Warning: AU, Fantasy, PG-13, Ran/Ken.

Disclaimer: Weiss belongs to Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiss.

City of Steps

Chapter Twelve

"That was fun," Ken said, stretching his arms up over his head as though he were reaching for the stars that twinkled above them. "Once you teamed up with me we were unstoppable."

Beside him Ran chuckled, the deep vibrating sound made Ken's skin tingle, and he bounced on his toes.

"Like anything else it's a question of understanding the rules and making them work for you, rather than against you," Ran replied.

"What about luck?" Ken asked.

"There is a certain amount of luck in the draw, but skill can turn a bad hand to one's advantage."

They were finally making their way home from Yohji's. He'd insisted that they stay for dinner, and more cards and drinks had followed. Although the afternoon and evening had been one of the pleasantest he'd spent since his arrival, Ken was relieved when Ran had insisted that they leave shortly after Omi and Aya. It was getting late and they'd need to get up early for services the next morning. As it was the walk home would take nearly a half hour since Yohji lived on the same terrace as Ran's family, but on another side facing the cliffs to the south-west. They'd need to cross a quarter of the terrace to get back to Ran's.

Ken was infinitely glad that the streets were lit with torches or he'd never be able to find his way, and he was trying to learn it.

"Sure is a nice night," he sighed, feeling completely relaxed for the first time in months.

"Aa," Ran agreed. "But the breeze is beginning to pick up. We may get our first summer storm."

"Does it rain a lot here?"

"Not really. It..."

Ran was interrupted by the loud peeling of a bell in the distance. Ken paused when Ran did and they both listened. The ringing sounded urgent.

"What is that?" Ken asked feeling all of his tension return.

"The fire bell," Ran answered. "Come on."

Ken followed Ran's lead as his husband began a fast paced walk that quickly became a jog down side streets and lanes until they reached the main roadway. There they slowed a bit as the sky four blocks away glowed orange against the stars. Large, black billowing clouds rose up, blotting out the pinpricks of light in the west.

"Where is that?" Ken asked as Ran put on another burst of speed. "Ran?"

"It's near home," his husband called back over his shoulder as he began to run.

Ken caught up to him easily, he'd always been a fast runner, and together they raced down the road toward Ran's house. The bell continued to peel as the houses around them began spilling people. Many of them carried buckets, and joined them as they ran.

As they rounded the last corner their worst fears were realized. The Fujimiya house was ablaze. The entire front was alight with flames. Glass from the windows littered the street and the front door appeared to have been hacked open with an ax. People were lined up before the house throwing bucketfuls of water in through the door and lowest windows. In several upper level windows members of the Fujimiya staff leaned out crying and screaming for help. Several men with blankets held taunt between them called up, trying to get them to jump to safety one at a time. Even the lower tower windows had flames in them.

Ken and Ran pushed their way through the crowd to the front, where a line had formed well back from the heat of the flames.

"My parents...Aya...do you see them?" Ran yelled above the din of the crowd and the roar of the fire.

Ken searched the faces around them but couldn't see any that he recognized. Ran moved ahead of him and began shouting for them. Ken reached out a hand and caught the back of his coat in a tight grip. He was suddenly frightened. The breeze was becoming a wind and it was forcing the smoke down into the street making it hard to see and breath.

"Where are they?" Ran cried turning to look at him, his eyes looked panicked. "Where are they?!"

A loud crack drew all eyes back to the house where the roof collapsed inward with a terrible rumble and the flames rose to lick at the sky. The servants who hadn't jumped fell back into the inferno, their agonized cries echoed down to the crowded street below.

Ran screamed and made as if to dash into the house, but Ken had him around the middle and held him back.

A second rumble signaled the collapse of the interior walls and was echoed in the sky as the wind picked up, drawing spirals of sparks and smoke upwards into the night. Large drops of water began to fall a moment later, hissing when they came in contact with the fire's tremendous heat.

Ken wrapped his arms more securely around Ran and held on. He could feel him shivering, though there was no way he could possibly be cold. Ken held him and watched as the house that had become his home was eaten by angry orange fire.

Suddenly Ran went still. Ken tightened his grasp just as a pulse went through him, like a displacement of air all around them, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. A blast of cold wind blew down, clearing the smoke from the street, and a second roll of thunder rumbled directly overhead seconds before the sky opened up. Torrents of cold rain fell in sheets instantly soaking everyone and driving many to seek shelter.

Through his clothes Ken could feel Ran breathing, his chest heaving as though he'd just run a great distance. Ken continued to hold him as the rain blanketed the fire within the house, sending great plumes of hissing steam up into the air in place of the choking smoke. The men and women who'd continued to fight the fire with buckets backed away to the edge of the crowd, the rain doing a much more efficient and effective job, and a silence descended which was only broken by the occasional cough or cry.

Suddenly out of the rain a group of men materialized around them. Ken didn't notice at first, but he gradually became aware that a body of like dressed individuals had formed a living wall around him and Ran. He blinked against the water in his eyes to try to identify them. One of them came to stand before them, he kept his back to the remains of the fire and that caused his face to be cloaked in shadow. But despite that the light caught and glinted off of the metallic threads on his coat sleeve forming the Tsukiono coat of arms.

