READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM IN FULL FOR IMPORTANT INFO YOU WANT TO KNOW!
Part Thirteen
This mission will undoubtedly be one of the most difficult they have or ever will have to face. Weiss—an older, more experienced version of themselves—awaits them at their destination, and other than Ran's knowledge of Shion and the information Shioshiro can't entirely divulge, they know absolutely nothing of what can be expected in the hours to come.
Perfect. Why would they want anything less?
'Hang in there, minna. This isn't even the beginning of what it will take to save you…'
"Sir! We're being attacked!"
"WHAT!"
The Police Chief couldn't believe his ears. Who in their right mind would attack a function where dozens of officers of the law would be present?
A quick look to where his subordinate has come from, however, proves the man's words to be correct. "Who the hell're you!" the Chief calls to the group now entering the main room of their gathering. There are four of them—all in black, with varied weapons—and the guards that had been posted at the entrances seem to have had absolutely no affect on them.
The last of the group to enter is a man in a dark, leather trench coat with long dark hair and eyes that scream of a life gone wrong—a life of regrets he will never speak. "Weiss..." he says sinisterly in response to the Chief's demand.
Shion.
The main target, a gang leader seeking to cover more territory without police interference, stands near the Chief, stepping slightly forward as he plays that name over in his mind. "Weiss?"
A low laugh sounds from one of the other men at the door. "The tarot cards shall foretell your fate." he speaks, his leather jacket not unlike his leader's, and his hair and eyes an eerily matching ebony against tan skin.
Rindou.
Cutting the deck, he pulls out a single card. "Hmph, this is your friend the skeleton." he smirks, turning the card around for the gang leader to see that he has drawn Death.
The gang leader, Police Chief, and bystanders alike, pale at the implications of that. "What…? What are you talking about!"
"In other words," Rindou says while preparing a trained flick of his wrist. "Your fate is this!" He hurls the card, sending it in a sharp line to slice cleanly through the gang leader's throat.
With a disbelieving cry, the man clutches at his fatal injury before collapsing solidly to the ground.
Various clients, underlings, and police officers run towards the group that is so boldly calling themselves Weiss, assuming that their larger number gives them the advantage. "You!" one of them calls out accusingly. "You killed him! Let's get 'em!"
The assumption that numbers mean anything in this case…is utterly and completely…wrong.
"Let us hear this requiem, the Prayer of the Dead, to accompany you to the next world!" a man of somber and steadfast appearance speaks as he pulls his violin—what he carries instead of an expected weapon—up to his chin to pull his bow across the strings.
Azami.
Uttering a single, haunting note, the instrument proves its lethal nature as an arrow launches like that from a true bow, cutting many of the advancing men down.
"Bastards!" the Police Chief cries, having backed away from his now dead partner in crime, a look of perceived superiority written plainly on his face. "You got the balls to do that in front of the chief of police! Kill the intruders!"
At his command, several shots ring loudly throughout the room, coming from those men who had chosen to keep their distance.
Weiss' leader, however, his sword gleaming as he lifts it into fighting position, makes a sudden dash forward. "Your life is mine!" And cuts the Police Chief down right where he stands.
Completely shocked at this, many of the men back down and attempt to run, leaving only a few behind, including the few women who had been attending the party with them.
Watching as the fight progresses closer and closer to them, the women cry out, a few managing to slip away or stay hidden, though two are plainly out in the open. "No, please don't hurt us!" one of them cries as the fourth and final member of Weiss begins to approach them. "We've got nothing to do with them! We just came along to have fun!"
"Hehehe...well then, shall we have some fun together?" taunts a sickeningly sweet voice, this final member moving his slight build with grace and comfort that is frightening in its fluidity.
Ayame.
He exudes murderous intent, as well as the thrill and pleasure it brings him. "Why don't we discover which is faster: my boomerang…or your legs?"
The other woman, realizing what is about to happen, pleads desperately while clinging to her companion. "Wait, please!"
"Run!"
