Insert standard disclaimers here. Not mine, never will be.
Edited 12/29/04 for some minor grammatical issues.
The Devil and His Kitten
Birman poked at the paperwork on her desk with the wrong end of her pen. She had let herself open up...let herself feel again, and it was making a mess of things in her head. She knew nothing about the German that she kept running into, but that didn't change the fact that she liked being around him. Nor did it help her state of mind.
She sighed, grabbing a blank piece of paper and scribbling a note in case anyone came looking for her before pushing away from the chair she was almost slouching in. A moment later, she grabbed her coat and purse off of the hook and left the office.
She wanted to find him, but she didn't at the same time. There was no room in her life for an innocent, but somehow she didn't think this one was so innocent. He wasn't the same as the kitten. He wasn't the same as Takeshi. The German knew what he was doing down to the last minute detail. He knew when she needed to be held, when she needed to smile. More than that, he knew how to make her smile.
The heels of her shoes echoed clearly in the empty, tiled hallway as she remembered their meeting in Yokohama at Christmas. He had taken her to a coffee shop where they sat and talked about holidays past. Well, she had talked, he had just listened and poked at her to make her smile or laugh when she seemed to be getting too sad.
And it had been all she could think of when she didn't bury herself in her work.
Right now, other than the paperwork sitting on her desk, she had little to bury herself in, though. Add to that the fact that the building was largely deserted and that all she could think about was that day and its ending. When he had bid her farewell with that kiss, she thought that she could have melted the snow on the sidewalk around her.
Now, there was nothing but the memories that she found haunting her every time she had time to stop and think.
Still, you made this choice to help make things right. No matter what you want, you can't go back on that choice, Kyoko...
xxxxx
Schuldig leaned over the shoulder of the younger boy sitting in front of the laptop in front of them. "So, whatcha got?"
"A headache. Who is this girl?" Nagi replied, rubbing at his eyes before pushing himself away from the laptop for a moment. "Some target for Esset or one of Takatori's mistresses that you've decided to play with?"
The German shook his head and straightened up a bit. "No. I'll be honest, all I know is that she's one of them. But I'm more interested in who she was right now."
The boy at the computer nodded. "Well, you know that she's the daughter of Takaoka Keitaro and Takaoka Hiroko. Or at least, you knew she was related to them. Information on the deaths of the Takaokas is pretty scarce. They apparently ran a coffee shop in Yokohama near some of the more fashionable shops in Motomachi. About six years ago, the Takaokas were killed in what was reported as a burglary after the shop closed. It was a bloody affair by the descriptions I found in a few newspaper reports. Their killers were never found that I can see."
Schuldig frowned. He could have found everything out by just tearing into her mind, but that would have destroyed her. This way, though...
"Something like that would have attracted a little more attention than a few newspaper reports, wouldn't it have?"
Nagi nodded. "Japan isn't a stranger to crime, but I'd think I should be able to find more than just the little bit of information that I have."
Which meant the reports were purposefully locked away so that no one could trace her, Schuldig mused in silence. Which in turn probably meant that she must be pretty high up in the organization that opposed them. What a catch. No wonder our fearless leader didn't object to my meeting her, and maybe even encouraged it. Something that was almost a smile, but more akin to a smirk, touched his lips. He could have some fun with this.
xxxxx
Manx sat up quickly as an alert box popped up on her computer screen. She had been sifting through a file trying to sort the information into some sort of order for the report that she would hand off to Queen for the woman's Crashers team. This was more important, though.
Someone was trying to find reports about her coworker's family. Reports that she had overseen the deletion of personally. Her eyes narrowed. Who wanted know about Birman so badly that they were risking being caught in the traps on those files? Maybe if she was lucky, she could catch the hacker...
xxxxx
Birman sighed as she leaned on the railing looking over Tokyo Bay. It was just chilly enough out to make her keep her suit jacket on. And it was dark enough out that there weren't a lot of people around. She smiled faintly as she looked down at the water. "Nee, Take-kun, think you can forgive me for wanting to jump into this with my heart and not bothering to think about it? Worst that will happen is that I'll end up joining you wherever you are," she smiled with a slight laugh. "I can't even tell you his name. It's odd that I feel this way. How long did it take me to figure out that I cared about you more than in friendship?" She trailed a finger along the railing before closing her eyes. "I shouldn't be in love with someone that I don't know, not in this life, but...I just want him to be here to hold me and make me remember what it's like to be human..."
