*****14*****
What makes us who we are?
Are we what others see, what we see of ourselves, or what remains unseen? That's a pretty tough question. One many people would disagree on the answer of. Some of us define ourselves solely by what others say, or in how others act towards us. Likewise, many people see themselves only in their own light, refusing to be labelled by anyone else.
So what about the rest? What about the secrets no one knows - secrets we don't know? The deep desires and fears living within each of us. What we dream about, what we aspire to, or even what we run from. It is like a withering blossom, opening just long enough to thrill us, but dying before we can truly define its beauty.
Such helpless creatures we are. What if someone else was suddenly in control of our subcounscious? The part of ourselves we have no true control over. What would become of us? Would our nightmares take new shape, turning real before our very eyes to haunt us through life?
I bet you wouldn't want to find out.
It is always better to feel in control, even if it doesn't mean anything, even if it is all just in our heads. Humans like to feel safe. Humans like to feel powerful. Most of the time, however, we are neither. We're just human. Subject to every terror within our own minds, and fragile enough to break if the strain becomes more than we can stand.
I guess that is why we have friends. Not only do they help us characterize who we are, but they are there to help protect us from ourselves. We need them; they need us.
Of course, they might just be an illusion, too...
*****
"Nagi!!!" Toto screams in her sleep, thrashing wildly on the bed.
It would be much more of a disruption if the girl next to her wasn't just as caught up in the intensity of her own nightmare. Even on the floor, a young boy with blonde hair is curling into the tightest ball beneath his covers, calling out to friends for help, though they do not seem to be answering. The entire room is a ward of fitful dreaming. For all, that is, except one.
Awakened by the cries of someone very dear to him, Naoe Nagi jolts up in his sleeping bag on the floor. Toto is calling his name. Worriedly, the young boy rushes to the bed, tentative and unsure. Why is the love of his life calling for him like that? Why is she struggling so desperately beneath the covers?
"T...Toto...." he whispers, lightly grasping her shoulders to shake her awake. She does not stir. "Toto, wake up. You're having a bad dream." he tries again, hating how panicked she sounds, and how it all seems directed at him. Once again, however, the girl does not rise, but continues dreaming, as if nothing can free her from the chains of an unpleasant night's sleep.
At a loss, Nagi looks to the others - Amaya next to Toto in the Bed, and Omi on the floor in another sleeping bag - realizing that they, too, appear to be having nightmares they cannot escape.
"They're all stuck in their dreams..." he voices aloud, backing towards the door. "What is going on?"
Having lived with supernatural companions and daily interruptions of weirdness for years now, Nagi's mind jumps promptly to the conclusion that some form of sorcery must be involved, and someone has to do something about it. Filling with determination, the brunette bolts out into the hallway, intending to seek help from the closest allies available. Unfortunately, the first room he comes to is Hiromi's, and even without opening the door, he can easily pick up on the sounds of disturbed slumber from its inhabitants.
They are having nightmares, too.
On the brink of hysteria, he rushes for the next room where Youji and Ken are asleep. Their door has been left open for the night, but a quick glance inside reveals the same thing all over again: tossing and turning with mumbled cries of anguish. Something is definitely going on here, and it isn't a simple wave of bad dreams.
Nonetheless, Nagi refuses to give up, hurrying on down the hall. As with the first room, the next door is closed, but when he places his ear against it to listen for noise...there isn't a single sound coming from the other side. Clinging to this small bit of hope, Nagi throws the door open. Asleep on the bed is Aiko, clearly dreaming from the rapid movement of her eyes, but apparently in no dire stress, for now, and Farfarello is lying flat on the floor, with nothing but a thin blanket and pillow, sleeping stone still as always, which makes him the young brunette's best bet for awakening.
"Farfie..." Nagi whispers, creeping closer inside the room, and reaching to shake the albino as he had shaken Toto before. "Wake up, Farfarello...please...Farfarello...Farfa - ah!"
Seconds before Nagi can take hold of his comrade's shoulders, Farfarello suddenly awakes on his own, instinctively shooting up and grasping Nagi's wrists painfully, as if the boy is some stealthy enemy about to attack. Obviously, this scares Nagi out of his shorts. Well, not literally.
"Farfie...it's ok...it's just me..." Nagi rants feverishly, breathing hard, and tensing under Farfarello's grip. "It's Nagi...please let go...you...you're hurting me..."
Shaking himself out of "automatic mode", Farfarello focuses in on Nagi's face, and instantly releases the boy once recognizing what he is doing. "I...I'm so sorry, Nagi. I didn't realize it was you."
"Don't worry about it, Far...Jei." the younger boy smiles weakly, caught slightly off guard by his friend's gentle tone. "I'm fine, and I know you didn't mean to. It's probably a good thing you're so alert tonight, anyway. There is something very strange going on."
This information catches Farfarello's attention immediately, even as he is still waving off the last remnants of sleep, and he looks at Nagi deadly serious. "What is it?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but everyone - except us, I guess - is having horrible nightmares, and I can't wake them up. I know it might seem silly, but I don't think this is just a coincidence. There is something dark behind what is going on. I can feel it."
Farfarello distances his gaze, absorbing the details warily. "You don't think it's..."
"...I don't know..."
"What should we do?"
Thinking things over carefully, Nagi creases his brow, darting his eyes about the room as if some random object might offer him an idea for what can be done to help everyone. Miraculously, it does.
