Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz and its characters sadly do not belong to me.
Warnings: AU, eventual yaoi (it might take a while for me to get there), some violence
Pairings: Eventual Ran/Ken, Youji/Omi
Author's Note: I know it's been a while since I've worked on this. Last quarter was quite a bit more hectic than I'd anticipated. "I can take another GE class with writing credit," I thought. "It'll be easy," I thought. Yeah, that was really stupid. Hopefully this quarter won't be as bad.
Blood Summons
By Rapunzel
Chapter 9
Later that morning, Omi, who had holed himself up in his room in the hopes of avoiding any more confrontations, was surprised to hear a knock at the door. He was not so surprised, however, to see Youji standing in the hall when he opened the door. If anyone was going to seek him out, it would be Youji.
"I thought you had to pack," Omi said even as he moved aside to admit his friend.
Youji waved that away. "That won't take too long. I've got plenty of time to do that later, but right now I need to talk to you."
"What about?" Omi asked as he ushered Youji into a chair and then moved to perch on his bed, facing the man.
"About that job offer," Youji said seriously.
Omi stared at him in surprise. "Job offer?" he repeated dumbly.
"Yes," Youji said. "I think you should come with us."
"But Youji!" Omi protested. "I can't! There is no 'job offer' anymore; Ran will kill me if I try to interfere."
"That's what he wants you to think," Youji said, smiling even in the face of Omi's distress. "But I've been around him for a while now; his bark's much worse than his bite. He definitely doesn't like the fact that you're a Takatori, but I doubt he'd take it to the level of actually attacking you."
Omi frowned, remembering dinner the previous evening. "I'm not so sure. He seemed pretty unhappy the other night. And even if he wouldn't attempt violence against me, he still won't let me come with you."
Youji too frowned. He gazed thoughtfully at the floor and appeared to be considering something. Finally he raised his eyes back to his host and said, "Omi, why did you tell him about your family name? Does it really matter so much to you if you help to hunt down your own father, even after the way he treated you?"
Omi squirmed uncomfortably at the question, not liking to be reminded of his father, but after a minute he answered it. "I suppose I don't really like the idea of going after my father, but I could do it. At this point, he's almost just like any other man to me; I can't really remember much. But I thought that an employer should be alerted to any potential conflict, which is why I told Ran."
"And it blew up in your face," Youji said, not without sympathy. "But that's just Ran being a fool. He doesn't seem to realize something important."
"What's that?" Omi asked.
Youji leaned forward intently. "He's too stubborn to admit that we need your help. I need your help. I've been working with him for a little over two weeks now, and I still have absolutely no clue where to find his sister. Worse, half the time I can't even find her abductor. We've had one brush with Takatori so far, and all we got out of it was another traveling companion. I'm not used to working with Ran; I'm used to working with you, and I know that you're capable of finding out things I'd never even think to look for. I need a partner on this one, and you're the only person I trust to back me up. Please, Omi? For me?"
Omi stared into beseeching green eyes for a moment before he had to look away. Part of him wondered if Youji was being slightly manipulative, but he didn't dwell on the thought. Youji was asking him for help, and Omi had promised himself that he wouldn't let the other man down. Still, he had to protest, "But what about Ran? I'd like to help you, really I would, but it's kind of up to your employer, isn't it?"
"It is," Youji agreed seriously, "but we can get around that. I was rather worried you would turn me down first. Family loyalty and all that."
Omi shook his head. "You should know better than that, Youji. After all, you know almost as much about my sordid family history as I do."
"Well, I'm glad that won't be a problem," Youji said, his mood seeming to have brightened considerably with Omi's acceptance of the task. "Now all we have to do is convince Ran that it's a good idea."
Omi snorted softly. "You say it as if it's easy," he muttered.
Youji, however, refused to be discouraged. "But it is," he said. "Or at least it's not as hard as you think it is. See, Ran's also tried working alone, and it didn't get him anywhere. He many not be willing to acknowledge that he needs your help to find his sister, but even he has to admit that he needs help of some kind. I'll simply threaten to deprive him of that help if he doesn't agree to let you come with us."
