Title: Cold November Rain [part 29/?]

Book 1 of "Redirecting Destiny" and prequel to "Romantic Resolutions"

Author: Enigma

Series: Weiss Kreuz

Written: January-February, 2002

Rating: R

Pairings: (Yohji + Ken + Aya) (Omi + Nagi) (Brad + Schu)

Category: Dark! Yaoi Angst Action/Adventure Violence Blood Squick Language Romance. AU-OOC.

Archive: fanfiction.net [author: "E-sama the Llama"], Scripta Manent: http://digilander.iol.it/sakaba/Home.html

Spoilers: None, safe for new viewers as well as old.

Warnings: dark! yaoi, heavy angst, action/adventure, graphic violence, large quantities of blood, squick: medical and other, coarse language, agonized and overwrought romance, rare touches of sap, cigarettes, destiny, cruel cliffhangers, original characters. AU-OOC.

Disclaimer: "Weiss Kreuz" is the property of Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiss. This unauthorized work of fanfiction is intended for entertainment only; kindly do not sue me.

Notes: When Ken falls in battle, how can the other members of Weiss cope with the guilt and blame that they all seem to share and will he survive in spite of the odds against him?

++ date and time reference within the storyline beginning with the day of the battle ++

{{telepathic speech}}

*****

++ day: 2. time: 1245-1335 hours ++

[note: the events at the beginning of this Part are simultaneous with those in Part 28, hence the timestamp includes the same period]

*****

When the Korat had first called to Balinese in the hallway, the name was heard by another set of ears as well since Omi had been floating on the edge of wakefulness after sleeping for a short while.

Slowly, the Weiss archer swam through the haze of pseudo-sleep only to be totally confused when his eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into a jumble of dark chocolate hair that seemed to be drizzled over his pillow like the richest of Hershey's syrups on vanilla ice cream. The scent of the Hilton's complimentary shampoo wafted around him and he realized he wasn't alone.

Nagi was in bed with him.

Again.

Omi smiled helplessly as his sleep-muddled mind continued to awaken and he thought that waking up to having his boyfriend in his arms was becoming a habit that he liked quite a bit. Of course, that momentary thought passed quickly as recent memory snapped back into focus, and he gasped, afraid that he had disturbed the unconscious youth unwisely and chastised himself for crawling into a hospital bed with someone who wasn't aware of his presence.

Before the blond teen could silently rail at himself, though, a quiet moan indicated his bedmate was not only no longer unconscious, but that he was about to wake up as well.

Eager to make sure the one he loved was all right, it was all Omi could do to gently assist his boyfriend to wakefulness by asking in a hushed voice, "Nagi-love? Are you awake?"

"Nnnn," Nagi moaned softly again and then his head turned blindly towards Omi before eyes the color of a starlit midnight sky opened very slowly. The diminutive telekinetic had been left dreadfully weak by the events of the previous day as well as the tragic morning and it was harder than usual for him to find the energy to pull himself into full awareness. Somehow knowing he needed help waking up, he asked quietly in a wavering voice, "Omi-koi?"

The smile on the cerulean-eyed boy's face was warm and open as Omi answered by pulling the other boy close and saying, "Yes, love, it's just me. Are you okay?"

Sable eyelashes fluttered as Nagi fought to stay awake and he only answered, "I'm sleepy."

Omi moved to ruffle the boy's hair gently, wishing he could encourage him to rest more, but he was desperately concerned about Nagi's health and he asked again more firmly, "Nagi-love? I need to know, please, are you all right now? What happened earlier?"

"Earlier?" The confusion in the telekinetic's mind that echoed in his soft reply was lost as his eyes suddenly popped wide-open and he clamped a hand to his mouth to fight back the wave of nausea as he recalled what he'd seen that had caused him to pass out. Trembling almost violently and frightening the boy who was holding him close, Nagi whimpered softly and shook his head in a show of denial that his partner couldn't understand.

Too terrified to remain silent, Omi exclaimed, "What is it, love? Dear heavens, Nagi! *Please* what's wrong?!"

