Present day
It was supposedly a spring evening, but it was still damn cold to be huddling in a fucking alley across the street from the Koneko. The brick walls were cold to the touch, and sometimes it seemed that that chill was the only thing able to stop the world from drifting in and out of focus the way it did whenever he tried to move.
Schuldig was cold. He had tried several times to pull his sodden jacket closer around himself, but his fingers refused to grasp the fabric. Hell, even smoking was out of the question since he wasn't even able to pull the cigarette pack out of his pocket.
He knew he had to hurry. All day, he'd been hiding behind a dumpster, too tired and cold to move much, and too scared to use his mental powers more than absolutely necessary in case they were on his trail already. It was probably a bit early to worry about such things, but he had no idea how long that bastard pre-cog had known about his "impending treachery," so in theory, nothing was impossible. For all he knew, they could be looking for him this very moment.
By
now, the flower shop was only minutes from closing, and, unless he
moved soon, so was Schuldig. A very careful mental scan of the place
made him hiss in annoyance. Fuck.
Just my damn luck, Schuldig thought sourly to himself as he hauled his unwilling body up from the ground, grimacing with pain. But it would have to do. The crowds were thinning out, so he quickly made his wobbly way across the street, warily shielding his swollen face with his hair as best as he could. He reached the door, resisting the strong urge to look over his shoulder as he slid inside the shop, rapidly slamming the door shut again. The bell above his head jangled cheerfully, making Schuldig want to shoot it.
Tsukiyono had his back to him, obviously working with something on a table, his fair head bent deeply over the task. As he heard the door open, he started to turn, the polite and slightly exasperated phrase of greeting dying quickly on his lips.
"Welcome to the Kit – you! What are you doing here?"
The young assassin quickly backed away from the table, a pair of shears held out in front of him in warning and panicked defence. Schuldig grinned darkly at him.
"Drop the deadly weapon, Tsukiyono. I'm not here to fight you," he grunted.
"Why should I believe you?"
The kid's eyes were as angry and frightened as his voice, and he kept looking around the shop, as if looking for some kind of weapon or one of his team mates. Or both.
"Because if I had, you'd already be… dead, so chill. I'm looking for… Fujimiya."
Schuldig spoke with an effort now; the heat and smells of the shop making breathing even harder than it had been. He coughed cautiously, trying very hard not to wince.
"Aya? What do you want with him?"
Suspicious blue eyes seemed to try and nail him to the door, and the German didn't even have to look at the kid's mind to know that he was puzzled by his behaviour.
"That's between him and me, kiddo. Just bring him, will you?"
Not very eloquent, perhaps, but his tongue had started feeling very dry and thick, making it hard to articulate. He just wanted to hurry.
"You bastard. Do you really think I'd leave him alone with you? Don't take me for an idiot, Schuldig, I'm warning you."
The angry snarl was turned into a nervous yelp as Schuldig, dizzy and desperate, growled and tried to move forward, but the redhead never got as far as to touching the kid. As soon as he moved, the pain spread through his chest like petals of a flower opening up to the sun.
He saw more than felt himself crashing to the floor, buckets and pots breaking and rolling away with a clattering noise. Schuldig cursed loudly as his knees hit the floor hard; that and shards piercing the skin of his palms adding to his hurts. He stayed very still for a long time, breathing fast and shallowly, before slowly straightening, noting with dismay that his arms were shaking.
Through the thick, fiery veil of hair covering his face, he could see a pair of thin, bare legs warily stepping closer. The kid was obviously feeling bolder now, with his enemy on his knees in front of him, splayed in a puddle of shards and water.
Coward, Schuldig thought sourly. His pants were wet and sticking to his legs.
"What's happened to you?"
The light voice was curious, suspicious. Schuldig raised his head with an effort and grinned bloodily at the kid.
"Let's call it… conflict of interest within the team, shall we?" he said tartly.
"Schwarz did this to you? Why?"
"Look here, kid, I don't have all the time in the world, so would you just get Fu…"
A hand connected with his face suddenly, making Schuldig gasp in surprise, his aching head reeling. Had the kid just slapped him?
"Fuck, you little bastard! What was that for?" he snarled, spitting blood on the floor, glaring.
"Where should I start?" Tsukiyono replied acidly, his arms angrily crossed over his chest. "Tell me why you want to see Aya."
"I told you, it's betw…"
Another slap hit him, momentarily blinding him, and he almost toppled over backwards but managed to grab the end of the table to steady himself, his bloody fingers slipping on the rough surface.
"I'm not going to leave you alone with him, you murderous bastard. Did you really think I would be that stupid?"
The kid was almost fuming now, and Schuldig was beginning to feel just a little bit worried. From all their earlier interactions, he'd had no idea that the little shit could be this fucking hard-nosed, and there was no way he could fight him in his current state. Hell, even Nagi could have wrestled him down easily right now. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea after all. But it was the only one he'd had.
"Dammit, kid," he gasped, "can't you see I'm in no bloody shape to hurt…"
"Omi? What was that noise… Schuldig?
A third voice cut in suddenly, and for once in his life, Schuldig could have wept with relief. Finally someone you could talk some sense into.
If only it didn't hurt so bloody much.
"Fujimiya," he grunted, trying to focus his gaze on the slowly advancing newcomer.
"Stay back, Aya! It's a trap," he heard Tsukiyono say angrily, and he tried shaking his head but found he could barely move it.
"Not… trap," he gasped, raising a shaky hand to grab the other man's shirt. He was vaguely aware of Tsukiyono moving to strike him again, but this time he was easily held back by a pale arm. Fujimiya didn't budge as Schuldig grabbed him weakly, pulling him closer.
"Fujimiya… your sister…" he whispered, closing his eyes against the loud roaring noise in his head. Fujimiya jerked and shifted position, and that alone was enough to topple the German over.
"What about her?" a dark voice demanded urgently, but Schuldig was already falling, his mind shutting down completely. For a moment, he was sure that the black in front of him meant he had fainted, until he realised it only meant his face was pressed against Fujimiya somehow.
And then he fainted.
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