Force of Habit: Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: If I were in the habit of giving these chapters names instead of numbers, I would probably have titled this one as 'Schuldig finally gets his' or possibly 'hindsight is 20:20'. In related news, this is the penultimate episode so also your final chance to sort out your theories on Yohji's mysterious power – all will be revealed in the finale. Oh yeah, and I finally overcame my innate repressed British nature. Yay me, but I also got a little carried away with dramatic devices towards the end so when you encounter two scenes that are inter-cut with each other, just try your best to follow the action. I'm sorry if it's hard, I appear to have seen too many trashy movies lately.

"Wundert euch aber nur nicht, ihr Menschen, wenn es dann immer ganz anders kommt, als man gemeint hat. Die tückische Macht, die lauert, uns zu verderben, singt ihr auserkomes Opfer gern mit süssen Liedern und goldnen Märchen in den Schlaf. Dagegen pocht der rettende Himmelsbote oftmals scharf und erschreckend an unsere Tür."

But do not then wonder if in the end, it all turns out quite differently than one had planned. The treacherous power that lurks, in wait to destroy us, enjoys singing its intended victims to sleep with sweet songs and golden fairy tales. Contrastingly, the messenger from Heaven who arrives to save us often knocks loudly and frighteningly at our door.        FOUQUÉ

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Idly swinging her legs over the edge of the balcony, Mika raised the egg timer until it was directly in front of her eyes. Flipping it over, the teenager watched the flow of sand with an unhappy expression. Gradually the flow of sand slowed, until coming to what seemed like a virtual halt, a glittering thread that stretched from one half of the shaped glass to the other. Her eyes narrowed further.

"You could practise all you wanted, ma petite, but not even you could reverse the flow of time."

Mika started somewhat guiltily, only managing to retain both egg timer and her balance by quick application of her reflexes. Pulling herself back onto the balcony properly, the Japanese teenager turned to glare at the Frenchman who stood behind her. "Are you deliberately trying to kill me?"

Pan laughed and moved closer to reach the girl's side. "Of course not. But I do like to keep you on your toes."

Mika snorted and draped herself over the metal railing that formed the safety guard on the ledge. Toying with the egg timer again, Mika blinked when it was gently removed from her grip.

"Something appears to be troubling you, ma petite." Pan smiled down at her sympathetically. "Would it not help to share this problem?"

With a sigh, Mika turned to regard her companion. "I just keep thinking about Yue and this new personality he has. Do you think he likes being Yohji more than he liked being Yue?"

Pan shrugged. "It's not my place to say, but I imagine both bring their own problems. Either must be better than Void, though. I can't imagine what it must have been like to experience so many years with no real control over one's actions."

Mika made a sound of agreement as her face took on a thoughtful cast. "That's another thing I've always wondered about. Why do you think they picked that name for him?"

The man beside her paused in thought, his grey eyes locked on a distant location. "From what I remember, it was taken from the words of Arachne just after the incident occurred. She said something along the lines of with what was effectively Yue erased from our lives, void was all that remained."

The teenager considered this before pulling a face. "That's not quite what I meant. I meant why 'Void'? Why give him an English name? Sascha wasn't named 'Guilty'; he was called 'Schuldig'. Why not use the Japanese word for 'Void'? Or even the German?" Mika paused for a moment, her face wrinkling in thought. "How would you translate 'Void' into German anyway?"

Pan shrugged. "I'm French, not German. And I suppose they just liked the sound of it in English or something inconsequential like that."

"I wonder," Mika muttered, mainly to herself. She visibly pulled herself away from that train of thought and grinned at the elder Hunt member. "Speaking of names, why don't I have a cool codename?"

Pan rolled his eyes. "We're not superheroes, we're assassins. Maybe we're waiting until you realise that and stop trying to name yourself after Stan Lee characters."

"Would Neil Gaiman characters be okay then? David Mack? Alan Moore?"

The Frenchman groaned and let his head fall forwards into his folded arms. Suddenly he raised his head and turned to face the stairwell with an intent expression. Mika noticed his changed demeanour and frowned. "What is it?"

The blond barely glanced at her. "Trouble. Legion's on his way."

Mika groaned, but there was no real annoyance in the gesture. "Why does this always happen on the nights I plan to stay in and watch TV?"

Pan looked as though he was about to respond when the door banged open to reveal Legion. The Scot glanced at the two Hunt members and then beckoned them over. "Come on. Arachne's sent her wee minions. Odin wants us to find the itsy bitsy spiders and wash the fuckers oot."

Pan rolled his eyes. "Such a charming way with words, mon ami."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The manner in which the Esset elders were inspecting their latest acquisition made Crawford glad that he'd managed to send Schuldig on sufficient tasks to keep him out of the way. Despite the fact that Schwarz still had a couple of days to prevent the German's apparent death, the three Europeans were already planning things without the inclusion of the redhead. It made Crawford suspicious that something of vital importance was being kept from him, but he refused to let himself dwell on those thoughts. Primarily because he had to focus on the more immediate task of dealing with three very powerful and dangerous men, but also because he was extremely uncomfortable about how worried these thoughts made him.

Dragging himself back to the present, Crawford was just in time to notice another of those smug, shared glances the elders were taking such delight in. With a distinct look of satisfaction on his features, Gil-Martin stepped forwards and nodded curtly at the American. "The girl should wake up within the next twenty-four hours. Once she is alert, you are to begin training her at your leisure. A search of her background reveals some knowledge of martial arts as well as an indication of what could be undeveloped empathic powers. As with Naoe, Fujimiya will be permitted to stay within this group provided you feel capable of teaching her the required discipline."

Janus moved up to flank the telepath. "I must admit; your powers of foresight have even impressed me."

Crawford frowned, choosing to ignore that somewhat cryptic statement in favour of a more disturbing aspect of Gil-Martin's speech. "You want me to train the girl? Surely Schuldig would be a more appropriate choice. Empathy has far more in common with telepathy than pre-cognition after all."

Another of the shared glances. When Gil-Martin spoke, the amusement in his voice was undeniable. "We thought you had foreseen that particular aspect judging by your actions. Schuldig will not be present to train the girl, therefore you must take on that role."

Crawford's features began to form what would have developed into a snarl, had he not caught himself in time. The gesture did not pass unnoticed however, and seemed to only add to the elders' amusement. Crawford felt his sense of disquiet increasing and silently cursed the redheaded German who was making him behave in such an uncharacteristic manner. "I feel obliged to point out that Void has not yet shot my colleague, therefore allowing the continuing possibility of altering that course of events."

Janus nodded his head. "That may be true, but regardless of the outcome of your encounter with Void, we feel that Schuldig's sense of rebellion and general uncontrollable attitude has passed the point which we consider acceptable. We plan for him to return to Germany with us, leaving behind his replacement; the girl Aya."

"Schuldig is still a useful asset to Schwarz," Crawford blurted out without even pausing to think over his words. "I've never found his attitude to endanger missions."

The elders paused to look amongst themselves once more and Crawford gritted his teeth at the increasingly annoying gesture. Finally, Melmoth turned to offer Crawford a false smile. "If that is indeed the case, then we will require some form of proof. Capturing Void and re-integrating him into Schwarz should be sufficient."

