AN: Hwua!

Disclaimer: WeißNot Mine. Rated R for Everything. AU and not.

The Magnanimous Underwear God Leolapoliolis of Newport says hi.

Paving the Way With Good Intentions

Nagi sat very stiffly at the kitchen table, his body hunched protectively over his plate as he devoured everything that had been set before him. His eyes periodically flicked toward the middle-aged woman sitting across from him, assessing her and the degree of danger she might pose toward his meal. Tanaka-san regarded him with mingled pity and shock, trying to eat her own food without staring too obviously in his direction. It proved extremely difficult however, especially considering the fact that he kept glaring at her…

"I'm afraid Nakiwa didn't tell me how old you are." She said softly.

"Seven or eight I guess." Nagi replied in between mouthfuls. "I don't really know."

"Oh." The woman bit her lip, obviously struggling for something to say to that. "Have you ever gone to school?"

"No." He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and grasped for his cup, taking a hasty drink.

Tanaka-san swallowed, feeling completely out of her depth. She'd had three children in her lifetime but this boy was a complete mystery to her. He didn't act like an ordinary child. Well, she amended as he slurped loudly at his noodles, except for his table manners. Nakiwa hadn't really told her much about him, aside from the fact that he needed a place to stay and that he had no family.

Nagi finished his meal in record time, scraping the plate clean before he would allow his caretaker to remove it from the table. Even then he watched her with a kind of animal wariness, waiting for her to make what he might construe as a threatening move. When she merely took the plate to the sink and returned with dessert he felt something inside of him beginning to ease a little.

For now, it looked like he was safe.

Dessert was some kind of chocolate confection with whipped cream and a light pastry crust. Whatever it was called, it was far too rich a fare for Nagi's stomach and he passed it up after having only had a small taste.

Watching him with concern, Tanaka-san removed the dessert plate and put in the fridge. She'd keep a small portion for herself and give the rest of it to Nakiwa when he came by to see how the boy was doing. The man could use a little extra meat on his bones, he was far too skinny.

"Well, I'm sure you'd like to get some rest. You've had a rather long day and you're probably like to see your room."

Nagi followed her without a word, silently thinking that he'd had much longer days when he was living on the street. He was forced to rely heavily on his crutch for support, cursing his wounded leg as he struggled up the stairs to the second floor.

"Until your leg heals you'll be spending most of your time up here." Tanaka-san explained gently. "I'm afraid there's no television up here, but there's a small library next to your room. You can help yourself to the books there, it'll help you pass the time." She smiled, opening the door to his bedroom. "Let me know if you need anything."

Nagi watched her go, completely at a loss. He'd never had any time to himself before. He was always hunting for food, looking for a new place to sleep or trying to find himself some new clothes. If he wasn't busy just surviving he was evading the social workers and other such people who were trying to take him to a shelter, to a home, anywhere.

He had no idea what to do with extra time.

After a good hour of simply sitting and staring at the bare white walls of his room, Nagi decided to check out the library.

The room that encased the small library was only slightly larger than Nagi's bedroom. It was lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and there were waist-high shelves placed in the interior of the room. Every shelf was filled to bursting with books, with every kind of book imaginable. There were trade manuals, accounting ledgers and technical instruction booklets. He saw novels of every shape and kind, romance, adventure, science fiction…every genre he could name was represented before him.

By an act of Fate, Nagi knew about books. His father had been a high school teacher and had sported his own modest library in the back of their house. He could still remember being read to as a small child, back before…everything. He could remember quite clearly his wonder at the stories his parents read to him, his eagerness every night for the next tale to begin.

It was a very vivid memory, standing out in stark relief in his mind despite the strangeness of his life since that time.

Now he stood in silent awe, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open as he gazed around him. When he managed to recover himself at last he went for the nearest shelf, selected a book at random, and began to read.