Continuing to tremble and face fading to white again, the younger teen finally gasped out, "It was horrible! All those things on Ken-kun, koi!" He swallowed a sudden mouthful of his stomach's uneasy contents and moaned, "Oh, gods, I think I'm going to be sick!"

Shocked, Omi scrambled from the bed and quickly retrieved a nearby plastic tray that would help if the shaken teen actually vomited, then quickly returned and sat beside the shaking boy. He immediately began rubbing Nagi's back comfortingly and said with an infinite sense of guilt as it became clear that he was indeed responsible for the overstressed telekinetic's earlier collapse, "I am *so* sorry about that, Nagi-love! I wasn't thinking and I wanted to see if it looked like Ken-kun was going to be okay, and, oh damn me for a fool, I am so, so, *so* sorry for all of this!"

Even as Omi babbled away, guilt in every word, Nagi took the offered comfort in his caresses and calmed down somewhat. Cheeks still an unhealthy pasty white, he looked up from where he lay on the pillow and said tiredly, "It's okay, koi, it was an accident." He sighed and let his eyes slip shut as he added mournfully, "I should've looked away."

Omi wouldn't accept that as an answer but finally realized that the tirades about his own guilt were helping no one and he deliberately clamped down on them in favor of making sure that the one he loved was going to be all right. Continuing to stroke Nagi's back, he asked, "Do you still feel sick, love? Should I call a nurse or something?"

"No, I don't think so," Nagi answered with a deep sigh as he hoped he was making the right decision, "I ought to be all right, I just need a moment or two to pull myself together."

"Okay," the blond answered and set the tray on the opposite side of the bed where he could reach it in a hurry if it was needed after all, then he slipped down to lay snuggled beside his boyfriend once more.

After a few moments of cuddling, Nagi asked worriedly, "Is Ken-kun all right, koi? Did he wake up yet?" The Schwarz psychic had no idea how much time had elapsed and it seemed to him as if it had to be much later than it was since he felt utterly drained.

"Not yet," Omi answered sadly, then added after glancing at his watch, "It's only a little after 1, though. You weren't asleep very long, love. Neither was I for that matter, but so what? All that matters to me right at the moment is that *you're* awake and that you're okay."

"If you say so," Nagi answered without much enthusiasm. In his current run-down state, his thoughts were running in strange directions and even as he sighed again and simply lay quietly beside the Weiss archer, he wondered how things were at home.

Mental shields honed by years of practice had remained in place throughout the telekinetic's ordeal. They were a tool that he had been forced to attain at an early age during his training by Estet as well as through years of living with Schuldich. The telepath frequently tested his mental barriers not only for his own amusement but also to insure Nagi's safety from others with similar powers. He never wanted was to see the usually quiet boy who was like a little brother to him reduced to a vegetative state by a rogue psychic or turned into a killing weapon by another organization like Estet.

Knowing he could think it freely and remain undetected by the flame-haired man, Nagi silently mourned for any hardship he might be causing his teammates and wondered if they missed him, too. He wished he could safely call Schuldich or Farfarello to see how they were, but he feared encountering Crawford whose ability to command him was so strong he might not be able to resist an order to return at once. A random thought occurred to him that the German was most likely ready to kill him for taking the Ferrari, but he couldn't have been more wrong, Schuldich didn't care about the car as long as having it meant things might be easier for Nagi, wherever he was.

A small noise from the hallway interrupted his thoughts. Even though he couldn't make it out, in truth it was Yohji exclaiming about how strongly he felt about Nagi even though he stopped short of mentioning that he'd already been considering adding another colorful florist's apron to a supply order soon.

Nagi sighed deeply before admitting, "I miss Schu and Farf, koi. Isn't that silly?"

Omi smiled sweetly at him and shook his head, "Not at all, love. You've told me plenty of times that they mean a lot to you. Why don't you call them and let them know that you're safe?

"Because then I might have to leave and go back," Nagi explained with another sigh, then frowned slightly, and remarked, "But then again, why do you suppose they haven't called me? I've had my cell phone with me all this time."

Shrugging, the older teen answered, "I have no idea. Maybe they trust you enough to know you'll come back when you can?"