The American paused for a moment, sensing a trap but unable to identify it. Lacking any other option, he inclined his head curtly. "Done"

Any reply the elders may have deemed to give was lost as Schuldig chose that exact moment to barge into the apartment with his usual disregard for common courtesy. "Oi, o mighty leader, I'm back. Unless you have some more pointless tasks for me…" Finally coming within view of the elders, the German pulled to an abrupt halt. There was a moment's pause, then his usual smirk spread across his features and Schuldig lounged into a more relaxed stance against the wall. "Well that'll teach me not to scan the place before I enter. To what do we owe this pleasure? Planning my funeral arrangements? If I'm allowed a request, I always thought Green Day's 'Good Riddance' would be an amusing choice as I'm sent into the flames."

The elders pursed their lips as one and began to file out of the apartment. Melmoth lingered long enough to turn to Crawford and fix him with a chilling glare. "I suggest you keep our words in mind, Crawford. You have less than forty-eight hours."

No sooner had the door slammed shut than a furious Crawford rounded on the still lounging German. "You little idiot! What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

Blinking in surprise, Schuldig raised his hands. "Calm down, Crawford. I'm just enjoying my final few hours. Let a dying man have a little fun."

Crawford crossed the distance between them in a time that even the telepath's reflexes would have been hard pressed to beat. Slamming his hands onto the wall either side of Schuldig's still stunned face, Crawford leaned in close enough to feel the other man's breath on his skin. "Stop saying that," the American snarled. "You're not going to die. I'm not going to let that happen."

Schuldig opened his mouth as if to respond, but let it close again silently as his green eyes studied Crawford's face that was so near his own. The pair stood like that for what seemed like an eternity before Schuldig spoke cautiously, in a hesitant voice that was a million miles from his usual cocky tones. "You're really concerned for me, aren't you?" When Crawford made no response, the German slowly raised a hand to brush against the American's cheek. "Brad?"

Crawford jerked away as though stung, spinning on his heel and marching away from Schuldig. "Let me know when you're sufficiently out of your self-pity to start doing something about this situation. Until then just keep the hell away from me." As he stalked away from the German, Crawford fought hard to keep his thoughts and feelings under control. A thought had just occurred to him: a possible method of saving the other man's life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A low whistle from Legion diverted Mika and Pan's attention away from the unfolding domestic drama in one of the apartment windows opposite. Moving over to where the Scot huddled, crouched against the concrete edging of the roof, both other Hunt members were instantly able to pick out the two black-clad gaijin in the street below. Mika made a small snort of disgust. "Haven't these guys ever heard of camouflage? I thought they were supposed to blend in."

Legion rolled his eyes. "It makes our job easier, don't complain."

Pan inspected the figures with an expression of distaste. "I've always disliked Weavers. Are we to get them to talk first or just dispose of them?"

A slow grin spread across the Scot's pale face. "Well, I was always told no' tae play with my food, but maybe just once willnae hurt."

Pan smirked. "In that case, Mika, would you care to do the honours? We'll need enough time to get down unnoticed."

Mika pulled a handful of sand from her pocket. "You planning on heading down direct or taking the scenic route?"

"Let's save the scenic route for when we have guests. Direct will do fine."

Both men reached out to grab onto the younger girl as she began to let the grains of sand flow through her fingers. Then all three simply stepped over the side of the building. The effect of Mika's concentration caused the air around them to feel thick and sluggish, making their downward drift more reminiscent of a parachute jump than the freefall it actually was. They hit the ground only metres behind their unknowing targets, automatically falling into a low crouch as Mika let the last of the sand drift from her grasp and time reassumed its normal course.

The two targets may not have noticed the swift descent of the Hunt members, but they were fast enough in reacting to their landing. Spinning around to face the newcomers, both of the darkly dressed foreigners pulled guns from some concealed point on their persons. Without any hesitation, the duo opened fire.

The three Hunt members immediately broke apart and scattered to either side of the street. While Legion removed one of his gloves in order to place his bare hand upon the concrete road surface, Pan stretched out towards the two armed men. For a moment nothing seemed to be happening, then the grip of one of the men faltered, as he raised a hand to his head. Stumbling away from his colleague, the man shook his head rapidly, as if trying to clear it.

His companion noticed the problems being experienced by the other half of his group, but was soon forced to turn his attention back to the ground in front of him. A thick white mist was beginning to snake across the street, slowly rising into the air as the temperature visibly dropped. His breath formed small clouds with each exhalation and a crystalline covering of frost began to develop on his weapon. Glancing to the side where his cohort had staggered, the man realised that the mist had abruptly grown thicker, and now seemed to contain what could almost be described as moving shapes within it. No doubt suspecting the forms of being the Hunt members, the man brought his gun to bear on one of the nearest and fired off a shot.

The bullet passed through the mist, cutting a small tunnel of clear air that was rapidly once again swallowed up. This time however, the cloying white fog seemed more substantial than ever. The hairs on the back of the man's neck prickled and as he strained his ears to locate the three enemy assassins, he became aware of what sounded like voices, speaking just a fraction too quietly for him to hear. Unable to work out why his hands were suddenly shaking, the man was quite unprepared for the swift blow to the back of the neck that sent him tumbling to the ground. His still-confused companion followed moments later and Mika's voice was heard to ring out clearly. "Okay, Legion. That's enough."

Abruptly, the mist dispersed, revealing Mika and Pan standing over the two prostrate forms. Bending down, Mika gently brushed back the dark hair to reveal the nape of the neck and the kanji tattooed there. "Now here're a couple of spiders that won't be weaving any more webs."

Pulling his glove back on Legion snorted. "So, any particular suggestions?"

Pan nudged the man by him with his foot. "A certain amusing idea is developing. At the very least, even if they don't talk, it'll be fun to watch them panic."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yohji tried to concentrate on the film that was flickering on the television in front of him, but his eyes kept straying to the ceiling. Ran was still in his room, the man had barely come out over the past few days and the blond was pretty sure it wasn't going to change anytime soon. The redhead was taking his sister's death hard and seemed to feel that shutting the rest of the world out for a couple of days was somehow going to help matters. It was vaguely reminiscent of a while back when Yohji had first discovered his past hadn't been quite what he'd been led to believe. Of course, back then Ran had been fairly determined to try and patch things up, even at the risk of severely pissing Yohji off. Chewing on his lip, Yohji rose to his feet and began to make his way towards Ran's room. Thinking about it like that, it only seemed fair to try and repay the favour.

Foregoing the traditionally considered polite knock, Yohji chose to simply try the door. He was still surprised, however, to find it unlocked and eased it open, keeping alert for any protective counter-measures that could result in the loss of limbs or life. None were immediately forthcoming, so the blond stepped into the interior, shutting the door behind him.

Ran's room was immaculately neat and ordered, that much Yohji expected. What took him by surprise was the complete lack of any personal touches whatsoever. The room was without photos, pictures, anything that might offer some suggestion as to the occupant's personality. The layout might be tasteful and worthy of an interior-decorating magazine, but despite that the room felt completely barren. Yohji felt an inexplicable surge of anger at the thought of Ran spending so much time in this place alone.

