Title: A Day in the Life of Schuldig
Author: WingedPanther73
Pairing(s)/Characters: Schuldig
Rating: PG
Summary: This is really an attempt to convey my vision of how Schuldig's telepathy works.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz, its names and characters belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiss, Marine Entertainment and Animate Film.
Beta Reader: Sybil Rowan
He strolled through the crowds, sampling each person he passed like a jaded connoisseur at a cheap Chinese buffet hoping for something that hadn't been ruined by the steam trays. Children had all the satisfaction of those little sugared donuts: sweet, but hardly filling, even after consuming twenty. Businessmen were presented with promise, but were actually stale and boring, like pepper beef that had sat for an hour. Even the working girls were dissatisfying, like the sludge at the bottom of the hot and sour soup.
Suddenly, he found a quality flavor: a girl who thought she was in love, like any other girl her age, but was actually experiencing the first blossoms of the real thing. It was like finding an order of Hunan Beef that had been shipped in from a real Chinese restaurant mysteriously appearing on the bar. He didn't question his fortune; he just savored it.
"You look quite happy, young lady."
The girl looked up, startled from her reverie, further startled by his shock of red hair. He savored every thought that washed through her startled brain. "Uh, yes, yes I am."
"Don't be bashful, you have the look of someone who has finally found love." She blushed prettily, but he was more interested in her racing thoughts. They instantly gave him a clear image of her newfound love. He was a handsome kid, athletic, yet caring.
"Yes, I think I have." She spoke with the uncertainty of someone who has always felt ignored, and doesn't really dare to hope for love. She was young to be so jaded. It would be fun to destroy her.
He didn't know why he took such delight in ruining people's lives. Rosenkreutz had called it his "defect", but all he knew was that he just couldn't resist destroying people, one word at a time.
"It's always a pleasure to hear about young love. What's he like?" The images that poured through her mind were intoxicating. She had yearned for his attention for two years, and now he had noticed her. It looked like it was a case where he had yearned for her as well, and finally screwed up the courage to ask her out.
Her eyes lit up, "He's great! Shinjin's sweet, and kind. I never knew he'd been watching me. Did you know he's on the science team as well as the soccer team?"
As a matter of fact, he had learned that a few moments ago. A smart, athletic, charming guy, who had never dated any girls until he asked out young... He probed deeper, digging up the information he wanted... Keiko. "I'm sorry, but I don't know him."
Embarrassment washed over her. "Of course, how silly of me." She was suddenly, acutely aware of the fact that she was talking to a complete stranger. She was seriously considering fleeing the strange man and getting lost in the crowd.
"I'm sorry. I'm obviously keeping you from getting to school. I won't keep you." The sense of relief that washed off her was delicious. What she couldn't know was that she was now tagged.
He strolled after her, three blocks behind and one over. He tracked her to school as only he could, reading every move she made, every intention with total clarity as he focused on her to the near exclusion of anyone around him.
Listening in on high school lessons was always painful. He hadn't made it past the seventh grade, and he'd never been on the college track. Who's dumb idea had it been to stick letters in math, anyway? At lunch he struck pay dirt. She met Shinjin for lunch, and he was able to tag the boy, as well.
Ah, true love, could anything be as sickening? Shinjin and Keiko were, indeed, the real deal. Fortunately for him, there was a simple weapon for striking against love: suspicion. Shinjin was popular. Pretty girls liked him. Cheerleaders liked him. Poor Keiko wouldn't stand a chance.
He intercepted Keiko after the date. "He's popular, isn't he?" The sound of his voice whispering in her ear made her jump.
"I, yes. Yes, he is."
"How long do you think he'll be satisfied with you?" The seed of doubt. It was such a small seed that anyone could plant it.
"He wouldn't do that to me." Defensiveness. Denial. It was so delicious.
"Do you think the cheerleading squad won't pursue him? They're athletic, you know. They're beautiful." Fear was winding its tendrils around her heart. Keiko didn't think she was pretty enough. Why had Shinjin taken an interest in her? The fear was delicious, flavored with the subtle tang of desperation.
"I know, but... he waited for me." Of course he did, because most boys are terrified of girls. The girls don't know that, though. Keiko didn't know that, not really.
"Of course he did. And then the rumors started, and he couldn't have that." It was true, of course. The whispers wondering if he was gay. He had, after all, refused the advances of the prettiest girls. Shinjin had been obsessed with Keiko for years. But she didn't know.
"What rumors?" She knew the rumors. She'd heard them. She'd known the possibilities, but when he asked her out, she'd wanted his words to be true.
"You're just his cover." His words struck home.
"No. No, he can't be." Terror was washing through her, as she began to believe she'd been tricked.
"He wishes you were a boy. He dreams of you taking him from behind." The lie struck home. She fled, weeping.
Schuldig smiled. He would sleep well that night.