Ken lifted the glass to his mouth, savoring the feel of cold wine running slowly round his tongue and down his throat. His dark eyes were slightly hooded as he moved towards the window. The sky outside was a faint blue-black with a tinge of red, somehow mirroring the faint sheen the last sip of his wine held.
The party continued inside, bathed in tones of yellow and gold. He could hear the whispers of muted conversation mixing with the slight clink of glasses. Outside, the large banyan tree stood shadowed in reds and blues and maroons. A skeleton swung crazily, hung from one of the roots, it's bony grin taunting him.
Safe within the warmth of a home, Ken threw his head back, raising the glass once more. A flash of black darted out in front of his eyes and suddenly, the glass slammed back against his face, shattering against his teeth and cutting his lip. A horse shout escaped as he reeled backwards, clutching at his face.
He could feel the small slivers of glass sliding down his throat from his instinctive swallow, cutting him up inside. He could feel them lodged inside his chest, the warmth of blood oozing around them.
It hurts… so much!
Through the tears of pain, he could just about make out the outline of a man, his hip thrown out slightly, framed against the warm backdrop of the sky.
"I told you not to make me come after you, Kenken. I told you to go home and wait for me."
Kase!
Ken froze completely, as the older man stalked closer, his blonde hair shining in the harsh yellow glare of the lights. The image that emerged was somehow that of a halo, but Ken knew better. Kase was no angel. He whimpered slightly as the blood from his mouth began to leak through his fingers.
"Did you somehow forget that you belong to me? DID YOU?"
The sharply raised tone after the previous slow drawl made the smaller man jump. Backing away, his eyes locked on to the menace visible in the other man's face. His stomach churned with fear.
He could feel something rising up, shoving through the burning in his chest before working its way past the back of his throat. He fell to his knees and vomited glass, wine… blood – the lighter surface of the wine swirling around on the viscous blood. The slivers of glass cut deeper this second time round, embedding themselves into his palate. He could hear Kase laughing over him…
He screamed…
Ken jerked awake, screaming, covered in sweat. His breath came in harsh, quick pants, his eyes darting around the familiar room.
Covering his eyes with a shaky hand, he flopped back onto his bed.
"A dream. Just a dream… Jesus!"
Drawing the sheets up around his neck, he tried to calm the shivers racing along his spine. Breathing deeply, he let his eyes fall shut, reaching towards the dark comfort of sleep once again. A faint metallic hiss echoed in the room, pulling him away from it.
Opening his eyes, his gaze directly encountered a vaguely worried and amused pair of whiskey green eyes. A warm hip pressed against his on the bed as Youji leaned over to leer into his face.
"Did you have a bad dream Kenny-boy? Want Uncle Youji to kiss it and make it all better?"
"Huh?" A half-asleep Ken is not an eloquent Ken.
"Ooh… you're so cute all rumpled and mussed. Let's rumple you up a bit more and see how much cuter you get, ne?"
"AARGH! YOUJI!"
Ken scooted away from the prying hand and glared at the tall blonde. Ignoring Ken, the other man draped his body across the empty space at the bottom of the bed. Brushing his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes, he gave Ken another come hither look and chuckled at the sputtering noises that emerged from the younger man. The fact that Ken couldn't form a coherent sentence and only seemed to get redder by the moment only served to increase his amusement, until he was sprawled on his back laughing hysterically.
That's why he didn't see the first pillow that hit him.
"Wha-"
"Ha ha!" Ken crowed in satisfaction, "That'll teach you to accost normal people at night."
"Well excu-use me, Mr. High and mighty. I was just trying to find out if you were all right. I heard a rather high-pitched scream from your room… and it didn't really sound like the fun kind." Ken reddened slightly. I thought I'd just pop along and check it out. It's not my fault that you seem to bring all my hentai urges to the fore."
The second pillow hit a grinning Youji full in the face.
Chaos ensued.
The door hissed open for the second time as a small honey colored head popped in to see what all the commotion was about. Finding both Ken and Youji crouched down at opposite ends of the bed, each hoarding their private armada of pillows and exchanging insults and promises, he rolled his eyes.
Spotting a left over pillow at his feet, Omi grinned wickedly. Launching his own attack from the rear, he stormed Youji's defenses.
"Take that!"
"Itai! Omiii… that's cheating!" Youji moaned, clutching his head.
"Yeah! Take that, Youji! Omi obviously chose the side of good." Pumping his hand into the air in victory, Ken danced about the room in glee.
