Title - Price of Forgiveness (Chpt 9)
Author - HourglassThorne, hourglassthorne@yahoo.com
Rating - R (see warnings)
Pairing(s) - Pairing yet to be specified
Warning(s) - Glühen spoilers; strong language; graphic violence; disturbing content
Notes: Apologies for taking so long to get this chapter out. I hate the way my brain works sometimes... I have these nice little plot twists for two or three chapters down the line, but my brain gives me nothing to work with for the chapters inbetween. And thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to give me such nice reviews. I'd still write even if I didn't get them, but you all certainly make it more worthwhile to get each new chapters typed up. Thank you!
Status of fanfic - ongoing
Soon after depositing Youji back in his room, the other three members of Weiß found themselves settled in the study by themselves, the ominous black folder sitting on a small end table situated between the three of them. Aya stood leaning on the wall beside the fireplace, his eyes closed in silent contemplation while Ken sat in one of the plush armchairs, glaring at the thing as if it were a viper readying itself to bite him. Omi was over by the wetbar, quietly pouring himself a glass of brandy, to which the tall redhead finally raised his eyes to study the youngest of them seriously.
"Isn't it a bit early for that?" he questioned calmly, not really accusing or berating, but definitely a bit concerned by what he was seeing. Ken, finally tearing his gaze away from the accursed folder, looked up and was quite startled by the image before him.
"What the?! When the hell did you start drinking?"
"The day that Asuka died." Omi stared at the amber-coloured liquid in his glass. Then he sighed, took a long draught of the alcohol as it burned its way down his throat, and then took a seat in the armchair opposite Ken's. "I was there with Youji when he found his wife."
The young man raised his hand to silence Ken before he got a chance to interrupt, then settled back into his seat, staring at the glass in his hands. "Youji and I have been friends since about six months after his release from the hospital. I'm sorry about how you feel about it Ken, and I know it wasn't fair to either you or Aya, but believe me when I say that I had no intention of any of this happening the way it did. We met at a fundraiser being held for the hospital that he had recovered in. A lot of the staff and their families had been invited to the banquet and Youji and Asuka, newly engaged, were there. He approached me, not even knowing who I was at the time, and just started talking to me. I had tried to avoid him for most of the night, but eventually I couldn't run any more.
"It was so hard. There he was, talking to me as a total stranger, but at the same time his voice and expressions were just like they were before... Before we lost him to Neu and the ghost of the first Asuka... Before when we were all happy..."
Omi absentmindedly swirled the brandy in his glass. "And he was lonely. Sure he had his fiancee, and he knew people at his office job, but they weren't really friends and he was unhappy about that. And that unhappiness was making him more determined to find out about his lost memories and his past." He paused and took another sip. "Then I decided to become Youji's friend so that I could steer him away from looking for his past with us.
"I know it sounds like a pretty lame excuse, and I know a big part of me did it cause I was selfish and missed him and was so tired of being alone myself, but I..."
"You don't have to apologize any more, Omi." Ken's voice cut through the younger man's soft voice. The dark haired Japanese man had come across and was kneeling before him attempting to catch the smaller blonde's eyes. "I was upset before, but I know you did what you thought was right. I really had no place to rip into you like that. When Weiß split up that last time, at least I have Aya here, not to mention every other member of Kryptonbrand now. And while Youji was alone, he didn't have any memories of us. But you... "
"You had to take on so much by yourself." Aya picked up Ken's train of thought and began to speak himself. "Kritiker... Mamoru Takatori... Persia... And on top of all of that and being alone, you had the memories of Omi Tsukiyono to haunt your dreams, just like the memories of Ran Fujiyama haunt mine. Neither of us blame you for what you did."
Omi looked up, first at Ken, then at Aya. His soft blue eyes were so full of sorrow, it hurt to see him like that with the weight of the world on his shoulders. It didn't seem right or natural. But he took comfort in the fact that his friends were there with him now, that he wasn't alone for that moment in time, and he allowed himself a small smile, nodded, and then continued his story.
