Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz and its characters sadly do not belong to me.

Warnings: AU, eventual yaoi (it might take a while for me to get there)

Pairings: Eventual Ran/Ken, eventual Youji/Omi

Author's Note: This story is set in a world that is entirely of my own making because there will eventually be elements of fantasy in it.

Blood Summons

By Rapunzel

Chapter 1

(6 years later)

Youji Kudou sat back in his chair and surveyed the quiet man sitting in front of him. He'd had plenty of strange people stop in to see him in his time. It was simply the nature of the work he did. When people needed something done, someone investigated or something retrieved but felt that the matter was too sensitive to bring in higher authorities, Youji Kudou was the man they turned to. He'd had people come to him who were nervous, angry, or arrogantly bossy, but never had he seen anyone as downright silent as the stranger sitting in front of him. So far, the man hadn't even told Youji his name, let alone why he had come to see him. That just served to make Youji all the more curious.

So far, he hadn't prompted the other to state his business, but instead sat quietly and tried to glean any possible information from the stranger's appearance. The man before him was young, perhaps in his early twenties, wearing dark clothes that, while they were certainly not flashy, spoke of good tailoring and fairly expensive fabric. He sat in the chair facing Youji with his back as straight as a steel rod. He kept his violently red hair long in the front, and it framed his pale, oval face. Set in that face were a pair of deep violet eyes that were regarding Youji much the same way Youji was regarding him, only with slightly more hostility. There was also a hint of skepticism in his expression, as if he wasn't sure why he had bothered coming in the first place.

Finally, Youji decided to break the unofficial staring contest he and his strange visitor seemed to have engaged in. "So," he began, "what can I do to help you, Mr. ..." He trailed off, waiting for the man to fill in the gap and provide him with a name.

He was disappointed when the stranger said, "My name isn't important."

Youji's gaze sharpened. Reluctance on the part of a client to divulge his or her name was almost never a good sign. "I would beg to differ, Sir. If you are here to engage my services, I would like to know who I am working for."

"I haven't decided to engage your services yet," the redhead answered back coldly.

"Oh?" Youji said, raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm trying to determine if you would be fit for the job."

Youji would not let himself be insulted by the implication that he might not be fit for whatever job the stranger had in mind. It was hardly the first time such an insinuation had been made, after all. "Well," he said, "why don't you tell me a little about this job, and I'll tell you what I think. Then if you decide that I'm fit for the job, you can tell me your name, and if not, you can walk out and I will never speak of this to anyone."

The other man nodded. "That seems fair." Abruptly, he rose and walked over to the desk where Youji was sitting. Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Unfolding it, he laid it on Youji's desk and then stepped back and watched him.

Slowly, Youji reached out and took the proffered page. As he glanced at it, his eyebrows rose and he let out a whistle. The parchment had on it a neat sketch, probably painstakingly copied from a book by the man in front of him. Precise lines of ink curved and intertwined to form a picture of a hawk and a wolf in battle. Youji recognized it instantly, his job required him to know such things after all, and it only piqued his curiosity.

"It appears to be a crest of some sort," he said, his voice deceptively careless. Eyeing the stranger, who was still standing before his desk watching him, he asked casually, "Do you know who it belongs to?"

"Why don't you tell me?" the man said with a sardonic smile.

"Very well," Youji replied. "I believe it belongs to a man named Reiji Takatori. It appears on the ring he uses to seal his correspondence, as well as a few other personal items of his."

The corners of the man's mouth twitched upwards, and Youji was certain that this stranger had known before he had walked into the building exactly where the picture was from and who it belonged to. He, Youji, seemed to have passed some sort of test, however, for the man began speaking.

"The job I have for you would involve the owner of that seal. Six years ago, he took something from me that is very important, and I mean to get it back. This will naturally involve going against him. If you recognize the seal, you must know something about the man who owns it. If you think you're not cut out for the job, say so now, and I won't trouble you further."

Youji's eyebrows were practically climbing into his hair by this time. "You do realize, don't you, that Takatori is quite powerful."

A flash of annoyance crossed his visitor's face. "Naturally, I realize that," he said peevishly. "I only care if you realize it and if it alters your opinion of the job offered."

"What was it he took from you?" Youji asked.

Violet eyes narrowed dangerously. "That has nothing to do with the question I asked you."

"Listen," Youji said, "what you're asking me to do will almost certainly involve me risking my life. I'm naturally a little hesitant to do that without knowing why."

For a moment, they glared at each other across the desk. Then finally, the stranger bowed his head and said quietly, "My sister. He took my sister."

Normally, Youji tried very hard not to be emotionally affected by any of his clients' problems, but he couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of sorrow as he said, "You do realize, don't you, that she's probably dead then."

The man's head snapped back up and he glared fiercely at the blond. "She's not dead," he growled. "He took her, he didn't kill her."

"But why?" Youji asked. "Kidnapping is hardly his usual style. Usually, if he has a problem with someone, they simply wind up dead."

"I don't know why," the stranger snapped. "Finding that out will be part of your job, if you decide to take it. Are you going to take it?"

There was a note of challenge in his voice, and but Youji met his eyes calmly as he said, "Of course. Never let it be said that I backed down from a job just because of a little danger. Besides, I also have an axe to grind with Takatori. If I take him on now, at least I won't be doing it alone."

"I'll give you one more chance to back out," the redhead said seriously. "Think carefully before you answer. I've tried two other people before I came here, and neither one of them could see the job through. There's still time to walk away now, but if you commit, there's no backing out. If you betray me, even if Takatori decides to let you live, I will not."

If there were a record for how many times a client could manage to surprise him in a meeting, this fellow would surely have been on his way to breaking it, Youji thought. The man was dead serious. Still, Youji had a policy of never letting himself be intimidated by a client, prospective or otherwise. All he said was, "I understand. My answer hasn't changed."

