Title: Cold November Rain [part 61/62]
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: 31. time: 1645-1730 hours. ++
*****
The one month anniversary of Ken's shooting was passing by gratefully unnoticed for the most part by the residents of the Koneko no Sumu Ie as they attended to their current daily routines of school, work, and household chores, all of which was accomplished without distraction by assignments from Kritiker.
The youngest florist/assassin had regained his excellent grades quite easily thanks not only to having his surrogate family around him constantly but also to his boyfriend's ingenious efforts to outsmart Crawford's restriction of his use of Schwarz computers for contacting him. It turned out that there were more publicly accessible terminals at Nagi's school than he'd realized at first and by this point, the blue-eyed teens were exchanging messages almost daily. Omi was nervous about the upcoming winter school holidays when that access would be gone, but he tried not to worry about it too much, simply reminding himself to be grateful they had what they did since he was less distracted when he knew Nagi was doing all right. Of course, Bombay was also extremely glad that Weiss had been temporarily deactivated, it gave him so much more time to enjoy being with his "brothers" and creating colorful arrangements with flowers that made people happy and himself relaxed.
The elder blond had adjusted to the peaceful life of days working in the flowershop combined with quiet nights spent cooking for those he cared for more easily than even he had anticipated since the dietary restrictions Ken was facing were being shared by them all. There had been only a few tense moments so far that had left Yohji either in a cold shower or apologizing unnecessarily to his two partners for giving into the desperate need for a night of dancing simply for the physical exercise he wasn't getting otherwise. Even more doting on his first love than ever before, the jade-eyed man hung on Ken's every word and even the simplest vague wish for an item generally caused it to be provided if it wasn't contraindicated by the brunette's medical condition.
Sadly, the deep-seated nicotine addiction that had flared to new heights only a month prior continued to burn brightly since it was so easy to slip outside for a smoke whenever he wanted one and Yohji was rapidly approaching a multiple-pack-per-day habit without thinking about it. Whether this would be dealt with or not remained to be seen, though, it just didn't seem important in the bigger scheme of things at the time. Each of the members of Weiss had his own way of coping with stress but only Balinese's was potentially cancer-inducing.
The only one of the four who was spending considerable time away from the Koneko for reasons that weren't required by law the way high school classes were, was the scarlet-haired swordsman. After seeing to it that Ken was adjusting well to life at home with routine trips to Kritiker Medical Center for dialysis and check-ups, Aya had found himself gravitating to the Magicbus Hospital more frequently than he had in the past. The silent girl he visited there showed no signs of improvement which shouldn't have been a surprise since her condition had been stable for over two long years already, yet it frustrated the violet-eyed man endlessly.
The situation with Ken a mere month prior had been desperate yet everyone knew before he even entered surgery that it would be resolved quickly one way or another. Either death would foolishly try to claim him and be forced to face Yohji and Aya's wrath, or he would recover, the outcome which had occurred. For the insensate, dark-haired girl, however, there wouldn't be such a simple resolution and what might have been the answer to raising her back to awareness in one reality wouldn't be the one pertinent to this one since destiny had already shifted patterns dramatically. [1]
Unfortunately, the concerns over the girl as well as his ongoing commitment to doing all that he could for the younger of his two lovers as Ken's improvements seemed to slow down after he left Tokyo General distracted Aya from a key omission on his part.
Perhaps he thought it unimportant or maybe it was an honest mistake, but the scarlet-haired man never got around to verbalizing his feelings for the elder of his two lovers. Not willing to risk the happiness of the two men he cared for above all others, Yohji never said a word about it and even though Ken spent several hours under the slow and draining process of dialysis thinking it over, the brunette remained silent as well. The situation gradually became an unrecognized time bomb increasing in power as the days slipped past that would eventually explode in their faces. However, it would take Abyssinian being confronted with a monstrous side of his own personality that he'd never acknowledged before to force him to make his final choice between stating that he loved Yohji or losing what little respect he still held for himself as a man. [2]
Last but never least in the hearts and minds of his friends, was the cast-laden nineteen year old who continued to depend on the cane to walk on the rare occasions he was allowed to go anywhere by himself.
At first, Ken had been amazed at the level of constant care he was receiving from his lovers and teammate, but the novelty of being the center of attention at all times wore thin quickly. It had taken an almost knock-down, drag-out, verbal fight to convince Aya and Yohji that he could be allowed to go up and down the stairs alone, and on a late afternoon in mid-December he was in the kitchen of the Koneko making tea unattended for a change.
