Goraku

Chapter Five

Bugnuks already released and ready to find a target, Ken treaded lightly across the catwalk fifteen feet above the studio floor, selecting a spot to start handing out the punishment from. He could barely distinguish the red of Aya's hair from the crimson blood that covered the bound and blindfolded man. How Aya could possibly keep from screaming was something Ken could not fathom. The sadistic woman using Aya's katana to slowly carve him up licked his blood from one of her delicate hands, moaning throatily, as if it were some kind of turn on. Ken nearly threw up.

The spectators seemed extremely happy with the way their impromptu seppuku was playing out, although he could hear some grumbling about it moving too slowly. Ken singled out one of them to kill first. Jumping down from the catwalk, he hit the man with a bone-crushing force, allowing the target to absorb all of the impact. The people around him watched in shock as he slashed the man's throat with his claw, stood, and turned to face them.

Though they were probably more familiar with death than Ken himself, the studio crew of Saoshin Productions were not fighters in the least. Ken dispatched five out of the twenty people in the room before most of them knew what was happening. Diving forward to put himself between them and Aya, Ken quickly hacked at the cheap metal of the handcuffs and caught the redhead as he pitched forward.

"Abyssinian, can you hear me?"

"Ken?" Aya's voice barely registered as a whisper. Ken shushed him and took off the blindfold, revealing disoriented, feverish eyes. The biggest shock was the tears that fell from them as they closed in unconsciousness. Ken's insides clenched with anger.

"Hang on, okay? I'm going to get you out of here." Ken murmured as he laid Aya on the floor before rising and brandishing his claw at the people around them. One of them charged from the left, and Ken just let him run straight into the claw before twisting the blades and shoving the corpse aside.

Despite his fighting spirit and training, Ken found himself extremely outnumbered. He could not leave Aya alone and defenseless, otherwise he would have launched head first into the crowd. The only way to keep his promise to the redhead would be to stay with him. On a whim, he picked up Aya's discarded katana and held it in front of him, swinging it awkwardly at one of the crewmembers that got too close.

The blade connected with the man's leg, and the angle of impact nearly bent Ken's wrist completely backward. Hissing in pain, he pulled the blade backward and grit his teeth as he began to wish he had come to Saoshin with some kind of plan.

The feeling of dread increased as he heard a gunshot go off. He looked around quickly, wondering who was going to be the one to shoot him.

- - - - -

The gunshots startled everyone on the studio floor, including the man she had come to help. Ken looked up at her with wide eyes. "Manx!"

Wordlessly, the redheaded woman fired into the diminished crowd, falling at least five more people before her clip ran out. For his own part, Ken discarded Aya's sword and lashed out fully at the remaining attackers, killing them all. "Where are the others?"

"They're back at the shop, waiting for you."

"And Fujiyuri?"

With a reproachful smile, Manx shook her head. "You should know better than to doubt your team mates' abilities."

Ken beamed and tossed something in her direction. Catching it easily, Manx found it to be the trigger for the charges that still adorned the pillars of the studio. It had already been pushed. They had a little less than five minutes to get out. Ken turned from her, focusing on moving the bleeding and battered Aya. Gently, he picked up the redhead, though visibly staggering under the weight of the older man, and headed for the stairs. Manx left the catwalk and descended to the floor in order to give him a hand.

"Using Aya's katana when you have no training. Smart thinking Ken." Manx said wryly as she slung Aya's other limp arm over her shoulder. She and Ken raced to climb the stairs and clear the building before it went up.

The embarrassed blush crept up on the brunette's face as they kept running. "I didn't have much at my disposal."

"How were you planning on getting back to the shop?" Manx asked, and was granted nothing but petulant silence in return. "You didn't have a plan at all when you went in, did you?" Despite their current situation and Aya's condition, Manx could not help finding the boy's actions amusing. She allowed herself the first laughter she had had in a week, much to Ken's dismay.

"I'm not the one who makes the plans, okay?" He snapped shakily over her chuckling. "If something needs to be done, I do it."

"Very admirable, Ken." Manx grunted as Ken shoved Aya's unconscious body completely in her arms as he opened the door to the first floor exit. She struggled under the dead weight and had to half drag the redhead out into the expansive lobby. For a moment, she caught the brunette's gaze and wiped the blood off his cheek with the back of her hand. "What would come of all that heroism if you'd both been killed?"

Ken seemed unable to answer her, and with downcast eyes, pulled Aya onto his back and started to run for the door. Manx followed, the charge release her hand reading t-minus one minute, thirty seconds.

Once outside the building, Manx directed Ken to her car and the two of them managed to settle Aya in the backseat and leave the building behind just as a huge explosion rocked the whole street. Twisting around in his seat, Ken watched the Saoshin building burn with a blank expression. From the corner of her eye, Manx caught the relief seep into the teal eyes that looked from the flames to Aya in the backseat then back up again. When he spoke, Manx had to strain to hear him.

"Mission accomplished."

Keeping her eyes on the road, she reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. She was proud of Weiß's performance on this mission, proud of how they protective they had become of each other, and she was proud of the ridiculously careless man next to her for not letting anyone make their lives seem less than what they were worth.

The world was not a wonderful place; that was true. But the dark beasts had not completely taken over yet.

END


Weiß Kreuz is the property of Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß.