Aya was climbing the walls with frustration. Every time he tried to read he would get no further than one paragraph before something would happen to interrupt him.
First it was Omi with a tray of food. Then Ken and Schu wanted to know if he wanted a game of cards. No! He wanted to read. In peace.
Finally, Yohji poked his head round the door with another damned tray, this time of tea. Aya put the book aside and sighed quietly.
"Bad day, sweetheart?"
"I think it just got worse. And stop calling me sweetheart!"
Yohji winced slightly but advanced into the room with his tray and set it on the night-stand. "You know, I did warn you what would happen if you insisted on leaving the hospital. But, no, you had to come home. So stop snarling and drink your tea. I won't stop you reading."
He glanced up at his lover and hned softly. Then he picked up the book again while Yohji poured them both some tea and sat down on his own side of the bed. He was soon back in the Tudor period and didn't even notice when Yohji started to read a book of his own.
Some time later, when he'd drunk all the tea and read without interruption for over an hour, a large, wire-callused hand found his. There was no further touch. There didn't need to be. It was enough to know that Yohji was there.
The rest of the afternoon passed without interruption, putting Aya in a much better mood. So when Omi reappeared with the inevitable tray he actually put the book aside and accepted the food. Luckily he was far enough along in his convalescence not to have to eat slops any longer and the stir fry and noodles looked good.
"Don�t I get a tray?" Yohji asked.
"Yours is downstairs, Yohji-kun," Omi said severely, "you�re not convalescing from major surgery!"
"Go and eat," Aya growled. "It�s not like I�m going anywhere." He received a kiss to his temple before being left in peace to eat. Only tonight to go. He could get out of bed tomorrow.
* * * * * * *
Like most meals in their new home, dinner was riotous with wisecracks flowing thick and fast. Jei, especially, had turned out to have a quick wit and a dry sense of humour. Now he was on proper medication, the Irishman was a popular member of their extended family.
And that was precisely what they had here, Omi realised with a sense of contentment. All the people that mattered to them under one roof with the past, if not forgotten, certainly long forgiven. And, with their own security consultancy a going concern, they didn�t often get bored.
The only possible cloud on the horizon was the continuing existence of Rosenkreuz, carefully monitored at all times. Recently there had been disturbing reports that the organisation had resumed the recruitment of talented children. This bothered Brad, Schu and Jei especially as all three had terrible memories of their own Rosenkreuz training. Something, Omi decided, would have to be done.
Waiting for the noise to abate to more manageable proportions, he brought up the subject. The mood changed immediately.
"There�s a slight problem, chibi," Yohji said seriously, "we none of us work for Kritiker anymore so we have no backup to clean up after us."
"Nor to give us the right to go after Rosenkreuz in the first place," Ken added, "much as we might like to."
"As far as I�m aware, Takatori Mamoru is still the head of Kritiker," Omi said quietly. "I know none of you are happy about that fact, but it still stands. Most of the information we have has come from Crashers and another group based here in London."
"Another group?" Brad asked. "I didn�t realise that Kritiker was a global organisation."
"Kritiker isn�t," Omi said, "but there is a sister organisation based here, in England. There are others in America, Germany, Hong Kong, in fact, wherever organised crime and the untouchable heads of it prey on the weak and innocent. Here in England, the organisation is small but very professional and Kritiker has had dealings with them for some years now." He chuckled suddenly.
"Their assassin team works out of a flower shop near the Arsenal football ground called Kitten�s House."
"You are kidding, right?" Yohji demanded. "What is it with assassins, flower shops and kittens?"
"That�s a question we asked ourselves for years," Schu added with a chuckle. "Talk about setting yourselves up for ridicule!"
"The sillier the concept, the less likelihood of discovery," Omi said, quite seriously. "And the team here in London have cause for concern. At least two of them are talents in their own right. One is a pre-cog, the other has some strange power over animals and plants. The other two members are adolescents and as yet have shown no particular talents, but could not survive alone if the older members were captured by Rosenkreuz."
"Have they approached us for help?" Jei asked.
