Weiss II: Closing Arc
#7: Crucify My Love
By: Aries Draco
A/N: I'd die for reviews. Nuff said.
Warning/s: Insanity, angst, shounen ai, violence, strong language
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1, early morning
When he awoke, the glowing green numerals told him that it was 4.00am. Yue really fucking overdid it this time around. They should at least have woken him up during the night so that they could discuss a plan of action instead of walking straight into Ryan's trap. Or perhaps they *had* discussed a plan, one that excluded him. Frankly, he was surprised that neither had reported his instability to Persia yet. He was a liability, after all.
A soft laugh startled him. It sounded so cold, insane. He froze in shock when he realised that it was coming from himself. He put one hand up to his face and found that he was smiling, widely. No. Why was he smiling? He looked up into the mirror on his right, seeing his reflection grinning insanely at him.
"Because we will get to kill soon," said the twisted creature in the looking glass. "Because there will be blood and suffering."
He felt his mouth move, his throat contract to make those sounds yet he could not have. He could not. He would never say things like that. His hands were trembling and nothing could make them stop.
"It's anticipation," purred the reflection. "We can't wait to sink our claws into a soft, warm body, ne?"
"Iie!" cried Kushin, turning to face the mirror fully. "I'm not that kind of person."
"We are what we are," hissed the creature in the mirror. "We like killing, we do."
"No! I only want to save Uriel!"
The reflection drew back, single eye narrowed, fingers trailing over the closed eyelid. "We have damaged ourselves before and Uriel helped us. Yes, we will save Uriel. We will kill soon."
Kushin stifled his sob. He could not recognise the demented beast in the mirror. "Who are you?" he asked, stepping forward, placing his hand on the cool surface of the mirror. "Why are you so bloodthirsty?"
The reflection's eye widened in sadistic pleasure as it pressed against the glass fully. "Who are we?" he echoed mockingly. "Do you not recognise your own fucking face, Nakata Kushin?!"
He tore the mirror from the wall and smashed it on the floor, violet eye wide with rage and fear. "Iie," he whispered, sinking down onto his knees. "I'm not like that. I'm not… I'm not…"
^i^
-2, morning
He found the room while he was just wandering around the Schwarz compound. The heart-wrenching sobs made him pause mid-step. Who would be crying so painfully at this hour in this place? A hostage?!
Setsuna gave the door a little push and it swung in. Not locked? Tentatively, he gave it a harder push, opening the door enough for him to peer in. Immediately, he was hit by the sharp, coppery scent of blood. Someone was hurt! He rushed in, slamming the door wide open.
Green eyes met frightened silver ones for a moment before the silver turned away and the sobbing continued. Was that…? How could it be? It defied all logic yet… Setsuna stepped forward cautiously, then cried out in horror as he got a good look at the person on the bed.
He was lying facedown, naked, whip marks criss-crossing his back and legs. The blood covered his skin in a red sheen, creating the illusion that there was no skin left. His hands were bound above his head to the headboard, arms in a painfully twisted position. Setsuna stared in horrified fascination. Wait. There was too much blood to have come from just whips. A closer look revealed long cuts caused by knives and…
His blood ran cold. Who had done this? Who was sadistic enough to do such a thing?
"Help," whimpered the tortured person. "Help me."
That snapped Setsuna out of his trance. He rushed forward, cutting the bonds with a small dagger that he kept in his boot.
"Are you okay?" he asked, then winced at the stupidity of the question. He looked at the person's face, then did a double take. "U… Uriel?!"
At the mention of his name, he turned away, still crying. Setsuna had a million questions all of a sudden but seeing the state of the once proud assassin, he decided to put them off. Gently, he rested his hand on Uriel's head, stroking the soft silver hair.
"Can you move?" he asked softly, so as not to aggravate the poor man. "We need to get you cleaned up."
Uriel nodded slightly. He turned his head back to look at Setsuna. Whatever remaining prejudices and hatred that was in Setsuna prompt vanished. How could he feel anything but pity for Uriel when faced with such vulnerability? Those silver eyes pleaded for salvation, begging to be freed from this pain.
