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Improbability Factor: Chapter Four – Cauldron Bubble
By Ptath and Thalia
Beta-ed by Thalia
Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina
Disclaimer: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away.
Rating alert: This story is rated 'M' because of language and mature themes. Very mature themes.
'This' mean thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')
'This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')
"This" means talking out loud ("I like cats.")
FARFARELLO SAY: A man can't be too careful in his choice of enemies.
Koneko, New Years Day, 3 pm
Brad opened the back door just as the doorbell began to ring. He gave the two newcomers a smug smirk even as he gave them both a quick, evaluating look. "We've been expecting you," he said in a calm voice, silently pleased that they matched so closely to his visions.
The woman was tall, close to Schu and Ran's height. She had Schu's blue eyes and a delicate bone structure akin to Ran's. The auburn hair that cascaded down her back, however, was noticeably different from both telepaths.
Her companion topped her by a few inches, and would easily look the two Schatten telepaths in the eye. His lanky limbs were covered in comfortable, slightly wrinkled clothes. Dark blue eyes shone with intelligence, almost enough to hide the mischief that flickered in their depths. His hair, however, was what truly caught the eye. It was a deep, dark blue that fell across his face absently, silently defying all attempts to control it.
The woman gave Brad a haughty look. "That's impossible," she stated in a superior voice. "We defy all expectations."
"Charmed, I'm sure," Brad replied in a flat voice, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.
"Very charmed," the woman's companion replied cheekily. "If there's any more charm thrown around I'm going to end up throwing myself at your feet."
"My wife might take that the wrong way," the precog stated as he stepped back and began to lead the way further into the building.
"So offering to lick water off of you after your next bath is also out?"
Brad stumbled slightly and, after casting a startled look at the newcomer, decided to call for reinforcements.
'Aya, Ran, could you please meet me on the second floor?'
A few moments later, the trio reached the second floor. Aya and Ran were leaning against the wall of the kitchen. Upon seeing the newcomers, Aya let out a loud squeal and launched herself towards them.
"Toma!" she shrieked.
"Easy on the ears," the blue-haired man replied, a huge grin stretching across his face. He enfolded her into a hug and swung her around. "I missed you too," he laughed.
Ran merely shook his head. "What took you so long?" he demanded in mock irritation.
"Well, you see, I kinda got caught up in a few things. Had to rescue this girl and she was really demanding afterwards. Couldn't get a moment to myself after that!" Toma replied, casting a sly look at the auburn-haired woman standing next to him.
Said woman promptly slugged him in the arm. "I resemble that remark," she said tartly.
Toma merely laughed.
"So it seems," Brad muttered.
"Be nice," Aya insisted with a frown.
"She started it," grumbled the precog.
Aya gave him a look. "Quit being rude," she scolded. "And Toma, where are you manners?"
"Germany."
"My name is Shayna," the woman replied in a gracious voice as she simultaneously smacked Toma upside the head. "Don't talk back," she added, looking at her companion.
"It's very nice to meet you. My name is Crawford Aya," the empath replied, a smile spreading across her face.
"Fujimiya Ran," her brother added. "How exactly did you end up with Toma?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, him? He helped me get out of a small spot of trouble," Shayna replied.
"Small spot?" Toma demanded as he wheeled about. "Demons were about to invade this realm! Small spot my ass!"
"Demons?" Brad demanded in an incredulous voice.
"You're still doing that?" Aya asked worriedly. "That's so dangerous!"
Ran raised a hand. "Leave him alone, Aya," he scolded. "Because what we do isn't dangerous at all," he added sarcastically.
While Brad was leading the newcomers upstairs, Schuldig, Yohji, Ken and Far were lounging in the third floor TV room watching "The Order", a bizarre American movie that Far had come across after claiming the remote.
While two demonic children approached a priest burying a body in the cemetery under the cover of dark, Aya's scream split the air. Everyone (minus Far) jumped.
"An attack?" Yohji exclaimed as he sprang to his feet.
"It must be Esset!" Schuldig hissed.
"We need a plan," Ken snapped as he cast about for a weapon.
A few moments later, Ken (armed with a baseball bat), Yohji (uncoiling his wire), Farfarello (wielding several wicked looking knives) and Schuldig (checking the clip of his back-up gun) were running down the stairs, ready for a fight.
