--Disclaimer for this chapter and all subsequent chapters: I don't own it, and I sadly never will.
--Warning for this chapter and/or all subsequent chapters: Contains violence, language, adult content and yaoi. You have been warned.
--Translations at the end.
Darkness. Heavy breathing in the seemingly small space, the walls were closing in, he just knew it. No one had come yet. Was it the next day, or had it only been a few hours? Hidaka Ken struggled ineffectively against the leather straps restraining him, his mouth twisting into a grimace as it chafed his already raw skin. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to be calm; hyperventilating was not going to help him.
Quieting, Ken closed his eyes and listened. The only sound he could hear was that of his own breathing, and a soft whirring, from the ventilation system he assumed. Itching to move, to break free, to escape, Ken pushed and pulled, tugging every which way, trying to get a hold of the straps holding him in place, but could only brush his fingertips to it. It was frustrating as hell.
A loud click sounded and Ken started as lights came on. He winced, the white blindfold they had on him was enough to block his vision, but not the drastic light change. A woman said something in German; he recognized that much from having to listen to Schuldig run his mouth whenever they encountered one another.
The woman had come in before, after different things; each time she had stuck him with a needle and then proceeded to question him about his life, his friends, his ruined J-League career . . . and Weiss. Her inquiry had not helped her understand him. He hadn't said a word through her questions, vowing silence. It was always better to say nothing at all, to give them no reaction that could be read and used against him. Aya taught him that.
. . . But the last time she had come in . . . it had started the same, the injection, and the pause before questioning—and then she started to tell him about his own life. His old friends, stupid things from high school: pranks, favorite subjects, his love of soccer leading to the J-League where his career was terminated by a false drug accusation. She knew all about Kase orchestrating the whole thing . . . she knew so much. But she had said hardly anything about Weiss, his friends so close that they were his family, for he had none other. She mentioned them as friends, acquaintances even, but obviously did not know the closeness he had with the other three. Or if she did, she was not letting on to the fact. But how did she know the rest?
A man spoke then, his proximity much closer than the woman's as he was seized suddenly, pulled up by the bonds on his wrists. They must have had a detachable part from the wall to keep him bound in-travel. This was certainly new. As soon as he was on his feet he lashed out at the man, only to hit nothing. A curse was muttered and a blow landed on the back of his head, causing stars to dance in front of his eyes. A rough shove got him stumbling forward as the woman's voice reached his ears, heavily accented.
"I wouldn't do that Ken-kun, you may injure yourself. Neither of us wants that," He could hear the smile in her tone as he was manhandled down what he assumed to be a corridor. They stopped suddenly and he felt the familiar prick of the needle and jerked away from it. The needle twisted in his arm and snapped before the man holding him twisted him around and shoved him up against a wall, jerking his head up by his hair so he wouldn't break his nose. How considerate; the brunette thought dryly.
"We are getting closer, perhaps a few more treatments and it will be done, as you can see, he's not rejecting it," the woman spoke. She obviously wasn't speaking to him, so there must be a third person in the room.
". . . This is no proof, Izuma," a soft voice replied, too quiet to determine whether the speaker was male or female.
"It will be, shortly. You said you wanted to see some of the process, well, this is some of it. We're going to start the inducing today, if you can stomach it," a cool edge lined the German's words.
Hmm. There's a little friction here, maybe I can get them at each others throats . . .
"Demonstrate away."
More pressure was put on him to keep him in place by the male. Gritting his teeth, Ken stuck to his vow and remained impassive. Only when the trial started did he realize just how much he was in for, and how hard it was going to be to keep that vow. Not long thereafter screams echoed through the empty white corridors.
Aya Fujimiya raised one hand to his face and massaged the bridge of his nose for the seventh time that morning. He was worried. It had been a week since Ken had disappeared; a week since that last mission. It hadn't even been that difficult. They had gone in as usual and eliminated the targets. The only problem was that Ken hadn't come back.
"Aya-kun!"
Aya looked up at the insistent calling and realized Omi was surrounded by the usual flood of fan girls in the Koneko no Sumu le. Irritated Aya leveled a glare at them. "Buy something, or get out!" he growled. A few of the ones closer in proximity to him backed up and scuttled out, clutching their purchases to their chests. The other girls looked at him a moment and then broke out in unison: "Mouuuuuuu."
