Part Three

"But I do admit to being your son."

Your son?

Aya's son?

Ran's son?

'No...' Ken thinks despairingly, reality slapping him hard across the face. This is what he had been fearing, what he had been trying so hard not to see, not to believe, despite the bold evidence that had been staring at him—literally—since all of this began.

Who else could have eyes like that?

'He can't be Aya's son...' Ken continues, frozen in the moment along with everyone else, silenced and still. 'Let him be anyone else's...anyone's...but not his...not his...'

"My...my...that's impossible!" Ran speaks sharply, observably faltering in his speech and visibly losing the grip on his katana. His eyes flare even further into self-contained flames, but he cannot hide that his hands are shaking.

"You sound shocked. I'm surprised." Shioshiro responds calmly, all fear of Ran's sword forgotten, and his smile turned charming and powerful once more. "I've been told I look quite a bit like you. In the eyes. In my build."

"Skin tone." Ken adds, expression oddly melancholy compared to the stunned looks of everyone else. "The way you move. Your voice. Your confidence. It was the first thing I thought of; how much you remind me of Aya..."

Youji catches Ken's eye, offering a silent, friendly warning. Ken stops there, shrugging noncommittally when both Omi and Ran turn to look at him with very questioning glances.

Shioshiro is still smiling. "Haha...why does it not surprise me...that you knew all along?" the young man chuckles, offering Ken another conspiratorial wink.

Ken does not respond.

"I'm tired of your lies, whoever you are!" Ran shouts angrily, his attention drawn back to Shioshiro, though his sword seems to have forgotten how to appear threatening. "Being from the future, that I can marginally believe. Even that you have been sent here by future versions of ourselves I could come to accept. But it is not possible...not possible that you are my son."

"And why is that?" Shioshiro banters back.

"Because I have no son!"

"Not yet."

"I have no desire for children."

"You have a long time to change your mind. A lot can happen in ten years."

"I'm telling you, it isn't possible!" Ran answers vehemently, his sword and all attached suddenly quaking. "You come here spouting nonsense and expect us to take you at your word? All you are doing is turning the situation back to your advantage. Clever, but inconceivable! What proof is there that you are my son? None. Nothing!"

"Oh for crying out loud, are you blind?!" Ken practically screams, out of his chair and up on the balls of his feet like a spring let loose. Youji can feel something awful brewing and does his best to grab Ken's attention again. He fails. "Look at him, Aya!" Ken gestures wildly towards the still pinned brunette. "Those are your eyes looking back at you!"

"Ken!" Youji speaks in warning.

"No, listen to me!" Ken dismisses. "The second he looked at me my mind started going crazy with the idea. Then he starts saying he's actually from the future, and I'm thinking...no fucking way, he really is related to Aya! I mean...just look at him! Omi, Youji, you have to see it. He...he's...he has to be Aya's..."

'...I hate it, but...I know I'm right...'

"I see it, too, Ken-kun." Omi bravely responds, looking up at Ran and Shioshiro contemplatively from his seat. Shioshiro smiles. Ran glowers. "They could be brothers. Their eyes...really are the same. If Shio-kun is telling us the truth, then...I believe it. He really could be Aya's son."

Heated silence. For a moment, Ran's breathing seems to fill the entire room. His eyes dart from one member of his troupe to the next, and then back to rest on Shioshiro—on Shioshiro's eyes. Even he cannot deny the similarity, but he had honestly not noticed until Ken took the time to point out their many likenesses. Omi obviously agrees, and Youji must surely be realizing the same.

So much of Shioshiro is a pseudo-image of Ran. Some things are different, of course, like his smile. His smile is someone else's smile. But there is little doubt whether or not there is a string of truth to what he is telling them.

"My son..." Ran repeats, his glare as firm as ever, though his arm slowly falls, bringing his sword to rest blessedly back at his side. "You speak boldly. But if you are being honest, then--"

"Prove it?" Shioshiro finishes, relaxing away from the wall now that he is no longer being held at sword-point. "No problem. Give me a task. Ask me anything. I don't care what it takes; I just want you to believe me. I am you son."

Ran bristles, indignation steadily growing within him. "Then did I fail to teach you respect?" he hisses back, stranding as tall as he can to better tower above his opponent, though their height is far too similar for him to succeed. "You have granted me none of the deference a son should show his parents. That should be proof enough."

This accusation falls heavily and Shioshiro casts his eyes to the floor, his smile shifting into one of mild humiliation. He shrugs. "Gimme a break, huh? For the first time in my life I'm on equal footing with you. Here, now, we're practically the same age, and you're such a different person from the man I know. Can you blame me for wanting to have a little fun?" He raises his eyes back up and looks into Ran's face with an expression of pitiable humility—like the practiced look a child would give his parents when he wants something they aren't willing to give.