Far came flying off the stairs on the second floor screaming like a banshee. Nagi, standing just outside the computer room with Omi and Sakura, threw up a shield, which the Irish man bounced off of, landing on top of Yohji and tangling them both in his wire.
Brad sighed softly. This was not how he had pictured his day-off turning out. He had reached a state of apathy that was quite unusual for the normally determined precog. "Now that we're all here," he began in a tired voice, "I think introductions are in order."
Ken lowered his bat with a sheepish look while Schuldig hid his gun behind his back, and Nagi dropped the shield.
"Schatten has two new members," the precog continued. "This is Toma, Aya and Ran's cousin, and-"
"Seth?" Shayna whispered as she stared at Schuldig, her eyes wide.
Behind her, Ran winced slightly. "Here we go," he muttered.
"Se…" The German telepath's voice trailed off as he stared at the woman. Suddenly, his face turned white … and his eyes went blank. It was as if floodgates had been opened in his mind. Almost twenty years worth of memories were surging to the surface, memories from before Schwarz, memories he'd thought he'd never … remember.
"Seth, what's wrong," Shayna asked, her voice frantic. "Seth!" She started to move towards him, only to be dragged backwards by a worried, infuriated Nagi.
"Don't you touch him," the kinetic growled. "Stop calling him that! He's Schuldig!"
"Brad, are you all right?" Aya suddenly gasped.
Heads turned and eyes went wide when they saw that Brad was on his knees, clutching his head.
"Nagi, let her go," Ran suddenly snapped. "Now!" The telepath quickly scanned the room. His cousin, Toma, looked both confused and worried. Harsh glares were being leveled at Shayna, for she appeared to be the source of the former Schwarz members' pain. "Everyone, stand down," he growled.
Toma studied his cousin with narrow eyes, his quick mind evaluating everything that had transpired thus far. "What do you need us to do?" he asked calmly.
"Help Aya get Brad to his office," Ran ordered. "Sakura, take Shayna upstairs to your room. And stay there! Yohji, help me get Schu upstairs. Omi, Ken, Nagi, Far, make something to eat. Make sure there's enough for our new members."
"But-" Nagi began.
"No," Ran's harsh glare softened slightly. "I promise Schu will be alright. He just needs time. Take care of everything down here."
After a moment, the kinetic nodded. "Alright," he whispered.
Sakura hurried forward, a worried look on her face as she grasped Shayna's arm and gently tugged her upstairs. As the two women passed Schu, tears began to slip out of Shayna's eyes.
Toma, his face calm, bent over and pulled one of Brad's arms over his shoulder. Aya took the other and they slowly made their way towards the office.
Yohji carefully laid Schu out and grasped his shoulder while Ran wrapped his arms around the German and 'ported them all upstairs.
The remaining members of Schatten watched as everyone disappeared. Nagi's face was tight. Omi reached out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come on," he said softly. "We should get started. I think it's going to be a long day."
3:33 pm
Yohji and Ran carefully eased the frozen telepath down onto his bed. Leaning down, Ran snapped his fingers in front of Schu's face and gently prodded at his mind. A frown crossed his face when there was no response.
"I have a feeling that this is going to take longer than I thought," he finally said with a sigh. "Stay with him, Yohji, while I check on Shayna."
Yohji's face narrowed as he followed Ran out of the room. After shutting the door, the blonde gave his leader a stern look. "She attacked Schu and Brad, and you're going to give her an update?" he demanded.
Ran turned and gave Yohji his own look. "She didn't attack either of them. She's Schu's twin sister! She's just as scared and confused as everyone else."
Yohji's mouth dropped open in surprise, but no sound emerged.
With a sigh, the telepath began to speak once more. "I'll explain everything after Schu decides to rejoin us and everyone is together. I don't want to have to go through this more than once." He began to walk away, only to pause a moment later. "Yohji, how long was I like Schu after my own memories returned?"
"Oh, well," Yohji said with a shrug. "I'd say about half an hour."
Ran nodded and quickly disappeared around the corner.
Sakura shifted her weight slightly, silently wishing the tension that filled her room would diminish. Shayna sat on the edge of her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest and her face streaked with tears.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Sakura said hesitantly. "Ran seems to know what's going on. He'll take care of everything."
"Yeah, fine," Shayna muttered her eyes downcast.
"Um, Ran said your name was Shayna?" Sakura asked after a moment of frantic thought. "That's very pretty. What does it mean?"
Shayna looked up. "It means beautiful," she finally replied.