The next morning Tanaka-san had a few moments of utter panic when she discovered that the boy was not in his bed. More than that, the sheets were as smooth and unrumpled as they had been when she'd changed the sheets the morning before. There was no sign of the boy anywhere in his room and her heart was pounding in her chest as she darted back into the hallway.

Before her panic could grow into true hysteria, Tanaka-san noticed that the door leading into the library was cracked open. She approached the room quickly, sending up a silent prayer that she would find Nagi somewhere inside.

For a moment she saw only books and her heart began to pound in her chest…and then she caught sight of one bare foot sticking out from behind one of the waist-high shelves. Smiling with relief she moved around to get a clear view of her ward, and her expression eased into affection at the sight of him.

He was fast asleep, curled up against the shelf with a book grasped tightly in one hand. There was a flashlight on the floor beside him, its bulb long-since burned out while he'd been sleeping.

She carried him to his bedroom and laid him down, pulling the sheet up over his narrow shoulders. The book she set on the nightstand, carefully marking the page he'd been holding.

This marked the beginning of a ritual that would continue for all the time that Nagi lived in her house.

"If he is as mad as you say he is, then he will be of no use to us or to the school."

Valhendt frowned, somewhat thankful that his superiors couldn't see the expression on his face over the phone. He was willing to agree that the boy, Jei, was not going to be easy to control by any means. However, it was also rather obvious that the boy would be extremely useful if they could control him. It would take some hard work and a great deal of adjustment, but he was convinced that it was doable.

Besides, Valhendt never backed down from a challenge.

"I understand your position Sir," He said politely. "but I believe if we can get him under control he could be more valuable than any other agent we've ever had."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Just how, pray tell, do you propose we control him? The last time I checked, you were the one calling us babbling about how he just ripped his own eye out and threw it at you."

Valhendt coughed.

"That was an overreaction on my part. Actually, the implications of that are really quite phenomenal. If he can tear his own eye out with his bare hands he obviously has some kind of resistance to pain, and he has already shown a great inclination toward killing. If we could direct that fury, that thirst for blood, he would be unstoppable."

There was a sigh.

"I suppose that mind of yours is already planning out how you're going to take care of this?"

"Actually, I was thinking that once we have Crawford trained we could turn the madman over to his care."

Silence. Then,

"I think you've lost what good sense was left to you. We never pair agents with their level of power together. It's too dangerous. If they were to rebel there would be little we could do to stand in their way."

"I know." Valhendt was actually smiling now, seemingly pleased with his plan. "If we can discipline Crawford to the point that he does not question our commands, and we ensure that the others trust him implicitly, we'll never have to concern ourselves with such a possibility."

"You're mad." Another sigh. "But you haven't let us down yet. I'm going to leave this matter in your hands for now, but at the first sign of trouble we're going to exterminate the madman. Do you understand Gunner?"

"Yes, of course." Valhendt replied smoothly.

"Good. Now, if that is all…"

"Ah, yes. Good evening si-."

The line went dead. Scowling, Valhendt put the receiver back in its cradle and turned his glare toward the city skyline visible out his window. For a few moments he simply stared out, his expression thoughtful as the wheels in his head did their work. Suddenly he smiled, reaching for the button that would page his secretary.

"Yes Mr. Valhendt?"

"Florence, patch me through to the Japanese offices. I need to speak to the agent in charge of the recruitment division."

"Certainly sir."

There was a moment's silence, a click, and then a voice speaking on the other end of the line.

"Moshi moshi."

"Nori. It's Valhendt. Would you be so kind as to get your boss for me?"

"Of course."

Another brief silence, and then…

"Valhendt you old rascal, what are you…"

"Do you still have a tag on that powerful telekinetic you were telling me about the last time that we spoke?"

"Hmm? Oh yes. Still a bit too young for a school I'm afraid, but we're keeping tabs on him."

"Fantastic. I want you to keep track of him for the next few years, but leave him alone." Valhendt leaned back in his chair, glancing over the files resting on his desk. Crawford Bradley, Andler Erik, Donovan Jei, Naoe Nagi. "I want updates twice a month."

