Greetings and welcome to Angst Theatre's debut performance of "Cold November Rain"!
Apologies to all those of you who were hoping for more of this yesterday, but if you tried to go to fanfiction.net to see what was new last night you already know the reason why it had to wait. {shrugs} Yes, they were closed again for maintenance or whatever but they seem to be up and running tonight so here we go, more pain and sorrow for the denizens of Tokyo General Hospital! There're a few other things going on at the Casa de Llama that slowed this down, too, but those can go in the end-note since I'm eager to let you get started on the latest new batch of crises the CNR crowd is facing!
{smiles as well as he is able, dental pain lingers for reasons to be mentioned later, actually puts on Vicious' tuxedo since the llama got a reminder to "use the damned thing or give it back!" from a certain gravel-voiced bishounen, then lights the marquee and gives you a playbill}
A fairly shocking revelation and a painful turn of events occur within Part 46 tonight as Korat returns with unpleasant news. Even as Yohji and Aya face an unanticipated crisis of their own, Omi and Nagi spend their last evening together for quite some time in Part 47 but not necessarily the way they had originally planned to do so.
{looks hopeful that the audience will share his enthusiasm for answers which only ask more questions and that they will, as always---}
Enjoy the Angst!
~~~Enigma~~~
(who is finding a great deal of inspiration in readers' reactions to this Angst Epic and is *finally* coming up with a better idea of what to do with the "Schwarz Finds Out" story! be afraid, gentle souls, be *very* afraid!)
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Title: Cold November Rain [part 46/?]
Book 1 of "Redirecting Destiny" and prequel to "Romantic Resolutions"
Author: Enigma
Series: Weiss Kreuz
Written: January-March, 2002
Rating: R
Pairings: (Yohji + Ken + Aya) (Omi + Nagi) (Brad + Schu)
Category: Dark! Yaoi Angst Action/Adventure Violence Blood Squick Language Romance Original Characters. 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, original characters designed to highlight the true stars, rare touches of sap, cigarettes, destiny, cruel cliffhangers. AU-OOC.
Disclaimer: "Weiss Kreuz" is the property of Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiss. All original characters featured herein (including but not limited to: Calico, Norwegian, Korat, Sokoke, etc.) are © Enigma, 2002, and are not to be used without permission. 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: 4. time: 1845-2000 hours. ++
*****
After knocking on the partially open door, Korat stepped into the slightly crowded room and greeted his superior for the first time since he'd arrived, the mocha-eyed nurse having been occupied by an unexpected interruption of his own previously. With a slight bow of the head, the ebony-skinned man said, "Please forgive my absence, Norwegian. Was there anything I could assist you with?"
The Kritiker physician knew his valued associate extremely well and recognized immediately that something serious seemed to be disturbing the nurse. Putting his frustration regarding Nagi's situation aside, he rose and stepped towards the new arrival, asking, "What's the matter, Korat?" When he got no immediate answer, his brows drew together in concern and he asked more compellingly, "Is there something that I might help *you* with, old friend?"
Both Aya and Yohji had found it fairly easy to set aside their own concerns about a matter that they wouldn't be able to take an active role in for some time once they saw the expression of defeat and sorrow on the ebony-skinned man's face.
With a look of pain in deep mocha eyes, the nurse revealed the shocking news that he had just received that had caused his world to shift uncomfortably, "I was just speaking at length with my parents and I'm afraid they had some rather disquieting news for me."
"Like what, Korat?" Yohji asked, inserting his voice as a means to remind the nurse that he was not limited to only his own field-leader during what seemed to be a very troubling moment. "Is there anything *we* can do to help?"
Korat shook his head from side to side slowly, he hadn't been able to come to grips with it yet himself and he answered, "I honestly don't think so, Balinese, but I frankly don't quite know what to make of the situation either." After taking a steadying breath and realizing three sets of eyes were focused on him expectantly, he told them what had happened that was sufficiently shocking to have upset him so badly. "I have a sister who is somewhat irresponsible and she has apparently been missing for some time without us even being aware of it. My parents had contacted me regarding this a few days ago but since it seemed an easy enough proposition to simply backtrack her credit card spending as we've done in the past to locate her, I wasn't terribly concerned."