Terrified, the two woman start to run away, making a mad dash for the exit. Behind them, their pursuer readies his bladed boomerang with a sneer. "Hmph…whores..."
He pulls back, the boomerang flies…and is caught by a hand gloved protectively in preparation for this very moment thanks to the advice of a certain, young brunette.
"Women aren't for men to hurt. They're for us to love."
The four members of Weiss stop amidst their slaughter because SIX young men have just come through the door.
"How…how dare you!" Ayame cries, eyes wild as he addresses Youji, who is still holding the older man's boomerang in a gloved hand. "You spoil my fun, child. That isn't a good idea."
The women, having noticed this as their chance for escape, dash to the door, past these new intruders, and flee to safety. Others left alive do the same, leaving only Weiss, the Weiss that came after them, and a scattering of beaten bodies.
"And now look…you've frightened everyone away." Ayame speaks in a mocking pout.
His teammates are not so congenial.
"Who the fuck are you?" Rindou seethes, his deck of cards clutched in an angry fist.
"This is our mission." Azami adds, his bow at the ready. "Do you know with what you are dealing with?"
As our currently six-membered Weiss remains silent, a hollow laugh begins to echo from the one member of the older Weiss who has yet to speak since the younger vision took their entrance. All eyes quickly turn to him, most notably a pair of violets that are by far the most intensely focused.
"I'm surprised you don't realize who they are." he addresses his men, coming to the forefront with his sword at his side. "The varied weapons and vacant expressions give them away rather easily, I think. These boys are Persia's brats. Aren't you…Ran?"
Violet narrows on burnt gold. The older Weiss comes to recognition, no longer questioning and certainly not fearing the men before them. After all, they are the old pros and these "brats" are only puppets.
Of course, our Weiss thinks much the same—that they can easily win—and thus the stare down begins, centered on the two sword-wielding leaders.
"You wish to lead your men to death, do you?" asks Ran's once trusted mentor with a sideways smile. "I often wondered whether you would be sent to get rid of us. I figured not, seeing as how it will only lead you to early graves. What do you say…Ran-kun? Shall we keep this between us then and let your follows live another day?"
"This isn't about us…Shion." Ran speaks with acid on the tip of his tongue, adjusting the grip he has on his katana. "We've come to stop you, yes. But also…to convince you to cease this reckless murdering. This righteous killing of yours is…barbaric and you know it. We're here to talk some sense into you…and…" Ran trails off, no longer seeing a point to his speech when all four of their adversaries are chuckling or downright laughing at its content.
"This is going well." Ken condescendingly sneers.
Looking concerned and as if he really should be doing SOMETHING, Shioshiro eyes his frustrated father and then the father looking rather pissed at being laughed at. He begins to step forward, but Ran, noticing his son's movement in his periphery, holds the younger man back.
This is his arena.
"Then I suppose we need to make this about us." he calls to his once trusted teacher, who then—immediately—stops laughing. "That is what you want, isn't it?"
Shion regards the firm redhead, perplexed and curious. "I wonder why you are not more surprised that I am still living, but I must say, I have thought of you over these past few years only when wondering whether or not you are yet dead. It is not me who needs absolution, Ran. But if YOU want to make this about us…why don't we leave our fellows out of it for the moment. Knock my sword from me and we will listen to what you have come to say."
A sharp laugh sounds, though the snickering has since died down, as Ayame finds both the prospect of Shion losing and the thought of listening to such children equally ridiculous.
Shion continues. "If I knock your sword from you…this stops being only about us. Fair play? Do you agree?"
This time Shioshiro does not allow his father to hold him back as he steps up next to him and leans over so that only Ran will hear his words. "Father, please…you can't fight him. You are not going to win."
Ran hesitates but turns his head to whisper back. "Did I not defeat him in your time?"
"You did, but…not this soon. It took much for you to reach a point where you knew how to face him."
"Then…how did I do it?"
"Well…you cheated."
Ran pulls away slightly, not understanding what the boy means by this.