When the young brunette's eyes fall upon Aiko asleep in the bed, they instantly widen, filled with urgency and hope. "We'll wake Aiko." he proposes, gracing a natural authority in his voice. "If anyone can figure this out, I'm sure she can. Besides, even if she is already dreaming, she doesn't seem to be in too deep yet, so we should be able to get her up. What do you think?"
"I guess there isn't much else we *can* do if the others are trapped." Farfie replies, immediately standing to make his way to the bed. "But...what if we can't get Aiko to wake up either?"
This isn't what Nagi wanted to hear. "Let's just hope we can."
Surrounding her on either side, the two ex-members of Schwartz lean in close to the slumbering red-head, pleading with silent prayers that these nightmares are not being caused by what - by who - they believe it to be.
"Aiko-chan...."
"Aiko...we need you to wake up..."
"...Aiko..."
*****
"...Aiko..."
Caught within a dream only just beginning, Rosuto Aiko takes notice of strange voices whispering in the air, as if they are coming from all around her.
"...Aiko-chan...please wake up..."
"We need you...Aiko..."
The distant red-head stirs slightly within her slumber, scoping out the fading surroundings of her dream, and beginning to see them for what they truly are. (Is...someone calling me...?)
*****
"Is something guiding me...?"
In truth, the night has barely begun, only midnight, and outside a full moon shimmers like the lily-white petals from some delicate flower, casting a soothing light on the city below. Admiring this breathtaking beauty, Fujimiya Ran leans against his window, allowing the cool breeze to swirl around him as it filters inside. He shivers, wearing only a thin pair of black, cotton pants - his usual bedclothes - oblivious to the cold with so much on his mind.
"Is something guiding me...leading me through this...?" he whispers, tracing his hand along the window frame. "There has to be something...I could never have done all this...believed it was possible...if something wasn't...somehow...I...I'm not strong enough to change on my own." This last thought quiets him abruptly, forcing him to play it over in his mind and realize how foolish he sounds. "But I haven't been doing this alone, have I? Everyone...we have all done this together...especially...Korat. What is it about her? So powerful...so...urrrg, what am I doing?! Talking to myself when I should be getting some sleep, that's what. Enough of this."
Ashamed at getting so caught up in reverie, the fatigued red-head turns instantly for bed, throwing back the covers. Before he can exhaustedly fall onto the mattress, however, a curious noise perks his attention back near the window. He looks over his shoulder suspiciously, but upon finding nothing other than the billowing curtains, concludes it must have come from outside, and shuffles over to latch the window shut.
Oddly enough, with his back now to the rest of the room, he again hears the sound, coming this time from somewhere near the door. Ran wastes no time in whirling around, darting his amethyst eyes over the entirety of the room to catch whatever culprit is trying to drive him crazy tonight.
Nothing.
Walking briskly across the floor, he reaches for the door and opens it, peering out into the hallway in case the strange sound might have come from there, but finds it just as empty as his room. Ran feels slightly unnerved, but after considering how tired he really is, decides it is probably just his imagination, and closes the door, heading back to the comfort of his bed.
Once again, before he can reach it, a noise from behind stops him in his tracks. Luckily, this time he knows what the sound is. Someone is knocking on his door.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Ran turns on his heels again, grabs for the doorknob, opens it wide, and finds himself face to face with...himself. Or, at least, someone who eerily resembles him.
"Kombanwa, Abyssinian." Rosuto Aiko smiles, catching her near-twin by complete surprise.
Imagine her showing up at his door past midnight, her crimson hair wild and loose down her back, wearing a very flattering, spaghetti-strap nightgown that barely reaches mid-thigh. You can imagine his reaction.
"Ko...Korat...wh...what is it?"
Aiko laughs softly, tilting her head to the side. "Sounds like the kitty's got your tongue again, ne?" she teases. "You must think this very inappropriate of me, dropping by so late. It's just that...I couldn't sleep. Bad dreams. I saw you peek out into the hallway a moment ago, just before you went back inside, and thought since you were up, too, maybe we could keep each other company. Hn...I can see now that I was mistaken. I'll leave you to rest."
Motioning to leave, Aiko takes a step away from the door, but barely even finishes it before being summoned back.
"Wait!" Ran calls, taking hold of her arm gently. "You...don't have to go. I've been having trouble getting to bed myself tonight. You can...stay...if you like."
Tossing her companion a rather coy smirk, Aiko slips silently passed him into the room, waiting for him to close the door behind them. The moment she hears that familiar click, however, the intriguing young woman turns back, and before Ran can even begin to move away from the door, pushes him roughly up against it, swooping in for a deep and unexpected kiss.
Ran's eyes instantly widen, instinctively pushing her away. "Wh...What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she replies, leaning in again.
Desperately, Ran holds her at bay. "But...why? We...we shouldn't." he states simply, sidestepping passed her, deeper into the room.
"Why? Because I want to." Aiko replies, walking up behind him now that he is turned away. "As for the shouldn't part? I don't see why not." She slinks her arms around his waist, turning him to face her as she steps in closer. Ran stands rigid, unable to move. "I can see it in your eyes. You feel just as I do. Stop denying what is written so plainly on that lovely, bishounen face."
As before, Aiko pulls Ran in for a kiss burning with passion, but this time he does not push her away. His body feels limp and warm straight down to his toes, and he succumbs to the sensation, allowing his eyes to close as he kisses her in return.
Noting the gentle pressure of her hands on his lower back, Ran slips his arms around Aiko's waist as well, feeling an odd response to their embrace deep within his body.
