Summary: Semi-alternate universe. What would have happened if Aya-
chan awoke while she was with Schreient? Would the sweet innocent girl be
turned against those that care most for her safety? Aya-chan also discovers
something about herself, but you have to read to find out.
A/N: Ok, fair WARNING, there is a lot of jumping around between groups. And I also want to say that Ken is my fav character, but I've read so many fics where he screws up that I now have that image of him, so please don't flame me for that! :o)
Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Weiss Kreuz, that's why I'm writing fanfic and not just working on another season. *Sarcasm for the lawyerly types* Sure. Please R&R.
Episode 1: Deceit
It was cold. It had been so cold for so long. Aya had been searching for what seemed like lifetimes for a way out of the mist. She was sick of the fog, the emptiness, the grey nothingness that was ever lingering. She wanted to be back with her beloved Ran-niichan. Was it so much to ask? It seemed so. The grey was unforgiving and unrelenting. She felt as if it would never let her escape back into a world of color. Sometimes, in her darkest moments, it felt as if there was no other world at all, that everything bright and loving had been just a beautiful dream, one she had awoken from. All that was real, all that was ever real, was the mist. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, how long do you think we can keep Schwarz at bay before they come to take what they want?" The blonde assassin asked. She touched the scars on her cheek and sighed. "Or before those little brats come to take her back?" She glanced at the woman behind her in the mirror. Hell had not been the same since that night, and the blonde feared she never would.
"Who knows, Shoen. I hope the brats come first. I want to pay them back for killing Neu. They killed her, and I want them to pay." The other woman wiped away a smudge on her glasses, catching the light in the lens. Hell looked down at the girl sitting on the floor and stroked her blue hair.
"They killed Tot's daddy too." The little girl said. She clutched her stuffed bunny to her. "Tot doesn't like them."
"None of us do Tot." Shoen replied. The team, once of four, now only three, glanced over at the sleeping figure in the corner.
"They care for her. They'll come." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile Crawford was absently looking at his computer, hoping that some sort of inspiration would strike him.
"Hello Bradley." Schuldig bellowed as he strolled into the apartment. Brad flinched slightly. He had just been on to something, then that loud mouth had to come in. He had known it would happen, of course, but it didn't make it any less irritating.
"I see you are hard at work. Looking up anything fun?" Schuldig leaned over the older man's shoulder and glanced at the blank screen. A small smile crossed Brad Crawford's face for only a moment, before retreating. "Aw, Bradley. I expected so much more." Crawford pushed the orange strands out of his face, delighting in the softness of his colleague's hair.
"Just having an off day Schuldig." He said softly. Crawford pushed the younger man away and went into his room, knowing Schuldig would follow. The orange haired German tried to get his foot in the door before Crawford closed it, but he was too late. Brad locked the door. He stood against the stable wooden frame, eyes closed.
"Brad I was just joking around! Come on, open the door!" Brad shook his head slightly. "Fine, be that way." Schuldig stalked over to the other side of their apartment and into Nagi's room, hoping the boy would be a little more friendly.
Crawford listened to him leave, knowing he had offended the German. It was a damn good thing that Schuldig could not read his mind. As he turned to get a cup of coffee, he caught his reflection in the mirror.
"What are you doing Brad? No emotions, remember?" He asked himself. The reflection stared blankly back at him. "Yeah, like you know." The man took off his glasses and rubbed his sore, golden eyes. How long had it been since he had slept the whole night through? Crawford placed his glasses on the night stand by his bed. He slumped down onto the mattress, covering his head with the pillow. Talking to Nagi was the last thing he wanted to do right then.
Nagi, however, had different ideas. He had a feeling that their leader was having a no good, very bad day, by Schuldig's sour expression, and he wanted to make sure Crawford would be all right for the mission they had later. Nagi turned the key on the other side of the door with a slight squinting of his eyes, and couldn't help but smile when the lock clicked open. The youngest member of the small group opened the door, and sighed.
Everything perfectly in place, as usual. Nothing in the room ever seemed to move, let alone change. No dirty clothes, the bed was always made. Nagi wondered if Crawford even slept under the covers. The young boy was sure that even with his telekinesis he wouldn't be able to move any of the furniture, they were so embedded to their places.
"Not in the mood Nagi." Crawford's muffled voice came through the pillow just barely. He sounded exhausted.
"Wow, the great Crawford is actually somewhat human. It's a good thing to know." Nagi sat gently on the end of the bed, trying not to smile at his...his... what was Crawford to him? Was he merely a leader? Was he a friend? A father?
"I am not human, I am an assassin, nothing more, nothing less." Crawford sat up, and for the first time Nagi saw his black hair in disarray. Crawford glanced at himself in the mirror and scowled. He pulled a comb out of his side drawer and meticulously fixed his hair. Nagi smiled at him, despite warnings not to do so. Emotion made you weak, friends made you weaker.
