~�~
Aya was outside the flower shop, preparing to bring in the flowers that hadn�t been bought when something caught his eyes. Gripping a nearby pair of rose trimmers he slowly turned, only to find a member of Schwarz standing close by and still approaching. His blue-violet eyes narrowed as he grit his teeth, not currently having his katana in hand. Nearly snarling, Aya held the scissors in a defensive position. �What are you doing here!?�
Farfarello froze in place at seeing Aya tense up, then slowly took a step back. Silence fell over the two men, before the normally silent Irishman choked out a stammered sentence. �I� Need the help of Wei�.� Aya flinched. The man was joking! The others would surely attack if he let his guard down. Abyssinian leapt forward, taking the Berserker by surprise. Once tackling him to the ground, scissor blades to his throat, Ran cast a careful glance aside for the other three Schwarz members. Farfarello, remaining in shock, managed once more to choke out a sentence. �Kill me. It shall be far better than to return from where I came, knowing it�s not safe there.� Aya pressed the blades further to the Irishman�s throat, his blue-violet eyes frantically searching for the others.
Long minutes seeming to last for an eternity passed; the Berserker never attempting to break free and the other members never making an appearance. Slowly, Ran backed off Farfarello, offering a hand to the man he now noticed was unarmed. Something was wrong. �Abyssinian� At your service.� Aya stated this in an almost cold state, but a hint of kindness shimmered through. Pulling himself up with the aid of Aya, Farfarello slowly nodded. �Berserker� I� Need you to assassinate, or, help me assassinate; Crawford.� Aya�s brow quirked in curiosity. . . �Go on.�
Farfarello�s expression seemed to dim, but his single eye wouldn�t leave from the Abyssinian�s gaze. �Crawford. . . tends to enjoy helpless victims. . . He claims, that it�s my �punishment� for failing a mission� But when Mayfly and Mastermind fail, nothing is done to them. I�m not able to stop the man, because he can read my next move before I can complete it. Screaming is useless. Attacking is useless. This has gone on long enough� I� wanted to ask a fellow Schwarz member� But then they�d wonder where my loyalties lie and, maybe they just wouldn�t believe me. . . Or, they may even know this is happening and they just let it slide. . .� His voice trailed off, and his single eye lowered some; a single, unintentional, shimmering tear formed. The small drop of golden-hued tear fell, staining the young man�s face. Aya, having learned the Berserker felt no physical pain, dropped his guard at the tear and reached out, his soft but textured fingertips reaching to the Irishman�s face, and gently brushing the tear away. �You give me a time and place, and I assure you my assistance��
Farfarello�s gaze jerked upward as he realized what the man had just done. His first tear in years and an enemy wipes it away. . . As if finding comfort in the man�s presence, he nodded. �Six hours from now� The abandoned building on the outside of town�� Nodding in return, Aya drew his hand back, then bid the Irishman farewell with a wave. Slowly, he turned back to the plants, picking them up and disappearing into the flower shop. Farfarello remained standing there for a few moments after Abyssinian was tucked away in the building, a small sigh of relief escaping his lips.
Turning, Farfarello began down the street, only to hear the roar of a car. Schuldig. As the car pulled up beside Farfarello, Nagi leaned out the window. �Get in, Farfarello� How�d you get out, anyway?� Lowering his gaze some, he opened the back car door and crept inside. �Exhaled deeply when he fastened the straps�� He cringed, not saying what was true. To his luck, the German could play with your mind, not read it. Nagi smirked faintly. �Smart� You created excess mass� What were you doing�� Schuldig snorted in anger. �Let�s just get back before Brad realizes we�re gone. Nagi, you fasten his jacket this time.� Sighing, Nagi slowly nodded. �Hai��
Once back at the headquarters, Nagi made his way upstairs after Farfarello, eyeing him questioningly. Something was different. The Berserker opened his door, making his way to the center of his room. He reached up, gripping the rope and swinging himself up, slipping his own ankles and feet back into the rope. Now dangling from the ceiling and being placed in his straight jacket, he looked to Nagi. �Don�t tell Brad..?� Slowly nodding, Mayfly bid him goodnight, a departing, �I won�t � Goodnight, Farfarello,� given softly before the Berserker�s door closed, enclosing him in pure darkness. Slowly, the Berserker felt something creep over his lips. . . A smile.
~�~
The time approached and Aya slung a duffle bag over his shoulder containing his assassin outfit and his katana. When asked where he was going, he�d reply with visiting his sister. Opening his car door, he slipped inside, then shut the door and began in the general area of the hospital. After finding himself out of view of the hospital, Aya opened the duffle bag, slipping on his abyss cloak, edged with a gentle gray. Parking his car a few miles from the indicated building, Aya slipped out, his katana in hand. His single, golden earring gleamed in the sunlight as he began to walk, a deep determined expression plastered to his face.
Nagi crept along the treeline as he followed the equipped Berserker� intent on finding out what was eating at his comrade. As Farfarello approached an unexpecting Crawford, a warcry sounded from his lips. A second figure dressed in black dashed forward as the Berserker did, the second man�s katana flashing in the sunlight as he swept it toward Brad�s head. Nagi gasped, and went to dash forward and aid Brad, only to stop when he saw Farfarello plunge his retractable blade toward Crawford as well.
Crawford, startled by the warcry, leapt back at the sight of a shimmering katana, though Farfarello�s blade nicked his shoulder. Fixating on his opponents, Brad grinned. Aya would swipe his katana upward on his left side next and Farfarello would follow with another stab to his chest. Brad was quick to side-step Aya�s swipe, then ducked the Berserker�s stab and came upward, a high kick to his right wrist, sending his retractable blade out of reach. Abyssinian cursed rather loudly and leapt at Brad, but Brad beat him once more. He dodged the tackle then threw himself at Aya, switching the plans. Ran found himself pinned, and disarmed as Crawford placed his katana to Aya�s neck. �Goodnight�� His words were calm, cold and harsh.
�Abyssinian!� The Berserker choked; his eye widened in fear. From the brush, Nagi lifted his hand, sending the retractable blade to Farfarello. Without question, the Irishman grabbed the blade, leaping forward and plunging it into the back of Brad�s neck. Ran�s eyes opened wider to find the opponent dead, and Farfarello shaking. Taking his katana back, Aya slipped out from beneath Crawford, then jammed it into the dead man�s spine. Slowly, he slipped his cloak off, a gently whispered �Ran� My name is Ran�,� slipped to Farfarello as he draped his cloak over the Irishman�s shoulders. Slowly, he raised his single, golden eye to Aya, the color shimmering in the sunlight. �Jei�� Nagi smiled from the brush, and began to retreat back to the headquarters. Aya smiled weakly, and sank to his knees before the Berserker, embracing him in a soft, reassuring hug.
�End
- 1:13 am, 06/06/03
Author�s note:
Wow. 14 pages hand written. Sleepy, very sleepy. Um, I myself am not a fan of CrawfordxFarfarello or RanxFarfarello, but, while writing, I did see a small bond and so I ended it where I did. I think you can see a couple forming from it. I really hope you all enjoyed it. Please, please send me comments through e-mail or the Guestbook. I�d really like to know what you thought. And, for your pleasure, I�ve decided to do alternate endings. They�ll be up soon~!
- Aya�kun