"You got it man."

"Good. I'll talk to you later then." Valhendt leaned forward, taking a new file from his desk and labeling it clearly on the tab:

Schwarz.

"Let's see what you'll make of this one, Esset." He murmured, and his smile was that of the cat who has just eaten the canary beak, feet, and all.

Suichi Takatori was sitting in the dark in his new office at the Kritiker HQ, staring dully at the surface of his desk. After the deaths of his teammates in Germany Persia had decided that the organization's star agent needed a break from fieldwork. He could have told them that it was too late, that he was ruined for murder now that his friends had been slaughtered, but they didn't seem inclined to listen. He was the best that they had; they didn't want to know that they'd lost him.

His hands clenched into fists and he let out a low growl, his eyes seeing beyond the polished wood and to the file that Persia wouldn't let him have. It was the information that Kritiker had managed to compile on the madman who'd killed Jin, Kiro and Tanake. He'd requested it before ever leaving Germany but his request was promptly and sternly turned down. No one wanted him going off on a suicide mission, not when they thought they could still squeeze a few more years, a few more deaths out of him.

If I ever have the power he thought angrily I'm not going to force my agents to do anything. They won't feel trapped, as I do.

There was a knock at the door and he turned his scowl toward it even as his secretary came in.

"Keiko…"

"Sorry sir." The red-haired woman smiled apologetically. "Yuriko is asking for those reports you were supposed to prepare."

Suichi sighed, gesturing to the stack of neatly ordered papers on the corner of his desk. He'd finished the reports hours ago. Siamese and the other liaisons were always complaining about how much paperwork they had to do but this was laughable. It barely took any time at all, and it was such mindless work that you didn't even need to pay attention to what you were doing.

"Sir, some of the others are talking about going out for a few drinks after work." Keiko said hesitantly. "I was wondering if maybe you'd…"

"No thank you Keiko." Suichi said brusquely. "I have some other things to take care of tonight."

"Oh, all right then." She looked rather disappointed but she collected the files she'd come for and made her way to the door. She hesitated just inside the room, glancing back at her boss with a tiny frown. "Sulking won't bring them back you know." She said softly. "I don't think they'd want you to sit here and brood over their deaths like this."

Suichi's brows drew together, his eyes narrowing.

"You may go now Keiko." He growled, his tone a warning.

She sighed, tucking a strand of curly red hair behind her ear.

"Yes sir."

When she was gone the former assassin cursed and turned his fierce gaze to the window. What did she know anyway? She'd never met the members of Weiß. She had no idea what they would want for him or for his life now that they were dead. For all she knew they were happy that Suichi was trying to seek vengeance for them…

Unexpectedly a vision of his companions flashed in front of him and he felt a shiver of guilt. They would have thought he was being an idiot.

A self-indulgent wiener He thought, and the words came in Jin's voice. And a sulky one too.

He sighed and got up, moving toward the door. When he opened it and leaned his head out Keiko swiveled around in her chair to look at him expectantly, obviously waiting for a task to do.

"Hey, ah Keiko?" He swallowed. "Maybe I'll take you up on that drink."

Yumemiru was staring out the window at a wall of clouds, her dark eyes pained as she tried to wrap her mind around their situation. Bradley was seated beside her, humming softly along with the music coming out of his headphones. It was obvious that he wasn't expecting the ambush that was awaiting him in just a few short days and the knowledge that he trusted her so deeply was just another dagger twisted in her heart. She couldn't bear to think how he would react, much less how she was going to do this in the first place. The resolve she had discovered in the apartment just the other night seemed to be abandoning her now.

"How much longer?" He asked suddenly.

Her head whipped back to him and she knew she had a guilty expression on her face. He took no notice, waiting expectantly for her answer.

"It ah…it shouldn't be too long." She replied. "We're already nearing the airport."