It feels wonderful.
Gradually, he begins to realize that Aiko is moving them backwards towards the bed, and is overcome with a new sense of fear and confusion as the backs of his legs finally hit it, and she releases from the kiss, pushing him down onto the mattress.
"...Korat..."
"Shhh..." she silences, placing a finger to his moistened lips. "Don't talk. Just feel."
With a playful grin, Aiko lowers herself onto Ran, straddling his waist, and dives in again to claim those soft lips with her own. Somewhere deep inside, Ran hears a voice telling him to stop her, but he can't. She tastes too sweet, feels too right. At least, that is what he believes, until she unexpectedly attempts to take things even further.
Aiko's hands have been slowly trailing down his chest, now toying near the waist of his pants, and soon begin slipping under the elastic, reaching down his thigh...
"Stop!" Ran cries, breaking from their kiss, and grabbing hold of her eager, searching hands. "We...can't do this. It's wrong. It...feels wrong."
"It was about to feel a whole lot better if you hadn't stopped me." Aiko offers in reply, licking her lips. "Why are you denying yourself? Just relax."
Obediently, Aiko's hands return to the contours of Ran's bare chest, and she bends down once more, kissing the side of his neck now and up to his delicate ears. He trembles. Never before has he felt anything like this, experienced what so many others his age would have known years before. But having been such a reserved young man in his school days, spending most of his time with his family, his sister especially, Ran had never had a serious girl-friend. He had barely had any at all, and they never lasted very long. Even his first kiss years ago meant so little to him at the time, and was one of the only times he had been kissed at all. Until now.
(...uhh...I...should stop her...) he thinks vaguely, loosing himself to the caress of her lips and small, cooling hands on his skin. (...this isn't...right...but I...uhh...ahhh...)
"That's it..." Aiko purrs beside his ear. "...I knew you would give in to me...Fujimiya..."
(...Fujimiya...?)
Hold your breath.
Suddenly, the weight of Aiko on top of Ran increases, and her once gentle hands grasp his shoulders like vices, pinning him down, while the low rumble of laughter begins to echo in Ran's ears - in his mind - in a very, VERY, unwelcome, nasal voice.
As Ran holds positively breathless and deadly still, laden with terror, a most surprising figure is revealed to have somehow taken Aiko's place, pulling *him*self up in order to look at Ran from above while still holding the violet-eyed assassin down with coiling arms and legs. Hair like the spitfire-flecks of orange on a tigerlily fall loosly in front of the young man's face, obscuring his features. However, Ran does not need a full view to know who is hovering above him.
"Guten Abend, Kaetzchen." the imposter smirks. "Was it good for you?" With this, he trails his eyes further down Ran's body, and upon finding what he is looking for, chuckles a little under his breath. "I guess it was."
*****
(...it is...it is someone calling me...)
"...Aiko...you have to wake up..."
"Please, hear us...it's only a dream..."
(Only a...dream...?) the real Rosuto Aiko repeats, casting her gaze in every direction. There is definitely something flawed about this world. (Then...there is no threat...nothing to fear...it's only a nightmare.)
"Aiko...please...can you hear us!?"
In answer to the voices calling her name, Aiko closes the drooping lids of her uncanny, violet eyes, and focuses every fiber in her body on blocking out everything but the sound of their demanding presence summoning her back. Almost immediately, she feels the dream world drifting away, more and more distant, until...
"Wake up!"
...she opens her eyes, aware of the bed beneath her, the covers on top of her, and the two, desperate faces looking down at her from either side.
"Ohaiyo..." she smiles, yawning as she sits herself up. "...or is it still dark outside?"
"Aiko!" Nagi bursts out, glomping her around the neck, much as Toto does to him so often. "We didn't think we were getting through."
"What happened to you is happening to everyone." Farfarello explains quickly, kneeling in closer as Nagi pulls away. "Horrible nightmares from the reactions Nagi saw, so it's a good thing we woke you as soon as we did. When he came to our room, he was only able to wake up *me*, so considering the two of us are the only ones who appear immune somehow, we think we have a pretty good idea who is behind this."
Smiling in gentle admiration, Aiko throws back the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed with her bare feet resting on the cool, wooden floor boards. "As do I." she confirms. "But I want to be certain. If it is who we think, then he must be close by."
"You're right. To invade so many minds at once he would have to be very close." Farfarello comments, standing thoughtfully with a cautious look at the door. "Perhaps...even inside."
Aiko nods, furrowing her brow as the spinning gears inside her mind begin to work out what their best course of action should be and where it should begin. "Nagi, did you check everyone's room?"
"Hai." he answers firmly, but then looks instantly troubled, jumping in promptly to change his reply. "No! I didn't. I only checked the rooms on the way here from mine, so the one at the end of the hallway..."
Dawning with realization, their eyes all widen in alarm, frozen in place for only a fraction of a second before Aiko abruptly jumps to her feet. "Abyssinian!"
*****
"Schuldrich!"
"You sound disappointed to see me." the suave German grins, bringing himself nearly nose to nose with the unfortunate young man beneath him. "I'm hurt."
In the spare bedroom Ran occupies above "Kitten's Cafe," Schuldrich has him in quite the precarious position. Dressed in a bright, blue shirt - left unbuttoned - and a pair of dark, grey pants, with his ever-present smirk playing dangerously over still damp lips, the Schwartz member paints a much different picture in Ran's mind than that of the scantilly clad woman he had so recently believed he was with.
