Crawford was sitting on the edge of Schuldig’s bed, normally unreadable cold gaze turned on Schuldig as he stroked the sleeping German’s sunset orange hair, his touch and gaze as tender as a lover’s.
So close. It had been so very, very close.
“Stay with me, Schuldig,” he murmured, the tone as gentle as his touch. If anyone in Esset had seen him they would have called him a weak fool.
Maybe he was a fool. Maybe how he felt for the telepath was a weakness.
But it was the last remaining shred of his humanity and he wouldn’t discard it for any amount of money or power.
Not when the thought of Schuldig being gone from his life would have blasted his last remaining reason to live into ashes.
He shivered at a dim vision, Weiss doing as badly in their first encounter with the enemy as Schwarz had done, though none of them had come close to dying, thanks to his warning.
It angered him, his failure to predict, to know the danger they were in, or to see what would happen to Schuldig with enough warning to stop it.
As it was, he’d only had enough warning to get there before the red-haired man had died. And that had been too close for comfort.
Much too close.
The telepath’s breathing was shallow and labored, the hole in his chest making slight sucking sounds with each inhalation that could be heard through the bandages wrapped round him. The only luck they’d had was the bullet had passed straight through and exited through Schuldig’s back, smashing a couple of ribs as it punched through. His face was so pale as to be almost bloodless, but he was clinging onto life with grim determination.
They couldn’t risk a hospital for numerous reasons, but they did have access to some shady physicians who’d done what they could for the man in the bed. It was a matter of time.
Or tracking down one of the Esset healers, a task he’d turned over to Nagi and his remarkable abilities with a computer.
The American leaned down and whispered into the German’s ear, “Don’t you dare leave me you German shit. Do you hear me? I need you. Don’t you fucking die on me.”
He rested his forehead against Schuldig’s and closed his eyes, reaching out for the other man’s mind. *Stay with me, Schu.*
There was a light tap at the door and Nagi poked his head round it, young face haggard and making him look much older than his years. “I’ve located Dr Heinrich,” he said, “luckily he’s in Tokyo and is on his way.”
He glanced towards the pale figure in the bed. Schuldig could be a major irritant in his life but if anything happened to the telepath he would be devastated.
Crawford looked up, nodded to the boy. “Thank you, Nagi. Why don’t you get some rest? You look tired.”
He looked down at the man in the bed, his face showing a glimmering of hope. “Do you hear that, Schu? Nagi found Dr. Heinrich. You’ll be fine, just fine.”
“I was going to offer to watch over him while you got some rest,” Nagi offered.
Brad actually gave the boy a slight smile, “I’m okay. I want to be with him for a while longer.”
Farfarello joined the boy in the doorway. Anger made his one eye burn like a coal from the depths of Hell, “I got the guns you asked for, Crawford.”
He nodded to Farfarello. “Good. We’ll let Weiss calm down then I want the pair of you to pay them a visit, deliver the guns and my offer.”
“Will they accept it, do you think?” Nagi asked. “They still consider us as enemies after all.” He wasn’t afraid of the Weiss assassins, there wasn’t much that Naoe Nagi actually needed to be afraid of but he rather wanted to avoid any… unpleasantness.
“I think so, after what just happened to them.” Brad touched Schuldig’s chilled cheek. “They now want these bastards as badly as we do because they understand they are up against killers every bit as good as they themselves are. Worse, they know they are outnumbered too.”
He leaned down and pressed a light kiss on the German’s lips then turned to his two other team mates. “What they aren’t aware of is the fact that at least one of them is ... has an odd talent.”
Farfarello frowned. “A talent? You mean he’s like us?”
“In a manner of speaking. He’s protected by a ghost.”
Nagi grimaced slightly at that news. “Do you want us to tell them that?” he asked.
There was the slightest of groans from the bed and Schuldig’s blue eyes flickered open. He saw Brad and smiled, mouthing the words thank you before closing his eyes again and screwing up his face at the pain.
“Yes, tell them. I... I’ll stay here with Schu.” He sat back down by the bed and took the German’s hand in his own.
*I’m here. I won’t leave you.*
*I know. You called me back, I think.* There was the slightest pressure on his hand, all the German could manage.