Yohji was frowning deeply and interrupted to ask, "Korat? Are you talking about your little sister Monique?" His concerns became clear as he remarked, "That weekend in September when she was in town and you asked me to take her dancing in Roppongi, I got the feeling she enjoyed being the center of attention a little too much but demanded it all the same. That kind of thing can be dangerous for someone as pretty as she is."
"I know," Korat responded darkly and added, "Yes, she's the one who is missing, there is only the two of us anyway. Either way, I had tried to discuss her need to be more careful about the way she teases and pushes people around, but Monique wouldn't listen, she never has. Always headstrong, she left Tokyo in October to hitchhike with some female friends north hoping to get work in one of the ski resorts on Hokkaido for the winter."
A slight tremor went through the lanky blond man's frame at the name of the island that held a significant part of his memory hostage, a place that he knew something terrible had occurred yet he still had no idea what it could've been. Instead of being distracted by that, though, Yohji focused on trying to help his friend and asked, "How can she be missing if she's with friends?"
With a look of longsuffering since as elder brother he'd been through this sort of scenario far too often, Korat explained, "Apparently when they first reached Hokkaido, Monique was in one of her dictatorial moods again. She made a few ill-considered remarks to her friends about how difficult they were to travel with and that she would travel alone if they wouldn't kowtow to her more often." With a sigh he added, "It's understandable that they told her to go ahead and simply made their way to the Niseko ski resort region without her, assuming she'd come to her senses and join them later since that had been their agreed upon destination since the beginning."
Nodding and filing that information away for future reference, the former detective who had developed a fondness for the domineering girl in spite of himself since she was Korat's sister asked, "What was the last record of spending do you have? It ought to give you a starting place at least, right?"
"That's what we assumed but if that is indeed the best indicator of Monique's situation, we are most likely facing a truly regrettable outcome." The nurse's expression was filled with unhappiness as he explained, "The bank's records show she bought a train ticket in Otaru a few weeks ago. But the amount charged was such that she might have been traveling to either the area where the ski resorts are to rejoin her friends or to go to Sapporo to seek her fortunes there independently, we simply have no way of knowing."
"Sapporo?" Yohji asked nervously, what few recent memories he had of the northern city weren't pleasant ones yet he knew it was predominantly a safe area, an urban environment that allowed comfort even during the worst of the Winter season. Keeping his thoughts focused on the matter at hand and not allowing himself to be distracted by his own fears and concerns, he asked, "Does she know anyone there that she might have contacted? An old school friend, perhaps?"
"No, there's no one there that she already knew that we're aware of , but the way Monique can charm her way into someone's heart, that could've changed easily." He sighed heavily and added with embarrassment, "She isn't exactly a model of proper and restrained young womanhood, you know, Yohji. That girl is as apt to have found her way into some wealthy man's bed as anything else. For all we know, this might be why she hasn't been spending anything lately but on the other hand, she might be in dire trouble."
Yohji took immediate note of the use of his given name and realized that this was Korat's way of asking for help of a more personal kind, yet there was precious little that he could do considering he was unwilling to leave Ken's side as long as he was hospitalized. With a frown of uncertainty, he answered in kind referring to his friend by given name as well, "Well, Jacques, it sounds to me like you need to consider hiring a private investigator to find her. I'd offer to go myself, but you know how it is." Jade eyes tracked meaningfully to the sleeping brunette and Yohji wisely made no apologies for his refusal to help even though he did express his concern for the missing girl by saying, "I sure hope that Monique didn't bite off more than she can chew, though. You're right about one thing, while she was here she sure proved to me that she wasn't shy or hesitant about getting what she wanted."