Omi frowned. "I'm not sure I understand."
"Solidarity is the key," Youji said. "If all the rest of us agree that it's a good idea, Ran will be outnumbered and will have to agree to take you on, or else risk losing all the rest of his help and wind up working alone again."
"I don't know, Youji," Omi said doubtfully. "Ran seems like the determined type. Do you really think that that will bother him so much?"
"Oh, I think it will," Youji said confidently. "So really, we only need to do one thing to convince Ran."
"And that is?" Omi asked skeptically.
"Convince Ken."
/-/-/-/
Knocking on Ken's door elicited a cautious call of "Who's there?" muffled by the panel of wood between them.
"It's me," Youji answered. "Well, us, I should say. Omi and me."
The door opened a crack, and Ken peered around it. Seeing only the two of them, he opened the door fully and stepped back to admit them. "I thought you might be Ran," was all he said by way of explaining his odd and almost hostile behavior.
"Is there some particular reason you're avoiding Ran right now?" Youji asked as he and Omi entered the room and shut the door quietly behind them.
Ken directed a rather angry look at the floor. "I don't want to talk to him right now," he said darkly, not bothering to say why.
"Well, that's not good," Youji said, "because we were hoping we could get you to speak to him for us."
"About what?" Ken asked as he moved over to the bed and sat down on it.
"About allowing Omi to assist me on this job."
Ken, who had pulled a sack out from under the bed and was stuffing what few spare clothes he had into it, paused. "You're nuts," he declared.
"Hear me out," Youji said. "We need Omi's help to find his sister, take my word for it. Ran's too stubborn to see that, but we do. So unless you want to spend your time traipsing all over the country to no end, you might want to help us."
"It's not like I've got anything better to do," Ken said with a shrug. "But I guess finding this Aya girl would be a good thing."
"Of course it would," Youji said. "And the best way to do that is to have Omi join us."
"If you say so," Ken said, without much interest.
"I do say so," Youji said. "Besides, wouldn't the extra company be nice?"
Ken looked past him to where Omi was standing quietly by the door, letting Youji finesse his way through this one. "Yeah, it would," Ken acknowledged.
"Well, then you just have to convince Ran of that. He wants to find his sister, and the only way that's likely to happen is if Omi joins us. You can work with that."
"You want me to convince him?" Ken asked in disbelief.
"Well, yes," Youji said. "I think you'll have the best chance of doing so. He already knows I want to take Omi along, since I was the one who suggested it in the first place, and if he sees that you agree with me, he'll know he's outnumbered and agree to let Omi take the job. After all, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to go back to searching alone."
"But he's already given you his answer," Ken said.
"I'm hoping that I can change his mind," Youji answered. "Or rather, I'm hoping you can."
"I don't know why you're asking me," Ken said bitterly. "Ran won't listen to me. He thinks I'm too stupid to talk to."
Youji frowned, wondering what exactly had transpired between the two and what Ran had said to make Ken speak so resentfully. Still, Youji was fairly certain that if anyone stood a chance of convincing Ran to let go of his grudge against Omi, it was the brunet sitting in front of him packing sullenly. He was the only one Ran couldn't accuse of having a prior agenda. That and he didn't have Youji's history of annoying his employer. "You stand at least as good a chance of convincing him as I do," Youji told Ken. "One of us is going to have to win him over.
Ken snorted. "We're doomed."
"Now, don't say that. Think positive."
Omi stepped forward and joined the conversation at last. "Maybe I should try talking to him instead. I really do want to help Youji out on this one, and I think you have the best chance of convincing Ran to let me, but if you really don't want to..." he trailed off, a sad and dejected look entering his eyes.
Ken took one look at Omi's face and knew he was sunk. "I didn't say that," he protested. "I'm just not sure he'll listen is all. But I'll try if you want me to."
