'ItCoS 8: Farferello vs. God'

MASSIVE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!

All previous warnings apply PLUS: ouch-factor.

*_* 0_o 0_0 0_~

Ken's first instinct was to draw back, but he managed to control the impulse. Barely. He gripped Farferello's forearm for a place to put his left hand. His right hand was still held by the Irishman.

The other members of Weiss looked shell-shocked, and even Schuldig appeared surprised. Nagi clapped quietly and grinned, and Brad looked at his watch with a bored expression. The kiss continued.

Ran got over his surprise and crossed his arms, his eyes boring holes into Brad. The American looked at him and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what'. "Some warning next time would be appreciated," Ran said, voice hard.

"Don't look at me. I didn't see this. Not that, anyway," Brad gestured to the two still lip-locked. "Farferello is hard to predict."

Nagi looked at Schuldig curiously. "What kind of advice did you give him?"

The redhead shook his head and held his hands up in front of him. "I had nothing to do with it," he denied.

Still mostly the center of attention, Ken began to hesitantly return the kiss, his lips parting under gentle pressure from Farferello's tongue.

"Is that safe?" Youji asked as they watched Farferello pull Ken a little closer, one hand holding the back of Ken's head and the other moving to rest on his hip. Released, Ken's hand slipped to the blonde's left arm of its own volition.

"All right, everyone," Omi said loudly, trying to draw the attention away from Ken and Farferello. "Let's get out of here before the police arrive."

"Who's breaking up the lovers, then?" asked Youji. Schuldig sighed when he saw Nagi and Youji both look at him expectantly.

'Farfie, let the kitty go so we can leave,' he tried good-naturedly. The blonde ignored him. He sighed again. 'Ken, break it up, please. We need to leave. -Now-.'

The dark-haired man pulled away quickly, his eyes wide and his breathing labored. He looked around wildly, and then raised a hand to his lips, his expression stunned. When the sounds of sirens alerted the group that the police had come, he dashed quickly through the back of the church, the other seven quickly moving to follow him out.

They reached the alley behind the church and branched off into two groups, Weiss taking one direction and Schwartz taking the other. Farferello was halfway down the alleyway before he stopped suddenly and turned around. The other three stopped as well and turned back in time to see Weiss disappear around a corner.

The back door to the church flew open and hit the wall, its hinges shuddering under the force. A swarm of cops exited, guns drawn and cheesy lines flying threw the air. Schwartz turned and started running, and gunshots rang out behind them.

0_0 0_~ 0_o *_*

Weiss diverged into four different directions at the first opportunity, and so returned to the shop at different times. Omi was first and was followed shortly after by Youji. Ran didn't arrive for half an hour after the both of them, and it was dark before Ken walked quietly into the shop.

They were all waiting rather anxiously, though only Omi seemed to show it. Youji stubbed out his cigarette when the other man walked in, and Ran straightened up, his gaze intent.

Ken shut the door behind him with a soft click and then turned to stare at them, his face drawn. Omi stepped forward, his young face expressing his concern. "Ken?"

"I'm fine, Omi-kun." He waved the boy away, his motions jerky. "I'm going to bed," he announced quietly. He was almost to the stairs when Youji intercepted him.

"If you want to talk…" he let the invitation hang in the air. Ken stared at him for a moment, and then smiled tiredly.

"If I wanted to talk, I'd ask someone who knew what they were talking about," he responded, not unkindly. They stared at each other for a few seconds more and then Youji nodded in concession and stepped back. "Night."

"Good night, Ken," Ran said, his eyes trained on his dark-haired coworker. Ken offered him a smile and a nod, and then made his weary way upstairs. He crossed paths with Aya-chan, who was carrying a load of clothes towards the stairs.

"Ken-chan? Are you okay?" He nodded at her and went to move past, but she stopped him with a hand on her arm. "You have three brothers downstairs who will listen, and you have a sister who will listen when they will not," she informed him. He stared at her, then his gaze fell and he stepped away.

