Ken stood with Schuldig behind Crawford. They were standing before the elders
of Estet. They were there on the pretext of receiving orders. In a few seconds
the attack would really begin. Schuldig turned his head slightly, trying to
catch Ken's eyes through the Visor. Ken nodded slightly to acknowledge, then
turned his eyes to the back of Brad's head, watching, and then Crawford
attacked. Seconds latter, Ken felt himself leave the ground, and slam into a
wall. In the seconds that followed he felt more than saw the proceeding attack
before be blacked out...
..."Be careful with be Brad!" Schuldig's voice sounded fuzzy through the haze of
unconsciousness.
"Schuu?" His voice was weak, and he tried to peek through his eyelids, groaning
when the light invaded his vision.
"Stay still." It was Schuldig's voice, followed by lips on his forehead. "Your
visor broke when they slammed you. Keep your eyes closed. You're in shock right
now."
"Wha..." he gasped, reaching up to cover the hand Schuldig had resting on his
chest.
"Think it." Schuldig demanded, placing a small kiss on his lips. "Youji, are we
ready to get out of here?"
"Yeah." The blond grasped his end of the board they had Ken lying on.
"Then lift." Schuldig's hands steadied Ken as he was lifted by Crawford and
Youji.
//What happened?// Ken finally managed to direct the tough at Schuldig, through
every step he was carried sent pain coursing through his whole body, at least
when he'd been still he hadn't hurt like this.
"You got thrown into the wall by the elders." Schuu used his physical voice,
giving Ken something to focus on. "We couldn't keep them from beating on you
until the others came. Aya got pummeled pretty good, too." Schuldig sent Ken
what he saw. The Violet-eyed redhead was barley standing, with an arm thrown
over Farfello's shoulder. Blood dripped liberally from Aya, but that wasn't the
part of the image that was the most unsettling. The part that was was the mass
of scars, made visible by his completely destroyed shirt, covering his chest and
shoulders. He was as well scared as Farfello, despite it being restricted only
to areas easily covered by clothing.
//So it's over?//
"Until the next mission."
~~~~~~~~~~
It was odd, to Omi, watching Schuldig fuss over Ken through the entire return
trip to Krickner's primary hospital. Then there was the task of keeping Schuldig
distracted while Ken was in surgery. And then keeping the Telepath from tearing
the information from the Doctor's head when he'd emerged. Though, Crawford and
Aya (who was less imposing than normal, seeing as he was swathed in bandages)
then managed to keep the Doctor's mind in tact.
"Considering circumstances, I'd call them relatively mild injuries, Consisting
primarily of fractured ribs and a concussion."
"Will he be all right?" Schuldig finally snapped, cutting the Doctor off. "When
can I see him?"
"Mr. Hidaka will be under the effects of anesthesia for several more hours."
The doctor gave Schuldig a hesitant look, remembering the warning he'd been
given about these four when he'd tried to prevent the one-eyed Irishman from
tagging along with Fujimiya. "He will make a full recovery."
"I don't care if he's out, I want to see him." Schuldig was nearly ready to find
a gun and shoot the doctor when the man sighed and pointed down the hall. "room
412A."
"Thanks." It took Schuldig about 3 seconds to vanish down the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~
When he finally slipped into room 412A, Schuldig sighed with relief. The absent
'beep-beep'ing of the heart monitor was music to Schuldig's ears. Sure, the
figure on teh bed was still, but the doctor said that was just anesthesia.
Slipping close to the bed, Schuldig brushed dark bands back and kissed Ken's
forehead softly. "Thank god you're alive." Schuldig stared at the still figure
on the bed. How had Ken become so important to him so quickly? An even better
question was why had he. "I don' think I'll ever feel completely again, without
you."
//That's sweet.// Ken's mental voice was sluggish, as though he were half alseep.
"The doctor said you wouldn't wake up for awhile." Absently, Schuldig sat in the
rooms only chair, leaning his elbows on the bed before running his fingers
through Ken's hair. "I can't believe they attacked you first."
"I didn't even get to threaten anyone."
"Nagi and Omi took them all out." Schuu laughed softly. "Not even the elders had
guessed that a dart wielding blond and a telekinetic would attack from above."
"Least it's over." Ken reached up without opening his visor-less eyes, threading
his fingers through red hair, the ace bandaged rough against Schuu's cheek. "I
never did mention that I loved you, did I?"
"No." The unusually flamboyant Red-head was quiet. He sat, digesting the
information, while Ken's fingers idly stroked his cheek. After several minuets
of just sitting, Schuldig reached up to still the hand on his cheek. "Love you
too."
