Das Konzert version eins
Part One: Glühen
Chapter Ten: Bosanova
Casanova
~--------Become frightened of love's strengths~
The bell above the door jangled as he entered. He was tired, really really... tired. He ignored the lingering customers, ignored the looks he was getting from Aya, just pulled a chair to the table and sat heavily upon it. It wasn't too long after that his head hit the table and he was all but asleep.
What a day it had been. First the whole thing with Hitomi in the elevator...
" Ne, Hidakasan... do you have a girlfriend? "
Ken blushed. What kind of a question was that? " ... no. "
She squeezed gently his hand that was still in hers. " Would you like one? "
So after spending the rest of the elevator ride alternately staring at her like a slack-jawed idiot and trying to stammer out an answer he managed an " I have to think about it " and spent the rest of his time with her in awkward silence. 'I have to think about it' he'd said. What the hell?!
Then- THEN he'd spent the rest of the day alternately doing whatever little errand or menial intern job had been handed to him, and trying to snoop around for what he was really supposed to be doing there. The whole thing had resulted in a lot of stress trying to cover his tracks and a lot of walking and sometimes even running and.... his head hurt. He took back all he'd ever said in high school about lazy office workers.
A pair of gloves were dropped on his head, knocking him out of his stupor. " Uh? "
" If you're going to be in the store, then work. "
" Nn... " Ken put his head back down. " Get Youji to work. "
" Youji's out. "
" Omi then. "
" Omi's sleeping. "
" Aya... " Ken whined. " I just got back from work, dammit. "
" This is your work, too, " Aya pointed out darkly.
Ken groaned and dragged himself up, pulling the gloves along with him. " You've been in such a bad mood since this whole Takatori thing started. I don't understand why. "
Headlights in the rain... fire at his back... " You don't have to, just work. "
(@)
Finally the store closed and Ken could get some rest. He left the printouts he'd managed to sneak home next to the computer and carefully placed a blanket over Omi, who was sleeping peacefully on the basement couch. Making his way back upstairs was a chore, and when he finally made it to his room he just stood there a moment.
Ugh. That was the way he felt. Just ugh. No other words could describe it. He was too tired to be hungry even: and the worst part about it was he'd have to do the same thing all over again tomorrow... and the day after that... and the day after that...
Finally Ken made it stiffly to the bed and collapsed onto it. He was just starting to doze off when--
Aya opened the door without so much as a knock. " Ken. Mission. "
" ... I'm gonna cry. "
(@)
Manx was sympathetic as she watched Ken and Omi sit side by side on the couch, yawning alternately between the two of them.
" I'm sorry, " she said, " Persia and I realize you're overworked; but we have two murder cases going that have been put into your hands, and now both are escalating. Youji is investigating Raiott, so it'll have to be just you three tonight. "
The television clicked on. Persia's familiar silhouette came into view, standing at the desk with his hands flat upon the surface.
" Those of Weiß, lately there has been another string of murders separate from the Raiott ones. The latest victims are young men. They are found in back alleys with a chalk outline already drawn around them and a symbol drawn above their heads. "
A picture came up of one of the bodies, a young man with shoulder length auburn hair. He was sitting slouched against the rough alley wall, with a stark white line of chalk drawn around him. Above his head was drawn a pattern of repeating circles, with one of the cross sections at the top right coloured in to be red. This pattern had a vertical line drawn from it's centre to behind the victim's head. Next to this photo appeared a closeup of the pattern.
" Is there anything drawn underneath the body? " Omi asked, sitting forward and studying the images keenly. Unlike Ken he'd woken up fast.
" Unfortunately, " Persia said, " by the time the victims are found, anything underneath them has been wiped away by either their own blood or by the simple act of our moving them. "
" I don't see any wounds. Where's the blood coming from? "
" Their backs. In some cases the spine itself has been almost ripped from the body. " Persia reached over and another picture came up on the screen, one that put them all on alert. " This is the man we suspect of doing these murders, but we have no information on him. White Hunters in the Night, Fight the Futures of these Dark Beasts. "
" Just thought I'd warn you guys, " Ken said, his eyes still seeing the image of Farfarello on the screen. " That guy, he doesn't feel any pain. "
(@)
Farfarello let the body slide from his fingers. It hit the ground with a boneless thud and he stepped back to lick his fingers clean.
" Ewwww... " whined one of the members of his 'audience,' " Don't look, Rabbi-chan. "
" Quickly, come and help me, Hel. "
" It's disgusting the way you do that. " Shoen said. She tossed her golden locks and eyed Farfarello with disdain.
Farfarello smirked at her, blood smeared across his full lips. " He didn't denounce God. He was spineless. "
" Puns don't suit you, Farfarello, " Schuldich commented, entering the alleyway. He ambled up to where Masafumi and Hel were just finishing with the body and gave their work the appraising eye. " Nnnnn... occult murders aren't really your guys' style either, so I'll let it slide. "
Masafumi Takatori, a man customarily seen in a white lab coat, glared at Schuldich from the other side of his thick-framed glasses and pushed an errant strand of hair from his face. " This is an important experiment, Schwartz. "
" Whatever, " Schuldich shrugged off the insulting tone. " I'm delivering a message from Crawford. He says to hold off on your next victim, even for just one night. "
" Why? " Shoen demanded shrilly.