The brunette's brooding mental complaints about being overprotected and feeling stifled were quieted, however, as his gaze left the tea kettle that refused to boil for him and came to rest on his beloved rainbow-hued, hand-blown antique vase. Currently filled with an assortment of brightly colored chopsticks that they used for their daily meals, the Venetian glass looked exquisite and it reminded him not to be angry with the ones who loved him, they only meant well, and had no idea how badly they were driving him crazy.
Sighing heavily, the chocolate-eyed teen haphazardly measured enough loose Lemon Zinger tea into an attractive teapot that Omi had gotten for him through the Japanese edition of eBay to share with the two blondes on duty in the flowershop and noticed the water was almost boiling. They usually preferred coffee this late in the afternoon, but Ken's dietary restrictions included rather stringent limits on caffeine but they were out of decaff, something Aya had promised to fix by picking up some of the brunette's favorite blend at Starbucks the next day. In the meantime, he hoped the energetic herbal blend from Celestial Seasonings that Omi had found in the import section of the market would be a welcome change of pace for anyone who wanted to give it a try.
After the kettle whistled merrily and drew attention to itself, the former athlete poured plenty of hot water over the mixture in the pot and left it to steep as he went down to see if Omi or Yohji wanted to take a short break and come get a cup. He'd rather have simply carried them each a cup, but with one arm in a cast and the other using the cane, he simply couldn't manage the logistics of delivering hot drinks safely.
Carefully hobbling from the kitchen towards the flowershop, Ken reflected on the fact that his friend and lovers wouldn't have acted the way that they had lately if they didn't truly love him, something the former J-league player had found hard to believe at first. A welcome warmth built in his now badly scarred chest and he sighed as he forced himself to admit he actually rather liked all of the attention and concern even if it did seem overbearing at times.
All those around Ken were going to great deal of trouble to make him not only comfortable but also able to heal in what they hoped would be a stress-free environment for him. Even the fangirls had stopped pestering him directly after he told his tragic and completely false tale of unintentionally destroying a rented motorcycle trying to avoid hitting a child's missing pet on a busy thoroughfare. Instead, the legions of adoring fans who proclaimed him a hero for saving the nonexistent puppy had found a new way to show that they cared which was fine with the man who was struggling to reconcile the fact that he felt both loved and stifled at the same time.
*****
At the same time that Ken was working on making naturally decaffeinated tea for them, downstairs in the flowershop Omi faced a different set of challenges in the form of eager schoolgirls and a work partner who was outside having yet another cigarette while trying to avoid a headache.
"Does this one do well in partial sun, Omi-kun?" An unnamed female voice asked without intention of purchasing the plant in her cologne-scented hand which she hoped he might notice.
"Um," the cerulean-eyed teen bit his lip and said, "I'm not really sure. That's a new variety that we decided to try in our last order. I can look it up if you really want to buy it, though."
"I'd like a dozen of these," a certain well-to-do young woman who didn't have much patience insisted as she pushed a very expensive, Peruvian iris in his face, displacing the now embarrassed girl who quickly put the potted plant back on a shelf.
Startled, Omi stepped backwards and stammered, "Um, I-I-I'm sorry, Ouka-chan, but we've only got a half-dozen of those *and* they're for someone special, too." The warm, sudden blush that rose on his cheeks was endearing and the girl understandably took it all wrong.
"Oh? Is that so?" The imperious yet not intrinsically malicious girl commented thoughtfully before amending, "If that's the case, then I want an extra dozen and a half ordered for *next* week! I have someone 'special' that *I* want to impress, too, Omi-chan!"
Her questionable use of the too-familiar honorific put the young blonde's nerves on end as he did the only thing he could at the time and jotted it on the requests list by the cash register in the back of the shop. The cerulean-eyed teen barely noticed that the chattering around him had unexpectedly died away after the chimes placed over the front door let him know there was a new customer in their midst.
Calling out a ritualized greeting and silently cursing the fact that he couldn't see past the girls in his way, Omi called out in his lilting alto, "Welcome to the Koneko no Sumu Ie! How may I assist you today?"
The dead silence ought to have alerted him that someone truly unusual had entered the shop, but since he'd missed the significance of the silence, Omi reiterated to his unseen customer, "Did you need help finding anything today?"
A shy, almost timid voice answered him saying, "Um, no, I think that I know *exactly* what I came here hoping to find."