Unexpectedly, Nagi snorted softly, "*That'll* be the day! No, whenever I get back, Crawford will probably have my pay docked as a punishment and I'll have to do all of the chores around the penthouse for a month or something idiotic. [1] It'll probably get pretty ugly, but I don't care, I want to stay with you until we're sure Ken-kun's going to be okay again." He shook his head and then sighed as he heard the door opening, thereby ending the discussion.

"Omiitchi?" Yohji called softly as he peeked through the barely opened door. Seeing two sets of blue eyes peering back at him from the bed, he smiled warmly and pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, asking, "Nagi? Are you feeling better now, bishounen?"

Neither of the two boys noticed Korat who was slightly shorter than Yohji and standing behind him, deliberately blocked from view so he could get a first impression of the youth the young archer had fallen in love with. The ebony-skinned man couldn't see much more than an elfin face that was too pale to be healthy and deep blue eyes that held a mysterious mix of emotions, the dominant ones of which were love, relief, and an almost indefinable soul-weariness he'd rarely seen in one so young. It was obvious to him that this person had had a very difficult life and it only made Nagi seem all the more fascinating to the nurse.

Unaware that he was being observed, Nagi allowed a shy smile to creep onto his lips and he answered, "I'll be fine, Yohji-kun. I'm really tired, though." He sat upright and rubbed at the back of his head and added as if surprised, "I've got a headache, too. I don't usually get one of those when I pass out, though."

Concerned, Yohji frowned and stepped farther into the room wanting to ask for more information and Omi looked like he felt the same way, but a melodious male voice interrupted all of them by saying simply, "Hello, Bombay."

Two sets of blue eyes turned towards the slender black man standing in the open door dressed in a non-specific medical professional's outfit, his poise obvious and his air elegant even as Omi exclaimed with delight, "Korat!! What are *you* doing here?" He gave Nagi a happy smile, then scrambled out of bed and rushed over to actually embrace the man, hugging him with the same enthusiasm that he usually showed Yohji or Ken, but thinking that Aya wouldn't appreciate being hugged, he usually kept his greetings for him more sedate.

Warmth filled mocha eyes as the nurse returned the embrace gladly, one didn't provide medical care to a boy like Omi for years without becoming accustomed to his delightful personality and this was part and parcel of that. With an adoring smile, he released the teen and answered, "Manx asked me to come and help out and I was only too glad to do so, but that's a long story and I believe there is someone here that I would very much like to meet." He glanced meaningfully at the boy in the bed and let Omi proceed at his own pace.

A slow blush painted itself across peaches-and-cream cheeks as he realized the man had seen him in bed with his chosen love and the genki youth exclaimed, "Oh my!"

The blush deepened when Yohji chortled quietly from where he had moved to stand reassuringly close to the Schwarz telekinetic, and Omi continued, "All right. Korat, I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Naoe Nagi." He looked at his boyfriend pleadingly as he said carefully, "Nagi-love? This is my friend Korat. He's a nurse from Kritiker Medical Center. I've known him forever and I consider him a *very* good friend."

Nagi worried at his lower lip with his teeth. He felt distinctly uncomfortable with coming under the scrutiny of yet another Kritiker operative. Despite the man's profession, Korat was technically still regarded as an operative and all of the psychic's Estet training immediately told him to not trust the stranger.

Realizing that the sable-haired boy was having as much trouble accepting the new arrival as he feared he might, Yohji reached out and placed a warm comforting hand on a too-slender shoulder and squeezed it gently before saying, "It's all right, Nagi. I can vouch for him, too. Korat has helped Weiss more times than I can begin to count. You can trust him as much as you do any of us."

"Really?" Large dark blue eyes gazed up at him and Nagi agreed to try, "All right, Yohji-kun, if you and Omi both say he's okay, then of course I'll trust him."

"Good," jade eyes smiled tiredly yet were clearly pleased as he added, "because one of the things we need for him to do is give you a check-up to make sure you're okay after passing out like that. Will that be okay with you?"

