REASON TO BELIEVE
By Moonsong
tsukinouta
Part 6
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
What...?
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Where am I...
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
It took a few moments but Ran's foggy mind finally identified the incessant noise that had woken him. Against his better judgment, he peeled his eyes open, wishing he hadn't a split second later when harsh fluorescents stabbed into his brain.
Ow...
"Rise and shine, Abyssinian," came the nasally chirp somewhere to his left.
Ran turned, focused, and a blurry face topped by carrot-red hair filled his vision.
"YOU!"
Images came flooding back.
Schuldig leering over them. "I told you you'd die if you came here."
Raising the gun. "Two kittens, one shot? You really expected me to let you go?"
His own anger. "You said if he died, we would as well!"
The redhead's betrayal. "I also said I was his friend."
Youji's last cry. "STEF! NO!"
Ran hadn't had a second to think. As soon as the gun went off he'd thrown himself in front of Youji, in front of the bullet destined to doom them both. He wasn't sure what he was doing- or even if anything he did would make a difference in the surreal world that was inside Youji's head. Schuldig had said that death of the mind would instantly kill them all.
Unless...
"I lied."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Rage fueled his limbs, landing a solid punch to the sneering jaw. The Schwarz assassin staggered, crumpling to the floor.
"That the best you can do?" Unrepentant, even in his weakened state, Schuldig smirked at him, daring him for more.
"I'm only getting started." Ran's body ached all over but he still forced himself up. Fists clenched, he made his way to his fallen enemy, eyes blazing hatred.
"Go ahead," Schuldig taunted. "Then you can go explain to your friend how you killed me for saving his hide."
The constant turnaround was getting to be too much for Ran's still-muddled state. Anger was one thing he could focus on. The easiest. "WHAT?"
Eyes never leaving his, Schuldig motioned to the other room.
Ran forced his eyes away to look. Youji...
Doctors had surrounded his comatose friend again but this time the EKG was stronger; it was what had woken him. There was brain activity on the monitors. Youji was reviving.
The German smiled. "Look. He's-"
Without warning the machines whirred, slowed, stopped.
"YOUJI!" Heeding nothing else, Ran charged to the bed, almost collapsing onto it, his legs ready to give out.
"DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING LEAVE ME, YOU BASTARD!"
Beep...
Beep.
Beep.
"Youji!"
Movement in the pale hand next to his. Ran grabbed it, relief flooding through him. Youji's fingers twitched, squeezed lightly, then held.
"Hey... red..."
Ran just looked at him, pinning the blond with his glare as if he was sure the man would fade the moment he looked away. "Do. You. Have. ANY. Idea. How... much... I... hate... hospitals?"
Youji blinked, then blinked again and started to laugh. "Yeah," he replied, gently rubbing his thumb over the warm hand holding his. "I do."
Smirking, the German watched them from the doorway, bone-thin arms crossed over his chest. / My work here is done. / With a wink only Youji caught, he was gone.
Nagi was waiting in the lobby when Schuldig passed.
"Nice job, kid."
The dark-haired boy shook his head at the comment. It was unimportant. "Are they-"
Schuldig cut him off. "Yeah. Abyssinian and Balinese are gonna be back in action in no time."
Nagi fell into step beside him. "Did you really...?"
Schuldig closed his eyes. "Yeah. A long time ago. Forget about it." He kept walking.
Nagi watched him for a moment, impassively. His first assignment had been to assist Schuldig in this mission and act as his backup. His second, and more private, was to make sure the telepath didn't take it into his head to betray their team. Even when they had been against Weiss in the past, Schuldig had remained loyal but with the German's sister no longer in the balance, Crawford had wanted him watched, especially in light of the past. Schuldig's friendship with the Weiss assassin had been deeper than he let on.
Everything seemed to have gone smoothly though, and for that Nagi was grateful. He wasn't quite sure he would have been able to handle the telepath if he had really wanted to get away.
/ You wouldn't have been able to, kid. /
/ I know. / The boy followed after him.
ENDE
Author's Notes:
There were SO many multiple endings to this but I chose to keep it simple. Ran was never the most cooperative muse. -_-;;
This is for Lyra, who never gave up on it. I don't think it'll meet expectation but I hope you like it anyway. *hugs* And thank you.
Disclaimer: This fic was written purely for entertainment and no profit is being made from it. Weiß Kreuz © Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. No copyright infringement intended. Please email me at if you'd like to post it anywhere. Thank you.
Reason to Believe: Part 6 © Moonsong, 12/25/04. All Rights Reserved.
