Chapter 2: Nocturne Interlude
Schuldig woke, gasping for air. He panted for a moment, wild-eyed and shaky. Did he wake Nagi? A scan told him he didn't. He looked at the clock. Three-eleven. Everything was dark, quiet. He left things that way as he got up and went to the kitchen. Empty cupboards greeted him there. They hadn't gone shopping yet. He contented himself with a drink of water, drunk from his hands because there wasn't a cup in those empty cabinets either.
He splashed water on his face, then hurriedly wiped it off. He didn't like the feel of the water on his face, and the sound of the still-running tap was beginning to get to him. He shut it off. Drowning. He had dreamed he was drowning. Farf had a hold of one hand, pulling him up, but Nagi was wrapped around his legs, dragging him down. Farf's blood had made the water red, made it taste like blood. Then both of them had been dragging him down. When he had looked up, he could see Crawford's face, blurred by the water, looking down into the sea as he smiled knowingly.
A rasping, lapping sound caught his attention. Jei stood in the sink, drinking drops of water from the dripping tap. Schuldig gave the tap a vicious twist and stopped the steady drip. Cat and man stared at each other for a long moment. Still cat-watching, Farf? His own words came back to him. Jei slid one gold eye closed. That was too much. Schuldig turned away with a shudder.
He went back to his room and got dressed. He couldn't go back to sleep, so he might as well get something to fill those damned empty cabinets.
----
Nagi got up to find that sometime during the night, the kitchen had been miraculously stocked. He marveled at the full cabinets and refrigerator. Well, it was a good way to start out his day. He wasn't looking forward to it, really. He was going to register for classes today. He looked down at his bookbag. He really was going to do it. He really was going to go to a normal school, for the normal reasons.
The bookbag at his feet was well used, but it had been more of a cover than a necessity. Boys his age was expected to carry this accessory, so Crawford had decided that Nagi should carry one. Most of the time, it just held whatever books he might have been reading, some snacks, and his laptop. Sometimes it had held files that would have brought several very highly-placed officials down if made public. Other times, it had carried a gun, a spare straitjacket, knives, drugs, explosives. Now, it was just a bookbag.
An empty bookbag. He threw in some rice crackers and a couple of packets of Pretz, then made himself some miso soup for breakfast. He lightly called to Schuldig's mind to find the telepath already awake. Schuldig joined him in the kitchen, not just awake but dressed and ready to go. Nagi didn't linger over his soup, taking in Schuldig's impatient posture and surprising alertness.
Schuldig gave him a warning look. "Don't ask, kid. Let's go."
----
When Nagi came back from his first day, Schuldig spared him a casual glance from where he was lying in the living room. Schuldig was channel surfing, flipping through news stations. "Okaeri, Nagi. How's school?"
Nagi sighed. The TV hadn't been there when they had left this morning. He saw a bottle sitting beside the couch, next to Schuldig's dangling hand. Nagi saw two more bottles on top of the living room's bar, next to a brandy glass. Piles of CDs were scattered in front of the entertainment center. Nagi knew what he would see if he opened it. Maybe not the brand, but he knew what would be there.
"No need to ask you what you've been doing," he said dryly.
"Yes, that," Schuldig replied. "But I've been good, too." He shut the TV off and sat up. "Got a job today." The quality of his ever-present smirk changed.
"Only somewhat good, I imagine. I doubt you got that job by legitimate channels." Nagi toed off his shoes and floated his now bulging bookbag to his room. "Why aren't you at your new job?"
"Don't start until tomorrow. The person I'm replacing is going to get fired today."
"Schu!"
"Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with it."
"So they just told you this," Nagi asked suspiciously. "Someone straight off the street, with no resume, no work experience, or at least experience that he can claim."
"No, I pulled that information from their heads. As for the resume and lack of experience, that's not going to be a problem. I'm a natural for this job."
"What job is it?" Nagi asked.
"Human Resources director."
"Oh God."
----
A/N:
Okaeri – "Welcome home" in Japanese.
Chapter three should be out shortly. Hopefully before Sunday. Please read and enjoy. It starts taking a darker turn after this, so anyone that was waiting for something a bit more angsty, it'll be here soon.