She sighed and reached back to pull the tie out of her hair, letting her hair flutter out in the light wind. "He's not you. He's not even anything resembling you, but I feel like he could make me whole like you could, Take-kun."
Birman tossed her head back. "I miss you..."
xxxxx
Nagi's fingers clicked on the keyboard in front of him as a frown etched deeper in his face. Someone was moving the files he was looking for as fast as he was finding them. Who was this woman that Schuldig had asked him to find out about indeed? She was important to something. That's when it hit him--it should have been obvious the way Schuldig was acting..
She had to be one of them--those three that had taken in the boy he and Schuldig had first seen a little over a year ago. His eyes narrowed with that realization and he typed faster.
He was going to find out who this woman was...
xxxxx
"You used to watch the ocean with him, didn't you?"
Birman started at the voice behind her, turning around sharply to face the speaker. "Takatori-san! You scared me," she sighed out.
"I didn't think anything could sneak up on you, Kyoko," the older man returned as she stepped forward to lean on the railing beside her. "Should I be worried by all the moping around you're doing lately?"
Birman shook her head slightly. "No, it won't affect my job, if that's what you mean. And to answer your first question, sir, yes. We used to go to the waterfront a lot on the weekends to study. I like to think he can still hear me from here."
Takatori Shuuichi leaned on the metal rail and looked over the dark water with a look that Birman recognized. He had his own sorrows, of course. "Maybe he can," he replied softly. Birman didn't reply. She didn't know why he was out here, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. All the answers that flashed through her mind were a little bad considering her current state of mind. "You never mourned him, did you?"
The question snapped her back into reality. "I mourn him and my parents every day that I'm still alive. Some days I mourn the fact that I'm not with them. But I'm still going..."
"That wasn't what I meant, Kyoko. You never went to his funeral. You never allowed yourself to mourn until after I found you..." She bit down on her lip, chewing on it as he spoke. "Until after you bloodied your own hands against my wishes."
"We had no Weiß. What was I supposed to do? Let those men keep killing? Wait until another girl lost her family?"
"No. I couldn't have asked you to do that." He paused, ducking his head a moment. "You have something I didn't. You have the peace of mind of knowing that the ones who killed the one you love are dead themselves, after all."
"Nnn...I know."
xxxxx
Omi yawned as he powered up his computer. "What's going on, Manx?" he murmured into the cordless phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder.
"Someone is trying to get into our systems. I've kept them at bay for a little while, but I'm running out of places to hide the files that they're looking for. They've already gotten a hold of some things that they shouldn't," the woman's voice replied.
"Right." The screen came to life as he hit the button on its front. "I'll be on in a few seconds here. Just keep moving the files."
"I'm lucky there's alerts set up if anyone tries to access these files. And Omi, I don't think I have to remind you that the files are classified."
Classified. Even in his sleepy state, Omi understood what that meant. Don't read them, just download them, move them to an optical disk, and put it somewhere safe. He moved the mouse to an icon and opened the program. "Okay, Manx, where are they?"
xxxxx
"Kyochan! Wait up, Kyo-chan!"
Schuldig blinked and looked around. He was on the campus of a school. A Japanese school, he guessed, and a well-to-do one at that.
"Kyochan! Wait up!"
It took him a moment to filter out the girl that was yelling. A tall, dark-haired girl that looked about sixteen or seventeen leaning over the wall of a walkway that surrounded the courtyard he was in. She was waving at someone. "Kyochan!"
He followed the girl's gaze to a younger girl that was walking not far from where he was standing. He only saw her back at first. Long, dark brown hair that was tied at the base of her neck with a dark blue ribbon that matched her uniform. She turned when she finally heard the first girl calling her.
He felt himself draw in a sharp breath. It was her! Takaoka Kyoko...of course. Kyochan was her nickname.
"Atsuko! I have to meet your brother. What is it?"
Schuldig felt the scene starting to melt away. No...not yet. He reached out for the girl, moving towards her as he did so, but his hand just passed through the image as she faded into nothing.
"If I wanted you to know my nightmares, I would have told them to you," another voice, similar to the second but older, called from behind him.