After that the sound level dropped and the loudest thing in the room was the cash register. Omi sighed with relief as the last of the after-school crowd left. Dark circles showed under his unusually dull blue eyes and he stifled a yawn while watering the potted plants. ". . . Na, Aya-kun? Do you think Ken-kun is alright?" Omi ventured, seeking reassurance. Ken-kun had to be okay. He just had to be.
". . ."
"Aya-kun?"
A sigh. "Omi . . ."
The door chime saved him from any further reply as a few of the older girls came in. One of them headed straight for Aya and started asking random questions about different flora. Stilling a moment, the redhead answered her questions with as few words as possible, absently wondering why Kudoh was late, yet again.
A few minutes later, as if he knew what Aya was thinking, the tall lanky blonde himself emerged from the back and plucked his apron off the hook. The two girls immediately went for him like sharks after blood.
"Yoji-san, what should I buy my mother for her birthday?"
"Yoji-kun, what flower represents lust?"
"Ladies," Yoji greeted them with a slow smile as he launched into his shift with the two women.
Omi sighed with relief and finished watering the geraniums and woodruff, ending his shift. Tugging his apron off, he disappeared into the back and dashed upstairs to grab his helmet. He was tired of waiting with no clues about Ken. It was past time one of them went to gather some.
It was quieter than it had been the night of their mission. Peering around yet another corner, Omi found himself looking at yet another empty corridor, though a few feet away there was a splash of rust color on the off white walls and floor: dried blood.
Judging by the pattern, it was Ken who had been here. Cautiously he inched down the corridor, poking into the rooms along the way. He'd made his way through most of the building when he heard something. He paused and slipped into a darker portion of the room he was in, straining his ears, dart in hand.
"Damn it this stuff stinks," a gruff voice reached Omi's ears and the door swung open abruptly, revealing a large portion of the floor in the harsh light from the hallway. A few more curses and the sound of someone tripping over something, and then the room was illuminated.
A snort, "It's accelerant, what do you expect?"
That made two. He could take two, piece of cake.
"Don't leave anything unturned boys, I want nothing left to be pieced together when they investigate this fire," a third, authoritative voice.
Omi risked a peek around the desk and quickly ducked back down. He had to make a break for the door, whatever the risk, any second one could come close enough to spot him, or come around the desk and discover him crouching there.
"Bring that—"the tall redhead stiffened and wavered, grabbing for the nearby filing cabinet.
"Ras! What's wrong man?" the large man rumbled, grabbing for the redhead as he toppled over.
Omi slipped around the pair and dashed out as a yell sounded behind him. Dashing down the corridor he turned abruptly into the stairwell and swung over the railing, dangling, and dropping down to the floor below. He turned and took the stairs down two and three at a time, watching his stride. It wouldn't do to trip now. Hearing clattering and shouting above, he ran out onto the next floor and quickly made his way to the other stairs. He slowed and slipped down the stairs carefully, listening for his pursuers. Omi opened the bottom door a crack, his gaze raking the empty room. Allowing a small smile to come to his lips, he cautiously walked out and pushed the door to the open; red streaked sky of sunset and froze, going cold.
He was staring down the barrel of a .45 pistol wielded by a tall brunette. "Back inside or I shoot you here boy,"
Time stood still as Omi considered his dwindling options; go back inside to face the goons, or try to escape and probably get shot but keep the chance of escape. The noise of the doors swinging open behind Omi decided him. He dodged quickly to the left and ducked as he went; causing the woman's shot to go high. He got a few feet further before another shot rang out and his left leg crumpled under him, warmth rushing down. Omi gasped and threw his arms out to catch himself. A pair of large strong hands seized him and jerked him back, forcing him back inside.
The brunette curled her lip at Omi, eyes flicking to the two who had pursued him. "Well? What do you have to say for yourselves? Who is this kid? What if he escaped? What does he know?" she demanded, lips pressing into a thin line.
"That's what I'd like to know, though I'm more interested in his death," the leader commented, holding up the dart. "I think this speaks wonders. It's poisonous, and that kid killed Ras." The leader turned on Omi, furious that this mere child could take down his companion and grabbed his coat, pulling it open, searching. The large man tightened his grip and held Omi fast while the leader searched.