"I'll go run a bath for you," said Setsuna quietly. "Then, I'll help you get cleaned up, okay?"
Another nod. Those wide silver eyes followed him as he rushed to the adjoining bathroom and started filling the bathtub. Once he was sure that the temperature would be okay, he went back to the bed.
"Come, Yuri-chan," coaxed Setsuna. He saw the assassin wince in pain as he tried to get up. Setsuna wrapped an arm around Uriel, mindful of the open wound, helping him up. They made their way to the bathroom slowly. Each step was obviously torture to Uriel, a fact highlighted by the blood that splattered on the floor as they progressed.
"Abyssinian," whispered the Schwarz assassin, a plea. He was shaking, trembling from blood loss and fear.
Setsuna suddenly realised that Uriel was actually speaking. His voice was amazingly sweet, a low tenor, but a little hoarse. Hoarse? Had he been screaming during his torture? How long, how loudly? Poor child.
"Yuri-chan, I'm going to put you in the water, okay?" asked Setsuna, pushing his questions out of his mind once more. He picked up the assassin, surprised at how light he was.
"Ah…!" Arms went round his neck, pulling him close. "Hurts." So young, so childish.
Setsuna could feel his face heating up. "It's just for a little while, Yuri-chan," he said soothingly. "You must bear with it." Seeing that there was no way Uriel would let go of him, he did the only thing he could do. He kicked off his shoes and stepped into the bathtub.
The arms around him tightened and he heard a stifled sob. Uriel pressed closer to him. As slowly as he dared, he lowered the both of them into the water. Fingers dug into his shoulders as Uriel tensed in pain, entire body shaking. "Hush," he murmured. "Yuri-chan…"
"Abyssinian…"
"My name is Setsuna. Shirokawa Setsuna," he told the assassin.
Lovely silver eyes looked up at him, then looked away. Oh well. Setsuna grabbed a soft towel from the rack and started sponging the blood off the person currently resting on his lap. Slowly, in an attempt to reduce the amount of pain as much as possible, he cleaned Uriel. As he worked, he found out the extent of hurt the poor child had gone through. By time he was done, the water was dark pink and Uriel, fast asleep.
^i^
1, early morning
Sünde was driving, again. For some reason, the ex-Weiss had asked to come along… and Ryan let him. Uriel was locked in the boot and Setsuna was sitting at the back with Ryan, who was trying to the ex-Weiss to kiss him. Heh, served him right for asking to come.
He could not help feeling jealous. Ryan hardly paid attention to him, even though he strove to be the perfection that his leader desired. However, this Setsuna had merely to appear to cause Ryan to go to pieces over him. That bitch.
There was a muffled scream from the boot. Sünde glanced back in worry but a sharp look from Ryan made him turn back to the road. Poor Uriel. They were heading for an old, deserted church. Whatever Ryan had planned for the assassin, it would not be pleasant.
^i^
-2, morning
He placed Uriel gently on the couch, then went off to get fresh linen for the bed. The assassin flinched at the contact with the fabric of the couch but remained asleep. Setsuna bit his lip. Honestly, he had been afraid of this poor creature before? It was only then he could fully appreciate the beauty lying in front of him.
He stripped the bed, then put on new sheets. There, that was better. A few pillows and a blanket and it looked good enough to sleep in.
"Yuri-chan?" he called softly, stroking the impossibly soft silver hair.
Sad eyes parted to look at him. "Hai?" whispered Uriel, as if afraid to raise his voice.
"Go over to the bed to sleep," said Setsuna, smiling. He did not expect the reaction at all.
"NO!" screamed Uriel. He turned away, facing the back of the couch, trembling all over again. "No…" The angry red marks that criss-crossed his back presented themselves glaringly to Setsuna. "No…"
Of course, why had he not thought of it? "Hush, Yuri-chan," murmured Setsuna, kneeling beside the sobbing youth. "Gomen. But lie back down properly, okay? Don't hurt yourself."
