zelos
by myka
Arc I - Part 02
beta: naaha

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I never reported the encounter to Kritiker. There was no need to; it had been nothing but pointless chit-chat after all. The only problem was that I couldn't get it out of my head.

It took Kritiker almost two weeks to send us on another mission after the previous disaster. He was there; they were all there. Oracle with his confident presence, Prodigy with his serenity, Beserker with, well you know, that guy has a few bolts loose in his head. And him…him with that smirk again and high nasal tone.

They ran in different directions and the chase began. The same old game of cat and mouse. I just wish I knew which was which.

We ended up in an empty room, we fought…his attitude was the one I'm familiar with. There was a broken window at the end of the room; he wanted to leave. It was like the night before had never happened, like he had never saved that child and gave it a future. My wires went for his neck like they were meant to, the same way he was meant to avoid them. But his movements were slower than usual and the cables wrapped around his wrist and yanked him out of synchronization. He glared at me with murder in his eyes and defied my hold on him as he pulled desperately, trying to break free. What the hell is he doing?

Blood accumulated on his wrist and started dripping to the floor, but he just kept pulling harder and harder. I just couldn't take the sight of it anymore.

"Stop it! Or you'll snap your hand off!" I yelled at him. He stopped struggling but still pulled at the wire, holding it as tense as possible, still invoking the blood flow. His emerald eyes showed the anxiety his voice wouldn't. "Let-go-of-me"

I hesitated for a second, loosening my hold on him, and that's all he needed. He broke free and jumped out the window without a second glance back.

This was not supposed to happen! I'm a highly trained assassin…and I had just let my prey go.

What the hell's wrong with me?

---

I needed to go out that night. I wanted to hold someone and be held just the same. I needed to forget everything, even if it was just for the night.

Leather…check. Boots…check. Hair…check. Protection…protection…crap! I needed to stop at a pharmacy first.

I gave fair warning to everyone to not wake me up tomorrow, and left through the back door. The place I usually went to was still under construction, so I ended up stopping somewhere else. I quickly found what I was looking for and headed for the register.

"What the hell do you mean you don't have change?"

It can't be…there's just no way…

Shit!

How I hate being wrong.

"I know sir, but my manager has the key and she's out on a break. It's just a quarter sir."

"Yeah, and it's my quarter."

This was very amusing.

"Look, I pay for the aspirin, then you give me my change. It's not that hard is it?"

If I had been the cashier I would have given him the quarter a long time ago. But the cashier didn't know that his customer was an assassin. Suddenly the discussion stopped and the kid looked distressed. The kid also didn't know that his customer was a telepath. I grabbed Schuldig's arm and got his full attention. He looked puzzled.

"You've got to be kidding."

Nice to know he's as surprised as me. I smirked back at him and he frowned. I placed the pack on top of the counter and dug into my pockets for some change. I snatched a quarter and offered it to him. His frown deepened as he released the kid from whatever mental hold he had over him; the employee seemed to catch up with his surroundings and instantly proceeded to cash in my item. Schuldig took one look at the condoms and rolled his eyes in a 'give me a break' manner as he started to leave, leaving me there with my hand extended out to him. He stopped before I could put the quarter away and turned back in a rush, snatching it from my hand and leaving the store. I blinked, then paid and headed out myself.

I caught up with him as he opened the bottle of aspirin and swallowed two pills. That's when I noticed the bandage on his arm; it probably hurt like hell too. But I was not apologizing. There's no such thing as mercy for the wicked.

"And who made me the wicked?"

The remark caught me by surprise. Memo to self: Never, ever forget again that he is a telepath.

Maybe it's his doing, yeah, that must be it, he's making me forget.

"I'm not making you do anything, Kudoh. You keep forgetting all by your lonesome self."

The bastard. It was payback time.

"I'm not the one taking pain medicine on a street corner because his teammates apparently don't give a crap about a pretty serious wound."

He scowled at me. "Yeah, and whose fault would that be?"

I scowled back. "If you hadn't struggled like a moron!"

He blinked, a blank unreadable stare taking over his features. Then he laughed. An obnoxious, annoying and very contagious laugh. Don't laugh…whatever you do, just don't laugh along with him.

"Are you done?" I asked him, slightly irritated as I successfully kept myself from laughing. I waited until he finally calmed down. Then he smiled, not a grin, not a smirk, just your mild normal smile…creepy.

"Are you going out tonight?" he asked me as he placed the small bottle of aspirin inside one of his pockets.

I actually glanced at myself. "Is it that obvious?" I asked. Now it was his turn to stare. I don't believe this; he's checking me out! "Oh yeah," he answered smoothly.

I've had enough. "Forget it," I said, starting to leave. I went past him and he grabbed my shoulder. Memo to self number two: Never, ever drop your guard near an enemy. I turned fast, ready for anything. He let go of me.

"Can I come?"

I hadn't expected that. Now what could I have said to that? I took a deep breath.

"Why not," I answered. "But I warn you, you might have a hangover tomorrow." He smirked now with confidence. "Lead the way."

I did.