He turned, almost nonchalantly, a smile touching his lips as he did so. "Can't help it, Kitten, you're all I think about." He put on the most charming expression that he could manage.
And she laughed at him. "Somehow, I doubt that. What are you doing in my nightmare?"
He stepped towards her. "Landed here by accident. Didn't seem like much of a nightmare, though."
"Maybe not for you." She frowned and started to turn away, but he caught her arm. When his hand didn't pass through her, he tightened his grip and pulled her into his body. "Let me go."
"No. Not letting you go again. Not this time, Kyochan." He wrapped his other arm around her waist and held her close. "So did that girl lead you into an ambush or something? Because that didn't seem like much of a nightmare, but I could be a little biased in that regard."
"No...she wouldn't have hurt me...Atsuko wouldn't have hurt me!"
He pressed his lips to her hair. "Talk to me, Kyochan."
She tensed and tried to pull away before a sob escaped. "Stop calling me that! Kyochan is dead; she died a long time ago! Stop calling me that and let me go!"
Schuldig closed his eyes and held her tighter. "Not letting you go. You're my kitten now. Not letting you go tonight."
xxxxx
Manx looked at the door that just closed with a barely audible click and the woman in front of it. "Kyoko...what...?" Her dark-haired partner was standing in front of the closed door looking close to tears. It was first thing in the morning--Birman should have been halfway to Osaka today, running an errand to pick up some reports. "Nightmares again? I thought Takatori gave you..."
"I haven't been taking it. I have to be able to sleep at least six hours to take those pills, and I've been working too much for that the last few weeks," Birman replied in a whispered tone. "So I haven't been taking them. But I don't know what this was."
Manx stood up and started over to the other woman. "What happened?"
"He interrupted my dream. He was there and holding me, and I don't know how, and it scared me. But he was in my dream. He saw Atsuko yelling at me to wait up after school the day that Takeshi was murdered," Birman murmured, not even seeming to realize what she was saying. Manx stood there, her expression showing that she didn't know whether she should try to comfort her coworker or not. That she didn't know if she should ask who 'he' was. "And...he held me...and I just cried..."
"Kyoko..."
"...but I don't understand if it was real or if it was just another dream. I want it to be real...but I know it's not..."
Manx reached forward to push the stray strands of hair around Birman's face back behind her ear. "Then let it be real, imouto. But for now, do you want me to go to Osaka for you?"
Birman blinked, then shook her head. "No. I can still catch a train that will get me there in plenty of time." She sighed. "Hanae...I met someone last summer. I don't know who he is, and I thought I'd never see him after that night. When I went home for Christmas, I ran into him again. And last night he showed up in my dream."
Manx chuckled. "Someone has a crush." She smiled as Birman's face grew a reddish tint. "But you know..."
"That's the thing, I don't think he's a real innocent. There's things about him...and this dream. It was just too real. Or maybe I'm just losing my mind finally..."
The red-haired woman shook her head. "I think it was just wishful thinking."
xxxxx
Nagi let out a yawn as he picked up the small stack of print outs that he had for Schuldig. His search hadn't been overly successful, but he had found a little bit of information out about the woman. It wasn't easy to hack into files that kept moving on him.
But the woman was probably one of them. Her past marked that as an excellent possibility. Not only had her parents been murdered, but he had part of a news report about another killing that she was a witness to. A boy named Nagoya Takeshi had been murdered at the Takaoka's coffee shop where he worked to help out their only daughter, Kyoko.
And now...
"Find anything, kid?" A heavily accented voice slurred from behind him. Nagi turned his head to look at the still sleepy Schuldig rubbing at his eyes and yawning from where he was standing.
"Not much. Another report about a murder at the Takaoka's coffee shop, the obituary of the boy that was killed. Where she currently works. At least I didn't have to spend half the night chasing that particular file around. A very nice picture of her with someone I think you'll recognize," Nagi replied offhandedly as he handed the papers over his shoulder. "Someone is definitely trying to protect her, though. There were a good many files that I couldn't catch--someone was moving them as soon as I found them. They finally just disappeared off the network completely."
Schuldig half-sat on the edge of the desk Nagi was sitting at and started skimming the pages. When he reached the page with Nagoya's obituary, Nagi heard him draw in a very sharp breath. "Atsuko. The girl that was calling to her was named Atsuko..."