“Come on Farf,” Nagi said. “Just don’t try killing any of the kitties while you’re with me.”
“I won’t so long as they play nice,” the Irishman promised as he closed the door on Crawford and the wounded German.
The American didn’t even notice them leaving as Brad raised Schuldig’s cold hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the palm. *I’m here, Schu. I won’t leave you.*
*Thanks, Brad. Sorry to worry you.*
Nagi poked his head round the door again. “Dr Heinrich is here. Shall I send him in? Farf and I are on our way now.”
Crawford let Schuldig’s hand go, “Send him in, Nagi, and the two of you should get ready. They’re heading to the mountain cabin. The directions are on my PDA which is on my desk near the keyboard.”
Nagi nodded his understanding and opened the door to let the Esset healer into the room before disappearing again.
Dr Heinrich had never received a medical qualification in his life but if anyone could save Schuldig it was him. He was a short, plump and jolly man with a shock of white hair and pale blue eyes that were surrounded by laughter lines.
He took one look at Schuldig and shook his head sadly. “What were you thinking young Schuldig, hmm? Ack what a mess you’ve let them make.”
“Just heal him, Doctor,” Crawford requested, his voice having lost any trace of softer emotion. “I need him up and able to get back to work as quickly as possible.”
“Of course you do, Crawford, of course you do. Now, if you’ll just get out of my way… Go and boil some water or something.”
Schuldig actually managed the barest trace of a smile at that.
Brad simply stepped back out of the man’s way and stood patiently while Heinrich went to work.
*I’d kill him if there wasn’t the ever-present thought that we might need him again someday,* the Oracle told Mastermind.
*Ack, he’s like me. He likes his little joke.*
*That’s not why I’d kill him. I’d do it to keep him from being a danger to us. And if I thought he’d pose one, I’d blow his brains out the minute he was done with you.*
Heinrich lost no time, gently removing the bandages so he could better see the damage. The agony of this caused Schuldig to faint again.
“Hmm, good clean wound. Exit wound, gute, gute. No bullet to remove. Excellent!”
He bent over Schuldig and placed his hands over the hole in the telempath’s chest. There was no visible sign, but eventually the wound began to close up.
Brad watched the healer passively, letting the man do his job, keeping the relief off his face as he saw the horrible wound beginning to close.
The muscles in his jaw jumped as he ground his teeth together in rage. They’d almost lost Schuldig this time. And he’d be damned if anyone would ever come that close again.
Not ever again. Even if it meant allying themselves with the Weiss, even if it meant bathing the streets of Tokyo in blood he meant to see the man who’d done this to his lover dead.
* * * * * * *
The young man with the dark blue hair and black eyes frowned to himself as he gazed at the screen. Why the hell was Bombay finally deciding to stop trusting his organization and hack into Kritiker? He followed the path from his own computer and his brows rose at how quickly the Weiss hacker had got into the system and found some very incriminating evidence. Perhaps that would persuade the little idiot that he was batting for the wrong team. Not that it would do him much good.
He swung round in his chair to monitor the Schwarz team’s hacker. He was a lot harder to anticipate than the Weiss kid but tonight he’d been running scared and had searched for an Esset talent, a healer. Seemingly Mastermind was still hanging on to life then.
“What the fuck were you two thinking, Kate!” Kei’s voice, raised in anger from the living room.
Hisato, his long black hair streaked with vivid orange, stuck his head in the door. “They’re back. If you’ve got any excuse to stay up here, I’d use it.”
The young man grimaced at the tone Kei had used. For him to speak to Kate that way something was seriously wrong. Their leader was usually open and friendly with them all….unless pissed. The raised voice indicated he was beyond pissed.
“What the fuck happened to get him that mad at them?” he asked.
“Jas went up against all four Weiss and got darted. Kate and the Weiss were in a face off over Jas, and Kei, Aki and Issei and I had to go in after them.
“Jas could have gotten himself and Kate killed. And now they’ve seen Kei, Issei and Aki too.”
“No wonder Kei’s furious. It’s unlike either Kate or Jas to be that careless.” He turned to grin at Hisato. “Are Weiss really that good?” he asked.
“Yeah, they’re good. I don’t know if they’re in the same class as Kei or... well Jas.” He grinned at the other man, “And I don’t think they’ve got a top of the line hacker like you.