Nagi swallowed thickly. He hated doctors in general, and the ones who worked for Estet were predominantly cruel people who were there since their medical licenses were revoked for mistreating their patients and could no longer practice publicly. But when he saw the pleading look in Omi's eyes, he nodded solemnly then returned to the earlier ritualized introductions and spoke more firmly, "It's nice to meet you, Korat. Um, do we need to do that check-up right away?"

The nurse had waited patiently as the obviously frightened Schwarz psychic had established that he was trustworthy and now stepped farther into the room, letting the boy become accustomed to his nearness as he answered, "Not right this moment, Naoe-san. I need to alert my supervisor that you are conscious and we'll take things from there, all right?"

"'Your supervisor'?" Nagi asked in confusion, he wondered just how many Kritiker agents were wandering the halls of Tokyo General, didn't they have a medical facility of their own they needed to be in? Then he added, "Oh, and call me just 'Nagi,' please. I'm sorry, was I supposed to call you 'Korat-san'? I'm not very good with formal addresses and introductions as you might have noticed."

Normally, in circumstances when the telekinetic was expected to accompany Crawford on an assignment where he was likely to meet people, the American always taught him exactly what to call particular individuals and if he wasn't instructed to speak to someone, he was expected to keep his mouth shut. As Schuldich liked to point out, the less they said aloud the greater the fear factor that Schwarz could generate by communicating through their shared mental speech channels. It made them seem otherworldly when they moved and acted as one apparently without words to guide their actions.

Korat actually chuckled openly at the endearing manners the petite boy was displaying, it was no wonder to him that all of Weiss had apparently become so enamored with him. He shook his head and pulled out his cell phone, dialing and holding it to his ear as he answered, "No, Nagi. 'Korat' is just a code-name like 'Bombay' or 'Balinese'. It would be odd to hear anyone add an honorific to one of those, don't you agree?"

Nagi nodded and was pleased when Omi came over to sit next to him on the bed again. The blond youth immediately laced their fingers together and looked almost as happy as he had when they were playing Yahtzee earlier and thinking that Ken was waking up. The younger teen sighed and leaned his head tiredly against Omi's shoulder while glancing at Yohji who had dropped into the empty chair by the bed and was yawning repeatedly. While the nurse turned away and talked into the phone, he asked quietly, "Yohji-kun? Are you all right?"

Yohji shook his head, but felt relieved to finally be able to start answering this oft-repeated question honestly, "I'm afraid not, bishounen. I'm bone-tired and feel like I could sleep for a week. But you haven't even heard half of the good news yet, so I'm staying awake for *that*! After I see Kenken again, I think I'll go crash for awhile."

Interest piqued, Omi entered the conversation to ask, "There's *more* good news, Yohji-kun? Do you mean Ken-kun's awake?!"

Shaking his head sadly, Yohji finished another huge yawn and answered, "Not *that* good, I'm afraid, Omiitchi. But give Korat a chance to finish talking on the phone and we'll give you a full update, okay?"

Trying to be patient and finding it was a little harder than he had thought it might be due to his own overtired condition, Omi nodded and slipped a warm and supportive arm around Nagi who was lightly dozing once more.

The arrival of the three highly trained medical personnel was indeed excellent news and the details hadn't even been fully explained, yet there was more reason to be hopeful now than before. Norwegian brought more than skill and the rare talent of bringing calm and reassurance where it was most needed, he also had a few secrets in the supplies that were en route from a Kritiker research laboratory that was destined to make a huge difference in Siberian's recovery. Javanese and Korat both would each have their own role to play in restoring good health to all five young assassins involved in the dramatic events following Ken being gunned down in battle. As to the young secretary Sokoke, it was unclear whether she would even be useful to the team at all, but only time would tell.

Although things were certainly improving there were still many dangerous turning points yet to come and not even Omi in his currently optimistic mood would have assumed the pain and sorrow were truly over. An assassin's life simply held too much of a propensity for angst and he knew it.

