I stare at my katana, not even bothering to remove it from the saya. I know that Yohji will have cleaned, polished and sharpened it as well as I would have done. It’s not the physical presence of the katana that has me staring at it but the illuminating little chat I had with Ken when he returned.
Yohji wants out of Japan. So does Naoe Nagi but that doesn’t interest me as much. I’m not sure what I can do to help the situation although it seems that both Ken and Yohji, not to mention Naoe, are sure that I will come up with something as ex-leader of Weiss. Or, as Ken put it, “you always could think on your feet, Aya.” Can I? Still? I’m part of a different set-up now, still willing to make snap decisions in the field if necessary but living less aloofly from my new team than I did for so long with Weiss. Do I still have what it takes to come up with a plan to rescue my… friend? Are we still friends? Hell, I don’t even know that anymore.
One thing is certain. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to need the backing of Side B and the blessing of Richard Krypton and Nana Mihirogi. I take a deep breath and, leaving the katana on its stand, exit my room and go in search of the others. Ken, I know, will back me. He’s seen for himself what is going on even if only briefly. Yuki, much as it bothers me, would follow me into hell itself. I sincerely hope he never has to. Michel, I want kept out of this at all costs. He’s much too young to be put in such danger for people he doesn’t even know. Free and Chloe, I’m going to have to convince. If I can. After that I have to approach KR and Mihirogi. This is so not my idea of a good time!
I find them all in the living room, watching an old film noir movie which happens to be on the TV. When I enter the room, Ken jumps to his feet and stares painfully at me. This behaviour, of course, causes the others to glance up and then stare as well. I suppose I must look either grimly determined or else shaken to my very core. Whichever it is, Chloe turns off the TV and Michel offers to make everyone a drink. Pleased to have him out of the way for a few moments, at least, I agree. As soon as he’s exited the room with everyone’s order, Ken wants to know if I’ve come to a decision.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t like to ask this, but I think I’m going to need your help, if you’re prepared to give it.”
Ken plops himself back in an armchair, decision already made and I gaze not at him but at the others. Yuki looks somewhat surprised, Chloe pensive and Free as imperturbable as ever.
“What sort of help?” Chloe asks carefully, not prepared to jump in before he knows the score.
“I need to help…rescue an old team mate and an ex-member of Schwarz.” There. I’ve said it. Now they can tear me apart verbally for even thinking such a stupid thing.
Chloe’s eyes narrow becoming, if that’s possible, even colder than usual. “Which ex-member of Schwarz?” he asks. “I warn you now, Aya, if it’s Schuldig or Crawford you can forget it.”
I shake my head. “Naoe Nagi,” I tell him. “The one that changed sides.”
“He’s the one that you don’t know,” Ken adds from his chair, “as he’s untainted by Rosenkreuz.”
Great! That’s all I need. Chloe can’t help the fact that he was taken and tested by Rosenkreuz any more than Free can help the fact that they captured him when he was with Side A. Ken’s tactlessness in bringing the organisation up is unbelievable and very likely to estrange the very two people whose help we most need. “That’s enough, Ken. Even Crawford and Schuldig hate Rosenkreuz. They proved that at Koua.”
Ken subsides, muttering darkly, but I ignore him and keep my gaze fixed on the others. Yuki pipes up next. “If you do rescue this old team mate, are you going to leave Side B?”
I shake my head adamantly. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. To be honest, I hadn’t thought much beyond getting Yohji and Naoe out of Japan. “No. I won’t do that.”
“Okay. I’ll help if I can.” Yuki’s simple declaration humbles me and I flush slightly as I thank him. Now for the hard part. I turn my attention back to Chloe and Free, who still hasn’t said anything.
“What do they need rescuing from?” Chloe asks. His eyes, I am pleased to note, look warmer now and he seems genuinely interested. I take a deep breath and plunge right in. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, although I hate asking for favours.
“If I’m right, a very rich and powerful man. He’s the power behind a lot of businesses and has strong political links also. I believe he wants all those who were once Weiss dead. He certainly tried hard enough to get us all killed on our last mission.”
“Why does this Naoe Nagi need rescuing?” Free asks. I turn to Ken for the explanation to that one, not entirely sure myself as to why.
Ken glances over at Free and sighs. “Should I tell them everything I told you, Aya?” he asks and I nod. Let him do the talking. He’s better at it than I am plus he was there and saw for himself what was happening.
