I found a better one for Ken: *_*

0_o `_0 0_0 ~_~

Ran stalked silently down the stairs, his katana held in both hands as he listened attentively to the sounds coming from below. After the door had shut, he hadn't heard any other sounds, but he had been too good of an assassin to assume that that meant his unexpected 'guest' had decided to leave of his own free will.

It had entered his mind that it could have been Crawford, coming to continue his 'courting'. However, as far as Ran could tell, sneaking in through the front door seemed almost too dignified for the American.

Near the bottom of the stairs, his ears detected a quiet shuffling sound, like a burden being shifted. One hand reached for the light switch as his grip tightened over the hilt of his sword. He flipped the light on, his eyes adjusting quickly to the expected illumination of the Koneko show floor.

He blinked, his katana lowering automatically as his brain tried to assimilate what he was seeing. Scattered throughout the room stood Schwartz. Crawford was seated casually on the stool behind the counter. Nagi was playing with an arrangement, his nose buried in the blooms. Schuldig was staring at a selection of roses ('Picking the perfect flower for a date,' Aya thought scornfully). The mind reader either ignored him, or didn't hear his snide comment.

Ran turned his attention to the chair by the door, his eyes narrowing as he took in the 'homey' scene before him. An unconscious Ken was nestled in the arms of the one-eyed, knife-wielding blonde [1].

The single eye blinked at him; Farfello was the only Schwartz member to acknowledge his presence.

After a moment's hesitation, Ran let his arm down so that the katana hung by his side. Violet eyes scanned Ken worriedly, finding nothing on the surface to cause alarm; the fact that Ken was sleeping in Farfello's arms was enough to make him concerned.

The sound of the backdoor opening and closing caught everyone's attention, and they all turned to the hallway expectantly. Youji walked through first and froze in the doorway, making Omi walk into him.

"Ne, Youji-kun. What's the matter?" The boy pushed by the detective aside and stepped fully into the room, his gaze moving unerringly to Nagi. The boys smiled and approached each other, leaving the rest of their team members to deal with their own problems. After a minute, by silent agreement, they disappeared upstairs, hand-in-hand.

Youji watched them bemusedly, his green eyes following them until they disappeared and then swinging to glare at Schuldig. The redhead was leering at him. 'Get lost, pervert. I'm not interested, or haven't you noticed?'

Instead of answering, the redhead walked closer, a red rose clasped in his hand. Youji almost took a step back, but stopped himself in time from making such a weak display in front of the enemy. He stood his ground as Schuldig walked closer. The telepath didn't stop until there were a few scant inches between them. He held out the rose, his head tipped to one side flirtatiously.

With a deep breath, Youji reached out a hand and accepted the offering, his glasses effectively hiding his eyes from the other men in the room. At that moment, he was glad for the minimal covering, though he knew that they did nothing to spare him from having his thoughts read. 'My room, up the stairs, third door on the left. Don't get any ideas, either.'

Schuldig smiled and turned, leading the way. Youji hesitated next to Ran. In a low voice, he muttered, "I don't know how long this will take. Watch over Ken?"

The assassin nodded, his violet eyes glaring at Farfello. "Do what you must," he answered back, just as quietly. The older man nodded and disappeared up the stairs.

"I do believe that that leaves you and I." Crawford said, standing up and walking slowly around the counter towards Ran. The violet glare turned to him, one fiery eyebrow raised. "However, I must ask that you forgive the delay, as I'm sure that you'd hate to have to explain the entire situation to her at this time of night."

"What are you-"

"Ran?" A soft voice called from the top of the stairs. Ran froze, his eyes darting from Farfello, who's only movement so far had been to brush the hair from Ken's closed eyes, to Crawford, who was watching him expectantly. He turned to head up the stairs, but Aya-chan was too quick.

She stepped into view as he reached the third step, her gaze already moving to the men behind him.

"Ken-kun?" She asked in worried surprise, her eyes quickly meeting her brother's. "What's going on?"

Ran sighed, moving his arm behind his back as casually as possible to block the sword from view.

"Nothing, Aya-chan. You should go back to bed," he suggested as softly as possible. Boots sounded on the steps behind him and he didn't have to turn to know who was standing there.

"Who are they?" His sister asked softly, her eyes moving beyond his shoulder and back to him quickly.

"Bradley Crawford, ma'am. At you're service." The American glided past Ran and held a hand a chivalrous hand out to Aya-chan. She gave her hand hesitatingly, her eyes trained on her brother. He nodded once and smiled to show her that it was okay. There wasn't much else he could have done.

Crawford took her small hand in his and raised it to his smiling lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Crawford-san." She withdrew her hand as quickly and politely as possible. "Why don't you invite your guests upstairs, Ran?"