Omi looked around the room. "Jeez Ken! How many pillows can one person have?!"
By this time the older blonde had somewhat recovered. Youji rounded on Omi and loomed over him, threatening stance complete with pillow. A high-pitched scream emerged, terror filled, voice cracking at its end.
Ken turned towards Omi in shock.
"It's only a game Omi. There's no need for such – "
Both ignored him. Youji suddenly looked quite grim and slapped his hand on the panel to open the door.
"Shit!" he swore under his breath.
A second scream sounded as the two of them took off down the corridor. Ken stood stock still as he registered the distinctly feminine sound.
"But there aren't any women aboard except… Aya-chan."
Ken took off down the corridor as well. Aya's room was around the end of the next corridor. He could hear his heartbeat thumping in his ears, sounding discordantly with the sounds his feet made as he sprinted down the corridor.
Aya's eyes were open when Ken entered her room… Open, and filled with terror and pain as she clutched at Youji's hand. Ran stood at the other side of the bed and was whispering soothingly to Aya. Ken couldn't really hear the words but the world of love present in those warm tones was evident to everyone in the room.
"Ran… it hurts… I can hear them… inside me! They're inside me! INSIDE ME!" Aya whimpered and then screamed.
"Youji… help her." Ran sounded so lost it almost hurt to hear.
"I can't Ran. We're out of drugs." Youji sounded almost as upset as Ran.
"Why won't they… No! I WON'T LISTEN!" Aya screamed, yanking her hand From Youji's to dig into her scalp. Youji immediately lunged to pull her hand back as Ran secured the other. Aya fought against them, kicking her legs and screaming.
"NOOOOO!"
Youji moved closer to the head of the bed so that he could calm Aya better. Ran looked almost broken as he hung grimly to Aya's other hand. The girl's strength was phenomenal as she fought with everything in her. Unfortunately, Youji's movement caused him to stop covering the doorway where Ken stood.
Aya's gaze fell on Ken and she screamed, the sound tearing in the air. She backpedaled out of the bed almost completely into Ran's arms, yanking her hands away from both the men as she scrabbled frantically at Ran's shirt. She clawed her way up him in terror, as her eyes remained locked with Ken's confused gaze.
"They've come for me! I won't go back… Ran! Help me… I can't go back!"
"No one's every taking you anywhere, Aya-chan. Not while I'm still alive." Ran firmly assured her.
"But… but… he's here…"
"That's just Ken, Aya-chan. He's the ship's mechanic… he won't hurt you." Youji moved to re-assure her. Ken remained frozen, unsure of whether to try to assure her or not. He didn't really understand what was happening. "We need him to make sure everything runs okay, okay?"
Ken finally moved forward, thinking to reassure her with his own words, but Aya reacted to the movement as one would to a nightmare suddenly emerging into reality.
"RAN!" she screamed, her hands tightening into claws as she pressed back onto him and away from the brunette. Ken froze again. Omi moved from his position at the foot of the bed to put his arm on Ken's for support.
Youji walked over to Ran. Kneeling down near the bed, he moved closer so that he could look directly into Aya's eyes. "Aya-chan. Its me… its me… so everything's going to be okay…do you trust me?"
She looked deep into his eyes. "Youji…" she whispered, her hand coming up slightly to touch the side of his face. Youji closed his eyes and leaned into the gentle touch.
"Yes… yes Aya… it's Youji…" He whispered brokenly. "Do you trust me?"
Understanding bloomed in her eyes and she smiled softly as she nodded. "Always."
Looking briefly into Ran's eyes, he sought some sort of conformation. At Ran's almost imperceptible nod he brought his hand back into a fist and let fly at Aya's chin. The girl seemed to lean forward into it and her head snapped back with the blow. Ken jerked slightly under Omi's hold at this, but the younger man held on to him.
Aya's head lolled back on Ran's shoulder as she began to slip down his chest. Ran carefully gathered her up into his arms and gently placed her on the bed. Youji carefully smoothed her sheets down, his head tilted such that his hair shaded his eyes. His hand traced softly over the slight signs of a bruise that were beginning to appear along the edge of Aya's chin.
"Ran", his voice broke slightly and he swallowed before trying again, "How much longer before we can get into port."
The redhead met his gaze quietly, his mask back in place. "Another day at least."
