Chapter 10: An Ultimatum
[KEN]
It's so odd that after everything that's happened, I can just sit here and water plants, arrange roses, and wait on customers like a normal person. I know that I need this, though. It's the only hold I have on normalcy, this and soccer. They keep me grounded and sane in an insane life; reminding me that there is a world that doesn't reside in the darkness with us.
It was good to get back to work, after being off for those few days while I healed.
My bruises have faded and outwardly, I guess, there's nothing really indicating that all hell has broken loose, and there's nothing I can do about it, other than to keep rearranging flowerpots, chatting up customers, and getting our merchandise under cover before the impending rainstorm hits.
My thoughts are broken by a small voice at my side.
"Ken-kun, why do you look so sad? You're face looks heaps better now, you can't even notice your accident! What's wrong?"
Wiping sweaty hair out of my eyes I put down the heavy ceramic planter and smile down at the bright-eyed young girl. Sometimes it is hard to decide if the herds of fangirls are the best or worst part of our cover in the flowershop. Today, it's definitely the best. The cheerful smiles and genuine concern were more than I could expect from Ran; Omi and Yohji were so distant lately, that often these days I felt desperately lonely.
"Nothing's wrong, Rei. I'm just a little tired today." I smile again, and pick a purple flower out of an arrangement nearby. "Here's a flower for my favorite customer-now get going, it's almost dark, and it looks like rain!" I wave as the girl giggles and scampers off, leaving me alone to close up the shop.
As I heave the last of the ceramic pots under cover from the oncoming storm, I hear a clear female voice from behind.
"It's just about closing time, ne?"
Manx.
I turn and greet her with a nod, wiping my dusty hands on my jeans, and quickly run my eyes over her short form. She's wearing what I've come to consider her Manx uniform, the red blazer and way-too-short skirt having become the norm for her visits to the shop, even here in Kyoto. She's also sporting her regular physics-defying hairstyle which Omi says makes her look like she's had a bad run-in with a windstorm. And, as always, the small briefcase undoubtedly filled with intelligence reports and a video of whoever they have filling the role of Persia these days. The only thing different is the expression on her face, the way her ruby red lips are slightly curled and the way her eyes flicker from me to the ground. A smile spreads over the lower half of her face as she quickly glances up at the sky.
"Looks like rain, doesn't it? Such a pity, we've been having such nice weather. But nothing lasts forever, does it, Siberian?"
The tone in her voice makes my blood run cold.
"No, nothing does." I answer in a cautious voice. What the heck is she getting at? There's something strange going on, I just know there is...
She doesn't speak, so I continue. "The others are inside. I'm just finishing up now."
She nods and stands there waiting for me to finish, not speaking. I try to relax as we approach the trailer, reminding myself that this is just Manx, and just a mission. I stand back and open the door to the trailer for Manx to enter ahead of me, hoping that she doesn't notice how nervous I'm feeling. As I start up the steps I hear Manx give a sharp cough, and am greeted by the last thing I expected to see.
Yohji is lying on the sofa, a very..."amorous" Omi draped over him. Yohji's arms are wrapped around Omi's waist, and they are waging what looks like a pretty intense tongue battle.
Good lord. So it's Omi and Yohji, is it? I wonder when this started...before or after Ran left? Back in Tokyo? No, I would have noticed, wouldn't I? Or was I too
caught up in Ran and everything that happened to notice?
It comes to me, a flash of something Ran said the night he beat me.
//"If you want it that much, why not go visit Yohji? I'm sure he'd be willing, unless he's decided to try monogamy with Omi. But then, you never know, the two of them might invite you to join in."//
I'd let that one roll right past me, having chocked it up to Ran's anger and bitterness. I suppose he was more in tune with what was going on around him than I thought. Hell knows that I never guessed that the biggest womanizer in Japan was involved with a seventeen year-old boy.
They obviously didn't hear the door or Manx's polite interruption, so I suppose I really ought to do something to break up their little make-out session...thank heavens they still have their clothes on. I mean, honestly, there's just some things I'd just rather not see! The mental imagery alone is horrific enough...
"Umm...guys. Manx is here."
At the sound of my voice, Omi yelps and leaps away from Yohji, landing squarely on the floor. His face is as red as a tomato as he tries to not make eye contact with us, while Yohji calmly straightens his clothes and places a cigarette between his lips, flashing Manx a wide smile.
"Afternoon, Manx. What can we do for you?"
The smile quickly fades as Manx begins to speak.
"Good to see you to, Balinese, Bombay. I'm here because I think it's high time we addressed the security breach in Weiss."
Security breach? What? Confused, I sit down in a chair near the sofa. Yohji reaches out and put his hand on my arm and looks into my eyes for a moment before looking back over to Manx.
"It's about Aya, isn't it?" he asks quietly.
"Yes. I've got some reports here that need going over, and I have a mission for you, all of which directly involve Abysinnian."
Ran. I knew that Kritiker would be involved, but the way Manx is standing there, file folders in hand. It's like a freaking business meeting or something, the way she is discussing him. I don't know if I can hear this. I involuntarily look at my hands in my lap, suddenly fascinated by the band on my wristwatch.
"Siberian, this is important, and deserves full attention. Especially yours, given the nature of your previous relationship with Abysinnian."