"Oh, well, that's very fitting," the other girl answered. "It's very nice to meet you."
"You don't have to lie," the auburn-haired woman muttered. "I saw how everyone reacted downstairs. I know you don't want me here."
A soft knock on the door saved Sakura from having to reply. A flood of relief ran through her as the door began to open. 'Wait,' she suddenly thought. 'If this isn't Ran …'
Fortunately, it was the red-haired telepath. As he stepped into the room, he glanced at Sakura, who gave him a helpless shrug. Looking back at Shayna, he walked over and seated himself beside her.
"I know you didn't hurt him," he said softly. "I know you couldn't hurt him. He's your brother, you could never do that."
"How could you possibly know that?" she asked softly, eyes widening as she spoke.
"There are a lot of things I know, but what I know about you is what Schuldig told me."
"You mean Seth," Shayna insisted.
"No," Ran replied, shaking his head. "He isn't Seth, not any more. He's Schuldig, Schu. He might let you call him Seth. Not right away, but perhaps later. What you need to understand is that he's not the person you remember."
"But he remembers me? He's talked about me?"
"That's … complicated," Ran admitted.
"Complicated? Complicated how?" Shayna demanded.
"Well, I could explain, or, I could let Schu do it."
"Can I see him? Will he be ok?" she asked urgently.
"You can't see him yet," Ran began, then quickly added "but you'll be the first. When you do see him, you can't call him Seth. He'll still be shaky, and he'll need all the support we can give him. Ok?"
"Alright," she reluctantly replied. She didn't like the conditions this … man was setting, but if it got her in to see her brother … And Toma had always spoken so highly of his cousins …
Ran nodded and rose to leave the room. As he neared the doorway, he motioned for Sakura to join him. "Stay with her," he said softly. "Ken and Omi should be up soon with some food. Make sure she eats."
"I will," Sakura said reassuringly. "Schu … will he really be alright?" She asked suddenly.
"Yes, he just needs time," the telepath replied. "He'll be fine."
3:47 pm
"So you're married, huh?" Toma asked as he gave the unconscious precog a swift glance. "How'd you talk Ran into that?"
"By not giving him a choice in the matter," Aya replied primly as she smoothed Brad's hair. After they'd gotten him to the office, the precog had simply passed out. The cousins had laid him on the floor under the window. "I think we should put a couch in here, what do you think?" she asked thoughtfully.
"My .. office …" Brad groaned as his eyelids began to twitch.
"Yes, your office. The one in which you are lying on the floor because you don't have a couch."
The American growled.
"Aspirin?" Toma offered.
"Or a gun. Anything that will make the throbbing stop."
"We'll start with the aspirin," Aya corrected. "Second drawer on the left," she added, nodding towards Brad's desk.
Toma dug through the desk for a few moments before sighing. "Can't find it," he called.
"Oh, honestly," Aya exclaimed in exasperation. "Come and sit with him while I get it."
The newcomer obediently walked over to the window and settled down to sit next to Brad's head. "So, how're things going, partner?"
"Call me that again and you won't like the results," the American snapped back. He slowly pulled his arms up next to him so he could prop himself up on his elbows.
"I'm not sure," Toma began.
"What do you think you're doing?" Aya demanded as she pulled the aspirin bottle out of the desk … without looking up.
"Sitting up," came the rather peevish reply.
"You really should be taking it easy," Toma commented as he helped the precog upright.
"There will be time for that later. I need to talk to Ran."
"He's looking after Schu," Aya informed him as she shook two pills out of the bottle.
"That's part of why I need to talk to him," Brad explained.
"Well, we're under confinement, so we're going to have to wait for him to show up," corrected Toma.
"What?"
"Hey, I'm just following orders," came the defensive reply. "Ran told me to get you in here and I got the impression that we weren't supposed to leave."
"He's busy anyway," Aya added, "and you shouldn't be moving around. Until he shows up, why don't you tell us what you think is going on?"
3:47 pm
"Yohji, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ran demanded as he stepped back into his and Schu's room.
The blonde glanced up. He was crouched in front of the frozen German while waving a hand in front of his eyes. "I'm trying to get a response," Yohji replied in a patient voice.
"By telling him you have Guatemalan coffee?"
"I didn't say I was looking for a positive response. Happy, angry, sad, something is better than nothing. Besides," he added as he stood up and gave Ran a pointed look, "he's my friend too."
