Part 14

Nagi looked at Crawford, he looked so sad that it upset him. Crawford was a rock. No matter what happened it never affected Crawford, a lot of it was because his precognition meant that nothing surprised him, he could plan for it, prepare for it. But Crawford had fallen for this geisha hard and there had been no warning that he had said, and he had not seen her parting from him. Nagi made his mind up there and then.

"Crawford," he said bluntly, "the reason you didn't see it coming is because it's not going to last." He lifted his head thinking, his mouth making a firm line, "you are going to get your Murasakiiro-sama back, by hook, crook or downright kidnapping. I know you're a perfect gentleman." Crawford was looking at him like he was speaking in tongues, "but you're also a legitimate member of Rosenkreuz and they work for evil. You have pussyfooted around this woman enough. Take charge, be a man."

Crawford blinked once, and then twice, then he gaped a little.

"Is she your woman?"

Crawford blinked again.

"I said is she your woman?" Nagi was new to motivational speaking and it showed.

"Yes." Crawford muttered.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes!" He answered loudly, "and you need your ears cleaned out. I'm sat right next to you."

"Then, come first thing in the morning we march down to her Okiya and we let her know that you are not taking no for an answer, and if she still protests then we live up to our evil reputation and kidnap her."

Crawford looked at Nagi for a moment. "You've spent too much time with Schuldig." He said.

"Crawford, don't let her go, she made you happy." Nagi said.

"I know, Nagi," Crawford said patiently, "I know." He wondered when his life had reached that low that he was forced to take relationship advice from a fifteen year old boy.

Farfarello looked at the phone handset and then laughed his head off at it. "Prague?" He asked, "what are you doing there?" Schuldig answered something but he didn't really pay that much attention. "So, let me get this straight, you went out for more liquor and woke up in the Czech republic?" Farfarello laughed even harder. "I'll tell Crawford." He laughed some more. "You've got who with you?" He was doubled over, and it was very difficult to breathe. "Priceless," he gasped. "You can't get back for three days?" He laughed some more, he was howling, and he was almost past standing, as it was he was leaning against the wall. "No," he laughed, "I'll tell him for you. Schuldig, you crack me up. And they say I'm crazy."

Ken picked up the ringing phone. "Ichirogo Okiya." He said brightly in the manner that Kaasan preferred and insisted on when she was staring at him. "No, I'm afraid she's not available at the moment, can I take a message?" He lifted a pencil from beside the notepad. "Crawford-san?" He asked, "No, I've got that, I'll tell her." He rolled his eyes for a moment, "no, I will." He pulled a face, frowning at the phone, "Murasakiiro-sama is a very important member of this Okiya, if you continue to hurt her the way that you did tonight then we will be forced to reject your appointments." He listened for a moment, "we will, of course, abide by her decision. I will pass on your message, Crawford-san, but it is Murasakiiro-sama that has the final decision." He hung up and then stuck his tongue out at the phone, and flipped it his middle digit.

The phone rang again, Ken jumped back. He couldn't have known, he thought, could he? He took a deep breath and lifted the receiver, "Ichirogo Okiya." He said brightly. "Yohji, where are you, this line's terrible?" there was a brief pause. "How in the hell?" He listened for a moment, "How drunk were you?" There was a moment before he spoke again, "I don't believe that this was a trick by Schwarz," he waited again, "even if he is there. Get back as soon as you can." He hung up again.

"That was Yohji," he told Omi who was looking at him funny, "you're not going to believe this, but he's in Prague with Schuldig," Omi gaped a little. "And it was Crawford the first time and he says that Aya dumped him, not the other way around."

Omi blinked and gaped at the same time, trying to make sense of what Ken was telling him. "Well," he said, and for one of the first times in his life he was completely and utterly speechless.

The knocking on the front door woke Ken up, he looked blearily at his alarm clock, convinced it said SOS. He squinted a bit and realised it said 5.05. Why the hell was someone at the door at five past five in the morning. He guessed that Ichimomo had locked her self out again. He stumbled down the steps in a pair of pyjama bottoms and tried to ignore the geisha, Ichigo, in the kitchen oohing over his bare chest and chiselled abs, whilst appreciating it as much as his half asleep brain could manage to process the compliment. He opened the door to three members of Schwarz, the fourth being in Eastern Europe, he took a look at them.

Prodigy was wearing a school uniform, but judging by the fact he had his tie around his head and only one arm in his jacket, and one eyes was closed and he was drooling, Ken was willing to guess that he wasn't much more awake than he currently was. He also had a cute grey stuffed donkey under one arm.

Berserker was wearing a jacket that gave him the distinct ability to hug himself and a pair of trousers with the knees tied together, his head was cast back and he was snoring.

Oracle, on the other hand, was immaculate. He was also dressed like a samurai from a period flick, his black hair was exquisitely gelled so that only a few stray locks fell across a rather smooth forehead, and he was wearing contacts. The dark brown of the kimono brought out the amber highlights of his hair, and the red pattern on his wide legged trousers looked like maple leaves in the predawn grey.

Ken gaped at them for a moment, it was clear Oracle had put some effort into this. "It's five o clock in the morning." Ken managed to whine after a few seconds, he couldn't care less if they killed him right now, he just wanted to go back to bed. "Come back later."

"No." Oracle said, "I want to speak to Murasakiiro-sama."

"She's in bed," Ken protested, "I was in bed, and by the looks of it those two still think they are."