Youji nodded slightly, his hand gently touching the tip of Aya-chan's nose… her lips, before whirling around and stalking out of the room. Ran looked after him, understanding briefly shadowing his eyes. Looking over, he met Ken's eyes and his own iced over once again. Ken shivered slightly and backed out the door, taking Omi with him.
The smaller blonde nodded at Ran before moving outside with Ken. The redhead stayed to keep watch over his sister.
When Omi joined him in the hallway Ken immediately opened his mouth to demand an explanation but the younger boy forestalled him by raising a hand.
"I know you want an explanation, Ken. And you'll get it. But it's not to me to explain. You'll have to ask either Ran or Youji. And not tonight." The small blonde wearily rubbed his eyes. "It's been a rough night. Let's talk about all of this after whatever sleep we can get, okay?"
Ken noted the weary droop of those small shoulders. Not for the first time, he noted how small and fragile the younger boy seemed, how completely unsuitable for this sort of nomadic lifestyle. Thinking over what Omi had said, he noted the truth in his statement. The experience had been fairly traumatic for all involved and now was not really the time to discuss explanations. Tomorrow would be soon enough.
"Hai" he answered finally and moved down the corridor. Pressing the panel to enter his room, he turned to see the blonde stop two doors down at his own door.
"Omi?" he asked softly.
"Yes Ken-kun."
"Nothing… sleep tight."
"Whatever you say Ken-kun." Shadowed cornflower blue eyes smiled at him for a moment before the boy disappeared into his room.
Ken sighed slightly before moving into his own room.
Flopping down on his bed, he mentally processed everything that had happened in the last few minutes. The whole thing had lasted less than fifteen minutes and he already felt wrung though.
His eyes felt weighted and he let them slide shut. His breathing evened out in sleep.
It had barely been an hour before a crash sounded, jerking Ken awake. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, blearily trying to get his bearings. A thump next door startled him again and he moved out of bed and to the door.
Walking the short distance to Youji's door, he knocked softly.
"Youji? It's Ken. You okay?"
There was no answer.
Slightly worried now, Ken pressed the panel and stood back as the door slid open. Stepping into the dark room, Ken waited for his eyes to adjust. He heard the metallic hiss and click of the door as it slid shut behind him.
After a while he could see enough to get a general idea of his surroundings. The room was almost exactly like his – the bed placed up against the wall, just under a small reinforced glass window. A small bedside lamp stood on a shelf above it. The opposite wall had a closet and a few cupboards for storage. A desk stood against the last wall, a small lamp on its surface. A chair was resting near it. And sitting on the chair was a dark figure, feet propped up on the mass of papers on the desk. Ken squinted slightly and could make out the faint outline of a bottle in the figure's hand. A second bottle lay on the ground nearby – that probably accounted for the thump he had heard.
"Youji?" Ken queried softly.
"That's me." Came the slurred reply.
Ken let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. The older man seemed fine, if a little drunk.
"You okay Youji?" Ken asked softly. "I heard a thump."
"And you came to find out if I was okay? I'm touched at your concern Kenny-boy" Youji slurred out. "But are you sure that's the only reason you came…"
Ken was confused for a moment before realization dawned. "I didn't come for sex if that's what you mean Youji. I just thought you might… I was worried, okay?!"
A faintly amused voice answered him. "One track mind Ken. I was talking about you wanting an explanation. But if that was an offer…"
Ken was really glad that it was dark so that the other man couldn't see him blush. "No!"
Youji chuckled softly. "If I wasn't so drunk I might be offended."
Ignoring that remark, Ken steered the topic away with the first thing that popped into his mind. "But what about Aya?"
Youji's harsh intake of breath was the only warning he got before a callused hand wrapped tightly around his neck.
"Aya has nothing to do with any of this… do you hear me!" the blonde growled into Ken's face
Ken nodded quickly at the slight squeeze that had accompanied the words. The sharp sour smell of whiskey was making him feel nauseous, or maybe it was just the bad memories that were being dredged up by Youji's actions.
At the nod, the taller man seemed to calm down slightly and moved back to his chair. Instead of propping up his feet again, he rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.
Ken quickly backed away towards the door, emotions roiling inside him, making him feel light headed and panicky. He kept his eyes trained firmly on Youji, just in case the man intended to make a second attack. Not seeing where he was going, he bumped into a wall slightly to the left of the door.
At the soft thump Youji's head came up.
"Ken?" he whispered softly.
Ken stayed where he was, frozen.