Struck by that image, by Shioshiro's convincing countenance, Ran finds himself backing away, shaking his head in denial of something that is slowly forming into an unbelievable truth.

Ken stands at a loss, knowing he had erupted a little too eagerly before. Omi has the appearance of someone desperate to say something—anything—but continuously falters every time he tries to open his mouth. Only Youji remains capable.

"You give a pretty convincing argument, kid. But I got one more test for ya." Youji speaks with a certain over-confidence. He sidles up beside Omi's chair and puts his hand on the back of it, looking down into his young friend's questioning face. "Kritiker rigged this thing with just about everything, right? So...do a blood test. He can't fake something like that."

Nodding in admiration, Omi breaks into a pleased smile before turning to look at the others for approval. Ran and Ken offer their assent, both eyeing Shioshiro as if he might be the most dangerous thing they have yet to face. Omi then looks to their young guest and finds that Shioshiro is brimming with a certain over-confidence of his own.

In all honestly, none of the members of Weiss know what outcome they should be wishing for right now.

"We have files on everyone involved with Kritiker linked up to our computer." Omi explains, rolling his chair back to the desk. "Just a small sample of blood from Shioshiro, and the computer can check to see if he matches Aya's file. It's foolproof."

"Then why waste time?" Shioshiro beams. "What do you need me to do?"

Omi turns and begins to scavenge for Weiss' personalized first-aide kit. He pulls out a syringe and sets up a vile on a small platform that rests beside the monitor. The platform seems to somehow be connected to the system. Finally, after preparing all this, he looks to Shioshiro. "I can take the sample from your finger. Take off your gloves, please."

This request gives Shioshiro a moment's pause, but he slowly complies, removing only the glove from his right hand. He then extends it to Omi, who takes it into his own hands with practiced gentleness and pricks for a small sample of blood. It takes only a moment, but for those watching, they could be watching an endless countdown to...the end of their own reality.

Youji is more curious than anything, emerald eyes focused on Omi's skill with the procedure. Ken, however, seems far more disturbed by the situation than he really has any logical right to. His eyes remain knitted tightly, arms stiffly crossed. For him, this is the culmination of tragedy, though very few could even begin to guess why.

Everyone save Omi is standing now—Shioshiro by the computer desk, Youji behind Omi, Ran more or less still in front of Shioshiro, and Ken...a small distance away, though he begins to slowly move in closer to stand beside Ran.

It is the fair redhead who seems most outwardly unfeeling in all this. Those who know him best almost expect a certain apathy, but this is unheard of. It is highly possible that the test Omi is performing will prove that the young man before them is indeed Ran's own son. How can he look on with such indifference?

Practice.

'A son...my son...' Ran ponders, all inner turmoil cleverly concealed from prying eyes. He may appear uncaring, but beneath the surface he is the most frightened and fragile of all. 'Even as little as a year ago...I wouldn't have even believed he was from the future...but...there is so much possibility. What if he really is...my son...?'

And what would that mean, for him and for Weiss as a whole?

"It'll take a few minutes to run through the files and analyze the blood." Omi's small voice breaks into the bystanders' thoughts. He sets the now filled vile on the platform and starts up a program on the computer that beeps and clicks and flashes for reasons the others do not fully understand. "When it's finished...then we'll know."

Shioshiro grins out at the others watching him so intently, and moves to replace his glove. In mid gesture, however, a similarly pale hand suddenly grasps his wrist, causing him to drop the glove to the ground. He looks up. Inches away, stands Ran, gripping his wrist with unnecessary force.

"What are you hiding?"

"Wh-what do you mean...?

"The other glove. Take it off."

"I...I can't. You see...it's ...it's a "

"Take it off." Ran demands again, in no mood for compromise on any level. He may be grasping at straws, but it is the only way he sees he can keep his sanity right now. "You say you're being honest, then continue to be."

A low blow; Shioshiro cannot rightly oppose Ran's logic. He nods, and in one swift movement pulls off his other glove, letting it fall to land on the floor beside the first.

Curiosity perked, everyone's eyes focus immediately on that exposed hand, though they do not at first know what they are supposed to be looking for. As they stare, it becomes clear what Shioshiro had been hiding. A ring. A plain, gold band...

"You're married...?" Ran asks, his voice gone unnaturally soft.

Shioshiro suppresses a blush. "Not yet. Engaged. She's waiting for me...30 years from now."

"But...why hide that?" Omi inquires, turned away from the computer screen in order to join in on the conversation. "Why would it matter if we know you're engaged?"

"It was your rule, Omiji." he answers with a shrug, pale hands contrasting so beautifully with his black garb and the gold on his finger as he moves. "I'm not supposed to give away any more about the future than I have to." He turns suddenly to Ran, who has since backed even further away. "It is necessary for you to know that I am your son in order to complete my objective, but anything not necessary has to stay a secret if at all possible."

