn't like the possess attitude Schuldig held over
Abyssinian, it didn't seem right. Once the Japanese man was with
them he'd have to make sure that Schuldig treated him right.

*******

Aya wrinkled his nose and sat up on the bed, pulling away from a
smoking, content Yohji. The room stank of sex and cigarettes, he
needed to open the window and let some fresh air in. When he turned
towards it the redhead realized that it was raining once again. He
got out of bed, tugging off a loosened sheet and wrapping it around
his waist as he crossed the room. Once at the window he shoved it
open and perched on the sill, staring out into the rain.

As with so many things anymore, the sight stirred mixed emotions in
him. Memories of him and Aya-chan playing in the rain combined with
vague dreams of him in a strange room, letting someone other than
Yohji make love to him. It didn't make any sense, and he was so
tired of being plagued by these half-forgotten reveries. They didn't
do anything more than hurt and trouble him. There were more than
enough things in the waking world that did that as well, Aya didn't
need the added stress of what his dreams were doing to him. He
wished he could be more like his teammates and be content to just
live in the moment. But until his sister was awake and well he just
didn't see that happening.

Thinking of his sister, he reflected on how he hadn't been able to
see her the past two days. He would have to break Yohji's heart and
leave the room at some point that day, pay the comatose girl a
visit. Maybe take her some flowers. As he made his plans Aya felt
pressure build in his head, his body flush with a roiling heat. The
sensation only lasted for a few heartbeats, leaving him cold and
empty once more. Pondering the weird occurrence, he was shook out of
his thoughts by Yohji's voice.

"So you leave a nice, comfy bed filled with the sexiest man alive to
go brood on an uncomfortable windowsill? Those shrinks ever tell you
just how crazy you are, love?"

Dark violet eyes looked over to glare menacingly at the smirking
playboy. "But you deliberately antagonizing me is the epitome of
sanity?"

"Good point." Yohji got out of bed and joined his lover over at the
window, uncaring that anyone looking in could spy him in all his
glory. Aya thought of mentioning to the man that he was naked and
exposing himself, but figured it would just be a waste of breath.
Kudoh was an exhibitionist extraordinaire; he was probably doing it
on purpose. The blond stood beside him, a hand stroking through his
hair as they watched the rainfall together. The silence stretched on
for quite a while. "Mmm, you feel up to another excursion in the
park?"

Aya leaned back his head and regarded his lover with a small
smile. "I don't know, you up to leaving the bedroom today, not to
mention swallowing a bunch of muddy water again?"

"Maybe, as long as I'm out having my fun with you. Learned my lesson
from last time, won't wear those boots again." Yohji double-checked
the sky, making sure there wasn't a hint of lightning. Time to drag
the kitten off to a secluded section of the park and have his way
with him, while Aya was in such an unresisting mood. Sooner or later
the man's sex drive would return to normal, which meant that he'd
have to take advantage of this for as long as it lasted. It would be
nice to take a stab at a fantasy that had been building in his head
the past couple of days. "We'll see if we can't have you doing all
the swallowing this time out." He smirked as an elegant crimson brow
went up at the double entendre.

"I want to visit my sister first, if you can control yourself that
long."

Brushing back the long bangs, Yohji kissed his pale boyfriend on the
nose. "Well, if you promise to make it worth my while, I'll behave
myself while I sit in the café next door." Before he could pull away
Aya grabbed him by the hair and tugged his face down for a kiss on
the lips. When he was let go of Yohji was panting and about to haul
the man back to the bed.

"When don't I make it worth your while?"

All Yohji could do was stare at the wicked smile gracing his lover's
mouth, the gleam in the dark eyes. "It's a deal." That said, he
picked up the man, earning a short bark of laughter from Aya when he
was carried to the bed and dropped onto it. The playboy quickly
followed.

*******

Schöen snapped her whip at a paper target, ripping it to shreds. Then
repeated the action, again and again, until almost all the targets
lined up on the opposite wall were tatters floating in the air.

"You need to save some energy for the mission tonight," Hel reminded
her, having just entered the room to check up on her teammates. "I
doubt that we will run into Weiß, but it would be pointless for you
to exhaust yourself before then."

The whip snapped two more times then stilled. "If memory serves me
correctly, the last time you tried kidnapping Abyssinian's sister you
were sure that there wouldn't be any problems." Somehow the damn man
had showed up in time to prevent the kidnapping then, Hel had been
forced to retreat after killing a hospital orderly. All of their
attempts on Weiß had failed that day. Like their codenames, the
bastards had nine lives.

"All the more reason for you to stop this now and rest, Schreient
will need to be on our toes tonight. This is not some private
hospital, but one of Kritiker's own establishments. Even if no one
is suspecting us, there will most likely be some fighting." Hel
watched the blonde for a few seconds, as the other woman ran a finger
up and down her healed cheek. "We will be successful this time, and
Weiß will suffer because of it."

"Abyssinian will, at the very least." Mindful of what her hand was
doing, Schöen forced it away from her face, made it fall to her
side. "When will we make the rest of them suffer? They owe us for
Masafumi, and-"

"And for what they did to you as well." Hel reached out and took the
whip away, patting the former model on her shoulder. "Siberian will
pay, trust me on this. First Abyssinian though, he struck the last
blow. Then we will be able to use the fact that we hold his sister
hostage against the rest of the team." Schreient's leader looked
over to where Neu leaned against the wall, a silent ghost. "We will
twist Balinese's heart, give him hope of regaining something he lost
long ago and have him betray his team for our benefit. That done,
Siberian will be delivered into your hands. Trust me on this."

Schöen smiled and gave the older woman a brief hug. "I know, and I
trust your plan. We will have our revenge, and Masafumi back as
well. I just worry. Things never seem to go well when we face Weiß,
I don't want anyone to be hurt tonight." Hel returned the hug and
patted her teammate on the untouched cheek.

"Don't worry, after tonight we will have the advantage. One that we
will use to break them."

*******

Aya exited the elevator, a hand brushing along his lips, still warm
from the brief kiss Yohji had given him before sending him on his
way. All he wanted to do was run back to the coffee shop his lover
was waiting for him in, to flee the hospital before something bad
happened, but his feet continued on the familiar path to Aya-chan's
room. As he passed the nurse's station the assassin felt his muscles
tighten in apprehension, waiting for one of the women to wave him
over, inform him of his appointment with a psychiatrist.

But all the nurses did were smile at him and exclaim at the dozen of
roses he had brought for his sister. Aya nodded back to them before
entering the room. It was dark, what with the sky outside covered
with grey clouds, so he turned on the light beside the bed. Aya-chan
had always hated the dark, he'd teased her about approaching her
sixteenth birthday and still needing a night light in her bedroom.
That had earned him a magazine filled with beauty tips being hurled
at his head with more anger than accuracy, being called a mean and
rude brother. Aya smiled sadly to remember that this had occurred a
month before the explosion. He'd let his sister bring a friend to
the restaurant he worked at and snuck the both of them ice cream and
milk as a way to make up for the comment. Setting the flowers in a
vase he recounted the story to the comatose girl, and in a quiet
voice filled her in on what had happened in his life the past couple
of days.

Mindful of Yohji waiting for him, the redhead did not stay for long.
All he really had wanted to do was bring more flowers to freshen up
the room and to assure himself that his sister was fine. "I have to
be going now, Aya-chan. We're going to the park to play in the rain,
just like you and I always did. Well, not exactly like we did, I've
told you how much of a horny pervert Kudoh is." Aya's cheek flushed
for a moment as he remembered the look Yohji had given him when he
had suggested the outing. One got the impression that they were
going to be doing a bit more than just chasing each other about and
kissing in a muddy puddle this time. For a moment he reflected over
how ashamed his father would be of him, having a relationship with
another man and letting said man molest him in public. Aya bitterly
hoped that the dead man somehow knew what it was he was up to,
whatever afterlife his father had ended up in. That he could see his
son actually happy and not giving a damn about the Fujimiya name.
Not when it was applied to him. "Goodbye."

Leaning over to kiss his sister's forehead, Aya was gripped by a
sudden urge to snatch the girl up and hide her away, to keep her
safe. It puzzled him, he didn't know where else the girl would be
safer at, here there were doctors and an elite security force to look
after her. The fear tore at his heart for a moment, making it hard
to breathe. <Easy precious, forget and walk away. Forget and walk
away.> Phantom fingers ran through his hair, soothing him as the
words kept repeating until Aya shook his head and stood up straight.
He still felt some unease as he moved away from the sleeping figure,
prompting him to check the window and its lock, to gaze about the
room to see if anything was amiss. Patting his sister on the cheek,
the pale man once more wished her goodbye.

Aya stopped by the nurse's station, waiting for one in particular to
finish a phone call. "Ah, Fujimiya-san, is everything alright?
Something wrong with Aya?"

"No, she seems fine, Watanabe-san. I just wanted to ask you if you
could keep an eye on her tonight, and pass on to the night personnel
to do the same." At the strange look the woman was giving him the
swordsman improvised with a lie. "She always hated it when it
rained, it would comfort her so much if someone would check up on her
every now and then." Aya hoped the woman never wondered why he had
failed to point this out before, but she was new to the floor. He
almost let loose a sigh of relief when the woman nodded her head.

Thanking the nurse, he stuttered over the last bit as he felt a
shudder run through him. Aya turned around and found another woman
standing behind him. This one was in her thirties, black hair cut
short and dressed in an expensive, tailored man suit. Brown eyes
regarded him with curiosity. "You must be Fujimiya, can't imagine
there are many handsome young men with such pale skin and
outrageously colored hair running around here. I am Dr. Arai. Heard
about you, the nurses go on and on about what a devoted brother you
are."

Controlling the urge to flinch at the comment about his coloring, Aya
silently nodded his head, for some reason thankful that he had worn
his shades that day. He noticed the doctor stare at them for a
moment, clearly wondering about the glasses. Aya felt himself
shudder once more as pain started to build in his head, only to end
abruptly as the strange woman bit out a muted curse. Before she
could speak again the nurse walked out from behind the station after
finishing jotting something down in a ledger. "Ah, Dr. Arai, I've
been expecting you. I can take you back now."

"That would be very nice, Watanabe. Well, Fujimiya, I am sure that
we will see each other again. I look forward to it." The doctor
bowed slightly before following the nurse down the corridor to a
highly restricted area. Aya watched her for a moment, not willing to
turn his back to her until she was gone. Something about the woman
disturbed him greatly. All the more eager to rejoin Yohji, dark
violet eyes once more scanned the hospital floor, trying to tell if
something was wrong. He stepped into the elevator, feeling as if he
was leaving the place forever, never to return.