During the wild weekend that Yohji had escorted Korat's sister from club to club, Monique had very nearly driven the lanky blond crazy between her winning ways and her pure sensuality.
Ken and Aya had wisely chosen to stay home, they didn't want to get caught up in the more risqué scenes that Korat had mentioned with extreme discomfort that the girl wanted to explore. This was the reason the ebony-skinned nurse himself felt incapable of taking charge of his sister, he simply wasn't as much of an exhibitionist as she was, yet knew his long-time jade-eyed patient and friend was open-minded enough to face it. So, after making an effort to convince his sibling to the contrary, Korat had arrived at the Koneko and had asked Yohji for a substantial favor that would come to involve an almost 24-hour straight club hopping extravaganza that would ultimately cement the two men's friendship permanently. The Kritiker nurse felt profound appreciation that Yohji had been not only capable of tolerating his sister's desire to live recklessly, he had also done so completely honorably, something few other men might have accomplished.
Now, however, the brief yet intense period that Yohji had spent with Monique was coming back to haunt him in ways he'd never imagined and he felt slightly guilty for not being able to offer to go in search of the aggravating yet endearing girl. Before he could admit these feelings, though, Korat arrived at a decision of his own.
With another heavy sigh and a feeling that he'd rather face almost anything else, the ebony-skinned man addressed his superior and asked, "Norwegian? I hate to do this, but I wish to request a leave of absence to go to Hokkaido and look for my sister."
The Kritiker physician nodded in understanding, he assumed it would be either this or a petition for the impressive resources of their organization to be put to work on the matter, something that really wasn't a legitimate area of their concern. With his most fatherly warm smile on his face, the doctor answered, "Of course, Korat. You should do whatever you feel is best, son, she *is* your sister after all." Receiving a small smile of thanks, he added, "Do you have any idea how long you might be gone? Also, do you need any form of assistance that I might provide?"
The tentative expression of appreciation for the immediate granting of his request took a little of the dark severity from Korat's elegant features and the nurse responded with a small shake of his head, "No, I'm afraid I have no idea at all how long this might take, Norwegian. If she isn't using her credit card there's no simple way to track her down but if I have to go to every city and town on Hokkaido and talk to the police about her, I will. Our poor mother is beside herself with worry." With a warmer tone he answered the second offer, "Thank you, but no, I can't think of anything I need from you other than an assurance that you won't hesitate to replace me here at Tokyo General on Siberian's treatment team. I truly regret being unable to remain as planned, I know that he will be here for some time to come." Mocha eyes tracked unhappily to the man who lay nearby, deeply asleep yet whose face still bore the marks of Aya's katana from the late night rescue only a few days prior.
A solitary soul without lover, wife, or children of his own, Korat had always enjoyed being able to work around the clock as he had been following Manx's request for aid for Ken and leaving behind a patient whom he knew as a friend as well disturbed him badly. However, family should always come first and he convinced himself that between Javanese and the other nurses available for the case, he was certain that the brunette would receive proper care.
The portly physician, however, seemed to be thinking it over a little and there was a thoughtful expression in his warm smile as he answered, "Don't worry about that, son. I think I have an excellent idea of who to get to cover for you." Seeing relief and inquiry in his coworker's eyes, he added, "As a matter of fact, I think that might solve two problems at once, so don't give it another thought. How soon do you wish to get started on your quest, Korat? If she's been missing this long, you may have an awfully large area to canvass to find her."
The haunted darkness returned to the nurse's eyes and he answered uncertainly, "I guess I'll leave after my shift is over at midnight, Norwegian, then leave for Hokkaido on the first flight out of Narita Airport in the morning. I wish there was time to go to my parents' home and speak with them about this, try to calm my mother down if nothing else, but there simply isn't time."