The redhead in question was sat on the window ledge, absorbed in reading a book with an anonymous cover that could have been anything from history to a cookbook. He glanced up at Yohji's entrance and frowned. "I thought I locked that."

Yohji refused to let the lack of enthusiasm for his presence put him off. "You must have forgotten."

"Oh." Ran turned his attention pointedly back to his book. "Be sure to lock it on your way out then."

The request didn't seem particularly arduous, and Ran had forgotten to include an important detail. Yohji felt a distinct smirk spread across his face as he nodded easily. "Sure."

Some time passed. Ran turned the page of his book and then glanced up at the blond who was still stood in the centre of his room. "You appear to be on the wrong side of the door, Yohji."

Yohji shook his head and watched with a certain amount of amusement as Ran's face creased into a frown. "I'm on the same side as you. You want me out of your room, you have to leave too."

Ran turned another page of his book with barely concealed irritation. "Stop playing games and tell me what you want Yohji."

"Do you really think sitting alone up here and brooding will solve anything?"

Ran's glare darkened. "You seemed to find it a suitable past-time not too long ago."

Yohji snorted, refusing to rise to the bait. "And who refused to pay any attention and wouldn't let me sulk and generally wallow in self-pity?"

The redhead looked positively affronted. "I do not wallow."

Yohji chose not to comment and instead made his way across the room to sit opposite Ran. The redhead had become totally still, so Yohji gently reached out and eased the book from Ran's hands, closing it and placing it on the floor. The paler man stared out of the window, resolutely refusing to meet the green gaze. With a sigh, Yohji reached out again and gently brushed back some stray crimson strands from Ran's face.

The redhead tensed at the touch, as gentle as it was and closed his eyes. Yet he made no move to jerk away, so Yohji let his fingers softly trace their way back along the other man's cheekbone until he was cupping Ran's cheek. Exerting no real force, Yohji turned the smaller man's face towards his own and found the task easier than he'd been expecting. Abandoning the playful tones for something more serious, Yohji broke the silence between them once more. "Why won't you talk to me about this?"

Ran's shoulders slumped slightly, a sure sign of defeat that was proven when the redhead opened his eyes to look at Yohji with a gaze of amethyst that seemed infinitely lost. "It's not your problem. I don't want you to get involved in something that you can't do anything about."

Yohji used his thumb to gently stroke the other man's cheek, noting how Ran almost seemed to lean into the gesture. "It's Aya, isn't it? You somehow feel responsible for what happened to her."

Ran's breath caught in something close to a sob, but the redhead had more control than to let it pass his lips. Blinking, he lowered his gaze from Yohji, but made no effort to turn back to the window. Slowly, haltingly, Ran began to speak in a voice so quiet Yohji had to strain to hear him despite his close proximity. "After the accident, I thought I could pay for treatment with the money my parents had saved. But the government seized all of the accounts and I had nothing. I was training to be a doctor, but was far from being able to earn any real money. And all I could think about were Aya and revenge. When Manx offered to pay for Aya's care in return for joining her organisation, I didn't even stop to think. I thought I was helping Aya; that I could live with the murder as I was ultimately helping save a life. But belonging to Kritiker is what got Aya killed and all I have left is the knowledge that I barely stop to consider what I'm doing these days. Who I'm killing. How many other lives I'm ruining."

Unable to think of a response, Yohji simply pulled Ran towards him and embraced the other man tightly. The redhead sagged against his chest, exhaling a deep and somewhat shaky breath. Pale white hands hesitantly made their way around Yohji's shoulders to return the embrace as Ran began to speak again. "I have dreams about her," he confessed. "I did even before, but now they're different. She won't listen to me; she tells me that she hates me. That I failed her as a brother and I should be made to pay." His voice dropped even lower. "That I don't deserve anyone else and that I'll always be alone."

"Then fucking stop shutting me out," Yohji exclaimed, tightening his embrace to take the sting out of his words. "How can you be anything but alone when you won't let anyone close to you?"

Ran turned his head to brush against Yohji's collarbone in that unconscious gesture that made the blond struggle for control. "You'll leave me. I'm a killer…"

Unable to listen to the torrent of self-abuse any longer, Yohji simply reached down and pressed his lips firmly against Ran's. The redhead paused for a moment in surprise, but thankfully took the hint to shut up and instead returned the kiss. He opened his mouth to Yohji, drawing the blond's tongue in with something approaching urgency. In response, Yohji moved closer to Ran, pulling the slender form tight against his own.

With a swiftness that almost caused Yohji to break off the kiss, Ran pushed the blond back hard into the corner where the glass of the window met the cool wall and all but climbed into the other man's lap. As Yohji fought to keep his thoughts in order, he became aware of hands making their way inside his shirt with one clear intent. As Ran's fingers brushed against Yohji's nipple, the blond positively arched into the redhead. He felt Ran's smile against his lips and set about returning the favour by separating the redhead from his shirt as quickly as possible. Once rid of the garment, Yohji broke off the kiss in order to lather some attention on the pale expanse of flesh in front of him.

Ran's hands pressed roughly into Yohji's chest as the pale man panted for breath. Already grinding his hips against Yohji's, Ran set about pulling off his companion's shirt. When that failed to win back any ground for the redhead, Ran simply continued to drag his fingers down; across the golden, toned abdomen and dipping down under the waistband of the blond's suddenly too tight pants.

That caused a reaction. Yohji broke off from tormenting a nipple with his extremely talented tongue to gasp at the sensation. Heavy-lidded eyes of emerald met Ran's equally lustful gaze and the blond slowly reached back up to reclaim the other man's mouth, paying particular attention to the kiss swollen lips. Ran returned the gesture, but continued his assault on Yohji's lower body, drawing open the blond man's pants and freeing his raging erection. As Yohji sighed at the release of what had been an increasing discomfort, Ran adjusted his straddling position slightly and drew one of Yohji's hands towards his mouth where he insistently began to suck and tease on the older man's digits; swirling his tongue around them and giving the occasional playful nip.

Yohji groaned, unable to keep silent any longer and used his free hand to attack the loose black pants that Fujimiya still wore. The redhead was very compliant, and between the two of them, they were able to remove the annoying article of clothing very quickly. It was with some amusement that the blond noticed a complete lack of underwear on the redhead; Ran had never particularly struck him as the type to go commando, but he wasn't complaining about this piece of luck. It meant one less layer to be removed.

Letting Ran rise up above him to help with access, Yohji pulled his fingers from Ran's mouth and reached to gently caress the tiny pucker of flesh between the toned cheeks of Ran's arse. Gently, in order to alleviate as much of the inevitable pain as possible, Yohji eased one finger past the tight ring of muscle and worked to loosen the constricting grip. Feeling a lessening of tension in the area, Yohji added a second finger and let the digits brush against the other man's prostate.

Ran let out a wordless exclamation and thrust himself back against the fingers, trying to increase the speed with which Yohji was moving inside him. Withdrawing in order to add a third finger, Yohji watched in rapt attention, as Ran's eyes fell closed and the redhead chose instead to focus all his attention on the sensations he was experiencing. Feeling the redhead was now ready, Yohji removed his hand completely and guided the other man's pale hips to where Ran was positioned above Yohji's hard and weeping cock.