*******

Kirie Arai shook her head as she followed the silent nurse down the
hallway, stopping at the various security checks while the woman
swiped a card and punched in a code. The rumors about Orchidee were
by no means overblown. The man had talent, that much was for
certain. He also had some of the strongest mental shields that she
had ever come across. Guess having a telepath mess with his head for
a couple of years had helped the man to establish them, in a vain
attempt to keep Mastermind out. It would take some work to break
them down enough for her to catch the nuances of what the assassin
was feeling, as it was all she could read was the pain and self-hate
that he'd felt when she had mentioned his looks. Oh what a twisted
puzzle her latest case was turning out to be, this would be some
fun. Challenging, most definitely very challenging, but fun as
well. It was such a rush to break down someone's walls and let their
carefully blocked emotions run amok. That was the best type of buzz
ever to be had.

Coming to a manned door, Arai snapped her mind back on the present.
Watanabe turned her over to the armed guard, who very diligently
checked her access card against some information he had on his
clipboard. That done he opened the door behind him. "Okudo is the
third door down on the left. We've been expecting you." The empath
nodded her head in thanks and proceeded down the padded, faintly lit
corridor. There were muffled sounds of laughter and crying, various
white robed staff members bowed their heads at her in acknowledgement.

Opening the third door on the left she found another dim room
decorated with plain furniture, none of it with any sharp edges. The
walls were a neutral lavender grey, a simple bed, small bureau and a
round low table were all the accoutrements that it possessed. Arai
seated herself at the table, across from a man with a shaved head and
squinting eyes, hands bandaged in thick mitts and tied together.
Various straps clung to his jacket, preventing his arms from
stretching out all the way. Off to the side a burly orderly silently
stood, looking as if he'd been a former sumo wrestler before this job.

"Who are you?" The jacketed man had a lisping tone, when he opened
his mouth it was evident that he was missing a few teeth, and that
the rest had been blunted down.

"I'm Dr. Arai, I work for Kritiker. You may have heard of me, I
joined Kritiker several years ago, though not in the same department
that you worked for. I came here today to talk about a former case
of yours." No need to drag this out, all of the insane minds
surrounding her started to wear on Arai's mental shields.

The insane man started to laugh, a hissing, grating sound. "I heard
about you. Schatten's empath. Ah, you want to talk about Orchidee,
don't you? Everyone does. That's all they come to me about, never
mind that Efeu always had to fondle his kills, even raped a few of
them, or Klinge having such an interesting psychosis, how she relives
her mother's murder by always stabbing her victims in the same way
the woman was killed. No, it's always Orchidee, such a sweet prize.
Poor, disturbed boy. Efeu always made for the more interesting
sessions though, wish people would talk about him."

Amazed at how lucid the man sounded, Arai started to say that she was
indeed there about Orchidee. And was cut off when the former
psychiatrist suddenly snarled and jerked his hands up to his mouth,
gnawing at the thick gloves. The orderly left his post to slap the
man on the side of his face. Okudo crashed to the ground where he
whimpered for a moment or two. "Touched him I did, touched him.
Shook his hand, patted it as I tried to rip him apart. Bad, bad to
have ever dared to touch. Bad. Not mine. Must be punished. Never
touch again." Arai sat there quietly, recalling how she'd heard the
man had tried to gnaw his hands off after first being admitted. One
of her associates had informed her that Okudo had managed to eat
three fingers and half of a thumb before he'd been restrained.

A few more whimpers and the man slowly levered himself back
upright. "Don't touch him, you'll pay if you do." A malevolent look
came across Okudo's face. "Smart bitch, bet you think that you'll be
the one to breach his defenses, to turn him over to our bosses all
broken and docile. Fool. Ono thought that as well, and slit his
wrists from what I heard. Hasuike wasn't stupid, frigid bitch quit
before the curse got her. Never came back, did she? Ran and ran as
far away as she could. Ran, hee. Orchidee. You'll be stupid, I can
see it now. You'll touch and he'll make you pay. Want the room
right next to mine? Nice and cozy, all the drugs you can want. That
should tempt you, I know all about you, you whore. Touch Orchidee
and you'll be my neighbor, hopped up on more drugs than you could
ever wish for. Probably think that you'll break the curse, just like
the others. Just like I did. As if a child druggie whore has a
chance. _He'll_ be the one to do the breaking, just you see."

During the taunts the woman quietly sat there, never once looking
away from the insane man verbally abusing her. When he finally
stopped ranting she merely sighed. "I never was a whore, looks as if
you heard it wrong. Never stooped quite that low. There are a lot
of things I've never done, such as take a bludgeon to the heads of my
spouse and three children, crack open their skulls and finger through
their brains. Just what were you hoping to find? I always wondered
about that." She drank in the man's pain, the mention of his actions
breaking through the hate and madness, filling him with sorrow as he
cried in memory of his deeds.

Okudo rocked back and forth, muttering his slaughtered family
members' names. She patiently waited for the crying jag to come to
an end, for the anguish to retreat. Bastard should have known better
than to try and use her past to hurt her, insane though he was.
She'd turned to the drugs as a means to escape the emotions assailing
her, unaware of her talent. But she'd never whored for them. Not
once she'd learned to control it somewhat, to use it against
others. "Are you done now? I have a question or two to ask you."

The rocking stopped as once more the man regarded her with a twisted
smile. "Ask away, ask away. Just digging yourself in deeper and
deeper. You're fucking yourself over all on your own, you know."

"I'll take that risk. Just how much, in your dubious opinion, is the
man unstable? How close were you to breaking him?" Unfortunately,
for the former doctor at least, it had seemed that he had been the
closest to achieving that goal than any other of Orchidee's
psychiatrists.

