Schwarz Blitz 3

Rating: PG13

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

****

Crawford opened the door to the passenger seat of the limo for Schuldig to climb in. The German slammed the door behind him, the noise echoing against the shop window glasses.

/So. How was it?/ Oracle asked. Mastermind sighed satisfactorily and stretched his arms out. Even in the dark, Crawford could still spot the familiar smug on his team-mate's face. He usually had that expression everywhere he went. The American guessed he had fun tonight. It was a giveaway. He started the engine of the limo and started to drive in the quiet street.

/It was great/ Schuldig replied /I knew she was a good fighter from one look at her/. He laughed heartily /Her thoughts are intriguing. She has desires/.

"You sound perverted, Schuldig," Crawford spoke normally.

"Oh I mean it," Schuldig said. "I read her thoughts while we fought. She fights with a lot of…passion." He looked at his own reflection in the mirror. "You should see her for yourself, Crawford. You'll probably like her."

"Hmm…perhaps," Crawford agreed. He didn't seem to be paying attention to his friend as he concentrated on his driving. What Schuldig knew so far about this girl was that she was easy prey – just like those Weiß boys. The one known as Bombay AKA Tsukiyono Omi was a fun victim to toy with, especially about his family. Schuldig enjoyed taunting him about killing his older brothers Masafumi and Hirofumi in the past. Being a telepath and reading people's minds was one of the only things that gave a kick for the German's pleasure.

I'll find her again. And make her life full of hell Schuldig giggled.

"What's so funny?" Crawford asked. "Look, I hope you find something out about this girl, Schuldig rather than spend a lot of your time amusing yourself; particularly if you believe she is an asset."

"Tch, take it easy, Crawford. I'm just humouring myself," Schuldig said, adding an annoyed humph. Some people were so boring.

****

Makoto's afternoon shift was almost up after five hours. Thank goodness! She thought happily while she helped someone make the dessert and ice cream, checking that the cream in the cakes weren't too sweet or too heavily decorated. She had this sort of soft side when it came to dealing with cakes. Makoto could handle serving customers their drinks and food but in that area, she normally received angry comments from her manageress.

Aki was the unfortunately fierce lady who never in a day was happy. The other three waitresses working with Makoto were generous enough to warn her about Aki's ferocious attitude on her first day. Even when the food was cooked correctly Aki would purposely make some shitty excuse to criticize her employees and make their days bad. It was as though she was on double PMS. Makoto was thankful for the compliments the others gave her when she made the ice cream and cakes delicious. The customers who often came to eat here also complimented her when she told them she made the cakes herself – much to Aki's disgust.

Makoto guessed that Aki was jealous of her cooking ability and wanted to do whatever she could to make Makoto's days in this job a living hell. There were times when Makoto could have lost control of her coolness and wanted to punch Aki in the face. She may be a few years older than Makoto and supposedly more experienced but that didn't mean she had the right to boss those who were a lower status. The woman wasn't perfectly attractive either. She had heavy eye shadow on everyday and dark red lipstick that was always wonky in all angles of her mouth. That was slut material all right. She thought she was a goddess. Tch, yeah right.

The other three waitresses, called Yuka, Jun and Mei had cleaned the tables in the café after the last customer left five minutes ago. These three had never argued with their manageress because they feared her. Makoto wondered whether she was the reason for Aki's sudden bitchiness. But what made her stick to this café post were the compliments the colleagues and customers gave her. Compliments on cooking were signs of positive energy, which would mean lots of money earned every month.

Somehow Makoto had the feeling she had to help the colleagues deal with Aki confidently and be scared of her. Violence wouldn't help her until necessary.

Makoto could hardly ever stop her desire to punch Aki whenever she shouted inconveniently. But assaulting the boss could mean an instant dismissal and Makoto didn't want to ruin her sensible reputation so far. She was glad that most of this town didn't know she was a fighter. Only those who tried to mug her at night were the ones who knew her secret because they found out the hard way. It was their fault really. They underestimated their victims and automatically assumed they were easy to mug.

Speaking of fighting, Makoto's mind cast back to last night. Her mind remembered everything. The fight with the young junkie. The insult of being called slut. It was still in her head. And also 'him'. The German called Schuldig. That was his name, wasn't it? Yeah Makoto was sure of it. He pissed her off all right. She was likely to be the twelfth mugger to attack her. Geez she was so popular for the wrong reasons. But picturing the arrogant smirk of Schuldig suddenly released an instant aggression level, tempting her to give him a rapid combo of kicks and punches. She wanted to hit him hard next time they met up at night.

She wanted to know what he wanted with her. His answer wasn't precise enough. She was sure he wanted to do something wild or worse. Whoa Mako-chan, since when did you get to be a hentai? She shook her head quickly when Aki approached her and observed her. This boss hated her from the minute she came into this café. Makoto had not expected such a woman to despise her a lot. Aki's eyes widened darkly then she turned on her heels to supervise Jun (who was washing the glasses silently).