"You take as long as you need Brad. Just be ready by 6:00 P.M.. We have a mission. It seems as though the ladies may have something we want. Something that will get to the others." Nagi dared to put a hand on the other man's shoulder and smiled. Crawford's weary eyes glanced up at the young boy in confusion and anger. Nagi should have known better. And calling him Brad was well over the line. The boy cleared his throat and left Brad to his thoughts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Aya-san. Please clam down." Omi glanced up at the redheaded boy. He pushed his sandy brown bangs out of his blue eyes. "We're going to save her."
"She shouldn't need to be saved Omi. She should have been safe! But no, everything I touch, everyone I care for gets ruined, or hurt, or killed!" Aya replied. He lovingly touched the lone gold earring he always wore. He was letting his emotions get to him damn it. Damn it. 'Whatever you do Ran, you. Will. Not. Cry.' He thought to himself as he paced around the room just below the flower shop. Working in the small shop had brought him no comfort today. Every smell, every joyful color reminded him of his sister's smile, or her eyes, even her laugh.
Ken watched in mild amazement. He had seen Aya angry before, but never this angry. Not even when it came to Takatori.
"Aya. I promise you. We'll find her." Yoji flicked the butt of his cigarette into the corner. He placed a loving hand on Aya's shoulder, and smiled. "I promise you." Aya looked into the pair of deep green eyes and relaxed a little. The older man was always so damn calm.
Ken and Omi glanced at each other. They couldn't help but smile. 'When will they admit it?' Ken wondered. He and Omi had taken bets on how long it would take them to realize, and so far he was winning.
"So, let's start looking." Ken smiled. Omi looked up from his chair and smiled back. The youngest, and smartest, member of Weiss skipped over to his computer and began working.
"Aya, go get some sleep while Omi does his thing. Aya-chan is going to need you rested." Yoji pushed the protesting, but shattered redhead up the stairs.
"So, still think it will take them another two weeks?" Ken asked. The blonde turned from the computer screen. He smiled up at the other boy and shrugged. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brad jumped up, just catching himself before he toppled off the king- sized bed. He re-buttoned his white shirt and put on his glasses. Opening the door Crawford ducked. One of the crystal vases they owned crashed into the door just where his head had been.
"Farfarello, must you really break the crystal ones?" He asked. The silver haired man looked at him with a lone crazed eye and smiled. Crawford shook his head and picked up a thermos. Glancing over at the stove top, the tea kettle began to whistle. Schuldig pulled out two more thermoses.
"Let's go. We'll be late if we don't go now." Crawford poured his tea and fixed some for the two saner members of his group, even though he knew Nagi was no longer in the apartment.
"And remember what I told you." His glasses caught the light in a menacing glare as he turned his attention mainly to Farefey, but he also managed to catch Schuldig in the glare. He knew all to well what those two could do to a young, confused girl, and he wouldn't have it.
"Hey, where's Nagi-kins?" Schuldig asked, not seeing the small boy.
"He's beaten us there. Don't worry about him." Crawford replied. He ushered the other boys out of the apartment and twisted the key in the lock three times, just to make sure. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hell glanced out her window and sighed. It was still raining. She felt like it had been raining forever.
"Why did they take Neu away?" Tot asked. Hell couldn't help but smile. She felt like this little girl was her own daughter. All of them were, but especially Tot. There were some days she wondered if she should have brought such an innocent girl into this work, but those feelings came and went with the depression. There were days when she wondered if any of them should still be in this work, especially after Neu. Hell had never expected one of her own to die.
"Because they are evil, and don't understand us." She replied. She stroked the child's blue hair and smiled. "You come get me if she wakes up, kay?" Tot looked up at her with wide blue eyes and nodded.
Hell smiled and walked out of the room. She had that weird feeling that someone was coming for her.
Tot walked over to the girl sleeping in the bed. "Hello. When you wake up will you be Tot's new sister? They took Tot's old sister away. I think Tot would like you, if you wake up." Tot smiled at the girl and put her bunny under Aya's arm. "Bunny keep Aya safe."
Suddenly the third story window blew open. Tot screamed out against the wind. Hell ran up the stairs, calling out to the girl. When she reached the door it was locked, and something was holding it back.
Tot opened her baby blue eyes and saw Nagi standing in front of her, holding wild flowers. The boy had somehow managed to stay dry, even though he didn't have an umbrella.
"Oh, pretty!" She cried. Nagi handed them to her, placing one in her hair. Tot smiled up at the boy.
"I don't want you to get hurt. Promise me you'll be careful. I can't protect you from them." Nagi looked away from the girl he loved, trying not to cry. He had come across Crawford's notes on the computer. He knew what his mission was, but he wouldn't, couldn't kill her. Anyone but her. Nagi was brought out of his morbid thoughts as he felt a pair of lips brush against his cheek.
"Tot loves them." Tot said with a giggle. Nagi bowed before her, taking her hand. He kissed it softly. His eyes met with hers, and they lost themselves inside the gaze.
A small groaning sound brought them back. Tot glanced over at the bed and noticed Aya stir. "Aya wake up! Hell! Hell, Aya wake up!" Tot cried out happily, running to the door. Nagi looked down at the girl on the bed and sighed. What would they do with her? He released his hold on the door so Tot could get out.