The grating laughter returned, Okudo shaking with mirth. "How
close? Oh so very close, so very close. Can taste it still. Made
him cry, in that last session. Made him feel so worthless, a
failure. Used his sister against him, how he survived and she
didn't. It would have just taken a little more pressure, a little
more guilt, and he would have snapped. Done anything he was told.
But then-"

"But then you went home and slaughtered you family instead." Another
delicious spike of pain. "That's what I thought." She now knew what
track to take, would base her sessions on the madman's, work the
already fertile ground. Arai stood to her feet, looking down on the
wreck of a once brilliant doctor. "Oh, and the `he' that you
mentioned. It's Mastermind, isn't it? That's who you were talking
about?"

"Heh, it's never wise to say the devil's name. I learned that the
hard way. You'll find out just as well, ambitious cunt that you
are. Touch the man and you'll find the devil waiting for you. Think
you are such a badass, wait til you meet him. I'll tell them to keep
the room open, Kirie dear. All those lovely drugs, just waiting for
you. You'll crash and burn, stupid whore like you can't hope to
succeed."

The woman sighed as she twitched her jacket back into place. "You're
supposed to be insane, not boring. No wonder you don't have many
visitors. Then again, doesn't help that you killed the only people
who would ever care for you." Reaching out, she braved the man's
psychosis to tweak his emotions. "Did you get a thrill when you
caved your little boy's skull in? I heard his head looked as if it
had exploded when they found him. You must have really pounded away
on it. Let me guess, he was an unplanned pregnancy, wasn't he?" She
deftly sidestepped when the madman let out a scream and charged up
from the ground, trying to tackle her. The orderly once again rushed
over to restrain the man, beating him to get Okudo to stop struggling
so much. At each spike of pain the smile on Arai's face grew wider
as she walked out of the room.

*******

It was wet, everything was so wet; the grass, the air, his and
Yohji's skin. Aya lay on the ground, the rain falling onto his face
as the older man thrust into him again and again, grinding him into
the damp soil, the sound of his name repeated again and again until
it melded with the hissing of the rain. He felt as if he would burn
from the pleasure, that the water should turn to steam as it touched
him. The coiling heat inside him was an inferno, blazing through his
senses as the pounding thrusts continued. Each one adding another
spark of pleasure, filling him that much more. Aya couldn't get the
breath to call out his lover's name, it was forced from his body time
and again, until all he could do was gasp. It was all he could do to
raise his hips to meet Yohji's sweet onslaught, wrap his arms and
legs about the man even tighter, dig his nails into the golden
flesh. So very desperate to let the man's passion consume him. He
wasn't alone, Yohji was here, driving into him, driving him over the
edge, making him feel complete. If only this moment could last
forever. He'd give everything he owned to make it so, surrendering
himself completely into the arms of his lover.

Body starting to tremble, Aya felt everything disintegrate as the
blissful heat finally became too much. Choking out the blond's name
he came in a rush, pulses of pleasure that drained him into the grey,
making the warmth slowly fade away along with everything else. It
returned briefly when Yohji came as well, his hot essence filling
deep inside of him; then the man fell on top of him, a warm blanket
draped over his body. Concentrating on breathing, feeling himself
return back to the world, Aya hugged the man close.

Several minutes later the quiet hush of the falling rain was
interrupted by a hoarse voice. "Fuck Aya, if it's going to be like
that every time we do it in the rain, I'm going to be praying for
cloudy skies every damn day." Yohji made to lever himself off of the
smaller man but stopped when Aya moaned and clutched him all the
tighter. That had just been so incredible, Aya so amazingly
responsive and ardent. The amount of passion that had been raised
between the two of them left Yohji drained. He made to pull away
again when he felt the slender figure beneath him shiver. Guess his
kitten was a little chilly, considering how the temperature had
dropped and he was lying naked on soaked grass. Settling himself
more comfortably on top of his love, Yohji ran a hand up and down a
chilled side. "Hmm, you're cold."

"Thank you for pointing that out. Never would have come to that
conclusion." Aya opened his eyes to find his vision filled with a
scowling Yohji. He smiled wearily at the older man, releasing his
hold to brush back the dark blond strands clinging to the handsome
face above his. Even if he felt chilled to the bone the redhead
didn't want to move an inch, things were too perfect. The
apprehension and barely remembered dreams of him and a stranger
making love as rain pounded down on the city outside had been
obliterated by the past minutes, with Yohji taking him in the park.
He wished he had thought of it earlier. He as well couldn't wait to
do it again. Once he got his strength back, like maybe a week or two.

Yohji slowly sat up, pulling Aya along with him. "Come on, we need
to get dressed and you back somewhere warm and dry. Our bed sounds
like a great idea right now. Omi mentioned dinner, think the both of
us could use a bite to eat as well.

Aya grumbled wearily and tucked his head under the blond's chin. He
didn't want to leave, everything was so peaceful here, even if he was
shaking from the cold and he was certain that someone would stumble
across them in another couple of minutes if they didn't move now.
Comfortable and more that a little tired, Aya let out a hiss as his
boyfriend yanked him onto his feet.

"Kittens are supposed to be all pissy when they get soaked, not at
their lovers for trying to get them nice and dry. Don't you want to
get out of the rain?"

"Not really." Rocking up on his toes, the smaller man kissed Yohji
on the mouth for a brief moment and then set about finding his
clothes. They sort of had been tossed all about, what with the heat
of the moment. Aya picked his up and started the difficult task of
pulling on soaked garments, shivering at the clammy feel of them.
Once done he looked up and found the other assassin staring at
him. "What?"

