Note: First song fic in a song fic arc used to get my mind off of Fade to Black for a bit. (I needed something new.) This is done to the song "Remember Me" by Hoobastank. Rated R for lack of anything better to rate it. XD They really need a rating between PG-13 and R, you know? Oh wait, is that what M is? Eh heh. Shonen-ai. BxS.
"No." Brad crossed his arms, glaring down at Schuldich. "You aren't going out tonight because I actually need you in working order tomorrow."
"Oh, so now you need me, is that it?" Schuldich sneered in disgust. "Suddenly when I want to go out and enjoy myself I'm actually part of your concern." Jabbing a finger at the chest of the man who was blocking his way, Schuldich smirked. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were jealous."
"Schuldich, I am not jealous of you." Brad's eyes narrowed in what Schuldich guessed as irritation.
"Oh not of me, of the people I fuck."
"Or get fucked by, right?" The quick comeback by Brad obviously hit Schuldich harder than expected, for the red head stood silent for a moment, contemplating a comeback.
"Get out of my way." Schuldich settled for blunt instead. He wasn't quite sure when it had happened, but Brad had changed. At least his opinion of Schuldich had.
With someone that I used to know
He used to look at me and laugh
With a look of almost triumph, Brad carefully moved to the side, allowing Schuldich to pass by him. Stopping with his hand resting on the doorknob, Schuldich glanced over his shoulder. Brad was leaning back against the countertop, his glasses in one hand as he gently rubbed the bridge of his nose. Schuldich knew the motion; it meant that Brad was deeply bothered by something.
"Brad?" Schuldich turned halfway around as Brad quickly attempted to put on his glasses before Schuldich noticed the motion.
"What now, Schuldich?" His voice was edged with irritation and impatience.
"I was just wondering if you were okay." It wasn't a lie. Schuldich was actually really worried about his leader. If Brad was worried about something so much as to actually slip and let someone notice, then it was really bothering him.
"Please Schuldich, what do you want?" Brad's voice was full of irritation and it occurred to Schuldich that he didn't actually believe Schuldich was concerned.
"No Brad, I'm really concerned about you."
"Schuldich, give it a rest. I've known you too long for this to actually sound real." A moment of silence lingered in the air as Schuldich's anger slowly returned at the comment. Finally Brad just turned from the room, muttering a mere, "go ahead, go get drunk and laid for all I care" before he walked off.
Slamming the door behind him, Schuldich set out to do just that.
That he's known me for so very long
But I remember being no one
Taking a seat by the bar, Schuldich quickly ordered a drink. He was angry now, but not at Brad. He was angry at himself for not being able to stay mad at Brad. In a way Schuldich was just confusing himself. Above all, he knew what he wanted, and it was definitely not to be mad at Brad.
Of course, Schuldich would never admit to what he wanted. An old saying screamed out in the back of his mind, but he shoved it away as he reached across the bar to snatch the drink the barkeeper had passed his way. Downing the drink easily, Schuldich ordered another. He watched as the drink slid to him in what seemed like slow motion, but right as it was within his grasp, another hand reached out and snatched it up.
Schuldich turned, ready to rip apart whoever's mind had just taken his drink. To his astonishment though, Brad stood towering over the sitting man, Schuldich's drink in one hand, while his own business coat was draped over his other arm. Setting the drink down, Brad reached out and grabbed one of Schuldich's wrists, pulling the younger man off the bar stool and out of the club. When he could finally gather enough senses to acknowledge what was going on, Schuldich quickly snapped his wrist away from Brad's grasp.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Quickly noting his words were slightly slurred, Schuldich mentally cursed. This must have looked great.
"I told you, Schuldich, that you cannot get drunk and laid tonight." Brad's eyes were guarded, and his mind was shielded, so Schuldich couldn't really figure out what he was aiming at.
"No, you said I had to be in working order." Smirking in triumph, Schuldich pressed further. "And you specifically said 'go ahead, go get drunk and laid'."