Nagi crept into the shadows and watched. Tot came bouncing back into the room, with the other two remaining members of Schreient in her wake. She ran up to the bed, her blue pig tails swinging to and fro.
Aya-chan's eyes fluttered open. "Where?" The young girl stopped and cleared her throat. She felt weak. It was hard to push herself up on her elbows. "Where am I?" She asked. The colors of the dark room seemed so bright to her.
"You are with Tot! Tot watch over you while you sleep. Tot give you bunny to keep you safe." The young girl said with a smile. Aya, more confused than she had ever felt, couldn't help but smile at the cute girl before her. Every sound was magnified.
"Where's Ran?" She asked. Even the sound of her own voice was strange to her. Aya opened her fist and noticed the single earring inside. A sudden wave of sadness crashed over her, taking her breath away. "Did he live through the explosion? How long has it been? What happened to me? Where's my brother?!" Aya felt ever more frantic as time passed. "Why aren't I in a hospital?"
"Hush Aya dear." Hell said, charming smile gracing her usually sharp features. "Yes, he lived through the explosions. It has been two years. You were in a coma, and you are with friends." Hell took the young girl's hand. She stroked Aya's cheek.
"Then where is he?" Aya asked. She slid her hand from the woman's. She didn't recognize this person, any of these people. The lone gold earring was the only comfort to her, the only thing that held any importance to her. Something felt right when she slid it into her right ear.
"Your dear brother is dead, my girl. I'm terribly sorry." The small group of people in the room, including poor forgotten Nagi in the corner, looked up at the owner of the new voice.
"Who... who are you?"
"My name is Brad Crawford. I was, at least I hope he considered me, a friend of your brother's. Please dear Aya, get some sleep. I promise to answer all of your questions when you are feeling up to it." Crawford walked over to the young girl and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Aya looked up at the man, another unfamiliar face, and sighed. She turned away from them, all the people she didn't know, and curled into a ball. For the first time in what felt like years the greyness was not there when her eyes closed. She dreamed in color, of better times with her brother.
Crawford took Hell's hand and led her outside. "I need to talk with you. Nagi, will you please stay with the girl." Brad smiled at the boy. It was cold and heartless, that smile, and Nagi had to use all of his power not to shiver. He nodded at the raven haired man and sat down beside the girl. Why had Brad just lied? He knew quite well that her brother was alive, and they certainly were not friends.
"I have an idea. We don't get along, I know that, but you know that saying, an enemy of my enemy is my friend? Well I believe it applies here." He took a sip of his tea, his cold smile transforming into the one he used for negotiations.
"So, what do you want?" Hell asked. Shoen sat across from Schuldig. The German gave her a winning smile, and she shuddered.
"You hate Weiss, as do we, so I think we should hurt them in the worst way possible. With her." Hell looked up at the man and smiled.
"Please, continue."
Crawford and Schuldig glanced at each other. Both had the same evil smile playing on their features. Farfarello sat in the corner. His cruel smile on his face.
"It hurts God to have siblings fight." He whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aya woke up and glanced around the dark room. He growled and threw his pillow against the wall.
"I hate waiting!" The man screamed out. Yoji ran into the room when he heard his friend cry out.
"What's wrong?" He asked, out of breath from his sprint upstairs.
"Has Omi found anything yet?" Aya asked. His violet eyes scanned the messy floor for a second until they landed upon a red shirt. He pulled it over his head and ran a hand through his hair.
"No, but he will. She's their trump card, they won't do anything to her."
"This is so stupid! I can't just wait here. I'm going to go look for her." Aya slipped on his shoes and pushed past Yoji. The brunette grabbed at his hand and sighed.
"Aya. Ran. I know this is hard. But I'm here for you. You need to trust us. Trust me." Aya was pulled into a hug by the older man. He melted into the strong arms. He felt warm and safe, secure in those arms. So secure in fact that for the first time in years he broke down, and cried. Yoji held him tight and let the red head weep. The older man kissed the top of Aya's hair gently.
"Yoji?"
"Hm?"
"How do you know?" He asked. Yoji chuckled and pulled Aya from him. Leaning down he gently kissed away a tear.
"I'm just that good." He replied. The red head looked up at him in astonishment and smiled. Yoji ruffled his hair, running his hand down Aya's pale cheek.
"I have faith in you, and the love you have for your sister. That's enough." He said as he walked out of the room. Aya watched the fleeting figure, more confused than before. He shrugged it off, happy and sad at the same time. The warm water felt good on his face, washing away any last remnants of his breakdown. Only Yoji knew that he had been crying.
"Have a nice rest?" Ken asked, looking up at Aya from his comfortable seat on the couch. He was flipping through a soccer magazine.
"Hn."
"Well, we haven't found a thing, but don't worry Aya, Ken got coffee. Lots and lots of coffee." Omi said, not even looking up from the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aya woke up and sighed. She had wished that it was all just a bad dream. How could Ran be dead? Her brother was too stubborn to die.