"Really?" Omi brightened. "Thanks Ken."
Youji tried to hide a smirk. Really, Omi was too good at getting people to do what he wanted them to sometimes. The fact that Ken, who hadn't known the boy all that long, had already succumbed to his powers of persuasion spoke volumes about Omi's abilities.
"Well, we'll just leave you to it then," Youji said brightly. "Hopefully you'll find an opportunity to speak to him before dinner tonight. Good luck."
"Thanks," Ken said dourly. "I think I'll need it."
/-/-/-/
Ran scowled gloomily at the shirt he was folding. Packing shouldn't have taken him long, considering he hadn't had much time to unpack, but he was going slowly while he contemplated his situation in general. He knew that both of his traveling companions were displeased with him and their sudden departure. Actually, that wasn't all they were displeased with him for. Youji was indignant with him on Omi's behalf, and Ken... Ken was rightfully angry because of what Ran had said the previous evening.
While Ran was still irritated that Ken would presume to tell him his business when it came to Omi, he did have to admit, after some consideration, that he might have been a tad harsh with his words to Ken. Once he'd calmed down enough to lose some of his righteous indignation, he couldn't seem to shake the image of Ken's hurt eyes boring into him and striking through to his conscience. It had been a horrible thing he'd said to Ken, each word measured and calculated to hurt. At the time, that was what he'd been aiming for, hurting Ken enough that he would leave him alone.
Now, however, he wondered if he hadn't gone a little too far. Ken's attitude towards him that morning suggested that he had. And really, Ken was right to be angry, since his comment hadn't really been justified. He didn't think Ken was stupid, and he couldn't fault him for letting Kase get the better of him. Trust and loyalty, the very qualities that had led to Ken's downfall, were not bad things. They had simply been directed at the wrong person.
Ran set the shirt down with a heavy sigh. It seemed his conscience wasn't going to leave him alone for this one until he'd gone and apologized to Ken and gotten back in his good graces. Though really, he thought, irritated with himself for giving in so easily, it shouldn't matter if Ken was angry with him. People had been angry with him before and he hadn't let it bother him. But Ken was his companion now, and he and Youji were likely to be the only company Ran had for the next two or three days. Ran imagined making the trip back to his estate in an atmosphere similar to the one at breakfast that morning and shuddered. No, that would definitely not be pleasant. Something would have to be done about that.
With that justification firmly in mind, Ran got up and went next door to seek out Ken.
/-/-/-/
"Are you sure this will work?" Youji whispered.
"It had better," Omi answered just as softly. "The whole thing was your idea, after all."
"But will we really be able to hear him leave from in here?" Youji asked. "I haven't heard anything so far. What if we're outside the wrong room?"
"We're not," Omi answered back in a low hiss. "Trust me to know the ways of my own house, will you?"
"But how do you know Ken's still in there?" Youji asked.
"Because I can hear him moving around. Or at least I could before you started talking!"
Youji, who could hear the irritation in that whisper, wisely shut up. Omi was right, it had been his idea to spy on Ken to make sure he carried out the task they had given him. Given his irritation with Ran, Youji wasn't sure that Ken would talk to him as they had asked. And Omi, who had grown up in this house and knew all of its passages and doors like the back of his hand, had mentioned that they could listen to whatever was happening in Ken's room from a secret corridor which connected to the room by means of a panel in the wall.
When Youji had decided to hide in the corridor with Omi, however, he hadn't envisioned it being quite so narrow. The two of them were currently scrunched together, Omi standing pressed against the panel of wood that formed the secret door to Ken's room, and Youji pressed against Omi, since being taller allowed him to put his ear to the door above Omi's head. It wasn't too unpleasant, but he had to remind himself not to lean too hard lest he push the door open and spill them both into Ken's room. Somehow, he didn't think that Ken would appreciate knowing what they were doing.