Chuckling softly, Yohji brushed back the crimson bangs plastered on a
pale face. "If I look half as bad as you do, we are quite the
sight. Wet, bedraggled, and muddy. Not to mention the occasional
leaf stuck to us." A golden hand plucked a maple leaf out of Aya's
hair. "The fan club would have a heart attack if they see us like
this."

"Hn." Aya grabbed the hand and used it to tow his boyfriend out of
the clump of trees he'd picked for some privacy. Stepping out into
the park's clearing, the two men came across another person out
walking his dog in the rain. The middle-aged man treated them with a
frown, clearly puzzled at why two young men were drenched and filthy,
hanging out in the woods he normally walked his pet in. Yohji
offered the stranger a lewd grin and pulled Aya closer, chuckling
once again at the scandalized look that crossed the man's face. Aya
just rolled his eyes and headed back to the car

*******

Schuldig stared at the loom, or more exactly the dark cloth woven on
it. He stroked a hand over the material, feeling Aya's emotions
echoing through his mind. The man was peaceful once more, enjoying
the calm before the storm. As much as he hated Balinese, Schuldig
could not begrudge the two assassins their fun. His tuberose needed
the distraction, couldn't begin to guess what event would soon be put
into motion. "His power is restless. I felt it earlier, struggling
to be free, to join with mine."

"Seethes it does. The future is open to it as well, a complex web of
threads for it to manipulate. Senses what is to come. Long has he
been tied to the girl, has sought her protection. The talent seeks
to assure that she is safe, yet finds itself hindered. No outlet for
it to go." Except for one. The evil one was in for a rude awakening
that night, was about to find out that he could be made to suffer for
the bonds he'd enforced on the star child. Cassandra smirked evilly,
it was enjoyable to contemplate the telepath's immediate future. If
only the star child and the Knight were not so entwined. "Have you
your puppet ready, to put the star to sleep if needs be?"

"The good doctor has been warned. He'll be called to the hospital
just before the screaming bitches arrive for some emergency. I'll
inform him when he needs to make his move." Schuldig had placed so
much thought into this, how best to protect Aya and to ensure that he
covered his tracks. Things would go smoothly, he was sure of
that. "Do you know he ran into Kritiker's bitch tonight? She tried
to sink her claws into him already. I'll make her suffer for that."

"Careful, you must be subtle this time. Use her as a weapon against
herself. Attract too much attention you do, it is never wise."
Holding her cards in one hand, Cassandra stroked the topmost with a
finger. "But well you did, against the reversed Fool. His
suspicions have been lulled, for the moment. Restrain your lies and
honor the promises you made him, and he will not harm your heart."

Running a hand through his hair, the German regarded Cassandra
amusedly. "Careful there, alte Hexe, you almost sound as if you like
the man. You harboring tender feelings for your former pupil?" When
the woman hissed in indignation he laughed out loud. "I'm sure he
feels the same about you. Now is there anything else I should know
before I go?"

"Nothing that will change the outcome of tonight. Be on your guard,
Death will burn in his true glory tonight, the flame must be masked
quickly. The Fates will ensure that he can't alter anything, on this
one matter at least, but he is in danger of attracting harmful
attention."

"One gets the picture." There was no way he was going to let anyone
else know of the catalyst's presence. They would try and snatch Aya
away from him; that was never going to happen. The man belonged to
him. Finders keepers, as the children's rhyme went. Schuldig
vanished from the madwoman's dreams, letting himself drift off to a
deeper sleep. He would need his strength for later. To keep his
heart safe, and to piece the man back together when he shattered at
the loss.

*******

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Ken miserably shoved what was a
fine dinner in his mouth. Omi had decided to try some lasagna recipe
he had found on the web, and the result was Weiß's supper. Aya was
eying his portion with a dubious expression while Yohji was swiftly
devouring his. As for the chef that evening, Omi was teasing the two
older Weiß and steadfastedly ignoring him. Just like he had been
doing for the past day, ever since he had come back from yesterday's
deliveries. What had he done wrong? The youth was never upset with
him this long, not even when he had flubbed a mission. Those blue
eyes almost never rested on him, the few times they did there was a
spark of anger burning in them. Was Omi that upset about him going
out the other night? It had been apperant that the boy had hoped to
do something with him that evening, but he'd already promised a few
of the other coaches in his kids' soccer league that he'd join them
at the bar. Besides, when did it matter so much if he stayed home
and did something with the boy or not? It wasn't like they were
dating or anything. For a moment Ken heard Yohji's voice in his
head, about how he had no ties to Omi through his own choice. A
choice that he was beginning to regret, if it meant that he couldn't
even have the young man as a friend.

"-know, you two might want to stop playing around in the rain all the
time, you might get sick. Poor Aya-kun looks so pale, maybe he's
coming down with a cold already."

Yohji smiled at his roommate and scooted his chair closer to the man
in question, slinging an arm over Aya's shoulders. "Come on, chibi.
The man is always that pale he's completely lacking in any type of
pigment. Think it all went into the hair. Besides, the only chance
I have to dragging him off to a park to play is when it's raining,
else he fries when exposed to the su-ow! Dammit, kitten, those
elbows of yours should be declared lethal weapons! Don't see why you
bother with a sword at all when you got them. Now eat your dinner
before you actually puncture me the next time I get hit." He rubbed
his sore side, wondering if the bruise there would ever fade.