Makoto was thankful to Lady Luck for making her day breeze by in the last five hours. Without it, she'd be suffering non-stop bossing by Aki and the last thing she wanted was to hear her nasty manageress' shouting. If she did lose this job or decide to quit it would mean she would be penniless and have nothing to occupy herself with. The best fights occasionally came during the night. That was when the dirty-minded bastards would strike and Makoto would stop them straightaway if she had to.

"All right that's your day done. Clear out of here now!" Aki screamed to the four waitresses as though they were viruses. She and the others almost forgot how the café belonged to Aki and that she lived here as well. It was unbelievable on how she managed to take over her father's job as the head of his place. She was doing a shit job of it. And it was shocking to see how she could be a real bitch to her employees and a fake friend to the customers. What kind of acting was that? Makoto hated this kind of acting. It honestly sucked.

As the door slammed in front of the four waitresses' faces, everyone sighed angrily and started to curse behind the closed door.

"I can't take this anymore. She'll drive us all out of the café," Yuka complained. "She can't keep this act up forever. We have to screw her up."

"Screwing her career would mean screwing us up too," Mei corrected. "We'll lose our only jobs." Yuka gasped when she realized what her friend meant. Duh how forgetful could she be? Hearing this made Mei go into a panicky state. The only one who was cool was Makoto. She didn't seem to be in any shaky motion at all and her eyes were sharply staring through the café door. These three had been working longer than Makoto did yet they had more fear than she did. Makoto could take Aki out right now if she chose to. But her voices inside kept telling her it wasn't the right thing to do – unless there was a good enough reason.

"Hey, if she does it again we WILL complain. It's me she hates the most so I'll deal with it," Makoto ensured. The three waitresses' eyes enlarged shockingly. "Stop worrying, ok? I'm a person of equality. She'll see what she's doing is wrong." Yuka and Jun nodded acceptably before walking off together down the street (Makoto had to order them to go to wake them up from their panicky reactions). They lived in the same road and normally went to work together from start to finish.

"You're unusually brave for a good cook. How do you do it, man?" Mei inquired.

Makoto winked, "Be calm is what I tell myself. Even in the kitchen when Aki is breathing down my neck, I still have to be calm and relaxed." That was in fact half-untrue.

Most of the time she was busy working out how to pummel the bitch and make her squeal in pain. But Makoto had to say some sort of reassuring statement to Mei and cheer her up. It seemed like she took in what the newest waitress was telling her.

Mei yawned. "Need my beauty sleep. " She waved behind her back to Makoto then skipped away.

Makoto sympathised these three girls. They were the same age as her no doubt and she had to give them credit for trying their best in being brave against Aki. If Usagi worked here oh hell she'd be crying crazily and would want to get out ASAP. Life could never be fair. You always had enemies no matter where you go. Oh man. I can't stop being tired from this job. I should just leave. Aki hates me She buttoned her denim jacket fully and started to step away from the café called Tropical Paradise. Yeah right as if this place was paradise. What crap!

This was no fun café at all. The service may have been good but the manageress was a walking nightmare. Action should have been taken in the first place. What the girls needed was enough confidence. As Makoto strolled down the pavement, she thought she was walking too noisily in her shoes. The rubber soles were squeaky yes though she seldom walked in thick thuds – even as a fighter. Her ears alerted as she walked again. Nope! Her footsteps were perfectly fine. It must be the cars driving past her.

Makoto looked at her reflection travel by the shop windows while she walked back home to her apartment. Something intrigued her from the window and she moved in closer to take a look. To be more accurate, it wasn't what was on display that concerned her. It was the transport that seemed to have moved with her from the last five minutes. A red car. Makoto thought she was losing her mind. That car had to be following her. Because as soon as she stopped, the car stopped coincidentally too.

She thought that car was empty since her shift started this morning. What was she to do? To play safe she continued to walk past the shops. And predictably the flashy red car trailed alongside her. Just keep walking. Maybe you can walk faster and get away from the driver Makoto decided thoughtfully. She started to walk speedily, knowing she could risk aching her feet from awkward paces. 'Keep going, keep going' was what kept chanting in her head. That was exactly what she was doing. She changed her usual route back to her apartment and turned into an alleyway that led away from the town centre. It wasn't the same place where she fought last night. This was nearer to her home and led to the back garden where the children in the same neighbourhood played.

Makoto could see the apartment building close ahead. So far so good. It seemed the car wasn't able to keep up with her and went down the road where she would have normally taken, driving past Makoto's apartment directly while Makoto hid behind the secret alleyway. Well that wasn't so bad, was it? She rubbed her feet soothingly and with precaution, walked to her apartment as normal. First Aki, now this driver. This town really loved her presence. She ran up the stairs of her apartment hastily.