"Nonsense, my boy," Norwegian urged gently, patting the distraught nurse on the arm and hoping his ability to project calm was more operative with this emergency than it had been with the issues pertaining to the Schwarz telekinetic. With his fatherly smile in place and a slight touch of command in his voice, he said, "You're off-duty as of this moment, Jacques. Go to your parents and see to their needs before you go in search of your missing sister. Please keep me apprised of your search and feel free to take as long as you need. It's not as if those of us at KMC are trained to be detectives, but there's nothing to motivate a man like knowing someone he loves may be in danger, right?"
Deep gratitude and affection filled the nurse's face and he bowed slightly, as he accepted the gracious gift of time, saying, "Thank you so much, Norwegian. You are quite right about the search ahead of me, it *is* indeed a daunting undertaking. However, if Monique is in trouble as I fear she might be, I hope I can find her quickly."
"We *all* hope that you find her soon and that she's perfectly fine, Jacques," Yohji asserted adding his own best wishes, "Good luck looking for her. Don't worry about us, though, I'm sure we'll be fine, Ken's doing so much better already."
More gratitude filled mocha eyes and the nurse bowed slightly to his blond friend as well as the scarlet-haired man who had remained silent yet attentive to the discussion and said, "Thank you as well. I will plan to see you all when I return, after all, a good nurse can't simply walk away from a patient in Siberian's condition without at least a little concern lingering, can he?"
"Of course not," Norwegian stated firmly, then added, "But you ought to leave now before it gets much later, Korat. I'll leave you messages regarding your patient's situation on your voicemail if you wish to check it, but for now, go and give my regards to your parents during this difficult time."
"I will do so gladly, doctor," Korat answered then turned to leave after silently exchanging farewells with the eldest two members of Weiss.
Mind awhirl with the sudden needs of an unexpected departure for an unknown period of time, the determined man never stopped to consider what might happen should worse come to worse and his sister could not be found at all. It would take a very high level of commitment and confidence to face what lay ahead, a road of uncertainty with more misdirection than was imaginable whose ultimate answers lay well into the new year before coming to light.
After Korat had left, Norwegian's expression became slightly troubled as he turned to face Yohji and he asked, "Balinese? What kind of woman *is* his sister, anyway? It seemed as if he suspected the worst almost too automatically."
To his amazement, the jade-eyed man actually blushed slightly as he recalled the numerous times the seductive mahogany-skinned girl had suggested both overtly and subtly that he ought to give intimate heterosexual activity a try with her. Finding it hard to answer without going into too much detail--after all Aya didn't need to hear about the way he'd been propositioned repeatedly--Yohji finally offered with a shrug, "One that is too much fun for her own good at times and too demanding for those around her at others, doctor."
Looking displeased, the physician nodded and responded, "I was afraid of that. In other words, alone in a strange city, a girl like Monique could get herself into all kinds of trouble, couldn't she?"
As his flush died away due to the seriousness of the matter reasserting itself in his mind, Yohji nodded yet corrected, "Yes and no, Norwegian. I'd say a girl like her could get into trouble *anywhere*!" With a regret-filled sigh, he added, "I feel really sorry for Jacques. Unless Monique resurfaces on her own, he may be in for a long hunt only to find her living the life of leisure as the mistress of some rich, old married guy somewhere."
Norwegian grunted with displeasure and commented with annoyance, "For his sake, I just hope that he finds her at all! Too often the bodies of girls who have gone missing in Japan end up being found by hikers during the spring thaw in one of the national parks on that island! [1] I do *not* want that to happen to someone as deeply committed to his family as Jacques obviously is!"
The doctor's words conjured an image of manmade horror placed against the backdrop of a natural wonderland such as Daisetsu-zan, Japan's largest national park and home to a certain species of bear that had always fascinated the eldest member of Weiss. As a previously unrecalled image of that very park captured in a crisp photo-like perfection snapped into his mind, another deep tremor unexpectedly hit Yohji and it shook him so badly he reached out to steady himself on a nearby chair. Jade eyes seemed to cloud over ever so briefly and the eldest member of Weiss briefly felt weak.
"*Yohji*?!" Aya exclaimed in shock, breaking his silence and moving to grab his blond lover by the arm supportively. "What happened? Are you all right?"