"Huhn." Aya kept poking the pasta on his plate. He should have made
Yohji buy him some dinner when they were out. He'd never been a big
fan of tomatoes in the first place, what had possessed Tsukiyono to
make a dish drenched with them? Pushing the plate away, Aya
concentrated on his salad. When he glanced up he caught the sight of
a pair of huge blue eyes glimmering with tears, looking back and
forth between the spurned dish and his face. "Sorry, Ayan. If you
don't like it I can make you something else." One tear threatened to
overspill onto Omi's face.

Sighing, Aya pulled the pasta back in front of him and resolved to
scrape off as much of the sauce as he could. At least when the boy
made spaghetti he was able to get to the noodles before it was
covered in the stuff and eat them with a little butter and
vegetables. Off to his side he heard Yohji laughing softly. Seeing
the arm blocking his preferred target, Aya stretched out his leg and
kicked the man in the shins instead. As if Kudoh didn't fold like a
paper sack when Omi pulled the chibi eyes on him as well. The boy
was certainly pure evil.

In a foul mood over the incident, dark violet eyes locked on the
miserable figure sitting opposite him. What a perfect target. Time
for the owed revenge. "Hidaka."

"Yes, Aya?"

"You're working the swing shift tomorrow."

Ken looked up from his plate of barely touched dinner. Upon seeing
the slight smile on the redhead's lips he realized that things had
gone from bad to worse. "I thought that I was to work the morning
shift." That came out as more of a question than he'd intended, Aya
had sounded rather adamant about him working the new shift. If he
wasn't so damn depressed he'd be angry at the change.

"No, I'll cover that now." Yohji's attention perked up at this, and
he turned to glare at his lover for disturbing his plans for the both
of them to sleep in. When he spotted the look on Aya's face he
wisely shut his mouth and abandoned Ken to whatever evil fate the
vindictive man had in store for him. Comradery and that `all for
one' team spirit shit only went so far, Hidaka was on his own for
this one. He wasn't suicidal. "Since the shop had been improved
with a new electrical system and coolers it's time for a few other
renovations. You are to clean out the storeroom, moving everything
away from the wall and sweeping and wiping them down, so we can paint
in there later this week."

"But, but the room is filthy."

Aya's smile grew the slightest bit. "Yes."

"And it hasn't been cleaned in ages. There are all those cobwebs in
there." Not to mention all the bugs as well, creepy, scurrying
little things with all those legs. Ken had a distinct problem with
anything that had more than four. It just wasn't natural. If he had
to clean out the room he'd have to deal with the disgusting things,
be faced with the prospect of the vile creatures crawling all over
him. The athlete shuddered in horror. He glanced beseechingly at
his field leader. "Can't someone else do it?" The two other men at
the table swiftly averted their eyes, sacrificing him in a heartbeat.

"No." The smile grew a fraction bigger again. Someone was taking
great delight in his discomfort. Ken tried to figure out how he had
mortally offended the man. Aya _knew_ all about his phobia, him and
the others had to kill any and every bug that crossed the Koneko's
threshold while the brunet cringed in the background. "Omi and I
need to do the arrangements and get the fall plants ready, and Kudoh
can't be trusted. You're doing it." Aya's tone was final. Yohji
sent him a sympathetic look and helped himself to more lasagna.

So not only was the man he loved angry with him for some reason, now
he had to spend the whole day in a room filled with dirt and bugs.
Ken just knew that he was going to have bad dreams the whole night,
imaging the things crawling all over him. Just what he needed.
Could the day get any worse? At least when he looked at Omi again he
saw the young man offer him a flash of an understanding smile before
pointedly looking away. That restored his appetite enough to finish
off the pasta on his plate. The rest of the meal passed by quietly,
everyone afraid of being the next person targeted by Aya's wrath.

It wasn't much longer than that when the dishes were soaking in the
sink and Omi portioning out sundaes. Conversation resumed while the
men ate their dessert, mainly along the lines of what Omi planned on
doing with his last week of freedom before classes started. Ken made
sure to inform his teammates of his kids' game schedule for the week,
hoping that Omi would come to one of the matches. Yohji and Aya
didn't have much in store for the next week, which meant that him and
Omi would have to tread cautiously around the house. Nothing like
trying to catch a television show in the den and walking in on your
roommates going at it on the couch. Been there, done that, still had
embarrassing dreams about it. Though the couple seemed to be
favoring the recliner more often now. Omi had caught the men in the
middle of something on it right before they had gone on vacation.

Before their treats were all finished there was the sound of the
kitchen lock turning and then Teddy striding into the room, a huge
man right on his heels. "Teddy, take off your shoes before you track
mud all over the place," the stranger growled.

"Yes, Mickey." The longhaired man's tone was long suffering, and he
swiftly did as he was bid.

"Do we need to explain the concept of a door bell to you, Stout? Hi
Mickey, long time no see."

"Hello Kudoh. Are we interrupting dinner? Just came by to drop off
some goodies." The tall American sighed as he saw the gleam in his
brother's eyes at the mention of food and reached out with a long arm
to snag the man's collar as he made a beeline for the fridge. "You
know, Teddy. I quite distinctly remember teaching you manners."

Blue eyes stared mournfully into grey. "But Mickey, I'm starving.
Been busy running errands all day, haven't had a chance to grab a
bite to eat."

"You mean you were too hungover to eat anything. I talked to Koyu
today, you should be ashamed of the way you behaved last night. Good
thing Red was there to look after your boyfriend for you." Mickey
nodded his thanks to the quiet redhead. "He told me about the café,
hope you don't mind if we stop there afterwards, I want to try out
that coffee." Glancing over at Omi, he quietly introduced himself to
the wide-eyed boy.