She had to get inside and make sure she was safe from whoever it was in the car. I'll be damned if it was the German dude again Makoto's hand dug into the inside pocket of her denim jacket as she approached the top of the stairs. Boy was she glad to be home. Having Aki shouting down her neck was no friendly therapy to wake her up in the morning. She fiddled her keys out to place it in the lock.

"Guten Tag , meine Fraulein," A foreign accent boomed in the hall.

"Whoa!" Makoto shook from the quick flash of a camera the person had in his hand. Dazed from the bright flash, she dropped the keys by her feet. Her soft brown ponytail swiftly flicked in front of her face as she looked to the stairs leading to the next floor. Schuldig leaned against the wall casually, his face staring at her with deep interest. The guy outsmarted her. He still found her even when she hid from him. Makoto didn't care about her keys. A pair of astonished jade eyes focused on the recognisable visitor standing before her. He looked the same as last night. His long orange red hair was tousled, a cream headband stretched across his forehead with a pair of sunglasses dangling at the top and his eyebrows looked light brown and very sleek as they moved in line with his smirk. His black leather jacket hugged his body completely and it blended in with his mischievous expression, creating a cool yet seductive appearance.

Makoto couldn't move her muscles. She wasn't sure how she felt right now. Should she be thrilled to see him or perhaps angry that he knew where she lived? This was like talking to a stalker here.

"Don't you want to open the door?" Schuldig asked and nodded his head to the ground. Makoto's left foot trod on the set of keys and kicked them in the air so she was able to catch it precisely in her right palm. The German whistled impressively. "Very nice."

"Buzz off. I'm not in the mood to talk," Makoto warned Ugh! Who the hell are you? You're a freak.

/Do you *want* to know who I am and what I do?/ He raised his eyebrows cheekily. Makoto released a brief pant and scrunched her keys harder in her palm to develop a rash in her skin. Did he just speak to her without moving his mouth? Or to put it another way, did he just talk to her through her brain? What the hell was going on here? Hold on…this was probably what he was capable of. He could read minds. Did that mean this was how he found out her name? He seemed to find this funny and it freaked the living shit out of Makoto. Oh how she wished sci-fi hadn't clouded her mind so often.

"Actually I sure as hell wanna know who you are, Schuldig," Makoto said confidently. "Even if it means beating it out of you." Her fists hung in the air as she stepped towards him. Hmm…she's worried Schuldig didn't flinch a muscle whilst watching the Japanese girl move forward to pull a punch. He innocently lifted his hand to stop her face coming nearer to him. Her face turned into an annoyed scowl and Schuldig thought it was a lovely sight. She wasn't considered bitchy or pathetic like those Schreient girls. She could be twice as smart as them.

"I'll give you a chance to get another piece of me," Schuldig suggested. "Tonight, ok? How about it? You and me one on one like last night." Makoto pondered this tempting offer and pulled back from him. He did bring up a point. She could pack a bigger punch on him tonight. It would be hard to take him out now because she had finished a long day at work.

"Where do we meet?" She asked.

"Same place of course." He got up and started to descend down the lower staircase. "You'll find out who I am once our fun gets started." The German laughed then turned back to her. "Oh one other thing." She waited patiently for him to say something. He pointed to her. "You have great legs. It shows in your kicks…and your work uniform." Makoto growled in offence as she watched him laugh hysterically and walk off from her door. That bastard! What kind of sick humour was that supposed to be?

She wanted to punch him right now. It was becoming irresistible. She wanted to take him out now. Her keys started to poke her palm and Makoto loosened her grip to replace the key back in the lock as before. She had to find out what made him rebellious and nasty (in the teasing sense). Like an FBI agent, Makoto had to investigate this German guy firmly tonight. This fight ought to be worth taking on she thought.

****

I look forward to seeing you again Schuldig said darkly and passed the freshly developed photograph to his leader. Makoto was going to have another surprise coming her way. It wasn't only Schuldig she'd be facing. It would perhaps include Crawford too (if the German could persuade him hard enough). Besides, how could he not resist a cute looking girl like her? Especially with the photos Schuldig provided him. Mastermind could Oracle saying 'hmm' with slight interest as he stared at the Polaroid photo of the young brunette haired female.

/She is pretty, isn't she?/ Schuldig commented.

/Hmm…/ Crawford replied. Unexpectedly his head cocked upwards and his eyes enlarged behind the thin glasses. He lowered his chin so it touched his neck and let out a satisfying laugh, smirking sadistically.

"I just had a vision of this girl," Crawford summarized. "There may be a change of plan…and it might improve things for our young target tonight."

The German rubbed his palms gleefully from hearing the delight in the American's voice, "Ooh! Spill, Crawford. I wanna hear it." His face became mischievous and ready to hear the big news.

"It looks like I'll be joining you in your little 'fun', Schuldig," Crawford said. Finally! Oracle was going to join Mastermind in his game. Seeing the Schwarz leader smiling like that meant only one thing. The vision was going to help them find their prey.

TBC.

More to come (duh).