"Has he left the room yet?" Youji whispered, deciding to chance Omi's wrath by speaking after several minutes of standing in silence. That was what they were waiting for, for Ken to leave his room to go talk to Ran. Then, the plan was to move along the corridor to Ran's room, which Omi assured him was also connected to this passage. So far, Ken hadn't done anything, which simply confirmed Youji's fear that Ken was going to chicken out and not try to convince Ran. Omi, however, kept insisting that Ken was simply putting off the task and would eventually get around to it. Youji wished that he would just hurry up and get on with it. While he didn't mind being in close quarters with Omi, there wasn't enough room to sit down, and his legs were getting stiff.
"Not yet," Omi hissed back. "Be patient."
Youji sighed heavily and let his chin drop to rest against Omi's hair. He exhaled another sigh to show his displeasure, ruffling the golden strands. Waiting was getting boring.
Just when Youji was about to say the hell with it and go somewhere where he could sit down, there came the sound of a knock at Ken's door.
"Who is it?" Ken called.
Even with the two doors separating them, Youji could still make out Ran's voice saying, "It's me. May I come in?"
Ken let out a very heavy sigh, rather like that of a man being led to the gallows. "Yeah, sure," he replied, not sounding very enthusiastic about the idea.
There was the sound of a door opening and closing softly, then footsteps padded lightly into the room. There was a pause, and then the sound of Ran clearing his throat. "How's the packing coming?" he asked.
"Okay, I guess," Ken answered, still in the same dull voice.
"Good," Ran said, and then there was silence again.
'Come on, Ken!' Youji thought. 'Now's your chance!'
After a moment or two had passed, Ken asked tentatively, "Was that all you wanted?"
Another pause, and then, "No actually," Ran said. "I... wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I had no right to say what I did, and I'm sorry."
"Okay," Ken said, after considering this for a moment. "Apology accepted, I guess."
"You still sound unhappy with me," Ran observed.
"Have you said sorry to Omi yet?" Ken asked, and Youji mentally applauded him.
"We're back to that, are we?" Ran asked, sounding sour.
"Youji says you need his help to find your sister, you just won't admit it," Ken said.
Ran exhaled through his noise in an annoyed fashion. "I don't need you or Youji to tell me how to conduct my business."
"But you need Youji to help you find your sister, and I think he's not going to do it unless he has Omi to help him," Ken said.
"Wonderful!" Ran spat. "So you're saying that if I refuse help from this slip of a boy, I lose my other detective. I suppose you'll desert on me too, seeing as how you're so unhappy with me about my prejudice against his family, as you call it."
'Yes!' Youji thought. 'C'mon Ken! Tell him you'll leave too! Solidarity!'
"No," Ken said after a moment's pause. "I'll still go with you if you want me to."
Youji felt like banging his head against the wood panel in front of him. Damn it, Ken was ruining the plan! How the hell were they supposed to convince Ran if they didn't all act together? Youji opened his mouth to rail against the brunet, but Omi, hearing his inhalation of breath, elbowed him hard in the gut. The air Youji had just brought into his lungs so that he could speak abruptly went rushing back out again
"You will?" Ran actually sounded surprised.
"Yeah," Ken said, an almost shy note in his voice. "If you want me to. But I probably wouldn't be much help. I'm not a detective or anything like Youji is. If Youji says you need Omi's help, you should listen to him. He's probably right."
Ran seemed not to have heard any of the last part of Ken's statement. "I thought you were angry with me because of what I said," he said. "And yet you tell me you'd still accompany me even though you think I'm acting like a fool."
"I am mad at you," Ken admitted. "You were really mean last night, both to me and to Omi. But you let me come with you instead of tossing me out on my own or turning me in. That's got to count for something."
Ran was silent, apparently not knowing what to say to that.
"I still think you're being stupid about the whole thing with Omi, though," Ken added. "And I'm still mad at you."
There was another long pause. Then Ran asked, "Do you really think it would be better to take him along than to try to go on as we have been, with just the three of us?"