“I just don’t get what got into Jas. He’s normally so damned careful-- anal even-- it’s not like him to make a mistake.”
The man rubbed the back of his neck, “Actually, I’m not sure he’s ever made one.”
“In actual fact, Bombay’s not that bad. Come and have a look at this.” He indicated the screen on the first computer. “He’s hacked into Kritiker to find out what’s going on. I get the feeling they had no idea why they’d been targeted. Now at least one of them does.”
“You’d have thought that Fujimiya at least would have been less than happy to work for a Takatori. I mean his life was destroyed by the very family he now kills for, it hardly makes any sense.”
He chuckled softly. “Schwarz is still trying to save Mastermind’s life. Their hacker found them a healer.”
“If he lives it will be one more mistake on Jas’ tally sheet, at least as far as Kei is concerned,” Hisato remarked. “But Crawford did get there before he could make sure the telepath was dead.”
The blue-haired man thought about the Weiss leader. “Chances are that Fujimiya never realized he was killing for a Takatori after Shuichi was killed.” He sighed softly. “Until Bombay lets the others know what he’s found out, I don’t think they even understand why they’re being targeted.”
He carefully said nothing at all about Schwarz. They knew exactly who pulled their strings.
“I guess that is a point in their favor. Maybe that’s why Kei hasn’t already blown the shit out of them.” He gave a quirk-lipped smirk, “Between you and me, I think he wants the older three as part of the team. We could always use more trained killers. Gods know we’ve got too many jobs to undertake and not enough hands.”
The hacker pouted a little at that. He had been training since he’d walked into the organization’s front with proof of their computer vulnerability and lived to tell the tale. As yet, though, he hadn’t been allowed to go on any missions with them.
“There’s a pair of hands here that keeps being ignored,” he muttered. “And I’m the only one of us, apart from Aki, who can actually pass as a woman.” He chuckled and poked his tongue out at Hisato.
Hisato grinned, “I know of a use you could put that to, I mean other than licking stamps.” He sighed, “And Kei doesn’t want to risk you and you damned well know why. We’ve only got one good hacker, and baby that’s you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know the arguments,” the hacker said sulkily, “and as for what I may or may not be licking it sure as hell won’t be you, Hisato!”
“I can dream can’t I? Besides, you don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with Kei, and you should have figured that out already.”
“NO EXCUSES!” carried up the stairs, Kei’s roar of anger making Hisato visibly flinch. “Well it sounds like we’re in for a wonderful evening. Gah.”
The hacker nodded his agreement, his expression sour. Then what Hisato had actually said registered and he turned quickly and smacked the other man upside the head. “Watch your mouth, Hisato. I’m still in mourning.”
“Ouch!” the man muttered, rubbing his head. “Yeah, mourning. But I’ve seen how you watch him, Tsuki. Don’t pretend you aren’t interested on some level.”
“I’m going downstairs to see if I can keep Kei from murdering our team mates.” He stepped away from the hacker, “Keep an eye on that Weiss kid. He’s a Takatori you know.”
“Hisato, just go away before I murder you!”
“Yeah, okay I’m going. But remember what I said about that little Takatori shit. Never fucking trust a Takatori, but I’m sure you know that,” the man said as he departed.
Downstairs the rest of the team was gathered in what to anyone who might come in looked like nothing more than a room set up for entertainment purposes. Complete with a wide screen TV with surround sound, a five disc changer DVD player, a video game console and a large collection of DVDs and games for the system, it looked no different that any room one might find in the house of a wealthy group of young men.
But one of those young men, he of the red hair and black leather was glaring at the man and woman seated on the couch before him, a .45 clutched in his fist, anger turning his gaze cold, twisting his mouth into a sneer of contempt.
“There can be no mistakes! No mistakes! Do you understand me?”
The blond on the couch nodded, but the motion was listless, the effects of the drug in Bombay’s dart still not worn off.
The woman sat with her eyes closed and head bowed, letting the storm break over her. She knew better than to argue and she also knew that everything being said was absolutely right. They’d been unprofessional to say the least.
The man with the violet hair stood against one of the walls, his arms folded face an expressionless mask. When their leader was in this mood nobody called attention to themselves if they had any sense and Issei liked to think he had plenty of that.
The blue haired man was as far away from their irate leader as he could get, the small wet bar in the back corner of the room between himself and Kei, his face pale as death. Akira hated it when the older man got into one of these moods and he didn’t like the yelling and shouting that always accompanied them.
He fidgeted with the cloth napkins behind the bar, folding and unfolding one of them nervously.
Jas just glowered at Kei, his grey eyes as cold as the other man’s, no trace of anything but anger on his face as he stubbornly got to his feet and took a shaky step toward the red-haired man. “Don’t you fucking lecture me!”
There was a flash in their leader’s eyes, like lightning the colour of midnight, which was followed by a resounding crack of sound as he backhanded the blond to the floor.
Jas hit the floor, his drug dulled senses further impaired by the bright whirl of lights dancing across his vision, his ears ringing from the force behind the blow.
“You... shhit...” he slurred, and got a booted foot in the ribs for the insult.
Kei dropped to his knee and grabbed a handful of silky blond hair, yanking Jas’ head back painfully, but the man made no sound to show he felt any pain. Kei lowered his head to Jas’ ear and said, “Have you forgotten what you swore to me? To the whole team, Jas? Or was this a tiny lapse in memory from being drugged? Tell me,” the man whispered softly, “that you’ve made a mistake and want my forgiveness.”
The blond’s cold grey eyes closed, the man swallowing blood. “Kei... I...”
“Tell me, Jas,” Takeshi murmured into the blond’s ear.
“Forgive me, Kei-sama.”
The man let him go and stepped away. “No more mistakes!”
The woman looked up then. “It was my fault. I was pinned on a roof. Jas was creating a diversion to get Abyssinian off their roof so I could move. I’m sorry, Kei.”
Kei just glowered at her. “A diversion would not have left the two of you in need of rescue!” he snapped. “Setting fire to their shop would have been a diversion. Going in and being darted like an amateur was not a diversion, it was stupidity!”
She shut up, knowing that what he said was correct. Nobody had been more surprised than she when Jas had kicked the back door of the shop in and gone straight in. She let the silence stretch out, Hisato arriving in the room the only distraction.
Tsuki followed him down a few moments later. “Weiss went looking for answers, Schwarz for a healer,” he said before joining the blue-haired man behind the bar and gently taking the napkins from his hands with a smile.
Jas sat up, but his head was still down, bowed to the other man.
Kei put the gun to the blond’s head, “I should kill you for this--“ the .45 lowered. “But I won’t.” He slipped the weapon back into it’s shoulder holster. “Don’t fail me again, Jas. You were supposed to kill the telepath and you didn’t succeed, you were told not to do anything but watch the Weiss, and you made direct contact with them. You’ve never made mistakes before, and two have been more than you are allowed.”
The red-haired man glanced at Tsuki. “Did the Weiss find the answers they needed to see?”
Hisato frowned but kept his mouth shut while Aki poured some whisky into a shot glass knowing that would be the first thing Jas would want once he was permitted to move. Even from where he was at behind the bar he could see the man’s bottom lip was swelling.
Beside him Tsuki nodded. “Bombay had got far enough to realise,” he said. “As long as he tells the others what he found, they’ll understand.” He had no idea why Kei had hit Jas, but he knew enough about their leader to know it would have been deserved. The man’s usual style was to have them play as a team rather than his subordinates.
Kei nodded, the tension finally draining from him. He turned his back to everyone for a moment then stepped to the very front of the room, turning to face them. “I want all of you to understand one thing, and I want to make sure it is very clear.” He gave a sour look at Jas and Kate, then continued. “This isn’t just a normal mission. We aren’t after your typical terrorists or crime syndicate members here, we are after two groups of highly trained and skilled killers.”
He paused to let that sink in while Jas got unsteadily to his feet and dropped onto the couch.
Nobody said anything in reply. There was nothing to say. They all knew the score and they all knew the risks. Weiss had turned out to be just as dangerous prey as Schwarz were.
Issei unfolded his arms and relaxed, prizing himself off his wall and heading for the bar. Tsuki poured him dark rum, his drink of choice.
“Understand, they are more dangerous than any other groups we’ve ever faced. Especially Schwarz. They aren’t normal human beings. And they’re cold-blooded killers. Farfarello is a sociopath, Schuldig and Crawford are both quite sadistic. Naoe is a serious danger because he owes his loyalty to Crawford and will do anything to protect his ‘family’ regardless how twisted they are.”
He walked over to the couch and looked down at Jas, “I don’t want to lose any of you because you underestimate these people. We’re so accustomed to being the baddest dogs in the yard, but we aren’t. You’re all very good, yes, but they are just as good--“ he glanced around the room, “and Schwarz has an edge most of us don’t even come close to possessing.”
He touched Jas’ cheek, “You’re the best we’ve got on that score, and look at what you did tonight. We can’t take these kinds of risks. None of us can least of all you, Jas. It was damned stupid, and I still can’t believe you fucked up this badly.”
The blond just averted his head, ashamed, a faint tinge of color warming his cheeks.
“Yeah, Kei. I know, it was a jackass thing to do. I... won’t ever do it again.”
Tsuki busied himself helping Aki to pour drinks. It was a lot better to keep busy than deal with the turmoil in his own mind. Hisato had been right. He did have a bad case of lust for Kei and an equally strong understanding that he was never going to have that lust returned. If he had any sense he would take up Hisato’s barely concealed offers. But he’d never been known for his sense.
Aki offered their newest team mate a warm smile, and whispered, “It’s not usually like this. I’m really sorry you had to see Kei so angry. He’s not usually like that but...” his voice dropped lower, “I think seeing Jas so helpless... well it probably scared him. He’s very attached to the other man because he’s been with the team almost as long as Hisato, and he’s been with Kei a long time. They went to school together.”
“Don’t worry about it, Aki. I know my parents were always at their angriest with me when I’d worried them by being out late or not letting them know I was safe.” He kept the pain he felt at hearing how long Kei and Jas had been together carefully hidden behind a bright smile.
“I’d better go and see what the opposition are up to, if anything,” he said and disappeared back upstairs.
* * * * * * *
Omi closed the laptop thoughtfully. He’d brought it with him and connected it up as soon as they’d reached the cabin. He wanted to be certain that he’d found all there was to know about Kritiker’s loyalties since his grandfather had taken over the organization. It did not make for easy reading and he knew that Aya, especially, was going to be furious.
“Um…guys, I think I know why we’ve been targeted,” he said.
Ken stuck his head into the living room from the kitchen, “Oh? So there’s an actual reason, I mean, beyond them being killers out for our blood?”
Yohji peered in through a window and carefully exhaled so the smoke from his cigarette didn’t blow into the cabin. “What did you find out, chibi?”
Aya glanced up from where he was sitting, cross-legged on the floor, sharpening his katana. Omi swallowed hard, wondering if the redhead would ever speak to him again after this. Gods how he hated being a Takatori.
“Kritiker is now being run by my grandfather,” he said in a soft voice. “He…he’s always been rather like Reiji, putting Takatori interests before any other consideration. Kritiker’s ideals under my father hold no real interest for him and so he’s looked for ways to make the organization both pay and glorify his interests…” He broke off, feeling physically sick.
Ken sighed, turned off the pot of water he’d been boiling for noodles and joined Aya and Omi in the living room, his appetite gone. “So you’re telling me we aren’t really getting rid of ‘dark beasts’ we’re just furthering the ambitions of yet another of your relatives?”
Yohji snorted, “Sorry chibi, Ken, but I’ve suspected that was the case for a while.” He glanced at Aya, “I just kept my mouth shut because rocking the boat, so to speak, would just have gotten me-- or all of us-- killed.”
“It gets worse,” Omi whispered. “He… he’s passed Kritiker over to another group, that group is…”
“Esset,” Aya finished for him. “Crawford’s words only make any sense at all if that’s the case.”
“I’m so sorry, Aya-kun,” he whispered.
Aya sheathed the sword and rose to his feet in one single graceful movement. “Sorry doesn’t begin to cover it, Omi, but it’s not your fault.” Then he strode out of the door.
Yohji tossed the butt of his cigarette into the can he used as an ashtray and followed Aya off the porch, “Where are you going?” he asked the red-head.
“To watch for and repel boarders of course!”
Ken turned an unutterably morose face to his younger team mate, “So we’re working for those bastards now? Well fuck that shit. I just quit being in Weiss.”
“How can we do that? They will just hunt us down and terminate us.” He put a hand to his mouth as he realized the truth. “But we’re being hunted anyway. I…I…” but he’d lost all sense of rightness and righteousness and with them his ability at tactics. He raised huge eyes to Ken’s face. “I don’t know what to do, Ken-kun.”
“Aya and Yohji will know what to do, Omi-kun,” the ex-soccer player said. “Just give them a couple of hours to work it out.”
“I hope you’re right, Ken-kun.”
“They’ll think of something, you know they will.”
Aya had moved to a position where he could watch the only road and all the surrounding countryside. He was deep in thought as he watched.
His sister was well provided for until the day she finished her education and could fend for herself so the money from Kritiker was not as important as it had once been. He could walk away but would probably be caught by the team who had attacked them the night before. It didn’t really matter. He might have lived as a slave for years but he could at least die free.
Yohji cleared his throat and waited for the other man to acknowledge his presence.
He glanced at Kudoh but said nothing. There was nothing to say. He’d made his decision and doubtless the blond would make his own. When he didn’t go away he growled out, “What do you want, Kudoh?”
“I think we need to plan our next move, don’t you?” the older assassin asked softly. “Those guys aren’t going to just go away, and, shitty as my life is, it’s mine and I don’t plan to just let them kill me without a fight.”
“That’s just it, Kudoh, our lives aren’t our own,” he said, “we’re owned, body and soul. The only question is, do we die slaves?”
Yohji grabbed the red-haired man and spun him around and jabbed a finger into the younger man’s chest. “Don’t you dare fucking lay down and die on me now, damn it!” he snarled. Getting right in the other man’s face he continued, “We’ve been in worse trouble; the whole mess with SD comes to mind! Now get a gods-damned grip and help me plan our next move!”
“Get off me,” Aya snapped. “Who said I was intending to lie down and die? But we need to face facts, Kudoh. If the bastards from last night don’t get us, Kritiker or Esset will. Doesn’t mean I’ll go down without a fight.”
Yohji sighed, ran a hand through the hair that was falling out of his usual ponytail and backed up a step. “We need to get out of Japan.”
There was the faint sound of an approaching car coming up the long dirt road toward their cabin. Of course they shared the road with two other cabins farther down, but the blond looked at his team mate and frowned. “Get the feeling whoever that is might be coming our way?”
He nodded, eyes narrowed as he watched the approaching vehicle. He pulled his gun from its holster, eyes fixed on the car. “Now what the hell do they want?” he demanded as the shadowy figures in the driver and passenger seats resolved themselves into Farfarello and Naoe Nagi.
“Well if Mastermind was nearly killed by these guys, I’d bet they are coming to talk to us about our mutual enemy,” Yohji replied. “And since Crawford gave you our first clue as to which team we were playing for-- unwittingly-- I’d say they’re pretty sure we’re going to be receptive to anything they might have to say.”
He glanced at the blonde assassin. “Are you receptive to them?” he asked.
Yohji shrugged, “Any port in a storm. Besides, we know they’re targets too, right?”
“You really believe all that, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ shit? My sympathies lie with the group that wants to destroy Esset or Takatori or both.”
Yohji sighed, “No, I don’t believe all that crap but what choices do we have here? Think about it? They just tried to kill us, Aya.” He touched his chest, “And if I’d been just a bit slower, I’d be dead and you know it.
“So what harm is there in hearing what the Schwarz want to talk about. We can always tell them to fuck off.” He frowned, “And you’re probably only alive because Crawford warned you about your car.”
He sighed, jade eyes full of worry, “We’ve gotten sloppy, haven’t we? We don’t even make sure our cars aren’t tampered with before we come back from a mission, and I’d bet you those guys knew that.”
Damn it Kudoh was right, Aya realized. They had got sloppy, or arrogant which was just as potentially lethal as had been proved to them last night. Last night… something was irritating him about it but he didn’t have time to think about it now. Their uninvited guests had almost arrived.
“Okay, we’ll listen.”