"Not yet, but they will," Brad told him. "How well do you know the head of the English organisation, Omi?"
"Richard Krypton has always helped us and vice versa. This is his second assassin team. His first was wiped out by Rosenkreuz so he has reason to want to a) protect this team and b) get some revenge for his first team."
"Is the recruitment of talents global?" Nagi asked.
"No, so far it has been limited to Europe, with emphasis on Germany and England. Why?"
"If there is no activity in Japan, it might be useful to bring Crashers here for the duration of the mission."
There was a crash as a tray was dropped in the doorway.
"What mission?" Aya demanded. "And why Crashers?"
* * * * * * *
"What are you doing out of bed?" Yohji demanded. Aya shot him a contemptuous look.
"Obviously missing important decisions. Like another twelve hours was going to make any difference anyway."
Yohji knew that tone and realised that arguing was not an option at this time. He watched Aya make his way to the table and sit in his usual place.
Omi repeated everything for Aya�s benefit, also knowing that the redhead would not return to bed until he knew what was going on.
"So, if you are still in charge of Kritiker in Japan, what�s happening there?"
"With regards to Rosenkreuz, nothing at all," Omi told him. "There are both reconnaissance and assassin teams in place there and my second has been given instructions to run Japan in my absence. Crashers is the best reconnaissance team we�ve ever had and I think they would be more useful here than there."
"What if Rosenkreuz start taking an interest in Japan?" Yohji asked. "They might need Crashers there."
Omi shook his head. "As far as we can tell, apart from the Essett Elders, Rosenkreuz per se has never taken an interest in the Far East." He glanced at Crawford who nodded his agreement.
"The only reason Essett took any interest in Japan was because of Aya�s sister," he said. "And their agenda was simply the revival of their leader and the end of mundane humanity."
"That�s something that�s always bothered me," Yohji said, "well, apart from when I couldn�t remember it. Why did Schwarz turn on the elders?"
Crawford nodded slightly. "I was wondering when one of you would ask that. I had a vision. It told me that if they were allowed to succeed, there would be a reign of chaos and terror, the like of which the world has never seen before."
Crawford�s answer confused Yohji and, judging by the frowns on their faces, Aya, Ken and Omi were also surprised. "But I thought you guys wanted chaos�"
"Enough to amuse us, yes, but not to destroy the whole damn planet," Crawford said sternly. "The only mistake I made that night was in believing that we alone could protect Aya�s sister." He glanced at Aya who glared back at him. "I take it she�s ageing normally now."
"As far as I�m aware." Aya�s tone could freeze an elephant at ten paces.
Uh oh! He still didn�t like being reminded of that time and the fact he�d ignored Aya-chan ever since. Yohji knew that he had the girl�s best interests at heart, but that this conversation was hurting him. Being such a strong empath really sucked when one or other of them was hurting, especially if it was Aya. Mentally kicking himself for bringing it up in the first place, Yohji quickly changed the subject. "So, Omi, are you going to get Crashers over here?"
"I need to get in touch with Richard Krypton first," Omi said. "This is his jurisdiction after all. He might not want us encroaching."
Yohji nodded. "Makes sense. When do you plan on doing that?"
"As soon as possible, Yohji-kun. Something tells me we have little time to lose."
Crawford�s nod of agreement didn�t ease Yohji�s mind at all. If the man had seen something that suggested they needed all this help, it looked like they were in for a rough ride.
* * * * * * *
When Omi contacted Richard Krypton regarding Crashers he was told to bring everyone with him and come to his home in Kent. Aya could understand that if the man had heard of Schwarz. It must be something of a surprise to him to find the two groups living and working together.
He climbed out of his car at the end of the hour long drive and stretched as he took the place in. He�d heard the phrase about an Englishman�s home being his castle but this was ridiculous. Krypton actually lived in a castle. Yohji�s whisper about being glad it wasn�t winter made him smile. Heating a place like that would be phenomenally expensive.
Luckily, all eight of them had climbed into two cars rather than have a convoy heading down the M2 so they were all here and ready to meet the enigmatic Mr Krypton.