Finishing the last of his ice cream, Aya got up from the table to
first place the dish in the sink and then to pull the leftover
lasagna out of the fridge. For once he was more than happy to have
the pest eat all of their food, meant that he wasn't getting stuck
with leftovers the next day. "Help yourself. And no, I don't
mind." Teddy didn't need to be told twice, and was soon dividing the
lasagna on to two plates. Aya stayed at the counter, and Yohji soon
joined him there.

Before he sat down at the table Mickey waved to the bags he had set
on the counter. "Your gear. Also new modems for Bombay's computers,
and new headsets and cell phones. With the whole Hirohata affair
there's a bunch of new security protocols going into effect."

"Thanks. So you playing chauffer for your brother," Yohji inquired.
Mickey nodded his head and mentioned that the lasagna was delicious.
Omi beamed and thanked him for the comment.

Teddy glanced about the room, taking in Yohji and Aya leaning against
the counter, the smaller man in the blond's arms. Hidaka was quietly
playing with his melting ice cream, sending an entreating look or two
Omi's way. Who was refusing to look in the brunet's direction.
Seemed that someone was a bit upset with the man, if he had to wager
a guess. Prevented from talking about the previous evening because
of Mickey's presence, not wanting another lecture on his childish
behavior, the kilted man made small talk with the assassins. Well,
Yohji and Omi at least. Red was his normal, untalkative self, but
Brown-eyes was clearly miserable and suffering in silence. Finishing
off his food, Teddy stood to his feet. "Well, dinner was great, as
usual. But we have to get going, couple more things we need to do
before calling it a night."

He then crossed over to where the brunet Japanese man was sitting.
When he drew near Ken glanced up at him. Teddy leaned in close, his
face centimeters from the other man's. "Just to let you know,
Birman's been a little too busy to set up your English lessons right
now. If you want, I can offer to take them over, spend some quality
time helping you out. Lots of late nights and that." He reached out
to brush back the athlete's bangs, looking deep into the chocolate
brown eyes. "I'm told I'm a very talented teacher. Believe in lots
of positive reinforcement." Teddy touched Ken's cheek gently.

"Wow, look at the rain come down. You guys better get going, don't
want to get stuck out in this if it gets any worse. I'm sure _Koyu_
will be worried." Omi stood to his feet and literally tossed his
bowl and Teddy's plate in the sink. Mickey treated his sibling to a
raised eyebrow, wondering what the flirting was about since he knew
Teddy was happily involved with Koyu. It became clear when the
teenager jealously insinuated his body between the two brunets,
shoving the American back. "Tell Birman that I'll take over Ken's
tutoring, there's no need for you to spend your precious time in it."

Waving his hand, Teddy made his way to the door. "All right then,
we're going. Thanks for the food, see you guys in a couple of days.
Take care, Brown-eyes, and remember that there's nothing like
learning from a native speaker. Give me a call if Omi isn't meeting
your `educational' needs." The longhaired man was jerked through the
kitchen door.

Biting his lips to keep from laughing at Teddy's obvious attempt to
get Omi to stop ignoring Ken, Yohji buried his face in Aya's hair for
a moment. When the urge to burst out in laughter passed him by, he
lifted his head to see Omi patting a very happy Ken on the shoulder,
reassuring him that he'd be the perfect tutor. "Well, it's been
quite an exciting day, think I'm off for bed. Coming, Aya?" Like
the man had a choice, what with the grip he had on a slim wrist.
Dark violet eyes regarded Yohji with amusement as he let himself be
led away. Before leaving the kitchen the blond detoured to the
fridge to pull out the container of whipped cream. At Ken's curious
look and Omi's blush he shrugged his shoulders. "Never know when it
will come in handy." Aya just hn'ed and shoved him in the direction
of the stairs.

"Now I know why we go through the stuff so quickly," Omi muttered.

*******

Feeling delightfully exhausted, Yohji snuggled closer to his lover.
Mission accomplished. There was a new official record set for
Sundays. Though technically it was Monday now, midnight had passed
them by a couple of hours ago. Time to go to bed. Soon enough Aya
would have to get up and open the shop, good thing the man got by on
just a couple of hours of sleep. Maybe after a bout in the
greenhouse they'd spend tomorrow evening curled up together, doing
nothing more than reading and watching a movie. Give them time to
recharge their batteries, so to speak. Smiling in contentment, the
playboy buried his face in cherry scented, silky hair.

Just as he was about to fall asleep he felt Aya go rigid in his
arms. Next thing he knew the limb he'd draped over the smaller man
was tossed aside as Aya jumped out of bed. "What is it, kitten?"

Aya pulled on the first clothes he could find. "The hospital. I
have to go to the hospital." It had suddenly come over him, an
intense feeling of loss and pain, as he had laid in his lover's
embrace. It felt just as it had when Schreient had tried to attack
his sister, back when he'd left Weiß and the security Kritiker
provided. Only the feeling was much, much more intense. So much so
that he was shaking in fear. "I have to go now."

Hearing the panic in the pale man's voice, Yohji was on his feet and
getting dressed as well. "I'm coming with you." Aya didn't argue,
just made his way to the door with the blond on his heels. He raced
down the steps and into the kitchen, startling Omi who was raiding
the freezer for a late night snack.