Shioshiro sighs, having to lean further to create that same protective shell and keep the others from hearing them. "You got in a good blow, yes, but he was about to win anyway when you…pulled a gun and…shot him. You shot him, Oran, you didn't out fight him."
Comprehension floods Ran's expression, his pulse racing a little faster, his blood running a little hotter as he realizes…he stands no chance. "Thank you. But there's not much we can do about it now."
Never one to back down, Ran pulls away from Shioshiro and the others, and nods to Shion his assent. Shioshiro obviously tenses, something Nagi and the members of the current Weiss do not like one bit. There is nothing any of them can do, however. Shioshiro and the others can only pray that a sword being knocked free is the only outcome.
As Ran and Shion approach one another in the center of the large room—the distant sound of fleeing men and women having completely faded now—both sides look on in vigilance.
Shion passes a fleeting glance at the young man who resembles his former charge so strikingly. "You couldn't possibly have a brother I never knew about." he states with a knowing grin, cleverly prying for information even as he is raising his sword.
"You know I only have a sister."
"Then that boy…"
"I won't deny that he is family." Ran admits, raising his own sword and shifting his feet with a watchful stare looking straight between Shion's eyes.
"If I didn't know better I'd guess he was-"
"My son." Ran finishes, a poignant look saying more than enough to confirm Shion's suspicions, though the older swordsman has no idea how such a thing could actually be possible.
Widening his smile, Shion steadies his footing. "If we don't kill one another…you'll have to introduce me."
Shing! Metal strikes metal as Shion charges, making contact with a shrill screech of nearly equal resistance. The long-haired man smiles even wider still, knowing in this single moment that he is sure to win.
On the sidelines, Shioshiro alone knows who the victor will be, though the members of the original Weiss have full confidence in their leader's abilities. The members of the current Weiss have just as much confidence in theirs, but…they also understand the redhead's limits. Watching as the swordplay continues, they see very clearly that something in Ran is holding him back.
What seems endless but is in actuality only a few minutes, ends with a sudden cry from Ran as Shion strikes behind the hilt of the redhead's sword with the spine of his own and sends Ran's weapon flying from his hands.
"Aya-kun!" Omi shouts in concern.
"That guy outfought Aya!" Ken cries, having been the lone man on Ran's side with unwavering faith.
Nagi, too, is stunned, though Youji merely shakes his head and clenches the fist still wrapped around Ayame's boomerang. Shioshiro…holds his breath.
"Dammit..." Ran hisses, clutching his stinging hand and eyeing his too distant katana.
Laughing ever so softly, Shion looks at his promising pupil with humored scorn. "I'm so disappointed in you, Ran-kun. Have two years on your own taught you only to forget the time you spent under my care? I once thought you would easily surpass me."
Ran does not reply, releasing his still throbbing wrist as he begins backing away to rejoin his comrades.
"Well then…" begins the unsurprised voice of Rindou as the youngest of the older generation assassins readies his weapon to make good on Shion's promise. "Shall we foretell the boys' future…?" He cuts the deck a few times with well-practiced hands and pulls out a card. "Hmm...hehehe...The Fool? How interesting."
Ayame barks out a laugh, catching his boomerang easily as Youji right then throws it back to make the groups equal and even again. "A good card, I think. Suits these boys perfectly. Fools…for thinking themselves worthy of the name Weiss."
Coming up beside his companion, Azami kicks back to Ran the sword that had been sent flying to land near his feet. Now it is truly fair, though equal and even may not say it correctly. "Well then…" the tallest of the assassins prompts, nodding to his fellows.
Shion picks up on the prompt and nods. "…shall we begin?"
"Thank you! Please come again!" Aya—the REAL Aya—calls to the last of the afternoon rush, humming cheerfully at the prospect of a slight lull finally as her patrons exit.
Her now good friend Tomoe Sakura walks in just as that group is leaving. "Aya-chan! You look like you're having fun."
Aya grins at her approaching friend, coming around excitedly from behind the counter. "You won't believe it, Sakura! Those last customers are on the Ebisudai ski team and they invited you and me to go to their next party. Doesn't that sound fun?"
