Acknoledgements: Thanks to
Crem-san for the beta-reading, the teddy bears *gets a death glare from
Aya-kun - Meep!* are dedicated to you. ^^; Thanks to Jacque-san for
the suggestion and the correction. ^__^
As It Is, As It Was… WEIß KREUZ FANFICTION
5. I wish that love would come…
I wish that love would come and
take me in her arms. Show me what I've never known. Where I could hold someone and
words like right and wrong just fade away like yesterday.
"Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone"
by Jermaine Jackson
Aya sighed. It had not been a good day.
Weiß had been beaten up pretty badly by the target's security, and
though they had managed to meet their objective, they had ended up with
nasty injuries. Both Youji and Ken had ended up in the hospital. Youji
had a bullet in the arm, and Ken had a broken leg.
Aya swifly removed his gear and into
his pajamas. The blue cotton felt so good on his skin unlike the leather.
The cute little teddy bears looked normal unlike the splatters of blood
that often decorated his working clothes.
Sometimes I wonder if it would be
easier if I found another line of work, or if I accepted Crawford's offer…he's
rich enough, ever since Schwartz took over Estet and their assets. But
it's a ridiculous idea, living on the blood money of innocents. When have
you become so despicable as to think that…? Even if you want to let Crawford
sweep you off in your version of a happy ending despite the fact that assassins
don't get to have happy endings… Ran no baka! What are you thinking? Have
you forgotten how he had a hand in your parents' murder? Yuushi's right…you're
probably Stockholmed to the eyes. You don't even know if you're entirely
free of manipulation. Remember, Schuldich is a member of Schwartz…
***
19th Century, Scotland
Deirdre sighed as she went back to
her chaperone from which she had gotten away from with an excuse that both
had known to be false. Her Aunt Emma trusted Lachlan despite the rumors
that were flying about.
She was ready to marry Rory out of
hand, if only in defiance against the rumors and her father. Her father
had forbidden her to see either Lachlan or Rory. She had a few shouting
matches with the Duke because of it…and she was probably going to have
a lot more.
When my Mama wa' alive, he'd hae
let me be to run around the estate wi' a free hand. He sure ha' changed…or
is it that he ha' taken more hand in my "education" now tha' mother's gone…I
wished he'd kept out of it the way he did before.
Deirdre's Papa had been an absentee
father for as long as she could remember.
He wasn't there when we, his bairns,
were born. He wasn't there when we toddled our firs' steps. Rode our firs'
horse, or any o' those things. And then out o' the blue, when Mama died
o' that riding accident, here he comes. It wasn't as if he couldna come
into our lives as if nothin' happened.
Deirdre's Papa had lots of puritanical
notions of living. His parsimony and suspicious nature had driven Aunt
Emma to distraction when they went shopping for Deirdre's coming out trousseaux.
It had taken a long hard argument before the Duke gave them any money and
an even longer argument to let him release the jewels in the safe that
were Deirdre's anyway. They were her mother's jewels and were now
hers by right of inheritance. Her dear brothers were not allowed much leeway
either. Their father had forbidden them from going] to parties or anywhere
else for that matter, other than the estate. Deirdre didn’t know how they
were going to find wives, cooped up at home like that.
Luckily, both Robert and Sean Kierney,
Deirdre's brothers, had found relief from the old man by going to England
to their maternal uncle's estate in Huntington. They had invited her along,
but by then it was too late: the old man had forbid her to go. That left
her one option…
Marry, marry as soon as I can…
Sometimes she wondered if she would
have fallen so hard for Rory if her home situation had not been so impossible.
Rory, being McDuff, would just be a sweet after the meal. It made her defiance
all the better for both McDuff and Kierney had been at odds for century
or so. She smiled at the memory of her father's rage when he berated her
on her company.
~*~
"Deirdre, what is this I hear about
you and your cousin Lachlan and that insolent pup, McDuff? Don't you know
that a young girl like you should be virtuous and not go around gallivanting
with men, even if one o’em be your cousin. Are you no longer a maid? Have
you lain with him?" Said Duke Sean Kierney. He was a gray haired man with
an ascetic face and brow perpetually wrinkled by a perpetually sour frown.
The duke was sitting on his desk, perusing
the household accounts. Deirdre had brought it to him at his insistence.
One of the things that her mother taught her was to keep them up to date.
It was in keeping with her station as the lady of the house.