That comment elicited a raised eyebrow from the younger boy. "Schuldig...?"
"I...I ended up in a nightmare of hers last night. For a little bit, at least. They were at school and there was a girl calling to her." He flipped to the next page.
"What kind of uniform was she wearing?" Schuldig didn't even look up as he described the uniform that both girls had been wearing. "Yokohama Gakuen, if I'm not mistaken. You're out of your league, Schuldig, that's a very high-class school."
"Hnn..."
"So is she one of Takatori's mistresses or just a target? I can't see you wanting information like this about someone otherwise."
"She's no one, Nagi. Just a girl that I met."
xxxxx
Birman sighed as she pressed against the window by her seat and watched the scenery fly by in a blur. It had scared her; the thought that someone else was in a dream which had always been a nightmare. It was probably just like Manx said, though--wishful thinking. She wanted him to be there.
But it was so real. She could still feel his arms around her even after she woke up. It couldn't be real, though. Not unless...
She fingered the strap of the messenger bag in her lap nervously. Takatori's older brother Reiji had some ties to an organization in Europe that was surrounded in rumor and mystery. One of those rumors was that they were talent hunters; they dealt with the supernatural. In addition to that, there were the reports of children that had just disappeared. Children who often weren't quite normal. Could those rumors and reports be true?
A hand reached up to tug at the end of the braid laying on her shoulder. That could explain how she felt him even after she woke up.
You'll have to find out one way or another, Kyoko. If he's an enemy...
Her eyes closed slowly. She didn't want to think of that possibility, but it was a valid one. It would explain why he never told her his name.
xxxxx
Schuldig picked up one of the sheets of paper strewn across his bed. A blurred photo of a Japanese boy stared back at him from beside the article. Second murder in twelve months at Starlight Café. The boy's name was Nagoya Takeshi. He worked there, the article said, and the place was just closing when a group of men came in.
He tossed that sheet back onto the bed where it shifted another to show him...
Takaoka Kyoko--one of the assistants to the vice-commissioner of Justice, Takatori Shuuichi--shields the identity of a girl brought in as a survivor from the explosion at the headquarters of Fujimiya Trading.
He blinked at the caption alone, but in the background, being tended to by a doctor...it was the Fujimiya boy. And his eyes were on the stretcher that she had so obviously moved in front of to keep the photographer from getting a picture.
There was a girl with that boy. One he had nearly died protecting...
Schuldig snarled suddenly, crumbling the paper in his hands and throwing it into the wall. He had known...had always known in the back of his mind that this was a fantasy that he couldn't touch. Her warmth, her smile, they weren't meant to be his, but he wanted them all the same.
No matter what façade he showed the world, he wanted those things to be his. Even if it meant crossing the line between black and white.
xxxxx
"Takaoka-san!"
Birman looked over her shoulder at the voice that shouted at her. Oh...no...
"Kyochan! I don't believe it. Why didn't you tell me that you were coming to Osaka?" The speaker pushed through the crowd on the sidewalk to give Birman a better view of her, but she didn't need it. She'd never forget Nagoya Atsuko.
"Work sent me here last minute, I didn't even think..." Her sentence was cut off as the taller girl wrapped her in a hug.
"Well, you're here now, so that's all that matters. You on business right now, or do you have the time for a bite to eat?" Atsuko grinned at Birman as she relaxed the embrace, but she didn't let go of the smaller woman.
I thought that I broke all my attachments...but...they're still there...
Birman smiled at her childhood friend. "I've got an hour or two free before I have to catch the train back to Tokyo."
xxxxx
"Still working with the police?" Birman nodded quietly as she poked at her sundae with a spoon. "Meet any cute guys?"
"No. At least not any that you'd be interested in. They're all either married or jerks," she smirked back at the other girl.
"Mmm..." Atsuko licked ice cream off of her spoon before pointing it at Birman. "You need to stop carrying a banner for my brother. He loved you dearly, but he'd have wanted you to be happy. Which means he'd want you to move on, Kyochan."
"I'm not carrying a banner for him. And I want to move on, Atsuko, but..." Birman sighed, finally setting the spoon down and plucking the cherry off the top of the sundae. "I always did have high standards, you know."