Slowly, hesitantly, Uriel turned back to face Setsuna. He settled down obediently, watching the redhead with wide, wary eyes.
"That's a good boy," cooed Setsuna, grinning. He leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss on Uriel's forehead. "I'll get you a blanket, okay?"
Uriel nodded, eyes never leaving the ex-Weiss assassin. Abyssinian was being so nice to him. The couch felt wonderfully cool beneath him and the blanket that Abyssinian brought over was dry and crisp with the scent of freshly washed linen. He let the soft cloth run over his body, pulling it up to his chin. He was tired, so tired. His back hurt, a dull ache that would not go away.
"How do you feel now, Yuri-chan?" asked Setsuna softly. He placed a hand comfortingly on Uriel's shoulder.
Sick. Utterly sick, disgusted and used. Poor child. He did not have to put it in words. Setsuna could already hear his unguarded thoughts.
"Abyssinian…"
"Just call me Setsuna," interrupted the ex-Weiss.
Uriel nodded solemnly. "Setsuna-san, arigatou," he said quietly.
"Don't worry about it, Yuri-chan," laughed Setsuna. "You needed help so…"
"I always thought that you were a heartless and selfish person," said Uriel honestly. "You abandoned the team that looked up to you as a leader just for a chance to wake your own sister. I never thought that you could actually care for someone else."
It was as if someone had just run him through with his own katana. His shock must have shown on his face because Uriel began to apologise. "Iie, Yuri-chan," he said, holding up one hand. "I guess… you're right." It was true, was it not? He was a damn selfish person. Even before everything, when he was much younger, he had been like that. So, was he finally growing up? "I am an insensitive bastard."
"But, you're so nice to me, even though you hardly know me," protested Uriel. "Why?"
Why?
What was a question he was asking himself as well. Just a month back, he probably would not have cared even if someone was dying at his feet. Why had he changed? It did not really matter. What mattered was that it was a change for the better."Isn't that great, Yuri-chan?" asked Setsuna, smiling widely. "At least now I know I have grown to become a better person. Why don't you go to sleep now? You should rest, considering your injuries."
"Aa," whispered Uriel, quiet once more. He looked up shyly, blushing. "Can you kiss me again?"
"Eh?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow.
"Gomen! I didn't…" His voice was cut off when the ex-Weiss assassin did kiss him. Uriel felt his face become even hotter. Why was he even doing this? All he wanted was a little, chaste, goodnight kiss from this kind person who helped him. He did not expect Setsuna to kiss him on the lips!
"What the fuck?!" came an shocked voice.
Setsuna pulled away immediately, turning to face the person who had just stumbled upon them. He was met with a fist aimed for his face.
Sünde glared at the redhead angrily. Did that fucking whore not realise that what he was doing could put Uriel into more danger than he already was in? Ryan had claimed Uriel as his latest toy. If he saw SETSUNA kissing Uriel, Sünde hated to think what might happen to his team-mate.
"Get out, Abyssinian," he snarled. "Unless you're in a hurry to get Uriel killed."
Two pairs of shocked eyes stared at him. "Sünde…" whispered Uriel, eyes wide.
"What do you mean?" snapped Setsuna. "Can't you see I'm just trying to help Yuri-chan? You're his team-mate and you let this happen to him!"
"Yuri… chan?" repeated Sünde. He growled, stepping right up to the ex-Weiss assassin. "You don't understand anything at all so stay out of it, Abyssinian." His eyes were narrowed in fury. "Leave Uriel alone. You don't even have the right to tag a 'chan' to the back of his name. GET OUT!"
It struck him suddenly. Had he really been calling Uriel 'Yuri-chan'? When did he start? Setsuna's confusion gave Sünde the opportunity to physically remove him from the room and slam the door shut, locking it.
"Please," begged Sünde. He seemed so upset, so tired. "Just don't interfere, okay?"
Setsuna glared at him but refused to answer. This kid (he's older than you, Set-chan -_-;) dared to order him around? He would not bother. Instead, he stormed off back to his own room.