"Damn it Schuldich, I was angry!" Brad snapped suddenly, completely catching Schuldich off guard. The calm and collected Brad was falling apart at the seams; it seemed too strange to be true. "I was lying and I want you at home right now!"
So perfect, so untouchable
Now you want me to be with you
"So what changed?" Schuldich could feel the effects of the limited alcohol slowly fading from his system. Something had passed across Brad's face in that second of sheer emotion that had caught his eye, but it was gone and Schuldich couldn't place it. He really did hate drunken reactions every now and then.
"Get in the car, let me take you home, and I'll explain on the way there." Brad's entire sense of being seemed to be coming back to him as he quickly rounded to the other side of the car and got in. After thinking it through for a few minutes, Schuldich opened the passenger door and slid in.
"Well, start spilling." Buckling his seat belt, Schuldich turned as much as he could in his seat to watch Brad, who carefully started the car and pulled out into traffic.
"Esset called and they want to talk to us," Sparing a glance from the road to Schuldich, Brad added dryly, "tomorrow morning."
"So you kept me from getting plastered to the wall just because Esset wants to talk to us?" Schuldich sounded mildly amused. In reality, he was. Usually Brad didn't care if he went to Esset with a mild hangover. Yet suddenly he cared?
"In case you hadn't noticed, Esset is not happy with our current progressiveness, and it leaves me reason to believe that they might want to split the team apart and spread us out." Despite the fact that Brad's eyes were now fixed on the road ahead of him, Schuldich was sure of what he saw pass through Brad's eyes. It was the first hint of real fear.
"What do you suggest, oh fearless leader?" Schuldich quickly crossed his arms and sat back in his seat.
"I suggest we start getting along a bit better than we have been." There was an edge to Brad's voice, but Schuldich chose to ignore it.
Do you remember now
You acted like you never noticed me
"Just to make Esset happy, you'd get along with me?" Schuldich smirked to himself in the side mirror as Brad pulled to a stop in front of the penthouse.
"No Schuldich, but for Nagi and Farfarello's sake I would." They sat for a moment in silence as the words sunk into Schuldich's head. The fact of the matter was, both Schuldich and Brad had been through Rosenkreuz and survived. They were top ranking students, but Nagi and Farfarello had been picked up by Brad without first going through the school. If the team was spread out, then the only thing that would happen was Brad and Schuldich would be put on different teams, and Nagi and Farfarello would be thrown back onto the street. Or worse yet, they'd be taken to Rosenkreuz.
A halfhearted smirk slowly crawled onto Schuldich's face, but his eyes remained neutral as he stared out the front window. "You're just worried about the two of them?" What he wanted… what Schuldich really wanted…
"I have no reason to worry for you." Brad answered after a moment, before slowly stepping out the car. He ducked his head back in the door window though, and sighed faintly. "Just go to bed Schuldich. I'll wake you up in the morning when we need to go."
Scowling, Schuldich exited the car and headed inside the penthouse, making sure to slam all the doors behind him.
Cause the gone has come around
And you're not allowed to be a part of me
"Schuldich wake up." Brad's voice slowly registered in Schuldich's mind, but his head hurt and he really didn't want to wake up. Of course the hand shaking his body awake wasn't helping matters any.
"Damn it Brad, don't you know not to shake people with hangovers?" Quickly Schuldich shoved his way off his bed and trudged to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Falling next to the toilet seat, he emptied the little contents that were left in his stomach. He really did hate throwing up, not that anyone actually liked it, but he hated it none the less.
"Schuldich, will you be okay?" Obviously Schuldich had failed to lock the door in his haste, which was just as well, since he needed to teach Brad a few things about waking people up.
"I will be, yes, but damn it, you know not to shake someone who was out drinking!" Schuldich needed an outlet for his pent up anger, and Brad just happened to be there.
"I didn't realize that so few drinks would have such an impact on your body's system." Out of the corner of his eye Schuldich watched Brad wet a washcloth in the sink and wring it out. But his vision blurred and he had to look back down at the floor in fear of losing whatever wasn't in his stomach.