Feeling the first brush of the blond's cock against his entrance, Ran pushed himself down hard, forcing as much of the organ into him as possible. Yohji cried out at the tight, warm sensation that was enveloping his cock, and buried his face in the juncture of Ran's neck to muffle the sound. His cock twitched and Yohji tightened his grip on Ran's hips, intent on starting a rhythm.

Changing his angle slightly, Ran brought himself back down causing Yohji's cock to brush firmly against his prostate. Mimicking the other man's gesture, Ran too buried his face in Yohji's neck to quieten the moans that were spilling unchecked from his lips. The two moved against each other with increasing frequency, until Yohji felt himself beginning to lose control and released one hand from its hold on the redhead's hip to instead grasp the other man's dripping erection. Trying to keep his thoughts together enough for his new task, Yohji began to pump in time with his increasingly ragged thrusts.

Ran came first in a gasping explosion that seemed to sap the redhead of all strength. He collapsed against the blond, moaning in satisfaction as Yohji climaxed moments later and stilled beneath him. Neither of the men spoke, too concerned with bringing their panting breath under control. Finally Ran raised his head from its resting place on Yohji's shoulder and caught the other man's mouth in a soft kiss, their lips barely brushing over each other. Yohji raised a shaky hand to brush back the dark red bangs that had stuck to Ran's face and let his hand simply rest amongst the soft hair. As Ran slowly pulled back from the kiss, Yohji offered the man a radiant smile. "Do you really think after something like that, I have any intention of leaving you?"

Ran eyed the other man carefully, before snorting gently and lowering himself back into Yohji's waiting embrace. "Idiot," he muttered with no real anger. "As if that was the only reason for it."

Yohji's grin widened and he fought back a laugh. "Well I knew you wouldn't be able to resist my gorgeous body much longer, but it was still a hell of a way to make a point." Brushing the crimson hair some more, Yohji placed a kiss onto the crown of Ran's head and gathered up the man in his arms. "You seem exhausted, recent activity notwithstanding. Let's get you into bed; you need to sleep."

Ran mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a protest, but he didn't resist being carried over to his bed. Yohji arranged the man so he seemed comfortable, then stepped out of his pants and joined the redhead in bed, pulling Ran in close to his body. Ran opened bleary eyes at the movement, looking somewhat confused. "What are you doing, Kudoh?" he mumbled.

Yohji smiled and pressed another kiss against the man's forehead. "I said I wasn't going to leave and I meant it. Now get some sleep."

A faint smile flickered over the redhead's face as he complied.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The elder of the two Weavers, a heavy-set man of around forty, was the first to reclaim his senses. Upon finding himself suspended in a darkened area by a multitude of lines, he immediately turned his gaze to the three Hunt members who were currently illuminated by a circle of candles inside of which they were sitting. Legion was the first to notice the man's change in state and a slow, humourless smile spread across his pale face. "Oh the tangled webs we weave, eh? Makes a wee bit of a change tae be the one caught up in the threads, doon' it?"

The weaver chose not to respond, instead turning his attention to his immediate surroundings. The air had that particular quality that comes from being underground, and there was a distinct lack of any air movement, leaving the place muggy and uncomfortable. Movement directly in front of him caused the Weaver to squint in that direction. His eyes now rapidly adjusting to the gloom, the man was able to make out the shape of his fellow Weaver, bound and suspended in an identical manner. The other man was straining desperately at his restraints, intent on somehow freeing himself.

Back inside the flickering candlelit circle, Pan smiled. "It would appear that your colleague is in possession of slightly better night vision. Do you think that asking him a few questions would be more successful?"

At that moment there came a loud rumbling from somewhere above. Both Weavers stilled as the sound of screeching metal echoed from a distant point, accompanied by a gust of hot and heavy air that caused the candles to flicker violently. Mika glanced down at the flames and sighed. "Not long now."

Turning to the younger of the two Weavers, Pan smiled disarmingly. "Alors, where are my manners? I don't believe I've learnt either of your names yet. What should I call you?"

There was a moment of silence as Pan and the younger Weaver fought a war of glares. Finally, the suspended man sighed and looked away sullenly. "Weber. And he's Faden."

Mika giggled. "I just love the names they come up with." She fell quiet again after a warning glare from Pan.

Taking over from his French colleague, Legion stepped forwards and addressed both captive men. "Okay gents, here's the deal. You tell us exactly what your orders from Arachne were and we give you a quick and merciful death. Bullet through the brain." To illustrate his point, Legion waved one of the guns taken from the two Weavers at the pair. "Can't get fairer than that."

The younger Weaver snorted indignantly at the offer. "What the fuck kind of a deal is that?" he exclaimed in a voice that dripped sarcasm. "Why would we be tempted by some lame offer like that?"

His colleague sighed. "Weber, you're overlooking the obvious. That is supposed to be the appealing option. So if that's the carrot, imagine what the stick is."

Pan clapped his hands together. "Exactly! But perhaps the other alternative on offer needs a little illumination. Mika, if you would be so kind?"

With a nod, the youngest Hunt member stepped out of the circle and all but vanished into the gloom. Her footsteps could be heard ringing against a surface that sounded vaguely like concrete and echoed strangely in the darkness, suggesting an enclosed space of unusual dimensions. There was a brief clanking sound of reluctant metal moving, and then a low humming noise as a generator somewhere began to whir into action. Temporary lights flickered into action to reveal an empty underground station obviously in the middle of renovation works. Both Weavers were hung directly in front of the entrance to the tunnel, which emitted another low rumble of a nearby train.

"As you can both clearly see, this particular station is currently closed – hence the temporary generator powered lights and general thick layer of dust. Trains do not stop but instead continue straight through to the next station along, picking up considerable speed I might add. The next scheduled train passes through in just under five minutes so I suggest you get talking." Pan paused in his speech and then smiled again. "So let's start with an easy question; what have you been sent to do?"

"It can't be anything to do with Yue, you bastards can't influence his fate," Mika mused as she made her way back to rejoin the other two Hunt members. "So just who is your target?"

Another rumble; this time accompanied by another blast of air and the squeal of metal wheels against the tracks sent the younger Weaver into something approaching panic. "We're not here for Void. We're here to ensure that the telepath returns to Rosenkreuz."

"Sascha?" Mika exclaimed almost involuntarily. "What made them decide to recall Sascha?"

"With Void removed from the group dynamic Schuldig would have become increasingly rebellious, ultimately leading the entire group away from Esset."

"I'm beginning to detect just how the little redhead may have pissed those old coots off," Pan remarked dryly. He studied the young Weaver appraisingly. "And just how are you to ensure this particular little plot thread?"

The rumbling of the approaching train was growing louder, causing Weber to raise his voice in order to be heard. "We have to prevent the Oracle from gaining an uninterrupted vision of what will happen. He's the key. He's the one who will cause Mastermind to seek death."

"You're trying to set them up?" Mika made a sound of disgust. "And just how do you intend for Crawford to screw over Sascha?" There was a moment's silence, then the girl's eyes widened. "Oh my god…" Spinning away from the two suspended men, Mika began to hurry towards the platform exit. "We have to leave now. We have to get to Crawford and stop him from being a completely insensitive moron."