*****

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

[1] In this continuity, Crawford is busy pretending not to act like Nagi's father even though he really does, so I decided against foreshadowing Nagi being grounded or anything after he goes home. But since Brad is and always will be a man for whom money means a great deal, I assumed he might go after him this way. Then again, this is just more evil foreshadowing and it could be all wrong and the precog could go crazy and beat him with one of Takatori's golf clubs since he let Reiji do that to Schuldich and Farfarello in the series. Only Melpomene knows for sure, though. Opinions?

Full Author's Notes to Run at Conclusion.

Please be advised: Parts 27 - 29 will be posted together.

As a follow-up to last time, this evening's posting run is dedicated to some of the specific people who leave me comments at fanfiction.net that bring a huge smile to my face and inspiration for Melpomene to keep beating on me to write more!

{gets out the now familiar Horn of Friendship, tries out a new tune that is really, *really* bad, then plays reveille (blech, had to look up the spelling on *that* one!) in a failed attempt to wake fatigued self back up, then puts it aside to cheerfully gush over fans}

Now, in no particular order, I wish to give salutes to just a few of the many people who have left me notes there. Granted, there isn't space for me to do everyone that ever left me a note--heck, my fingers are tired after typing all night, you know!--but I do appreciate each and every reviewer all the same. These folks just happened to catch my eye in one way or another and you might see what I mean as you read!

Priscilla: Who is ever faithful! She gives me the coolest comments that are in-depth and touch on everything from the pain she shared with the characters as she read to letting me know what she enjoyed thank to my literary style. To be told that my "absolutely vivid and descriptive" words made her blanch last night was a high honor! Of course, the fact that I not only made her cry {hands dear friend a whole box of tissues, she'll need it for future parts of this series} but it was at work, no less! Wow, such dedication to read my small offering of angst! Best of all, she appreciates my sense of duty to my koi and will be awaiting more of this as soon as it's ready, right, Priscilla?

e.e: Whose pen name alone is reason for celebration, ne? And better yet, e.e sends me nice informative and inspirational notes for virtually each and every Part and thereby makes my muses go nuts trying to add things in for e.e to enjoy based on those comments. Did anyone beside me catch that e.e spotted Omi as the reason Ken would wake up the first time? Granted it was very brief, but he came to ever so slightly at the sound of Omi's voice raised in anguish, so it counts! Bravo!

Yanagi-sen: Who has added notes here only a couple of times, but in all honesty, this lovely lady keeps me going day in and day out with lengthy private responses to the fic that never fail to make me smile ear-to-ear! She's an incredible writer, too, and as soon as Melpomene is done killing me with this one and Erato stops hurting me with the Cowboy Bebop lemon giftfic, I'm getting me a big bag of dark chocolate-covered coffee beans and I'm going to sit down and read some! Nice to know there's a real treat waiting for me there, no da!

DragonSoul: Who is listed here for a dozen adorable reasons not the least of which is that she's a big Calico fan! Damn, won't *she* be a happy girl when the orange-haired bastard's secrets begin to be revealed? {whispers "there's tiny bits of foreshadowing for him absolutely everywhere, ds! look for them carefully!"}

Zania, the Lemon Princess: Who has brought me smiles both at fanfiction.net and directly to my inbox! Everybody who likes this story owes her thanks, too, since she's inspiring me a lot, especially with that adorable picture of Nagi holding Omi in his lap! If she shares one of Aya and Yohji, too, that would be cool, ne? I'm looking forward to hearing her reactions to tonight's "50% More Free!" offering, too!

tenken: Who is right, I *am* evil! Oh, tenken? You might want to plan on getting a fork or a knife for your peanut butter later this Spring. As long as my fingers don't fall off or I fall in love with some other roving band of bishounen who cart me away {less than subtle hint that someone sent the llama Saiyuki tapes and heaven only knows what might happen if he watches them!} I have every intention in the world of making Yohji stop. Smoking, that is. Most of his other bad habits will remain intact. {heheheh}

bearilou: Who is a dedicated friend who put up one of the nicest things I could've possibly read during a dark moment back around Part 17! It really made life more tolerable and it made writing fun again, too. As for the pineapple juice, well, it didn't work on the migraine but my chibis loved the mock-piña coladas I made for them with it later! {winks at bear and toxic and goes back to writing dedication goodies}

P. S. Speare: Who I also adore at the MLs and who is busy bribing me with warm, ooey-gooey-good cyber brownies fresh from the oven in the hopes of getting a Brad/Schu lemon. Hmm, wonder how she liked that scene with them in cuddling together in bed recently?