An idea was beginning to take shape in his head and he had a little work to do. So, he had forsaken Weiss. Did his team-mates think that as well? If they did, well, at least he had a chance to redeem himself. The image of frightened, silver eyes gazing up at him flashed in his mind. If he could find space in his hardened heart to help this fearsome creature (gentle child), what was there to stop him from helping Weiss and Kritiker? Especially since he was inside the Schwarz compound… and there was always Ryan…
^i^
1, morning
"Ohayo, Yami-kun, Yue-kun!" greeted Kushin cheerfully, setting down the breakfast he had prepared. "Since we don't have to be there until 8 am, I thought I would make you guys some breakfast."
"My, you're up early today, Ku-chan," laughed Yami. Inwardly, he felt that something was seriously wrong. He could sense it. For the moment, however, he could only play along.
Yue raised an eyebrow at his over genki senior. "Did you poison our food?" he asked bluntly.
"Eh?! Hidoi, Yu-chan!" whined Kushin. "How could you suspect me of doing such a thing?" He smiled but somehow, it seemed sinister. "I still need backup when we head down to the church. Would I try to kill you?"
"I never said anything about killing," returned Yue calmly.
Kushin pouted. "Fine. I'll eat some of everything off your plates to prove that I've done nothing to it, okay?" Before either of his team-mates could say a thing, he went ahead. "See? There's no poison in the food."
"Hai, hai, Ku-chan!" laughed Yami. "Don't worry about it. Just concentrate on eating your own food. I'm sure that Yu-chan was just joking."
"I wasn't," muttered Yue, tucking in. "Hey, this is pretty good."
Kushin grinned widely as both his team-mates started shovelling down the food. Of course there was no poison in the food. Was he that stupid? "The poison is in the cutlery," he informed them, still grinning. "It takes about six hours to go through your system. After the critical six hour mark, no antidote will save you."
Two pairs of eyes stared at him in shock. "Why?" whispered Yami. "Ku-chan, why?!"
Kushin's single violet eye flashed dangerously. "I need insurance that you will listen to whatever I say. If you do that, I will give you the antidote. If not, you will both die," he told them, smirking. "We leave now. I want to be there early."
"Matte!" cried Yue. "What's wrong with you, Kushin?! We're you're friends, aren't we? Why must you resort to this?"
The smile on the assassin's face was truly chilling. "You are Nakata Kushin's friends, not mine," he replied. "Never mine."
"Kimi… wa dare?!" demanded Yue.
"A part of him that he would rather deny."
^i^
0, night
He was ecstatic when he found out that Ryan would be meeting Weiss the next day. That made everything so much easier. Of course, it took a little work to convince Ryan to let him follow but he managed. Setsuna grinned happily as he completed his little project.
His glee fled him when the screams started. Uriel. No, he had to wait. By tomorrow, Uriel would be safe with Weiss, with Kushin. Then, he would work on Ryan. Patience was the key. Patience.
^i^
1, morning
He flinched when the boot was opened, letting the morning sunlight stream in. It was so cold. Then again, what mattered? Hikaru was dead. Really, truly dead.
"Get out," came Ryan's voice.
Slowly, painfully, Uriel picked himself up. A cry of shock left him as he was shoved out of the boot, falling heavily onto the pavement. The concrete tore some of his skin off, drawing out another cry.
"Bitch, look up at me," said Ryan maliciously. He grabbed Uriel's face and forced it up, enjoying the look of utter despair. "I'm going to display you beautifully to your precious violet-eyed boy."
"Angel… Saviour… Will kill Ryan…"
Ryan slapped him, hard, causing him to come into close contact with the concrete once more. "Not so soon, bitch," he sneered. "If you're praying for my death, you can stop. I'm not going anytime soon."
"Hate him."
"Go ahead, love," laughed Ryan cruelly. "I like it."
Setsuna bit his lip to keep himself from interfering. Patience. "Yuri-chan, bear with this a little longer," he thought to himself, not daring to send it out.