Rapid thoughts speeding through his mind on wings like an angel's, Omi immediately recognized the familiar and much loved voice and shouted in pure delight, "NAGI?!? What are *you* doing here?!" Pushing his way heedlessly past the throng of girls, he rushed to the side of the one he adored whom he hadn't seen in three long weeks and pulled slender pale hands into his own heedless of their audience and exclaimed, "Wow! It's *great* to see you again!!" How he had the presence of mind not to include the affectionate nickname he'd used so often in the past was a mystery even to Omi, but it was an omission that spared them both some trouble.
More than happy to feel his boyfriend's hands around his own, the sable-haired boy gazed adoringly into the beautiful face of the one he loved and he agreed so quietly that only Omi heard him saying, "It's great to see you, too, koi. I have missed you so!" Wishing they could exchange a kiss but suddenly hyperaware of the large number of adolescent girls that were staring at them both, Nagi dropped his eyes nervously to gaze at where their hands came together and he simply smiled in contentment as a blush danced his cheeks, too.
Barely able to remind himself he was indeed surrounded by an audience, Omi forced himself to give his beloved's hands another firm squeeze that promised more when they could be alone and then released them. Glancing past his partner's school uniform-clad shoulder and fearing a glimpse of either flame red or chalk white hair and not seeing either, he asked in confusion, "How did you work things out so you could come over here this afternoon, Nagi-kun? Aren't you still, um, what did you call it? Not being 'grounded' but 'being kept under surveillance'?"
Chuckling very quietly and keeping his tone fairly neutral, the telekinetic answered, "Well, I mentioned to Schu that I wanted to make a stop after school today and asked if that was okay or not since Crawford's been lightening up on my restrictions." The slight smirk on his elfin face indicated the actual interchange had been more colorful as he continued, "He didn't ask where I wanted to go or anything. He just winked at me and said not to skip dinner and be back before Brad gets in from playing bodyguard for Takatori at a cocktail party. I think as long as I'm back by nine or ten, it'll be okay."
"Really?" Omi's eyes were wide and hopeful. He was about to ask Nagi any of a million questions he had after being physically separated for so long, but they were interrupted as one suspect they would be when surrounded by curious females.
"Oh my goodness," Ouka's voice shattered the peaceful quiet of the Koneko as she sidled up beside the two boys, gave Nagi a lingering gaze and then accused, "You are being very rude, Omi-kun! If this handsome young man is a friend of yours, you ought to introduce him to us!" She gave the sable-haired boy her best come-hither smile and brushed her bouncy bluish-black hair over her shoulder in an attempt to look fetching even as she waited impatiently to learn more about the interesting new bishounen in front of her.
Surprised by the sudden wash of mild jealousy he felt despite being well aware that his boyfriend wasn't interested in anyone but him much less a girl, Omi came to his senses and introduced Nagi to the group instead of just Ouka saying, "Everyone, this is my friend Nagi." Smiling at the almost frightened look in midnight blue eyes, he added, "He's kind of shy, so please don't be too pushy, all right?" The last few words of the sentence were directed at the violet-eyed girl who ignored them completely.
"That's a nice name," Ouka purred reaching out to place a hand on Nagi's arm and leaving it there despite the fact that the boy clearly didn't like being touched. With all the charm she could muster in the face of someone who seemed even more unattainable than Omi was, she remarked, "I don't recognize your school uniform, Nagi-kun. Are you by chance in college already?"
Blinking midnight eyes in shock at the girl's audacious behavior, the Schwarz psychic shook his head and answered politely, "No, I go to a private academy, miss." He then made a strategic error and asked, "Do you go to the same school as Omi-kun?"
By allowing himself to be drawn into conversation with even one of the females in the shop, Nagi had just opened the floodgates and he was suddenly inundated with questions and comments from the fangirls and the situation immediately spun out of control. It was all he could do to not use his telekinesis to push them aside and give himself some personal space.
Realizing his boyfriend was in deep trouble, Omi tried several ploys to distract the girls and ended up surrounded by a small clot of clinging females that rendered him ineffectual at best as a rescuer for the embattled boy.
Luckily, the backdoor opened a few minutes after the two blue-eyed teens were physically separated by the fangirls and a sensual, tobacco-roughened voice carried clearly over the soprano chatter, exclaiming in delight, "*Nagi*?! Is that really *you*, bishounen?!" Sauntering through the mass of females who were openly staring at his sexy outfit of skin-tight, midriff-baring crop-top over low slung black leather pants, Yohji approached the relieved looking telekinetic and enwrapped the boy in a bear-hug that forced the girls to back off. As he embraced the teen warmly, he asked in an extremely soft voice only Nagi could hear, "are you all right? you looked a little shell-shocked there for a second."
