Chapter Three: Uncertain Memory

The moon above cast an eerie glow down upon the world. They were quiet, silent in the dead of night. Not a word was
spoken as they climbed into the beaten-up jeep and sped off, leaving the battle scene behind. Defeat? No. It hadn't been defeat.
But within them, there was the heavy feeling of disappointment... The mission was complete, the data collected... But each
wished that they had been able to accomplish something more...
Schatten said nothing throughout the entire ride back to the Maneki-Neko. He stared out the window with a heavy heart,
gnawing his lip as he tried desperately to keep his emotions in check. Ai.... Inwardly, he cringed. It couldn't be. It just couldn't
be. This shouldn't have happened, he thought. It shouldn't have....
"Schatten-kun... Are you all right? You look a little pale...." Yukito's voice was soft, quiet, barely audible over the sound of
the car... But still, he heard it.
//I'm fine, Yuki,// Schatten replied, inwardly cringing. He was sure the child knew he was lying... It seemed Yukito -always-
knew when he was lying. But.. At the moment... he didn't care. Though he was far from being 'fine'.... He didn't want to admit it.
No....
"... You don't sound fine..."
The assassin gave no reply. Now was not the time...

He didn't say another word for the entire trip, nor when they arrived at the Maneki-Neko. A simple nod to Julian, a glance
at Yukito, that was all... And then he climbed up the stairs to his room, half-walking, half-stumbling, looking like some sort of
deranged zombie summoned from its grave. The others watched him in silence, waiting until he had disappeared before turning
to exchange a glance.
"This isn't good," Julian whispered, a slight frown on his face as he reached to switch on a light. "He gets worse and worse
each time.." Inwardly, he cringed slightly. Schatten just hadn't been the same since Ran.. or rather, Ai had left Weiss... The loss
of his lover had taken its toll on him, leaving him in an odd state of mind- a state which just got worse whenever he encountered
the leader of Schwarz. To think that Ai had managed to block him out....
"...I wonder what we should do," Yukito said softly, staring out the window. "I don't like seeing him like this..." His voice
was quiet, his eyes filled with an odd sort of light....
"...There's not much we -can- do...," the Weiss leader murmured, running his fingers through his ebony-coloured hair.
"We've tried almost everything..."
"-Almost- everything?" There was a snort from Danny, who had been busying himself with warming up a cup of coffee.
"Huh. Seems to me like we've tried every trick in the book.. No matter what we do, he always ends up fighting Ran, and it
always gets worse..."
Yukito cringed slightly at the mention of the name. "... He's not Ran any more, Danny-kun. Ran's dead..." He frowned
inwardly, realizing just how childish he sounded. Of course, Ran wasn't... -dead-, really.... Only the part of him that Weiss had
once known. Only the part of him that had been fully sane...
"..Hn. Whatever you say," the white-haired man replied, looking away. "..But it doesn't matter, does it?" He paused a
moment, then murmured, "...You know what Schatten needs?"
The other two twitched slightly, though they tried not to make it visible. They knew what usually came after such a phrase....
"Yeah, yeah, we know," Julian muttered dryly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to stop himself from falling asleep. "He 'needs
God'. We know."
For a moment, there was silence. Nothing but silence, save the soft sound of the drizzle outside. No one said a word, no one
even moved. Such a thing had happened before, more than once.... It was well known, the friction between the Bible-thumping
Irishman and Schatten, whose own religion was so bizarre that one would think that even if you studied it for hundreds of years,
you would never -quite- figure it out. More than once, Julian had been forced to end arguments between the two, and he hated
even the slightest sign that he would have to do so again.
It was Danny who broke the silence, the tone of his voice rather cold and flat. "That wasn't what I was going to say," he
replied coolly. "...But, it's true, no matter how much he denies it. What I was -going- to say was that he needs some hot tea and
someone to talk to...." He turned to Yukito, his one eye closed halfway in an incredibly soft look, which could either be caused
by lack of sleep or an emotion otherwise hidden. "...You."
For a moment, Danny's comment really didn't register in the child's mind... But then, it clicked. "...Me?" Yukito asked,
turning away from the window. "...Why me....?"
A smile flickered across Danny's lips before disappearing as quickly as it had come. "Huh. To look at you and Schatten...
One would think you two were brothers. He cares that much about you... He trusts you. That's enough of a reason. Now, go
up there. Bring him some tea, and those stupid peppermint candies he loves so much.... He needs you." A pause, a smirk...
"You know.. I'd do it, but he.. well.. You know how much he hates me. Besides, that bedroom of his just reeks of incense...."