Title: Cold November Rain [part 53/62]

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

Author: Enigma

Series: Weiss Kreuz

Written: January-April, 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: 5. time: 1245-1530 hours. ++

*****

After making detailed notes regarding both Ken and Yohji's exams and then mentally centering himself once more, Norwegian returned to Room 646 and asked, "Well, gentlemen, shall we discuss those results I promised you now?"

"Absolutely," the Weiss field-leader spoke without hesitation, immediately assuming command and letting his tone of voice indicate that they were all taking what was about to be discussed very seriously. Without falling into a fully cold mission-mode, the violet-eyed man indicated with a nod of his head that all of his team was prepared to face whatever information was available and that the doctor ought to hurry up and tell them what he knew. Patience wasn't a virtue that Abyssinian routinely practiced other than during a surveillance operation.

Accepting the shift in mood, the doctor took a deep breath, glanced at his charts and then smiled broadly as he said, "I'm pleased to be able to say that I have an unexpectedly large amount of good news to share with all of you regarding Siberian's progress." The expressions in the room were universally hopeful and he felt it had been worth the risk to be so positive in the face of the few rather serious unknowns he would get to later.

"Care to elaborate, doctor?" The scarlet-haired man inquired impatiently as he hoped against hope that somewhere in the test results there was something regarding both the kidney and spinal injuries which were the most serious issues yet to be resolved. Now that he had publicly proclaimed his love for the chocolate-eyed teen, Aya had become even more attached to Ken and waiting even a short amount of time to hear good news about his condition seemed difficult at best.

"With pleasure," Norwegian agreed. With his classic genial and reassuring smile in place, he explained, "First, the results of a number of tests have indicated that lung function has improved dramatically and the chest tubes will be removed later today even though the supplemental oxygen will need to be maintained for quite awhile."

"That's good," Ken grumbled sleepily, glaring at the annoying tubes that always tented up the top of his blankets uncomfortably letting in too much cool air for his tastes as well as being painful in and of themselves. "I won't miss them but I'm sorry they couldn't have been removed before Nagi left, they still grossed him out, I think."

"Yes, I agree," Norwegian said disappointedly. "But we couldn't rush it and at least this way, should he find some opportunity to visit again while you are still here it might be a pleasant surprise for him, right?"

"I guess so," the patient agreed dispiritedly then asked, "What else have you got for me, doctor? Anything new on the rest of this mess?"

"Indeed, there is, Siberian." Norwegian's smile broadened considerably as he glanced from the chocolate-eyed teen over to the man's two lovers and he said, "The damage to the lining of your heart seems to be healing well and there's been no disruption in cardiac function because of it. Also, the injury to your thigh is showing a marked reduction in inflammation and swelling, plus preliminary phases of tissue regrowth are visible. Since we can not check the progress on your arm as easily, it's reasonable to assume that it, too, is demonstrating a commensurate improvement since the damage--to a certain extent at least--was similar in both places."

The suntanned former J-league player smiled slightly when he heard these things that indicated that even though the road to recovery would be a long one, he could look forward to regaining much of his physical ability if everything else went well, something that was not at all guaranteed. With a hopeful note in his voice, Ken asked, "So, you mean there's a chance I might be able to coach my neighborhood kids' soccer team when Spring training begins?"

The portly physician chuckled softly and nodded slowly before saying, "One might hope so, son, but there *are* two other significant hurdles to overcome before that is even a possibility." Seeing the cloud pass across the brunette's features upon hearing his warning, though, he then smiled confidently and added, "But there's good news on one of those issues, too, my young friend! Believe it or not, preliminary results already indicate that your system is reacting favorably to the use of KNT-0201. There are indications that the spinal damage is beginning to repair itself and at the rate it's progressing, there should be no residual difficulties by the time you're released from the hospital."

Delighted as well as shocked, Yohji still found the ability to speak and asked in confusion, "Really, Norwegian? It's only been a couple of days, how can you be sure so soon?"