Schuldich graced her with one of his favorite slow, evil grins. " Because you're being hunted. "
(@)
Omi looked worriedly over to where Ken was slowly easing on his coat. He turned to Aya and said quietly, " Ano... maybe Kenkun shouldn't come tonight. He seems awfully tired. "
Aya pulled the last buckle tight to his body and gave Omi a stern look. " We need as many of us as we can get. Youji's still investigating Raiott, so three will have to do. "
" Demo... "
" It can't be helped. Manx just gave us the location of the latest murder. We need to get to the body before the police do to look for any leads on where they went next. " Leaving no room for argument, Aya slipped out into the night.
" Kenkun, Ikusou. " Omi called, then followed Aya outside.
(@)
" Kudousan? "
Youji turned as he heard his name called and watched the trim woman in the business suit approach him. " Hai? "
" Katsu Nahomi desu. " She offered her hand to shake. " I'll be your hostess for the evening. "
" Charmed, " he flashed her a smile. He looked around. " This is a nice place, what all do we have to do for the night? "
She laughed musically. " Well, there's a swimming pool and hot-tub on the third floor, a small museum of art on the fourth... "
" What's on the second? "
" I'm afraid that's off-limits. It's where all the business offices and computer networking is. "
Youji slid an arm around Nahomi's waist. " Well then, hot-tub sounds nice. "
(@)
Schuldich closed the door behind him and approached the desk. " They went anyway. "
Crawford didn't look up. " I knew they would. "
Schuldich leaned on Crawford's shoulder and asked, " Then why did you send me to warn them? "
He watched Crawford smile and felt a little thrill go through him. He'd long since given up on trying to figure out why Crawford's was the only mind he couldn't see into, and while sometimes he hated that fact, the rest of the time it was exciting. First Hidaka and now Masafumi... something big was coming involving Weiß and the Takatori family, something Schuldich was definitely going to enjoy.
(@)
Omi gingerly knelt down next to the body. Careful to avoid the blood, he cringed and pulled it forward by the shoulder. There, nearly obscured by the blood, he could just barely make out the chalk marks behind the shoulders at the base of the vertical line. Two roman letters stood out, a blurry cherry red through the blood that seeped over them. SS
" SS? " Ken said aloud. " What does that mean? " He looked at Aya.
Aya was only half paying attention. He was watching the alley, scanning it. The were being watched, he knew it. A faint whirring sound reached his keen ears and he looked up just in time to avoid the long whip that was heading for him. He darted to the side and kept his eyes on the whip's owner.
Shoen landed and cracked her whip against the ground. " You must be the hunters. "
Omi looked at her. " Did you do this?! "
Shoen laughed. " Are you kidding? I'd never let myself get near to that mess. We leave that to the Schwartz dog that Masafumisama has with him. " She twirled the whip a little. " Isn't that right... Farfarello? "
" Sou da... " agreed Farfarello, emerging from the shadows behind Weiß. Masafumi and three other women appeared behind him.
Aya drew his kitana and scowled back and forth between them all. Ken backed up to cover him and unsheathed his bugnuks. The tense tableau continued on for a long moment.
That was, until the women with blue hair next to Masafumi noticed Omi. " Ho? " she said, " Masafumisama, looks like they've brought us the next subject for the experiment. "
Masafumi was about to agree when Omi's head snapped around to look at them with wide eyes. He paused, startled by the boy's face. " Mamoru...?! "
" Mamoru? "
Then Farfarello ran in to attack and all hell broke loose.
" Aya! " Ken shouted, pushing against him and moving them out of the way. The two assassins broke apart as Shoen joined in the attack. Ken raised an arm as Shoen let loose her whip, letting the long leather wrap around his thick gloves. Twisting his body he sliced it in half with his other hand. Shoen made an enraged sound and attacked him with what she had.
Omi got to his feet and cried, " Kenkun! Ayakun! " He gave a yelp and dodged as a pink umbrella with a blade on the end nearly got him in the middle. He turned his gaze to the young girl with green curls. She was dressed in black and pink, and held a tattered white bunny in one hand.
" I want you to play with me! " she declared, stabbing at him again.
Hel looked at Masafumi, her painted lips in an expression that was troubled at best. " Masafumisama? "
Masafumi tore his eyes away from the boy dodging Tot's advances. " Can't be. " He looked back at Tot and shouted, " Don't hurt him Tot; we can use him. "
" Hai! Papa!! " Tot took advantage of a moment of distraction and smacked Omi across the head with the side of her umbrella.
Omi dropped to the ground and the last thing he saw was Tot's boot coming straight down towards his face.
Ken twisted around as this happened. He tried to run over but was stopped when Farfarello grabbed him around the middle and smacked him into the wall. " O- Omi!! " He shouted, trying to get away as Masafumi and Hel picked the boy up and ran off with him. " Omi!! " Then Farfarello punched him in the head and he blacked out.
