The man knelt before the throne quaking in his boots so badly that he nearly fell and disgraced himself further. The king watched this in dark, disapproving silence. The man had displeased him, and he couldn't imagine any way the man could make up for it.

The man abased himself further and held out a sheaf of papers with white, shaking fingers. "Here, Your Majesty, I've brought them all. I-"

"You're too late," boomed the king's voice. "Do not think this will save you. You have failed your mission, and worse, you have displeased your king." The king lifted his gaze above the man's figure to stare resolutely into the empty space at the back of the throne room. "Off with his head!"

"Sir," said someone off to the side that the man couldn't see. "I would caution against that, Your Majesty, sir. If we kill him we'll never find out if the sexual tension that just sparks between the two main characters ever gets resolved. And what about her baby? We'll never find out who the father is if the writer's dead."

The man stayed silent except for a muffled sniveling as the king considered this. Finally, after a strained wait, the king said in his best commanding voice, "Then he shall live. But I expect the next chapter by tomorrow!"

Heh.

I'm actually a girl, and I don't think I'm getting anyone pregnant, but somehow this was funnier as is and better than "I'm sorry I'm so late! Bad me!"

"What I wouldn't do for Rori's healing abilities right about now," grumbled Shige as he wrapped another layer of bandage around the wound he was redressing. It was another in a long line of cuts and bullet holes that peppered Crawford's body. Fortunately the precog had been unconscious for the entire process and had been spared the pain—and Shige the daunting mess of an assassin and psychic awake and injured.

Shouhei watched this from his seat across the aisle. He should be calling Sora, or Yuri, letting them know that they were coming in with valuable information that implicated Phelan, but listening to Shige rant under his breath was much more entertaining.

"But, oh, no, Rori's on Phelan's side and probably wouldn't help us if we had Aladdin's treasure and a conga line full of pretty women for him. He's more likely to curl his spindly little fingers around my wrist and say 'you wanted healing, yes?' in that aristocratic, snotty little voice of his and then suck the life right out of me. Why healers are such good killers, I'll never know. He can touch you and heal almost anything, or he can touch you and stop you heart. Guy needs to get his ego deflated…" Shige trailed off. He finished tucking the bandage, then pulled Crawford's pant leg back into place. He reached up and adjusted the oxygen mask that had slipped during his administrations. Shouhei was reminded once

again about just how bad of a shape Crawford was in. "And then he needs to be whapped for ever working for Phelan."

"Doesn't that mean you should get 'whapped' too?" asked Murata over the intercom.

"Shush up, Murata, before you crash the plane because you can't multitask," retorted Shige.

Shouhei heard Murata's sigh over the intercom. "Whatever, Shige. We're about an hour out and there's no traffic in our way."

"Thank you, Murata," said Shouhei.

"I'm going to go find some munchies," said Shige as he walked through the compartment door at the back of the plane. "Back in a bit!"

Shaking his head at Shige antics Shouhei pulled out his cell phone. He tried Sora first, but was unable to reach her. He dialed up Yuri next and only had to wait through one ring before it was picked up.

"Yes?"

"This is Shouhei Ito. I have some information for the upcoming meeting."

"Information?"

"It's about Phelan."

"Ah." Yuri's voice became muffled, as if he was speaking away from the phone. "Go on ahead. I'll join you in a minute." There was a slight pause and then Yuri's voice can back on the line. "What about Phelan?"

"I have documented orders from Phelan for assassinations that I don't believe were approved by the Consortium, and some inside information about Phelan's operations."

"Who's assassinations?"

"Two members of Schwartz."

"Both unsanctioned. Good. Can you make the meeting?"

"It's about an hour before our plane lands."

"Then you'll arrive just in time."

"Yes. Ah…Is Red alright?"

"Why would you think otherwise?"

"We are talking about Phelan."