"Whichever way you look at it, we still look a bit like an invasion force," Schu said with a smirk.
An owl, swooping low over Aya�s head made him look up and then around more carefully. At an enquiring glance from Yohji, he nodded. "Owls are night creatures. That one has to be under control."
"Which means that Krypton B are here, just as Brad said they would be," Omi said.
Aya shrugged. "It makes sense, really."
A tall, elegant woman with glasses admitted them into the building. "Good afternoon," she said politely. "I am Mihirogi, Mr Krypton�s secretary and second in command. Mr Krypton is expecting you. Please follow me."
She led the way up a flight of stairs that Aya recognised as Renaissance and down a long gallery to a set of double doors. She knocked and a voice called for them to enter. Mihirogi threw open the doors and Aya saw a large reception room full of comfortable chairs and couches. There were five people already in the room, one of them being a stocky man in his late forties or early fifties. He was the only one of the group who was standing. He smiled at them and gestured for them to come forward.
"Could you arrange for some refreshments please, Mihirogi," he said. "Please, please, come in and make yourselves at home."
Aya frowned slightly. Richard Krypton appeared to be both harmless and somewhat ingenuous. There was none of the cool cunning that both Takatori Shuichi and his son were capable of, at least, not on the surface.
He glanced round the room, taking in the others present. This, then, was Side B. He studied each of them in turn. A child of about fourteen with longish, wavy light brown hair and huge, guileless green eyes, an adolescent and surprisingly Japanese boy with glasses and a dour expression, an odd-looking man with strange tattoos on his face and an attractive blonde with the iciest blue eyes he had ever seen. They, of course, were studying him and his party in turn.
Frowning slightly, he sat on a couch next to Yohji and awaited developments.
* * * * * * *
Omi stepped forward, extending his hand. "Krypton-san? I am Takatori Mamoru. Thank you for seeing us at such short notice."
His hand was taken in a vice-like grip and pumped a couple of times. "I�m glad to finally meet you in the flesh, Takatori-san. Perhaps you would be kind enough to introduce the rest of your party."
Omi smiled slightly, having finally spotted the hint of steel behind the English manners. Island races were very alike in some respects it would seem, both the English and Japanese being reserved and polite people. He introduced first Weiss then Schwarz and watched for Krypton�s reaction to each name. Interestingly, Weiss and Nagi made very little impression but as he introduced Brad, Schu and Jei he noted the man�s brows rise in interest.
"These are the three that were recruited and trained by Rosenkreuz, am I correct?" Not waiting for Omi�s answer, he studied each of the three in turn. "Were any of you subject to memory loss?"
Brad shook his head. "No. The memory wipes and use of selective memories for control are a more recent development. Yohji would be able to tell you more, having experienced it first hand."
Krypton turned to Yohji. "Are you fully recovered?"
Omi nodded when Yohji glanced at him. They had to be open and honest here. "I am now but it took some work on Schuldig�s part and a mistake on their part."
"A mistake? What sort of mistake?" Krypton was staring at Yohji intently.
"They used the wrong set of memories. When they attempted to use them against me all they succeeded in doing was giving them back to me."
A quiver seemed to go through Krypton�s body at Yohji�s words and Omi saw him glance swiftly at the man with the tattooed face. "With all due respect, Krypton-san, I believe complete openness would serve us all best at this point. If we are to work with you, we need to know we can rely on everyone."
Krypton lowered himself into one of the remaining armchairs and indicated that Omi should do the same. He steepled his hands under his chin and sighed. "Free, do you object to my telling them what we know of your story?" The tattooed man shook his head so Krypton turned his attention back to Omi.
"As you are aware, there was an original team that got caught and destroyed by Rosenkreuz. That happened two years ago. What I didn�t tell you was that Free here was a member of that original team. We only discovered it ourselves when you took out Dietmeiller as Free was one of his experiments. Being such a small group, we tend to be opportunists so with all the confusion you caused, we had the chance to sneak in and check if any of the original team had survived. We found Free and brought him out after some difficulty due to his having no memory of who we were."
