Schwarz Blitz 4

Disclaimer: I praise Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. Why would I want to steal such awesome property? I can't, can I? And it applies to Naoko-san too.

****

Makoto slumped onto her bed, allowing her body to flop helplessly into the thickness of her bed mattress. Good thing it was a double bed. It wouldn't break as easily as a single bed. Her day was definitely full of enjoyment all right. Aki hadn't been any different over the last month in Makoto's employment. She was always the same as ever every five hours of each weekday, shouting in her PMS styled voice at the four unlucky waitresses who had no choice in sticking to this job. Without the money, how could they survive? That was the main question they kept asking themselves whenever they had the urge to say 'I quit' to their boss.

The number of job vacancies was less than usual. Makoto thought she could find a nice job in Osaka. But no, she couldn't, could she? She got a cooking job yes but never did she expect the job to involve a horrible supervisor. Well that was probably what you get when you don't have experience in working. After all this was Mako's first real job. It was a full time post (with honestly shit pay for a month). She mumbled to herself on the bed, praying that something would help her here. She was far away from home and none of her friends were around.

The only buddies she had were Jun, Mei and Yuka. She hardly knew much about them…though knew it was about time she ought to be more than just a colleague at work. Maybe she needed people to talk to. It would be simpler for Makoto because the others could relate to her hatred towards Aki. Unlike Makoto, they were normal girls. Girlie girls who gossiped and whined like all females do in their lives. They had no idea she had weapons that lay beneath her hands. They would be afraid of her. She could provoke them without doing any physical harm to them.

The only time she'd be saving those weapons of hers would be against any bastards who dared mess with her. Fighting was likely to be one of the only ever exciting moments in Makoto's days. And surprisingly she didn't mind handling it all the time. There were rare moments when she enjoyed it like mad. During those 'rare' moments she would feel like a streetfighter who had criminal records of violence and unacceptable behaviour. She had approximately six hours or so to meet Schuldig in a fairer fight.

She had to get herself trained and pumped with plenty of adrenaline. It was a way of preparing yourself before a sparring session. All professional martial artists did that. The phone rang noisily to make her push off the bed in an awakened state. She jumped over the low coffee table and reached over to the couch to grab hold of the cordless phone. Half her mind suspected it would be that annoying German who wanted to make her more pissed off before tonight. The other half of her innocent head argued back and stated clearly that it wouldn't be him. And the latter triumphed.

It was someone who sounded nothing like Schuldig. It was just Yuka; thank goodness. Why was her voice in a very cheery level? She kept babbling on and on, which made it difficult for Makoto to pick up every single word perfectly. So far Makoto could only pick out 'you', 'party' and it wasn't too hard to work out what Yuka was asking her. Duh, didn't it sound obvious? Yuka wanted Makoto to come to her party, disco, dinner or whatever the hell it was. Oh wait. Yuka did say she was going to have a birthday party tonight. Oh no. Why tonight?

"What time do you want me to come?" Makoto queried.

Yuka groaned, "Geez, have you lost your memory? Oh never mind. OK for the third time I said seven o'clock. At my place. You do remember where my apartment is, don't you?"

"Uh yeah," Makoto stammered, just about hearing the final confirmation on where the party was going to be.

"Man, you sound bad. What's wrong?" Yuka's voice started to sound softer than a minute ago. Wow what a relief that she wasn't moody for long. Makoto wasn't going to mention anything about Schuldig. Somehow Yuka and the other two girls weren't quite the people to talk to about fighting.

"Tired from work of course," She replied. Dammit she had to tell her friend she wasn't able to come. She had to get ready for her little fight against Schuldig. That was more important than a friend's birthday party, wasn't it?

"Well I'm sure we all tired from Aki." Yuka said. "Uh come on we should forget about her for one night and celebrate my twentieth birthday. I want fun for once!"

"I understand your point completely, Yuka but um…" Makoto paused.

"Are you sure you're okay? If you don't wanna come, you know I'm not offended," Yuka insisted. Oh shit, don't get angry with me Makoto slapped herself for saying such a thing. She made her voice sound uninterested in a friend's celebration. She ought to be there to support someone she knew. OK so it wasn't Usagi, Ami, Rei or Minako on the phone here but Yuka was still a friend anyhow. Maybe Schuldig wanted to fight her at a very late time. The idiot didn't give her an exact time and Makoto could only guess when he would be in the alleys. Perhaps she could stay for two hours to make Yuka happy then get down to business.

"Yuka, I'll be at your birthday party," Makoto responded confidently to make Yuka squeal happily. "We don't have to wear anything fancy, do we?"

"Nothing slutty, ok?" Yuka giggled, realising she sounded like a manageress giving a list on the ideal wear in an office environment. "See you tonight." She placed her phone set back on her end and Makoto pressed the end call button. Two hours of eating a bit and having fizzy drinks shouldn't be too bad. Just two hours from seven o'clock till nine. Then it would be her leaving time. Yeah…that sounded like an appropriate schedule. Now Makoto had to sort out her clothes. Nothing slutty Yuka said. That shouldn't be too hard.