"Ah, see!" the leader pulled out more of Omi's darts holding them up so the woman could see.
The brunette glared. She moved forward and pushed him and his evidence aside without a thought, her bronze eyes narrowed as she took a hold of Omi's chin. "Who are you?" Omi just stared defiantly back, remaining silent. Nothing would save him now. Not even if Aya or Yoji, it was too early for them to have closed the shop to see the note he left on the counter.
Pursing her lips, the woman slapped him, and he felt the burn as his blood rushed to the new pain. She turned and paced, her red high heels clacking loudly on the white marble floor.
"Mira—"
"Shut up you fool," she hissed
The dark haired man with the beard tensed and then stepped forward. Omi caught a flash of one of his darts and cried out when it pierced his shoulder. Omi closed his eyes and grimaced.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" The brunette strode forwards and snatched the dart, pulling it free.
"We couldn't let him live after this anyway. I deserve vengeance for Ras! Let the squirt die by his own weapon." The leader crossed his arms, "Not'in you can do about it now anywho."
The crack of skin on skin as the brunette slapped the leader hard enough to rock him back a few steps sounded in the large, empty room. "Du dämlicher Idiot! Auslese könnte Gebrauch von ihm machen!"
Numbness started spreading through Omi, and he felt himself going limp, his eyes trying to close of their own account. The woman reached for him then, but he had nothing to fight her with, energy drained away as his eyelids fluttered closed.
Yoji Kudoh allowed his mask to drop with the gate of the Koneko, closing firmly with a click. The day hadn't been a great one. Not even his usual fan girls could cheer him up. Like the other members of Weiss, the blonde was worried about their resident soccer fanatic. Anxious to speak with Aya and Omi about the situation, he turned mouth open—to find that Aya had already disappeared into the living quarters the four of them shared. He grumbled and went out for a smoke to take the edge off his nerves.
The sky was brilliant, sunset painting the sky red, orange and pink; purple just starting to show on the underbellies of the clouds in sharp contrast to the rapidly darkening sky. Taking a long drag, he smiled at a pair of girls as they strolled past and turned his back on the darkening sky.
"Yoji! Wait!" a feminine voice called, and he pushed the door back open, peering out to see his favorite sexy-kitten. "Manx!"
The redhead smiled briefly and slipped past the lanky blonde into the building. "I have some information for the three of you."
"Where's Chibi?"
A shrug, "Homework perhaps."
"Well, go get him, will you?" Yoji commented, headed for the kitchen, "want anything to drink Manx?" the blonde asked casually, a sly smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. His smile broadened as the two glared at him uniformly. He laughed and disappeared into the kitchen, snagging a couple of sodas. Shutting the door with his hip as he turned, he stopped, eyeing the slip of paper resting on the counter.
"This information can wait Manx,"
A thin red eyebrow rose sharply "This is essential to your next mission Balinese."
"Omi is more important than that. Aya!" Yoji turned toward the stairs and jumped as Aya was standing just a few feet from him.
"Seems Omi decided to do his own digging," Yoji held the note out to Aya.
"Let's go."
Manx glanced between them, eyes widening. "Wait, what? Omi . . ."
"Omi has returned to the site of our last mission, where Ken disappeared,"
". . . Not good, that building went up in flames less than an hour ago. We spotted some leaving the scene, and are tracking them. . ."
Darkness. Ken pushed himself into a sitting position, blinder than usual. Feeling around he discovered that he was no longer bound to anything—his hands, his feet, he was free, resting on the smooth, cool floor. He reached up to pull of the blindfold, only to find it gone as well. A wave of panic surged through him before he shoved it down. Be rational. Surely he would know if he was blind. Wouldn't he? No, be positive. So the room must be dark. Rubbing his wrists, he considered his options.
Nothing much he could do but sit and dwell on things he couldn't change, or try to find a way out. He never was one to just wait for things to happen. Shifting, he climbed to his feet and had the oddest sensation. He managed to take a step back and reached for a wall, hoping one was nearby so he could steady himself, but only felt empty air. Losing his balance, he fell onto his back with a thud and closing his eyes on impact.
High, bitter laughter filled his ears for a moment, and he felt tears rising with emotions. He was sick of being locked away, trapped in a world of bare, dark rooms and visits from a sadistic German nurse wannabe. When would it end? Was it ever going to end? Ken choked back the hysterical laugh and pushed down the tears. This wasn't right. This wasn't who he was. If he was going down, he refused to drown in tears of anguish. No. He was going to get out. He would escape—! First things first. . .