"Awake I see." Nagi said with a smile. Aya nodded. She felt a little stronger now, more alive.
"Did you know Ran?"
" No, I didn't. All I know is that he loved you very much. He would, and did, do anything for you." Nagi replied. Aya smiled at him. He didn't scare her, not like the one with the glasses scared her. There was something, not right, about that man. And there was something definitely not right about the man standing behind him when he re-entered the room.
"I see you are awake." Crawford smiled at her. She nodded, pulling down her blue braids. "Fareferello also worked with Ran, as did Schuldig. Would you like to know what happened?" Aya nodded, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the one, Farfarello. Nagi took her hand and smiled. Schuldig did everything he could to contain his laughter. She was so frightened. He loved the taste of fear.
"Ran couldn't pay your hospital bills after the accident, not after how your family lost everything and all of your parents' savings were taken due to the accident. He had to find some way to keep you safe, so our organization made him an offer. He took it."
"What organization?" Aya asked.
"We're a group of," Crawford took in a troubled, shaking breath, "assassins, dear Aya." Aya looked at the four men in front of her, confused. Somewhere inside of her she knew that they were telling her the truth. Nagi smiled at her again. Her eyes fell on the man behind Crawford. He had scars all over his face, and one amber eye.
"We were on a mission to take out this low life. No one could bring him down, not legally anyway. His name was Reiji Takatori. He was the man that killed your parents." Crawford took another long, trembling breath. He smiled and shook his head. "I always thought he would be here when you woke up."
Schuldig pushed a strand of orange hair out of his eyes. "Ran lost it. He made stupid mistakes, and after killing Takatori he himself was shot. We couldn't get him off of the roof of the burning building and back to our place, he was fading too fast."
"Ran was my most trusted ally. I begged him to stay with me, but it was just too hard." Crawford picked up a tissue and dabbed at his golden eyes. Aya gripped Nagi's hand. She was trembling, trying to hold back the oncoming tears. Nagi put an arm around her shoulder and whispered, "It's ok to cry."
"With his dying words he pleaded with me to take care of you, to be here for you when you woke up. And I swore I would. And those... bastards...! I'm... sorry... Aya dear." Crawford choked out sobs of pain. He turned to Schuldig and motioned for the German to continue.
"Nagi came in soon after. He couldn't take Ran's place, but we love him all the same." Schuldig shot the boy a loving smile. Nagi smiled back through the hurt. They didn't really care about him. When did he finally discover that he needed people to care about him? It had never been an issue before. He didn't care that they were using him, he was using them. When did he start longing for what those other assassins have? When did he want a family?
"On our next mission we came across those...I'll restrain myself for you Aya-chan, those people who shot Ran. They were a rival group of assassins working for Takatori called Weiss. We noticed they had a new member. He had blood red hair and violet eyes. He called himself Aya, but he was just trying to impersonate Ran. He had his sword. His same fighting style. They really did their homework on him, or..." Schuldig turned to Crawford, "Brad I still think... I mean he did know everything, every damn little detail."
"No Schu. Ran would never forget us, or his sister. That man is an imposter. Their people are good, they could have found out any of that information." Crawford replied. He blew his nose and looked up at Aya, her eyes wet with tears.
"Oh, my darling." He whispered, wiping them away. "I promise I'll take care of you." He stroked her cheek and stood. "You know everything. If you want to leave, I won't blame you. I'll drop you off at the airport with as much money as we can spare and let you go on your way, or you could stay, and help us avenge your brother's death."
Aya looked at the boys again, trying to figure them out. Something didn't fit, some part of the story. Except Nagi. Nagi fit. The boy wiped a tear from Aya's cheek and gave her a hug. He loved Tot with all his heart, but Aya would be his friend. Someone he could confide in, be friends with. If Crawford was going though all of this trouble, he would not kill her. He would keep up this charade, he needed her. She still had feelings, emotions, the capacity for love.
"How?" She whispered, her voice cracking. Nagi pushed her bangs out of her eyes and smiled.
"They also killed one of the girls here. They need someone to help them, take her place. Hell is an excellent teacher, and you wouldn't come out until you were ready to avenge him. You would be spectacular, but what am I saying, no you can't. I don't want to bring you into this Aya-chan. Your perfect, clean hands don't need to be soiled by blood." Crawford took her hands and kissed them. Aya leaned her tired head against Nagi's shoulder. Become an assassin? Ran would never want that for her, but he wouldn't have wanted any of this for her.
"We know that Ran would have never wanted you to do this." Schuldig smiled. "But there are a lot of things that he wouldn't have wanted." Aya glanced up at the man with orange hair. It was like he had read her thoughts.
"Think about it." Crawford smiled.
"I don't have to." Aya replied. She sat up straight, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I want revenge and I'll do anything to get it. Anything."
"So much like your brother." Schuldig whispered.