"It wasn't hard for Youji and I to become friends. He was surprised, however, when he learned that I was the head of the Takatori Corporation. However, it didn't affect how he thought of me. The only difference now was that he was calling me 'Mamoru' instead of 'Omitchi'. Though he wasn't lonely anymore, he was still looking for his past, so I had promised to 'help' him. Of course I kept giving him false leads that always led to dead ends. But he never suspected me of sabatoging his search.
"Then, when Asuka found out she was pregnant, I didn't even have to do that anymore. All the curiosity about his past went out the window with Kaiya's birth. When that little girl became the center of his universe, he turned his full focus on his family and never looked back. Youji made me Kaiya's godfather, and for the next nine months or so everything was fine. Youji and his family were happy. You all were happy (or at least it seemed like it from the reports I got every now and again from Mihirogi). And I was happy. Business and life went along as usual."
Omi's face became pained as he closed his eyes and knocked back the last of the brandy in his glass with one swift motion. He coughed a bit afterwards, but waved off Ken as he tried to pat him on the back. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"About two weeks ago, Youji and I met for a late lunch. He had gotten out of work early and had Kaiya with him. He told me that Asuka had gotten called into work at the last minute and their usual sitter was out of town. So we had lunch and took the little girl out to the zoo for the afternoon. After Kaiya had fallen asleep in her stroller, we made our way back to his home with Asuka. Something didn't feel right. Both of us could feel it. There was the smell of blood in the air. Youji told me to take Kaiya down to one of their neighbors while he went to check things out. I didn't want to leave him alone, but whatever was going on, I didn't want Kaiya in danger either. So I dropped her off and rushed back to Youji.
"The door was open wide when I got to their apartment. The smell of blood was so thick in the air it was almost suffocating. Then I found Youji and Asuka..." Omi's voice trailed off as the sorrow and pain returned to his eyes, reliving the memory in his mind, striving hard to keep himself from breaking down completely. He took a deep breath and continued. "Youji was kneeling there in the blood, staring at his wife's face, completely catatonic. I tried to get him out of the room, but he wouldn't move. He was absolutely devastated. It wasn't until I told him that Kaiya was still waiting for him that he finally snapped out of it long enough for me to get him away from there and back to their neighbor's so that I could call the police."
Omi brought his glass up to his lips halfway before noticing that it was empty. He set it back down with a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill. "The moment I had some time alone, after taking Youji and Kaiya to my condo to rest, I had Rex and Crashers working overtime to find out who it was that killed Asuka, so that I could send Weiß to take care of them. However, they ended up having about as much luck as the police. This in itself was strange, and I didn't want to keep Youji and his daughter in the city. I felt that they would be safer up at my grandfather's castle, so I made arrangements so that after Asuka's funeral we would transport them there until we could find the people responsible... And you already know the rest."
The silence in the room was deafening, but it allowed time for the youngest of them to calm his jagged nerves. For a long time, no one said anything. Then Ken finally broke the silence.
"What now?"
The younger blond man frowned, closed his eyes, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an all too familiar object which he placed atop the black folder. Ken's brown eyes grew big and round and then narrowed dangerously as he leapt up to his feet.
"NO! We cannot do that! Sure he had a tragedy happen, a horrible tragedy, and if anyone deserves vengence, then it would most definitely be him! But this isn't like it was when he lost the first Asuka. That Asuka didn't leave him with an infant daughter! He's a father now! We can't bring him back into this life! It nearly destroyed him last time... Hell! It DID destroy him!"
"Unfortunately, this situation does not allow us the luxury of a choice in this particular matter," Aya's hand came down on Omi's shoulder and he stood beside the still seated young man, a resigned look in his eyes as he lifted up Youji's mission watch from the folder. "Whoever these people are who are hunting Youji and his daughter, they are ruthless, cunning, and might have powers similar or equal to Schwarz. They want Kaiya and will do anything in their power to get her, killing anyone who gets in their way. We all want Youji to be happy. We also know what being in Weiß did to him towards the end.
"However, if worse comes to worse, and we find ourselves in a situation where Youji has to protect Kaiya on his own, we all know that he would have a better chance of doing so successfully as the person he was then, than the person he is now."