As Michel chooses this moment to arrive with the drinks, I sit down in a free armchair and take my cup of tea from him with a word of thanks. It is Free who suggests that he ought to go to bed in order to be rested for school in the morning and, after saying a dignified goodnight to everyone, he takes his glass of milk and leaves the room without arguing. I’m pathetically grateful for that and I shoot Free a thankful look.
Ken hugs his mug in his hands and clears his throat. “As you all know, I was requested by…Takatori Mamoru to collect Aya’s sword. I was really excited thinking he wanted to see me again. Well, you know that bit. Anyway, when I got to Japan and went to see him I was ushered into an office the size of a fucking football pitch and he acted the big boss man with me. After everything…” A look of acute pain crosses Ken’s face and I wince in sympathy. Ken and Omi had shared as much as Yohji and I; perhaps even more, given my temperament. Certainly they’d spent even more time together, Ken having been the second member to join Weiss.
“It was like talking to a fucking statue,” Ken continues. “KR is like a good friend in comparison. Om…Mamoru treated me just like he’d treat any of his other minor appointments or one of his lesser employees. After all we’d been through together, well it fucking hurt, you know? Anyway, he gave me this whole spiel about how Yohji, although alive and well, couldn’t remember a thing about Weiss or even his own name. He suggested, quite forcibly, that I should leave Japan as soon as possible and that he would provide a car and driver until I boarded the plane back to London. He said…” Ken breaks off at this point and I see a tear run unheeded down his cheek. He wipes it away impatiently and continues. “He said that he asked for me as having Aya and Yohji meet would not be a good idea and that I was less likely to do anything rash. This was the only reason he asked for me. Sorry.” He wipes his face again where yet more tears have fallen and continues, with less emotion this time.
“When I left his office and waited for this car and driver to turn up I was approached by Nagi. He seemed agitated and upset and dragged me into an empty room to talk to me. He told me that Schwarz had never forced him to kill anyone, that they’d wanted to keep his ‘powers’ secret from almost everyone. Om…Takatori Mamoru had employed him as a bodyguard and that he’d had to use his power to kill three would-be assassins so far. He was grateful for being away from Schwarz but he didn’t want to abuse his power anymore so he was afraid he would let the next sniper just get on with it rather than kill him. He was really confused, like he didn’t know what was the right thing to do anymore. I sort of promised him that I’d do what I could to help him. Shit, he was so fucking relieved you’d have thought I’d promised to take him with me there and then.”
Ken stops talking and takes a swallow from his mug before continuing. “Then, on the way back to the airport, I went to see Yohji. He remembers everything though he’s not nearly as messed up as he was on our last mission. He’s like he used to be back before all that shit with Schrient. He recognised me straight away and was well relieved to hear that Aya was alive. He also said that he thought Takatori Mamoru was trying to protect him from someone but that he wants out, too.”
The room falls silent as Ken finishes speaking, both Free and Chloe seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Chloe looks up from the contemplation of his cup and gazes directly at me. “Two points,” he says, “one, you’ll need KR’s backing and two, how emotionally involved are you with the people Ken mentioned?”
Fair comment and I know he expects an honest answer. “Yes, I know I need to approach KR and I have an emotional tie to just one of those mentioned. I…care what happens to Yohji.”
Chloe sighs slightly and turns to Free for his response. Free shrugs. “I have only one question,” he says. “Who is it that you, and presumably this Yohji, think Takatori Mamoru is afraid of?”
“His grandfather,” I tell him, “Takatori Saijou.”
~~~~~~~
Rather than telephone, I decide to go to see KR and Mihirogi in person. I have no idea whether they know anything about Takatori Saijou and if they would be prepared to let us rescue Yohji and Nagi. After some discussion, both Free and Chloe agreed to help if they were needed and on the condition that the whole mission was authorised by KR and Mihirogi. I am grateful for their trust in my judgement…and Ken’s. Yeah, Ken is soccer mad and we have very little in common but I trust his ability to read others, especially Yohji or Omi.
As I drive I begin to wonder just how much Yohji either knows or suspects. The man still has the mind of a detective and should have worked out the truth. It’s possible that he’s only alive at all because Saijou thinks him dead already. The same might be said of me.
Chloe asks if my mind is actually on the road. I glance at him and nod curtly. I am quite capable of driving and thinking at the same time but, by his drawing attention to his presence in my car, I find I have a question for him. “What made you decide to come to the castle with me?”