"Yeah well, that's what you get for working all the time." Schuldich half heartedly snapped back. He wasn't feeling angry right now, more depressed actually, and he didn't even really know why.
Brad handed Schuldich the washcloth, his face and mind both carefully guarded. "Be ready in an hour."
Or were you too preoccupied
With playing king in your small kingdom
Schuldich stood staring at Takatori Reiji's nose. It was rude to look him in the eyes or look up like a snob, but Schuldich wouldn't give him the satisfaction of looking at the floor. No way. The only reason he hadn't done anything rude yet was because Brad had specifically ordered all of them to behave, and even Farfarello was doing so.
"Your main employers have brought to my attention that someone has not been behaving themselves outside of my watch." Takatori's eyes were fixed to Schuldich, who was having an extremely hard time fighting the urge to take a step back. He wasn't afraid of Takatori as much as he was afraid of the golf club in his hand. Even that he wasn't exactly afraid of. He was merely wary.
"I assure you, Takatori, that no one has stepped out of their bounds to defy you." Brad's calm voice seemed distant in Schuldich's ears as he started to take a slight step back.
"You lie!" Takatori screamed suddenly, catching everyone off guard as he quickly swung the golf club, connecting it with the side of Schuldich's head. "You allow them to defy me! I'll tear your team apart!" Takatori swung the club again, but Schuldich knew it would only be worse if he dodged the outright attack.
Yet right before the club connected with his head again, Schuldich spared a glance towards Brad. And right before the club hit him, he could have sworn…
Maybe he was hallucinating from the first blow, but he could have sworn that Brad had started to move towards him.
And then the club connected, and Schuldich's sight went black, and he never felt himself hit the floor.
Has stripped you of your royalty
And from your kingdom you're evicted
"Wake up!" A sickening thudding surged through Schuldich's head as the hand shaking him didn't let up. He blinked a few times, trying to register thought, but failed at both. His eye sight blurred when he could finally see, and the figure above him fuzzed and seemed so far away.
"Brad?" The moment he said it Schuldich knew the figure waking him up wasn't Brad. They were blond, and that was definitely something that Brad was not.
"My name is Alicia. You were ordered to serve in our team until you…" The figure, now Schuldich could identify as a female, explained, "Until you cleaned up your act." She stopped shaking Schuldich finally, and the telepath just rolled over to stare at the wall.
What the hell was going on? First he was being beaten by Takatori, now he was in some unfamiliar place with some girl waking him up, and something about getting his act together? This was definitely going on his top ten weird things.
Rolling back over, Schuldich found he could actually sit up without his head splitting open. "I'm sorry," he paused for a moment, looking the girl over, "explain this to me again?"
"Your team was disbanded temporarily by Esset. They said you needed to clean up your act, so they assigned you to our team." The girl smiled. She, Schuldich concluded, was too happy for his likes. Nothing like the leader he knew, his leader, Brad…
"Your team?"
"Yes, our team. Our leader, Kez, is a telekinetic. Lok is a clairvoyant, Martyr is a telepath, and I am a pyrokinetic." She rattled off the team members with little haste, and Schuldich fought to gather it all. "I'm sure you'll enjoy your time with our team. We're a very… good team I guess. We have our act together, so just act like us!"
Schuldich stared at the girl, an incredulous look on his face. Finally he narrowed his eyes, staring straight at her, his usual smirk replaced with a heavy frown. With enough bitterness in his voice to kill, he quickly snapped out, "There is only one person I follow orders from, and it's not your leader. I will not act like you or your little team because I am not part of your team; I am part of Brad's team, so don't forget it."
So perfect, so untouchable
Now you want me to be with you
"You will follow my orders because Esset has ordered it of you." A firm voice came from the doorway to the room, and Schuldich could only guess this was the leader, Kez. He didn't look all that dangerous, and Schuldich was sure that if he stood up face to face with Kez, he'd be a few inches taller. "I don't like this any more than you do," Kez continued, a look in his eyes that told Schuldich to stay silent, "but Esset ordered it, and thus, must be done."