She fished out a pair of leather trousers and a sleeveless black shirt. That was simple and casual and likely to impress Yuka's dress code. If she did any decent techniques she would impress her opponent too. So that would make two people she knew smile in one night. Whatever! Just go to the party, enjoy yourself then uh enjoy yourself again soon after. The violent way of course She told herself. At least she got herself laughing.

****

"Wake up, sleepy head!" Yuka had two glasses of icy lemonade in her hands as she woke her sleepy friend up. Makoto had been in a long five-minute rest on the kitchen table. She couldn't believe it. How did she get to sleep so easily in this noise? Ok well the noise wasn't as bad as being in a disco but the loud chattering was still a bother. She didn't mean to fall asleep so soon. Was she bored already? Or was she too tired from thinking about other stuff?

The living room had more than twenty people squeezing in all corners of the apartment. Most of the faces were unknown and Makoto guessed they were Yuka's friends from another place and not work. Mei and Jun waved to her from the kitchen, gesturing her to come over. Yuka had disappeared to the group of people sitting on the couch.

For an apartment the insides were unbelievably large. Bigger than Makoto's home. Not many would approve of apartments as being their accommodation. The fussy rich kinds of people would insist on having big detached houses with a big garden and large rooms on the ground and top floors. But Yuka's house was one heck of an exception. It may look small on the outside but once you stepped into the apartment itself you'd be blown away by the wonderfully decorated wallpapers and long-lasting furniture. It looked like a first class hotel.

Makoto had only been to Yuka's home once and that was on her first day at work in the café. Along with the other two she struck an immediate friendship with these waitresses and they rarely argued or had fights. They all shared one common foe and that was Aki. How they could get her back was something that needed to take time. But as Yuka bravely said she wanted to forget about work and be amused at her birthday party. Who gave a shit that Aki wasn't invited? Nobody did of course.

"Is everyone here a friend of Yuka's?" Makoto asked, looking at the entire population of unknown people spreading across the living room floor and occupying the limited space of air by the windows. She could have sworn she saw a recognisable orange haired person by the window, talking to two women. Surely that wasn't Schuldig. He had started to get into her head so much in such little time in knowing him. Maybe it was her imagination and that she was still sleepy. What the hell? She wasn't sleepy. It had to be him standing there.

Who else had that sort of hairstyle? Only punks did. His face met her gaze and the instant he smiled at her with wickedness Makoto didn't have to guess one more time to know it was really Schuldig. The two women didn't seem to notice he was looking at somebody else. They thought his flirting was doing them enough good and snuggled into his arms. What a loser! Makoto gritted her teeth.

"Some of the guests here live in the same block as her or are former college buddies," Jun replied.

"Yuka is the birthday girl after all. She invites who she wants," Swirling her head from the sound of Jun's voice, Makoto forcefully laughed then reached to the straw basket filled with crisps and chocolate biscuits Bastard. Since when was HE invited?. After grabbing some snacks, she turned back to see him again. But his outrageous looks weren't there anymore. He had disappeared from the window and the two women were still there, chatting to each other as if nothing was wrong. Where did he go? He still had to be here in this room. He couldn't just disappear magically.

"Here." A welcoming hand zoomed in front of Makoto's face suddenly. Red wine swam opposite stunned green eyes. Makoto looked behind the thin glass to stare at that annoying face. "Come on, just a little taste won't do you any harm."

"What the hell are you doing here, Schuldig? I thought we were meeting later on," Makoto said angrily and pushed the glass of wine away from her porcelain face. The German laughed ridiculously and drank his wine in one sip.

"I followed you," Schuldig whispered in her ear. "I'm gonna have some fun up here before you and I hit it off down the street. Don't even think about stopping me, otherwise…I'll end up hurting the birthday girl."

Gulping, Makoto saw Yuka drink some beer with her friends on the couch, wishing to warn her friend that this guy was a maniac. She knew he was gone from where he was standing. This guy was faster in not only jumping but also in disappearing. He could earn a lot from magic shows. Makoto knew she had to get out of here to drive Schuldig out of the apartment right now. From seeing him, she could tell he would be a threat to these people. Another problem came in trying to shove past anyone dancing in front of her and not letting her through to speak to Yuka. Yeah right as if these neighbours were nice. They had no manners. Either that or they were in a deep trance from drinking.

The clock on the wall chimed at nine o'clock. Was it that late already? Wow during the moment she dozed off time had breezed by her swiftly. Makoto rethought about the man she was going to pummel for the second time tonight, hoping she would pick up the victory. She kindly said 'excuse me' through the crowd of men blocking her path as she forced her way through to get to Yuka. Dammit why did she have to invite so many people? Why didn't she invite the whole country to her party then?

Makoto knew she was close to Yuka. She could hear her laughing with her friends. She squeezed her slim body in-between two men who happened to be taller than her. After managing a tough push past these two dancers she sighed out loud and marched over to Yuka's sofa. Makoto didn't realise that she accidentally bumped into another male guest and knocked his drink onto his blue cotton shirt.

"Oh sorry." She turned around and passed him a tissue. "Here."