Omi glanced at Free warily. If the man was really a Rosenkreuz agent� Krypton�s voice broke into his thoughts.
"We were lucky that Free was the survivor and that Michel had insisted on going to Germany with the others. Free rescued Michel after his parents�died and that was a memory that he�d kept. So Michel was able to stop him attacking and we were able to bring him home. Unfortunately, large chunks of his memory are still missing."
Omi glanced at Schuldig. "You helped Yohji, could you do the same for Free?"
Schuldig shrugged. "I could take a look, at least."
Omi turned back to Richard Krypton. "Would Free agree to that? We can�t do this if he doesn�t." He watched as Krypton glanced at Free.
The tattooed man nodded eagerly. "I want it back�if it can be done."
* * * * * * *
Schuldig stood up and crossed the room until he was standing in front of Free. "I would need to touch you, is that okay?"
"You are German?" Free seemed more dazed by his accent than the idea that he was going into his mind.
"Ja, and you?"
"Liechtenstein, I�m from Liechtenstein." It was said as if Free had only just remembered that fact.
"Ah. Okay let�s make a start." Schuldig placed a hand on Free�s forehead. Instead of the dark room that he�d found in Yohji�s mind, he found a few strong memories and a whole load of white noise. Not good. He looked around for something he could latch onto. There! Just a glimmer of something. Grimacing he tried to strengthen the glimmer. The white noise receded slightly and he tried again. A woman�s face came into view. She was wearing the fashions of twenty years ago and Schuldig realised he was seeing Free�s mother. He latched onto the image and pushed outwards. A man came into view and what was obviously the young Free minus the tattoos. Schuldig strengthened the image and looked round for more glimmers.
Rosenkreuz had really tried to butcher this young man�s brain. In comparison they�d done a neat and tidy job on Yohji. He wondered why and then he saw it.
Behind the thick fog of white noise was a brick wall, hastily constructed. Schuldig smiled. *Gotcha!* He envisioned a heavy sledgehammer and attacked the wall. Soon he had a hole breached in it and the sheer force of memories pouring out made him stagger back and out of Free�s head.
He came to stretched out on one of the couches and surrounded by worried faces. He sat up carefully and accepted the water Ken was holding out to him. He nodded his thanks as he didn�t feel as if he could talk just yet. He glanced across the room at Free who also looked a bit worse for wear.
"Did it work?" he managed to croak out.
Omi smiled at him. "And some! He�s going to be fine. What about you?"
"Me? I�ll be okay in a few minutes." He was pleased to note his voice was getting stronger as was his body. "Er�did somebody mention refreshments?"
* * * * * * *
While notes were compared and the Crashers issue discussed, Chloe found his attention wandering. He studied the eight men that had already done so much to help them. Weiss and Schwarz, white and black, light and dark and yet so similar. And, from what was being said, yet another team due to join them in a few days. Fourteen men and two boys to take on the might of Rosenkreuz. He wondered if it would be enough.
Feeling eyes staring at him he glanced up to find the two on the opposite couch gazing at him. He admired their beauty without embarrassment for a moment or two before smiling. The golden-haired one smiled back the other, with hair the colour of freshly spilled blood, did not. Quirking his brows in some confusion, he was the first to look away.
* * * * * * *
Reichi closed his cell-phone thoughtfully. The �request� had been unexpected to say the least. He glanced across the homely living room to gaze at Masato.
"Can any of you actually speak English?" he asked with a slight sigh.
"Yuushi and I can but I have no idea about Naru."
"What about Naru?" that young man demanded as he entered the room. Both of its older occupants winced at his outfit. A pale pink sweatshirt teamed with bright orange sweatpants and a vivid woollen hat of lime green and mustard yellow stripes was an ensemble that was enough to make their eyes bleed.
"Can you speak English?" Reichi asked.
"Of course I can! It was compulsory in school and I haven�t forgotten any of it. Why?"
"Because Queen just phoned to say that we are going to England for the foreseeable future, however long that may be."
Masato stared at him in dumbfounded horror. "England? Why the hell are we going there?"
"Apparently King is there and needs our skills."