With one trembling hand pressed to his forehead uncertainly, the wire-wielding assassin merely wavered in place for a moment before steadying again as the image of an autumnal afternoon in the wilderness vanished back into obscurity. Voice filled with a fear and terror that defied explanation, Yohji answered questioningly, "I, I *think* I'm all right, Aya?" Shaking his newly pain-filled head as he tried to force his mind past the sudden agony, he added in confusion, "I have no idea what just happened. All of a sudden I have the most *hideous* headache. I think I need to sit down." Shakily, he eased his lanky frame into a chair and simply sat there, head down and eyes closed in agony for a moment.
Startled and confused, Aya looked towards Norwegian who shared his expressions of trepidation and fear. Not knowing what to do to help yet being unwilling to simply stand there and let one of the men he cared deeply for suffer, the scarlet-haired man demanded, "Norwegian? Isn't there anything you can *do* for him?!"
"I'm not sure," the doctor responded honestly, utterly baffled by the bizarre turn of events. Then he moved to crouch near Yohji and ask, "Where does it hurt, Balinese?"
Yohji shook his head slightly, moaned as that added to his pain then responded quietly, "My head feels like it's going to explode, Norwegian." With some effort, he opened agony-filled jade eyes and moved to rub the back of his head as if that might help, then he added, "It hurts worse back here, though. Like there's a railroad spike right at the base of my skull!"
Norwegian blinked in surprise, this certainly wasn't where the usual cluster headache might strike or even a first time migraine. Unable to categorize the headache easily, he asked gently, "Have you had pain like this before, son? Have you had attacks you hadn't mentioned to me in the past?"
Frowning slightly as he tried to recall and found that the effort only caused him greater pain, Yohji admitted with an exhausted sigh, "I had them a lot after the training session with that little brat Calico a few weeks ago, but then they went away. I never thought to mention them since I assumed they were from something I ate in Sapporo or something. But, damn, this one's not easing off at all!" With an expression that told anyone who looked at him that he was in nearly unbearable pain yet attempting to bravely disregard it, he added, "Fuck, this hurts worse than getting punched by Abyssinian and that's saying something." He smiled weakly at his scarlet-haired lover who was uncharacteristically hovering close by, hoping a touch of levity might eliminate the scowl of concern from the other assassin's pale yet beautiful features.
"Drop the comedy act, Kudou," Aya responded with far more love than the words implied. "Stop trying to be a tough guy and let Norwegian look at you. Doctor, can you give him something for the pain?"
Having confirmed that Yohji's pupils had remained evenly and appropriately dilated and thereby ruled out the last of his headache theories that were of the most frightening nature, the gray-eyed man nodded then rose and pulled out a note pad that he jotted a quick prescription on. Tearing it off and handing it to Aya, he commanded with concern, "Get these from the hospital pharmacy for him immediately, Abyssinian. If after taking two of these and waiting an hour this isn't completely gone, let me know. There are certainly worse things than a simple headache that could explain sudden intense pain like this, but let's rule out the obvious first, shall we?"
Voice mission cool as one might have suspected, the violet-eyed man responded, "Agreed."
"Good," the portly physician said, patted Yohji on the shoulder, then turned to inform Aya of one more detail before leaving, "I'm going to go see what I can do about getting a replacement for Korat lined up. I'll advise the Tokyo General staff that they're responsible for everyone in this room until midnight when Javanese will return. Dial my cell phone number if my presence here is required sooner, all right?"
"Absolutely," with a crisp nod of the head, the Weiss field-leader departed intending to get whatever medication might alleviate Yohji's unexpected torture as quickly as possible, he couldn't bear to see him suffering the way he was.
After giving the agonized man in the chair one last glance as well as taking a look at the injured brunette who had slept through not only the dramatic revelations regarding Korat's sister's absence but Yohji's near collapse as well, Norwegian, too, left the room.