"Hey, what's going on? Something wrong?" Aya's face was taught with
stress and worry, what little could be seen behind the grey
sunglasses. Yohji didn't look much better, and both men were dressed
in a mishmash of each other's clothes.

Yohji was relieved that it was Omi that they had run into, and not
Ken. "We're going to the hospital, something's up."

Noticing how Aya didn't pause at all, just kept heading to the
garage, Omi put the ice cream on the table and followed the older
men. This was not good. It looked as if Aya had seen something, and
if it involved the hospital that meant Aya-chan was in danger. When
he got to the garage he quickly slipped into the back seat of the
white Porsche. "I'm coming with you." Yohji flashed him a grateful
look while Aya just ignored him, busy starting the car's engine.

Yohji barely managed to get his seatbelt fastened before the car
slammed forward. He hoped Omi was managing somehow in the small back
seat. Aya barreled out of the garage, barely missing another car as
it traveled down the street. A horn was honked at them as the
Porsche sped down the road.

If he had thought that his lover had driven recklessly before, it was
nothing compared to now. Aya stared straight ahead, head never
moving to either side. Frantically shifting and downshifting, he
wove in and out of the late night traffic. Cars and trucks were left
slamming on their brakes as the redhead suicidally pulled in front of
them, cutting them off and traveling around them in the opposite
lane. Yohji heard the distinct sound of at least two wrecks left in
their wake. As the car barreled towards a light that had just
changed red he braced himself for impact. Yet somehow the light
immediately turned green, causing the opposing vehicles to come to a
screeching halt before the intersection. They sped through the
light, narrowly avoiding being impacted by a car with faulty brakes.
Omi let out a yelp as Yohji cursed up a storm. He turned to face his
lover. "Hey, Aya, you trying to kill us or what? You keep this up
and we'll arrive at the hospital in an ambulance." When he didn't
get a response he leaned over to grab the man's arm.

Yohji promptly let out another curse at the feel of the pale flesh.
Aya wasn't cold any more, instead he was burning with fever, almost
too hot to touch. "Shit, love, are you alright? You're burning
up." The swordsman didn't answer him, just finished driving the last
couple of blocks to the Magic Bus Hospital. Two more accidents were
narrowly averted and another wreck left behind them. When the car
came to a screeching halt Aya leapt from the vehicle, dashing into
the building. "Fuck, I need a leash for that man," Yohji muttered as
he extricated himself from the safety harness and set chase, a shaky
Omi on his heels. Catching a flash of red disappearing behind a door
he headed for the stairwell.

Why the hell did the girl have to be on the seventh floor, the
playboy asked himself as he tried not to pant. There was an echo
that let him know that Aya was a flight or two above him, he'd yell
at the man to wait up if it wasn't such a waste of breath. The idiot
was going to charge out of the damn stairwell, maybe straight into a
trap. Long legs eating up the treads, Yohji concentrated on closing
the gap between them. The sound of the door being thrown upon let
him know they'd reached the right floor, just when he was about half
a staircase behind the man.

Rolling out the door, he came across the body of a nurse lying on the
floor. Looking over at the nurse's station he found another draped
over the counter, an alive woman standing beside the corpse and
shrieking. It dawned on him the floor was flooded with noise,
various alarms going off and people yelling, some in panic and some
trying to restore order. Down the hall was the body of an armed
guard, shurikens stuck in the man's throat. Yohji quickly got to his
feet and dashed for Aya-chan's room.

The door was wide open, another corpse leaning on the wall beside
it. This time it looked as if the man had his neck broken, there
were thick ligature marks around it. A whip. Which meant that
Schreient had come calling. Yohji briefly recalled Aya telling him
about the failed attempt on his sister, which he had narrowly
prevented. He knew that that was part of the reason his lover had
returned to Kritiker. That and whatever Botan had said to him before
he'd died. Upon entering the room he found Aya standing by the bed,
perfectly still.

Aya was staring at the empty bed, bare except for a cross carved into
the mattress. A bit of ticking floated in the air. Gone. Aya-chan
was gone. He'd failed to arrive in time, failed to save her. And
now Schreient had his sister. Filled with shock, he couldn't make
himself move as he felt something inside of him break.

Just staring at his lover, Yohji tried to think of what to say. From
the chaos outside it was evident that Schreient, and Aya-chan, were
gone. As he took a step closer to his lover, to offer support to the
man and rally a futile chase after the women, Omi crashed into his
back. "Aya-chan, is Aya-chan okay?" The boy's breath caught as he
took in the empty bed.

Yohji reached out his hand, meaning to pull Aya back into a hug. But
it stopped several centimeters short, jerked back in pain at the heat
radiating off of the man. The very air around the redhead seemed to
seethe and boil. "Aya- Aya, love, can you hear me? Are you okay?"
A feeling of dread filled the older assassin. As he tried once more
to reach his lover he heard more people enter the room.

"What is going on here? The ward's alarm was triggered five minutes
ago, I was on my way home from the police station." Manx, it was the
agent's voice. Yohji wanted to turn around and face her, but
couldn't take his eyes off of Aya. "Fujimiya, what are you doing
here? Where is your sister?"

Slowly turning around, Aya faced the people staring at him
worriedly. Yohji heard Omi draw in another sharp breath as he caught
sight of the man's face. Hell, he gasped as well. Aya's skin was a
pure white, lacking any color at all. It faintly glowed in the dark
room, like captured moonlight. The man looked so beautiful, so
otherworldly it hurt to see him. In a deep, inhumane voice
completely lacking any emotion he spoke. "I want my sister."

*******

Retour Chapitre 8