DISCLAIMERS: Schwarz © Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiß, Kyoko Tsuchiya, Bandai Music, Marine Entertainment and whatnots. No copyright infringement intended. This story is © 2000 Chibi Chiriko.
This story is dedicated to Miko-chan, who encouraged me to post something this weekend. ^.~ Maybe it's not the nice, juicy lemon you wanted, but I hope it suffices. ^_^;
Special thanks to Sam Sam, with whom I co-conspired what eventually blossomed into this story. I owe the original theme to her: check out her Schwarz HP here.
This fic is NON-YAOI, and there are no other discretion warnings, save for possible spoilers for the start of Episode 13 and the conclusion of the WK anime storyline.
ON THIS, THE YOUTH OF THE NIGHT
The night was young.
He smiled at the waxing beauty of the young night, delighting in the play of milky light against the silver-tinged leaves of the sleeping trees, refracting off the silent rooftops. The evening was warm in its youth, its silence peaceful and refreshing to his soul. Strange, for so many years ago, he'd grown accustomed to despising the silence and its wanton ways, hating the way it forced him to think about the Big Things in life, as it deprived him of the noise of hazy thoughts and screaming emotions. Back then, he had found the silence deafening.
Oh, but that was then, and this… this was now. Funny—back in those days of black glory, he used to think that what mattered most was neither yesterday nor today; it was tomorrow. He'd dedicated the most crucial part of his life to fighting for that tomorrow, selling his priceless soul for a chance to make his tomorrow what he wanted it to be. Thinking back, he knew in his heart that he didn't regret having made that decision, and that in fact, a part of him was grateful for having made it, but he couldn't help wondering what could have been if he'd known back then what he knew now: that he'd never had to give anything up for the tomorrow of his dreams, that the chance he'd sold himself for had been his by right the moment he'd been born, and that the only stepping stone or obstacle in his path toward the future his heart so yearned was himself.
One other thing he discovered: today was what mattered the most. Tomorrow might never even come, and his dreams were weighed squarely on the opportunities he decided to take up today. He could only lose so much time planning for the tomorrow that might have been lost forever—today was the only thing he had some control of, and as that realization burned itself into his soul, he knew, with some spark of dignified pride, that he'd grasped within his fingers the inkling of an answer to a mystery that took some people an entire lifetime to unravel.
He was pleased to be able to honestly admit to himself that he regretted nothing.
A little smile flickered in those perfect emerald depths, and his reflection on the smooth glass pane grinned back at him.
~*~*~*~
"Konbie, kiddies." [1]
A pair of wide-open, expressive bluish gray eyes stared back at him in greeting.
"Schu-jiichan has another tale to tell you tonight."
Anticipation sparkled in those large, innocent eyes, the expression in them so like that of their hopeful young parents.
"This time, I guarantee you'll like it. It's not gonna be about your parental units, it's gonna be about your beloved Schu-jiichan and Brad-jiichan."
His eyes flew briefly to the doorway, to make sure none of the others were listening.
He went on. "This is a true story that took place some twelve, thirteen years ago, when your Schu-jiichan, Brad-jiichan, Farfie-jiichan and Otouchan still called themselves Schwarz and worked for that monster of a prime minister Takatori Reiji. He's dead now, so you don't have to worry about running into him or any of his bratty sons, but in my tale for tonight, he's still alive, so deal with it for the time being.
"Takatori Reiji is the Supreme Bad Guy in this story. He's your typical dragon, with hair as white as the faces of the dead, and big, bloodshot eyes hiding their malicious intent beneath a pair of deceptive spectacles. He's an evil dragon, who breathes fire into every unpleasant word that comes out of his mouth, and inflicts injury with every tiny motion. He rides on the wings of the suffering of both the innocent and the guilty, using everyone who was stupid enough to fall under his reign for his own twisted purposes. Mind you, though, dearies, although Schwarz did work for him, we were never naïve enough to totally immerse ourselves in his sordid affairs.
"The Takatori dragon had several worthless fledglings, the only one of them who actually seemed almost halfway decent being Ouka, a pretty little thing who was completely unaware of what an abomination her Papa really was. The Takatori dragon loved this youngest fledgling of his, although I use the term love to describe his outward show of affection, and not what he really felt for her with his heart and soul. He may have loved her, he might have not, no one really knows, no one really wants to know, and that really isn't the theme of this story, so I'll save that discussion for another night.
"Now it so happened that pretty little Ouka-chan had given her heart to a boy she didn't at first recognize to be her cousin. The boy wasn't so bad—he was kind of fixated on computers, and was just some poor little prince working his butt off at a flower shop with a bunch of pretty insane, depressed guys, but at least he wasn't some freaking pervert who wanted her for her skin. But it was a secret soon revealed that the object of her affection turned out to be a member of Weiß, a team of trained assassins who were supposed to thwart the operations of darkness and all that blah. Yours truly was kind-hearted enough to warn her that getting involved with the kid could lead to trouble for both of them, but the stubborn little lover in her wouldn't listen. It ended up costing her her life… and breaking the poor boy's heart."
He glanced at the twins to see how the story was affecting them. Both were still quiet, but the look in their eyes was sympathetic, as though young as they were, they understood the story and the feelings of the characters, to some extent.
"The Takatori dragon was, as would have been expected, furious at what happened to his youngest child. And here's the kicker: he blamed me, your Schu-jiichan, and Farfie-jiichan (though it really was Farfarello's doing) for her death!" He looked so vehement and so dramatic with his thumb pointed toward his chest and his eyes flashing with indignation, that the twins gave out excited squeals.