"Huh?" Sakura pales, unintentionally leaning back from the exuberance of the young woman in front of her. "Aya-chan, we can't!"
"Of course we can! They said I could bring a friend."
"But...I just…can't!"
Aya slumps, folding her arms in frustration. "But why? I already said we'd go, so we're going!" the pig-tailed girl exclaims firmly, fully believing she is being adamant for her friend's own good.
"But... I...it's all right if you go by yourself, right? I just...I don't really-"
"No way!" Aya argues, taking her friend by the arm to stress her position as she looks directly into the pale eyes imploring her so intensely. "They're all after you, anyways. I'm sure there will be some great guys there, too. Really."
Sakura tries to pull back, but fails at getting Aya to release her. "No, okay? I just…I don't want to."
Aya takes Sakura by both shoulders now, addressing the girl more seriously. "Sakura...don't take this the wrong way, but..." she trails, taking a breath to strengthen her resolve. "Sakura, I really like you. You're a big help in the shop, and I have a lot to thank you for, but...I think...you should forget about my brother."
Sakura jerks back—shocked—and winces as Aya's grip tightens with the gesture. "But!"
"I have a feeling that...no matter how long you wait for him he's not going to come back..."
This is not easy for Aya to say, for she too has often looked to the shop door with the hope that her brother might at any moment come walking through it. But…she knows better than to live with false hope so strong it keeps her from living at all.
Sakura, however, is not quite so strong, no quite as ready to leave Ran's memory behind.
"No...no, that's not true! He'll come back…he has to!" she insists, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. And all to suddenly, the door chimes as she runs out the shop, having wrenched herself free of Aya's tight hold.
"Sakura!" Aya calls after her, knowing that her words are not yet enough to help her friend see the truth. She sighs. "Oniichan...she thinks about you so much..."
Her eyes remaining trained on the door, Aya is now alone in the shop as she stares, still wondering herself if the person she truly wishes to see come walking through that door will ever enter her life again.
"Oniichan..."
"Aya, look out!"
The redhead dodges the blade of Ayame's boomerang just in time, called to attention by a voice forever ready to come to his rescue. For once, Ran turns to Ken with a thankful nod before returning to the fight at hand.
All about the large room—completely deserted now by its original inhabitants—the members of the former and present Weiss, with the inclusion of one telekinetic and one time traveler, are in the throngs of battle. This is not what Shioshiro wanted, but somehow he knew things had no chance of going smoothly. At least not without some kind of fight breaking out between the opposing sides.
It's just the way things work.
Ran and Ken have ended up facing Ayame, though the redhead is forever trying to break away and engage his mentor once more. Shion is instead dodging Omi's crossbow and trying to maintain a grip on his katana while defending against mental deflections from Nagi. On the far left side of the room, Youji's wire and Azami's bow are vying for the upper hand, and near the back Shioshiro and Rindou are dancing circles with equally swift footwork.
The problem for our troubled heroes is that none of them are honestly going for a killing blow; they are fighting knowing that they do not want this to end in major bloodshed.
That is something they have never done before.
A passing glance over the room proves to Shioshiro just how futile this fight is, one side having nothing against ending it permanently and the other having everything against it. It is obvious that his companions are not fairing well, even though they outnumber their foes. He has to think quickly how to fix this.
"Keep your eyes on your opponent, little boy." Rindou sneers, shooting out a full hand of deathly sharp cards that Shioshiro is barely able to sidestep. "Has that fool Persia taught you so poorly?"
Shioshiro almost laughs at the man's mistake. "I'm afraid I never had the pleasure of meeting him. He's dead you know."
"His replacement then?"
"Met him only a few days ago. I'm new."
"Why does that not surprise me?"
"Hehehe…" Shioshiro chuckles, adeptly repelling Rindou's cards with the blade of his katana. "My thoughts aren't even entirely on you and yet you still haven't gotten a shot in. Who's looking like an amateur…now!"