"Thank you," he said as he made his way to his room. She sighed when his door shut.

"Silly boys. All think they're alone and don't even realize that none of them would let that happen to any of them." She smiled slightly, hitching the basket on her hip and making her way carefully down the stairs. "Ah, well. They'll learn in time." She hoped.

*_* 0_~

Ken didn't wake up in the morning to being pressed down by Farferello's body, nor did the other man sneaking into his room wake him up. Instead, his alarm went off like it normally did and he rose from bed to face an empty room.

He dressed quickly and made his way to the kitchen, where Youji was drinking tea. Green eyes peered up at him as he poured a cup for himself and sat across from his friend. They were silent as they each drank their tea, and Ken was fine with the lack of conversation. When Youji stood up to refill his cup, he leaned back against the counter instead of returning to his chair.

"It's okay, you know," Youji said quietly, his attention fixed on his cup.

Ken looked up and smiled slightly. "That would sound more convincing if you believed it."

Green eyes looked up and the blonde smiled. "True. However, I've found that empty words help if I don't take them to heart."

"True," Ken agreed, chuckling softly. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Sure." Youji nodded.

"Ask your boyfriend to keep a better eye on his friend." Youji's eyes narrowed and he raised an eyebrow.

"Hidaka," he said warningly.

"Kudou," Ken said with equal rigidity. "At this point in time, I don't really care what the German is to you. I just don't wish to have to deal with the albino today, okay? Please?" The last word came out pleadingly, his eyes revealing more of his inner turmoil than his face or attitude had prior to that moment.

After a moment, Youji nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Ken said gratefully, his face creasing into a facsimile of his normal grin. "That's all I can ask."

0_`

With the sense of calm normally only applied to doctors under such stress, Brad brought the forceps up to eye level and admired the bullet between the tips of the tiny instrument. "Impressive. I counted another hole on this side. Schuldig?"

Across the table, the redhead looked up from where he was patching Farferello's left side. "Two," the German counted, indicating the spot he was working on and another bandage on the arm nearest him. "Nagi?"

"Bleeding has stopped and respiration is normal," the boy answered, checking the blonde's pulse as he spook. "Farferello?"

"Are you finished yet?" the Irishman asked, his voice balanced between boredom and curiosity.

"We're almost finished," Brad answered, his gaze meeting Schuldig's. The redhead nodded and moved away and Brad turned his attention to the man on the table. "That was foolish."

"Yes," Farferello said softly, his lips curved in a thin smirk.

"Farferello?" Nagi called softly, moving around Brad to stand at the end of the table, where Farferello's head rested on the cool metal surface. "Don't -ever- do that again."

His eye opened, and he blinked up at the boy. After a long pause, he nodded once.

"Thank you." Nagi touched the blonde's shoulder, his hand gentle over the bandage there. "Thank you very much."

Schuldig

*_*

Ken was -not- talking about it. Youji had tried to broach the subject after breakfast and received a flowerpot on his foot for his trouble. Omi was drenched in the hose for his attempt, and Ran didn't even bother. He stayed behind the counter and stared holes through the other three.

The lunch hour came and went with little conversation between the four. Aya-chan's presence for most of the early afternoon kept them in line; no one was willing to risk Ran's anger if they upset his anger. Ran was too busy evading her questions about the previous two days.

Seemed to be going well until the afternoon rush, when the bell above the door chimed and indicated the normal post-school rush. Fan girlish chatter instantly ruined the quiet atmosphere and any chance at conversation was lost in the ensuing chaos.

It wasn't until nearly closing time that the level of noise in the Koneko finally dropped to a peaceable level, meaning that Ran had finally scared off the schoolgirls, including his sister. Aya-chan was spending the night with friends, leaving the men to tend to themselves.

"I'm going out," announced Youji, already apron-less and heading for the stairs. The sound of the bell stopped him, his right foot on the first stair.

"Ah," a nasal-voice said happily. "My sweet. Going somewhere?" Schuldig asked, loud enough to bring Omi from the back room, where he'd been putting away the broom.