A/N: Hahahahahahahahaha! Anyhow! How did you like it? I know nothing has really happened yet, but it will I swear read the next chapter when it comes up! Much angst in the works!! Please review.
A/N: Ok, fair WARNING, there is a lot of jumping around between groups. And I also want to say that Ken is my fav character, but I've read so many fics where he screws up that I now have that image of him, so please don't flame me for that! :o)
Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Weiss Kreuz, that's why I'm writing fanfic and not just working on another season. *Sarcasm for the lawyerly types* Sure. Please R&R.
Episode 1: Deceit
It was cold. It had been so cold for so long. Aya had been searching for what seemed like lifetimes for a way out of the mist. She was sick of the fog, the emptiness, the grey nothingness that was ever lingering. She wanted to be back with her beloved Ran-niichan. Was it so much to ask? It seemed so. The grey was unforgiving and unrelenting. She felt as if it would never let her escape back into a world of color. Sometimes, in her darkest moments, it felt as if there was no other world at all, that everything bright and loving had been just a beautiful dream, one she had awoken from. All that was real, all that was ever real, was the mist. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, how long do you think we can keep Schwarz at bay before they come to take what they want?" The blonde assassin asked. She touched the scars on her cheek and sighed. "Or before those little brats come to take her back?" She glanced at the woman behind her in the mirror. Hell had not been the same since that night, and the blonde feared she never would.
"Who knows, Shoen. I hope the brats come first. I want to pay them back for killing Neu. They killed her, and I want them to pay." The other woman wiped away a smudge on her glasses, catching the light in the lens. Hell looked down at the girl sitting on the floor and stroked her blue hair.
"They killed Tot's daddy too." The little girl said. She clutched her stuffed bunny to her. "Tot doesn't like them."
"None of us do Tot." Shoen replied. The team, once of four, now only three, glanced over at the sleeping figure in the corner.
"They care for her. They'll come." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile Crawford was absently looking at his computer, hoping that some sort of inspiration would strike him.
"Hello Bradley." Schuldig bellowed as he strolled into the apartment. Brad flinched slightly. He had just been on to something, then that loud mouth had to come in. He had known it would happen, of course, but it didn't make it any less irritating.
"I see you are hard at work. Looking up anything fun?" Schuldig leaned over the older man's shoulder and glanced at the blank screen. A small smile crossed Brad Crawford's face for only a moment, before retreating. "Aw, Bradley. I expected so much more." Crawford pushed the orange strands out of his face, delighting in the softness of his colleague's hair.
"Just having an off day Schuldig." He said softly. Crawford pushed the younger man away and went into his room, knowing Schuldig would follow. The orange haired German tried to get his foot in the door before Crawford closed it, but he was too late. Brad locked the door. He stood against the stable wooden frame, eyes closed.
"Brad I was just joking around! Come on, open the door!" Brad shook his head slightly. "Fine, be that way." Schuldig stalked over to the other side of their apartment and into Nagi's room, hoping the boy would be a little more friendly.
Crawford listened to him leave, knowing he had offended the German. It was a damn good thing that Schuldig could not read his mind. As he turned to get a cup of coffee, he caught his reflection in the mirror.
"What are you doing Brad? No emotions, remember?" He asked himself. The reflection stared blankly back at him. "Yeah, like you know." The man took off his glasses and rubbed his sore, golden eyes. How long had it been since he had slept the whole night through? Crawford placed his glasses on the night stand by his bed. He slumped down onto the mattress, covering his head with the pillow. Talking to Nagi was the last thing he wanted to do right then.
Nagi, however, had different ideas. He had a feeling that their leader was having a no good, very bad day, by Schuldig's sour expression, and he wanted to make sure Crawford would be all right for the mission they had later. Nagi turned the key on the other side of the door with a slight squinting of his eyes, and couldn't help but smile when the lock clicked open. The youngest member of the small group opened the door, and sighed.
Everything perfectly in place, as usual. Nothing in the room ever seemed to move, let alone change. No dirty clothes, the bed was always made. Nagi wondered if Crawford even slept under the covers. The young boy was sure that even with his telekinesis he wouldn't be able to move any of the furniture, they were so embedded to their places.
"Not in the mood Nagi." Crawford's muffled voice came through the pillow just barely. He sounded exhausted.
"Wow, the great Crawford is actually somewhat human. It's a good thing to know." Nagi sat gently on the end of the bed, trying not to smile at his...his... what was Crawford to him? Was he merely a leader? Was he a friend? A father?
"I am not human, I am an assassin, nothing more, nothing less." Crawford sat up, and for the first time Nagi saw his black hair in disarray. Crawford glanced at himself in the mirror and scowled. He pulled a comb out of his side drawer and meticulously fixed his hair. Nagi smiled at him, despite warnings not to do so. Emotion made you weak, friends made you weaker.
