I love you guys! *hugs* Thank you so much for the reviews and encouragement. Let's keep the KenxRan love going. hehe
Anyhoo, thanks for your patience. I know it's been awhile since I posted a new chapter. For one thing, I'll be having my baby any time now, and I am exhausted! Physically and mentally. I also learned how Gluhen ends, so I tried to make this tie in with that. I wanted it to all make sense. I like to think of my fics as continuations of the series, and this way, they can be. ^_^
I'm going to sleep now, but I hope to wake up and see lots of reviews. hehe Enjoy!
~Koyasu
P.S. My husband looks like Seki Tomokazu. I'm serious! ^_________^
~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, you're going to have to tell them eventually", Schuldig told Yoji, lifting the man's chin and looking intently into his sad eyes.
"I know", Yoji laughed nervously through his tears. "Geez! This is pathetic. I never cry like this."
"It's understandable", Schu reassured him, glancing at the envelope in Yoji's hand. "You've-"
Both men turned suddenly, straining to hear a barely audible cry of pain coming from Ran.
"We'd better go in", Schuldig decided.
"Yeah. I guess it wasn't such a good idea leaving Ran alone with a pissed off pregnant woman", Yoji half laughed as he and his lover entered the room.
What they saw could almost be described as comical, if not for the fact that Aya's actions could potentially aggravate Ran's injuries. She was washing his face violently as she softly cursed at him, and seemed oblivious to the fact that he was crying.
"Aya!" Yoji hurried over, pulling her away from Ran. "Go easy on him. He still has stitches in his head, you know."
Ran tried to glare at his sister, but the pain he felt was too intense.
"G-gomen, nii-chan", Aya stammered, a pang of guilt washing over her as she saw her brother's look of hurt and confusion. "I just can't understand how you can stop loving Ken. After all, you've been through so much together. He didn't give up on that love when you were raped, and needed space to work out your feelings on intimacy. He respected you and gave you that space. But his heart waited for you. And how about the time you were kidnapped on a mission? Everyone else had dismissed you as dead. But Ken searched on, rescuing you and bringing your captors to justice. Even now, with his weak mind, Ken loves you. He desires you. And I know it wouldn't be any different if he had his wits about him. He wouldn't stop loving you just because you're needy as a newborn child. So how can your heart abandon Ken now?"
Ran looked from his sister to Yoji to Schuldig, fixing his eyes on the telepath.
"Ran says he would give you an answer, but he doesn't see the point", Schuldig spoke for Ran. "After all, he is useless and needy. So what he feels does not matter."
Aya leaned over Ran, her tears falling on his neck. "Ran, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"
"Da!" Ran snapped back.
Schuldig turned to look at Aya. "He wants you to leave."
"But-"
"Haaah!!!"
"I think you'd better go now." Schuldig put an arm around Aya, walking her out the door. "Just give him a little time."
"But..but...nii-chan!!!" Aya wailed, looking back as her brother faded from view.
Yoji turned back to Ran, smiling uncomfortably at his friend. 'Why did this happen?' he wondered. 'Why did I have to remember?' He thought back to his days of blissful ignorance. Married, domesticated...no memory whatsoever of his life with Weiss. Then, he saw him. Schuldig. They just passed on the street, but Schuldig had shot him a look of pure hurt and heartache. That's when that closed door in Yoji's mind reopened. He couldn't help himself. He followed the mysterious redhead, and, in the process, rediscovered a love long lost, and a large part of his life entirely forgotten. Sure, Yoji felt guilty leaving his marriage, but it would have been unfair if he'd stayed and lived a lie, denying his own heart.
That was the easy part. Going back to Weiss...now THAT was difficult. The blood, the darkness, the guilt...the only thing that made it all bearable was his friends. After so many years, the original four were back together. 'And this is how it ends?' Yoji swallowed hard, determined not to cry.
"Mmm." Ran looked up sympathetically at his friend, eyes full of sadness and concern."
"You said it, Ran." Yoji forced a smile, pulling the blankets up over Ran. Their eyes met, and for the first time since the attack, Yoji felt that he and Ran were talking. They didn't need words. Ran's eyes barely masked the pain that he was feeling. "You like having Schuldig around, don't you? You feel less lonely, knowing you are understood."
Ran grunted in affirmation, a slight smile crossing his lips. But Yoji could still see a hint of underlying sadness.
"Nobody thinks you're worthless, Ran", Yoji said honestly, addressing the thought he knew had been plaguing Ran's mind. "So you can't talk anymore. There is still so much that you can do in life, even without a voice. And remember, nobody has ruled out walking yet. You're gonna go into physical therapy and surprise yourself. You'll be walking before you know it!"