Legion laughed. "You're about twenty years too late there." Sighing, he glanced over to Pan and passed the Frenchman one of the purloined weapons. "We got what we came for, let the arachnid have his reward."

Pan nodded and levelled the gun at the younger Weaver. A shot ran out and the man's body twitched before falling completely still. The Frenchman regarded his work for a moment and then turned to face the still silent Faden. "We have to go now, mon ami. By the way, I'd watch out for the light at the end of the tunnel if I were you."

The trio crossed the platform and switched off the lights, leaving the remaining Weaver with only the flickering candles as a source of light. As the train approached, another blast of air caused the flames to flicker violently and blew all but two of them out. Straining at his bonds, the man became aware of a growing light casting his shadow upon the tracks that stretched out in front of him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw an approaching light that was rapidly growing in size.

The three Hunt members paused as a brief scream rang out, that was cut off sharply and replaced by the screeching of brakes. Legion shook his head and continued on his way to the surface. "Now there's one bitch of a cleaning job for the morning shift."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Opening her eyes seemed to bring a wealth of information that she wasn't ready to take in. With a faint frown, Aya closed her eyes again and tried to take in as much non-visual information as possible.  Warm sunlight on her skin; soft cotton sheets that were of far too high a quality to be from a hospital; likewise a soft mattress and complete lack of the strong antiseptic smell of a ward. Instead there was the faint scent of cigarettes and the sound of a television playing nearby. Aya opened her eyes again.

A familiar face that she never thought she'd see in the waking world greeted her. "Morning Schätzchen. 'Told you I'd get you out of that boring hospital, didn't I?"

Aya's face broke into a delighted smile at the sight of the redhead lounging at the foot of her bed. "Sascha! How …"

Raising a finger, the German winked at her in a conspicuous gesture. "Sorry, Schätzchen, but around here I go by the codename Schuldig. Can't have everybody getting to find out my real name now, can we? You can still call me Sascha, of course, but just when I know there's no one around to listen in."

Eyes wide, Aya nodded her agreement. "Why do you need a codename?"

Schuldig laughed and leaned in closer. "Ever read comics? All superheroes need a codename." He paused as if in consideration and then snapped his fingers together. "In fact, now that you're here with us, we'll have to come up with something cool to call you. See if you can think of anything, but don't rush it. This is a name you're going to be stuck with."

Aya nodded and immediately began to cast about for a name that she could use. It was while she was thinking that a tall, dark-haired man with glasses entered the room. Aya started in surprise at the unfamiliar face and clutched nervously at the sheets. Schuldig noticed her discomfort and turned to the newcomer with a roll of his eyes. "Would it kill you to crack a smile, Crawford? You're making our guest feel unwelcome."

The man turned to look at Schuldig with a face that was carefully kept free of any readable expression before glancing back at Aya and inclining his head politely. "I am Crawford. It's good to finally see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Aya blinked in surprise at the man's measured tones before a smile broke out across her face. "I'm fine," she replied before adding with a giggle. "You remind me of my brother."

Schuldig sniggered and waved a hand at Crawford dismissively when the man glared at him. "Oh relax, it's a compliment."

"Hn," Crawford responded and turned his attention back to the girl on the bed. "If you find you need anything while you are settling in here, please do not hesitate to ask. My other colleagues, who will no doubt introduce themselves soon, and I would be only to happy to help."

Aya smiled warmly at the man. "Thank you Crawford. That's very kind of you."

Crawford nodded his head again and left the room. Aya promptly dissolved into delighted laughter. "Oh my god! He's like Ran with glasses!"

Schuldig watched the girl with amusement. "I take that to mean his whole emotionless façade is a complete waste of time with you around? How interesting. I've never met anyone who could interpret that man. This should be fun."

The pair shared another conspiratorial look before breaking out into laughter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Warm breath playing along the nape of his neck was threatening to stir him into wakefulness. Ran frowned and buried his face deeper into the pillows, aware of a low laugh as the source of heat beside him stirred. Long, graceful fingers began to comb through his crimson bangs, gently tugging at the strands in an effort to affect some kind of response. "Come on beautiful, I know you're awake." Determined not to respond to the voice, Ran continued to turn his face into the cool cotton.

Another quiet laugh as the body beside him shifted once more, the redistribution of weight causing the mattress to roll Ran's body against a naked form and the awaiting embrace. Skilled hands swept a teasing trail down the redhead's side and over his stomach as a pair of warm lips brushed against Ran's neck and along his jaw-line to his ear. A small moan escaped the pale man almost involuntarily and he felt the chest he leant against shake in an amused chuckle. "No use pretending to sleep, Ran." Teeth skimmed his ear lobe, gently tugging on the elegant earring embedded there. "You're fooling no one." To emphasise the point, the hand resting against his stomach swept lower, causing Ran to gasp.

Giving in at last, Ran opened his eyes and turned to meet the amused green gaze of the man who lay next to him. Long, waves of honey blond hair were shaken away from his partner's face as he smiled warmly at the silent redhead. "Good morning beautiful."

"Yohji," Ran acknowledged with a vague frown.

Seeing the expression on his lover's face, the blond rolled his eyes in exasperation. "What kind of a greeting is that?" Moving in closer to the smaller man, Yohji nuzzled against the side of his neck. "And here I was thinking you were a morning person."

Rolling onto his back, Ran glared up at the man who now leaned over him in a manner that was clearly meant to be intimidating. "You cannot be expecting sex again, Yohji," the redhead commented with a fair amount of exasperation himself. Seeing the widening smirk on the blond's face was an answer in itself and caused the amethyst eyes to narrow further. "You're not going to change my mind," Ran warned, keeping his voice carefully emotionless.

Another chuckle escaped from Yohji as he leaned down to brush his forehead against that of the man lying beneath him. "Sure about that, Ran?" He breathed.

"Yohji, I-" Ran's words were abruptly cut off as another mouth descended on his own. Finding himself lacking the determination to dissuade the other man, the redhead stretched out his body, bringing as much of it in contact with the blond's as possible. As Yohji let his mouth drift back down along Ran's throat, the redhead turned his head to the side, giving the blond better access to his neck. Amethyst eyes lazily travelled over the contents of his room before settling on his bedside clock. "Fuck!"

Yohji let out an exclamation of surprise as the previously very willing redhead suddenly pushed the other man away and began to scramble out from the bed. "What? What are you doing?"

Hurrying into a loose pair of cotton pants, Ran looked at Yohji with something approaching exasperation. "The Koneko, Yohji. My shift starts in thirty minutes." Moving swiftly, the redhead perched on the bed long enough to give the blond a brief kiss before heading towards the door. "I need a shower. I'll see you on my break."

Yohji watched the other man disappear through the door and collapsed back amongst the sheets. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face as the blond reflected that although having beautiful redheads waking up confused in his bed was vastly entertaining, it didn't hold a candle to waking up in the redhead's bed with said occupant asleep beside him.

Deciding Ran's idea of a shower sounded quite appealing, Yohji dragged himself out of bed and set about locating his scattered clothes from the previous night. He had just finished pulling on his shirt when Ran reappeared, dripping wet and wearing only a towel. On seeing the blond out of bed, Ran paused and frowned slightly. "You didn't have to get up. Your shift isn't until later."