Burrowing closer into the hug glad to be surrounded by the strength of a dear friend, Nagi whispered back in desperation, "i'll be okay, yohji-kun, but i really can't handle having them touching me so much! omi-koi was trying to help, but those girls are so persistent!"
Across the room, cerulean eyes were filled with delight and the archer was pleased that the eldest member of Weiss had succeeded where he himself had failed. Since none of the girls had any idea of the true nature of the relationships being displayed before them, none of them found it odd that he seemed unperturbed that his boyfriend was in another man's arms at the moment.
Deciding to take matters into his own hands even further, Yohji turned and while carefully keeping the sable-haired boy tucked under one arm protectively, he announced grandly, "Ladies, I will have you know that Nagi is already spoken for. So you might as well stop trying to think of ways to hint that you want to go on a date with him." Raising an eyebrow as he gazed at Ouka who was already considering that statement a challenge she would try to overcome, he added pointedly, "And since I am friends with the person he's involved with, I will see it as my chivalric duty to discourage anyone who thinks otherwise, understand?"
Pouting and clearly deterred only temporarily, Ouka spoke on behalf of all the girls present saying, "We only wanted to make him feel welcome, Yohji-kun! Besides, if he has a girlfriend already he could've just said so and that would've been fine with us!" Her smile turned a bit wicked and she added teasingly, "Unless of course you meant that you yourself are the person he's interested in, Yohji-kun. But if that's true, I must say he is the youngest looking 'eighteen year old' I've ever seen!"
The girls tittered in amusement when she pointed this fact out since the lanky blonde's traditional excuse for not taking her and her friends seriously was that they weren't old enough for romance as far as he was concerned.
Not hesitant or embarrassed, only slightly annoyed that they had to keep the relationship he shared with Aya and Ken a secret, Yohji smiled broadly and refused to rise to her accusation by commenting, "Nagi's age and who he cares for are none of your concern, Ouka. Now, who actually came in to see the flowers today, hmm?" Hoping to draw some of the attention away from the two boys who obviously wanted to speak together, he offered, "I was about to put together a few arrangements for a wedding, does anyone want to help?"
Gasps of delight filled the air. The fangirls loved coming into the Koneko mostly to flirt with the four handsome men there and to get one of them cornered at the workbench was the best chance to stare for minutes on end at one of them who couldn't escape. Yohji knew this and despite disliking the idea of being so blatant about being a sacrificial lamb ordinarily he'd tolerate it for his two dear friends.
The former detective's ruse worked only moderately successfully, though.
Even though most of the girls congregated towards the workbench offering to go and get whatever flowers Yohji wanted for his bouquets, Ouka and three of her closest henchgirls remained too close for comfort when Omi took Nagi over to see the lovely waterfall in the display window. Fighting the desire to reach out and hold his boyfriend's hand again and barely winning, the cerulean-eyed teen recounted the explanation for the sculpture that their audience had heard in the past and noted the tiny smile of wonder on Nagi's face with satisfaction.
Pointing at a small beautifully wrapped package that was tucked beside the black marble, Nagi asked innocently, "Is that for decoration, too, Omi-kun?" Gazing directly at the genki teen beside him and enjoying what he saw, he almost wished that the other boy would take his time answering just so he could keep looking at him that way.
Before Omi could answer, a timid girl who hadn't said anything much answered shyly, "Um, no, Nagi-san, that's from me." Surprisingly, she received encouraging smiles from both Omi and Ouka and she explained, "It isn't anything special, just a few pieces of candy and a get well charm I picked out for him at the shrine yesterday, but I hope he will like them anyway."
"I'm sure that he will, Kyoko-chan," Omi assured with a smile. [3] Then he turned and explained to his boyfriend, "Everyone's been really great towards Ken-kun since he came home, Nagi-kun, but he needs to rest. So, when the girls bring something for him or the kids from the neighborhood come by, we let them leave the gifts or cards here by his waterfall. If he can't come to get them himself we take them upstairs after the shop closes, but it's nice to see so many people care about him, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Nagi agreed then suddenly remembered something and blushed so lightly that only his boyfriend recognized it as he pulled a gift-wrapped package out of the backpack he'd forgotten he was wearing since he'd come straight from school. Holding the item in both hands, he asked shyly, "Should I put this there, too, then, Omi-kun?"
Cerulean eyes widened with surprise that Nagi had brought a present for their chocolate-eyed friend and he nodded then asked, "Um, why did you bring him a gift, Nagi-kun? Not that I don't think it's really super nice of you to do so, but…?" He left the question hanging and peered at his boyfriend in confusion.
