Chapter 12: Lost and Found

Nagi woke up when he felt Jei gently paw his face. In the fitful moonlight filtering through the curtains, Jei's eyeshine and small outline were the only things he could see. He sat up and Jei scampered to the end of the bed, gave Nagi an imperious meow, then jumped off the bed. "What is it, Jei?" Nagi followed the kitten out of his room. No lights were on anywhere in the place, but the moonlight was enough for Nagi to see by. He followed Jei to the living room.

Jei darted to the front door, then mewed again, this time questioningly. Nagi frowned at the door. It was wide open. Nagi looked at the hook by the door. Schuldig's keys were still there, so he couldn't have left. But why was the door open? Nagi closed and locked it, then went to find the telepath. Schuldig's bed was a wreck, with the sheets ripped off the bed and trailing on the floor. Nagi checked the rest of the apartment, but Schuldig was nowhere to be found.

So where was Schuldig? Nagi felt a cold fear start to form like an ice storm in his belly. He didn't like this. He hurriedly threw a coat over his pajamas and raced out of the apartment. At the front entrance to the building, he paused, unsure of where to go. He turned left. He had to start somewhere. A gentle rain began to fall, obscuring the moon.

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Ken jogged down the deserted path, enjoying the faint hint of day through the lessening drizzle. He loved running at this early hour. It was nearly dawn, and there was no one in the park. Or so he thought. He slowed as he approached the hunched figure sitting on the park bench. The man didn't look up as he came closer.

Ken stopped in shock as he realized who it was. Mastermind! His hand instinctively tightened. If he only had his bugnuks! The telepath never looked up at him, still and quiet. Ken approached with caution. As he got closer, he had to suppress a shiver. The man on the bench was a far cry from the dynamic, demonic Schwarz member that he remembered.

Mastermind sat there, blankly staring past his cut and bloodied bare feet to a point on the ground. If he hadn't been breathing, Ken would have thought he was dead or a well-constructed mannequin. The man wasn't wearing a jacket, not even a shirt, even though the morning hour was chilly enough that Ken could see his breath. Every once in a while, the redhead would shudder, but that was his only concession to the cold. His lips looked blue, though.

Ken fidgeted, then cursed. To hell with him. The man didn't deserve any compassion. He was the enemy. He had a hand in Ouka's death, had tormented Omi. Aya hated him, and Ken suspected it wasn't just because he was a member of Schwarz, either. The man was evil. End of story. But he also looked... defenseless sitting there. At the very least cold.

Ken sighed. He must be insane. But he wasn't like him. If he turned his back, he wouldn't be able to carry that distinction anymore. Ken shrugged out of his jacket, glad he had pulled one over his sweatshirt. When he draped it over the other man, the telepath flinched, but didn't say a word. "Yeah, you're welcome," Ken said sarcastically. He plopped down on the bench with a sigh. Now what?

----

Nagi could hear the sound of someone running through the park as he passed. Maybe it was Schuldig? He couldn't see through the trees, but it sounded like they were headed east. Nagi paralleled the runner's progress along the park's iron fence until the runner turned north. Nagi made a sound of frustration, then concentrated on the bars in front of him. The fence creaked, then bent to his will, making a gap wide enough for the slim youth to slip through.

Nagi ran silently down the path, eventually getting to the one that the runner was using. The runner was too short and dark to be Schuldig. The runner stopped. Nagi watched without interest, wondering where he was going to look next. Then he looked over at what the runner had found. "Schuldig!"

Ken leapt to his feet when the Schwarz kid suddenly appeared. He should have known where there was one, the rest was sure to be close. Real good, Ken. Put yourself between two members of Schwarz, with no weapons, no backup. Real good. The new arrival appeared uncertain of what to do. Of course. His teammate was at Ken's mercy. But Ken wasn't the kind of guy that took hostages, no matter how appealing the thought was.

Ken backed away from the bench, getting out from between the two. "He's all yours, kid. I found him like this, so don't blame me. I can't do anything like that, anyway." Accusation crept into his tone. "That's your specialty, not mine."

Nagi studied Schuldig worriedly. Schuldig still hadn't acknowledged his presence. How was he going to get Schuldig home? The blood dripping from Schuldig's feet was especially worrisome. "Weiß. We'll overlook this if you do something for me."

"What's that?" Ken asked warily.

"Help me carry him home."

"Me! But aren't you ... you know..." Ken gestured vaguely.

"I could carry him by myself, yes," Nagi replied. "But it would draw attention."

Ken sighed. How did he get himself into these messes? They were right. Nice guys did finish last, because they were too busy helping everyone else in the race. "The rest of Schwarz isn't going to come after me?" Nagi shook his head. "Okay. You got a deal." I must be crazy to trust this kid.

Ken grabbed Schuldig by the arm and with Nagi's help, got the taller man on his shoulder. Luckily, the redhead was lanky, so Ken didn't find him too heavy. The weight lifted until his burden was light as a feather. Ken looked over at the telekinetic, who gave him one last dark, enigmatic look before leading the way.

Several blocks later, Ken found himself in front of an upscale apartment building. Nagi turned back to him. "I can take it from here," he said. "Everyone here usually wakes up later."

"No early risers or kids on their way off to school, huh?" Ken asked.

"No. I'm the youngest here."

Ken shifted his weight from one foot to another. "I can wait down here if you want to get someone to help you."

Nagi gave him another look. This time Ken was sure that he saw sadness flicker through those dark eyes. Then he was faced with impassivity once again. "Go," Nagi said. He didn't want to deal with Weiß. He just wanted to get Schuldig upstairs. "We never saw each other."

"Good enough," Ken said warily. He jogged down the block, back for home. He'd better tell Manx about this. Then the memory of that brief look of sorrow made him pause. The kid looked so alone. Maybe he wasn't a threat. Maybe Schwarz was no more, and the kid was now looking out for his old teammate.

If he told Kritiker, they would send Weiß to take care of Schwarz, especially since one of the members was currently incapacitated. He didn't know what had happened to the telepath, but he would eat his cleats if the man could read a billboard in his present condition, much less someone's mind. And that brief look of sorrow, of abandonment, that was real. Ken was sure it meant the kid was all alone, except for the quasi-company of the curiously cataleptic Mastermind.

He would wait and see. If Schwarz threatened them, he had a place to start when he came to hunt them down. Maybe he'd tell Omi. Omi would be able to keep an eye on the situation, and he could be trusted to not be reactionary. Ken didn't care much for Mastermind, even though he did feel a small touch of pity for the man in his current state. Prodigy was a different matter.

Ken didn't really have anything against the kid, never did. He never felt that the kid harbored any real malice towards them personally, he was just doing a job, like they did. If the kid had a chance to get away from that, that kind of opportunity was rare for their kind. Ken really didn't want to do anything that would quash that small chance. "Good luck, kid," he muttered as he jogged home.

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A/N:
Thanks to Hisoka, LoneCayt and Yanagi-sen for the encouraging reviews. Gundam Wing and Weiss fans, check out Yanagi-sen's stories – there's lots of good stuff there, this writer's really prolific! I remember reading 'The Brad Who Stole Christmas' a few years back (didn't know who had written it at the time because one of my friends showed it to me), and having a good laugh.