Ran inhaled sharply before slowly exhaling. A quiet internal voice whispered to him. 'He's just trying to help,' it said to him. 'This is his way of re-assuring himself that Schu will be ok. He's here to take care of Schu so that you can take care of everyone else.' As he squared his shoulders, he deliberately tried to distance himself from the paranoia that the other telepath's emotions had stirred up.
"I'm sorry I …" he began.
"I know, you're stressed," Yohji replied, his green eyes calm and understanding. "You're having to take care of everyone. And deal with whatever hit Brad and Schu. There's no way you didn't pick up anything. I know you're worried about Schu and that you don't have time to dwell on him. Just take a minute. The world won't explode, I promise."
Ran blinked, taken aback by the sudden offer of help. It had been so long since anyone had truly offered to take care of him, since he had had a reminder of why he and Yohji were such good friends, the best of friends actually. In fact, it had been too long. The past year and a half had been lost to chaos and mayhem, and through it all he had almost forgotten his best friend. Ran looked at Yohji warmly, "Thanks Yotan, I owe you."
"Nah, you don't owe me a thing. We're friends right. That's what friends are for."
"Yeah, I guess so." With that Ran moved across the room to the other telepath. After a few minutes of silent prodding, he rocked back on his heels and looked at Yohji. "His shields are stronger than I've ever seen them," he admitted.
"And that means what, exactly?"
"He's functioning on some level. He's retreated inside of himself and we just have to wait for him to come out."
"So he'll be ok?"
Ran sighed. "I'm going to be answering that question a lot today, aren't I? Yes," he said. "He'll be fine.
4:12 pm
"So what you're saying," Aya began, her brow furrowing slightly, "is that Ran attended Rosenkreuz, that he is Maelstrom and that he and Schu's combined powers were referred to as Mayhem. Rosenkreuz took those memories away from them and you and Schu just got them back."
"And that Schu is Shay's twin brother, for whom we have been searching for over a year," Toma added. "And her appearance is what triggered these memories to return, memories which temporarily overwhelmed you and are still overwhelming Schu."
"Yes," Brad replied.
The entire room jumped when someone knocked sharply on the door.
"Come in, Nagi," Brad called as he calmly adjusted his glasses.
Toma glanced at Aya and leaned towards her. "Does he do that a lot?" he whispered.
"Only when I let him," she replied.
Her cousin grinned and patted her hand. "Good girl," he murmured.
The door opened and Nagi crept in, eyes downcast and his hands moving nervously. "We made food like Ran asked," he said softly. "Does anyone want anything?"
"What do you have?" Toma asked curiously.
"Uh, well, a little bit of everything," Nagi replied nervously. He eyed the blue-haired man for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty running through him.
"Why don't I help you put something together," Aya offered. "You can help me carry it back."
"That'll work," Nagi replied. Before turning to leave, he gave Brad a hesitant glance. "Are you ok?" he asked.
"I'm fine," the precog replied reassuringly.
"And Schu?"
"Will be fine." When Nagi gave him an irked look, he elaborated. "Ran is taking care of him. He knows what's going on, and he knows what to do. I promise you that Schu will be just fine."
The tension that had filled the room upon Nagi's arrival instantly dissipated. Brad had never made a promise to Nagi that he hadn't kept. Schu would be fine.
"Let's go get that food," Aya said warmly. As the pair departed, she could hear Toma talking to Brad.
"Is the kid always like that?"
Brad gave him an annoyed look. Toma merely grinned, silently pleased that his attempts to lighten the mood had worked.
In the kitchen, Aya was assisting Omi and Ken prepare trays to take upstairs.
"Brad's fine," she said as she placed a few last items on the trays.
"Good to hear," Ken said briefly and he scooped up his tray. "Coming Far?" He walked out of the kitchen, Omi and Far close on his heels.
Aya finished Nagi's tray and gave him a warm smile. "I need to go give Omi a message for Ran," she said. "I'll be right back." Nagi nodded and Aya turned and slipped out of the room.
"Omi, how has Nagi been?" she asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I've been worried that we were going to lose a few dishes," he replied, turning around. "I don't know what you did, but all the static is gone."
"Do you mind if I borrow him for the rest of the day?" she asked.
"Please," the blonde replied. "We don't really need him around and I know how he feels. So, by all means, it's ok. Especially if you can get him to stop vibrating."
