A/N: Sorry for the long wait but I've been extremely busy... ^^ I moved, I started school and life has just been really hectic... And I have a lot of projects going, all of which are getting more and more difficult to write. However, I do intend to finish the fic, as well as everything else I've written. I do believe there will only be two or so more chapters of this fic, anyways... Enjoy!
What Used To Be
By Tainted Halo
Chapter Seven
With pale knuckles clutching the furry steering wheel, as well as the note I'd received I drove along the coast, an array of emotions slipping over me and vanishing just as quickly. This directions was getting grimmer and grimmer the farther from town I drove.
The houses were all run down, windows shattered as if to silence the tales of what had happened inside those walls. My destination was possibly the most forlorn of all standing at several stories of peeling weather stained paint and ivy that draped lifelessly over the remains of a balcony.
I parked the car, a gloved hand reassuringly sliding over the crossbow I'd concealed inside my jacket... I desperately hoped I wouldn't be in a situation where I'd actually need it, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry. Setting the jingling keys in my pocket, I slid out of the car, my shoes crunching against a mixture of dead grass and the gravel that had been placed there in a futile attempt to cover it up.
I made my way to the door, my fist rapping against it softly... I wasn't sure whether I should just enter or await for an escort, but decided on the first option. I pushed the door open, flinching at the creak and slipped inside. It would have been difficult to see into the haze of darkness had I not been so used to missions like this... Breaking and entering was simple for Weiss.
I shuffled past desks and boxes, feeling my way towards a door when light suddenly ushered over the room illuminating an all to familiar figure. Brad Crawford stood before me an amused smirk on usually coldly stoic lips. "Welcome, Bombay. We thought you'd never arrive..." He trailed off as a sinister voice echoed into my head.
"//Siberian was getting so very worried... He's so anxious to see you... I guess we're just not as entertaining as kittens are...//" Shuldich laughed, and a flair of brilliantly vivid fiery locks swished by me. "Shall we bring him up?" The German asked aloud, grinning over at Crawford.
"Sure... See if Nagi's done explaining... The poor dear was just so desperate for information he would have come crawling to anyone..."
I could only gape, allowing the knowledge to sink in... They... They'd taken Ken? "Did you... Start the fire?!" I hissed eyes narrowed in pure contempt. They had meant to harm him... Ken who couldn't even defend himself anymore... He was innocent. Or at least had been.
"Well now aren't we testy..." Shuldich commented his tone mocking. "Maybe we did, maybe we didn't... Does it really matter?" He asked, turning his hypnotic gaze on me. I looked away. I wasn't going to be manipulated like I'd seen him do to Sakura so long ago.
"What did you tell Ken!?" I demanded my stance defiant though my odds were less than bad. I couldn't win against all of Schwartz. There was just no conceivable way to get out of this...
"Just what he wanted to know... How he killed hundreds of people, murdered his best friend... Put many in danger... Been a part of an illegal operation..." It was Nagi's emotionless voice that rung out this time, his steely violet-gray eyes meeting mine. "It's to bad he had to hear it from us... You'd think you would have wanted to protect him." He sighed, shrugging and turning his attention to a taller figure behind him.
"//Siberian thinks so too.... He understands that we're his true allies.//" Shuldich's voice once again haunted my mind, his laughter ringing out causing my hands to fly to my ears in hopes to stop the noise.
"Ken?" I whispered, rushing towards him arms wrapping around his body, embracing him I was so relieved... Ken was alright... I hadn't gotten him killed...
"Omi..." He whispered his voice tainted with sorrow and betrayal. "Why... Why didn't you tell me?" Ken's body was shaking, though whether with rage or distraught tears I couldn't yet tell. He pulled away from me, dark sky colored eyes brimming with crystal tears.
"I didn't want something like this to happen..." I tried to say, but he wouldn't hear it. Ken was always so irrational. Maybe that was why I loved him though.
"You... Nagi says... You.... Tried to keep me from remembering... Because you betrayed us... You...didn't want me to know.. Why you didn't go back to the shop with Aya and Yohji..."
I blinked. What the hell was he talking about? "What did you tell him?!" I hissed, turning towards Nagi, my fists shaking. He has lied... Ken... Ken hated me.