"You take as long as you need Brad. Just be ready by 6:00 P.M.. We have a mission. It seems as though the ladies may have something we want. Something that will get to the others." Nagi dared to put a hand on the other man's shoulder and smiled. Crawford's weary eyes glanced up at the young boy in confusion and anger. Nagi should have known better. And calling him Brad was well over the line. The boy cleared his throat and left Brad to his thoughts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Aya-san. Please clam down." Omi glanced up at the redheaded boy. He pushed his sandy brown bangs out of his blue eyes. "We're going to save her."
"She shouldn't need to be saved Omi. She should have been safe! But no, everything I touch, everyone I care for gets ruined, or hurt, or killed!" Aya replied. He lovingly touched the lone gold earring he always wore. He was letting his emotions get to him damn it. Damn it. 'Whatever you do Ran, you. Will. Not. Cry.' He thought to himself as he paced around the room just below the flower shop. Working in the small shop had brought him no comfort today. Every smell, every joyful color reminded him of his sister's smile, or her eyes, even her laugh.
Ken watched in mild amazement. He had seen Aya angry before, but never this angry. Not even when it came to Takatori.
"Aya. I promise you. We'll find her." Yoji flicked the butt of his cigarette into the corner. He placed a loving hand on Aya's shoulder, and smiled. "I promise you." Aya looked into the pair of deep green eyes and relaxed a little. The older man was always so damn calm.
Ken and Omi glanced at each other. They couldn't help but smile. 'When will they admit it?' Ken wondered. He and Omi had taken bets on how long it would take them to realize, and so far he was winning.
"So, let's start looking." Ken smiled. Omi looked up from his chair and smiled back. The youngest, and smartest, member of Weiss skipped over to his computer and began working.
"Aya, go get some sleep while Omi does his thing. Aya-chan is going to need you rested." Yoji pushed the protesting, but shattered redhead up the stairs.
"So, still think it will take them another two weeks?" Ken asked. The blonde turned from the computer screen. He smiled up at the other boy and shrugged. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brad jumped up, just catching himself before he toppled off the king- sized bed. He re-buttoned his white shirt and put on his glasses. Opening the door Crawford ducked. One of the crystal vases they owned crashed into the door just where his head had been.
"Farfarello, must you really break the crystal ones?" He asked. The silver haired man looked at him with a lone crazed eye and smiled. Crawford shook his head and picked up a thermos. Glancing over at the stove top, the tea kettle began to whistle. Schuldig pulled out two more thermoses.
"Let's go. We'll be late if we don't go now." Crawford poured his tea and fixed some for the two saner members of his group, even though he knew Nagi was no longer in the apartment.
"And remember what I told you." His glasses caught the light in a menacing glare as he turned his attention mainly to Farefey, but he also managed to catch Schuldig in the glare. He knew all to well what those two could do to a young, confused girl, and he wouldn't have it.
"Hey, where's Nagi-kins?" Schuldig asked, not seeing the small boy.
"He's beaten us there. Don't worry about him." Crawford replied. He ushered the other boys out of the apartment and twisted the key in the lock three times, just to make sure. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hell glanced out her window and sighed. It was still raining. She felt like it had been raining forever.
"Why did they take Neu away?" Tot asked. Hell couldn't help but smile. She felt like this little girl was her own daughter. All of them were, but especially Tot. There were some days she wondered if she should have brought such an innocent girl into this work, but those feelings came and went with the depression. There were days when she wondered if any of them should still be in this work, especially after Neu. Hell had never expected one of her own to die.
"Because they are evil, and don't understand us." She replied. She stroked the child's blue hair and smiled. "You come get me if she wakes up, kay?" Tot looked up at her with wide blue eyes and nodded.
Hell smiled and walked out of the room. She had that weird feeling that someone was coming for her.
Tot walked over to the girl sleeping in the bed. "Hello. When you wake up will you be Tot's new sister? They took Tot's old sister away. I think Tot would like you, if you wake up." Tot smiled at the girl and put her bunny under Aya's arm. "Bunny keep Aya safe."
Suddenly the third story window blew open. Tot screamed out against the wind. Hell ran up the stairs, calling out to the girl. When she reached the door it was locked, and something was holding it back.
Tot opened her baby blue eyes and saw Nagi standing in front of her, holding wild flowers. The boy had somehow managed to stay dry, even though he didn't have an umbrella.
"Oh, pretty!" She cried. Nagi handed them to her, placing one in her hair. Tot smiled up at the boy.
"I don't want you to get hurt. Promise me you'll be careful. I can't protect you from them." Nagi looked away from the girl he loved, trying not to cry. He had come across Crawford's notes on the computer. He knew what his mission was, but he wouldn't, couldn't kill her. Anyone but her. Nagi was brought out of his morbid thoughts as he felt a pair of lips brush against his cheek.
"Tot loves them." Tot said with a giggle. Nagi bowed before her, taking her hand. He kissed it softly. His eyes met with hers, and they lost themselves inside the gaze.
A small groaning sound brought them back. Tot glanced over at the bed and noticed Aya stir. "Aya wake up! Hell! Hell, Aya wake up!" Tot cried out happily, running to the door. Nagi looked down at the girl on the bed and sighed. What would they do with her? He released his hold on the door so Tot could get out.
