Chapter Nine: Les Ombres de la Mort

The night was cold and dark and as its end drew near and the moon sunk into the horizon a chilling wind swept through the city, the lights of which still shone brightly even in these late -or rather, early hours. This wind was frigid, chilling as the soul of the assassin known as Ai, who stared out through the window of the Schwarz apartment at the city below. In the dull reflection of the window pane's glass, his mirror-image stared back at him. His face was deathly pale, the dim light and his blood-red bangs making it seem even more ashen and cadaverous, giving him the look of a wretched, angry porcelain doll. There was no warmth even in his eyes, which were like frozen amethyst-coloured marbles as they gazed with disgust at the world surrounding them. It was as if he had always been like this- cold, calm and filled with hate. What a lie such a thought was....
There were others in the room, as there always were. It seemed that no matter where he was, unless he was deep within the realms of sleep, there was always one of the others watching him. Always... And, often, even in sleep he wasn't alone; it wasn't uncommon for one of them to follow him to his bedroom when the time for sleep came, begging a... favour or two. He would grant the request, never one to refuse such a thing, and the two- no matter which one it would be that night- would eventually fall asleep, wrapped in each other's arms- though, of course, there was no affection or emotional attachment involved. There was nothing but pleasure exchanged.... Nothing. Those nights, though both would be too exhausted to think, he knew that the other, no matter which one it was, would be watching him. Though they pretended to accept him as their leader, he knew that not a single one trusted him. Not Shigeru, the stoner prostitute... Not Kojiro, the bizarre, insane and oddly musical lover of knives and blades... Not Kenji, the youngest of their company who was nearly as silent as himself. None of them had even a shred of trust for him, and that was how he liked it.
Until now, the room had been silent as Ai stared out the window, knowing full well that Kenji and Kojiro were watching him closely. If he had turned suddenly, they would have acted as if they had been doing something before- and any other person would dismiss the odd sensation of two pairs of eyes burning holes into his flesh. However, that silence was shattered when the door was carelessly thrown open and Shigeru sauntered in as if nothing mattered in the world. His long, wavy honey-golden hair fell in his eyes as he tilted his head coyly, smirking as he came up behind Ai and slipped his arms around the redhead's slender waist.
"Hey, baby," he purred in the Schwarz leader's ear, pressing his form against the body of the one he held. "How about you and me in your room, right now?" The blonde's tone was cold and slimy, and it would have been enough to make most others cringe. But, not Ai....
Ai gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes. Though there were times that he dearly wished to have his bed to himself just -once-, he was never one to refuse Shigeru, especially on those few nights when he was not drunk or smelling of cigarettes and weed. Even after missions, it seemed that the wielder of wires would always find some way to get himself stoned, even if it meant stooping so low as to sniff glue.... But, tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight, he might actually enjoy himself.
He allowed his face to twist into a mask of a cruel smirk- it was the only emotion he ever allowed himself to show physically, and even then it was a clever imitation. "Who could refuse such an offer?" he breathed, inwardly cringing as he felt Shigeru press himself against him. Without so much as another word, he grabbed his teammate's hand, dragging him off to his bedroom. He wanted this over as soon as possible....

"Where is Ai?"
The comment was soft, casual-sounding, though in reality there was nothing anywhere near casual about it. Tension was held within the voice of the person who had spoken those words, though few were of the sort that would be able to detect it. The person who had spoken was Kojiro, who had been sitting in a corner of the room, staring off into space for quite some time now. This was common of him, to stare at nothing and toy with his needles and blades and sing quietly to himself. He paid attention to things when he wished to... And didn't when he didn't care to.
"He went off with Shigeru to fuck," Kenji replied dryly, looking up over the screen of his laptop to glare at his partner. "...As always." Coal-black eyes filled with nothing shifting their gaze back to the screen, slitting with annoyance. What dimwits they are, he thought. One a psycho, the other a crackhead- Ai is the only one out of the three with even a shred of sense, and I can't even be sure about him. The very thought sent a wave of anger through him. It seemed, at times, as if he was the true mastermind behind Schwarz, as if... perhaps... without him, there would be nothing. Ever since Ai had come, things had been different. Ever since Ai had come, things had gone downhill. Of course, even before Ai had turned his back on Weiss and become the leader of Schwarz, things had been -similar- to the way they were now.... Shigeru had been little more than a skank, and Kojiro had been odd, strange... unpredictable. With the coming of Ai, everything seemed to fall apart, and he himself had become even more withdrawn than he had been when it was just the original three. It was strange.... So strange.
There were no more words exchanged between the two assassins. They simply remained quiet, glancing at one another occasionally, eyes glinting in the dim light. Nothing more truly needed to be said.... They both knew what would happen. Shigeru would be watching Ai that night... and would be doing other things, as well.