(@)
" Flower shop's closed, buddy. You'll have to pick up your girlfriend some flowers elsewh-- oh, Manx! " Youji grinned at her from behind the register. " You changed shoes on me. "
Manx humored him. " You should know, Kudou, that no woman has just one pair of shoes. "
" Oi, if you can call the kid by his first name, what's wrong with mine? " He leaned on the counter and gave her a sly look over his sunglasses.
" Where is Omi? " Manx asked, skillfully easing the conversation in another direction.
Someone shuffled in from the back with an armload of boxes. " I'm here! " piped a voice from behind their load. He turned once he was through the doorway and greeted them properly. " Kombanwa! Manx, you have a friend with you! "
" Hai. " Manx stepped aside a little, saying. " Your fourth member is on his way too. "
Omi set down the boxes. " Hajimemashite! I'm Tsukiyono Omi, and over there is Kudou Youji. My code name is Bombay, and his is Balinese. "
" I can introduce myself, you know, Omi, " Youji said in good humor.
Ken stood awkwardly in the doorway, a bag slung over one shoulder and a soccer ball resting on his hip under the other. Nodding his head he introduced himself, " Hidaka Ken... " he fumbled to remember his code name. " Ore, Siberian! " He finally said, a little bit of triumph in his voice.
Omi relieved him of his bag and lead him to the residences. " Siberian huh? That's a really cool code name. I don't really understand the whole code name thing, but Persia says it's necessary. Have you met Persia yet? "
" Uh.. no. "
" Oh, well, Persia's our leader. He gives us missions. You play soccer? "
" Yeah, I'm- er... I used to be a... goalie... "
Omi gave him a surprisingly quizzical look, it made him look older. " Hm, I won't ask. But if you feel like talking, Youjikun or I will be around you know. I want us to all be friends, okay? Can I call you Kenkun? You can call me Omi. "
Ken smiled a bit, finding himself relaxing. " 'Kenkun' is fine... Omi. "
Down in the store, Youji looked up at Manx from the books. " Siberian huh? You said the fourth was on his way? " She nodded. He sighed, leaning back and putting the pencil in his mouth out of a habit borne of smoking. " I hope you're not expecting me to be some sort of a big brother to those two kids. It's not my style. "
" I don't expect anything of you, Youji. "
" Ouch. "
Omi bounded down the stairs. " When's the last member going to get here Manx? "
Manx was just about to answer when the door opened behind her and the elusive fourth member of Weiß walked in. He wasn't tall, but he was thin enough to create the illusion of height. He wore a black shirt that hugged his torso just so, while the sleeves were detached at the shoulders and sloughed down to let his wiry biceps show through. He wore tight leather pants and a stern scowl. A small duffel bag and a vinyl case that presumably carried a sword were slung over one shoulder. He paused briefly to look around the room, then headed for the back.
" Whoa, hold up. " Youji said easily, giving the newcomer a bemused once over. " We're doing introductions here and you're invited. "
Cold purple eyes locked onto Youji's green ones. " Fujimiya Aya. Abssynian. " Then he left.
Ken flattened himself against the side as Aya stomped up the stairs. He offered a welcoming grin to his fellow late arrival to the Weiß Project. " I'm Ke-- "
" Ken. I know. " Aya cut him off. They passed each other without so much as a further word from Aya or even a look. Ken watched him disappear up the stairs, his mouth open. He'd never met anyone so cold in his life.
(@)
Yet, he'd come to reflect on that observation later, it was only a cold exterior. An air put on to drive people away upon first impressions. Stick around long enough, be patient enough, and the other Aya began to show through. It was only in little ways, a concerned glance, a remark held back, even the single-minded dedication to the missions... it all belied something underneath the ice. Ken had come to refer to it as the 'old Aya' based on the sense that Aya hadn't always been that way. That something had happened that changed him...
" Ken. "
Ken struggled to open his eyes and cringed as a sharp pain hit him in the head. " Gah! " he cried out, closing his eyes and waiting before he tried to open them again. That brief moment of self-imposed darkness was all it took for the whole situation to come rushing back at him. Sitting straight up he yelped, " Omi!! "
Aya put a hand on his chest and eased him back down. " Wait a moment to clear your head and then we'll go after him. "
" But Aya! What if they--?! " They couldn't. He couldn't let that happen. Not to one of the few people that were nice to him in the life he had now. He sat up again and precariously got to his feet. " We can't fail this time, Aya! "
" I know that, " Aya said quietly, offering him support as they slowly made their way out of the alley. He pulled Ken's arm over his shoulder and set his gaze straight ahead. " But we can't afford to fall apart in the process. " That gaze darkened. " Not now. "
~(@)~
Translation notes:
Gomen if I missed anything... it's New Years and I'm tired ^^
Demo - but
Ikusou - Let's go
Hai - yes
Kombanwa - good evening
Hajimemashite - 'Pleased to meet you'
Ore, Siberian! - I'm Siberian!
[Written by Inseiko, 2002]