"Well, maybe you need to lower them. Or just start looking. You can't tell me that you're happy alone. You at least had us to keep you grounded in school..."
Birman sighed again. "Must you always try to convince me that I should find a man and get married?"
Atsuko grinned and flicked some of her whipped cream at her friend. "Yes. I must. Because you need someone to keep you grounded in reality."
Birman snorted. "You're the one living in a fantasy world, Atsuko. I don't need to be married to be happy."
Atsuko tilted her head. "You do. And don't give me your usual speech that a woman doesn't need to rely on a man. I'm not talking about women. I'm talking about you, Kyochan. You need someone that can make you smile when you're sad. Someone that will drag you out and make you have fun. That's why Takeshi wouldn't let you out of his sight half the time. Sure you can take care of yourself, but you're falling apart inside in the meantime."
Birman remained silent, eating at her ice cream as her friend lectured her. If only Atsuko knew how close she was to the truth...
"Kyochan..."
"I know he was your brother, Atsuko, but you didn't have to see it. It's hard to move on from that. I've tried."
Atsuko nodded quietly. "I know. I just know that he'd want you to be happy, and I know you well enough to know that you aren't."
Birman forced a smile. "I'm sorry, Atsuko. I'd give the world if I could to change things back to how they were before. But I can't."
"And you don't have to. Just move on. For your own sake, Kyochan."
xxxxx
"...my brother will probably be there."
Manx shrugged as she paged through the file in her hands. "I know. There's nothing for me to hide from. I'm your assistant after all. It would be almost normal for me to accompany you in lieu of a romantic interest." It hurt to say that, but she knew that's all it ever could be. He was still in love with the memory of Kikuno, Reiji's dead wife.
Takatori Shuuichi nodded in a silent reply. "And Kyoko?"
"She's been active in the police force outside of this. It wouldn't be odd for her to show up at a political event. Particularly one where her supervisor is showing such devotion to his brother." The corner of Manx's mouth twitched with a repressed smile.
"Only for the public, my dear. Only for the public. Let Kyoko know that I want her to keep an eye on things while you're helping me play the good brother, please?"
Manx nodded quietly. "Yes, sir."
xxxxx
Birman sighed as she sat on the floor of her apartment, one leg stretched to the side from the warm-up she had been doing. "You know I hate going to those parties, Hanae," she almost groaned into the phone that was propped on her shoulder. "They end up glaring at each other at some point in the night, and one of us inevitably has to separate them before they forget that they're supposed to at least be pretending that they're on the same side."
"Don't worry, that's my job this time. He says he just wants you to keep an eye on anything else that might be going on," Manx replied from the other end of the line.
"Information gathering, hmm? Well that could at least be interesting. Guess I shouldn't go traditional, then, hmm?"
"You have something traditional in that closet of yours?"
Birman laughed. "Yes, actually, I do. I just haven't worn it since I was in high school. Not much call for me in a kimono at these parties. I should pull it out someday just to prove that I have it."
"Not for this party, though. You're not going as anyone's date, after all. You are just there to attract the eye of some rich business...Kyoko, stop laughing..."
"I know, I know, it's just that no one would ever believe that, even if it were true."
"I know. Anyway, it's Thursday evening. It starts around six, which is when we'll probably get there. You can be a little late if you want."
xxxxx
Manx looked over at the older gentleman that had just entered the room with two men and a boy near him. "He brought his bodyguards," she remarked softly to the man she was standing next to.
Shuuichi nodded slightly. "Not entirely a shock. There are a few people that would like to see him dead...or humiliated," he returned just as softly.
"Mmm, I know that. And I understand he's interested in making a bid for the Prime Minister's position in the next elections."
Her companion's only reply was a another slight nod. Reiji was making his way over towards them. Manx held back the scowl she was feeling and fixed a complacent-almost-happy look on her face as the man reached them. It wouldn't do for her to let animosity show openly. Not when she was the one that was supposed to be maintaining the peace.
"I hope that you're enjoying yourself, brother. I'm glad you found time in your busy schedule to show up," Reiji started, his own false smile in place. "Kitada-san, you're looking lovely tonight."
Manx nodded silently in thanks as Shuuichi started talking. "I wouldn't think of missing something this important to you, Reiji..."
Manx slowly drowned out their false niceties to look over the room again. As long as they were doing this, things would be fine. It was when they actually started talking business that she'd have to be on her toes.