"Hold on a moment, I thought King had disappeared and left someone else in charge. Now he resurfaces in England?" Masato was not a happy man.
"It gets better," Reichi said as Yuushi entered the room with a tray of tea for them all.
"What gets better?"
Reichi sighed. "Sit down Yuushi, I�ve got a couple of surprises for you." He waited until the elegant blond had settled next to Masato before continuing. "Firstly, we�ve been ordered to England where King will meet us and explain the situation to us."
Yuushi�s brows rose at that bit of news but he remained quiet, sipping at his tea and waiting for the rest of the story.
"So how does it get better?" Masato asked.
"Not only has King resurfaced, but so have the rest of Weiss and Schwarz."
Yuushi nearly choked on his tea at that. "But the last I heard, Kudoh was amnesiac and likely to marry some nurse, Hidaka was in jail and�Ran�Ran died in America."
"Is this about the recent Rosenkreuz activities we uncovered?" Masato asked. "And is this Weiss three or has King formed Weiss four."
Reichi shook his head. "He can�t have done that. England is outside of Kritiker�s jurisdiction. From what I understand, Richard Krypton is extremely unhappy about other organisations setting up shop in his territory. This has to be Weiss three."
Yuushi frowned. "And where, exactly does Schwarz fit into the picture?"
"That�s the weirdest part. Apparently Weiss and Schwarz have opened a security consultancy. Together."
"WHAT!! Oh come on, Reichi, this has to be a hoax!" Masato even started to laugh at such absurdity.
"It does seem unlikely," Reichi agreed. "So unlikely, in fact, that I�m actually intrigued enough to want to go to England."
Yuushi set down his teacup. "When are we due to go?"
"We�re booked on a flight that leaves tomorrow morning. So I suggest we all pack and get as much sleep as we can."
Naru bounced up excitedly. "This sounds like fun!"
"Um�Naru, try to tone down the colours for travelling at least!"
Naru poked out his tongue at Masato and gave him the finger for good measure. "I do know how to dress."
Reichi and the others stared incredulously at their youngest member. "In your dreams," Yuushi muttered.
* * * * * * *
"So? Do I have to be jealous of Knight again?"
Aya glanced up from his book to stare at Yohji. "Whatever gave you that idea? But, while we�re on the subject, do I need to be jealous of that pretty Krypton blonde?"
"Hey! He smiled at us, I smiled back. No big deal. Not like you and Crashers. Ken told me that Knight actually punched Omi over you."
"It was over all of us, not just me. And�anything else was over years ago." He frowned slightly at Yohji. "It shouldn�t bother you at all."
Yohji appeared to be thinking about that. "I don�t know, Aya. If I were him, I�d still want you back."
With a sigh, Aya removed his reading glasses and put down his book. He turned over so he was completely facing Yohji and placed an arm round his lover�s waist. "He has Masato and I have you. So quit worrying."
"Ah, but Honjyou Yuushi isn�t the screw-up that I am."
"Honjyou Yuushi hasn�t been through all that you have. And for that very reason, I doubt if he and I could ever understand each other enough to try again. Even if I wanted to, which I don�t."
Yohji�s green eyes were very serious as they studied him. "Why did you ever put up with me, Aya?"
"Because I love you. Idiot!" He realised he didn�t say those words very often when Yohji�s eyes widened in surprise. A sinewy arm tightened around him and he smiled contentedly. It was nice to throw Yohji off balance every once in a while.
"I can feel it, but it always feels so good to hear you say it, sweetheart."
"Yohji!"
"I can�t help it."
"You ever call me that in public�"
"I promise I won�t do that to you."
"If you do, you won�t be able to walk for at least a month." Threat made, Aya settled into Yohji�s arms.
"You just want to sleep, babe?"
"Argh! I think I prefer �sweetheart� to that. And yes, it has been a tiring day."
Yohji nodded. "You�d only just got over your surgery. I can wait."
Aya got himself comfortable, half on top of Yohji, and closed his eyes. "There�s always the morning."
A chuckle rumbled through Yohji�s body. "I�ll hold you to that."
~TBC~