"How...how did you -"
"Oh come now, Fujimiya." Schu cuts into Ran's fumbling for words. "You know how. The real question is...why did it work so well? Hehe. Seems you have a secret lusting for a certain kitty cat, and it isn't one of your teammates."
Beyond the discomfort of having a very menacing enemy practically spread-eagle on top of him, this area of questioning is even worse in Ran's mind. "I didn't want anything from her...I...I tried to stop it!"
"Not very convincingly. Even if you did hold tightly to your self-rightious morals, you were still enjoying yourself quite extensively." Schuldrich pauses there to cast a low-aiming glance at Ran's body once again. "Which, by the looks of your little friend down there, is proof enough of what you want."
Ran's buttons have been pushed to the limit, and if his amethyst eyes ever narrowed with true fury before, they certainly are now. "You don't know anything, you sick son-of-a-bitch! Get off me!!" Pushing with every ounce of strength his angered adrenaline can muster, the pinned red-head thrusts upward to break free, but amazingly has very little success.
"Do you really think you can get away?" Schuldrich teases, pressing Ran even harder down into the mattress. "But you're so tired...so weak..."
The feather-touch of the German's soft whisper on the defenseless Weiss' skin - and just as suggesting in his mind - fogs over Ran's senses like a storm cloud. He feels limp and heavy, barely able to move.
The trapped red-head twitches, fighting off Schu's attack. "...get...out of my...head..."
"Awww...but it's so comfy there...hehehe..."
Drained of energy and desperate for freedom, Ran turns his head longingly for the door, praying for someone, somhow, to come charging through and rescue him. What a thought. Imagine Fujimiya Ran yearning for some knight in shining armor, even if the knight he is thinking about looks far more like a fairy-tale princess than a hero.
Noticing his prey's drawn attention, Schu turns to look at the door as well, but merely grins just as impishly as ever. "Looking for your friends? Go ahead, call out to them. They aren't gonna hear you. A bit too busy at the moment with their own problems, I'm afraid."
"...wha...what did you do to them...?"
"Just gave them a few bad dreams, but it'll keep them busy while I get what I came for."
Though he is still fighting off the threat of exhaustion and calling comfort of sleep through Schu's intruding mind into his own, Ran refuses to give in, or give up. "...and what is that?"
"You know very well." the empath breathes, trailing a long, thin finger down Ran's throat and further along his chest. "It's the same thing you want so badly. Hehe. That alluring, little firefly, of course. I'm just happy Bradley gave me permission to play a bit before I grabbed her. Do-gooder minds are so much fun to break."
The walls of Ran's mind and consciousness turn to glass, cracking and shattering under the force of Schu's power. He can feel all his defenses faltering, all his boundaries, all his strength, wavering under the weight of someone determined to break into every crevice of secrecy and solitude he has held onto for so long. It is the worst kind of violation, when your very soul is laid bare for your most hated enemy to see.
But Ran isn't thinking about himself right now. "...you...stay away from her..." he growls, low and threatening, and trembling from fighting so hard to keep control. "...I swear I will rip...you...apart...if you even touch her!"
"Oh really? And who was just saying he *didn't* want anything from that fiery kitten down the hall? Hehe. Why don't you just admit it? You can't lie to me."
Ran wrenches his head away, clenching his eyes shut in hopes of finding some solid ground with which to cling to, but finds none. "...I...respect Korat..."
"Respect?" Schu repeats, clearly not buying it. "Come now, Fujimiya, you want her so badley you can taste it." Grin. "Oh wait...you did."
The unbearable piercing of Schuldrich's laughter ricochets off the walls and back again, crawling up under Ran's skin like a virus. He can't take much more of this, but his mind is a haze. He can't focus, he can't think, he can't fight.
He can't even get away.
"It was...just an illusion."
"But you wanted it."
"I thought -"
"You liked it."
"I -"
"Say it...go on..."
"...I -"
SLAM! "Abyssinian!!"
Freeze. Both Ran and Schu's heads flinch towards the door as it flies open, revealing a startled, red-haired young woman, with two very unsure young men silhouetted behind her. Right before the final checkmate, Aiko, Nagi, and Farfarello have burst in to save the night. Nevertheless, they certainly aren't prepared for what they have found.
This momentary disruption has cut the cord on Schuldrich's mental assault, leaving a very clear and focused mind for Fujimiya Ran to utilize. He sees his opportunity, and he is not going to let it pass him by.
Howling in pent up aggression and rage, Ran jerks his knee up into the distracted German's stomach, forcing Schu to release his hold and stumble backwards, doubling over in pain. Not willing to waste a single second, the invaded red-head leaps to his feet, grabbing Schuldrich by the shoulders and slamming him brutally against the wall. Schu falls to the ground, unconscious, but Ran is not satisfied yet. He stalks forward, reaching down as if to attack again...
"Abyssinian, stop!!"
He pauses, breathing hard, and turns to look for the owner of that powerful voice commanding him. As if seeing for the first time, Ran's fierce, violet eyes meet another pair even more impassioned than his own, and somehow this incredible figure walking up beside him - placing her tender hand on his shoulder - returns him to his senses.
"It is all right, Abyssinian." Aiko soothes, smiling despite her obvious concern. "I promise you, everything will be alright now..."
*****A/N***** I bet you fan girls really got a kick out of this one. Naughty Schu-honey! The next chapter is definetely for the Schuldrich fans. Keep reviewing everyone!