Reiji's bodyguards had dropped back a little. The red-haired man was looking around distractedly, seemingly bored. The Japanese boy was bored. He wasn't even looking around; he was just staring at something on the table behind them. Only the dark-haired man seemed interested in his surroundings. Still, they were known to be quite dangerous. Takatori Reiji hadn't gotten where he was by virtue of his beliefs or policies, after all.
He got there because the people who opposed them usually found themselves in embarrassing situations that ruined their careers or turned up dead at the worst possible moment. There was little doubt in her mind that the three standing just a little behind him had some hand in those happenings.
Little doubt at all...
xxxxx
Birman tugged at the side of the dress she was wearing as she stopped to check her appearance in a decorative mirror in the hallway. She smoothed out a fly-away bit of hair quickly, tugging on one of the tendrils around her face in a nervous habit before putting on her best 'ice queen' look.
She hated political functions. She had to attend them thanks to her position, but she hated them all the same. It always was the same--those with little influence seeking the favor of those with more influence. And almost always the result was that someone who had nothing to do with it got hurt.
But that was life in this world.
For that matter, that was life anywhere in Japan.
She stopped for a moment just outside the door into the main room of the party. She had come in a back route in order to avoid some of the crowd and photographers. Not that she was really a focus of the eyes in there, but she was connected to one of those focuses. The Takatori family, although known for some eccentricities, was one of Japan's powerful families. You didn't cross them.
How many of the guests would try to catch her favor just because she worked with Takatori Shuuichi this time? More importantly...how long before she wanted to leave because of it?
Can't leave...this might as well be a mission. She took in a deep breath before stepping into the room and looking around.
Manx was the first person she spotted on the other side of the room, closer to the proper entrance--the woman's red hair was easy for her to pick out even when it was pinned up like it was. Shuuichi was beside her talking to Reiji, and...
"Kamisama," she murmured. Standing behind Reiji, she could see two figures--both of which were familiar. The dark-haired one she had seen with Reiji before. He was one of the older Takatori's bodyguards. The other one...she couldn't forget him. It was the German that had haunted her thoughts. And he was standing beside Reiji's bodyguard looking very bored.
What was he doing here?
That was a stupid question. He was with one of Reiji's bodyguards, which meant he probably was one of them. Which meant...it didn't matter how much he made her smile. She couldn't be seen fraternizing with the enemy.
xxxxx
"The entire room knows that those two hate each other, why do they go through with this masquerade?" Schuldig muttered as he leaned back against the wall behind him.
"Because the general population doesn't know it, and it would make for quite a scandal if the papers reported a fight between them. Or if Shuuichi didn't show up here," Nagi replied, his attention focused on...
"Someone sees you doing that, kid, and we'll have more to deal with than the papers finding out that the Takatoris hate each other."
Nagi chuckled slightly, and the cake he had been levitating settled back on the table. "Sorry. Figured I'd get some practice in."
"You're a bad influence on him, Schuldig," Crawford muttered from where he was leaning on the wall on the other side of Nagi.
"You're the one that wants him to practice more..." Schuldig froze suddenly as he felt a familiar presence. Of course she'd be here. Takatori's aide, after all... His eyes skimmed over the crowd in a sudden interest. She had to have just come in, but she wasn't near the main entrance with them. "Hold down the fort. I'll be back later." He pushed away from the wall and his companions, making his way to one of the side entrances to the room.
"Where's Schuldig going?" Nagi asked the older man leaning on the wall beside him.
"After his happiness," Crawford replied with a tone of disapproval.
Nagi turned to look at the American, who was holding a drink in his hand in an attempt to look like he was enjoying himself. The scowl currently on his face indicated that he wasn't, however. "The woman?" Crawford nodded slightly. "Why is he so obsessed with her?"
"Because he's a fool..."
xxxxx
"Hallo, Katzchen."
Birman started at the voice in her ear. The arm that slipped around her waist made her tense up. "You shouldn't do that here," she returned. "You came in with Reiji, didn't you? I work for Shuuichi. We shouldn't..."
"We could go somewhere more private. There's a nice hotel..." He winced slightly as her elbow jabbed under his ribcage. "Ich liebe dich auch, Katzchen." He smirked as he shifted to be standing beside her, arm still on her waist. "I just want to talk...Kyoko-san."