Nagi crept into the shadows and watched. Tot came bouncing back into the room, with the other two remaining members of Schreient in her wake. She ran up to the bed, her blue pig tails swinging to and fro.
Aya-chan's eyes fluttered open. "Where?" The young girl stopped and cleared her throat. She felt weak. It was hard to push herself up on her elbows. "Where am I?" She asked. The colors of the dark room seemed so bright to her.
"You are with Tot! Tot watch over you while you sleep. Tot give you bunny to keep you safe." The young girl said with a smile. Aya, more confused than she had ever felt, couldn't help but smile at the cute girl before her. Every sound was magnified.
"Where's Ran?" She asked. Even the sound of her own voice was strange to her. Aya opened her fist and noticed the single earring inside. A sudden wave of sadness crashed over her, taking her breath away. "Did he live through the explosion? How long has it been? What happened to me? Where's my brother?!" Aya felt ever more frantic as time passed. "Why aren't I in a hospital?"
"Hush Aya dear." Hell said, charming smile gracing her usually sharp features. "Yes, he lived through the explosions. It has been two years. You were in a coma, and you are with friends." Hell took the young girl's hand. She stroked Aya's cheek.
"Then where is he?" Aya asked. She slid her hand from the woman's. She didn't recognize this person, any of these people. The lone gold earring was the only comfort to her, the only thing that held any importance to her. Something felt right when she slid it into her right ear.
"Your dear brother is dead, my girl. I'm terribly sorry." The small group of people in the room, including poor forgotten Nagi in the corner, looked up at the owner of the new voice.
"Who... who are you?"
"My name is Brad Crawford. I was, at least I hope he considered me, a friend of your brother's. Please dear Aya, get some sleep. I promise to answer all of your questions when you are feeling up to it." Crawford walked over to the young girl and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Aya looked up at the man, another unfamiliar face, and sighed. She turned away from them, all the people she didn't know, and curled into a ball. For the first time in what felt like years the greyness was not there when her eyes closed. She dreamed in color, of better times with her brother.
Crawford took Hell's hand and led her outside. "I need to talk with you. Nagi, will you please stay with the girl." Brad smiled at the boy. It was cold and heartless, that smile, and Nagi had to use all of his power not to shiver. He nodded at the raven haired man and sat down beside the girl. Why had Brad just lied? He knew quite well that her brother was alive, and they certainly were not friends.
"I have an idea. We don't get along, I know that, but you know that saying, an enemy of my enemy is my friend? Well I believe it applies here." He took a sip of his tea, his cold smile transforming into the one he used for negotiations.
"So, what do you want?" Hell asked. Shoen sat across from Schuldig. The German gave her a winning smile, and she shuddered.
"You hate Weiss, as do we, so I think we should hurt them in the worst way possible. With her." Hell looked up at the man and smiled.
"Please, continue."
Crawford and Schuldig glanced at each other. Both had the same evil smile playing on their features. Farfarello sat in the corner. His cruel smile on his face.
"It hurts God to have siblings fight." He whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aya woke up and glanced around the dark room. He growled and threw his pillow against the wall.
"I hate waiting!" The man screamed out. Yoji ran into the room when he heard his friend cry out.
"What's wrong?" He asked, out of breath from his sprint upstairs.
"Has Omi found anything yet?" Aya asked. His violet eyes scanned the messy floor for a second until they landed upon a red shirt. He pulled it over his head and ran a hand through his hair.
"No, but he will. She's their trump card, they won't do anything to her."
"This is so stupid! I can't just wait here. I'm going to go look for her." Aya slipped on his shoes and pushed past Yoji. The brunette grabbed at his hand and sighed.
"Aya. Ran. I know this is hard. But I'm here for you. You need to trust us. Trust me." Aya was pulled into a hug by the older man. He melted into the strong arms. He felt warm and safe, secure in those arms. So secure in fact that for the first time in years he broke down, and cried. Yoji held him tight and let the red head weep. The older man kissed the top of Aya's hair gently.
"Yoji?"
"Hm?"
"How do you know?" He asked. Yoji chuckled and pulled Aya from him. Leaning down he gently kissed away a tear.
"I'm just that good." He replied. The red head looked up at him in astonishment and smiled. Yoji ruffled his hair, running his hand down Aya's pale cheek.
"I have faith in you, and the love you have for your sister. That's enough." He said as he walked out of the room. Aya watched the fleeting figure, more confused than before. He shrugged it off, happy and sad at the same time. The warm water felt good on his face, washing away any last remnants of his breakdown. Only Yoji knew that he had been crying.
"Have a nice rest?" Ken asked, looking up at Aya from his comfortable seat on the couch. He was flipping through a soccer magazine.
"Hn."
"Well, we haven't found a thing, but don't worry Aya, Ken got coffee. Lots and lots of coffee." Omi said, not even looking up from the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aya woke up and sighed. She had wished that it was all just a bad dream. How could Ran be dead? Her brother was too stubborn to die.