Ran was surprised. 'Yoji is being so...perky', he thought, staring at his friend as if he were a stranger. Yet, somehow, Ran knew that he was being sincere. This wasn't just a pep talk to pull him out of self-pity. Yoji truly believed in him.
"Agh", Ran gurgled out the closest sound to "thank you" his mouth would make, reaching up an arm.
Yoji leaned over, completing the hug. "Do itashimashite, Ran", he whispered in a soothing voice. "I..."
Ran looked up inquisitively at Yoji, wondering what could be on his friend's mind. He had sensed that something was bothering him, but what could he do? "Mmm?"
"It's nothing urgent", Yoji answered dismissively. "And...Oh! Look who's back!"
Ken hobbled into the room, accompanied by a nurse, walking straight to Ran's bed. "I got clean, Ran. Wanna smell?" He pushed a hand up to Ran's face. "I smell good, huh?"
Ran just laughed as the nurse led Ken back to his bed. Perhaps he COULD still love Ken. The nature of his love may have to change, but it wouldn't necessarily have to vanish altogether. "Ah ta!" he called happily to Ken.
"I love you too, Ran", Ken beamed, Ran's inabilty to speak a non issue for him.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Do you think my brother will ever forgive me?" Aya asked, blowing her nose into a tissue.
"I don't doubt it at all. After all, he almost died for you before", Schuldig reasoned, handing Aya a fresh tissue. And let's not forget what he did for..." He looked away, realizing he shouldn't have said any more.
"I know! Look what happened to him as a result! And how do I thank him? I compare him to a helpless baby!" Aya broke down into loud sobs. Schuldig put an arm around her, looking around red-faced at passersby and attempting to shush the woman.
Finally, when Aya had gotten the tears out of her system, she looked up at Schu and asked "Where has Omi been? I haven't seen him in several days, and Yoji started to tell me something, but then-"
"You don't need to know about that now. After all you've been through, you're better off kept in the dark about this."Schuldig told her carefully.
"Well, now I KNOW something is wrong, and I know it's bad. How do you expect me not to get upset?! Tell me what happened!" Aya demanded.
"Aya-"
"TELL ME!!!"
"Fine." Schuldig sighed. "Just remember, you asked for it."
"Get on with it!" Aya groaned.
"Omi..." Schuldig held his hands together. It looked like he was trying to comfort himself. "Omi..."
"Omi what?" Aya was dreading every word, but she knew she had to hear this.
"Omi committed suicide."
Anyhoo, thanks for your patience. I know it's been awhile since I posted a new chapter. For one thing, I'll be having my baby any time now, and I am exhausted! Physically and mentally. I also learned how Gluhen ends, so I tried to make this tie in with that. I wanted it to all make sense. I like to think of my fics as continuations of the series, and this way, they can be. ^_^
I'm going to sleep now, but I hope to wake up and see lots of reviews. hehe Enjoy!
~Koyasu
P.S. My husband looks like Seki Tomokazu. I'm serious! ^_________^
~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, you're going to have to tell them eventually", Schuldig told Yoji, lifting the man's chin and looking intently into his sad eyes.
"I know", Yoji laughed nervously through his tears. "Geez! This is pathetic. I never cry like this."
"It's understandable", Schu reassured him, glancing at the envelope in Yoji's hand. "You've-"
Both men turned suddenly, straining to hear a barely audible cry of pain coming from Ran.
"We'd better go in", Schuldig decided.
"Yeah. I guess it wasn't such a good idea leaving Ran alone with a pissed off pregnant woman", Yoji half laughed as he and his lover entered the room.
What they saw could almost be described as comical, if not for the fact that Aya's actions could potentially aggravate Ran's injuries. She was washing his face violently as she softly cursed at him, and seemed oblivious to the fact that he was crying.
"Aya!" Yoji hurried over, pulling her away from Ran. "Go easy on him. He still has stitches in his head, you know."
Ran tried to glare at his sister, but the pain he felt was too intense.
"G-gomen, nii-chan", Aya stammered, a pang of guilt washing over her as she saw her brother's look of hurt and confusion. "I just can't understand how you can stop loving Ken. After all, you've been through so much together. He didn't give up on that love when you were raped, and needed space to work out your feelings on intimacy. He respected you and gave you that space. But his heart waited for you. And how about the time you were kidnapped on a mission? Everyone else had dismissed you as dead. But Ken searched on, rescuing you and bringing your captors to justice. Even now, with his weak mind, Ken loves you. He desires you. And I know it wouldn't be any different if he had his wits about him. He wouldn't stop loving you just because you're needy as a newborn child. So how can your heart abandon Ken now?"
Ran looked from his sister to Yoji to Schuldig, fixing his eyes on the telepath.