“Something I think we should do as soon as these two are gone is go inside and hit the websites of every recording label in Japan. I know I’ve seen the red-haired guy somewhere.”
“Omi said something about j-rock, too. I wouldn’t know any of them.” He could say no more as the car had arrived and Farfarello and Naoe were climbing out of it. “Stop right there,” he ordered, training the gun on them.
Ken stepped out of the house, already wearing his bugnuk and jacket. He was watching the pair of Schwarz warily.
Yohji slipped on his gloves as Farfarello grinned at them. “So distrustful, aren’t they Nagi?”
Nagi was watching Omi who had appeared behind Ken with his crossbow loaded and primed. “They have reason to be, Farf.” A sly little smirk crossed his features as he said, “Earthlings, we come in peace. Crawford asked us to come and offer you a deal. He’d have come himself but Schuldig’s still fairly critical.”
“Like we care,” Aya sneered. “What’s the offer?”
Farfarello reached into the back seat and pulled the duffle out, “Crawford thought you guys could use this,” he said and dumped the pile of guns, everything from pistols to assault rifles out where the Weiss could see them.
“There’s ammo too.”
Ken couldn’t hide the surprise at the sight of so many weapons.
Yohji frowned, “Why?”
“Because we’re not dogs and Crawford doesn’t think you are either,” Farfarello replied. “Is he wrong? Do you like what you’ve learned?”
“Of course not,” Omi said, “but joining forces with you just compounds our problems. You knowingly work for Esset!”
Farfarello actually laughed. “We haven’t worked for them since the Elders died. We’re on every Esset and Rosenkreuz hit list that’s out there.”
“You think that’s who this group works for?” Aya asked.
Nagi shook his head. “No. The talented one threw us for a while but the attack on you last night proves that they don’t. Had they been Esset or Rosenkreuz you’d all be dead right now.”
“He’s right. But the fact that they got close enough to nearly kill Schuldig means they’re as dangerous to you as Esset would be, and now that you’re on the run, it’s only a matter of time before their psychic bloodhounds are on your trail, and believe me, you stand no chance of avoiding them. You can’t hide the way we can.”
“So what exactly are you suggesting?” Aya asked.
Yohji shook his head, “And why should we believe you?”
“Or trust you?” Ken added from the porch.
Farfarello shrugged, “We know nothing we can say is going to cause you to believe or trust us. But you won’t survive without us, and Crawford thinks we won’t make it without you. And he’s never been wrong about anything.”
“Why should we care about your survival?” Omi asked. “You didn’t care when you murdered Ouka! I will never work with you!”
Aya held up a hand. “Wait a minute, Omi,” he said. “How long do we have to make up our minds?” he asked the two Schwarz.
“We would need your answer before we went back,” Nagi said. “There isn’t much time or we would give you longer.”
Yohji’s gaze met Aya’s, the expression on his face showing his own uncertainty.
Ken muttered something only Omi could hear clearly, “I say let them go to hell.”
Aya glanced over at Omi and Ken and motioned for them to go back inside the cabin. He nodded to Yohji to do the same before he said. “Give us ten minutes alone in the cabin. You two wait here for our answer.”
Nagi nodded. “Okay,” he said.
Aya shot them both a look of dislike before joining the others indoors. “We have ten minutes to decide,” he told them.
“It stinks,” Ken replied. “I’d rather take my chances without them.”
Yohji sighed and dropped into a chair, “Don’t hold back now Ken, tell us what you really think,” he muttered and closed his eyes. He was tired and Aya had to be pretty fried too.
“Come on Kudoh, you can’t tell me you think it’s a good idea to join forces with them. Christ, they tried to kill us multiple times.”
“Really? Did they Ken? Think about it. If they’d wanted us dead we’d be dead,” the blond shot at his team mate, voice full of irritation. “For fucksakes, one of them can see the future, the other is a telepath who can jump off a third floor balcony carrying someone else and not break both legs, Farfarello nearly killed both you and Omi, and then there’s Nagi who could crush us like bugs if he chose.”
“So you’re for us joining with them Yohji-kun?” Omi asked. “You saw them murder Ouka, they were going to take Aya’s sister last time we met them yet you think they want to be our friends?”