"Sirs, we've been sent by his highness, Prince Omi, to collect you," he said in a clear and commanding voice.

Ken blinked up at him uncertainly. In his arms Ran had started shivering again.

"Please, Sirs, come along now," the man continued. "There's nothing more that can be done here."

Ken nodded his agreement and began to pull at Ran to get him moving in the direction the man indicated. It took some effort and wasn't easy since Ken found his entire body had gone numb with cold. The man assisted by placing a guiding hand on the red-head's back and slowly they began to move away from the still smoldering structure.

The rain began to lessen as they walked and several of their escort covered them with heavy cloaks against the night's sudden chill. Despite that Ken found himself beginning to shiver violently before they'd gone very far. Water ran down his scalp and neck into his clothes which clung to him and held the cold against his skin.

As they rounded the block and moved toward the steps that would take them up to the higher terraces a small group of huddled people came into view. Several of them gasped and cried out when they saw them. As they drew nearer Ken began to pick out faces he recognized, Nalsa, Chi, the entire kitchen staff, and Symington among them.

"Young Masters. It's the young masters," reached Ken's ears and he tugged on the sleeve of their guide.

"Yes, Sir?" the man asked, leaning close.

"The staff," Ken managed to say between chattering teeth. "They must come too."

"Yes, Sir," the man agreed. He said something to another of their company and several of their number went to gather the group of servants and bring them along.

Ran still hadn't spoken and Ken pressed as close as he could to him. He still had one hand clutched onto the front of his wet coat through the part in the heavy cloaks they were draped with. By the lantern light, made dim by the rain, he looked colorless. His eyes shown in the dark, looking glassy and vacant. That scared Ken worse than the fire, worse than the idea that they'd just lost everything and would be left to fate with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

"Come, Sirs," the man prompted again as they started up the stairs. Ken wasn't at all sure he could do it. "I've sent some men back to look for any staff we may have left behind. Don't worry about them, they'll be found."

Ken managed to nod in reply, but felt himself stagger on the steps as a result. Strong, steady arms caught and supported him, then continued to hold him up as they climbed. He realized suddenly that he'd lost his hold on Ran and reached out in a near panic, catching hold of a piece of his cloak. In that moment Ken was pierced with the fear that he would lose Ran, the only thing he had left in the world.

"Don't worry, Sir," their guide's voice suddenly whispered close to his ear, "we have a firm hold on him. He's not going anywhere."

"Th-thanks," he said with a nod. He was sure the man was trying to reassure him, but he couldn't help thinking that he'd sounded a little sinister. Then again, Ken had to admit that he was getting a little light headed and having trouble focusing on any one particular thought. Everything was becoming a blur and he wished they'd arrive at Omi's soon.

Although it wasn't too much later that they did arrive, it wasn't soon enough for Ken. His nose had begun to run, forcing him to breath through his mouth, and all he was aware of at that point was his own misery and Ran's cloak clutched in his aching hand. It was a few minutes before he realized that they had left the cold rainy night and were stumbling into the brightly lit warmth of Omi's front hall.

Ken blinked against the sudden brightness and allowed the cloaks and his coat to be stripped off of him. He made sure Ran was still beside him and got a fresh grip on his arm before he began searching the faces around him. The hall was full of people, Omi's men, Omi's servants, and the group of Fujimiya servants that had been brought along. The staff were also being stripped of their wet clothing and several young women were handing them steaming mugs from a tray. Ken found himself holding a mug as well and after he'd taken a taste of the sweet, hot tea inside he found Omi standing before them, smiling in relief.

"Thank the gods," Aya's fiance muttered. "We heard the bells. My men had been sent to escort us and I sent them back for you, but I wasn't sure I was in time."

"We?" Ken croaked and Omi nodded.

"Ran!"

Ken nearly dropped his mug as Aya came flying through the crowd and fell violently onto her brother. She squeezed him and repeated his name as she cried into his chest. The tall red-head blinked, then looked down at the young woman latched onto him. To Ken it looked as if his husband was waking from a deep sleep. His arms came up slowly to encircle his sister.

"Thank the gods you're alright," she cried looking up at him. Then she seemed to catch sight of Ken standing by and she pulled him into her embrace as well. "And Ken. Ken is here too. Thank the gods."

"Aya," Ran said softly and then he was slipping from their grasps and headed toward the floor in a dead faint. Only the quick reflexes of Omi's men kept him from landing in a heap.

Ken lost track of things after that as they were all bundled up another flight of stairs. He found himself naked in a hot bath, where he stayed until his shivering had ceased, and then he blinked and he was in a warm bed with Ran beside him. For the first time since his marriage Ken curled himself up tight next to his husband and fell into a deep sleep to the sound of Ran's breathing and the steady beat of his heart.

Author's Note: Hmmm...maybe not the best chapter to post right before a national holiday, but oh well, that's how it goes. To everyone in the U.S. Please have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and if you're traveling travel safely! :)