"To protect the continuum of time." Omi finishes, his scientific mind forever at work. "It is dangerous enough sending you back and asking you to change...anything. I would definitely have told you to be careful on that account."

Shioshiro nods, the matter seemingly settled, but every new bit of information about the young man proves only to make him that much more tangible, that much more believable. And therefore, that much more...Ran's son.

Granted, Youji remains merely curious, much like Omi, both finding the situation fascinating, especially since Shioshiro's words seem so possible to be true. It is easy to understand why Ran finds this more difficult, and though one may not easily guess Ken's reasoning, his feelings are much the same.

Those hands; Ken finds them...bewitching. So like Ran's—long, graceful fingers and smooth, white skin—and yet...Shioshiro's personality appears more and more different the more it expresses itself. And that bothers Ken, because it forces him to imagine the identity of the woman who created that other half.

Shioshiro bends to retrieve his gloves, but does not put them back on. Instead, he places them in his pocket, keeping those drastically imitative hands out in the open. After depositing the gloves, he casts another wayward look at Ken and smiles.

It succeeds in making Ken uncomfortable to the point of having to turn away, watching instead the tense muscles along Ran's neck and shoulders, looking so tight they could almost snap. One thing he and his red-haired leader have in common is that despite the evidence against them, both are still hoping the test will prove Shioshiro is lying.

"We have a few minutes yet, right?" Youji mentions, moving to lean against the wall by Omi's desk. "So at this point we're agreed on...what? The kid's from the future, someone sent him that may or may not have been us, and he may or may not be Aya's son." He pauses, gathering confirming nods before looking to Shioshiro. "What we don't know...is why you're here. I'd say that's a fair place to go next, wouldn't ya say?"

"Fair enough." Shioshiro agrees.

The others unconsciously inch closer in anticipation. The computer is still beeping and clicking and flashing away, but putting Shioshiro's identity to the back of their minds in hopes of learning his agenda is a very desirable thing.

"Whether you believe me yet or not, I am who I say." Shioshiro continues, blessedly leaving Ken alone for a moment as his violets linger on Ran's. "The reason I'm here...is to save you, along with countless others, from...well, a number of things, really. In the end, it's to save everyone from the great power Estet will become, but believe me, there are many stops along the way."

"So...do you have specific tasks you have to complete to stop all this?" Ken asks, doing his best to avoid making eye contact as he waits for an answer.

No such luck; Shioshiro happily returns his attention to his fellow brunette. "There are many things I need to prevent, and many things I need to...ensure. There is much to change, but I must make sure that some things don't change with the rest. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense." Youji says rather sarcastically. "Especially since you don't seem too keen on letting us know the details."

"I told you, I'm not allowed to tell you everything."

"So we're just supposed to follow you blindly?" the taller man presses. "You say jump, we say how high, and we're just supposed to trust that what we're doing is for our own good? Sorry, kiddo, but I don't play that way."

Omi stands from his chair, the only barrier between Youji on one side of the desk, and Shioshiro on the other. "Don't start anything, Youji-kun. There's no need to fight."

Youji huffs, significantly ruffled, but obligingly turns away. It isn't that he wants to bicker, and it isn't that he doesn't believe Shioshiro is who he says, either. He just doesn't like the thought of handing over his fate with such abandon.

And that is where his argument falls short.

"You're such a hypocrite." Shioshiro sneers, releasing a very short laugh. He has turned to look at Youji—all his attention directed on that side of the room—but through his peripheral vision he watches Ran and Ken very closely. "You handed your life over a long time ago, Yotan. You get a mission and you complete it without question. You kill...indiscriminately...with no more purpose than that it is what you were told to do. So don't talk to me about trust. I'm the one person who's actually giving you something to fight for."

The young man's smile is a challenge within itself, bold and borderline malicious. Despite his apparent focus of attention, however, Ran and Ken both feel the weight of his indirect stare. He has said his little rant just as much, if not more, to them. And they know it.

'Does he have so little respect for me...? The man he claims is his father...'

'Does he have reason to hate me...? Is that why he keeps staring...?'

"I'm sorry, I've overstepped my bounds, haven't I?" Shioshiro comments with a noticeable lack of genuineness. "I should be more deferent to my elders, right...otousan?"

Ran's fists clench with two soft cracks of his knuckles, but he does not reply.

Once again, violets lock, and once again, Shioshiro eventually shifts his gaze over to Ken and winks.

"Ano...minna...the test is done."

Everyone turns to focus their attention on Omi at the computer, who returned to his seat when it beeped and clicked and flashed its way to completion. He sits typing a few practiced commands, bringing up complicated windows and schematics. Eventually, his work brings up Ran's file from Kritiker, picture and all, with a display of Ran's DNA strand in comparison to the one uploaded—Shioshiro's. Omi looks to the others warily, and then...presses the final key.