Alone with his chocolate-eyed lover slumbering blessedly unawares nearby, Yohji allowed the last vestiges of his previously hard fought for self-control to slip away gratefully.
The blond man had held back a full reaction to the intense pain he was suffering as long as he had an audience, and now freed of that, the burning tears that resulted from enduring sheer hellish agony sprang to his eyes. Dropping his aching head into his hands and ignoring the way that the salty teardrops were slipping past his fingers to visibly dot the fabric of his clothes, he moaned quietly, "Oh gods, what the *hell* is wrong with me?! Every fucking time I try to remember what happened on Hokkaido now, it just hurts! Damn it all to hell, *why*?!?"
There were no answers in the otherwise empty room, of course, and his own mind could no more tell him the truth than he could force the pain away long enough to track it to its source.
When Aya returned with the medication Norwegian had prescribed, he noted the numerous indicators of agonized weeping that he was certain Yohji would've denied and therefore didn't mention them. He was understandably concerned by all that had occurred yet baffled as to how to help his lover other than pressing a glass of water along with the prescribed drugs into Yohji's hands and making sure he took them. Then, the field-leader of Weiss went about the difficult task of wordlessly keeping careful watch of the amount of time it took until the glaze of pain left jade eyes.
Forty-five minutes after swallowing two of the white pills desperately hopeful for relief, Yohji had finally felt the first cooling touches of non-pain in the back of his head and he'd sighed tiredly, "I think it's workin' finally." He'd already been yawning somewhat since, as the package warned, the drugs he'd been given did indeed tend to cause drowsiness. [2]
"Good," Aya murmured quietly from where he'd been leaning against a wall, silently guarding both of those whom he loved even as he worried about what could've effected the taller one so dramatically. Pushing away from the wall with his heel, he moved to where Yohji could see him easily and he asked with a nod of his head towards the unoccupied bed, "If you're sleepy, why not rest over there? I'll let Norwegian know your headache is easing up next time he asks."
"All right," Yohji agreed with another yawn and a nod that gratefully did not cause a new sequence of pain to wash over him. He dragged himself bodily from the chair and basically let himself collapse onto the empty bed in a random tangle of limbs, he was simply too sleepy now to pay much attention to such things.
With an expression of concern, Aya moved to ease the already sleeping man's shoes from his feet hoping to make him more comfortable. Even as he pulled a blanket over his blond partner's body, he thought about the fact that fate seemed intent on heaping more pain and sorrow onto the members of Weiss and their friends than anyone could logically expect them to survive. Not surprised by his usual pessimism, Aya gave the matter very little further thought and returned to his position leaning against the wall keeping watch once more.
The scarlet-haired man's only optimistic thought was that at least Omi and Nagi had been spared participation in this latest cruel turn of events. He cautiously hoped that wherever they had ended up spending their evening alone together they were having a more relaxed and enjoyable time with one another than he was with his own lovers. Saying good-bye was hard under normal circumstances, to do so under the shadow of new fears might be nigh impossible no matter how much the Schwarz telekinetic had claimed he wanted to go home.
*****
To be continued.
Author's Notes:
[1] A rarely discussed fact is that Japan, like any other country, has its share of psychopaths who commit serial murder and at least a few of the higher profile cases of the last few decades were solved after evidence was found on Hokkaido. Unsuspecting hikers planning only to enjoy the early blooms coming through the snow have found other faded blossoms of a far less attractive nature and it's this piece of crime lore that was the inspiration for this comment from Norwegian.
[2] In case you wanted to know what the drug of choice was here, I believe that it wouldn't be out of the question for Norwegian to have chosen either Vicodin or Demerol, both powerful pain killers that the llama has too much experience with. Also, regarding the ability of either of these drugs to knock an otherwise healthy male such as Yohji out flat with very little warning, take it from one who has "been there and done that", it not only *can* happen it's almost guaranteed but at that point it would be welcomed.
Full Author's Notes to Run at Conclusion.
Please be advised: Parts 46 & 47 will be posted together.