"I don't know," Ken admitted. "So far you guys haven't done much looking because I've been slowing you down. How long had you and Youji been looking before you found me?"
"The two of us? About a week. Before that I searched on my own for years."
"Well, think how much faster it'll go with four people," Ken said.
"That's assuming Omi would actually help us," Ran retorted. "We are talking about his father here."
"He said he wanted to help," Ken said. "Just ask him, and I'm sure he'll agree."
"Ken," Ran said seriously, "I'm not sure it's a good idea to ask for help from anyone associated in any way with that evil man."
"Why not?" Ken asked. "You let me come along, and I was sort of associated with him through Kase."
"That's different," Ran growled. "Takatori is his father."
"And Kase was my best friend," Ken replied. "Omi probably wasn't as close to his father as me and Kase were to each other. And Kase turned out pretty wicked too. You don't hold that against me, do you?"
"No," Ran admitted, sounding almost reluctant. Youji grinned; it seemed Ran could see where Ken was going with this line of reasoning.
"Well then," Ken said reasonably, "you've got no reason to resent Omi."
"I suppose not," Ran said grudgingly.
"Then you'll ask him to come with us?" Ken asked.
There was a long silence, but finally Ran caved. "I'll think about it," he said. "Will that satisfy you?"
"Thank you!" Ken said brightly.
Ran grumbled a little under his breath as his footsteps retreated across the room. There came the sound of the door opening, and Ran paused and said, "In the mean time, keep packing." Then the door closed and he was gone.
Youji felt like doing a victory dance, but since Ken still didn't know they were there, he had to remain quiet, so he settled for hugging Omi from behind instead.
"That went well," Omi whispered softly.
"Yes it did," Youji agreed. "Now can we get the hell out of here?"
/-/-/-/
As it turned out, neither Omi nor Youji saw Ran again until dinner that evening. When Ran did come to eat, he remained silent at first, although the silence was not as tense as it had been that morning. It wasn't until partway through the meal that a nudge from Ken prompted him to clear his throat in preparation for speaking. Omi and Youji both looked at him expectantly.
"After some consideration," here Ran shot a sideways look at Ken, "I have come to the conclusion that I might have been a little hasty in my assessment last night." Ran paused, his mouth working for a moment before he looked straight at Omi and managed to continue, "If you are still willing to assist me, I would welcome the help."
Omi looked at him sternly. "Normally I would hesitate to work with someone who so obviously dislikes me," he said. "However, Youji is with you, and as a favor to him, I would be happy to accompany you."
Youji raised his napkin to his mouth to hide his triumphant smirk.
Ran seemed to take no notice of the chastisement. "Good," he said curtly. "Can you be ready to leave by tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Omi looked surprised. He had thought that Ran's insistence upon leaving so soon was simply the result of the tension between them and that he would be willing to wait a little longer once they reached their agreement.
"Yes, tomorrow," Ran said. "I've wasted six years already, I have no desire to waste any more time."
"But I can't leave tomorrow!" Omi cried. "I'm supposed to take care of things here until my uncle gets back. I can't possibly leave before he returns."
Ran's eyebrow twitched dangerously, but only a hint of annoyance entered his voice as he asked, "And when do you expect him back?"
"Oh, not for another week at least," Omi said apologetically.
"A week!" Ran exploded. "That long?"
"Possibly longer," Omi added.
Ran looked ready to burst a blood vessel, and Youji hastily put in, "Just think, Ran, it will give Ken more time to heal, so we can travel faster when we do leave."
"A week," Ran repeated angrily. He trailed off into unintelligible mutterings about further delays while Ken looked at him sympathetically and Youji and Omi exchanged smiles.
After all, Ran hadn't said he wouldn't be willing to wait.
Tbc...
Author's Notes: Yes, I know, I know, this chapter is horribly late. It's a little longer than most of the others, which might help to make up for that. Hopefully my homework load this quarter will be lighter, and I'll have more time to write.