Lilas: Whose notes are always short and fun, but with comments like "YAY!!! HE TWITCHED!!!! That's good news!!! I hate the forshadowing! It's worst than cliffhangers, and those are pretty bad!!! WRITE MORE SOON!" what's not to love about a review like that?

Mr. Peabody: Who is a silly Weisshund that cracks me up! Not *all* reviews have to be serious, but that one about Farf wanting blood? Nani? {heheh}

Last but not least, allow me to salute a new friend there who has only left one note but that was because she hadn't read the fic until now:

Skyschneckchen: Who I believe must have a *very* tired bottom as well as an annoyed mother after reading this entire thing in one day! Wow! I'm really glad Skyschneckchen liked the fic after putting *that* much effort into reading it!

{blows the Horn of Friendship one last time then puts it away with a sigh, he'll miss using it for a few days and then the llama turns to the "biggie" topic at hand}

Well, if we've gotten this far, it must be time for more information on the hiatus the fic is about to go on, ne? I know that many people wish I wouldn't put this one on "pause", but as the old saying goes, my word is my bond and a promise was given to my kitten way back when I thought this story couldn't possibly be longer than 15 or 20 Parts!

{falls on floor and rolls around laughing insanely at how much more it's turned out to be! those of you who read GW-llama stuff might find this amusing--or *terrifying* as the case may be--but as of tonight, *this* story is now larger in terms of space taken up on my zip drive than "Unconditional Gifts" was! scare *me* twice! and this one's not even finished yet! arghhhh!}

So, imagine my surprise as the deadline for beginning her birthday story so it would be on time eventually arrived and I was all the way back at barely getting Kenken out of surgery! I considered writing both at the same time, but the last time I tried that, I ended up doing a variation on a Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercial! I got angst in my lemon and lemon in my angst! It was a mess and I ended up trashing one of the two pieces entirely and to this day, I won't risk *that* again!

This brings us here and to a dead halt on "Cold November Rain" for a little while.

{stops to hand out tissues to a few people and Pocky to those of you who prefer that to olive branches then continues while winking at email friend who mentioned that}

I ran my plans for the future of this arc before and I hope you can tell I don't intend to walk away from this and leave you hanging for too terribly long. Unfortunately, the pressure of writing so much angst each and every day kind of got to me this week so I want to take it easy on the posting runs after the lemon goes out and get the rough draft finished before I begin again.

Of course, as you all know by now, I'm a glutton for attention and if someone wants to hurry me along with some bribe artwork or a note like Nagi used to get from Omi, maybe this will resume sooner. But if things stay as they are, please look for more of "Cold November Rain" before next weekend, okay? Luckily for you and me both, I loathe, hate, and despise watching the Olympics on TV, so I won't be off doing that instead of staying here at my keyboard slaving away to entertain you!

{Melpomene cracks the Whip of Doom, winks evilly, then tells the llama to shut up and get some sleep at *way* too late for even an abnormal person like *him* to be awake when there are cruel bishounen torture inspiring dreams to be had there!}

Ah me. That's it, I'm done.

Thanks for sticking with me for the extra long dedication list, these fine people really *do* deserve far more, but I hope this will be enough for now. Please let me know what you thought of these last three big parts before the hiatus, it almost killed me to write and edit for almost *nine* hours straight on them plus the intro and end notes, plus formatting, and posting at fanfiction.net with only a break for ramen noodles!

Sayonara!

~~~E-sama the Llama~~~

(who will mention the title of the Cowboy Bebop lemon when he gets back in case anyone wants to take a peek at where he went while you hated him and wanted to know what the heck the last paragraph at the end of this Part *really* meant. ah, angst! lovely, lovely angst! and foreshadowing, too! {vanishes laughing evilly while also yawning like a three-toed sloth})

Posted 09 February 2002, ~5:45am.