He felt her tense again at the use of her name. "Fine. There's a lot of side rooms that are more private. One has a window that overlooks the city with a perfect view of Tokyo Tower. I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes."
"Right."
She pulled away from him to disappear into the crowd with that. He shook his head, then headed back to his teammates. All he'd have to do would be to snoop through the minds of the staff to find out which room she was talking about. He'd have enough time.
"You like living dangerously, don't you?" Crawford's voice murmured as Schuldig passed him.
"I don't see you stopping me," the German returned, flashing a quick smile. "Besides, it's my life to throw away. I do what I want, remember? That's why you and the 'boss' don't like me."
Crawford almost laughed at that. "I don't like you because you're a careless fool who acts before he thinks. And you have the intelligence to do otherwise."
"Oh, I've done a lot of thinking on this, Bradley. And I know exactly how dangerous a game I'm playing."
"Oh do you?" Crawford returned, not letting the use of the name rattle him like it usually did. Schuldig liked pushing buttons; this would give him one less to push.
"Yes. I do."
Schuldig turned away from his teammates with that and headed out the main doors. Maybe he could do with trying to find it on his own.
xxxxx
"You said fifteen minutes."
Birman stepped into the room quietly. "I couldn't get out of there. Reiji wanted to know what I was doing with one of his bodyguards. I warned you that we shouldn't have been standing like that in the middle of the party." She pushed the door closed behind her before walking over to stare out the window. "What did you want to talk about?"
Schuldig sighed from where he was lounging on a couch. No sense tiptoeing around the subject. "The dream...that was the day that girl's brother was killed, wasn't it?" Her eyes widened as she spun to face him. "I thought so. It's not easy seeing someone you care about killed like that right in front of you..."
"No, it isn't," she snapped coldly.
"Of course not." He stood up and slowly walked over to her side. "Let me in, Kyochan."
She turned her eyes away from him, towards the floor. "I can't. Maybe in a different life, but the way things are now, I can't."
He frowned at that, reaching a hand up to play with one of the long tendrils of hair that threatened to fall into her face as she looked down. "I'm not asking you to let me into your business world. I want you to let me in..." His fingers slid along her hair until he got to the end. He let go of it, then tapped her chest where her heart would be. "...here."
"What part of 'I can't' don't you understand? The Takatori brothers would do anything to see the other fall. It's no secret no matter how they play the good, loving brothers to the world that they hate each other. I can't let you in because you work for the wrong side."
Schuldig dropped his hand back to his side with a silent nod. "Even though I make you smile when you're hurting? Even though you jumped when I touched you, and you're feeling alone again now that I'm not?" He stepped closer. "You're prettier when you're not on duty, you know that? Too made up when you are..."
She felt his breath on her cheek as he ducked his head down beside hers. "Tell me something?" she murmured as she gave into the urge to rest her head against his.
"Hmm?"
"What are you? How did you...?"
I'm a telepath. My name is Schuldig. Fingers brushed down over her arm to her hand, which he wrapped in his own. "You can still hear the music here," he murmured as he felt her squeeze his hand in return.
"This shouldn't be..."
He smiled against her cheek. "Don't think. Just dance. I think I can manage a slow dance for a change."
"I wish life were that simple," she murmured in return as she leaned to rest against his body. He felt her free hand slip around to rest against his back. "But..."
"I said don't think. I won't take advantage of your feelings. You're too sweet of a drug for me to risk losing." He pulled away from her to look down at her face.
"So I'm a drug now?"
"To me, you are. I remember what life was like before when you're close. I think...you remember the same..." Birman drew in a breath and tried to pull away as he leaned closer. "Relax. I won't hurt you." He brushed his lips across hers quickly. "I'd never hurt you."
"We're enemies, Shurdih..." He winced at her pronunciation of his name. "Sorry..."
"Mmm...don't worry about it. I've heard people mangle it worse. How about something you can handle, though...Schuld?"
Birman shook her head. "Still too...German. How about Shu? I can handle that."
He stared at her in shock. "Too fluffy," was all he managed to stammer out before she pulled him to the couch to sit down. "But as long as you promise not to call me by that in public, I think I'll live."
She nodded quietly. "I wouldn't do that. Shu, thank you. For making me smile again."