His jaw clenched at the suggestion, but he couldn't refuse without having to explain to her why. He nodded, his gaze turning to Crawford. The words wouldn't come, though, and he was left silently waving towards the top of the stairs in invitation. Crawford smiled and inclined his head acceptingly before turning to follow Aya-chan.

Ran spared a quick glance back to check on Ken, but his sister overrode the loyalty he had to the other man, and he was forced to leave him lying in Farfello's arms.

*_* `_0

Farfello frowned down at the man in his arms and then at the staircase. Schuldig had told him to carry Ken to the car, so he did. Nagi had suggested letting Ken sleep, so he had. Crawford had ordered him to carry Ken inside, which he did. What was he supposed to do now?

His first instinct was to reach for his knife, but the other three had all agreed when they told him that that probably wouldn't get him very far and he figured that they knew more than he did about his current situation and how to deal with it. The knife stayed where it was.

Well, the other's had all gone upstairs, so he would follow their lead. The man in his arms barely stirred as he stood up, his bundle held securely against his chest. Hurting Ken would not hurt God; in fact, he believed that the opposite was true.

The stairs were easy enough to traverse, but getting to the top brought forth the next problem. He didn't know which room was Ken's. After a moment, he realized that three of the four rooms had lights showing beneath the doors. Logic would suggest that the dark one was Ken's.

That decided, it was quick work to get into the room and set Ken on the bed, which Farfello did without turning the light on. With Ken settled on top of the bed, he moved away to more interesting things, like finding where the bugnuks were hidden. He'd always been fascinated by the weapon.

He glanced back at the bed. That could have explained his fascination with Ken, too. It would make sense that he would be interested by the man who handled the claws so well. Then again, he respected the way that Fujiyami handled that katana, but that didn't mean that he wanted anything to do with the man.

No; as odd as it might have sounded, there was something about Ken that drew Farfello like an extremely sharp blade. It was odd, illogical, and best of all…

It hurt God.

~~~~~_____~~~~~

Omi smiled down at Nagi before pressing his lips together to hold in a chuckle. The other wriggled and giggled as Omi continued his ministrations.

"Omi." The name came out as half-squeal, half-sigh. "Ah…oh, Omi…Mm…lower, please….oh, yeah…"

~~~~~_____~~~~~

Youji strapped his old watch to his wrist and held it up for Schuldig to see. "You try anything with me, buck-o, and I'll use this. No hesitation, got it?"

"Of course." Schuldig smiled congenially and nodded. A second later, he had Youji pressed against the wall, his tongue in the other man's mouth, Youji's gasp of surprise swallowed by the redhead's invading mouth.

The ex-detective shoved him back forcibly, his hand automatically reaching for the catch on his watch that would release the wire. Except the wire was gone. So was the watch. He looked down at his wrist for a moment before looking up and seeing the weapon dangling from Schuldig's hand. Comprehension dawned quickly and he narrowed his eyes.

"Try that again and see what else I have up my sleeve."

"I'd rather see what's a little lower," Schuldig leered, stepping closer.

Youji crossed his arms and glared. 'Screw off, bub.'

The redhead paused and looked at him for a moment before mirroring his stance. "Listen. We've both been around the block a few times. I'm sure that you've at least experimented with a few things-"

"Experimenting normally didn't include welcoming a man who used to do a damn good job of trying to kill me into his bed."

"Is it the man part? Or the whole kill factor?" Schuldig asked, curious.

Youji rolled his eyes. "I think it's both. I don't make it a habit to sleep with my own gender. I like woman. Soft, pliant flesh underneath my hands, the soft, feminine gasp for breath when I find just the right spot…" He trailed off dreamily, his thoughts drifting to many of the pleasant memories he had shared with women from all over the city. The world, even.

"Do you really think it's so different with a man?"

"Um…yes? Isn't that the whole point? It's not the same, that's why so many people go one way and never come back. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but when you're happy with what you're getting', why try for something that may not be as good?"

"Oh, I don't know…fear of finding out that it's better?"

"Ugh! You're not listening! Okay, let's try this. Even if I were interested in trying it with another guy, it wouldn't be with you! Alright! I have no interest in you personally! Blame it on the whole being enemies thing, but that's the truth! Read it in my mind if you have to!"

"That's the problem, Yotan," Schuldig stated quietly, his face serious. "I can't read your thoughts unless you want me to. I've been trying to figure out why, and I've come up with one solution…"

"Yeah?" Youji asked impatiently when the redhead trailed off. He was mildly curious, but that was it. More than anything, he wanted the redheaded annoyance gone so that he could go to sleep in peace.

"I think it's because I want you more than I've ever wanted anything."