"Cool." He settled back into his seat, turning his attention back to his headphones.

Yume sighed inwardly, sinking back down and trying to force her tense body to relax. She knew what she was going to have to do. The question was, was she going to be able to do it?

No doubt Valhendt would have the place cleaned up when they arrived. Everything would be neat, orderly, and he would have all the troublemakers spirited away off the campus to ensure they couldn't voice any unwanted opinions. Bradley would see only what Valhendt wanted him to see, and his only clues as to the reality behind the illusion would have to come from his gift.

Which will be blocked by a half-dozen of the strongest telepaths that the school has produced since it opened. He's strong, but no one is strong enough to work through that kind of interference.

When the school showed its true colors Bradley would be just as surprised as she had been when she found out what was behind the glossy veneer of the Rosenkreuz Academy. She was willing to bet it was going to be a very nasty shock.

The pilot took that moment to interrupt her thoughts with an announcement that they were fifteen minutes away from the airport and would be beginning their descent shortly.

"We can spend the afternoon relaxing." She said as Bradley took his headphones off. "There's a very nice inn in the village, if my memory is correct."

Actually, the inn was new. Valhendt had told her about it over their last phone call, just before she boarded the plane in L.A. He already had a room booked for the two of them and he'd promised her five full days to make her plans before she had to take her boyfriend to the school. After that…well, that part was entirely up to her.

"It sounds great." Brad assured her, smiling. Then his expression brightened even more. "Hey, maybe we could even go up and visit some of your old teachers at the school!"

Yume swallowed, trying not to allow her thoughts to betray her. The thought of introducing Bradley to Werren, Kyou, Terrence or Lilliane made her feel ill. They'd taught her only one thing in her time at the school, and that was obedience. If Rosenkreuz told you to do something, you did it to the best of your ability and you did not protest.

Everything she knew about her gift she'd learned on her own under the threat of death if she failed to control herself.

"How far away is the school?" Brad's voice jolted her from her thoughts and she forced a hurried smile as he took her hand.

"It's about five miles northeast of the village. The school covers a rather extensive territory, mostly to ensure privacy for the students and to prevent accidents." At the young man's concerned look she added hastily, "Accidents caused by uncontrolled gifts. There aren't that many, and with the number of natural healers available on hand no one is ever seriously hurt."

He nodded his understanding, thoughts focusing on the future that lay ahead of him. Learning to control his gift, how to defend himself from those who sought to harm him because of his abilities…spending all of his days with Yumemiru…

He was so wrapped up in his own considerations that he didn't notice the tell-tale signs of a vision until his eyesight blurred and the world slipped away from him entirely.

He was standing in a massive hall, and it was dark save the faint illumination coming from torches set in niches in the walls. Yumemiru was standing a few feet away from him, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." She whispered the words, her voice hoarse.

"It's funny, how little those words can mean." This from a man who appeared, forming from the shadows to stride across the open space. He came to a stop beside Yume, who was crying quietly, her shoulders shaking with unheard sobs. "Especially when the person who says them isn't really all that apologetic to begin with."

"What are you talking about?" This was his own voice, though he hadn't tried to say anything.

"Shall I tell him Yume? Shall I tell him everything?"

"Tell me what?"

"Bradley?"

He blinked and the vision faded completely, leaving him staring down into the worried eyes of his girlfriend. For an instant the image of her from the vision overlapped his true sight and he had to shake his head to separate the two.

What's going on?

"We've landed." Yume explained. "Everyone's preparing to get off. If we're going to get to the inn before it gets dark we need to hurry." She was already standing up, moving to get their luggage from the overhead compartment.

Shaking his head one last time to clear it completely, Bradley stood up as well. Whatever was going to happen over the next few days, well, he was just going to have to see. Though, he admitted to himself, he had the feeling he wasn't going to be pleased with what he discovered.