"And what about those side-effects you mentioned, doctor? The temporary blindness and everything?" Omi interjected anxiously, rising to his feet in excitement. It seemed this news was too good to be true and they didn't want to get their hopes up for nothing, yet so much happiness had already been granted by the earlier pronouncements that it was helping him to at least temporarily forget his worries about his boyfriend.

However Norwegian merely shook his head and kept smiling as he explained with a wave of his hand, "It would appear that Siberian has a truly amazing natural ability to overcome injury which is at least partially to thank for this small miracle. [1] As to the possible side-effects, Bombay, according to our extensive databases regarding this drug, if he hasn't shown any of those symptoms by now he will most likely not experience any of them later either. They are all exclusively initial onset issues and since he has remained unaffected after 48 hours he should be out of the woods for *all* of them!"

"This is *great*!" The youngest member of Weiss shouted gleefully. Throwing aside his other worries, Omi rushed to embrace the large man and after hugging the doctor, he turned and gave Ken a look that said he wanted to do the same to him.

With an indulgent smirk, Yohji released his hold on the younger of his two lovers' hand and with an elegant gesture invited their young friend to share the next best thing to a hug wordlessly.

Accepting with a genki smile and a nod, Omi moved to wrap both hands around Ken's free hand and clasped it warmly, exclaiming, "I'm so happy for you, Ken-kun! We were all so terribly worried about that!" He fought the desire to tear up since the level of joy was so high inside him and he added with a tiny sniffle, "Nagi's going to be so thrilled to hear about this, too! I can't *wait* to tell him about it!"

Knowing it would've been cruel as well as unnecessary to point out that there was no way to know how long it might be before that could happen, the nineteen year old merely smiled tiredly at his dear friend and said, "Thanks a bunch, Omi. I'm really glad to hear it, too, but in all honesty, I wasn't terribly worried about it myself."

Dashing the lone salty teardrop that had found its way into long eyelashes away, the younger of the two blondes in the room asked, "Oh? Why not, Ken-kun?"

Despite his growing sleepiness caused by powerful painkillers that were doing an excellent job of giving him relief after the rigors of the exam he'd received, the claw-wielding assassin answered with a tiny shrug, "Because like I said when they first told me about all this stuff, I figure that I'm still alive for a reason. And since I'm not exactly the brains of this outfit, it seems reasonable to assume that I'm needed hale and hearty for something or other in the future." With a tired yet adoring smirk aimed at his two lovers he added, "Besides, Aya and Yohji here wouldn't want it any other way. So like it or not, these injuries had to heal or face the combined wrath of Abyssinian and Balinese, ya know?"

Playing along, the tallest member of Weiss made the best "intimidating face ala the WWF" he could come up with and Aya simply shook his head making the lone golden earring he wore dance in a stray beam of sunlight from the window even as he hid a smile of his own.

Omi giggled slightly and settled for just holding Ken's hand a moment longer as something serious occurred to him and he asked, "Norwegian? You didn't say anything yet about the kidney damage." With an undeniably pleading expression on his face, he asked, "Is it getting better, too?"

The air of celebration in the room cooled as the doctor's previously beaming smile faded back to the usual merely reassuring one and he shook his head slowly and admitted, "Sadly, not yet, Bombay." As each of the four reacted to this he explained further, "You see, the renal system is very complex and has an intricate array of blood vessels, fluid carrying tubules, and muscles that all must interweave correctly for a kidney to function properly. The injury was a severe one and even though Siberian's amazing healing ability has served him in good stead so far, it is simply too soon to expect to see any improvement there."

"Oh, I see," the cerulean-eyed youth's expression fell and if it wasn't for the gentle pressure exerted by strong fingers wrapped in his own, he might've allowed himself a greater decline in attitude than he did. Glancing at his friend whose face had almost healed entirely from the tiny katana nicks it had borne previously, Omi asked, "Um, Ken-kun? Are you not worried about *that* injury either?"

The young blonde's mind flashed back to the solemn and forlorn expression he'd seen on his boyfriend's face when Nagi had recounted the sorrowful tale of his friend from school who died because he'd been denied a kidney transplant. Knowing that was a fate that might still await the chocolate-eyed teen he cared about so much disturbed him greatly yet those around him seemed quietly determined about the situation and not as panicky as he himself felt.