"Ooh, pretty." Ichigo said from behind Ken where she had popped her head out of the kitchen to be nosy, her appointments had run late and she was yet to go to bed. "I like your hair," she said touching Farfarello.

"Ichigo!" Ken protested.

"It's okay, Reiichi," Kaasan said from behind them both, it was obvious the knocking on the door had woken her, she however was perfectly dressed. "I can deal with this from here. Ichigo, no one will want to spend time with you this evening if you haven't slept, go." It was a pointed dismissal and Ichigo went with a wink at Farfarello, who if anything seemed a little scared by her. "Crawford-san, I presume." She smiled when he nodded. "That child should be abed, Reiichi-kun, you can put him in with you. It is fine, Crawford-san, you can send your bodyguard away." Crawford stood his ground. "I am merely inviting you in for tea, this is not the kind of conversation that one should have in the street, am I incorrect, Crawford-san." Kaasan always got her way, Ken thought, taking Nagi by the arm, he also pulled the tie from around his head, Crawford would be best just backing down.

Aya stumbled down the Okiya steps in an oversized T-shirt that came more than halfway down his thighs and a pair of sweat pants that he had fallen asleep in, and stopped dead on the fourth step, all traces of sleep gone. Brad Crawford, Oracle of Schwarz, principal bodyguard of Reiji Takatori was sat in the kitchen. He turned tail and ran up the stairs. Tea could wait, he couldn't go down the stairs, he couldn't face him.

Omi was asleep on his futon, arms and legs akimbo and mouth open. It was not an attractive sight. Aya shook him awake. "Schwarz is in the kitchen." He hissed.

"Then tell them I want pancakes." Omi slurred and rolled over.

Aya woke him up again with a short jab in the ribs. "There will be no pancakes if they find out who we are. We're supposed to be girls, remember."

Omi snuggled further into his quilt, "They're here because of you." He murmured.

"Omi, I need your help to get dressed." Aya hissed.

"Just put the bra on, they'll never know." Aya blushed up to the roots of his hair, "Ah, I get it," Omi said sitting up, "you can't put your own bra on." He tittered to himself.

Aya rolled his eyes. "Just give me a hand will you?"

When Murasakiiro descended the steps it looked as if she had never slept, as if her beauty was kept perfect in a glass case. Her long red hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she wore a pair of rose coloured jeans and a dark magenta cashmere sweater. The colours brought out the dark red of her hair and the lavender coloured sash around her waist highlighted her unusual eyes.

Crawford's throat tightened looking at her. Then he stood up. He would not be weak.

"I'm throwing down the gauntlet. I'm not letting you go, Saki-chan. You are my woman, Damnit." Murasakiiro blinked over and over again. "I'll win you back, by hook, crook or downright kidnapping." Murasakiiro blinked again, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. "I don't care if it's you. You're my woman."

Ichimomo, the geisha, who had been sat at the table with her head in her arms looked up, "That is so kawaii." She exclaimed happily, "and so romantic."

Murasakiiro had gone from goldfish impressions to her eyes being very wide and wobbling. It looked like she might at any moment burst into tears. "I can't." She murmured, "I can't."

Meanwhile, in Czechoslovakia.

"So you phoned Crawford?" Yohji asked, leaning back in the café's chair. Since they were stuck in Prague for another couple of days the two had decided to spend it like tourists. Schuldig nodded. "I phoned Ken."

"I take it they weren't any more worried than mine were?" Schuldig sipped his ginger lemonade.

"What do you think?" Yohji asked, lighting a cigarette.

"I'm too far to tell you what Schwarz is thinking, but we do have a link, Crawford can't make his mind up whether he's in a homicidal rage or he's weeping, Farfarello thinks whatever the hell has happened is just funny, and Nagi can't make his mind up whether he's happy or worried."

"That must be handy." Yohji said, "I'd give my eye teeth to find out what's going on in Aya's head most of the time."

Schuldig shrugged. "It's a fifty-fifty thing."

"Well, I'd love to know how Aya's doing with his mysterious customer." Yohji laughed, just a little dryly.

Schuldig leaned forward, "look we're both officially out of action until we get back to Kyoto, how's about telling me about this mysterious mission, I mean after all, Weiss will have it sorted by the two of us get back."

Yohji looked around before leaning forward. "Well," he said.

Nagi woke slowly in the futon, he had been stripped at some point down to his boxers. He opened his eyes to a pair of wide blue eyes he would recognise anywhere. He threw his arms up and kissed the figure passionately.

The figure pulled away, turning her blonde head. "I'm sorry," she said, "I think you have me mistaken for someone else."

"But Omi," Nagi protested.

"My name is Aoi." She said but she wouldn't look at him as she said it.

"Don't do this, Omi, please." He grabbed her hand.

She jerked it away. "I'm sorry." she said, "you have me mistaken for someone else."

Gosh darn it, I'm evil, don't worry readers, all will be resolved, soon.

Honest.

I'm sorry, Nagi.

Author's note: Thank you all so much for the reviews, I really do appreciate it, I didn't think I updated that quickly, for the most part this has been sat in note form so it's just a matter of finding the time to type it up.

I have read Memoirs of a geisha, and the more eagle eyed among you might notice a geisha in this called Ichimomo, I didn't like Sayuri but I thought Ichimomo was fantastic.

I planned for fifteen chapters, but it might run to sixteen. I doubt we'll go as far as twenty.

a speciality of Prague and well worth trying