A smile touched his lips that was real for a change. He actually could feel it. "You're welcome, but it's not for free, you know." He sat down beside her on the couch before catching her in a kiss. I want to see you smile. I want to remember what it's like to be happy...to have a reason to smile.
Her eyes closed most of the way as she relaxed with the touch and just let him kiss her. She knew that she shouldn't be doing it, but the touch made her remember a time when she was happy...
Happy...
He pulled away from the kiss a little. "Will you let me in yet, or do I need to convince you that I won't hurt you some more?" He smiled then. A genuine smile, she noted, and it made it almost seem like the smirking man that had been standing distractedly with Takatori Reiji was gone and had been replaced with an innocent boy that was his twin. It made what she knew she had to say seem all the more painful.
"We're still enemies." Her tone was even as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, I just..." Something in his face went sad, almost hurt. "I shouldn't have come back here."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But work is work, and this isn't it." He paused a moment. "We meet out there, and we could end up killing each other. We both know that. But here..."
"We still shouldn't..."
Birman's eyes went wide as he leaned close to her, silencing her with his own mouth.
Tell me that you don't want this. Tell me and mean it, and I'll leave and never try to see you again. But I'll know if you're lying, so don't even try.
She whimpered softly, and he pulled back. "Tell me, Kyoko."
"I can't...but what I want isn't important..."
"Yes, it is," he smiled, reaching a hand up to play with a tendril of hair. She didn't answer him as she squirmed away from him. He shifted to the side with a sigh, letting her move to the other side of the couch. "So what is it really? Work or the fact that you're afraid of replacing Nagoya in your heart?"
Birman shifted uncomfortably. "How do you know about him...?"
He shifted closer and laid a hand over hers. "I'm a telepath--I can read your mind, remember?"
She nodded quietly, then he felt her turn her hand over to return the touch. "I just want...something simple. This isn't simple."
"But life isn't simple, is it?" He smiled, using his free hand to tug at the bracelet on her wrist. "We both know that. I promise; I won't try to take his place. And you don't have to tell me that you love me..."
She tugged the hand holding hers up to press against her heart. "What if I wanted to?"
Schuldig blinked at that, sitting up straighter and shifting a little closer. "Would be easier if we just kept this physical, you know," he murmured as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Emotions are messy things. Particularly in positions like ours."
"I know."
"I won't let you regret it, Kyochan." His free arm slipped around her waist and pulled her back against his body.
"You can't promise that, and you know it. We both know that orders are orders. If they handed me orders that called for your death, I'd have to give those orders...and no matter what, that would break my heart."
He chuckled at her and the way she was clutching his hand like a favorite toy. "You think too much. That must be what first drew me to you. So much activity in that brain of yours," he laughed as he lifted his head to press a kiss to the side of her head. "Close your eyes, Kyochan."
"I don't think..."
"Just close your eyes. Let me show you something." He felt her squirm a bit in his arms, then relax back against his chest. Her eyes closed uneasily, but they closed. Underneath it all, she wanted to trust him. "Now just let yourself feel."
xxxxx
"Where have you been?"
Schuldig shrugged quietly at Nagi as he walked past where the boy was sitting on the floor with his laptop. He had been expecting that question when he got home. It was long after the party had ended. Nothing had happened, though, so it wasn't like he would have been that missed. "Around." A hand reached out to snag his arm as he passed Crawford.
"You're playing with fire," the American murmured softly.
He should have been shocked at those words, but it would have surprised him more if Crawford hadn't known that he had spent the night breaking down the barriers of one of the enemy. "I know my job description, fearless leader. Nothing changes that."
Crawford looked up from his newspaper. "Love makes a man do things he didn't think he'd ever do. Most of them are stupid."
"Love?" Schuldig smiled. "Who says I'm in love with her? Maybe I'll never see her again..."
"Don't lie to me." The grip tightened, causing Schuldig to wince openly.
"Look, it's just an escape for both of us. I'm not going to betray this team's secrets...and she's not going to betray theirs. I'll fight her if I have to, so back off. It's not love. I'm not capable of that emotion."
An eerie hint of a smile crossed Crawford's face. "No. Of course you're not."
Owari
Ich liebe dich auch, Katzchen -- "I love you, too, Kitten."