There is a slight spray of sparks as Shioshiro bats a thrown hand of cards right back to Rindou, the razor-sharp rectangles grazing the older man's left shin. "Ah!" he cries in honest shock and pain. He cannot remember the last time someone got a shot in on him, and never with his own weapon.
The others aren't fairing nearly as well, however, and Shion, having noticed the young brunette's technique and success, quickly dashes from his young challengers to end this pointless fighting as it stands.
Shioshiro is focused on Rindou, his back to the quickly advancing swordsman behind him, and though a few of the others see what is about to happen, only Ran is quick enough to call out.
"Shion!"
Ken's head whips towards the action at hand as Shion and Shioshiro collide with Shion's strike. The older leader pulls Shioshiro back flush against his chest, with his sword…held up to be pressed to the young brunette's throat. He whips around, Shioshiro safely in his clutches, to face Ran and the entirety of the room that has now stopped dead to bear witness.
Both alerted parents breathe relief within the sudden calm, because for a brief moment they had been envisioning their son's demise. Of course, it may not be all that far off…
"I thought this might be fun, ironic really pitting Weiss against Weiss, but I grow bored of your inexperience, Ran-kun. This one…" Shion smirks dangerously, his face turning to Shioshiro in too close a proximity. "…has a slightly better handle on his emotions and technique. I'd almost say he has more promise than you did, my dear…dear Ran."
Involuntarily clenching and unclenching his fist around the handle of his sword, Ran returns Shion's mocking with his customary glare. On the inside, however, he is frozen in terror, though he doesn't understand the feeling completely. He has grown used to Shioshiro, that ii true, and he has even acknowledged much of the boy's words and purpose, but…has he grown so attached…he fears the loss…?
It's not as if…he really knows the boy, after all.
"Could you really be my young charge's…son?" Shion continues, peering as hard as he can into such familiar violets. "Now…how could that be…?"
Shioshiro feels foolish and utterly defeated, but maintains a look of defiant resolve nonetheless. He knows what he must do and nothing can get in the way of that. "I am. I am Fujimiya Ran's son."
The members of the original Weiss slowly begin to gather closer to their leader, looking on in vague fascination. They know little of Ran, for Shion has rarely—in truth, almost never—spoke of the pupil he once respected and cared for so…fondly. But they can easily see that Ran is a man in his early 20s, not someone who could have a son around that age.
Just as the old Weiss is gathering about their leader, so is the other, the groups once again facing off on opposite sides of the room with only Shioshiro as a morbid buffer in between.
"Tell me then…child…what is your name?"
"Himiya Shioshiro."
"Himiya?"
"My parents decided to combine their last names when giving me mine."
"Oh? And who is your mother then?"
"I haven't one."
A brief silence. "A miracle of nature, are you?"
"A product of science. My parents are the man you know as Ran…and…the man standing next to him."
Even Ran and Ken had failed to realize how close they have become in watching the scene before them, seemingly drawn together in fear for their child. They pass a quick glance at one another now, but return their gazes to Shion immediately, both knowing that this isn't the time to be worrying about the tension between them.
Azami steps slightly forward, looking hard at Ran and Ken, as if somehow expecting one to be a woman in disguise. "How…is such a thing possible? You are both men. You are too young. This…this is not possible."
"And stupid if ya think we're gonna believe this shit." Rindou adds with a grimace, having picked up his lost cards as he struggles to get over the sting of pain in his shin and in his pride.
Ignoring their youngest member, Ayame steps forward to end up next to Azami. "And yet…if it is true…how fascinating. I myself was never one to see limits in sexuality."
Azami pretends not to hear this.
"I believe him." Shion states simply.
The three members of the old Weiss turn to their leader in mild surprise.
Passing a gaze over his companions before strengthening his grip on the tall brunette in his grasp, Shion grins. "His eyes, his frame, the sound of his voice…even the feel of his body like this…"
Ken's eyes widen at that. Shioshiro had said there was nothing sexual in Ran and Shion's relationship, and he desperately wants to believe those words. He certainly doesn't like any such connotations being directed at his son.