Ken glared at the watch which contained Youji's wire. "Kuso!" he growled as he whirled about and savagely kicked a nearby ottoman, sending it tumbling across the room. Then the fight went out of him and he calmed down, his fists unclenching and a sad expression in his flashing eyes. "So when do we tell him?"
"Tonight... When he is awake and Kaiya is down for the evening. That way we have the entire night almost guaranteed to be uninterupted."
"Are you sure about that Omi?"
The shorter man nodded. "Yeah. Unless Kaiya's sick or teething badly, she can sleep through the night now with no problems. Fortunately, being so young, the death of her mother hasn't affected her as bad as it might have if she had been a bit older." His eyes traveled upwards slightly, as if trying to gaze through the ceiling at the next floor up. "I wonder if she's awake up there."
Aya gazed at him quizzically. "She's a baby. Won't she make it perfectly clear to everyone in the castle if she is awake or not?"
The younger man smiled fondly and shook his head. "Actually, she can be a really quite child when she wants to be. Sometimes, she'll just sit in her crib once she wakes up and just play there all peacefully, unless she's hungry or needs to be changed." He closed his eyes briefly, then nodded as if he had made some internal decision. "I'm gonna go up and check on her." Omi stood up from his chair and began to make his way to the door.
"Are you sure you should go in there while Youji's sleeping?" Ken asked tenatively.
Omi stopped before the door. "As much as I know he probably doesn't want anything to do with me right now, I don't really want for him to wake up alone when he eventually does. Plus, there's Kaiya there. If she's asleep, then all's good. If she's awake, then I can help take care of her and keep her from waking up father. As strong as those pills Michel gave him are sure to be, if she wakes up and is fussy, he'll be up too, and he needs his rest." He looked back at the other two. "Come up with me?"
Ken smiled broadly and nodded. Aya, on the other hand, looked a little unsure.
"Maybe I'll see her later. I should go and check how Michel is doing. He didn't look too well after seeing all those pictures."
"Alright Aya-kun. We'll find you later."
So Ken and Omi headed out of the study and up the stairs to the second floor, while Aya lingered for a long moment, fingering Youji's mission watch in his hand, a solemn expression on his face.
Author - HourglassThorne, hourglassthorne@yahoo.com
Rating - R (see warnings)
Pairing(s) - Pairing yet to be specified
Warning(s) - Glühen spoilers; strong language; graphic violence; disturbing content
Notes: Apologies for taking so long to get this chapter out. I hate the way my brain works sometimes... I have these nice little plot twists for two or three chapters down the line, but my brain gives me nothing to work with for the chapters inbetween. And thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to give me such nice reviews. I'd still write even if I didn't get them, but you all certainly make it more worthwhile to get each new chapters typed up. Thank you!
Status of fanfic - ongoing
Soon after depositing Youji back in his room, the other three members of Weiß found themselves settled in the study by themselves, the ominous black folder sitting on a small end table situated between the three of them. Aya stood leaning on the wall beside the fireplace, his eyes closed in silent contemplation while Ken sat in one of the plush armchairs, glaring at the thing as if it were a viper readying itself to bite him. Omi was over by the wetbar, quietly pouring himself a glass of brandy, to which the tall redhead finally raised his eyes to study the youngest of them seriously.
"Isn't it a bit early for that?" he questioned calmly, not really accusing or berating, but definitely a bit concerned by what he was seeing. Ken, finally tearing his gaze away from the accursed folder, looked up and was quite startled by the image before him.
"What the?! When the hell did you start drinking?"
"The day that Asuka died." Omi stared at the amber-coloured liquid in his glass. Then he sighed, took a long draught of the alcohol as it burned its way down his throat, and then took a seat in the armchair opposite Ken's. "I was there with Youji when he found his wife."
The young man raised his hand to silence Ken before he got a chance to interrupt, then settled back into his seat, staring at the glass in his hands. "Youji and I have been friends since about six months after his release from the hospital. I'm sorry about how you feel about it Ken, and I know it wasn't fair to either you or Aya, but believe me when I say that I had no intention of any of this happening the way it did. We met at a fundraiser being held for the hospital that he had recovered in. A lot of the staff and their families had been invited to the banquet and Youji and Asuka, newly engaged, were there. He approached me, not even knowing who I was at the time, and just started talking to me. I had tried to avoid him for most of the night, but eventually I couldn't run any more.
