By Laurelgand (laurelgand@home.com)
http://www.weisskreuz.net
Part two of a four part series which explores the ideas of rituals. This part features Omi. Yohji, and Aya will follow respectively. Author's notes follow the story.
What do you do, afterwards?
There was always a little more to be done. Even after the mission was over, things to follow up, things to be taken care of. Secrets to be hidden. People to be protected. Reports to be filed.
After they die....
Omi had been Weiß before there even was a Weiß. It seemed all his life had been focused on that one goal. Learning the skills necessary to protect the future of the innocent. The skills to punish the guilty. The ways to kill, and be killed. Dying a little more each day.
Hunt the future of the dark beasts....
The phrase had become a personal matra, a call to duty. A ritual of sorts. And after the mission, something more.
Innocent and guilty...
He was the first member of the four man team of assassins that made up Weiß. Omi had been doing this for a long time. And the mission was never over when the target died. Perhaps it was for the others, but not for him. Omi had a ritual to perform... for duty, for closure, to make peace with his soul.
Why did he....?
Everyone has a ritual.
All of them... dead....
The crossbow made a dull thud as it landed on the floor beside Omi's jacket and headset. The seventeen year old bishounen stretched, wincing slightly at the protestation of still healing bruises and cracked ribs.
Fool.
Not bothering to turn on the lights, Omi walked a short ways over to his computer and pressed a button. He dropped into the awaiting chair, welcomed by the familiar 'shuppu' as the computer booted. Light from the screen gave his features a pale, ghostly appearance.
Bastard.
Several mouse and key clicks later, Omi found himself logged into the intricately encrypted mail system. It was time to finish the mission. Omi wondered if the others had any idea what he did at mission's end. Already, they had found reason to mistrust him. How would they feel if they knew this? Well, it hardly mattered now.
Bombay... Mission Report....
Usually the reports were cut and dried. The target was eliminated. Mission accomplished. Evaluations of Weiß performance levels. Ocassionally his reports included analysis of a teammate's actions during the mission, when those actions were at conflict with the mission goal. Objective. Factual.
Black and white....
It was only recently that Omi had begun to see so many shades of grey.... When the missions became personal. The targets became relatives. When everything Omi thought to be true was turned upside down in a matter of days. Now the words which used to bring him much needed distance from the death and guilt seemed too paltry to describe the immensity of what happened.
Abyssinian succeeded in his mission. The target has been eliminated. Weiß operatives sustained only light injuries. One casulty-- Persia.
Damn him anyway. All his life, Omi had been betrayed, lied to, and used. An instrument of revenge. What was the point? Why did he sit in the dark, writing a report that no one would read? Persia... the man who molded Weiß and Omi into his personal instrument of revenge; the uncle Omi barely knew... was dead, killed by his own brother. Killed by Takatori Reiji. Tears trickled down Omi's face and splashed on the keyboard.
My name... is Tsukiyono Omi!
His hand was shaking. With a burst of anger, Omi hit the send button. Sending a report for Weiß's final mission to a man who would never read it. What comfort could be found in a ritual that outlived it's purpose? Mission accomplished....
~Owari~
After the positive reaction I received for Naehred, I thought I might continue the concept of personal rituals in a series. I was rewatching the second episode and found inspiration for Omi's ritual-- even though it takes place after Episode 15.
Es Geht Um Leben Und Tod, is a German phrase meaning "A Matter of Life or Death". Before watching Weiß Kreuz, my German vocabulary probably consisted of 10 words or less. So I apologize if I have used the phrase in error.
O.o I don't like this one as much... too depressing. I purposefully repeated some lines from Naehred to achieve a sense of continuity between them. Dare I ask for your feedback?
Weiß Kreuz (and associated characters) belongs to Koyasu Takehito *.*, Project Weiß, Kyoko Tsuchiya, TV Tokyo, Bandai, and others I've neglected to mention. No copyright infringement or disrespect to the creators/copyright holders was intended in the writing of this 'fic.
This 'fic written and self-published by Laurelgand. All content not copyrighted to others is © April 2000 to Lara E. Gill.