“No, Omi, I don’t believe they want to be our friends either,” Aya said. “What I believe is that Crawford has seen us being of use in some way which is why they’ve never actually killed us. But like you I can’t forget the hurts they’ve inflicted on us.”
“If they want us it’s as human shields to hide their ‘talented’ bodies behind,” Omi snapped.
The blond sighed, “I hate to say it kid, but Ouka was a Takatori and her death was probably meant to hurt Reiji. They hated him almost as much as Aya.”
Ken frowned. “What makes you think that?”
“Simple. Would Aya have gotten near him if they hadn’t wanted the bastard dead?”
“That’s as may be,” Aya said, “but Crawford and that one-eyed nutcase weren’t pissing about the night I went off to kill him alone. It was only Manx and Persia turning up when they did that saved my hide.”
“I’m just playing Devil’s Advocate guys. I don’t like any of it either, but... if Esset does come down on us we’re going to be fucked just the four of us, and that’s a fact.” He glanced at Omi, “You’ve snooped data on Esset before, so you know exactly what I’m talking about, chibi. We’ve got no powers to protect us.” Yohji sighed, “On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of them at our back either.”
The blond gave a slight smile, “Too bad it’s not those other guys offering us something, I’d be more inclined to take it, considering how good they’d have to be to nail that bastard German.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Ken remarked in annoyance, “but you nearly killed him once too, Yohji. If it weren’t for the Ani coming down on our heads you’d have put an end to him then.”
“Yeah but you and Omi would have been hurt even worse than you were,” Aya said. “It took all the strength that Kudoh and I had left to get you to shore alive, believe me.” He glanced around. “So we take our chances with Kritiker and Esset and turn them down?”
Omi nodded, his mind made up. “I know I was born a Takatori, for all the good it ever did me, but I’ve chosen to live as Tsukiyono Omi, the name that the only real Persia gave me. I won’t betray him and turn into another Takatori now.”
Ken flexed the hand-lever of his bugnuk, “I won’t complain about not becoming canon fodder for them, that’s for sure.”
“Works for me,” Yohji agreed as he got to his feet. “Let’s go give them our decision.”
Aya actually smiled at his team. He still didn’t do it often but it tended to lift them all when he did. Omi grinned back at him and gave him a thumbs-up before they all trooped back outside.
“The answer’s no,” Aya said, all traces of the smile gone.
The brief smile made Yohji’s day, even if the rest of the day was shit, that brief smile made everything worth it.
Farfarello shrugged, “Well Crawford said you’d refuse, but he told us to give these to you anyway. You’re going to need them.” He left the guns where they were and got into the car. “When you’re all trapped and dying remember you turned us down.”
“They have to catch us first,” Omi said.
Nagi gazed from one to the other of them. “I bear you no personal animosity,” he said. “We simply fought on different sides. So I will give you a word of advice. Run. And keep on running.” He climbed into the car and they drove off down the mountain.
“You run if you want,” Aya muttered. “I prefer to stand and fight.” Yohji watched them go down the driveway with the sinking feeling that they’d just lost any chance to survive.
“Let’s get some rest and then we can plan our next move. We might not have a chance later,” he advised.
“Only a few hours, Kudoh,” Aya warned. “Naoe was right about one thing. We can’t stay here for long.”
He turned, ready to go back out on watch.
“Aya, you need to sleep. I want you to go and do that now. Please. We’re going to need you sharp,” Yohji remarked.
“He’s right,” Ken said. “I’ll watch, everyone else sleeps.”
“Are you sure?” Aya asked Ken. When the brunet nodded he dipped his head in acknowledgement and headed for his room on the mezzanine.
Yohji patted Ken on the shoulder, “Stay close to the house and be careful.”
“And you have to tell me this?” Ken asked, but he smiled. “Get some rest.”
“You coming kid?” Yohji asked Omi as he followed Aya toward the house.
“In a minute,” Omi said. “You go ahead, Yohji-kun.” He turned a smiling face towards Ken. “Hopefully he’ll catch up to Aya-kun and they can talk.”
“They won’t,” Ken replied, glanced at the cabin then gave the younger man a quick kiss. “Go to bed.”
Omi’s face fell but he took Ken’s advice after returning the kiss.