Youji rolled his eyes and turned around. "Far, far away from you," he answered with a wink.

"I'm hurt, Bal-" he broke off. His smile widened. "I'm hurt, Youji-kun. I was hoping you'd like my company."

One blonde eyebrow shot up at the way that Schuldig changed his style of address. 'Youji-kun, is it?' He smirked. "Are you going to follow me around then? …Schuldig-chan?" The diminutive practically dropped, honey-coated, from his lips.

"Of course, Youji-kun." The blonde rolled his eyes again and went upstairs, the redhead quickly following on his heels. They left a feeling of hushed expectancy behind while the other three waited to see who else would show up.

When the door didn't open for several minutes, Omi finally sighed and moved to lock it. With another sigh, this one larger than the last, he turned to face the room at large. "Well, that's disappointing. I was hoping that Nagi would visit."

"We should all look forward to such a visit," Ran said dryly. The younger two looked at him sharply, but he ignored the look. "Aya's gone for the night. I won't return until tomorrow."

"Where are -you- going?" Omi asked. Ran looked at him, his eyes a deep purple. "Never mind. Good night, Ran-kun."

"Good night, Omi," the red-haired man returned. Omi started towards the stair and their paths crossed. Ran reached out. "Look after him, please?"

Omi smiled softly. "Of course. Look after yourself."

0_0 *_*

With a flourish, Omi placed a bowl of green tea ice cream in front of Ken. "Here!"

"Thank you," Ken said reflexively, a spoon already clenched in his hand. His movements were automated, as if his train of thought was far away from eating ice cream with his young friend.

"Ken?" Omi called quietly.

"Hm?" The response was half-hearted and Omi sighed.

After a moment, Omi started talking anyway, his eyes fixed on his own dish. "It is okay, isn't it? We're not enemies. There isn't any danger, yet…I almost feel bad. I know that the others are-" he paused. He chose his words carefully and continued. "-Adapting, but it's still. After everything that happened, it was still really easy to be friends with him. Almost too easy. I keep waiting for the bad stuff to start."

"Don't look at it like that," Ken said, unexpectedly. Omi blinked up at him, surprised to find Ken's eyes on him. "It's not as easy as it seems, or you wouldn't be questioning it. Kritiker is gone. We have -no- enemies. It is -okay- to feel for him…" he trailed off, his eyes growing distant again.

"Then why are you so upset?" Omi asked directly, his voice taking on a firmness that would have made Ran proud. "They're not enemies anymore, and despite what anyone else may say, it's okay if you're both guys!" The boy was getting excited, his voice taking on an argumentative quality. He was ready to counter almost anything Ken could have said.

"It's not that, Omi-kun," Ken said quietly, a small smile playing at his lips. "I'm just trying to figure out what I should do."

Omi took a deep breath and wilted, the fight going out of him. "It's not easy, is it? He's…odd."

"He's stark, raving mad, Omi. The few times he's seemed semi-lucid, he still goes on about hurting God. There is something-something very wrong in his head, Omi."

"You can't fix it," Omi said simply. He reached out and touched Ken's hand. "I'll talk to Nagi about it."

"Don't." Ken shook his head. "I'll deal with it."

"Are you sure?" Omi was surprised.

Ken nodded. "Yes. I'll deal with it."

'I just have to figure out how,' he thought to himself.

@_@

Ha ha! Bet ya'll thought you could get away from me! Not so! I have returned, with yet another part! (Admit it, you're all overjoyed!) Coming soon (which translates into 'eventually'): the conversation that Youji had with Schuldig and the events that transpired behind Ran's closed door.

Where is Youji going and will Schuldig really follow behind him all night? What is Ran doing while out and about? Where are the psycho and the prodigy? Will poor Omi not get to see his Nagi-wagi-kins? What is Ken plotting behind his odd demeanor?

Find out next time, on: 'In the Company of Strangeness: Interlude with bishounen and biseinen'.