This, is, ridiculous! I, have, comma-itis! It's horrible, I tell you! I don't even want to know how many I edited out, but hopefully I got them all. If I didn't, let me know where the interloper comma is and I'll exterminate it!

Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter. About half way through, I found I had to go back and read the entire fic from the beginning to make sure I wasn't jumping into the deep end of inconsistency. I think I managed not to do that, but in re-reading, I managed a good laugh when I found out that I've spelled Yohji's last name at least three different ways. *ashamed* I knew I was having a problem with it, but I didn't know it was that bad. I will eventually get around to fixing it when I have the time and patience to deal with the intricacies of navigating the site. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me, and great big thanks to everyone who taken the time to review and offer encouragement!

Enjoy.

fire mystic

A Hard Rain

It had been cold and damp when they left for the mission. By the time they had arrived at the building complex, a steady drizzle had set in and hadn't let up since. It was absolutely miserable and Yohji, soaked to the skin, hair dripping water, couldn't have cared less. He felt high, but in the best way possible. He was on hyper alert, his senses keen, aware of everything around him as if it were highlighted in stark relief to the darkness. He felt alive, connected to his body, his muscles agile and responsive, his reflexes impeccable. He could feel energy pulsing through him, wiring him, preparing him.

His earpiece buzzed and he could hear Omi talking to Ken, but a glitch of static cut what they were saying into isolated syllables which resulted in undistinguishable, nonsensical gibberish. Yohji tapped the thing, hoping it was just a momentary glitch, but then it went silent and he didn't know if it was because they weren't saying anything more or if they were and he simply couldn't hear them.

"This can't be good," he muttered under his breath. He wasn't in visible range of any of his team, and if their communications were cut off, they were screwed. Or dead.

From where he was hunched against the trunk of an old tree, he surveyed his surroundings. The trees and shrubs around him were lurking in the fine drizzle, but there was nothing among them that presented any threat. To his left, somewhere over the rise of a hill, was the van they had taken, packed full of surveillance equipment which, if his earpiece was any indication, was proving to be of no use. To his right were a few more trees scattered in a long row like sentinels, and behind him was the alley between the two closest buildings that Aya and Ken had disappeared into about fifteen minutes earlier.

Could something have gone wrong already?

Hugging the tree with his body, Yohji leaned around so he could see the alley and the road that led into the facility. No vehicles, no people, nothing. And surely, he thought, if Omi couldn't contact him, he would realize something was wrong. They had a contingency plan for times such as these, after all. It just involved a bit more fancy foot work.

Yohji returned to his original position, a small smile on his face as he tapped the earpiece again. Fancy foot work would be fine with him. He was confident he could go a round or two.

There was an ominous flash of light somewhere off to the west, and Yohji glanced reflexively in that direction just as it was followed by a low rumble of thunder. Great. Maybe that was why communications had cut out. If this was a foreshadowing of worse weather to come, they had better hurry up or get the hell out. As if to confirm the negative feeling that was settling into Yohji's chest, the drizzle finally gave in to a steadier rain.

Five more minutes, Yohji figured as he checked his watch. That's all he was giving it. If he didn't hear anything, he was going in.

The sky lit up again, clear as day this time, and the volley of thunder that followed it was practically sonic, leaving Yohji ducking for cover where there was none. As it faded, another crack of sound drew his attention. More thunder? Possibly, but this sounded more distinct, more localized. Like a gunshot.

Fuck.

Turning back to scan the buildings again, blurred now because of the rain. Yohji found nothing. But that didn't mean anything at this point. He was going in.


Aya was aware of Ken at his back, a blur within the darkness keeping silent pace with him. He was aware of everything, as sharp as he ever was, if not sharper, and he didn't need to look back to know every move Ken made. He didn't need to see it; he could feel it. He kept them to the darker hollows, keeping out of the artificial light, and wishing that the infernal drizzle would either finally give into rain or just give up all together.

From an open doorway a few feet ahead, he heard a slight sound, perhaps nothing to be alarmed about, but he couldn't tell. He froze where he was, sinking back a step, knowing that Ken would be following his lead. He waited, listening carefully. Another shuffle, more distinct this time, and then a man stepped out of the building, closing the door behind him, and walked away in the opposite direction, head down against the weather, completely oblivious to the fact that the weather would have been the last thing he needed to worry about if he had been unfortunate enough to simply turn his head a few degrees in their direction.

Aya glanced back at Ken, who was lurking against the side of the opposite building. Was he smiling? Aya shook his head. Ken found humor in some of the strangest things.

They continued on until they reached the corner of the building, the narrow alley opening onto a small square that had been elegantly landscaped with a little garden at the center. The square was clear, no sign of the man who had preceded them or anyone else, but Aya couldn't shake the feeling that something was not quite right. He hit the comm on his ear to check in with Omi, but all he got was a few chopped up words and a lot of static. Just what they needed on this mission. He sank back from the corner to join Ken.

"Can you reach Omi?" He asked, speaking directly into Ken's ear.

"Nothing much more than static," Ken responded similarly. "Something wrong?"

Aya shrugged, taking another look around and out into the square.

"No, but it doesn't feel right."

Ken didn't question it. He knew Aya better than that. If Aya felt like something was off, then it was off.

"You want to abort?"

Aya considered, but shook his head.

"Slow and steady for now. Keep your eyes open, be ready for anything."

They returned to their positions, and Aya took the first cautious step out into the square. They moved in tandem, scanning the area constantly. And then the lightning flickered, and Aya saw clearly the man sitting on the bench on the opposite side of the garden, casually draped with one leg pulled up in front of him, and his arm cast out over the back of the bench, watching the two of them with that sadistic fucking smile of his.