"Thanks Omi," Aya said.
Back in the office, Nagi was beginning to fret. "I should get back to helping Omi and Ken," he said.
"Why don't you stay here?" Aya said as she re-entered the room.
Nagi frowned. "Ran said-"
"Nagi, stay, that's an order," Brad interrupted, knowing that Nagi would be better off with them.
4:20 pm
Ran opened the door when he felt Omi's approach. He blinked, feeling slightly disconcerted when he realized that Omi's head was a bit higher than usual.
"I have food, do you need anything else?" Omi asked as he hefted the tray.
"What you have looks fine," Yohji replied as he walked up behind Ran and, reaching around him, and started picking at the tray's contents. He frowned when he picked up a mug of coffee. "This isn't that Guatemalan crap, is it?" he asked warily.
"No but I can fix that," Omi stated in a level voice.
"Yeesh, what's your problem?" Yohji demanded in mock annoyance. He grinned and backed into the room once more.
Omi sighed softly and shook his head. "How is everyone?" he asked, giving Ran a wide-eyed pleading look.
"Everyone's fine," Ran replied.
"Even Shayna?" Omi persisted. "I could tell by the way you reacted earlier that everything that's happened isn't her fault."
"She's fine as well. Sakura's looking after her." With a sudden frown, Ran gave Omi a piercing look. "Where's Nagi?"
"Aya took charge of him," the blonde replied. "While we were making drinks and such, the dishes kept rattling, so much so that I thought something was going to break." He shook his head slightly at the memory. "When we had finished everything, he went to go see if Aya and Toma wanted anything. Brad had woken up and he promised Nagi that Schu would be alright. After that, all the tension, all the static he was emitting went away. Aya and I decided that it would be best if he stayed in the office."
"It's for the better," the telepath agreed with an approving nod. "Now, I need you, Ken and Far to make dinner. Preferably something that will take several hours since we're eating a bit right now. It's also going to take Schu a few more hours to recover."
"You want us to do … what?" Omi asked in horror.
"Cook. Dinner. Enough for everyone, at that." When he saw Omi's wide-eyed look, he continued. "You can do things with technology that's never seen on sci-fi shows. I think you can operate an oven."
"Of course I can run an oven," came the blonde's indignant reply.
"Then prove it to me."
"I will," Omi snapped. "Just you wait and see!"
"Fine. Just make sure that no one changes floors without my permission. That will just give me more problems to deal with."
4:40 pm
Toma leaned back against the wall and gave his cousin an admiring look when he abruptly appeared in the center of the room. "That's a new trick," he applauded. "When did you learn to do that?"
Ran gave him a dismissive look. 'Later, I promise,' he sent. Toma's eyes widened further at the silent comment. "Schu's going to be fine," he said out loud as he looked at Nagi.
"How's Shay doing?" Toma asked, concern filling his voice.
"She's scared, but fine."
"Not that it really matters. She's the one that caused all this," the teenager muttered under his breath.
Brad frowned at him. "She didn't hurt Schu or me."
"She's his sister," Ran added. "Schu is currently trying to process almost two decades worth of memories that Rosenkreuz suppressed. It's not her fault."
"She …" Nagi's voice trailed off, his eyes widening and his face paling. "I'm sorry," he whispered after a moment. He gave Toma an apologetic look. "I shouldn't have blamed her, not without all the facts. I was worried."
"It's ok," Toma replied, a gentle smile crossing his face. "I understand."
While the pair spoke, Brad gave Ran a wry look. "Now I know why I could never see you properly in my visions. Why you were never part of my team. Of Schwarz."
"Why I … what?" Ran asked in confusion.
"When we were all attending Rosenkreuz, I was already having visions about my field team. I kept seeing Schu in my visions but never you. But every time I observed Schu, you were right there with him, and I could tell that your powers were connected. I also knew that as powerful as you two were together that Esset wouldn't separate you because you were too much of an asset to the organization when you were together."
"The problem was we got too powerful," Ran jumped in.
"Exactly," Brad replied, "it would have been rather hard for you to be part of Schwarz, when you had teleported to Tokyo and would eventually become a member of Weiss," the precog finished.
"Yeah, that would make things kind of difficult." Nagi and Toma chimed in simultaneously.
Everybody paused before the room burst into laughter.
After Aya got her giggles under control, she spoke up. "When Schu hears about this, he's going to die."