“I thought it might be a good idea for KR to see that all of Side B are involved and not just those who were once Weiss,” he says. “We know the history of Weiss, we even admire some of their exploits. To be repaid by being hunted into extinction…No! It’s simply not right.”
“You believe what I believe then? That Takatori Saijou is behind this?”
“Believe? I don’t know, Aya, but I trust your judgement in this matter. You know the people involved where I do not. But…well you seem to think that Yohji has a good mind. For him to want to leave suggests that he is thinking in ways similar to your own.”
I nod. “It’s what I believe he might be thinking. Thus the continued pretence of amnesia and the fake identity.”
Chloe falls silent, obviously as deep in thought as I was before we started this little conversation. I concentrate on my driving again and we make the rest of the journey in silence.
Once at the castle, we are taken directly to KR’s office and find both him and Mihirogi waiting for us, their expressions guarded but neutral for now and I quickly state my business.
They listen carefully to all I have to say before making any comment whatsoever. When I have finished they exchange a look which suggests to me that they know some things that I do not.
KR steeples his fingers and rests his chin on them, his eyes on Chloe. “This is a Side B issue I take it.” Chloe nods and waits. KR glances at Mihirogi who places a large manila folder on the desk in front of us.
“Being in a similar line of work, we tend to monitor organisations such as Kritiker. Recently we have become somewhat alarmed with the way that Takatori interests have overtaken Kritiker interests since Takatori Mamoru took on the position of Persia,” she says. “It is beginning to seem as if political and business aspirations have become more important than dealing with evil-doers. How much of this is due to his influence and how much to his grandfather’s is hard to ascertain.”
“What we do know is that Takatori Saijou is not the sort of man who will tolerate opposition in any way, shape or form,” KR takes up the tale. “We are strongly of the opinion that he saw Weiss as a bad influence on Mamoru and had the Crashers team sent into Koua Academy in an attempt to kill you all. It is one of the main reasons we recruited Hidaka and went to New York to search for you.”
I feel angry, betrayed almost, and can feel my temper, never dormant for long, rising the more I hear. I have to know something. “Did you know that Yohji was alive?”
Mihirogi shakes her head. “Until Takatori Mamoru sent that e-mail to Ken, we assumed, like yourselves, that Kudoh and your sword were buried in the rubble of Koua Academy. Ito Ryo has been kept well under the radar. I can only assume that the e-mail either didn’t come from Takatori Mamoru but from Naoe Nagi, or that it did and he wants you to get Kudoh out of Japan. The big problem is, we don’t know which it is.”
“And if either Ken or I set foot in Japan, Kritiker will know within half a day of our arrival which doesn’t give us much time,” I add. “As for the e-mail, I think it must have come from Takatori Mamoru. If it hadn’t been written in his style, Ken would have picked up on it.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Mihirogi says. “You may well have an ally in him.”
I mull this over for a while before I shake my head. “Something doesn’t quite fit. I can understand his wanting to get Yohji away from his grandfather but where does Naoe fit in if it’s Takatori Mamoru who is making him kill? I can’t see him allowing us to bring Naoe out of Japan.” I sigh, wishing I could contact someone in the organisation that I could trust.
As if she’s reading my thoughts, Mihirogi says a name and I stare at her in shock. “He would never…” I begin but she shakes her head.
“Things change, Aya, people change. Think about it.”
I don’t need to think very hard to understand what she means. The Omi that I knew is dead and gone, replaced by Takatori Mamoru who didn’t even want to see his ex-lover. And if he has changed then why not others? I do know that the person mentioned would never betray me. “I could send an e-mail, test the waters,” I suggest.
“I should like to see the response before proceeding,” Mihirogi says. “If the team goes to Japan it will need back-up on the ground. Kudoh, if we are correct in our assumptions, needs to be pulled out of the country as soon as possible. With regard to Naoe, I leave it to you to make the decision when you’ve spoken to him.”
Oh great! Just what I need. I hardly even know Naoe let alone trust him. Just how am I supposed to make a snap decision based on that? I know I owe him my life but my mind seems to be stuck on him, as a member of Schwarz, slamming Omi into a wall until nearly every rib is broken. But then again, Omi is no longer Omi. I sigh quietly and nod my agreement before crossing the room to sit at the computer and send my e-mail.
KR invites Chloe and I to have some lunch with him and Mihirogi while we wait for a reply. Although Japan is nine hours ahead of England, it is still only nine-thirty or ten in the evening there and my contact may well check his e-mail before going to bed for the night. We eat a light lunch of soup, cold meats and salad before checking the computer for a reply. It is there and its contents make my eyes widen in surprise. It seems we will have our back-up on the ground after all.