"Don't worry. It's only water. It will dry up easily," the man said nicely. Charming guy. Ooh gotta go! Bowing apologetically she returned to her mission on telling Yuka that her stay here was up. When she finally got the chance to speak to her, Yuka whined at first and insisted that the party wasn't over yet until midnight. Makoto fought to think up a good excuse to cover her real reason though luckily referred to her previous dozing moment in the kitchen, showing that she was indeed tired from working.

"Yeah I guess you've got a point," Yuka suggested. Makoto said bye to everyone then dashed out of the apartment, her feet rattling down the stairs. Mei and Jun watched in surprise at their friend who had just left.

"I bet Makoto thought the guy she bumped into just now was a Bishounen. She's making an excuse to hide her shyness," Mei giggled.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Jun agreed. "There are lots of guys here. Shame Makoto couldn't join us in the hunt for single men." They both girlishly laughed together. Nobody could hear them because of the high volume from the hi-fi.

****

Makoto rolled her jacket sleeves up when she approached the same alley as yesterday. She knew Schuldig would be here any second. The fighter in her could sense another presence close by. It was like two predators hunting each other to see who was the dominant one in the territory. The same sound of footsteps hiding in the shadows alerted her ears as she strolled around the alleyway.

"Hey, German, get out here!" She said loudly, knowing she wasn't the only one here in the dark street tonight. "I want a piece of you NOW."

A quiet laugh came from behind her. That was him all right. Or wasn't it? The laugh sounded deeper than Schuldig. Usually the German would laugh a little insanely and not in a low voice. Who could that be?

"Schuldig, is that you? I'm tired of waiting. Let's get this over with!" Makoto started to lose her patience. The German idiot better show himself. Yes, show his attractive features. That would be nice. Whoa Mako-chan look at what you're saying. She didn't expect her hormonal side to brush to surface and think this guy was hot. She shouldn't be thinking of such a thing. This guy was pissing her off and she didn't want that to continue anymore. She wanted a normal life (with the occasional easy come easy go street fights against stupid robbers).

"Schuldig was right about you," A new voice came to the night. Makoto went into a small front stance as she braced herself in front of this new person standing before her underneath the lamppost. What was it with these people? They loved to make a flashy entrance, didn't they? "You have a strong desire to fight."

Makoto gasped. It was him. Not him as in Schuldig but as in 'spilling water on his shirt' him. It was the same guy. Holy shit. This had come as a complete surprise to Makoto. Was he a friend of the German? This wasn't good. She thought he was a normal graduate from college who came to visit his old friend Yuka. Yuka did graduate last year and told Makoto she had lots of college friends on the campus during her three years of studying. The guy looked older than Makoto. The fringe of his shiny black hair glided smoothly with his face as he approached the girl slowly. Evil-looking eyes piercing through the plastic lens of his glasses.

Makoto failed to notice earlier that he was wearing an expensive looking suit. Its bright cream colours reflected magnificently in the night. He looked like a businessman. But what would a businessman be doing at a birthday party. Makoto's eyes grew worriedly. A possible reason to his presence tonight was to find her, wasn't it? Did Schuldig know about the party? Was he friends with Yuka? But how could Yuka be friends with two strangers?

"You're not friends with Yuka, are you?" She questioned curiously.

"Schuldig and I have no connection to the host of the party," He replied, moving in so that he was just an inch from her. Man, he was TALL. Maybe taller than Schuldig. "I had a vision that you would come to this place tonight."

"Oh geez…don't tell me you're one of those weird people with powers. OK, ok that sounds way too sci-fi," Makoto stopped herself. To be honest she was wondering whether he meant the truth or not. After all what else could be spookier? Schuldig had spoken through her mind without any words exchanged from his mouth. This guy claimed he had a vision of her coming to Yuka's apartment. A man who could see into the future, huh? Makoto didn't know what to think. "Where the hell is your German buddy?"

"Right here where you wanted me, Fraulein." Schuldig appeared alongside his friend. These two looked like partners in crime, or more like gangsters. They wanted a piece of her and vice versa. "Hmm…Makoto you look lovelier in the night. Every aspect of you shines out."

"Whatever!" She moaned, not wishing to hear more compliments on her looks. Talking crap was one distraction fighters had to deal with.

Schuldig smirked with the tall black haired man and said to him, "Crawford, here's a chance for you to see why I think she is fun. How about it?"

Crawford pushed his glasses up on his nose and cracked his fists together. "Hmm…why not?"

Was this guy in the awesome cream suit a fighter? Surely he wouldn't want to ruin his suit. It sort of suited his slim body. Makoto could imagine secretaries drooling over their high heels whenever he passed their desks. He would make one handsome tycoon with a lot of money. He looked like a man who dealt with businesses.

"Schuldig has told me a lot about you, Makoto," Crawford's eyebrows arched downwards sharply. "Show me your power."

"You got it, Crawford!" Desperately, Makoto banged her fists against each other and ran towards the American. Little did she know that she was going to be in one long and tiring fight tonight; especially against two former Schwarz members. They were going to be tough opponents.

TBC.

I'm bad for leaving it there I know. But hey…I'm a Schwarz lover, they're meant to be bad anyway and I'm part of their group now :P Ok, ok j.j