With a confident nod and a barely suppressed yawn, the brunette answered, "That's right, Omi. I'm not going to worry about it unless there's been an indication that it's failed entirely and needs to be cut out of me." Realizing the importance of his own statement, he blinked in surprise then asked with a frown, "Um, there's nothing like *that* showing up, is there, doctor?"

Norwegian rushed to put their minds to rest, saying, "Absolutely not, Siberian! What minimal function was there following the initial surgery remains unchanged but rest assured that if we see a marked change in your condition we'll inform you immediately." He didn't feel it was necessary to elaborate on the fact that if they suspected any form of necrosis was occurring inside Ken's abdomen it would be cause for emergency surgery anyway.

Satisfied, the recovering patient nodded, yawned tiredly, and said with a small sigh, "Well, that's good enough for me, I guess. But before I go to la-la-land, what can you tell us about Yohji, Norwegian?" Despite looking as if slumber was pulling him away already, the brunette forced his eyes back open long enough to add, "Oh, and wasn't there some news on the samples from Sokoke's body you were going to tell us about? That's still bugging everybody, I think."

Knowing all eyes in the room were focused on him alone, the Kritiker physician took a deep breath and let a sad sigh escape him as he shook his head again, a gesture those around him were beginning to equate with more bad news they didn't really want to hear. Sorting through his impressions of the wire-wielding assassin's symptoms, he answered, "Frankly, I didn't find anything in my preliminary exam that could easily explain Balinese's exceptionally severe headaches. I was able to rule out migraines, cluster headaches, and several other fairly common yet debilitating neurological conditions, but not much past that. I hope that the blood tests will tell us more, but even they are only of limited value in certain cases."

Each of the members of Weiss took this information in and considered it silently, filing it away for further study later as they awaited news of their recently departed friend.

"Ah, poor, dear Sokoke," the physician paused and sighed deeply. He continued to mourn the inexplicable death of the vibrant young woman and even though he was absolutely certain that she hadn't committed suicide he had no evidence yet to support his beliefs and said so, "Well, I'm afraid that it's far too early to tell. My people in Yokohama have only had the samples for a little over 18 hours now, but they have been able to rule out anything obvious like the most common street drugs, alcohol, carbon monoxide, and a few other typical causes of accidents like this. I'll grant you, if they *had* detected either drugs or alcohol in her system, I might have assumed they were not consumed knowingly on her part based on my knowledge of her and her Kritiker personnel and medical records. However, we can't determine her location prior to the accident at this point and for all we know she might have indeed left Tokyo General in search of such unanticipated diversions."

Holding a hand up to fend off the angry denials of impropriety that he knew would come from the young men around him who had become fond of the honey-blond secretary in a short amount of time, he explained further, "Next, the scientists will begin a more systematic approach to look for other clues. This will be a slow, time-consuming process and since we are doing this without authorization, any valid assignments from Persia or within KMC that they receive will cause the research to be put on 'hold'. But since we are the only ones actively seeking the truth so that dear girl's spirit can rest easy, we will continue searching for as long as we can think of new things to look for."

Aya glared icily in response to not only the lack of progress but also to the mention of the man that they had all followed unquestioningly until this recent incident which was followed by the leader of Kritiker behaving quite strangely as far as he was concerned. Practically tossing amethyst daggers at Norwegian, he growled, "Then there better be a nice long list of things to look for, doctor! Sokoke *didn't* kill herself and when we know who is truly to blame for this, there will be vengeance to be dispensed. My katana will drink of the blood of whatever bastard is to blame for ending her life!"

The vehemence in the scarlet-haired man's voice was a little frightening even to those who knew him well, yet it said more about how he felt about the man responsible for his own sister's medical condition possibly than it did about the young woman who had died two days previously. The image of Reiji Takatori sprang to mind whenever Aya thought of Sokoke's death having involved her car in the middle of the afternoon only a few days prior since it seemed similar to the incident of several years past. The two lovely young women cut down in the prime of life in "accidents" that weren't mere chance were simply too much alike. There was no connection between the two crimes, of course, but this was the way the Weiss swordsman's mind worked at times and the unfulfilled craving for justice burned within him always.