“We can arrange a flight for tomorrow,” Mihirogi says as she reads the e-mail over my shoulder. “You may wish to let him know when you will arrive.”
I nod and quickly tap in a response that includes our likely arrival time and the request to keep Yohji safe in the meantime. Glancing up, after I send my reply, I find that everyone is smiling at me. Why? I have no idea.
Chloe and I take our leave so we can go back home and let the others know that we’re on. We’re in the car and heading towards London when he vocalises what the smiles were all about. “You’ll be complete now,” he says gently.
Was I that worried about Yohji? I think back over my behaviour in the time since Ken arrived home and realise that I was…still am and will be till we get him safely out of Japan. Of course, there is no saying he will want to join Side B or even have anything further to do with me, but that, I tell myself, doesn’t matter as long as he’s safe and happy. I feel the need to share the fact that Yohji may not want to be part of Side B with Chloe. He merely smiles mysteriously and shakes his head. “Wait and see,” is all he will say on the subject. I consider hitting him but decide that the possibility of causing an accident far outweighs any personal satisfaction I might derive from so doing.
* * * * * * *
It doesn’t surprise me in the least when I receive a visit from Omi the day after Ken returns to wherever it is he came from. It also doesn’t surprise me that he visits exactly five minutes after Asuka has left the apartment to buy groceries. What does surprise me is that he brings the Schwarz kid with him.
He’s all business. Takatori fucking Mamoru to the core. No sign at all of the cheerful kid that we all once loved in our different ways. “I came to thank you for letting Ken-kun believe you were still suffering from amnesia,” he says. “I really do think it’s for the best Yohji-kun.”
So, he saw Ken after he left here and why would Ken have let him believe that? Unless, of course, he’s come to exactly the same conclusions that I have. Suddenly my temper rises. “Don’t you fucking Yohji-kun me! You told me that Aya was dead, you little shit! Why would a fucking corpse need a katana?”
“Nagi-kun.” The name is said softly enough but suddenly I’m held in place by an invisible force. I glare at Nagi only to find an incredibly sad and apologetic look in the one dark blue eye that I can see under the uneven bangs he now wears. The kid looks anything but happy. I turn my attention back to Omi and discover him staring at me, his once bright blue eyes now steely and narrowed.
“I didn’t see the point in telling you,” he says coolly and I want to kill him. “What good would it have done you to know? You’re nobody anymore, nothing. Just another salary man in our employ. One called Ito Ryo. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal fucking clear,” I tell him bitterly. “You sure Shuichi was your father? Because right now you sound just like that bastard Reiji!” I have the minor satisfaction of seeing him wince at my words.
“Whatever I may sound like, I have your best interests at heart. I can only keep you out of harm’s way if you continue to be nameless and faceless. I do have your safety in mind even though it may not seem that way.”
“Yeah, okay, whatever,” I say and the force around me lessens in intensity.
“Again, thank you. The last thing any of us needs is for Aya and Ken to barge in here with all guns blazing. If they did… well none of you would be safe. I also think it would be wise if we never meet again. The less we know about each other, the better.”
“Oh believe me, I have even less desire to set eyes on you again than you do on me,” I tell him. “You betrayed us all, your supposed family, for a man who didn’t even lift a finger when you were kidnapped. If I ever see you again it will be too fucking soon.”
Again he winces slightly but has nothing further to say to me. He turns away and heads for the door. Nagi lets go of me completely but shoots me a meaningful look before following his new master. I nod, hoping it’s enough to let him know that I am aware of his talk to Ken. His visible eye widens and brightens considerably and he gives me a shy smile before leaving with Mamoru.
I light a cigarette and sink into an armchair. I’m now more convinced than ever that I was right and that three-quarters of Weiss is marked for death. I just hope that Ken and Aya don’t do anything too rash.
That takes my thoughts straight back to Aya who, it has to be said, has been an obsession of mine since I first wrapped my wire round him at Birman’s request. I know Ken will want to help but will Aya? We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, although, having said that, he did throw his katana to me so I could kill Tsuji before the whole place collapsed on me. I also promised to find him again but, with everything that happened, I let him down on that one. Will he consider me worth rescuing? Or will he consider that I’m safe and happy when I’m actually neither?
I stub out my smoke and wait for Asuka to return. For now, it’s all I can do.