"…he is indeed too much like Ran to be anyone else's child. And the parts of him that are foreign match quite well with your companion, Ran-kun." he states with a smile sent at Ran before beginning a rather unnerving wandering of his eyes up the full length of Shioshiro's body—that is, as best he can with the youth held in his arms. He glances back to Ran when he has finished, a corner of his mouth twitching. "Why am I not surprised…you chose a male as your match. The actions of a child—as you surely were under my care—speak volumes, after all."
'And just what the hell does that mean?' Ken thinks wildly, looking in turn at Shion, Shioshiro, and the gorgeous men next to him.
"You know…I tried to follow up on you for awhile." Shion explains, his grin deeply sinister. "Even after everything that happened at the shrine you still ended up in Tokyo, ripe for Persia to reel you in again. Crashers, wasn't it? Tell me…did your Knight treat you well during your time together?"
Now it is Ran's turn to stiffen, feeling the heat of Ken's stare like a fire that burns too close. How does Shion know such things? Had he really been watching Ran during that time? He must have been. But…if he has such interest…why…?
'Why must we be enemies…?'"Shion…we did not come here to engage you in battle. Not if we didn't have to-"
"Then why, Ran? I'm curious. Why come and interfere? I get the feeling this has nothing to do with orders from above, so…why? Have you discovered our intentions and decided to join us? I doubt that since you voiced such protest at our…heh, 'reckless murdering…righteous killing…barbarism,' wasn't it? Tell me…what is it exactly that you want?"
Feeling out of place, left out, and frankly unimportant to the development of what is happening, young Nagi has been playing over in his mind again and again ways he might possibly use his growing powers to help the situation along. But again and again he sees the futility in it, knowing that talking things out is probably the best route if this is going to end as Shioshiro hopes. As they ALL hope.
With no one not going home when it's over.
"We want what you want." Shioshiro voices, not struggling within Shion's hold at all, for he refuses to fear the blade pressed so close to his throat. He must believe he can turn this to his advantage. "We want to bring about the end of Kritiker, all their agents, and the Takatori Clan…once and for all."
Omi swallows. He has been expecting that part of it, and he knows of course that Shioshiro is aware of his actual heritage, but he will not protest when he understands that his family's downfall might very well be a central part of their fight. A necessary hardship…such as…perhaps…killings one's own brother.
It happens.
"Is that so…?" Shion grins in response to such a straightforward answer.
"It is."
Suddenly, Shion's hold on Shioshiro is released, the older leader's katana falling away to rest harmlessly at his side.
All parties are equally shocked, watching as Shioshiro slowly turns to look back at his recent captor and they regard one another with a certain understanding. Or at least with the promise of understanding.
Shion widens his grin. "In that case, young man, I do believe we have some things to discuss."
A/N:
I have reasons for being so late. LIFE. Life happens and messes with everything. Tonight I choose to blame college. -) Anyhoo, I haven't the strength to respond directly to any reviews because I am tired and want to go to bed, BUT (and this is a BIG but) if you would like to see Shioshiro drawn in perfect Weiss-style by a fellow RanKen lover, here's what to do. Go to google (since I can't just give you the website with the way quickedit is) and type "Miss Vampire" for her deviant art. The first link should bring you to Miss Vampire's page and if you go to her Gallery she has a sketch and colored version of my dear, wonderful Shioshiro. I must say, he looks perfect. Please go and leave comments on her lovely art. Thanks all and I will do my best to write faster.
If anyone feels like drawing Shio-kun, please DO. Also, I would love to see if any of you out there are digital colorers, or just would like to try your hand at coloring the sketch version of Miss Vampire's pic-with whatever medium you have. I could make it a contest. Winner gets...to have a request put into the story. What do you think? Email me or say it in a review if you're interested and I'll make an official announcement next chapter giving an end date and whatnot.
Also, just to let you know, I will be at the anime convention in Bloomington, MN-Anime Detour-with a huge group of my friends if any one is going to be going (March 11-13th). It would be awesome to meet...anyone, so let me know. Love you!
Crim