What makes us who we are?
Are we what others see, what we see of ourselves, or what remains unseen? That's a pretty tough question. One many people would disagree on the answer of. Some of us define ourselves solely by what others say, or in how others act towards us. Likewise, many people see themselves only in their own light, refusing to be labelled by anyone else.
So what about the rest? What about the secrets no one knows - secrets we don't know? The deep desires and fears living within each of us. What we dream about, what we aspire to, or even what we run from. It is like a withering blossom, opening just long enough to thrill us, but dying before we can truly define its beauty.
Such helpless creatures we are. What if someone else was suddenly in control of our subcounscious? The part of ourselves we have no true control over. What would become of us? Would our nightmares take new shape, turning real before our very eyes to haunt us through life?
I bet you wouldn't want to find out.
It is always better to feel in control, even if it doesn't mean anything, even if it is all just in our heads. Humans like to feel safe. Humans like to feel powerful. Most of the time, however, we are neither. We're just human. Subject to every terror within our own minds, and fragile enough to break if the strain becomes more than we can stand.
I guess that is why we have friends. Not only do they help us characterize who we are, but they are there to help protect us from ourselves. We need them; they need us.
Of course, they might just be an illusion, too...
*****
"Nagi!!!" Toto screams in her sleep, thrashing wildly on the bed.
It would be much more of a disruption if the girl next to her wasn't just as caught up in the intensity of her own nightmare. Even on the floor, a young boy with blonde hair is curling into the tightest ball beneath his covers, calling out to friends for help, though they do not seem to be answering. The entire room is a ward of fitful dreaming. For all, that is, except one.
Awakened by the cries of someone very dear to him, Naoe Nagi jolts up in his sleeping bag on the floor. Toto is calling his name. Worriedly, the young boy rushes to the bed, tentative and unsure. Why is the love of his life calling for him like that? Why is she struggling so desperately beneath the covers?
"T...Toto...." he whispers, lightly grasping her shoulders to shake her awake. She does not stir. "Toto, wake up. You're having a bad dream." he tries again, hating how panicked she sounds, and how it all seems directed at him. Once again, however, the girl does not rise, but continues dreaming, as if nothing can free her from the chains of an unpleasant night's sleep.
At a loss, Nagi looks to the others - Amaya next to Toto in the Bed, and Omi on the floor in another sleeping bag - realizing that they, too, appear to be having nightmares they cannot escape.
"They're all stuck in their dreams..." he voices aloud, backing towards the door. "What is going on?"
Having lived with supernatural companions and daily interruptions of weirdness for years now, Nagi's mind jumps promptly to the conclusion that some form of sorcery must be involved, and someone has to do something about it. Filling with determination, the brunette bolts out into the hallway, intending to seek help from the closest allies available. Unfortunately, the first room he comes to is Hiromi's, and even without opening the door, he can easily pick up on the sounds of disturbed slumber from its inhabitants.
They are having nightmares, too.
On the brink of hysteria, he rushes for the next room where Youji and Ken are asleep. Their door has been left open for the night, but a quick glance inside reveals the same thing all over again: tossing and turning with mumbled cries of anguish. Something is definitely going on here, and it isn't a simple wave of bad dreams.
Nonetheless, Nagi refuses to give up, hurrying on down the hall. As with the first room, the next door is closed, but when he places his ear against it to listen for noise...there isn't a single sound coming from the other side. Clinging to this small bit of hope, Nagi throws the door open. Asleep on the bed is Aiko, clearly dreaming from the rapid movement of her eyes, but apparently in no dire stress, for now, and Farfarello is lying flat on the floor, with nothing but a thin blanket and pillow, sleeping stone still as always, which makes him the young brunette's best bet for awakening.
"Farfie..." Nagi whispers, creeping closer inside the room, and reaching to shake the albino as he had shaken Toto before. "Wake up, Farfarello...please...Farfarello...Farfa - ah!"
Seconds before Nagi can take hold of his comrade's shoulders, Farfarello suddenly awakes on his own, instinctively shooting up and grasping Nagi's wrists painfully, as if the boy is some stealthy enemy about to attack. Obviously, this scares Nagi out of his shorts. Well, not literally.
"Farfie...it's ok...it's just me..." Nagi rants feverishly, breathing hard, and tensing under Farfarello's grip. "It's Nagi...please let go...you...you're hurting me..."
Shaking himself out of "automatic mode", Farfarello focuses in on Nagi's face, and instantly releases the boy once recognizing what he is doing. "I...I'm so sorry, Nagi. I didn't realize it was you."
"Don't worry about it, Far...Jei." the younger boy smiles weakly, caught slightly off guard by his friend's gentle tone. "I'm fine, and I know you didn't mean to. It's probably a good thing you're so alert tonight, anyway. There is something very strange going on."
This information catches Farfarello's attention immediately, even as he is still waving off the last remnants of sleep, and he looks at Nagi deadly serious. "What is it?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but everyone - except us, I guess - is having horrible nightmares, and I can't wake them up. I know it might seem silly, but I don't think this is just a coincidence. There is something dark behind what is going on. I can feel it."
Farfarello distances his gaze, absorbing the details warily. "You don't think it's..."
"...I don't know..."
"What should we do?"
Thinking things over carefully, Nagi creases his brow, darting his eyes about the room as if some random object might offer him an idea for what can be done to help everyone. Miraculously, it does.