He doesn't even trust my judgment!
It’s just like before, like every time he had guests over. Deirdre, the
seating arrangement’s wrong...Deirdre, this food ain’t fit for a party...
And he criticizes my needlework and my conduct. What does he know? Mama,
taught me well in things that matter...
"No. Lachlan and I have been friends
since our childhood, father." Deirdre said in a bored tone that she knew
would aggravate her father.
"You're not even shocked at the accusation.
A real lady would be!" The duke looked flabbergasted.
"Hn." Deidre said as she fiddled with
a lace fichu on her gown. Her mother had not insisted she learn how to
wear long skirts, since it was more convenient to walk around in her riding
habit or in some scandalous breeches. It wasn’t as if anyone would see
her, isolated as she was in the estate.
"You are a lady! You must not be consorting
with men by yourself, y’hear? You must not be even consorting with them
at all. Unless the man is your husband."
"How will I find a husband then?" The
logical statement seemed to enrage the Duke more. A vein threatened to
pop out of his temple.
"You shall not be insolent with me,
young lady!" Her father began to rail at her for her improper behavior,
her lack of womanly skills and her spendthrift ways.
"Hn." Deirdre knew that her father
never listened to her anyway. She always had sessions like this. They usually
lasted for an hour or more.
"I shouldn't even have let your mother
raise you!" Duke Kierney ranted.
That was a mistake.
"I admit I may not be much of a lady,
but I won't have you talk about my Mama that way. You never cared for us
like she did. You don't have the right to judge her," Deirdre said,
dangerously calm as she walked away, leaving her father sputtering behind
her.
"Deirdre, Deirdre, I'm not finished
with you…"
Deirdre closed the door behind her.
Her father was still sitting on the desk, calling for her to come back.
He never thought to pursue her. After all, she had always remained to listen
to his tirades before.
Hah! I've had enough of his self-righteous
babbling…I must marry as soon as I can, or I fear I'll murder him in his
bed some dark night…
~*~
Besides, is it my fault that I was
raised wi' only boys for company? I wouldna know what to talk about with
other girls. Ye tell me 'clothes and marriage'. Well, I can't understand
the first one but can empathize on the other wi' you around…
***
Schuldich laughed as he stood up from
the bed of his current motel room. It was shabby and none too clean, but
he didn't mind, it hadn't been chosen for class. The chief feature of it
was being its proximity to the Koneko flower shop. He had read the doubts
in Aya's mind and tasted the redhead's sweet thoughts.
Soon, soon I will have you and all
that entails…
Schuldich smiled. He would do Crawford
a 'favor' and tell him that his little Weiß redhead had doubts about
what happened. It was all in line with his plan. He had already decided
to tell Crawford about Knight's and Ran's little near-tryst...
And while Crawford and that blonde
strive against each other, I'll make off with Aya. Neither of them will
suspect me. After I'm through playing with the kitten, I will have the
perfect scapegoat, too…
Schuldich had no intention of being
caught by Crawford, if it could be helped. The consequences wouldn’t be
so severe if he were merely caught before the act, if the precog had a
vision and stopped him. He could always try his luck another day. Now if
he were caught in the act...he’d be lucky to emerge with his skin intact!
***
19th Century, Scotland
Rumors were flying about. Moira was
happy to hear that at least two of the more popular ones were some of the
ones she started. She was satisfied to see that, though she might be a
bit rusty, having had no practice for almost twenty years, she still hadn't
lost her deft touch. The right amount of truth and lie had the beau ton
simmering.
Any moment now, His Grace of Kierney
will be confronting his dear daughter Deirdre about her alleged indiscretions
with her cousin and McDuff. Then she'll be wedded to Lachlan and carted
off to seclusion in the country…
"Lachlan, how do you fare?" Moira asked
to her escort who finally came back from wherever he had gone.
"Fine." Lachlan said curtly.
"How fares your cousin?" Moira inquired
innocently, taking a gamble at what might be bothering the blond man.
"Very well." Lachlan said, distractedly.
"Moira, yer fond of my cousin Deirdre,
aren't ye?" Lachlan added before Moira could reply.
"Aye, why boyo?" Moira countered warily
as her heart begun to thud in apprehension. Lachlan was obviously upset.
"Do ye hae any idea who's been a-slandering
my cousin? Ye hae more grasp of these sort o' intrigues."
"Some idea, yes." Moira said cautiously.
Some
idea…since it's me.
"Can ye tell 'em ta knock it off."
Lachlan asked in his usual forthright manner.
"That's kind of hard to do since the
rumors have spread to hinder and yon already. All you can do with these
sorts of things is to weather them out." Like I did…
"I guess that's that." Lachlan said
after awhile.
You can safely bet on it, me boyo,
I'm not undoing my hard work.
***
"Crawford, here's the report for Team
26, the one working on the Misako case…"
"Um…thank you, Nagi." Crawford said
looking up from his preoccupation with his laptop.
"Why Crawford, I do believe you're
mooning over the red haired kitten." Schuldich crowed sauntering in after
Nagi left.
"Schuldich!"
"You do know that he thinks that you
had me alter his mind, don't you?"
"It's none of your business."
"Oh, he's also going over to blondie's
place today to renew old acquaintances." Schuldich's voice oozed innuendo;
Crawford had to be totally deaf to have missed it.
Ran had finally given in to Knight's
request of having a night of drink and company. And had given Schuldich
the perfect opportunity…
"Oh, he's [also] going over to blondie's
place today
"What do you mean by that?" Crawford
asked. His voice was soft and calm, but his eyes revealed a glint of anger.
"You do know that your Ran refused
blondie's offer before didn’t you? Well he has no reason now, since he's
no longer--you know..."
"Don't be coy with me, Schuldich!"
"Ran refused to be fuck buddies with
his old teammate Knight on grounds that he was saving himself for someone
special. Well now that you've gone and remove that obstacle…they can be
fuck buddies now."
"Ran wouldn't do that."
"You're so sure of yourself, you're
disgusting." Schuldich countered.
"Well, I've got things to do and people
to seduce. Ta,ta..." Schuldich left before Crawford could say anything
else. He knew he had planted a seed of doubt in precog's mind.
***
Crawford growled. He left working at
his desk and punched the couch instead.
Ran, you said there was no one,
no one at all…
Crawford bounded out of his study in
a cool controlled rage.
"Schuldich where did you say this man's
apartment was?"
***
Gotcha, I knew you wouldn't be able
to refuse the bait…
Schuldich knew that he had almost won.
He was barely able to keep a smirk from escaping as he told Crawford Honjyou's
address.
Soon enough…
***
Aya sighed. Yuushi could be a pest
at times. He really didn't want to go under the blond Crasher's scrutiny
so soon but he knew that if continued to put it off, the man would probably
find a way to get to Crawford.
He's so stubborn. And I know he
didn't believe what I told him…
And as if that weren’t enough to give
Aya a headache, Yuushi had found willing allies in Weiß.
Manx and the guys had been more than
willing to spare him in a few missions so he could 'date' Yuushi.
***
"Aya, the mission only requires three
members." Manx said when Aya had caught her sneaking down the basement.
"Yes, Aya, don't hog the missions.
Let us take the credit for once." Ken said from where he lounged at the
couch.
"This mission has a lot of damsels
in distress. I like that…" Youji drawled coming from behind Manx to get
swatted by the secretary for wandering hands.
"Aya-kun, don't worry we'll just be
fine." Omi added from where he sat.
"Hn." Aya had replied, leaving but
not before hearing the muttering of the plotters.
"He's gone now?" Ken said loud enough
for Aya to have heard through the basement door.
"Have you contacted Knight about tonight?"
Youji said in a whisper that Aya barely caught as he leaned into the door
to eavesdrop.
"Roger." Manx?
"Shhhh…we don't want him to suspect
a thing." Said someone, probably Omi.
Ran wanted there and then to go back
in and tell them that the game was over but he couldn't do that. Not when
they were being so nice…
***
Can we all say dense? Yuushi and
me, what a joke! I don't want him that way, never have, never will… What
will it take to have them realize that we're just friends? Romantics all
of them… They also think that I need Yuushi more than ever after my "sad
experience". Hah, what sad experience? Life changing maybe but not sad…
~TBC~
Author's Notes:
I use Schuldich so shamefully ^^; in
these fics.
Schuldich: Damned right! When
will it be my turn...
Silrayn: Gave you that already in
Temptation's Road.
Schuldich: Nani! You killed
me in that one... >:(
Silrayn: Sorry, can't help it... >_<
Schuldich: *frowns*
Silrayn: Well, meep!