"Ran says he would give you an answer, but he doesn't see the point", Schuldig spoke for Ran. "After all, he is useless and needy. So what he feels does not matter."
Aya leaned over Ran, her tears falling on his neck. "Ran, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"
"Da!" Ran snapped back.
Schuldig turned to look at Aya. "He wants you to leave."
"But-"
"Haaah!!!"
"I think you'd better go now." Schuldig put an arm around Aya, walking her out the door. "Just give him a little time."
"But..but...nii-chan!!!" Aya wailed, looking back as her brother faded from view.
Yoji turned back to Ran, smiling uncomfortably at his friend. 'Why did this happen?' he wondered. 'Why did I have to remember?' He thought back to his days of blissful ignorance. Married, domesticated...no memory whatsoever of his life with Weiss. Then, he saw him. Schuldig. They just passed on the street, but Schuldig had shot him a look of pure hurt and heartache. That's when that closed door in Yoji's mind reopened. He couldn't help himself. He followed the mysterious redhead, and, in the process, rediscovered a love long lost, and a large part of his life entirely forgotten. Sure, Yoji felt guilty leaving his marriage, but it would have been unfair if he'd stayed and lived a lie, denying his own heart.
That was the easy part. Going back to Weiss...now THAT was difficult. The blood, the darkness, the guilt...the only thing that made it all bearable was his friends. After so many years, the original four were back together. 'And this is how it ends?' Yoji swallowed hard, determined not to cry.
"Mmm." Ran looked up sympathetically at his friend, eyes full of sadness and concern."
"You said it, Ran." Yoji forced a smile, pulling the blankets up over Ran. Their eyes met, and for the first time since the attack, Yoji felt that he and Ran were talking. They didn't need words. Ran's eyes barely masked the pain that he was feeling. "You like having Schuldig around, don't you? You feel less lonely, knowing you are understood."
Ran grunted in affirmation, a slight smile crossing his lips. But Yoji could still see a hint of underlying sadness.
"Nobody thinks you're worthless, Ran", Yoji said honestly, addressing the thought he knew had been plaguing Ran's mind. "So you can't talk anymore. There is still so much that you can do in life, even without a voice. And remember, nobody has ruled out walking yet. You're gonna go into physical therapy and surprise yourself. You'll be walking before you know it!"
Ran was surprised. 'Yoji is being so...perky', he thought, staring at his friend as if he were a stranger. Yet, somehow, Ran knew that he was being sincere. This wasn't just a pep talk to pull him out of self-pity. Yoji truly believed in him.
"Agh", Ran gurgled out the closest sound to "thank you" his mouth would make, reaching up an arm.
Yoji leaned over, completing the hug. "Do itashimashite, Ran", he whispered in a soothing voice. "I..."
Ran looked up inquisitively at Yoji, wondering what could be on his friend's mind. He had sensed that something was bothering him, but what could he do? "Mmm?"
"It's nothing urgent", Yoji answered dismissively. "And...Oh! Look who's back!"
Ken hobbled into the room, accompanied by a nurse, walking straight to Ran's bed. "I got clean, Ran. Wanna smell?" He pushed a hand up to Ran's face. "I smell good, huh?"
Ran just laughed as the nurse led Ken back to his bed. Perhaps he COULD still love Ken. The nature of his love may have to change, but it wouldn't necessarily have to vanish altogether. "Ah ta!" he called happily to Ken.
"I love you too, Ran", Ken beamed, Ran's inabilty to speak a non issue for him.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Do you think my brother will ever forgive me?" Aya asked, blowing her nose into a tissue.
"I don't doubt it at all. After all, he almost died for you before", Schuldig reasoned, handing Aya a fresh tissue. And let's not forget what he did for..." He looked away, realizing he shouldn't have said any more.
"I know! Look what happened to him as a result! And how do I thank him? I compare him to a helpless baby!" Aya broke down into loud sobs. Schuldig put an arm around her, looking around red-faced at passersby and attempting to shush the woman.
Finally, when Aya had gotten the tears out of her system, she looked up at Schu and asked "Where has Omi been? I haven't seen him in several days, and Yoji started to tell me something, but then-"
"You don't need to know about that now. After all you've been through, you're better off kept in the dark about this."Schuldig told her carefully.
"Well, now I KNOW something is wrong, and I know it's bad. How do you expect me not to get upset?! Tell me what happened!" Aya demanded.
"Aya-"
"TELL ME!!!"
"Fine." Schuldig sighed. "Just remember, you asked for it."
"Get on with it!" Aya groaned.
"Omi..." Schuldig held his hands together. It looked like he was trying to comfort himself. "Omi..."
"Omi what?" Aya was dreading every word, but she knew she had to hear this.
"Omi committed suicide."