"It was so hard. There he was, talking to me as a total stranger, but at the same time his voice and expressions were just like they were before... Before we lost him to Neu and the ghost of the first Asuka... Before when we were all happy..."
Omi absentmindedly swirled the brandy in his glass. "And he was lonely. Sure he had his fiancee, and he knew people at his office job, but they weren't really friends and he was unhappy about that. And that unhappiness was making him more determined to find out about his lost memories and his past." He paused and took another sip. "Then I decided to become Youji's friend so that I could steer him away from looking for his past with us.
"I know it sounds like a pretty lame excuse, and I know a big part of me did it cause I was selfish and missed him and was so tired of being alone myself, but I..."
"You don't have to apologize any more, Omi." Ken's voice cut through the younger man's soft voice. The dark haired Japanese man had come across and was kneeling before him attempting to catch the smaller blonde's eyes. "I was upset before, but I know you did what you thought was right. I really had no place to rip into you like that. When Weiß split up that last time, at least I have Aya here, not to mention every other member of Kryptonbrand now. And while Youji was alone, he didn't have any memories of us. But you... "
"You had to take on so much by yourself." Aya picked up Ken's train of thought and began to speak himself. "Kritiker... Mamoru Takatori... Persia... And on top of all of that and being alone, you had the memories of Omi Tsukiyono to haunt your dreams, just like the memories of Ran Fujiyama haunt mine. Neither of us blame you for what you did."
Omi looked up, first at Ken, then at Aya. His soft blue eyes were so full of sorrow, it hurt to see him like that with the weight of the world on his shoulders. It didn't seem right or natural. But he took comfort in the fact that his friends were there with him now, that he wasn't alone for that moment in time, and he allowed himself a small smile, nodded, and then continued his story.
"It wasn't hard for Youji and I to become friends. He was surprised, however, when he learned that I was the head of the Takatori Corporation. However, it didn't affect how he thought of me. The only difference now was that he was calling me 'Mamoru' instead of 'Omitchi'. Though he wasn't lonely anymore, he was still looking for his past, so I had promised to 'help' him. Of course I kept giving him false leads that always led to dead ends. But he never suspected me of sabatoging his search.
"Then, when Asuka found out she was pregnant, I didn't even have to do that anymore. All the curiosity about his past went out the window with Kaiya's birth. When that little girl became the center of his universe, he turned his full focus on his family and never looked back. Youji made me Kaiya's godfather, and for the next nine months or so everything was fine. Youji and his family were happy. You all were happy (or at least it seemed like it from the reports I got every now and again from Mihirogi). And I was happy. Business and life went along as usual."
Omi's face became pained as he closed his eyes and knocked back the last of the brandy in his glass with one swift motion. He coughed a bit afterwards, but waved off Ken as he tried to pat him on the back. He took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"About two weeks ago, Youji and I met for a late lunch. He had gotten out of work early and had Kaiya with him. He told me that Asuka had gotten called into work at the last minute and their usual sitter was out of town. So we had lunch and took the little girl out to the zoo for the afternoon. After Kaiya had fallen asleep in her stroller, we made our way back to his home with Asuka. Something didn't feel right. Both of us could feel it. There was the smell of blood in the air. Youji told me to take Kaiya down to one of their neighbors while he went to check things out. I didn't want to leave him alone, but whatever was going on, I didn't want Kaiya in danger either. So I dropped her off and rushed back to Youji.
"The door was open wide when I got to their apartment. The smell of blood was so thick in the air it was almost suffocating. Then I found Youji and Asuka..." Omi's voice trailed off as the sorrow and pain returned to his eyes, reliving the memory in his mind, striving hard to keep himself from breaking down completely. He took a deep breath and continued. "Youji was kneeling there in the blood, staring at his wife's face, completely catatonic. I tried to get him out of the room, but he wouldn't move. He was absolutely devastated. It wasn't until I told him that Kaiya was still waiting for him that he finally snapped out of it long enough for me to get him away from there and back to their neighbor's so that I could call the police."