After placing the package where it wouldn't get wet yet was easily accessible for whenever the recovering patient wished to retrieve it, Nagi answered with a sad sigh, "It was a month ago today that he had his, um, 'accident', Omi-kun. Perhaps it is wrong to commemorate an anniversary like that, but it was a very eventful day as I recall."
The sable-haired boy's emotion-filled words brought a wealth of intense memories to the young blonde's mind.
The same day which began with the horrific encounter that left Ken fighting for his life and saw the massacre of those who had dared to injure him had included many other dramatic changes as well. Even though some of the images were hazy since he'd been suffering from blood loss at the time, the Weiss archer recalled falling from a high bridge and being rescued dramatically by the one he loved, an action that could have had disastrous consequences for Nagi. Later that same day, they had held each other tight, resting in one another's reassuring warmth in a cold and frightening waiting room fearing for their friend's life. Eventually, things seemed to improve when it was announced that not only was Nagi not being rejected by Aya or Manx but that Ken had survived surgery, too. The end of the day when they had run through the rain to share a bed for the entire night for the first time in their lives was a chilly blur, they'd been too tired by then to truly appreciate the situation.
To say it had been an "eventful day" was putting it far too mildly.
While he was briefly lost in remembrance, Omi accidentally forgot to answer Nagi's question and before he could intervene, Ouka had agitatedly alerted the fangirls that they had been neglectful of their duties to Ken and they needed to quickly obtain an anniversary gift of their own to offer him. This distracted not only the small cluster by the waterfall but those near Yohji's workbench as well and before long mayhem had broken loose as they frantically tried to come up with an idea that wasn't flowers since they'd done that already and they were redundant, too.
Miserable as they endured the noise that was not unlike that of a flock of birds and wishing they could escape, Omi and Nagi glanced pleadingly at Yohji but the jade-eyed man shrugged helplessly truly regretting that he couldn't cope with the numerous flighty females *and* run the shop alone. All three assassins present were unhappy, but they didn't think there were any real options available to them at that point but happily they were wrong.
*****
To be concluded immediately!
Author's Notes:
[1] In case all of this seems like mumbo-jumbo to the readers who aren't familiar with the end of the first TV series I apologize and blame it on my insistence on *not* giving unnecessary spoilers in the bodies of my WK fics. However, since the final sentence of this paragraph may be unclear, allow me to remind you that Calliope, my muse of epics, disregards the vast majority of the series timeline anyway in the "Redirecting Destiny" continuity. Despite having no plans involving the "mysterious pig-tailed girl in the closing credits" at this point, I felt it was only safe to say that her reawakening in this reality would be absolutely nothing whatsoever like it was in the series if it happens at all. Hmm, I never did have a fondness for this particular character. I wonder if anyone would mind if I basically ignored her from here on in or not? Um, other than using her as an excuse for the scarlet-haired man to talk things over with himself, that is.
[2] In case you were wondering, *yes* this is yet another of the very strong "in context" warnings you have received for Book 3 of the continuity entitled "Scars". If you tend to cringe when one of the characters you love seem to go haywire for even a minute, you might want to avoid the sections of that one which I will try to warn you about ahead of time. If Melpomene is willing, I hope to write a detailed summary of the events that will take place in that story *after* it is done being posted sometime in the not too distant future to spare the understandably nervous among you. Heck, I intend to *write* what my angst muse dictates but even *I'm* scared of it at this point! Oh, and this is also where I need to mention that, obviously, it was never intended that Aya would say "I love you" to Yohji in this story or any of its side-stories or epilogues. After all, the guy is only barely able to cope with his emotions towards Ken right now and it would've been a huge leap for him to do the same towards Yohji in the same story and keep it realistic.
[3] In accordance with my desire to give credit to some of the creators of the anime we all love so much, I decided to include the manga artist who gave us some phenomenal character designs for the bishounen of Weiss and Schwarz. I'm not dead sure that Kyoko Tsuchiya is a single individual much less a woman, but I'll hope for the best and insert this character who may or may not reappear later. By the way, in the second volume of "An Assassin and White Shaman" there's an intriguing image in the color art section of Yohji pensively leaning against a window with a cigarette in his hand and Ken scowling unhappily behind him. Since this fits my theme of the jade-eyed man's ongoing self-destructive addiction so perfectly I hope to scan it for everyone if my unreliable Microtek scanner ever decides it wants to behave itself again.
Full Author's Notes to Run at Conclusion.
Please be advised: Parts 60 - 62 will be posted together.