The redhead studied him closely for a moment, as if sizing him up, and then said, "Fine."

"So," Youji said, gesturing back at the chair in front of his desk to indicate that his client should resume his seat, "now that that's been dealt with, why don't you tell me your name."

"Ran," the man said. "It's Ran Fujimiya."

/-/-/-/

"Ken, are you listening to me?"

Ken, who had been staring out the window of the tiny loft he lived in at a pair of children down below, jerked his head abruptly and turned to face the speaker. "Huh? Sorry, what were you saying Kase?"

Kase rolled his eyes. "Really, Ken, you should pay attention when I'm going over plans. Otherwise, you'll screw up when we actually get out there, and who knows what will happen."

Ken bowed his head, lowering his gaze to the bare floorboards. "I know, I'm sorry. I was just... watching the kids."

Kase sighed heavily, looking mildly exasperated. "You've got to get over that. It's been three months already; you can't just mope forever."

"I know!" Ken snapped defensively. "I'm not moping. It's just..." His gaze strayed back out the window to the street below, but the children he had been watching before were gone.

"If you're done," Kase said with a hint of impatience in his voice, "I'll just go over the plans one more time."

"Don't bother," Ken said gloomily, transferring his gaze to the floor again. "I don't want to help this time."

Kase was neither surprised nor bothered by the sudden refusal. He'd been expecting it, actually. Ken always tried to back out of the jobs, only to be talked back into them when he realized that he really didn't have much choice. Ever since losing his position as arms master and trainer three months previously, he had no source of income. Helping Kase carry out his thieving jobs was the only way for him to earn enough money to survive. Ken's misfortune had been Kase's gain; despite being an unlikely candidate for a thief, Ken was actually rather good at it. There was only one little problem that got in the way: his conscience.

"It's not right," Ken insisted. "I'm sure I can find another job soon."

"You've been saying that for the past three months," Kase reminded him.

Ken scowled and looked back out the window.

"Come on, Ken," Kase cajoled. "This is a big one, and I really need your help. Besides, we're just taking stuff from people who are already too rich. No one's going to really get hurt."

"That's what you said last time," Ken said darkly.

Kase winced. The last time they had done one of their little jobs, they hadn't known that the man they were stealing from had decided to employ a few extra guards. In their panic and haste to escape, they'd been forced to kill a few, and that, Kase knew, weighed heavily on Ken's conscience.

"Last time was just a miscalculation," he said easily, dismissing the matter.

"Yeah, well any more miscalculations and you'll be finding yourself a new partner," Ken warned him.

"You don't mean that," Kase said with a laugh. "You wouldn't let me down like that, would you, Ken? We're friends, aren't we? We've been friends forever." He slung an arm around Ken's shoulders and gave him a little shake to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, we are," Ken acknowledged, a small smile crossing his face. "And I won't let you down. But one of these days, I am going to find a real job again."

"'Course you are," Kase said easily. "But in the meantime, we've got a job to do, and it's a big one. We're going after a guy named Takatori, and he's a pretty nasty person to get on the wrong side of, or so I hear. We've got to be careful this time, so listen closely, okay?"

Ken drew himself up out the slouch he'd been sitting in and gave his friend his undivided attention. "Okay," he said. "Let's go over it again."

Tbc...

Author's Notes: Well, the majority of people who actually expressed an opinion on the subject seemed to like Youji/Omi as a secondary pairing, so I'll figure out a way to work it in there.

Just a word of warning: don't expect updates in any sort of set timeframe. When I update depends on a lot of factors, including how fast I write, how fast my beta reader gets things back to me, when I have internet access, etc. I'm going away for a quarter for a special marine biology program, so updates might be rather slow for a while. I apologize for this, but that's the way it's going to be.

Having said that, thanks to all the people who read and/or commented.

diane: Thanks for your comments! I agree, it is great to see lots of Ran/Ken stories pop up, and I hope to contribute my fair share.

The Invisible Fan: I'm glad you think it's interesting so far. Actually, I doubt Ran's guardian can be nearly as hard on him as he is on himself, but that's Ran for you. Yes, most of the others will appear soon, although (much to my beta reader's annoyance) it may be a while before Omi comes in. But he will be there!

HeatherR: I'm glad you approve of your muse's detour. Personally, I don't think Ran would really be Ran if he wasn't at least slightly angsty, so I had to do something to make him so. As for the golden eyes, I was wondering if anyone was going to pick up on that. You seem to be the only one to have picked up on it, or at least to have remarked on it. Thanks for commenting!

keishin: I'm glad you like epics, because that's what this is turning out to be. Thanks for commenting!

Brokn Innocence: I'm glad you liked it. No, I don't want you to get butchered, but if you go around petting Ran, I'm not sure even my posting my chapters in a timely fashion will save you. Thanks for the comments!

NekoAnime: I'm glad you like it so far. Hopefully I'll be able to hold you interest. As good as HeatherR's? Thank you:blushes: And thanks for expressing an opinion on the secondary pairing issue. I think it is going to end up having Youji/Omi as a background pairing.

olivia-yuymaxwell: It might take me a while to get to the Ran/Ken parts, but I will get there eventually, I promise! Thanks for commenting, and for expressing an opinion on the Youji/Omi issue.

Seph Lorraine: Thanks for commenting! Hopefully this chapter explained some things, and probably generated even more questions. But all will be explained in time. Thanks for your input on the pairings issue. I actually did consider Omi/Nagi, since I know it's popular in some circles, but I discarded it for two main reasons. Number one, Omi and Nagi probably aren't going to directly interact much in this story, so it would be hard to set up the pairing, and number two, my beta reader might just lynch me. I hope you can content yourself with the pairings and implied pairings that will be in the story.