Rosenkreuz… sweet Rosenkreuz
Chapter 49: Spare the Rod…
The 7th Annual Independent Party Convention… opening with a gala cocktail party, catered by only the finest chefs, unlimited drinks of all types, a guest list in the hundreds… a security nightmare.
He had come down with Schuldich to take a look at how the facility was shaping up. The hall itself was decorated, though there was still some minor moving of tables going on. They met back in a side hallway to discuss the security issues. He was going through possible problems when he noticed the redhead was distracted by something.
"What is it?"
Just then the telepath lifted his head slightly and smirked. He made buzzing noises as Brad turned to see what was going on… and caught only the backs of the disappearing florists… the ones who had been setting up arrangements all over the place. "Three flies buzzing around."
Aaaah… so they WEREN'T just florists… who knew Weiß had a day job? "Leave them alone, flies don't live long. They are destined to die." He smirked
"You saw something?"
He turned and started to walk away… let Hirofumi dither over setting up the place. "Maybe…"
"I hate when you do that."
"I know."
**
He truly despised this. So many people crowded together… all their inane thoughts… getting worse as the alcohol flowed. Besides… he had to wear a suit. He hated suits. Especially stuff ones like Braddy usually wore. In revenge, he had worn the most hideous tie he owned and was rewarded by the American's visible wince when he had come out. Nagi had snickered, glad that he got to stay home. Bren gave him a bit of a headache for that.
So now he was standing there… bored… drinking soda because Braddy-boy refused to let him drink anything good while on duty. He watched as the youngest kitten arrived with Ouka… now THAT was amusing. He had gotten Nagi to dig up a little information on 'Takatori Mamoru'… interesting reading there. He thought it was a little harsh on Reiji's part… Mamoru had only been a kid. Besides… brats didn't pick the losers they ended up with for parents. Obviously the kitten DIDN'T know who he was… or who Princess Ouka was. He wondered if Brad would let him 'play' with them.
Brad had just told him to walk around when Hirofumi dragged the Weiß kitten off. Being curious as a cat himself… he decided to listen in on their little conversation.
"Someone wants me dead and you work for him, don't you? Who is it?"
"Niisan, listen… let me explain…"
"Answer my question!"
Just as he had thought… the brotherly discussion wasn't going well. But little Bombay seemed to have recovered some of his memories… then again… Schu did a light scan of Hirofumi. He nearly burst out laughing. He didn't know. 'Mamoru' obviously didn't know either. That meant that dear old Reiji never told anyone the truth about Mamoru's father. This was great…
Hirofumi laughed. "You're young. Never mind, maybe you'll understand how I feel when you grow up."
"I'll never be like you!"
Schu had to hand it to the kitten, he had guts, watching the boy stalk off… fur ruffled. Hirofumi wasn't quite the evil mastermind his father was, but he wasn't unstable like Masa. He did have a lot of resources at his disposal… but right now he wanted to… "What a brat… Isn't that what you're thinking?" Of course it is… I just plucked that from your mind… like ripe fruit…
"Shudeji, when did you…"
He really wished these people could learn how to say his name without mangling it… "Let me handle this, I'll make your plan work out."
"Very well… bring him to my place… I can't let him interfere with father's goals…" He watched the man walk out of the room.
/Brad… I need to run an errand for Hirofumi./
/Oh?/
/Yes… one kitten with free delivery./
/Don't let it get out of hand… it's Reiji we work for./
/I know./ Now… to find one lost kitten…
Ick… he thought he was going to be sick… the scene was as nauseating as watching Nags with the bunny girl. This had to end. He leapt onto the balcony, Ouka's eyes going wide with alarm. He punched the blond, carefully… enough to knock him out, but not really hurt him. He caught the kid as he fell and jumped up on the railing. Schu smiled down at Ouka. "I'm borrowing him." He CAREFULLY jumped down to the parking area below, it really wasn't as big of a drop as it looked, then to the ground. Getting to his beloved car… he dumped the kid in the trunk and drove to Hirofumi's deluxe apartment.
Hauling the boy out… he took him to the door and dumped him off on Hirofumi. "There you go… one brat."
The older brother smiled, it wasn't a kind one. Maybe he WAS as unstable as Masa… he just hid it better. He went to the window. By now the other members of Weiß would know… that bitch that followed Shuuichi around had been watching. He glanced back over his shoulder. Hirofumi had stripped his 'brother' to the waist and tied his wrists, dangling the boy from the ceiling so he had to balance on his tiptoes. The older man pulled out a pipe he'd found somewhere.
Schuldich studiously ignored the beating going on behind him. He did keep tabs to make sure the kid wouldn't end up dead… apparently Brad had a use for them. Going into a side room, he changed out of that horrible suit into his 'work' clothes. Then he went back to his window.
"Tell me, where are those assassins?"
The telepaths eyes narrowed. 'They're here...' He hid himself, keeping track of the new guests' movements. They were paused outside… as if waiting for something as their fourth member was getting the stuffing beaten out of him. Nice friends.
"How long can you keep this up? Tell me who told you to kill me! Tell me whom you're working for!"
"I despise you!"
That makes two of us brat… I don't like him either. What are your 'buddies' waiting for? An engraved invitation?
"You brat!" Another thunk… the kid's ribs must be breaking by now…
"No… NO! You're not my brother!" That seemed to be it… now the kittens were ready to get involved.
