Chapter 2

Aya listened to the tale of Ran's revenge, at first with pride, then with horror, then a slow resignation. He loved her. He had always loved his little sister. It was natural that he would seek revenge on anyone who harmed her, but to go so far? Had he really mastered the katana for simple vengeance? It seemed incredible, yet it seemed to be true.

Sakura's tale of Ran mercilessly slaughtering an evil man before her eyes was shocking, yet he'd been unable to kill the girl who witnessed it. Instead, he had later entrusted her with Aya's care. Tot's tale of a psychotic family of sisters and their megalomaniac 'father' was just as shocking, yet Ran had been part of the group of young men who had stopped his evil experiments.

Ran's life had become so dangerous, yet he was doing good things, too. At what cost to his soul? What would he do if he knew she was awake? What would he do if Ran knew she was captured? He would come for her. That much was certain.

"Will they be able to rescue us? They will come, after all." Aya couldn't fit the image of 'Weiss' with her simple brother. The Ran she knew would fail immediately.

"Tot's Nagi can beat all the Weiss by himself!" Tot's pride in Nagi was great, but according to Sakura, Weiss had vexed Schwarz before.

Sakura seemed to agree, "They choose when to attack, and how, carefully. I don't think they'll attack mindlessly. It's the other two that worry me. Schuldig has a habit of messing with your head." Sakura had told of how the red-head had nearly driven her insane. Even mentioning his name sent a shudder through her body.

"But don't they know all that? Can't they guard against his tricks?"

"Weiss are mindless brutes! They couldn't stand up to Schreient, and you think they'll beat Schwarz?" Tot was annoying. She loved Nagi, and held Schwarz in high regard for his sake, yet hated them as well, for killing her sisters.

"Tot, I think something's messed up in your thinking. Do you respect them or not? Who do you want to win?"

"Tot wants to be with Nagi, and the rest of Schwarz to die." She sounded somber, and thoughtful. "Tot wants Weiss to die, too."

Aya was overcome with a sense of compassion for this broken girl, and crawled over to kiss her forehead. "Please, don't think like that anymore, Tot. It's not good for you. Can't your love for Nagi be enough?"

"Tot doesn't know." She looked like a confused, little girl.


Sally was finally past the sea-sickness. She'd felt a pull to hop on a boat when she was escaping the latest attempt to stone her, and the boat had left port before she could depart. Revealing herself to the captain had been an unpleasant experience. The only thing that had saved her was her last few Euros. It bought her passage, and food, and little else.

Being alone on a cargo ship for several months was unpleasant, but discovering that she was headed for Japan, of all places, was worse. What could be in Japan that would have led her to get on this ship? She knew it was to be this ship, not any other. The only thing she knew, was she'd not made a wrong choice.

As the ship settled into the harbor, she was startled by the captain's presence. "Here's your change."

"My change?" She stared at the money he offered her. It was nearly everything back.

"You'll need it, and you ate very little food." He forced the money into her hands, before giving her a light shove down the ramp. "We've never had such a good voyage. The only thing different was you."

She smiled shyly, and moved down the ramp. It was true she'd used what talent she had to bless the ship's voyage. If nothing else, it helped ease her nausea, and her guilty conscience. She hadn't thought it would be noticed.

Now, however, she was in Tokyo harbor. She spoke no Japanese. This would be... interesting.

She was lucky. English worked here, and her broken English got her the assistance she needed to find lunch and a map. What was more lucky, was she got few odd looks when she divined her next stop over noodles. Her pendant was quite clear, as it hovered over a location not far along the coast. She would need a bike.

Getting a bike had proven troublesome. The path along the coast, more so. As darkness set in, she found the distance was further than she'd estimated. To make matters worse, there was a humming in the back of her head, drawing her forward. She knew time was of the essence.

Time was short, but darkness was not something she had planned for. Riding a bike in darkness, then rain, was a task she had not been planning for. She had no headlight, so found herself relying on the moonlight and care.

When the moon turned red for a brief moment, she had shuddered, knowing an ill wind was coming. Had she gone from the frying pan to the fire? No matter, she was alive, still. Exhaustion, poor light, and the concentration she'd been maintaining eventually forced her to walk the last mile in the middle of the night.

As she came around a corner, she saw a pale man heave another man into the ocean. The moonlight gave him a ghostly glow. When he heaved a second man into the pounding surf, she stifled a slight scream. A boy tossed the third into the waves, and a sense of horror overcame her. The fourth body made it clear she had come straight to the fire.

A chuckle brought her back to her surroundings. "You've found the fire, indeed, young lady." She passed out at the sight of fiery red hair.


Sakura was surprised by the sudden kiss, but relieved to see Tot accept it with grace. The two girls seemed to be getting along well, which was a blessing, in such a poor place. The cold was getting to her. There were no blankets, no beds, just bare rock all around them. Sakura huddled tightly, hoping Aya-kun would rescue her soon. They would have to huddle together for warmth, soon, but now wasn't the time.

The door suddenly opened to reveal Schuldig carrying a woman. "Where's Tot's Nagi!" The change in Tot's demeanor startled Sakura, even as the sight of Schuldig sent stabs of fear into her gut.

"Upstairs, helping Farfarello take out some trash." His smug expression told her Weiss had failed. Of greater concern was the unconscious woman he placed on the floor. She was breathing, and appeared unharmed. She smelled foul play.

"What did you do to her?" The courage to face down Schuldig surprised her, as did the anger suddenly beating in her chest. This was a harmless girl, no threat to them. Why take her in?

The sudden, firm grip on her jaw reminded her why she feared the red-head. "I did nothing. She was in the wrong place. Crawford will talk to her tomorrow and decide if he should let her go. I doubt it, though. He's not in a pleasant mood." Shock and fear gave her the strength the try to wrest his hand from her chin, but he just squeezed tighter.

"Stop that!" It was Aya-chan, and Tot suddenly swarmed over him, kicking and forcing Schuldig to defend himself instead of torture her. Schuldig quickly pinned Tot to the ground, his foot on her neck, though she struggled still.

As Tot's face turned red from her struggles, she made a decision. She would take whatever venom Schuldig had on herself, to spare the others. "Stop, please." Tears welled in her eyes, knowing what was to come, as she gently placed her hands on Schuldig, attempting with honey what vinegar had never accomplished.

His foot relented, but her shoulder promptly screamed in protest as she was jerked to her feet by her arm. His evil smile leered at her, mockingly, "I want you to remember this favor I did for you one day. It'll cost you." She felt fear stab into her heart, flashes of past tortures scrambling her thoughts.

His final chuckle was followed by, "By the way, ladies. Don't count on Weiss rescuing you. I know that's what you hoped, but they're at the bottom of the sea, now. They attempted a pathetic rescue and it cost them their lives." He grinned as they all absorbed this dreaded news.

The sudden image of her beloved Aya-kun, lifeless, in the ocean depths, sprang into her mind. "Aya!" she sobbed, "Aya, you can't... please, no..."

In her mind's eye she saw pieces of his flesh being eaten away by fish, and she heard Schuldig laughing. "My dear, Miss Sakura. It wasn't as grim as all that. One gun shot is all it took." Sakura's mind crumbled, hope shattered.