"You obey Esset too well." Schuldich muttered, sitting up and rubbing his face with his hands. "One day you'll realize that there's more to life than following orders."
"That's exactly the type of attitude they want destroyed from you." Kez seemed angry, and Schuldich didn't blame him. He could take the wild guess that Kez had been trained at Rosenkreuz all his life, and that what Schuldich said was little less than treachery.
"Hey Kez, who's the noob?" A boy about seventeen stuck his head in the doorway, his red hair falling in front of his face so that he had to brush it aside.
"No one Martyr, he's not important." With that, Kez turned away from the door and walked back down the hall, leaving Martyr at the doorway and Alicia still in the room with Schuldich. Sighing loudly, Schuldich flopped onto his back on the bed, covering his face with his hands again.
Do you remember now
You acted like you never noticed me
"So what is your name?" Martyr was standing next to Alicia now, and Schuldich moved one hand away so that he was staring at him with only one eye. Martyr was incredibly childish looking, with his red hair falling around his face in every direction. Glancing over to Alicia, he studied her for a few moments. Her hair was a natural looking blond, pulled back into a tight ponytail that fell to about her waist.
Finally Schuldich turned back to Martyr, who was waiting patiently for a response. Schuldich was dying to know how good of a telepath the kid was at such a young age, but he didn't have the strength to test him out just yet. Soon though, he would test his theory that he could break the kid's shields. "My name is Schuldich." He stated finally, staring at the ceiling. "I'm a telepath, I don't belong to your team, and I won't pretend to." Schuldich paused, a random thought floating through his head. "Where the hell am I?"
"You're at our penthouse, of course!" Martyr chimed cheerfully. Schuldich stared at him for a moment, trying to keep his face as neutral as possible. He knew he was failing, but he was trying. How could the kid be so… innocent? Even Nagi didn't act like this…
Nagi. What the hell had happened to Nagi and Farfarello? And Brad too, for that matter. Where was his team? Sitting up quickly, Schuldich stared at the other two before finally voicing his question. "Where the hell is the rest of my team?"
"We're right here, we are your team!" Martyr tilted his head to the side, and Schuldich had had enough.
He quickly reached out and grabbed Martyr by the collar of his shirt, their faces mere centimeters away. Alicia let out a small scream of shock, but Martyr kept smiling like nothing was wrong. "This isn't my team." Schuldich spat at the boy, feeling his body tense. "How dare you even suggest such an absurd thing? Now where the hell is my team before I tear your mind to pieces looking for the answer?"
"I don't think you really want to do that." Kez's voice came from the doorway, a perturbed look on his face as he watched Schuldich with cold eyes. "You might be in denial of us being your team, but I'm not. Martyr is part of my team, just as you are, and I suggest you not harm him."
"Then tell me where my real team is, because you all sure as hell aren't them!" Schuldich's grip didn't loosen on Martyr, if anything, it tightened. Kez seemed to be noticing.
"You couldn't tear Martyr's mind to shreds if you wanted to. You forget he too is a telepath." Kez's voice was neutral, no doubt in them at all. A smirk curved Schuldich's mouth as he turned his attention back to Martyr. He spoke staring at the smiling boy's eyes. "I could do it. I could do it, and never feel a thing of regret about it. Because," he turned back to Kez again, "I'm not the one in denial. I'm not one of you, and never will be."
Cause the gone has come around
You're not allowed to be a part of me
"You couldn't do it if you wanted to. Esset overrates Schwarz's use." The anger is Kez's voice was like venom, but Schuldich didn't care. He knew he could shred the kid's mind in a heartbeat and not care a thing about it.
"I bet you my freedom from this team that I could do it." Schuldich didn't bother looking at Kez; he wanted to see Martyr's reaction to his words. Unfortunately it wasn't his words that made Martyr pale, but Kez's.