"Do you want to die?" Hirofumi raised the pipe… this one would cave in the boy's skull… Fortunately for the blond kitten… his teammates were quick to intervene… finally. As the uptight redhead slashed at Hirofumi, he used his power to confuse their minds… making it seem as if the man had disappeared. He stood between them as their minds cleared.
"Run." Fortunately Hirofumi was smart enough to do that, darting out the door. The kittens charged at him and again he used his mental powers to confuse their minds into thinking he was exceedingly fast. This was fun. It didn't take long for Hirofumi to be in the clear… at which point he leapt for the window. "Finally, I've seen your faces, I will come for your lives someday." He jumped backward… landing lightly below and dashing for his car. He really had to let Brad know what had happened.
Pulling back out onto the street, he dialed the American's cell phone. "Crawford."
"Hi Brad… I'm having fun… how about you?"
"Just marvelous. I'm having to explain to Takatori why you made off with his daughter's date."
"Ooops."
"You could say that… he's not pleased. He will be less pleased when his surviving son is found dead."
"What?! I just got him out of there…"
"Darling Mamoru isn't taking being nearly beaten to death by his 'brother' too well… he's going to ambush him later."
"Crap… should I stop it?"
"No… let it play out… it should spur Takatori to move in the direction we want him to go… besides, Hirofumi is a nuisance, much like Masafumi."
"Okay… if you say so. Should I come back to the party?"
"Go home… I'll be there later." The man hung up. Bren shook his head and folded the phone, sticking it in his pocket. So… the little kitten had some serious claws… that just made playing with him more fun.
**
"You've really done it this time…"
"What did I do now?"
"Now Ouka is getting a little too interested in what her 'Omi-kun' is involved in."
"So… if the little princess gets involved she gets hurt and we're rid of the dead weight."
"Schuldich… Takatori was willing to overlook the deaths of his sons… they were an annoyance and hindrance to him. He will NOT overlook anything happening to that girl." He paused… eyes losing focus. Bren waited… he wondered again what it was like for Brad to have a vision? Did he 'see' it… like an internal movie? Was it like a dream? The man's eyes cleared, and then took on a harder glare.
"Problem?"
"Yes… Ouka will invite her Omi-kun to have dinner with her parents tonight. It won't end well… Takatori will be dead… Go make sure this 'date' never happens."
"How?"
"I'll leave that up to you… just don't kill any of them… I don't know how things will work out if someone dies at this stage."
"Will do. I'll be back later."
**
The red car followed the pair on the pink delivery bike. 'What a ridiculous vehicle… even for a flowershop, and what was the princess doing riding with him?' They stopped outside the apartment mansion Ouka and her mother lived in. 'Ah… delivery.' Finding a parking spot around the corner, Schu backtracked to wait across the street. He watched as the kitten walked back out, his mind on the night's sudden social engagement.
"Ouka-san is so pushy."
Schu tried not to laugh… it would totally ruin the effect. "You bet she is." He did smile at the shocked look on the young assassin's face. This was great… like an unscripted play.
"Who's there?"
Cue entrance… "It's me." He stepped out from behind the tree to lounge against it.
"You!"
It was almost as if the boy HAD read the script. "It must be nice being young…" Even if this situation reeks of junior high.
"What?"
"Going on a date after killing both of your brothers…" Oh yeah… struck a nerve with that one. "How optimistic. You've fallen in love with Ouka-sama, haven't you?" He chuckled to himself. "You just said to yourself 'I sure have.'" That was a little on the squicky side… even for cousins. "You said Masafumi and Hirofumi were evil, so you killed them. But you're in Weiß… so who are you to talk?" Oh yeah… twist the knife a little more… take all his doubts and intensify them… "You're a brother-killer."
He smiled as he caught the kitten's next thought. 'I'm a murderer.' Yup… definitely read the script.
"Yes you are. How else would you be able to kill your own brothers and still continue to murder people?" Hypocrisy? Perhaps, but then HE never pretended to be less than a nasty person… except maybe with Nagi… but that was a different story. He smirked as the dart appeared in the kid's hand. Good… the boy was prepared. "See! The murderer in you is hungry for blood. If I told Ouka that you were a member of Weiß, an assassin group, what would she think?"
"Shut up!"
He laughed, enjoying the growing rage in the boy. "Did I make you mad?" The kitten made a threatening gesture. "Oooooh… I'm scared. I guess I should be going now." He jumped up into the tree before the boy totally lost control and flung that dart at him. He was quick… but the kid WAS a good shot… and who knew what that dart was tipped with. He couldn't resist a parting shot though…
"The game has just begun… Look forward to the next round…" He laughed and waited. Sure enough… the boy's rage got the better of him and he did fling the dart after all… spearing a falling leaf. Schu noted the boy's accuracy and made a mental note not to fight with him. Nagi would probably be the best… or Brad… the kid could block the darts and the American could 'foresee' them. He watched from the tree as the kitten retrieved the dart and took off on that silly pink delivery bike.
He jumped down once the bike was out of sight. Well… there was his good deed for the day… he would have to see about the other side of the equation as well though…
**
TBC…
Poor poor Omi… victim of Schu's mind games. Not to mention getting the crap beat out of him by his own 'brother'. There was a good fic dealing with the aftermath of that beating once upon a time… but I think it got abandoned… I'll have to look it up again. It was heading in the direction of Youji/Omi… not my favorite… but since the show never deals with the after effects of their injuries I was interested in what the author of the fic would do. *sigh* So many stories with good potential are abandoned… like unwanted kittens… -_-;