When the young brunette's eyes fall upon Aiko asleep in the bed, they instantly widen, filled with urgency and hope. "We'll wake Aiko." he proposes, gracing a natural authority in his voice. "If anyone can figure this out, I'm sure she can. Besides, even if she is already dreaming, she doesn't seem to be in too deep yet, so we should be able to get her up. What do you think?"
"I guess there isn't much else we *can* do if the others are trapped." Farfie replies, immediately standing to make his way to the bed. "But...what if we can't get Aiko to wake up either?"
This isn't what Nagi wanted to hear. "Let's just hope we can."
Surrounding her on either side, the two ex-members of Schwartz lean in close to the slumbering red-head, pleading with silent prayers that these nightmares are not being caused by what - by who - they believe it to be.
"Aiko-chan...."
"Aiko...we need you to wake up..."
"...Aiko..."
*****
"...Aiko..."
Caught within a dream only just beginning, Rosuto Aiko takes notice of strange voices whispering in the air, as if they are coming from all around her.
"...Aiko-chan...please wake up..."
"We need you...Aiko..."
The distant red-head stirs slightly within her slumber, scoping out the fading surroundings of her dream, and beginning to see them for what they truly are. (Is...someone calling me...?)
*****
"Is something guiding me...?"
In truth, the night has barely begun, only midnight, and outside a full moon shimmers like the lily-white petals from some delicate flower, casting a soothing light on the city below. Admiring this breathtaking beauty, Fujimiya Ran leans against his window, allowing the cool breeze to swirl around him as it filters inside. He shivers, wearing only a thin pair of black, cotton pants - his usual bedclothes - oblivious to the cold with so much on his mind.
"Is something guiding me...leading me through this...?" he whispers, tracing his hand along the window frame. "There has to be something...I could never have done all this...believed it was possible...if something wasn't...somehow...I...I'm not strong enough to change on my own." This last thought quiets him abruptly, forcing him to play it over in his mind and realize how foolish he sounds. "But I haven't been doing this alone, have I? Everyone...we have all done this together...especially...Korat. What is it about her? So powerful...so...urrrg, what am I doing?! Talking to myself when I should be getting some sleep, that's what. Enough of this."
Ashamed at getting so caught up in reverie, the fatigued red-head turns instantly for bed, throwing back the covers. Before he can exhaustedly fall onto the mattress, however, a curious noise perks his attention back near the window. He looks over his shoulder suspiciously, but upon finding nothing other than the billowing curtains, concludes it must have come from outside, and shuffles over to latch the window shut.
Oddly enough, with his back now to the rest of the room, he again hears the sound, coming this time from somewhere near the door. Ran wastes no time in whirling around, darting his amethyst eyes over the entirety of the room to catch whatever culprit is trying to drive him crazy tonight.
Nothing.
Walking briskly across the floor, he reaches for the door and opens it, peering out into the hallway in case the strange sound might have come from there, but finds it just as empty as his room. Ran feels slightly unnerved, but after considering how tired he really is, decides it is probably just his imagination, and closes the door, heading back to the comfort of his bed.
Once again, before he can reach it, a noise from behind stops him in his tracks. Luckily, this time he knows what the sound is. Someone is knocking on his door.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Ran turns on his heels again, grabs for the doorknob, opens it wide, and finds himself face to face with...himself. Or, at least, someone who eerily resembles him.
"Kombanwa, Abyssinian." Rosuto Aiko smiles, catching her near-twin by complete surprise.
Imagine her showing up at his door past midnight, her crimson hair wild and loose down her back, wearing a very flattering, spaghetti-strap nightgown that barely reaches mid-thigh. You can imagine his reaction.
"Ko...Korat...wh...what is it?"
Aiko laughs softly, tilting her head to the side. "Sounds like the kitty's got your tongue again, ne?" she teases. "You must think this very inappropriate of me, dropping by so late. It's just that...I couldn't sleep. Bad dreams. I saw you peek out into the hallway a moment ago, just before you went back inside, and thought since you were up, too, maybe we could keep each other company. Hn...I can see now that I was mistaken. I'll leave you to rest."
Motioning to leave, Aiko takes a step away from the door, but barely even finishes it before being summoned back.
"Wait!" Ran calls, taking hold of her arm gently. "You...don't have to go. I've been having trouble getting to bed myself tonight. You can...stay...if you like."
Tossing her companion a rather coy smirk, Aiko slips silently passed him into the room, waiting for him to close the door behind them. The moment she hears that familiar click, however, the intriguing young woman turns back, and before Ran can even begin to move away from the door, pushes him roughly up against it, swooping in for a deep and unexpected kiss.
Ran's eyes instantly widen, instinctively pushing her away. "Wh...What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she replies, leaning in again.
Desperately, Ran holds her at bay. "But...why? We...we shouldn't." he states simply, sidestepping passed her, deeper into the room.
"Why? Because I want to." Aiko replies, walking up behind him now that he is turned away. "As for the shouldn't part? I don't see why not." She slinks her arms around his waist, turning him to face her as she steps in closer. Ran stands rigid, unable to move. "I can see it in your eyes. You feel just as I do. Stop denying what is written so plainly on that lovely, bishounen face."
As before, Aiko pulls Ran in for a kiss burning with passion, but this time he does not push her away. His body feels limp and warm straight down to his toes, and he succumbs to the sensation, allowing his eyes to close as he kisses her in return.
Noting the gentle pressure of her hands on his lower back, Ran slips his arms around Aiko's waist as well, feeling an odd response to their embrace deep within his body.