Jan walked into 401B at the same time that he always did, wheeling his cart of food before him with his usual good humor. Erik was sitting on his bed this time, his head tilted to one side as if he were listening to something beyond hearing. He didn't seem to realize the aide was in his room until Jan bumped his cart and sent the glasses to clinking. Then the patient's head snapped up, nostrils flaring, eyes darkening as he rose into a half-crouch.

"Whoa, relax there man. It's just me. Same time as always." He hefted a tray and moved smoothly toward the bed. "On today's menu…" He set it in front of the young man. "we have gray glue and lumps of toe jam."

Erik's nose wrinkled at the sight of his meal. Whatever it was supposed to be…he shuddered. He didn't even want to know what was in it.

Yigh. Do I actually have to eat this scum?

"Well that's entirely up to you." Jan admitted. "The strudel isn't bad, and the rolls are all right if you like them a little overdone." Then he leaned in. "I bet if you hold your nose then that," he gestured to the main course. "won't be nearly as bad."

Feeling his stomach already turning into a hard knot of rebellion, Erik gave a long-suffering sigh and reluctantly began to eat. He hoped Jan knew what a sacrifice it was to actually devour this…glop.

"You know Erik, I was thinking."

Yoi, don't strain yourself.

"Hey!" Jan swatted him across the shoulder. "Cut it out. Anyway, there's a school not that far from here. It's a big place, in one of the old castles. I've never been; I was too old by the time it was founded but…" He leaned in a little further. "I've heard that they take in people who can, you know, do things."

Erik regarded him with wide, uncertain eyes, his disgusting meal utterly forgotten.

What….?

"I was just thinking that, with your mom the way she is and your stepfather off his rail, you'd need a place to go soon. After all, they can't keep you in here forever just because you won't talk to anyone, and they haven't got any proof that you've actually done anything. When you leave, maybe you could check that school out."

Erik looked even more uncertain and Jan patted his shoulder.

"Hey, just think about it, yeah? I mean, if they could teach you to control the stuff that you can do…"

At this the boy's expression brightened. If he could control his gift then there would be no reason for anyone to yell at him, or call him cursed or a witch…he could pretend that he was just like everyone else. Maybe he could even find a way to help his mother…

"Actually I'm surprised you've never heard of it before. I mean, it's only five miles northeast of Grenleheim village." He smiled comfortingly. "Maybe you'll check it out?"

Erik shrugged. It couldn't hurt, and it would definitely be worth it if he could help his mother one day.

"Good." Then Jan winked at him. "Make sure you finish the strudel."

Confused, Erik nodded and watched as the friendly aide took his cart and backed out into the hallway once again. When the door was closed and latched in place he turned his attention to his strudel. It did look pretty good, especially compared to the rest of the tray. After a few moments he began to nibble at the edges.

Too sweet. He thought disparagingly. Nothing like the ones his mother could make…That made him wince and he hurriedly shoveled some more of it into his mouth. If only I weren't trapped in…Ow!

He spat out the mouthful of food he'd taken and stared, shocked, at the piece of metal that lay glinting on his plate.

What the…

Then he remembered the comment, and Jan's wink. He picked up the object, examining it closely. It was a narrow object with a long neck and a hooked end, almost like something a woman would use in her sewing to pull out a seam. However, he could tell by its appearance that it had a different use than that of assisting in mending or alterations.

To pick the lock. He thought wonderingly. I could twist it around and… he glanced toward the door.

"When you get out of here…"

He meant that they're never going to let me go. They must mean to do something, or he wouldn't even have bothered, would he?

Erik scrambled off the bed, hurrying to the door and pressing his ear to it. The sounds of people moving about in the hallway made him draw back and, reluctantly, return to his bed. He would have to wait until night or someone would hear him. Then it would only be a matter of figuring out the lock and evading the orderlies who patrolled the halls at night and…

He would be free.

Next Chapter: The Silence in the Night

Look for the update beginning on November 2nd