The room holds its breath. The walls creek in anxiety. Shioshiro smiles smugly. And...

"It matches. No doubt about it. Shioshiro is Aya's son..." Omi trails off, still taken aback by this definite proof, even though he had suspected it to be true since Shioshiro first confessed it.

The others react much the same; they are shaken, the certainty striking them all very hard, but there is also a small voice at the back of their minds saying, 'Well, duh.'

"My son...no doubt...that...that can't...it...can't...I...how...how..." Ran's words form unintelligibly. There is a sudden clang; his katana has slipped from his grasp, landing unceremoniously on the floor of the RV. He stares...and stares...and cannot speak for all his dignity urging him to find words. The other tests he could dismiss easily, but this...this proves everything the young brunette has said...and there are no exceptions to fact.

Standing only a few feet away, Ken feels his throat tighten, becoming unbearably dry. He had no doubts; how could there be any other outcome? But...now there is proof. Undeniable proof...that Ran will one day belong to someone. Someone...who isn't him.

Once again, Youji catches Ken's eye and shakes his head, silently pleading that Ken say nothing that might reveal the truth only the two of them know. Right now, it would be too dangerous. Besides, Ran has enough to deal with.

Shioshiro is smiling still, exuding pure confidence and pride. But he is not looking at Ran. He is looking...at Ken.

"Matte...there's something else." Omi speaks into the static quiet. He is still facing the computer, siphoning through the program. Only Youji has the initial fortitude to turn and acknowledge Omi has spoken. The boy continues. "According to this...the other half of Shio-kun's DNA matches with someone else in the system. Another Kritiker agent."

"What?!" Youji exclaims, leaning in close beside Omi to stare at the screen he cannot read nor can he even begin to comprehend. "Another member of Kritiker? Then...Aya's gonna end up with Manx? Or Birman?"

"That's ridiculous." Ran speaks in reflex, having never once given either of those women a second thought romantically.

Omi shakes his head. "Manx and Birman aren't the only female Kritiker agents, Youji-kun." he stresses, still typing and sorting through files. "Right now it's looking for this other person's identity, so...soon we'll know who Shioshiro's mother is, too."

"Good." Shioshiro grins, his eyes now very much trained on Ken. "It'll save me from having to tell you."

The others do not notice Shioshiro's undivided attention, all watching the computer for when its secret will be revealed. But Ken, being the furthest from the computer, is imprisoned by violet.

Shioshiro's eyes seem filled with something so...so...sinister is the word Ken chose before, but now...he begins to question if that is accurate. In the dark outside, those violet eyes had indeed seemed sinister, but here in the light Ken sees that they are something else. The young man looks pleased, but also...hungry. Like a starving child given her first bowl of rice in weeks—ravenously content.

'He knows.' Ken believes with sudden epiphany, his eyes wide in horror, no longer attempting to hide his discomfort or his fear. 'He knows how I feel about Aya...'

Violet remains locked on deep brown while the others stare at the screen for the computer's final verdict. The files continue to be sorted and sifted through, until finally...the winner begins to come up on the screen.

"Ha! Birman! What did I tell ya?" Youji grins triumphantly, the file having slowly begun to show itself now, so far revealing only brown hair at the top of the person's picture. But Youji grows silent as the file completes itself, and though neither Shioshiro nor Ken is looking with the others, they are soon told the truth.

"Oh my god..." Omi begins breathlessly, leaning back from the computer in shock. "It's Ken-kun!"

A/N:

Before I say anything, please go here: and see a pic of Shioshiro that I drew. It didn't scan very well, but I'm relatively pleased. I want to refine it, and I will, but here's the initial draft so you have an idea what I'm thinking.

Yeah, most of you caught on early, so I hope you aren't disappointed, but this story depends largely on Ran and Ken knowing right from the start that Shioshiro is theirs. Believe me, there is much left to tell. I'm guessing it'll be around 20 total chapters, but one never knows.

HeatherR: How dumb am I? I looked back and read my own words which said in the Prologue: "Among those eight had been his father." Yeah, stupid Crim. Anyhoo, as you can see it was fathers. :-)

M-chan: Otousan is indeed father. Kento. Hee. You were the only one who said anything about that.

I'm sure many of you are curious about why Shioshiro is focusing so much on Ken. Partly because he knew they would assume he was Ran's because of how much more he looks like Ran, and he was trying to hint, but...there's more to it. He isn't suppose to actually be looking at Ken sinisterly, just...overly-excited and starved for attention. Ken misinterpreted.

I'm dying from excitement myself, so I am happy to be getting such support. I had alot of trouble with this chapter for some reason, so please REVIEW and let me know it is still going well. Love you all, and I'll have the next part up pronto!

Crim