^i^
0, morning still
They arrived. Weiss. He watched them from his vantage point. Schwarz had arrived a little while back… with Setsuna. No, Mirai, focus! Mei was not there. He watched Uriel get thrashed even more by Ryan, then 'displayed'. A nice show for those who had just turned up. And Setsuna was just watching. Focus, Mirai, focus!
"My god,"
whispered a voice. "And I thought that I might have saved him.""It was worth a shot, Tobias," sighed Mirai softly. "It's not the killing blow but sometimes, it's the little things that kill."
"He's really out of control, ne? Someone should kill him soon,"
said the spirit sadly."Don't worry, I will. But for now, patience is the key," said Mirai, eyes narrowing. "This sequence of events must occur. Then, we'll give Ryan a spectacular death, okay?"
"So long as you send him to me soon,"
replied the spirit. "I can feel that he's frightened himself. When will he realise that the only way for him to live on is to die?"Mirai laughed softly, not answering. Never, Ryan would never learn. Not in his current state, in any case. Pain shot through his body and he gasped.
The spirit turned to him, worried. "You haven't taken *it*," he noted.
The boy shook his head. "I still need this body, for a little longer," he told the spirit. "So I must hold out till then."
"Take it soon, okay, love?"
pressed the spirit. He reached out, then remembered that he could touch nothing. "You have to. Otherwise, I don't know what will happen to you.""Hai." The boy turned back to looking down at the scene before him, pointedly ignoring the syringe in his pocket. Weiss and Schwarz were meeting again. Everything depended on the wild card now. Which side would Setsuna choose? Mei was challenging him. Biting back a snarl of rage, he stood.
"Good luck, love,"
called Tobias, grinning."There's no such thing as luck… but I figure I can use it."
"Asshole."
"Slut."
^i^
1, morning
Ryan hit his head so hard. His head hurt, he could not breathe. Tensing his arms, he lifted himself slightly and drew a painful breath. Then, he fell back down, impaling himself once more on something. He could feel the blood (more blood) flowing down his legs, down that thing that he was stuck on. It hurt, it hurt so much.
Everything was black but he was still awake. He wished that he could escape into the realm of sleep but Ryan refused to let him. The barbed wire on his head cut into him. He wanted the angel to come. Just like the dream he had the last night, after Ryan was done torturing him.
Another breath, more pain as the wood scraped his back. The ropes cut deeply into his wrists. At least Ryan was kind enough not to use nails. He heard some footsteps, running in and halting. Gasps of shock and horror. They saw him, then?
"Uriel!"
That was him, the angel, Jezebel. It had to be. He would save him.
Kushin froze upon entering the church. On the cross was Uriel, blindfolded, legs spread obscenely with blood all over the place. Beneath the cross, Ryan was waiting, obviously enjoying the anger that crossed the Weiss assassin's face.
Yami was similarly paralysed in mortification but Yue had seen something else that made his blood boil. Or rather, someone.
"Setsuna," he hissed, breaking the tense silence. "Omae…!"
The redhead caught his gaze and smirked, cocking his head. "Yo, Yu-chan, Yami-chan and Kushin," he called, waving cheerfully.
Kushin turned to face their ex-leader, an odd look in his remaining eye. "Setsuna…" he whispered.
Setsuna took an involuntary step back at the look in his ex-team-mate's eye. What had happened to the poor boy? Then, he steeled himself, picking up his act. "Ku-chan, nice to see you here," he greeted.
"Why did you betray Weiss?" asked Kushin quietly, almost sweetly. "And why is Uriel crucified?"
Ryan was content to watch and for that, Setsuna was thankful. That way, he could pull off his show more easily. He stepped right up to Kushin and leaned close. "Simple. They woke my sister," he replied. "And as for Uriel… gee, I dunno. Why don't you ask Ryan?" Then he stepped back, chuckling.
"Kisama!" snarled Yami, snapping out of his semi-trance. His wire shot out toward Setsuna, who knocked it away easily with the back of his katana. "You selfish bastard! Do we mean nothing to you at all?!"