Omi brought his glass up to his lips halfway before noticing that it was empty. He set it back down with a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill. "The moment I had some time alone, after taking Youji and Kaiya to my condo to rest, I had Rex and Crashers working overtime to find out who it was that killed Asuka, so that I could send Weiß to take care of them. However, they ended up having about as much luck as the police. This in itself was strange, and I didn't want to keep Youji and his daughter in the city. I felt that they would be safer up at my grandfather's castle, so I made arrangements so that after Asuka's funeral we would transport them there until we could find the people responsible... And you already know the rest."
The silence in the room was deafening, but it allowed time for the youngest of them to calm his jagged nerves. For a long time, no one said anything. Then Ken finally broke the silence.
"What now?"
The younger blond man frowned, closed his eyes, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an all too familiar object which he placed atop the black folder. Ken's brown eyes grew big and round and then narrowed dangerously as he leapt up to his feet.
"NO! We cannot do that! Sure he had a tragedy happen, a horrible tragedy, and if anyone deserves vengence, then it would most definitely be him! But this isn't like it was when he lost the first Asuka. That Asuka didn't leave him with an infant daughter! He's a father now! We can't bring him back into this life! It nearly destroyed him last time... Hell! It DID destroy him!"
"Unfortunately, this situation does not allow us the luxury of a choice in this particular matter," Aya's hand came down on Omi's shoulder and he stood beside the still seated young man, a resigned look in his eyes as he lifted up Youji's mission watch from the folder. "Whoever these people are who are hunting Youji and his daughter, they are ruthless, cunning, and might have powers similar or equal to Schwarz. They want Kaiya and will do anything in their power to get her, killing anyone who gets in their way. We all want Youji to be happy. We also know what being in Weiß did to him towards the end.
"However, if worse comes to worse, and we find ourselves in a situation where Youji has to protect Kaiya on his own, we all know that he would have a better chance of doing so successfully as the person he was then, than the person he is now."
Ken glared at the watch which contained Youji's wire. "Kuso!" he growled as he whirled about and savagely kicked a nearby ottoman, sending it tumbling across the room. Then the fight went out of him and he calmed down, his fists unclenching and a sad expression in his flashing eyes. "So when do we tell him?"
"Tonight... When he is awake and Kaiya is down for the evening. That way we have the entire night almost guaranteed to be uninterupted."
"Are you sure about that Omi?"
The shorter man nodded. "Yeah. Unless Kaiya's sick or teething badly, she can sleep through the night now with no problems. Fortunately, being so young, the death of her mother hasn't affected her as bad as it might have if she had been a bit older." His eyes traveled upwards slightly, as if trying to gaze through the ceiling at the next floor up. "I wonder if she's awake up there."
Aya gazed at him quizzically. "She's a baby. Won't she make it perfectly clear to everyone in the castle if she is awake or not?"
The younger man smiled fondly and shook his head. "Actually, she can be a really quite child when she wants to be. Sometimes, she'll just sit in her crib once she wakes up and just play there all peacefully, unless she's hungry or needs to be changed." He closed his eyes briefly, then nodded as if he had made some internal decision. "I'm gonna go up and check on her." Omi stood up from his chair and began to make his way to the door.
"Are you sure you should go in there while Youji's sleeping?" Ken asked tenatively.
Omi stopped before the door. "As much as I know he probably doesn't want anything to do with me right now, I don't really want for him to wake up alone when he eventually does. Plus, there's Kaiya there. If she's asleep, then all's good. If she's awake, then I can help take care of her and keep her from waking up father. As strong as those pills Michel gave him are sure to be, if she wakes up and is fussy, he'll be up too, and he needs his rest." He looked back at the other two. "Come up with me?"
Ken smiled broadly and nodded. Aya, on the other hand, looked a little unsure.
"Maybe I'll see her later. I should go and check how Michel is doing. He didn't look too well after seeing all those pictures."
"Alright Aya-kun. We'll find you later."
So Ken and Omi headed out of the study and up the stairs to the second floor, while Aya lingered for a long moment, fingering Youji's mission watch in his hand, a solemn expression on his face.