Ken propped himself up on his elbows and sat up slowly. Something was wrong. He didn't feel right. Of course, everything felt a little off, but he had the feeling that he was missing something drastic . . . something important. Before he could come up with anything, something clicked, and dazzling white light filled his vision. With a gasp, his hands went to his eyes, trying to shield them from the sudden harsh light. Well, he wasn't blind. He felt a presence and he was seized and jerked half to his feet. The brunette's head swam with the sudden movement and before he could recover he was cast aside again, landing on the floor on his shoulder with a grunt.
"Beautiful. She's beautiful . . . we're almost done with your treatment Ken-chan…and look, Mira brought you a friend," the woman he knew as Izuma spoke, no, gloated, at him. Ken tried to glare at the woman, but it probably came out more like a grimace. She laughed, her thick German accent returning to her as she walked out, the door clicking shut with finality. With the door went the lights, blinding him again, but now he knew.
He would never have thought possible what they did, how they had violated him; hijacked his body and pump it with some drug until something happened. But this…this was the last thing he expected. How could it be possible? What could they have possibly given him to change him to this extreme? To change him— a whimper stopped his mind from running in circles further. Opening his eyes, Ken realized the lighting was very dim now, much more bearable for his sensitive eyes.
He immediately spotted the form curled into the fetal position near the door. Crawling forward, a sense of familiarity teased at him as he moved closer. As the black headband and baby fine, light brown—almost blonde hair came into focus, Ken's breath caught and he hurried forward.
"Omi!" Grabbing the younger boy's shoulders he pulled him over onto his back, anxious of his condition. His teammate was tense all over, and trembling, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. His breathing was sharp and quick, his pulse much faster than normal. Laying a hand on his forehead, Ken grimaced. He was burning up.
Ken pulled him into his lap and settled him in a more comfortable position, and his hands came away sticky with blood. With a gasp he felt around, searching for the wound, but found nothing. There wasn't a mark on him.
It was someone else's blood then; maybe one of theirs. So Omi hadn't been taken completely by surprise. How long had they had him? Did they grab him the same night? No, the blood was fresh. What if they had Aya and Yoji too? Stop it, he told himself sternly. There was no way they could have gotten all of them. It wasn't possible. Was it?
"As you see, he, or should I say she, is complete," Izuma smiled at her employer, offering pictures, and gesturing to the small video screen they had set up.
"She's lovely..." he smiled, running his hand over the photo gently. "Are you certain she is complete?"
"As far as we can tell. We need time to discover if she is able to reproduce or not. She's all woman now. I have no way of checking for the other piece you spoke of," the German leaned forward eagerly. "Unless you wish to disclose a way to me—?"
"It will show itself in time. Such beautiful eyes... We must think of a new name for our kitten," A smile played across his lips for a moment. "So," he said, with a sweeping gesture to the screen," What is that boy doing near her? What is he doing here at all?"
"That boy is another test subject. We caught him in the old Terna office building," her jade eyes narrowed. "He killed one of our people. Mira turned him over to me, and I decided to use the concentrated formula on him. We needed to try it out sometime, to find the side effects so we can alter it, if necessary. This seemed like a good opportunity. He's there particularly because we do not have enough people to watch another room, ensure the success of subduing the subjects when they get out of line, and still have some free to complete special tasks."
"Very well, but if something happens, you will be to blame," He let the photos drop to the desk and interlocked his fingers on the desk atop of them. "I have another job for you. . ."
Izuma smiled. "What do you have in mind, Keinias-san?"
Translations:
"Stupid bastard, Auslese could use him!" "Du dämlicher Idiot! Auslese könnte Gebrauch von ihm machen!"
AN: End of Chapter one. More chapters are in the works, but inspiration is far and few between. I admit, this chapter is a bit depressing and a little confusing, but I hope that you'll stick with me to see where I run with this plot. I promise at least one member of Schwartz in later chapters (quite a bit actually), as well as relationship building. Thanks to Nariel for her spiffy translation abilities, and to Kit (Penguin-sama) and Acesha for inspiration.
Thanks!
—Akira