"No," said Setsuna innocently. "I told you from the start that all I was interested in was the money." He dodged suddenly, bullets whizzing past where he had been just a moment ago.
A few more shots went off in Ryan's direction and that was all that was needed. Sünde leapt out form his hidden position and tackled Yue, knocking the gun from his hands. For that, he was rewarded with a chokehold courtesy of Yami. Setsuna ran forward to join in the fray, forcing Yami off the German.
While all this was happening, Kushin remained standing very calmly in the middle of the aisle, staring at Ryan. A part of him was whispering for him to go forth and kill Ryan immediately, to spill blood. Another part was begging him to go up and help Uriel down. God knew the poor child had suffered enough. Finally, the major part of his mind at that moment was wondering why Setsuna had handed him a disk.
"Are you going to leave Uriel up there to suffer?" inquired Ryan in an extremely polite tone of voice.
Kushin tilted his head and Ryan stepped back. That Weiss assassin's pupils were almost non-existent. All that was visible was a pool of violet. Siberian took a step forward and Ryan took another step back. That look on his face! It was such a cold smile.
"I will kill you," promised the Weiss assassin. He leapt, straight up toward where Uriel was tied up. Landing lightly on the horizontal part of the cross, he knelt down to see how Uriel was doing.
"You're here," whispered Uriel, joy flooding his voice. "Jesse."
"Yes," replied Kushin in English. He slashed the bonds off Uriel's wrists, then caught him just before he fell. Uriel whimpered softly in pain. Kushin took a breath, then yanked Uriel up onto the level surface, throwing off the crown of barbed wire.
"Jesse," sobbed Uriel, collapsing into the assassin's arms. "Jesse…" He repeated that name over and over as if reciting a prayer.
"Hush, child," murmured Kushin. "But I cannot remain long. He is dying to kill someone."
"Who? Nakata?"
A feral smile spread over the Weiss assassin's face, causing Uriel to back away, even though he did not see it. "No, Nakata Kushin is too weak," he snarled. "Siberian is the one." With that, he leapt down with a battle cry, laughing maniacally.
He clashed with Ryan, again and again, yet the telepath blocked him easily. Strike, defend, defend, attack, attack, KILL! Blocked?! Claws hit the katana with a metallic ring and his single crazed eye looked up into deep green ones.
"Setsuna…" he growled.
"Ku-chan," whispered the other, eyes wide in shock. "What happened to you?"
With a cruel grin, Siberian jumped back, then attacked again. Setsuna was hard pressed to parry.
Suddenly, there was a loud crackling sound and the exterior of the church burst into flames.
"Set-chan!" called Ryan, worried for the safety of the person he desperately wanted.
"Ryan, take Sünde and get out of here!" yelled Setsuna, blocking another flurry of blows. He had already knocked Yue out earlier on and Yami should have no problem dealing with Sünde.
"But…!"
"Sünde, get Ryan out of here!" shouted Setsuna. He paused long enough to watch the assassin knock Yami out before being forced to defend himself again. He faced Kushin. Or was this even Kushin? The single violet eye glowered malevolently at him. In the escalating inferno, he seemed more like a devil sent from the depths of hell.
A scream made them both pause. "Uriel!" Setsuna realised. At the same moment, Kushin seemed to snap out of his murderous rage.
He could not help. He had to go. To preserve the image, he had to trust that Kushin could get all of Weiss out in time. Which idiot started the damn fire anyway? He ran.
^i^
1, outside
Good, it was all going according to plan. Mirai watched the church burn. Pretty, pretty fire. He sighed. He was sure that Weiss would make it out okay, Uriel included. The only thing he missed was whether Setsuna was on Weiss's side or Schwarz's. That would make all the difference in his next stage of planning. If Mei was going to taunt him with the brother he could not have, he was going to meet her damn challenge and kill her as well as her bloody tool.
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A/N: Um… semi-cliffhanger moment? Please review, I'm starving. Btw, I've broken 50 000!! Current overall word count = 50 266 words! Yay!
4501 words
~Aries Draco 020403