"True." There was a sigh over the phone. "He ran into Phelan earlier, but he's with his team now. Just go straight to the meeting chamber when you get here. We-" Shouhei caught the edge of muffled yelling.

"Yuri?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Make sure you're armed when you get here."

The line went dead just as Shouhei opened his mouth to ask what was going on. He pulled the phone away from his ear, looking at the screen in puzzlement to check if Yuri really had hung up on him at such an inopportune moment. He had, the screen was back to its normal background.

A groan made him look up to see Crawford had woken up enough to twist in his seat, and then fallen back into unconsciousness. Shige, who must had walked in during the phone call, adjusted the oxygen mask once again and then took the seat across from Shouhei.

"So?" he asked.

Shouhei pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before speaking. "Find the weapons store on this plane and get everyone loaded up, it seems there's some trouble at the Consortium."

"Crawford's going to be less than useless if it comes to a fight, infection's set in and he has a fever, not to mention he's hopped up on pain killers," commented Shige.

"Then we'll have to keep him out of the fight," replied Shouhei, already thinking about other matters. "Murata," he said to the intercom. "Can you shave some time off that hour? We need to get there as quickly as possible."

"Working on it, boss."

Nagi eyed Omi warily from his position on the couch. Bombay was pacing on the other side of the room, running his hand through his hair in worry or frustration every few minutes. He looked pale and Nagi caught him wincing once when he moved his shoulder too fast. Nagi hadn't known the Weiss was injured, but could now see the bulk of bandages beneath his shirt. Nagi looked down at his similarly bandaged wrist; it seemed this little adventure had taken its toll on everyone, Schwartz and Weiss alike.

Speaking of taking its toll…Nagi looked at the closed door behind which were Schuldich, Abyssinian, and Balinese. It had been quiet since Balinese had rushed in earlier, but Nagi imagined he could feel tension radiating out of the room in waves. Though that could be true of both the rooms that connected to where Nagi sat now. After ten minutes of watching Omi pace—and unsuccessfully trying to calm him down—the Weiss, Ken, had retreated unhappily into the other room. Nagi had tried to follow since Farfie was already in the room and they didn't need a fight breaking out, but he had found himself too tired to stand up. So far that room had been quiet as well, but Nagi swore he could feel the tension.

"What is going on?!" Omi suddenly burst out.

Nagi looked up, startled, but Omi wasn't talking to him. It looked more like he was talking to his feet as he glared down at the floor, scuffing his shoe on the carpet. He moved as if to throw his hands up in the air in frustration then hissed, slowly lowering his arms and wincing. With a childish scowl on his face he plopped down into a chair with a huff.

"Too bad we don't have a computer," said Nagi idly, equally frustrated with the lack of information. "Then we could get their files."

"If only," mutter Omi. "I just…it's just…everyone's getting so hurt. I can't stand it. I mean, this shouldn't be happening. It just shouldn't," he ended in barely more than a whisper.

Nagi was silent, unsure of what to say. They sat like that, Omi wrapped up in his thoughts and Nagi uncomfortably silent, until the door to the hallway opened.

Omi was up off his chair in an instant and positioned between Nagi and the intruder. Nagi blinked, startled at the protective action.

"I was told you are in need of a healer," said the man at the door. Nagi only got the impression that the man was tall since Omi blocked most of his view.

"Where's Yuri?" demanded Omi, still tensed for a fight.

"In the hallway, he got a phone call," answered the stranger.

"And you are?"

"Rori, a healer. I see you aren't too badly injured, but you friend obviously needs attention," said the man, Rori. Nagi didn't like his tone of voice, it seemed to calm for the situation, too calculated.

Omi looked worriedly over his shoulder at Nagi, then directed his gaze back to the man at the door. "And you can heal him? You don't have any medical supplies."

Then man sighed, though somehow Nagi didn't think the sound was genuine, and explained briskly, "I'm a psychic; I can heal with my hands."

"Don't psychics use their minds?" questioned Omi.