"Awake I see." Nagi said with a smile. Aya nodded. She felt a little stronger now, more alive.
"Did you know Ran?"
" No, I didn't. All I know is that he loved you very much. He would, and did, do anything for you." Nagi replied. Aya smiled at him. He didn't scare her, not like the one with the glasses scared her. There was something, not right, about that man. And there was something definitely not right about the man standing behind him when he re-entered the room.
"I see you are awake." Crawford smiled at her. She nodded, pulling down her blue braids. "Fareferello also worked with Ran, as did Schuldig. Would you like to know what happened?" Aya nodded, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the one, Farfarello. Nagi took her hand and smiled. Schuldig did everything he could to contain his laughter. She was so frightened. He loved the taste of fear.
"Ran couldn't pay your hospital bills after the accident, not after how your family lost everything and all of your parents' savings were taken due to the accident. He had to find some way to keep you safe, so our organization made him an offer. He took it."
"What organization?" Aya asked.
"We're a group of," Crawford took in a troubled, shaking breath, "assassins, dear Aya." Aya looked at the four men in front of her, confused. Somewhere inside of her she knew that they were telling her the truth. Nagi smiled at her again. Her eyes fell on the man behind Crawford. He had scars all over his face, and one amber eye.
"We were on a mission to take out this low life. No one could bring him down, not legally anyway. His name was Reiji Takatori. He was the man that killed your parents." Crawford took another long, trembling breath. He smiled and shook his head. "I always thought he would be here when you woke up."
Schuldig pushed a strand of orange hair out of his eyes. "Ran lost it. He made stupid mistakes, and after killing Takatori he himself was shot. We couldn't get him off of the roof of the burning building and back to our place, he was fading too fast."
"Ran was my most trusted ally. I begged him to stay with me, but it was just too hard." Crawford picked up a tissue and dabbed at his golden eyes. Aya gripped Nagi's hand. She was trembling, trying to hold back the oncoming tears. Nagi put an arm around her shoulder and whispered, "It's ok to cry."
"With his dying words he pleaded with me to take care of you, to be here for you when you woke up. And I swore I would. And those... bastards...! I'm... sorry... Aya dear." Crawford choked out sobs of pain. He turned to Schuldig and motioned for the German to continue.
"Nagi came in soon after. He couldn't take Ran's place, but we love him all the same." Schuldig shot the boy a loving smile. Nagi smiled back through the hurt. They didn't really care about him. When did he finally discover that he needed people to care about him? It had never been an issue before. He didn't care that they were using him, he was using them. When did he start longing for what those other assassins have? When did he want a family?
"On our next mission we came across those...I'll restrain myself for you Aya-chan, those people who shot Ran. They were a rival group of assassins working for Takatori called Weiss. We noticed they had a new member. He had blood red hair and violet eyes. He called himself Aya, but he was just trying to impersonate Ran. He had his sword. His same fighting style. They really did their homework on him, or..." Schuldig turned to Crawford, "Brad I still think... I mean he did know everything, every damn little detail."
"No Schu. Ran would never forget us, or his sister. That man is an imposter. Their people are good, they could have found out any of that information." Crawford replied. He blew his nose and looked up at Aya, her eyes wet with tears.
"Oh, my darling." He whispered, wiping them away. "I promise I'll take care of you." He stroked her cheek and stood. "You know everything. If you want to leave, I won't blame you. I'll drop you off at the airport with as much money as we can spare and let you go on your way, or you could stay, and help us avenge your brother's death."
Aya looked at the boys again, trying to figure them out. Something didn't fit, some part of the story. Except Nagi. Nagi fit. The boy wiped a tear from Aya's cheek and gave her a hug. He loved Tot with all his heart, but Aya would be his friend. Someone he could confide in, be friends with. If Crawford was going though all of this trouble, he would not kill her. He would keep up this charade, he needed her. She still had feelings, emotions, the capacity for love.
"How?" She whispered, her voice cracking. Nagi pushed her bangs out of her eyes and smiled.
"They also killed one of the girls here. They need someone to help them, take her place. Hell is an excellent teacher, and you wouldn't come out until you were ready to avenge him. You would be spectacular, but what am I saying, no you can't. I don't want to bring you into this Aya-chan. Your perfect, clean hands don't need to be soiled by blood." Crawford took her hands and kissed them. Aya leaned her tired head against Nagi's shoulder. Become an assassin? Ran would never want that for her, but he wouldn't have wanted any of this for her.
"We know that Ran would have never wanted you to do this." Schuldig smiled. "But there are a lot of things that he wouldn't have wanted." Aya glanced up at the man with orange hair. It was like he had read her thoughts.
"Think about it." Crawford smiled.
"I don't have to." Aya replied. She sat up straight, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I want revenge and I'll do anything to get it. Anything."
"So much like your brother." Schuldig whispered.
A/N: Hahahahahahahahaha! Anyhow! How did you like it? I know nothing has really happened yet, but it will I swear read the next chapter when it comes up! Much angst in the works!! Please review.