It feels wonderful.
Gradually, he begins to realize that Aiko is moving them backwards towards the bed, and is overcome with a new sense of fear and confusion as the backs of his legs finally hit it, and she releases from the kiss, pushing him down onto the mattress.
"...Korat..."
"Shhh..." she silences, placing a finger to his moistened lips. "Don't talk. Just feel."
With a playful grin, Aiko lowers herself onto Ran, straddling his waist, and dives in again to claim those soft lips with her own. Somewhere deep inside, Ran hears a voice telling him to stop her, but he can't. She tastes too sweet, feels too right. At least, that is what he believes, until she unexpectedly attempts to take things even further.
Aiko's hands have been slowly trailing down his chest, now toying near the waist of his pants, and soon begin slipping under the elastic, reaching down his thigh...
"Stop!" Ran cries, breaking from their kiss, and grabbing hold of her eager, searching hands. "We...can't do this. It's wrong. It...feels wrong."
"It was about to feel a whole lot better if you hadn't stopped me." Aiko offers in reply, licking her lips. "Why are you denying yourself? Just relax."
Obediently, Aiko's hands return to the contours of Ran's bare chest, and she bends down once more, kissing the side of his neck now and up to his delicate ears. He trembles. Never before has he felt anything like this, experienced what so many others his age would have known years before. But having been such a reserved young man in his school days, spending most of his time with his family, his sister especially, Ran had never had a serious girl-friend. He had barely had any at all, and they never lasted very long. Even his first kiss years ago meant so little to him at the time, and was one of the only times he had been kissed at all. Until now.
(...uhh...I...should stop her...) he thinks vaguely, loosing himself to the caress of her lips and small, cooling hands on his skin. (...this isn't...right...but I...uhh...ahhh...)
"That's it..." Aiko purrs beside his ear. "...I knew you would give in to me...Fujimiya..."
(...Fujimiya...?)
Hold your breath.
Suddenly, the weight of Aiko on top of Ran increases, and her once gentle hands grasp his shoulders like vices, pinning him down, while the low rumble of laughter begins to echo in Ran's ears - in his mind - in a very, VERY, unwelcome, nasal voice.
As Ran holds positively breathless and deadly still, laden with terror, a most surprising figure is revealed to have somehow taken Aiko's place, pulling *him*self up in order to look at Ran from above while still holding the violet-eyed assassin down with coiling arms and legs. Hair like the spitfire-flecks of orange on a tigerlily fall loosly in front of the young man's face, obscuring his features. However, Ran does not need a full view to know who is hovering above him.
"Guten Abend, Kaetzchen." the imposter smirks. "Was it good for you?" With this, he trails his eyes further down Ran's body, and upon finding what he is looking for, chuckles a little under his breath. "I guess it was."
*****
(...it is...it is someone calling me...)
"...Aiko...you have to wake up..."
"Please, hear us...it's only a dream..."
(Only a...dream...?) the real Rosuto Aiko repeats, casting her gaze in every direction. There is definitely something flawed about this world. (Then...there is no threat...nothing to fear...it's only a nightmare.)
"Aiko...please...can you hear us!?"
In answer to the voices calling her name, Aiko closes the drooping lids of her uncanny, violet eyes, and focuses every fiber in her body on blocking out everything but the sound of their demanding presence summoning her back. Almost immediately, she feels the dream world drifting away, more and more distant, until...
"Wake up!"
...she opens her eyes, aware of the bed beneath her, the covers on top of her, and the two, desperate faces looking down at her from either side.
"Ohaiyo..." she smiles, yawning as she sits herself up. "...or is it still dark outside?"
"Aiko!" Nagi bursts out, glomping her around the neck, much as Toto does to him so often. "We didn't think we were getting through."
"What happened to you is happening to everyone." Farfarello explains quickly, kneeling in closer as Nagi pulls away. "Horrible nightmares from the reactions Nagi saw, so it's a good thing we woke you as soon as we did. When he came to our room, he was only able to wake up *me*, so considering the two of us are the only ones who appear immune somehow, we think we have a pretty good idea who is behind this."
Smiling in gentle admiration, Aiko throws back the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed with her bare feet resting on the cool, wooden floor boards. "As do I." she confirms. "But I want to be certain. If it is who we think, then he must be close by."
"You're right. To invade so many minds at once he would have to be very close." Farfarello comments, standing thoughtfully with a cautious look at the door. "Perhaps...even inside."
Aiko nods, furrowing her brow as the spinning gears inside her mind begin to work out what their best course of action should be and where it should begin. "Nagi, did you check everyone's room?"
"Hai." he answers firmly, but then looks instantly troubled, jumping in promptly to change his reply. "No! I didn't. I only checked the rooms on the way here from mine, so the one at the end of the hallway..."
Dawning with realization, their eyes all widen in alarm, frozen in place for only a fraction of a second before Aiko abruptly jumps to her feet. "Abyssinian!"
*****
"Schuldrich!"
"You sound disappointed to see me." the suave German grins, bringing himself nearly nose to nose with the unfortunate young man beneath him. "I'm hurt."
In the spare bedroom Ran occupies above "Kitten's Cafe," Schuldrich has him in quite the precarious position. Dressed in a bright, blue shirt - left unbuttoned - and a pair of dark, grey pants, with his ever-present smirk playing dangerously over still damp lips, the Schwartz member paints a much different picture in Ran's mind than that of the scantilly clad woman he had so recently believed he was with.