Another matter that went unmentioned since Norwegian incorrectly assumed it had nothing to do with this, was the corpse in the Kritiker Medical Center's morgue awaiting autopsy. That particular lost soul had neither family nor friends outside the organization and hence no one required the return of his remains, so there was plenty of time to deal with the research it might take to discover anything concrete about his death, too.

Before much more heated discussion could arise about the cause of Sokoke's death and how they intended to find answers, the brunette yawned loudly, then apologized and said he just couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

Norwegian bid Ken rest and recommended that anyone who wanted to stay with him do so but without conversation so as not to interfere with his getting the restful sleep he obviously needed after the rigorous exam. This was readily agreed to and after the portly physician left to return to his base of operations with the newly collected blood samples, a group of solemn young men remained quietly gathered on the sixth floor of Tokyo General.

Each contemplated the information they'd been given and soon discovered it wasn't as reassuring as it had seemed at first.

Despite the overwhelmingly positive nature of what had been shared regarding not only the experimental nerve regeneration drug but also so much else that indicated Ken was on his way to an excellent recovery, the three present who weren't asleep found their thoughts dark with worry all the same. As long as the specter of a possible need for a kidney transplant for the recovering man loomed before them, there would continue to be an understandable level of fear that they would bear as a group.

Further, their instincts told them all that there was something undeniably wrong with the contention that Sokoke's death was either a true accident or a case of "auto-cide". She'd had so much to live for and no apparent history of mental illness, a sudden suicidal impulse was simply unbelievable as well as unacceptable to the men of Weiss. They hadn't known her for long, but as so often happens when people are thrown together during a crisis, a powerful bond had formed linking her to them and the four florist/assassins would not allow her death to be forgotten or dismissed as unimportant.

Last, despite not having been mentioned directly, Yohji found his thoughts tracking to the memory of a mahogany-skinned woman's face. The mystery of Korat's sister's unexplained disappearance held greater meaning for the men of Weiss than they could possibly imagine on that November afternoon. Sadly, when the truth was known about her fate months later, the ramifications of that knowledge would eclipse the facts behind Sokoke's tragic passing the way a supernova outshines a candle on a child's birthday cake.

The scales of justice had been badly unbalanced yet the culprit was far from finished and his ultimate punishment would go undelivered until well after he destroyed a precious part of the soul of a certain midnight blue-eyed teen as well.

*****

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

[1] Please allow me to mention where I came up with the idea that Ken must recover very quickly from his injuries since it *is* based on the series and not my imagination.

{note: tiny spoiler warning for "Mission 4: Verrat", which is German for "Betrayal"}

In episode 4, Ken is shot several times and even though he's wearing a bullet-proof vest, it's clear that he's hurt fairly badly yet he returns to seek vengeance against the man who hurt him almost immediately without showing signs of being incapacitated. Based on real world cases of police officers who've suffered similar attacks, broken or badly bruised ribs would've been the most probable injuries he would've suffered. If he received even a fraction of that level of injury, I assume it would take a surprisingly quick response on his body's part to overcome it enough to be leaping around the way he does near the end of the episode. I've often wondered about the bullet to the shoulder he also received that ought to have left him in severe pain, but who am I to question the esteemed writers of the show that inspires Melpomene, Erato, and Calliope so well?

Full Author's Notes to Run at Conclusion.

Please be advised: Parts 52 & 53 will be posted together.

This evening's posting run is dedicated to the many wonderful people who have left me an amazing and inspiring *378* reviews for this humble work at fanfiction.net!

{blows the Horn of Friendship loudly and proudly!! 'tis a joyful noise to be certain even if it *is* a tad out of tune after being unused for awhile!!}

These folks are the best and if it weren't for them, the temptation to just work on this off-and-on since Erato *really* wants to wake up again and write the (Yohji x Ken x Aya) threeway lemon side-story we've promised to Priscilla, e.e, and others might have been overwhelming! However, since I've gained some new reviewers there who quite sweetly asked me to post more how could I refuse?