"Some are activated by touch," commented Nagi. "Like a clairvoyant or reader. Though healers are one of the rarest of those types."

"Then I'm glad we have one now."

Yeah, very convenient isn't it?

Despite Nagi's misgivings when Omi moved to the side and let the man pass, he didn't protest. Getting healed was worth the risk of this being a trap. They needed to be healed and the man had to know that Omi would kill him if he killed Nagi, so he wasn't very likely to kill them now.

The man knelt down next to the couch and examined Nagi's wrist with his eyes first, then he reached with long, thin fingers and grabbed hold of Nagi's wrist.

The sudden pain crashed against him in a tidal wave, so overwhelming that he couldn't even hear himself think—but he could hear himself scream.

Someone yelled, a door cashed open, something else thudded on the ground. Nagi heard it all in between the deafening beats of his heart. His world had narrowed to the pulsing pain that resonated in groundbreaking shakes through his body.

"NAGI!"

Oh, it hurt.

"NAGI!"

The pain had receded enough for him to realize it was Schu who was shouting his name. His vision came back slowly and the pain continued to retreat. He felt a little numb.

Schuldich had opened his mouth to yell again when Nagi caught his gaze. The older man calmed in that instant, then winced and pulled his arm up around his chest. He sunk down on the couch next to Nagi and then turned to watch the commotion on the other side of the room.

Omi had the healer, Rori, pinned up against the wall. It shouldn't have worked; Omi was at least a foot shorter than the other man and had nowhere near the mass. But contrary to that Omi really did have the man pinned to the wall, a ballpoint pen at his throat. The tip was pressed so deeply into the taller man's skin that even the blunt end was drawing blood. Nagi couldn't see Omi face from where he was sitting, but found he didn't really want to. Would it be contorted with honest rage, or the blank, cold face of a killer?

"What were you doing to him?" snarled Omi, pressing the man a little further against the wall. Fafarello stood a little to the left of the two, one of his knives clutched in his hands, but seemed content to let Omi handle the healer. Ken and Yohji stood to the left and Nagi couldn't see the other Weiss.

"Healing him," answered the man.

"What in hell is going on?" snapped another angry voice. Yuri stormed into the room and went to pull Omi off Rori. Omi started to fight back, but Yuri easily disarmed him and tossed him back toward Nagi and the couch. Omi landed easily, so easily that Nagi wondered if he was used to being thrown about because he was so young. He stood up and started for Yuri, but Nagi grabbed his shoulder before he could attack again. It wasn't until Omi turned to him and froze that Nagi realized he had used his previously wounded limb.

"You actually healed me," mumbled Nagi incredulously.

"That is what I came here to do," replied Rori. He was running his fingers over the wound Omi had given him with the ballpoint pen, wincing. When his hand came away the blood was gone and the wound healed. "Though I forgot to warn you about the pain."

Omi was now ignoring the others completely, running his fingers delicately over Nagi's wrist and watching his face for signs of pain. Nagi smiled reassuringly at him and pulled Omi up to sit next to him on the couch. He moved a little too quickly when Nagi pulled on his arm and again Nagi saw the bulky bandages around his shoulder.

"Can you heal without it being that painful?" asked Nagi.

"Some of the bones in your wrist were shattered, not just broken, and I had to shift them back into place through the nerves. So, yes, it won't always be that painful."

"Omi?" Nagi asked, turning to look pointedly at the blonde's shoulder. Omi hesitated and for a second Nagi could see an assassin's unwillingness to trust in his eyes, then he nodded.

Someone's cell phone rang before it could get any further than that. Everyone in the room looked over to see Yuri pull a small, black flip-phone out of his pocket and answer it. There was a beat of silence when a few unreadable emotions flicked across the man's face, then he hung up without saying a word.