Behind him, Ken grunted suddenly, and Aya knew this was the beginning of their entire mission going to hell.


Omi wasn't bothering with any official weather report. The static in the lines and the lousy connection he had on his laptop was enough to tell him something more than a little rain was on its way. They didn't need the connection. Their mission was clear, and they all had independent orders. But what if things went wrong? Yes, that could be a problem.

There was a brief flash on the road, just past the tree line where the van was neatly hidden. At first Omi thought it might be lightening, but then he heard the sound of an engine. He checked out the small window. It wasn't one of the cars that had been flagged in their mission, and he was about to shrug it off when he caught sight of the passenger staring out the back window of the car, directly at the van.

Omi hit the comm without looking at it, calling first for Aya, then Ken, and finally Yohji. Nothing. Static. How annoying was that? The first sign that things could go seriously wrong, or at least get screwed up in a major way, and he had no way of warning anyone. No way except to insert himself further into the mission.

Securing the van, he exited and headed in the same direction Aya and Ken had taken earlier. Was it raining harder than it had been before? Omi couldn't be sure. Maybe it was his imagination playing with him, trying to add drama to the already bad situation. He scanned for Yohji as he moved through the area he knew Yohji to be, but with no success. There was no point in searching him out, Omi knew. Yohji would be invisible even if they were within a mere few feet of each other. Knowing it, however, didn't stop Omi from trying.

He entered the same alley Ken and Aya would have used, and made his way quickly. He knew he was being a bit too careless, but an ominous feeling was pushing at him like a fist in the center of his back, pumping the adrenaline harder than normal. Ahead of him, a flash of lightening highlighted the far end of the alley, and he immediately recognized Aya's figure illuminated clearly in the flare. The clouds unleashed a torrent of rain then, and he saw another flash, this time one of light on steel, but too far from Aya to be his sword. No, it was off to the left, just past the building corner and behind Ken, whose figure Omi would recognize in the darkest night. He opened his mouth to give a warning shout, but before the sound made it past his lips, an invisible force swept him from his feet to land heavily into the concrete wall.


Ken was quick, but not quite fast enough. The blade caught him as he turned, slashing across his arm. There was a moment of no pain at all, but the stinging that followed clued him in that the blade had hit home. Now facing the madman who had managed to sneak up behind him, they circled each other as Aya faced off with the other lunatic, and Ken felt, somehow, that he was getting the better end of the bargain.

"You really should have refused this mission, Fujimiya."

The voice wasn't the one he expected as he watched Schuldig rise from the bench and approach, but one equally disliked.

"What's your business here, Crawford?"

Aya took his chances and turned towards the voice, finding Crawford standing in a doorway not far behind him, his white suit impeccable as always.

"Security, of course. And yours?"

"Our business isn't with you Crawford. Walk away and this doesn't have to involve you at all."

"You know that's not going to happen."

Aya stiffened as Schuldig draped an arm over his shoulders and leaned against him as if they were best of friends.

"He knows," Schuldig responded for him as he squeezed slightly and turned his chin to rest intimately on Aya's shoulder. "Mmm. You smell good. Just like Kudoh." He glanced around warily. "Where is that lovely little blonde anyway, Fujimiya? I was so looking forward to dancing with him."

Aya didn't so much as push him away as sidestep out of his detestable embrace. Schuldig pouted prettily, circling slowly as he observed Aya, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, isn't that disgustingly sweet? You two have actually reconciled and are trying to work things out." He scrunched his nose at the thought and made a useless attempt to toss loose, wet strands of hair out of his face. "Ah well. I guess that's all right. I have my sights set elsewhere lately."

Aya kept his katana between them as he followed Schulding's movements and prepared for Schuldig to pull one of his wickedly fast disappearances, but Schuldig didn't seem to be in any hurry. No, Schuldig was playing, prodding Aya a bit, then backing off. Pawing at his prey.

"I've set my sights elsewhere lately." He was baiting Aya, and Aya knew it, but Aya couldn't figure what Schuldig meant by that, and he didn't have a chance to think of it further as lightening struck again, thunder cracking immediately behind it, followed by a shout, and finally punctuated with a gun being fired.

Aya cringed, ducking for cover and whirling around to find Omi in the clearing between the two buildings, fighting the invisible force that was keeping the crossbow in his hand secured to his side. Omi was doing a valiant job against Nagi's talent, but was not having much success in his attempts to distract Farfarello from his assault on Ken. Ken, for his part, had clearly been taken by surprise; blood was dripping from a narrow cut on his arm and he was in the process of catching the flashing blade in his bugnuks to deflect a blow that would have meant a permanent facial scar.

Aya wasn't sure who Crawford was shooting at, and when he swung around to find out, Crawford was nowhere to be seen. Schuldig, on the other hand, was front and center, smiling sweetly.

"You know Aya, that sister of yours is getting prettier by the day. Gorgeous little thing. So petite, so innocent and naive, and what a beautiful smile."

Aya felt the chill freeze him in place.

"I couldn't help but notice her back when we had to kidnap her, but that was business, you know? Can't get distracted on a mission. But you know that, right?"

He winked slowly, and Aya felt like a rock had settled in the pit of his stomach.

"But now?" Schuldig continued, and Aya was only vaguely aware of Schuldig backing away, fading into the storm. "There's nothing to get between us now." Schuldig was nowhere to be seen now, and there was nothing to indicate that he had even lingered, until the whisper cut through Aya's thoughts like a spike.

"I was particularly tickled that she likes red-heads."

Yohji found Aya kneeling in the cold rain, head lowered to his knees, chest heaving in hyperventilation, one gloved fist flexing around the saya of his katana while the other was clenched closed against the ground.