He grinned, and nodded, to emphasize his point. "Un! He went about letting us know what he thought in a really mean way, too. He was beating Farfie-jiichan and me up with a—get this—a golf club… over and over again. It didn't hurt Farfie-jiichan that much, because Farfie-jiichan, as you know, doesn't feel physical pain, but even for a guy who's gotten into street brawls lots of times, it still felt like he was pounding me to death. Maybe he was—Takatori's the kind of guy who'd approve hands down the principle of 'a life for a life.' So we were getting pretty beat up, and I was aching all over and I could have just about fallen unconscious after about ten minutes of continually receiving those blows when suddenly…" He paused dramatically, and eyed the twins.
Both were leaning forward in their sleep, eyes as wide as saucers, practically breathless.
He smiled proudly. "Your Brad-jiichan interceded. He was really a hero back then! When the Takatori dragon raised the golf club high up, Brad-jiichan caught it before he brought it down and hit us again. The calculating schemer that he was calmly told the Takatori dragon that Weiß was responsible for Ouka-chan's death, and the fool Takatori dragon believed him. He then declared some sort of a war on Weiß, to avenge his little girl, and forgot about us, which was good. To be remembered by someone is a precious thing, but it's better to be considered non-existent by the Takatori dragon.
"After that crazed little hazing session, I was still holding out, although I needed help to be able to walk and everything. Your Brad-jiichan was gallant enough to help me (and your poor Otouchan was stuck with having to take Farfie-jiichan back to his cell), and he was kind enough to even tend my wounds!" He nodded vigorously. "It was during those precious, precious moments that he touched me of his own free will for the first time, and we began talking…"
His sentence broke off, and he sighed.
The twins stared at him expectantly, awaiting more, and he smiled faintly at them.
"The story is un-ended," he said, and felt a pang of disturbance when he saw the utter disappointment on their faces. "But that's because the story still goes on. The story that began with Schwarz is still ongoing… and it won't be long before you two will take the leads."
They didn't seem to understand. They were still so young, he noticed, with a fresh wave of nostalgia sweeping over him. So young, like the night. And even more infinitely beautiful.
"Good night," he whispered, bending over the cribs to give them hugs and kisses he had so mercilessly been deprived of so early in his life. "Have sweet dreams, Naoe Nuriko, Naoe Tatara…"
Schuldich switched off the lamp, bathing the room in total darkness before quietly closing the door behind him.
~*~*~*~
Moments after the scarlet-tressed telepathic had departed from the twins' bed chamber, the door opened again, and a faint stream of light filtered into the room before the door abruptly shut it off. A tall, slender shadow traced the path from the door toward the cribs, moving slowly and silently on the carpet. The face of its owner was hidden from the moonlight.
Pale light danced off the spectacle lenses as a face framed with glossy raven hair peered into the cribs. The midnight eyes that never missed sight of anything now seemed to be searching their sleeping faces for something he had lost—or perhaps, something he had never really owned. Keen ears picked up the sound of their tranquil, even breathing, but nothing more, and broad shoulders slouched in disappointment.
A hand whose wrist was clothed in pale lavender reached out, and lightly flicked a stray chocolate-colored wisp out of the male twin's face. The child stirred slightly, and soft blue-gray eyes fluttered open. "Brad—Brad-jiichan," he murmured drowsily, before his lids fell shut, and he slipped back into his slumber.
"If only I could speak to your souls, Nuriko-chan, Tatara-kun," intoned a quiet, remorseful voice. "I'd try and find out what your Schu-jiichan told you this time. I… I used to resent the sound of his nasal voice worming its way through my ears and my head at every turn but now…—but now he's grown quieter, detached and distanced from everyone…"
He's changed, and I won't admit it to anyone on my life but—I want to know why… and if it's because of me…
"Your parents were lucky."
Brad Crawford gazed out of the slightly open window. A faint breeze floated inside, brushing against his face in brisk kisses. The breathing of the slumbering leaves only contributed to the serenity of the night, yet failed to bring that serenity into the American's torn spirit. The moon hung alone without the company of the stars, a single white coin against the eternally magnificent stretch of blue.
The night was old.
OWARI
July 1st, 2000
1. Konbie… I like to think of it as a slang form of 'Konbanwa.' ^_^; This is probably never used, and I know it's wrong and all those Japanese-speaking folks out there probably fainted at the sight of the word, but I just thought I'd throw it in for fun.
2. Schuldich's bedtime story was just my wacked-out rendition of the opening scene of Episode 13. ^.^ Was my, er, comparison of Takatori Reiji to a dragon too intense? Ano… the stuff about Crawford patching Schuldich's wounds up and all was entirely fictional—just a little addendum to satisfy my urge for incorporating something Schuldich x Crawford into the story.
3. The fic takes place twelve/thirteen years after the conclusion of the anime storyline, the canons set in the OAVs and the dramas not having been taken into consideration. Just in case you didn't pick it up from the context, Nagi and Tot are married (finally! ^-^) and have been blessed with fraternal twins: Naoe Nuriko and Naoe Tatara. FY fans will recognize the names, and as yours truly was too lazy to come up with original names, Chibi-chan decided to pluck out names from another series and use them here (kind of like what I did with my RK fic Train Whistle). I decided to use a name beginning with 'T' for the guy's name (from Tot—'T') and 'N' for the girl's name (from Nagi—'N'): hence, Nuriko-chan and Tatara-kun. 'Sides, I really like these two seishi. :Þ
4. The original idea was to write something WAFFy, with Schuldich as the petrifying nanny telling horror stories to the kids, and Nuriko-chan egging him on as Tatara-kun begs him to stop. However, it didn't work when I tried writing it that way, so I opted to use a different approach and, well… it's less WAFFy than what I'd intended it to be. *sigh* Maybe some people just_can't_write WAFF well…
5. [for Miko-chan] Ano, pwede na ba 'to? ^_^
Take care, minna-chan, and thank you for reading!
Chibi Chiriko