"Lying in bed alone isn't nearly as much fun," Yohji informed the other man with a grin. "Plus I want to get the shower before Ken wakes up and uses all the hot water." Crossing the room, Yohji ruffled the man's damp red hair. "See you later, beautiful."

A long, luxurious shower was only marred by the hammering that began on the door as Ken started to lose patience. Luckily, that just so happened to coincide with the last of the hot water, so Yohji was perfectly willing to relinquish possession of the bathroom. The angered yell that reached through the door of his room only served to increase the blond's amusement. Humming various songs under his breath, Yohji dressed and got his hair into something approaching order. Then he headed down to the kitchen to grab some coffee still singing to himself. "The tap of my heart when it skips a beat, can't feel no pavement right under my feet. Up in my lonely room, as I'm dreaming of you, oh what can I do…"

Practically bounding into the kitchen, Yohji was greeted by the sight of a very suspicious looking Omi. Throwing the chibi a wink, Yohji continued on his way to the coffee machine, still singing to himself.

"You're in a very … energetic mood this morning," Omi remarked. "I'm guessing it has something to do with the reason why Ran came running down here with seconds until the start of his shift."

"You're very observant, Omi," Yohji replied as he poured some steaming coffee into a mug and headed over to the table to join the young blond. "And I'm energetic because I'm in such a good mood."

Omi quickly held up a hand. "I don't want to hear anymore. Show some consideration for my innocence."

Yohji laughed and slid into a seat. "And how do you expect to become anything other than innocent if you refuse to listen to the facts of life?"

Omi sniffed primly. "I'm sure I'll manage somehow." The youth paused to glance at the clock where it hung on the wall and bit his lip. "Ken's late. Ran is going to be so mad with him. Do you know what's keeping him?"

Yohji shrugged and took another drink of coffee. "Disorganisation?"

Pounding feet broke off any further conversation as Ken blew into the room like the proverbial hurricane, pausing only long enough to shoot an evil glare at Yohji and mutter; "You're so dead," before running down into the shop.

Yohji watched him go in amusement. "How much says he's still alive in an hour?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clattering down the stairs only to be greeted by a glare of sub-zero intensity and an equally frosty "you're late" caused Ken to wonder just what he'd done in a former life to deserve this kind of luck. Or more importantly, why the blond bastard who'd stolen the last of the hot water never seemed to get into these messes. One look at the redhead answered that question and caused Ken to do a startled double take. "Oh my God!"

Pausing in the midst of wrapping a customer's selection of lilies, Ran frowned at the brunet's exclamation. "What?"

Raising a trembling finger to point at the older man, Hideka made his way over to join the redhead behind the counter. Waiting until the customer had turned to leave, Ken dropped his voice to a low hiss. "You slept with him! You and Yohji had sex!"

Fujimiya's frown deepened. "And what previously unused powers of observation caused you to deduce that?"

Ken snorted and turned to grab a watering can. "I've been laid before, I know that whole morning after expression." A sudden thought caused him to drop the can in alarm, causing water to splash all over the floor. Ken whirled back to face the redhead. "You didn't let Omi see you like that, did you?"

Ran put a hand on his hip, apparently increasingly annoyed by Ken's sudden powers of insight. "Like what exactly?"

Ken waved a hand in the pale man's general direction. "Like that! All afterglowy! Shit, think of his innocence! Manx and Birman are going to kill you for corrupting the chibi!"

Ran snorted and turned his attention to the account books. "You're paid to be a florist, not an idiot. Now get to work."

Ken opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it as he reflected that the only likelihood of him being successfully able to annoy the redhead without receiving physical injury would be if he were a tall blond who smoked like lung cancer only happened to other people. The athlete shut his mouth only to practically bite his tongue off as he was confronted by the sight of a girl whose assortment of hair colours appeared to defy the laws of both physics and hairdressing. "Can I help you with something?" he somehow managed to choke out past his surprise.

The teenager frowned and now looking past the multi-coloured bangs, Ken was able to see from her expression that she was obviously worried about something. "Is Yu-uh, I mean, is Yohji in? I need to speak to him."

Ken groaned internally, but managed to keep his expression polite. Another fangirl, and as it appeared that Yohji was quite definitely off the market, floods of tears were probably imminent. "His shift doesn't start until later, maybe you should stop by this afternoon?"

The girl impatiently shook her head, sending a flurry of blue, green and punk strands fluttering past Ken's eyes. "That's no good. I need to speak to him now. We don't have much time."

Ken frowned and tried to replicate the Fujimiya technique of dealing with unwanted females. "Well I'm sure whatever it is can wait until twelve. For now, either buy something or leave."

Ken realised he might have misjudged the girl when a handful was flowers were abruptly grabbed and shoved in his face as the girl ducked past him and thundered up the stairs. Spinning around, he could only marvel at her speed, but still managed to get his thoughts in order. "Hey! You can't go up there! That's private!" Figuring that Ran was probably already as pissed at Ken as the redhead could get while maintaining a safe blood pressure, the brunet gave up any pretence of working and dashed up the stairs after the teenager. "Oi!"

He arrived in the kitchen in time to see both Yohji and Omi start up from the table in surprise as the girl all but launched herself at the elder blond. "Yue! They're setting him up! It's all a trap and Odin won't let us intervene! You have to help me!" Grabbing hold of both the man's arms, the girl looked desperately into his face. "It's Sascha, Yue. You have to help me save him."

Ken pulled a face at the shocked-looking man and spun his finger in a circle next to his head. "Sorry, Yohji, she just barged on up here. I'll show her out."

Pulling his gaze away from the teenager clinging to him with apparent difficultly, Yohji blinked blankly at Ken for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't worry about it, Ken. I'll sort this out. You better head back down to the shop before Ran comes after you."

Frowning slightly at the blond's reaction, Ken had no choice but to nod and head back down the stairs. "Sure, if you think you can deal with her." As he made his way back into the shop, Ken revised his comparison of his and Yohji's relative fortunes. If being able to needle Ran with impunity meant having to deal with bizarre girls like that, then Yohji was welcome to the privilege.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Throwing Omi a reassuring smile, Yohji gently prised his arms free of the grip on them and took hold of the girl's elbow. "Come on, we can talk someplace a little more private." With a firm grasp of the teenager's arm, Yohji steered the suddenly compliant girl into his room. Once inside, he turned to face the Hunt member with a steely glare. "I must admit I'm surprised to see you in real life. Is this going to result in another kidnap attempt?"

Dejected, the girl slumped onto the bed with an unhappy expression. "I was afraid you'd still be hung up on that. It wasn't what you think. Odin just wanted to find out if your power was active now or not. You were always supposed to escape."

"And what about the guards I killed? Were they just there to add a touch of realism to the charade?"

The teenage looked puzzled. "What about them? They weren't like us, they were just some hired thugs with no talents." Chewing on her bottom lip, the girl cocked her head to the side. "Just how much have you forgotten, Yue?"

"It's Yohji now," the blond snapped. "And I hardly think it's polite to call me by my name when you haven't even offered your own yet."

"Oh." A hand was duly extended with all the accompanying formality. "I'm Mika. You and Sascha used to look after me in Rosenkreuz."