"Sora's plane just landed. The meeting will be in an hour. Until then, Rori can heal you and show you where the weapons cache in this suit is. Mari will come escort you down to the meeting when it's time," said Yuri. "I have to go and make sure everything is ready. Red," he said as he turned to Aya, who had been standing quietly in the doorway to the other room throughout this. "You'll explain to them how this is going to work?" After receiving Aya nod of accent, Yuri swiftly left the room.

"Well, it certainly looks like you've got yourself hurt," said Rori to Aya after Yuri left. He took a step forward but Aya motioned him away.

"Heal the others first," said Aya. "I'll go open the weapons cache. Farfarello, Hidaka, come with me." Nagi blinked in surprise when Farfie followed without protest. He'd have expected the man to at the very least growl and make reluctant gesture. The three of them left through a side door Nagi hadn't noticed before.

"Now," said Rori as he knelt before Omi. "Let's start with this shoulder, shall we?" When Omi made no protest Rori reached forward and pushed his shirt back over his shoulder. Nagi hissed in sympathy at the dried blood that crusted the bandages.

Rori removed the bandages carefully with a pair of scissors that he pulled out of his pocket. The wound was small, clean, and obviously a bullet hole. There was a little bit of wet blood, but otherwise it looked like it had been healing well. Rori pressed his hand over the wound and frowned slightly. Then Omi gasped and his free hand dug into Nagi's leg. Nagi grabbed his hand to keep him from clawing holes in his leg and then it was over. Rori pulled back and Omi relaxed, his face free of pain.

"Me next," said Schuldich from the other side of Omi. He started to lean forward in his seat only to stop and wince. "Broken ribs are sooo much fun," he grumbled.

The only indication Schuldich gave of the pain the healing must have caused him was a drawn out hiss. Nagi noticed Balinese stepping closer at the sound, a concerned expression quickly smothered on his face, and wondered just what had been happening between the two. He was well aware the two had hit it off as like-minded people (sex talk traverses the biggest canyons) but the concern was a little odd for recent enemies.

What was even odder was that when Balinese expressed reluctance about Rori healing his leg Schu told him, "It's fine. Just let him," and Balinese listened. Nagi nearly dropped his jaw in shock at the comradeship? friendship? trust? that that showed.

Farfie, Ken, and Abyssinian came back in while Rori was healing Balinese. Farfie carried the most weapons, handguns, a shotgun, a whip, and lots and lots of knives. Ken also carried a shotgun, some metal knuckle coverings, and a bag of darts and throwing knives. Abyssinian held two katanas and nothing else.

"Red, sit," said Rori as he finished up with Balinese. Abyssinian, still holding the two katanas, sat down on the smaller couch only to have Balinese slid in beside him. Rori was kneeling down in front of him when the door opened.

It was the old woman that had escorted them off the train, looking a little more frazzled then she had earlier. "Rori, you need to get going. Phelan's looking for you and he's not in the best of moods."

Nagi saw Abyssinian pale out of the corner of his eye and watched as Balinese inched closer to his teammate. Abyssinian's expression was blank, Balinese worried, and, oddly enough, Schu wore that same worried expression.

"Go," said Abyssinian to the healer. "The wound will be fine on its own." The rest of the Weiss team looked ready to protest but Abyssinian overrode them with another, "go," and Rori left without a backward glance.

As soon as the door closed Balinese snapped angrily at Abyssinian, "Aya, that wound is not-"

"It's fine, Yohji. Now shut up, I need to explain to you how this meeting will work. We only have a half an hour before it starts and you all need to understand the protocol if you expect to survive."

"Protocol?" guffawed Schu. "What protocol can this bunch of losers-"

Abyssinian just snapped, "Enough so that if you miss a single thing and insult someone they'll shoot you full of holes before you take another breath."

No one dared to speak after that.

I apologize for any errors, editig this chapter got put on the backburner and I never got around to it. I hope it wasn't too terrible and you liked it for the content...if not the grammer.

03/24/08

6:15 PM