"Ken, I'm sorry. It's just… after everything tonight… and you hit a sore spot. I'm sorry, okay?" the regret in the man's tone was clearly evident.
Ken processed this before nodding his assent. He moved forward carefully, showing the older man his trust. He settled himself on the bed and reached out to switch on the small bedside lamp. Bright yellow light emerged.
"Kuso!" Youji swore softly, bringing up his hand to cover his bloodshot eyes. "Ken, would you mind much if we had this conversation in the dark? My eyes are killing me!"
"Okay" Ken agreed and flipped the switch, plunging the room into darkness again.
Youji's voice floated out eerily from in front of him.
"I'm only going to tell you what I feel comfortable with you knowing. The rest of it you can try asking Ran. That okay?"
Ken thought about it.
"Aya-chan's not normal is she?"
He heard Youji sigh deeply, wearily. "No… no, she's not normal. Aya… Aya is… is special."
"And there's someone after her, right?" Ken prompted.
He could almost hear Youji weighing his words. "Youji, I'm not an idiot. I've figured that much out already whether you tell me or not."
"Yes" the sound was a sigh, seemingly wrenched from the older man's throat.
"Will we have to fight?"
"Ken…"
"Youji, don't bull-shit with me! If I'm going to be risking my life in this thing then I'd better damn well know everything about it! So, you tell me honestly, is there a chance I might die for Aya?"
The silence stretched out between them before…
"Yes." The sound was barely a whisper.
Ken drew in a sharp breath, the air hissing between his teeth. He hadn't really expected Youji to confirm that. Drawing in a fortifying breath, he went on.
"Then, don't you think I should know everything?"
Youji's voice was tormented, the sound making the hair on the back of Ken's neck stand on end.
"Not everything is mine to tell Ken. You may or may not deserve a lot of things… but I'm not going to tell you any more than I think is safe… for both you and the rest of us. You'll have to fill in the blanks with Ran."
The finality in that voice made Ken want to throw something, but his natural curiosity won out in the end.
"Okay then… tell me what you can."
Author's note: - Yup, it's a cliff hanger. Heh heh... there's a reason I'm called diabolique, you know. Anyway, big thanks to silver celeste for acting as beta reader. I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't around to make my writing readable.
Marsupial - Thanks so much for the encouragement. I'm definately going to try to keep it up. (And if I don't, celeste is always around to whip me back into shape... literally! Oh, the violence!)
KaraiAtsuiJoo - It's later now and I'm back with more! I love that you told me what you enjoyed because then I can make sure that I put in more. And I totally agree with you... long live bishounens!
Bengali - What is insanity really but true understanding of reality? (That makes little or no sense but sounds completely profound, so I'm going to leave it in there... lol.) But I'm glad it cracked you up.
xXLil Yu JahXx - I'm updating as fast as college life and muses will let meand also trying to keep Ken from seeming wimpy or intimidated by everyone. I've read a lot of stories where all Ken ever seems to do is either whine or cry, and I agree that a wimpy Ken isn't much fun. But I've also never really seen the series... so I can't give you a totally authentic Ken. My knowledge is all gleaned from fiction online or from the one Weiss Kreuz site that I visited. So basically Ken will be sort of a composite version of everything that I've read so far. If you want to tell me anything more about him, I'd love for you to drop me an e-mail.
Shadows of Grey - I never thought I'd actually write an AU fic. I generally tend to lack the imagination or descriptiveness that seems to be a prerequisite to this sort... but starngely enough, here I am and I plan to keep going. Let's see where I end up, ne?
HeatherR - I know you want to see Ran Ken goodness... I do too! I was planning to write in a little dream scene or something but the muse took over and I ended up with a nightmare. I'm not particularly kind to Kenken, am I? (looks ashamed). Anyway, I'm planning to develop that aspect slower now that I have an actual idea of where to take this fic. (Also, I've never done any major scenes before... what a strange time to discover an aspect of prudishness, ne?)
kasugai gummie - The rectal thermometer was for Aya-chan. It would be really hard to take a person's temperature with an oral thermometer if they were in a coma, ne? Therefore, it's all rectal, baby! Lol. By the way, I'm really touched that you think I have great style happening - it's one of the most meaningful complements you could give me. I'm working really hard on my style and I really think that I'm getting better with every fic that I write. So when someone notices the effort... let's just say you're one of my favorite people right now, okay?
Cat in the web - As per request... here's more!
As always I find I'm ever so vaguely,
diabolique.