Yohji took the hand briefly. "Charmed. What's Rosenkreuz? And who the fuck is Sascha?"

The hand moved with startling speed to whack the blond around the back of the head. "I can't believe you have to ask me something as basic as that! The two of you were practically joined at the hip and now look at you! Can't even remember your best friend!"

Yohji glared at the girl. "There's an awful lot I can't remember, it seems. If you even want to stand a chance of getting me to help, you better start from the beginning."

Mika puffed out her cheeks and exhaled noisily, using the gesture to propel herself back onto Yohji's bed where she bounced idly, staring at the ceiling in apparent concentration. "Even I don't know the very beginning. I was brought to Rosenkreuz when I was five and you and Sascha had already been there a while. Rosenkreuz is a place in Germany where people like us are trained to use our talents for the good of the organisation who found us and paid for our education. That's Esset and we're supposed to become their little minions. You and Sascha were infamous as the two of you refused to pay any attention to all that crap and just did whatever the hell you wanted. The only one who could keep Sascha in line was a guy a few years older than him – an American called Crawford. You were still a force to be reckoned with, and as Sascha's room and classmate, were around him an awful lot more than Crawford."

"Wait a minute," Yohji interrupted. "What talents were we supposed to have?"

Mika waved a dismissive hand at him. "I'm getting there, you told me to start at the beginning." Pausing, she began to play with her hair, twisting together some strands of green, lilac and red to form an eye-watering mix. "Sascha was a telepath and everyone assumed you were as well, just that your talent hadn't matured to the point where it could be actively used. Crawford was a pre-cog so of course everyone knew there was no way Sascha was ever going to get anywhere past drooling from afar, but the guy never seemed to lose hope. Then Asuka showed up and you were smitten. Love at first sight and all that. She was a pre-cog as well, but unlike Crawford had no regard for the rules. That was when we found out that you weren't telepathic. Even with the two of you as a couple, you still seemed completely unable to read her mind. The elders got really interested in you from that point, but they weren't the only ones. You also attracted the attention of Odin."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Schuldig started in surprise when Crawford abruptly dropped onto the empty space on the couch beside him. "Shit, Crawford, make some noise once in a while. I thought you went out with Nagi and Aya."

The American snorted, his eyes fixed on the television. "They vanished into some arcade to play video-games. I gave them some money and left them to it."

"Oh." Schuldig drifted into silence and when the American didn't volunteer any further conversational gambits, turned his attention back to the television. After a while he glanced over to find the pre-cog watching him intently. Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Schuldig looked at the American suspiciously. "What? Do you want something, Crawford?" When the American didn't answer Schuldig sighed and made to rise off the couch. "Fuck it. I can't be arsed to start playing these games with you."

A restraining hand on his arm prevented the German from leaving the room as planned. Unsure whether he was more surprised or annoyed with the older man's behaviour, Schuldig spun back to face Crawford and demand just what the pre-cog thought he was doing. The American had taken the time to also rise to his feet so when the redhead was finally looking directly at him again, the distance between their faces was only a few inches which Crawford silently closed as he caught Schuldig's lips with his own.

Caught completely by surprise, Schuldig froze and in doing so completely gave in to the Oracle. Had he broken away in those first few moments he might have retained enough of his senses to demand an explanation for the current situation, but instead an almost forgotten fragment of a love-struck teenager was allowed to surface. And once in control, this fleeting sensation was impossible to push back down into the darker recesses of his mind once again. Schuldig began to return the caressing brushes of lips against lips and open his mouth to Brad's demanding tongue.

Hands circled around the German's waist, pulling him forwards and pressing him against Crawford's body. With increased urgency Schuldig reached upwards to run his hands through the soft strands of dark hair, getting just enough of a purchase to pull the American's face closer and tilt it as he began to probe the mouth that all but invited his entrance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yohji raised an eyebrow. "Odin? Let me guess, he's the old fart that also keeps cropping up in those weird ass dreams you guys like to use for communication."

Mika nodded. "He's the leader of our organisation, Hunt. Way back, Odin was one of the elders, but he attempted to seize total control of Esset for himself. The other elders tried to have him killed, but with no success. He went into hiding, but surfaced every now and then to recruit Rosenkreuz students who showed unusual and powerful talents. He'd already deprived Esset of Legion and Pan, so naturally when they heard that you were the next one in his sights, Esset began to keep a really tight leash on you.

"Needless to say, that only caused you and Sascha to become even more determined to escape. The two of you hatched a plan to escape Rosenkreuz using an underground system of tunnels that had been written off by flooding years before. Originally it was intended as a way of transporting wine from an old vineyard to the main building, but the entire vineyard area was considered unsafe and a subsidence risk due to the number of underground springs and so forth. The two of you reckoned you could hide out in the tunnels long enough to evade the inevitable patrols before making your escape through the vineyard and hitch until you reached Munich."

Yohji snorted and shook his head, reflecting that it appeared a mind capable of rational risk assessment was not something he lost during his encounter with mental reprogramming. "Where did it start to go wrong?"

The teenager sighed, contracting in on herself and curling into a ball. "The elders decided to use Crawford to stop you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The journey from the lounge to Crawford's bedroom had been a halting one at best, due in no small part to the lack of attention either man was paying to his surroundings. Schuldig supposed that Crawford's pre-cognition was to thank for the lack of expensive objects collided with, but found himself mildly annoyed that the American was still capable of showing enough foresight to manage such an action. He made a mental note to do something about that and set about removing Crawford from the suit that currently prevented Schuldig from progressing any further.

Underneath the crisp and creaseless fabric was a toned body that Schuldig had been waiting years to get his hands on. He seized his chance now, running his hands over every sculpted inch, marvelling at the softness of the other man's skin. "Brad," he started to say.

Another swift and somewhat bruising kiss broke off any further attempt at speak from the German. He opened his green eyes to stare dazedly at the American's face, filled with a single minded determination that was causing the twisting knot low in his abdomen to virtually sap all the other strength from his body. Firmly, yet with an unexpected gentleness, Schuldig found himself pushed back onto Crawford's bed as the man loomed over him. "You talk too much," Brad informed him in a low voice. He then sealed the distance between them with another kiss that slowly broke off as the dark-haired man began to trail a slow but searing trail down his neck. Schuldig was dimly aware of fingers deftly opening his shirt and slipping towards the waistband of his pants, but Crawford chose that moment to lathe his tongue across the redhead's nipples and all thought effectively left the younger man's mind.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"It was pretty much accepted by the elders that their only chance to keep the two of you at Rosenkreuz would be through Sascha's infatuation with Crawford. They may have considered trying something similar with Asuka, but it soon became clear that she had every intention of leaving with you. So they turned to the one option they thought would work.

"Crawford approached Sascha in private and told the telepath that he'd seen a vision of the future involving the telepath that had concerned him. He said that although Yue's fate might be beyond the eyes of the Delphic Unit, Sascha's own future was not. Should Sascha attempt to escape with Yue and Asuka the telepath would be caught and killed. Crawford had been instructed to show serious concern for Sascha's future and of course, with Sascha already so besotted with him, seeds of doubt began to form in the telepath's mind." Mika broke off to look at Yohji with a pleading expression. "You have to understand how much Crawford meant to Sacha. Plus what teenager is fully prepared to die? You were little more than kids; this was way out of your league."