"If you're so sure of yourself, then prove it. But no matter what you do, a part of you will regret it if you really can."
Part of me
Part of me
Schuldich didn't waste any time. As thought, breaking through the boy's shields was easy. They basically shattered at the merest pressure. Obviously no one else in this household had ever attempted to get past the telepath's shields. He could feel Martyr fighting him back, and he fought him off fairly well.
"Kez, what the hell do you think you're doing?" The voice wasn't familiar, so Schuldich guessed it was Lok. Somewhere in the back of his mind, or maybe it was in Martyr's mind, he registered that Lok and Martyr were lovers, and Lok was not happy about his lover's current state of mind. Or therefore lack of one.
Quickly phasing anything else in the room out, Schuldich was barely aware of the argument going on between clairvoyant and telekinetic. Just knowing Kez had the same power as Nagi made Schuldich work harder at his task. It was apparent to him from the start that he could do this, although the kid was putting up a better fight.
"You'll never…" Schuldich was barely aware that Martyr was still awake, let alone speaking. "You'll never get inside my mind…"
You're never going to be a part of me
You're never going to be a part of me
You're never going to be a part of me
You're never going to be a part of me
You're never going to be a part of me
Schuldich knew the moment Martyr finally slipping in unconsciousness because his mind opened like a rusted door finally breaking free. Memories and emotions flooded through his mind, and Schuldich learned more about Martyr then he had meant to. He had wanted to break the kid, but the kid was already broken, already insane, lost to the place where even Farfarello hadn't quite made it to. And somehow, Lok still loved this boy.
And suddenly, the only thing Schuldich could think about was Brad.
You acted like you never noticed me
Forget it
Letting go of the unconscious boy's body, Schuldich turned to Kez, not bothering to show his hate. Kez actually looked surprised, and Lok looked about ready to kill Schuldich, which he probably was. Reaching out slowly, Kez laid a hand on Lok's shoulder, attempting to calm the tension running through his body.
"What did you do?" Kez's voice was calm, quiet. He was scared, and for that, Schuldich smirked.
"I did what I said I would do. I didn't break him though, because he was already broken. But I got inside." The smirk never faded as Schuldich watched Lok's face change expressions from anger to confusion and then back to an intense hatred. "The deal was made; I can go free from here."
"Not until you…" Kez trailed off, searching for the right word, "until you fix him." Schuldich grinned at the wording of the sentence, and of the meaning.
"He was already broken; I just went in, made myself at home amongst his memories, and then knocked him out. He'll be fine once he wakes up."
"You swear it?" It was Lok's turn to speak up now, the tension still running through his body like a thin line.
"For you, I swear it." And for some reason Schuldich couldn't understand, Lok nodded. He was really taking his word for it, which was good, since it was the truth.
"Then you're free to go, but we cannot inform you of where you teammates are. For that, I am not sorry." The coldness in Kez's voice matched his solemn expression perfectly.
"That's fine." Schuldich walked past Kez out into the hall, before turning back to face Lok. "It must really suck kid, to have a lover you can't touch." Lok looked surprised, and if he was, then it didn't matter, because Schuldich had already turned and found his way out of their penthouse into the cool night.
You're not allowed to be a part of me
Stretching his arms out, Schuldich smirked to himself. He had won his own freedom. Brad would have been proud. Speaking of the devil…
"If I were Brad, where would I be…?" Shrugging, Schuldich decided to just go where he felt like. He'd run into him, and the rest of Schwarz, eventually.
Part of me
Part of me
END PART I
Notes: My views on clairvoyance differ from most people's view. The way I see it, clairvoyance is the power to see the past by touching someone or something of someone's, where as precognition is the power to see the future, usually randomly and not called upon. Thus explaining why it would make Lok and Martyr's relationship a difficult one. Not that you cared…
PS. I just realized how long this was. DAMN I needed a break from Fade to Black…