{laughs quietly since even a comment like "Damn you! Finish the fuckin' thing!" is accepted as a compliment at the Casa de Llama and is given proper respect regardless of its apparent tone}

As for my new friends, well, this is a dangerous thing to do since I'm always dreadfully afraid that I'll miss someone, but if you take a glance at the most recent pages of reviews, you're sure to notice one of my coolest new pals, Midori Natari Himura! Man oh man, talk about knowing the way to a guy's heart! Midori's a new reader but that isn't stopping her from leaving me notes on each Part as she reads it and believe it or not, those comments have had a huge impact not only on my feelings of excitement for getting more written but also for the fic itself. There were a few details from way back at the beginning I'd almost forgotten to tie together and after reading what she wrote there, I was able to address them in these last few Parts!

{feels lucky in so many ways and then mentions more new friends}

Some other new names that have appeared recently include Raven Wings who must enjoy this a lot to sit and read the entire fic in a couple marathon sessions and I'm *thrilled* to see what s/he thought about it all! Another marathoner is Zilent1 who can feel free to be as "sucky-upish" as they want to since their words made me smile and smile and smile! The mere fact that they spent that long *reading* it tells me they're finding something of interest here and I'm glad for the review! Bukimi has dropped in lately and left some cute, short comments. Now that it's back underway, I wonder if s/he will find it to their liking? As for the oddly worded encouragement quoted above, that's from Black Dragon and if I'm wrong in assuming this person meant that tongue in cheek, I'm probably better off not knowing it, ne? Last but not least, my most recent new arrival is Azuriana who is marvelously polite and I hope s/he will enjoy the new material.

{hums a song about new friends being silver whereas old ones are gold that his niece sang him from her Girl Scouts "Campfire Songs" booklet awhile back}

Other than the newbies, I've also regained my temporarily-absent-due-to-school reviewer e.e who blew me away with her comments on the Parts that had to be patient while her term paper demons were exorcised and I'm thrilled to see her! There were bright shiny notes recently from my good buddy Mr. Peabody, my esteemed-friends-with-one-syllable-names Cat and Beth, cutely-Schwarz-loving Aeris Tsukiyono, the multi-named yet never copied Shadow Catcher, and darling bearilou (who is getting a lemony giftfic from me this summer!) and a few other old friends who I hope forgive me if I missed them since llamas are notoriously forgetful critters! Um, by the way, I haven't heard from Priscilla lately, but I'm guessing things got hectic at work or home or wherever and hope that she's doing okay. I sent her a note and never heard back, so if anyone out there is in touch with her, please tell her I hope all is well and look forward to hearing from her when life gets better, okay?

{yawns since it's late and there's a content smile of accomplishment on his face for getting this out tonight when he didn't think he could, then he tries to wrap things up and go get some sleep for a change}

Well, team, that's it for tonight!

Major news for the Weiss boys from Norwegian about Siberian's progress and major news for the readers from the Llama that the rough draft is done, too! I can't begin to guess who will be happier, I'll let the reviews at fanfiction.net be my guide to that and will happily look forward to being back tomorrow with more.

Before I vanish, though, one quick note to those of you reading this at the various MLs receiving the fic directly: I'm ever so sorry, but I'm on WEB-only at all of them and won't see comments left for me "on-list" for quite awhile. Feel free to send a note to my direct email address if you wish to encourage my muses with happy thoughts or better yet drop a comment at fanfiction.net! I check my reviews there religiously and am sure to see it, glomp it, read it, love it, and keep it close to my heart forever!

Thanks again, one and all! It feels *really* good to finally be back!

Ja ne!

~~~E-sama the Llama~~~

(who truly loves to acknowledge his reviewers and those who send him notes that make him smile but is also afraid of accidentally assuming gender references in his mentions of those wonderful folks! please excuse him if he uses weird non-standard stuff like "s/he" to avoid making assumptions since he's just trying to be friendly and doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, okay? oh, and if he assumed you were female and you're not, um, shout at the llama privately, please. it's not nice to let the yaoi-loving ladies see a couple of yaoi-loving guys arguing in "public", no da!)

Posted 22 April 2002, ~3:00am