"How...how did you -"
"Oh come now, Fujimiya." Schu cuts into Ran's fumbling for words. "You know how. The real question is...why did it work so well? Hehe. Seems you have a secret lusting for a certain kitty cat, and it isn't one of your teammates."
Beyond the discomfort of having a very menacing enemy practically spread-eagle on top of him, this area of questioning is even worse in Ran's mind. "I didn't want anything from her...I...I tried to stop it!"
"Not very convincingly. Even if you did hold tightly to your self-rightious morals, you were still enjoying yourself quite extensively." Schuldrich pauses there to cast a low-aiming glance at Ran's body once again. "Which, by the looks of your little friend down there, is proof enough of what you want."
Ran's buttons have been pushed to the limit, and if his amethyst eyes ever narrowed with true fury before, they certainly are now. "You don't know anything, you sick son-of-a-bitch! Get off me!!" Pushing with every ounce of strength his angered adrenaline can muster, the pinned red-head thrusts upward to break free, but amazingly has very little success.
"Do you really think you can get away?" Schuldrich teases, pressing Ran even harder down into the mattress. "But you're so tired...so weak..."
The feather-touch of the German's soft whisper on the defenseless Weiss' skin - and just as suggesting in his mind - fogs over Ran's senses like a storm cloud. He feels limp and heavy, barely able to move.
The trapped red-head twitches, fighting off Schu's attack. "...get...out of my...head..."
"Awww...but it's so comfy there...hehehe..."
Drained of energy and desperate for freedom, Ran turns his head longingly for the door, praying for someone, somhow, to come charging through and rescue him. What a thought. Imagine Fujimiya Ran yearning for some knight in shining armor, even if the knight he is thinking about looks far more like a fairy-tale princess than a hero.
Noticing his prey's drawn attention, Schu turns to look at the door as well, but merely grins just as impishly as ever. "Looking for your friends? Go ahead, call out to them. They aren't gonna hear you. A bit too busy at the moment with their own problems, I'm afraid."
"...wha...what did you do to them...?"
"Just gave them a few bad dreams, but it'll keep them busy while I get what I came for."
Though he is still fighting off the threat of exhaustion and calling comfort of sleep through Schu's intruding mind into his own, Ran refuses to give in, or give up. "...and what is that?"
"You know very well." the empath breathes, trailing a long, thin finger down Ran's throat and further along his chest. "It's the same thing you want so badly. Hehe. That alluring, little firefly, of course. I'm just happy Bradley gave me permission to play a bit before I grabbed her. Do-gooder minds are so much fun to break."
The walls of Ran's mind and consciousness turn to glass, cracking and shattering under the force of Schu's power. He can feel all his defenses faltering, all his boundaries, all his strength, wavering under the weight of someone determined to break into every crevice of secrecy and solitude he has held onto for so long. It is the worst kind of violation, when your very soul is laid bare for your most hated enemy to see.
But Ran isn't thinking about himself right now. "...you...stay away from her..." he growls, low and threatening, and trembling from fighting so hard to keep control. "...I swear I will rip...you...apart...if you even touch her!"
"Oh really? And who was just saying he *didn't* want anything from that fiery kitten down the hall? Hehe. Why don't you just admit it? You can't lie to me."
Ran wrenches his head away, clenching his eyes shut in hopes of finding some solid ground with which to cling to, but finds none. "...I...respect Korat..."
"Respect?" Schu repeats, clearly not buying it. "Come now, Fujimiya, you want her so badley you can taste it." Grin. "Oh wait...you did."
The unbearable piercing of Schuldrich's laughter ricochets off the walls and back again, crawling up under Ran's skin like a virus. He can't take much more of this, but his mind is a haze. He can't focus, he can't think, he can't fight.
He can't even get away.
"It was...just an illusion."
"But you wanted it."
"I thought -"
"You liked it."
"I -"
"Say it...go on..."
"...I -"
SLAM! "Abyssinian!!"
Freeze. Both Ran and Schu's heads flinch towards the door as it flies open, revealing a startled, red-haired young woman, with two very unsure young men silhouetted behind her. Right before the final checkmate, Aiko, Nagi, and Farfarello have burst in to save the night. Nevertheless, they certainly aren't prepared for what they have found.
This momentary disruption has cut the cord on Schuldrich's mental assault, leaving a very clear and focused mind for Fujimiya Ran to utilize. He sees his opportunity, and he is not going to let it pass him by.
Howling in pent up aggression and rage, Ran jerks his knee up into the distracted German's stomach, forcing Schu to release his hold and stumble backwards, doubling over in pain. Not willing to waste a single second, the invaded red-head leaps to his feet, grabbing Schuldrich by the shoulders and slamming him brutally against the wall. Schu falls to the ground, unconscious, but Ran is not satisfied yet. He stalks forward, reaching down as if to attack again...
"Abyssinian, stop!!"
He pauses, breathing hard, and turns to look for the owner of that powerful voice commanding him. As if seeing for the first time, Ran's fierce, violet eyes meet another pair even more impassioned than his own, and somehow this incredible figure walking up beside him - placing her tender hand on his shoulder - returns him to his senses.
"It is all right, Abyssinian." Aiko soothes, smiling despite her obvious concern. "I promise you, everything will be alright now..."
*****A/N***** I bet you fan girls really got a kick out of this one. Naughty Schu-honey! The next chapter is definetely for the Schuldrich fans. Keep reviewing everyone!