*_*

"I don't want to hurt God, okay? I don't know what you have planned, but I want nothing to do with it," Ken said, standing in the far corner of his room. Farfello was sitting in the same place he had been when Ken woke up; on the edge of the bed with Ken's claws on his hands.

His mind recalled his earlier presumption that Farfello would…'Okay, just because he's a sick freak, there's no reason to assume that he's that much of a sick freak. That would be low, even for Schwartz.'

Of course, the same high moral standards that might have kept Farfello from raping him probably wouldn't stop him from killing him. On the positive side, he was home, so hopefully if he called, the others would hear him and come running to help. If they were home, that was.

Ken sighed at the blonde's lack of response and decided to chance stepping closer so that he could leave. He was hungry and the kitchen was calling his name. He made it to the door just as one of his claws pierced through it, barring him from leaving.

"Where are you going?" Farfello asked softly, his voice right behind Ken. Ken could feel the other man's body pressing lightly against him.

"I was going to the kitchen."

"No. You're my kitty and you can't leave until I'm done playing with you."

"You know, I feel sorry for any pets you've ever had, if this is the way you treat them," Ken griped. "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since early this morning, because I was being stalked by some lunatic. I would like to go to the bathroom and then get something to eat or drink before I die and end up lying in my own excretion, okay?"

He looked over his shoulder and stared into Farfello's eye. After a moment, the blonde backed away, letting him out of the room. Thankful for the reprieve, Ken left quickly, his first stop the bathroom like he had said. He passed the hall leading to Ran and Aya-chan's apartment and had another thought, 'Ran is so going to kill me when he finds out that Farfello was in here.'

He stepped into the kitchen and found Farfello standing in front of the fridge. He rolled his eyes and turned to a cupboard in search of food. The sound of metal slicing through metal jarred him from his thoughts and made him jump, his gaze flying to Farfello. The door to the refrigerator was now open, courtesy of the new door handle that the blonde had created when he stabbed Ken's claws through the side of the door. Ran was definitely going to kill him in the morning.

"They're awkward. Heavy and not evenly weighed. How do you fight so well with these?" Farfello was gazing at the bugnuks in confusion and it took Ken a moment to realize that he'd been asked a question.

He was about to answer when a loud yell stopped him. He looked up as he recognized Youji's voice rose in anger. He stood up and looked out into the hallway that connected the kitchen to bedrooms.

Only a few seconds passed before the door to Youji's room opened and a man was forcibly pushed out. Schuldig let his body collide with the opposite wall without softening the impact, his eyes trained on the glaring man in front of him.

"Listen here, you mind reading pond scum. I don't care why you can't read my thoughts. In fact, I'm grateful that you can't. Just know that if I was interested in you, you'd know it by now, okay?" Youji asked, his voice loud enough to bring Omi and Nagi from the former's room. Nagi had his shoes off, but both boys were otherwise fully dressed.

Ken blinked at the four of them, his mind so focused on solving the riddle in front of him that he ignored the hand placed on his shoulder. Nagi looked sadly at Omi, leaned forward to kiss him, and then turned to his older teammate. He smiled apologetically at Youji and started pulling Schuldig towards the stairs.

The redhead didn't put up any resistance, until they came even with the kitchen. He looked up and glared at Ken and Farfello, his gaze glancing briefly over the hand on Ken's shoulder before staring into the blonde's eye. "We're heading out. Finish up and let's go."

"I haven't hurt God yet." Schuldig paused, his eyes scanning Ken's face for a moment, his mind probing the younger man's, before he shook his head.

"Not tonight, Farfie. The poor boy's too tired. Let him eat and rest up." It was more of an order than a suggestion. After another pause, Farfello pulled his hand away. Ken leaned against the wall; glad of the distance and the reprieve he was about to receive. Farfello took the gloves off his hands and handed them to Ken.

He expected the blonde to walk past him without further incidence. He definitely didn't except the man to lean forward to kiss him suddenly. "I'll be back, kitty." Then the three of them were gone, striding down the stairs silently. As an after thought, his mind still reeling from the close encounter a second before, he sent a thought after Schuldig.

'Tell him to stop calling me 'kitty.''

@_@

[1] You know, I have a feeling that Weiss doesn't think too highly of Schwartz's resident sociopath. Farfie's one of my favorites, though.

Oh, pooh! I was really hoping for a more exciting chapter, but I'm reaching my limits for today. Expect more of a follow up soon.

Also, feedback is not only welcomed, but if you leave your addy in the body of your review, I'll get back to you personally; that includes questions and comments.

What the heck happened? What were Omi and Nagi giggling about? Farfello is being nice? Youji threw Schuldig out? And Crawford is still someplace in the Koneko?

Stay tuned for more mis-adventures on the next elucidation of 'In the Company of Strangeness: When Will This End?'