Yohji narrowed his eyes, unwilling to let the young girl's distress influence his emotions. "I'll reserve judgement until I've heard the end of this, thank you. I take it this means Sascha sold his two friends out to save his own neck?"

"As far as I know, everything went as planned until the three of you entered the tunnels. Schuldig told you and Asuka to wait in one of the underground storage rooms while he went on to check out the route ahead. Then he brought the Esset guards to your exact location. You and Asuka obviously heard them approaching, for the two of you began to barricade yourselves in, but you misunderstood their intentions.

"Instead of trying to force their way into the room, the Esset guards boarded it up from the outside. Schuldig was sent to watch and listen as his two friends were essentially going to starve to death."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Schuldig was trying to force his thoughts together for long enough to form some kind of response to the hands and mouth that were currently roaming over his body with a precise and thorough regard for every one of his weak spots, but each time he came reasonably close to regaining enough control to allow him to do something other than the generally writhing and gasping actions, Crawford would locate another previously neglected area and attack it mind-blowing attention to detail. Wondering if perhaps Crawford had been secretly hiding telepathic talent all these years or if he was just simply really, really good at sex despite his ice-block image, Schuldig was finally able to summon up enough co-ordination to remove the American from the suit pants he was still somehow wearing, despite the German's very naked state.

Even that small achievement apparently merited a retaliating gesture from Crawford as the man began to kiss Schuldig senseless once again. Strong hands ran through the German's hair, caressed his face and traced the tendons in his neck along to his collarbone. From there they descended to Schuldig's arms and tightened their grip, pinning the German firmly against the mattress. Looking at Crawford in confusion, Schuldig was met with a gaze that burned with more emotion than he could ever remember the American showing as the older man glared at him. "Stay," Crawford commanded in the same tone as earlier before descending towards the redhead's straining erection.

Despite the earlier order to remain silent, Schuldig was unable to stop the wordless cry as he felt a warm and wet tongue lap at the pre-cum gathering at the tip of his cock. His whole erection pulsed in response and Brad swiftly drew the entire organ into his mouth. The sensation of the American's tongue as it formed unseen patterns across his overly sensitive skin was almost too much for the telepath to bear and he felt his thoughts slowly drift apart as he gave into concentrating purely on what the other man was doing to him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I don't know how long Sascha was made to sit outside that room, listening to the weakening cries of his two best friends, but Esset decided that none of you were being made to suffer enough for your attempted desertion. Melmoth himself came down to where you were imprisoned to inform you of the new bargain. You would be released as soon as one of you was successful in killing the other. He informed Schuldig that when his telepathy informed him of the death of either one of you, he was allowed to leave his post but until then he could not leave on pain of death." Mika's voice trailed off as the teenager sat up again on the bed to study Yohji closely, perhaps looking for some sign of sympathy or understanding. "You don't know how lucky you are not to remember any of this, Sascha's had to live with this guilt for eleven years."

Distant dream-like images of dank and dripping tunnels were flitting through Yohji's mind and the blond suppressed a shiver as he fixed the girl with a gaze that he hoped was resolute. He had a nasty feeling that his discomfort may have shown through regardless of his actions and so turned away from the imploring gaze that followed him around the room. Crossing briskly over to the window, Yohji grabbed a cigarette from the pack on the windowsill and sparked up, drawing in the much-needed smoke. Exhaling as he gently tapped the cylinder against his ashtray, Yohji forced his voice to stay neutral and kept his gaze focused on the view from his window. "I don't think you've finished yet. Tell me exactly how it ends."

The pause that followed was so long that Yohji had to turn and check Mika was still in the room. She was, and still sat on the bed turned away from him, her head hanging down. Finally she raised her head and turned to face him, the expression on her face some where between pitying and exasperated. "Isn't it obvious what happened?" she asked in a voice so quiet that its trembling almost went unnoticed. "Sascha couldn't take it anymore and drove both you and Asuka mad. You attacked each other and you won. You killed Asuka. Sascha then wiped your mind, not wanting you to know what you did and Esset came in to mop up the remains. Asuka's body was disposed of, Sascha was renamed Schuldig and assigned to Schwarz along while you were permanently reprogrammed to be the personality you had become in that cell. The elders named you Void and sent you to join your former best friend so he would always have a reminder of what he had done to deserve his new name."

Yohji swallowed hard and stubbed his cigarette out with more force than he'd been intending. The slim stalk broke under the pressure, causing the contents to flutter gently down onto the wood surrounding the ash tray. Turning back to the teenager on the bed, Yohji swiftly decided to move the subject matter onto something not so closely related to him. "You said Sascha was in danger. What's going to happen to him that's so bad?"

Mika chewed her lip and shifted on the bed, obviously uncomfortable. "Crawford's going to sleep with him."

Yohji let out a snort of humourless laughter. "Isn't that what the guy's been wanting all along? Let them screw, I fucking hope it was worth everything he did."

A pillow bounced off Yohji's chest as the girl on the bed furiously began to hurl items at him. "You don't get anything, do you?" she all but yelled, tears collecting in her eyes. "Crawford's a pre-cog you idiot! Don't you know what's going to happen? Don't you remember why pre-cogs are told never to sleep with telepaths?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Schuldig felt as though his entire world was going to end when Brad removed his mouth, leaving the German's cock throbbing painfully in the comparatively cool air of the bedroom. Remembering the earlier command not to speak, Schuldig was none the less unable to prevent his groan of disappointment. That soon changed to another intake of breath as well-lubricated fingers began to press against his opening. Almost unable to cope with the sensation, the German squirmed against the fingers that moved inside of him, unsure as to whether he wanted them out or simply as deep inside him as possible. Then they brushed against his prostate and Schuldig instinctively decided that fingers were not nearly going to be enough. He needed Brad inside him and he needed him now.

Feeling the fingers withdraw from the enclosing tightness, Schuldig wrapped his legs tightly around the American, drawing him closer. He felt Brad's hard and ample prick slowly entering him and was able to do little other than draw another ragged breath. The ears rang with the pounding of his blood and the mingled breaths as the American slid inside him. Warm exhalations of breath played against Schuldig's perspiring skin as Crawford began to start a rhythm.

Schuldig heard himself groan in pleasure as the force against his prostate returned with much greater strength than the American's fingers alone had been able to manage. He was only aware of the other man. Crawford's heavy breathing in his ears; his warmth as he moved against him, on top of him, inside of him; the hands that closed around his erection. But even that wasn't enough. He wanted to be inside of Crawford like the man so was completely inside of him. Unable to achieve that with his body, the German reached out with his mind only to find his attempt blocked once again by those damnable walls.

Crawford's cock twitched inside of him as the American approached his release and the German felt something tremble in the man's mental barriers. Working purely on instinct, Schuldig renewed his attempt even as he forced Brad to move harder and deeper within him.

Brad came moments before Schuldig with a shuddering sigh and that split second was all the German needed. In that moment of orgasm, the pre-cogs barriers had fallen completely and the telepath was inside the other man's mind.