Anger boils within me, threatening to run over the surface. What does she mean, "previous" relationship? Who does this bitch think she is?
Omi pulls himself onto the sofa and speaks up. "Manx, please, get on with it."
"As you are well aware, Abysinnian broke contact with both Kritiker and his team two weeks ago. Kritiker had been monitoring him closely since his departure, as he has been privy to highly sensitive information throughout his affiliation with our organization. It came to our attention that Abysinnian has been engaging in a sexual relationship with someone who we feel poses a risk to the security of Kritiker. Although it was known to us since it began, it appears recently that a more intimate relationship has formed between the pair, and we know feel obligated to take action to end this situation."
I can't breathe, I really can't breathe... Situation? This situation? My heart feels like it's going to explode in my chest and she's talking about some "situation"?
Yohji tightens his grip on my arm and breaks the heavy silence, giving voice to the question I can't bring myself to ask. "Who is it?"
"Abysinnian is involved with a member of Schwartz. Schuldig, to be specific."
Schuldig? I should have known that jerk would have been able to crawl out of the rubble of that building. But why Schuldig? Of all the conceited, dirty, twisted fucks on the face of the earth, why would Ran get involved with him? And when...
"How long?" I manage to grate out.
"Abysinnian-"
That does it. I wrench my arm away from Yohji and get to my feet before I know it, the anger spilling over and bursting out at Manx.
"Call him by his friggin' name! I'm so sick of you people, you sit behind desks and gather information and give it to us in doses whenever you see fit, you waltz in here and screw up our lives and play with us like puppets on strings! And you can't even give him the dignity to call him by his own name, now that he's not with us! It's RAN! Call him Ran!"
Out of breath and on the verge of tears, I stagger backwards and land in my chair. I collect myself a bit, and continue, voice shaky.
"Please...just call him Ran..."
Manx nods slightly in my direction, but of course, keeps her professional cool.
"Very well, Siberian. 'Ran' first went to Schuldig two weeks ago, the night before he left Weiss."
Two weeks. Of course, it would have had to been then. He came to me that night, came into my room, tears on his face. The next morning, there was the note, and no trace of him since. It makes so much sense, now that we've been told what's been going on. Ran was hurt and upset, and left here only to bump into Schuldig. That sonofabitch fucked with his mind, and twisted Ran into leaving us, into leaving me...Ran wouldn't have done it on his own, not my Ran...It was Schuldig, and so God help me, he is going to pay.
Yohji and Omi are looking from me to Manx, and I guess the silently agree that it's alright to continue, because Omi prods Manx for more information.
"Why did you let it go on until now? I was searching everyday on the network to see if there were any reports on Aya-kun. I couldn't find any, not even through backdoors. Kritiker must have had a reason for keeping this under such tight wraps, to keep it hidden even from us. Don't you think we had a right to know?"
Manx paused, as if she was trying to phrase her response as carefully as possible.
"It was thought that it could prove advantageous to monitor the situation privately and see what would come of it."
"You mean, it would be advantageous to see if Aya would lead you to Schwartz?" Yohji broke in, sounding irked. It makes sense, after all. Kritiker has no problems playing God, so why would they stop at letting us believe that they had no idea where Ran was, simply so that they could watch and see what would happen? The thought makes me so angry at Manx I could spit.
"That's it, isn't it? You knew all along that Ran was being played by that sick bastard, and you let it go on because you thought that he could be your bait!" I'm shouting, and I don't care. Manners be damned. She knew how sick with worry we were over Ran, she knew what he is to me, she knew, and she let him stay in danger...
"Be that as it may, the facts remain that Ran's current status leads us to a large problem. We don't know exactly what the situation is with Schwartz or Estet, and we don't know what Ran's mental state is like. All we do know for certain is that the relationship with Schuldig is growing more serious, and is something that must be stopped immediately, one way or another."
This doesn't sound good. A silence descends on the four of us, and Omi and Yohji exchange worried glances. It is Omi who poses the question which hangs in the air.
"What do you mean, 'one way or another'? Manx, why did you come here today?"
Manx turns and makes eye contact with me as she responds to Omi's question.
"The mission is simple: put a stopper on a potential security leak by any means necessary. To put it plainly, either re-integrate Abysinnian into Weiss and eliminate Schuldig, or kill them both."
~~~`~,~@
A/N: Yes, there has been a bit of a shift in style in the last two or three parts from the first half of the story. This is because the first of the story was written ages ago, and was very character-intensive, meant to play out the feelings of Ran and Ken after the rape. The problem was, I couldn't see that really going much further than where it went for about 6 parts, and as such, it was abandoned.
The story has, however, recently been revived in my head and a larger scale plot has emerged (hence the editing job on December 28th.), meaning that I want to get away from overly convoluted inner monologues and focus on the bigger picture (ie: the relationship between Schuldig and Ran, the plans Crawford has up his sleeve, the back story of why Ran was kidnaped in the first place, and just how did he get home?).
Also, I do realize that the parts have been pretty short. This is because I feel that since I let the story go so long without updates, that I would give you guys the story pretty much as each POV is finished. (It means, however, that there should be pretty frequent updates.)
I hope that those of you who enjoyed the original first 6 or so parts aren't disappointed with the turn the story has taken since the edit and the attack of the plot bunnies. Either way, I'd love to hear from you! ^^