"//You didn't tell him.. You just left it up to fate... It was just like begging us to come and interfere..//"
What Used To Be
By Tainted Halo
Chapter Seven
With pale knuckles clutching the furry steering wheel, as well as the note I'd received I drove along the coast, an array of emotions slipping over me and vanishing just as quickly. This directions was getting grimmer and grimmer the farther from town I drove.
The houses were all run down, windows shattered as if to silence the tales of what had happened inside those walls. My destination was possibly the most forlorn of all standing at several stories of peeling weather stained paint and ivy that draped lifelessly over the remains of a balcony.
I parked the car, a gloved hand reassuringly sliding over the crossbow I'd concealed inside my jacket... I desperately hoped I wouldn't be in a situation where I'd actually need it, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry. Setting the jingling keys in my pocket, I slid out of the car, my shoes crunching against a mixture of dead grass and the gravel that had been placed there in a futile attempt to cover it up.
I made my way to the door, my fist rapping against it softly... I wasn't sure whether I should just enter or await for an escort, but decided on the first option. I pushed the door open, flinching at the creak and slipped inside. It would have been difficult to see into the haze of darkness had I not been so used to missions like this... Breaking and entering was simple for Weiss.
I shuffled past desks and boxes, feeling my way towards a door when light suddenly ushered over the room illuminating an all to familiar figure. Brad Crawford stood before me an amused smirk on usually coldly stoic lips. "Welcome, Bombay. We thought you'd never arrive..." He trailed off as a sinister voice echoed into my head.
"//Siberian was getting so very worried... He's so anxious to see you... I guess we're just not as entertaining as kittens are...//" Shuldich laughed, and a flair of brilliantly vivid fiery locks swished by me. "Shall we bring him up?" The German asked aloud, grinning over at Crawford.
"Sure... See if Nagi's done explaining... The poor dear was just so desperate for information he would have come crawling to anyone..."
I could only gape, allowing the knowledge to sink in... They... They'd taken Ken? "Did you... Start the fire?!" I hissed eyes narrowed in pure contempt. They had meant to harm him... Ken who couldn't even defend himself anymore... He was innocent. Or at least had been.
"Well now aren't we testy..." Shuldich commented his tone mocking. "Maybe we did, maybe we didn't... Does it really matter?" He asked, turning his hypnotic gaze on me. I looked away. I wasn't going to be manipulated like I'd seen him do to Sakura so long ago.
"What did you tell Ken!?" I demanded my stance defiant though my odds were less than bad. I couldn't win against all of Schwartz. There was just no conceivable way to get out of this...
"Just what he wanted to know... How he killed hundreds of people, murdered his best friend... Put many in danger... Been a part of an illegal operation..." It was Nagi's emotionless voice that rung out this time, his steely violet-gray eyes meeting mine. "It's to bad he had to hear it from us... You'd think you would have wanted to protect him." He sighed, shrugging and turning his attention to a taller figure behind him.
"//Siberian thinks so too.... He understands that we're his true allies.//" Shuldich's voice once again haunted my mind, his laughter ringing out causing my hands to fly to my ears in hopes to stop the noise.
"Ken?" I whispered, rushing towards him arms wrapping around his body, embracing him I was so relieved... Ken was alright... I hadn't gotten him killed...
"Omi..." He whispered his voice tainted with sorrow and betrayal. "Why... Why didn't you tell me?" Ken's body was shaking, though whether with rage or distraught tears I couldn't yet tell. He pulled away from me, dark sky colored eyes brimming with crystal tears.
"I didn't want something like this to happen..." I tried to say, but he wouldn't hear it. Ken was always so irrational. Maybe that was why I loved him though.
"You... Nagi says... You.... Tried to keep me from remembering... Because you betrayed us... You...didn't want me to know.. Why you didn't go back to the shop with Aya and Yohji..."
I blinked. What the hell was he talking about? "What did you tell him?!" I hissed, turning towards Nagi, my fists shaking. He has lied... Ken... Ken hated me.
"//You didn't tell him.. You just left it up to fate... It was just like begging us to come and interfere..//"