"Yes, he will," the telepath agreed. "I should get back to him. I think at this point it would be best if everyone just stayed where they are," he stated looking Brad in the eye.
The other American nodded. "I agree. That will reduce any lingering chaos and hopefully this will all be resolved very soon."
"Schu should be back with us again within the next two hours. I'll be letting Shayna see him very shortly after he comes to. Ken, Omi, and Far are fixing dinner; I kept picking up thoughts about lasagna when we discussed it earlier, so I guess we're having Italian tonight. We can all eat, and then . . . family meeting?"
"Sounds good," Brad confirmed.
"Wait, who's cooking?" Aya asked in a slightly panicked voice.
Ran walked over and put an arm around his sister's shoulders. He looked down at her endearingly, a small mischievous light shimmering in his violet eyes as he began in a mock reassuring tone, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Have a little faith." With that he brushed a quick kiss on her forehead and disappeared.
Toma looked at the remaining occupants of the office. "Does he always do that?"
Brad gave Toma a sour look. "I don't know," he began sarcastically, "do you always make irritatingly incessant inquiries?"
"Whoa, nice alliteration. Do you think you could teach me how to do that?"
Brad simply glared.
7:19 pm
As soon as Schu started to stir, Ran left to get Shayna, leaving Yohji to take care of the German.
The red-head opened the door to Sakura's room, and before he could say a word Shayna was on her feet ready to follow. The entire way down the hall Ran could hear Shayna muttering Schu's name to herself like a mantra. When they reached the door to his and Schu's room, he paused and turned towards her.
"Everything is going to fine. Just relax." He gave her arm a reassuring pat before opening the door so she could enter first.
Schu was seated on the bed, his eyes partially closed and a frown on his face. Yohji was hovering nearby, with a look of concern in his eyes. As Shayna walked into the room, however, the German telepath's head snapped up and his eyes turned to pierce hers. Yohji bit his lip slightly and moved back to stand near the door beside Ran.
"Se…Schu," Shayna whispered as she stumbled into the room. "You're awake? You're alright?"
"Ja," he replied, eyes never leaving her face.
Shayna's pace slowed as she neared the twin-sized bed, and after a moment's hesitation, she sat down beside him.
"Schu, I…I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so very sorry. Can you forgive me?"
"For what?" he asked, his soft voice full of confusion. Almost unconsciously, his hand stretched out to cover hers, resting on the top of the bed.
"For leaving you, when they came. All those years ago," she explained, voice hushed "when we were separated. I escaped and didn't take you with me."
"It's not your fault," he corrected as a frown appeared on his face. "It's Esset's. They're the ones who attacked. They're the ones who separated us. You have nothing to be sorry for."
The auburn-haired woman chewed on her lip as she looked at him anxiously. "I looked for you," she said after a minute or two of silence. "When Toma brought me back here. I looked for you so hard. I missed you. I wanted to get back to you."
"For as long as I remembered you, I missed you," Schu replied. "But then…" his voice trailed off for a moment as his eyes unfocused, lost in memory. "Then Esset took my memories away, took you away." His eyes refocused and he gave her a piercing look. "As long as I had my memories, I never forgot you. I always thought about you."
By this point, the twins had shifted closer together and Schu had a comforting arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders. A sudden snicker escaped Shayna.
"You're poking around in my head," she sniggered. She looked up, mischief filling her eyes. "I've missed that."
"It's still a pit of terror and confusion," he teased. "The female mind is no place for any self-respecting male."
Shayna laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. Suddenly, she cocked her head to one side. "It's … a little different," she frowned. "There's an echo."
"Ah, that would be Ran," her twin explained as he shifted his weight to nod towards the other red-head. "While we were in Rosenkreuz, our minds became…very close." He hesitated. "Almost as close as you and I."
"But not completely," Ran added, his deep voice suddenly filling the room. "No link can ever hope to match what rests between you." He studied them for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I'm picking up an echo as well. I'm going to assume that that's you." He said looking at Shayna.
"Yeah, that would definitely be Shay that you're picking up," Schu replied easily.
"It's kind of nice," Ran and Shay replied together.
Yohji looked amused. "And the set of twins is who again because I'm a little confused."
Everyone laughed.
Throughout it all, the long separated siblings continued to get closer and closer to one another wanting nothing more than for this single moment to last forever.
'Hey,' Yohji sent to Ran, 'remind you of anyone?'
'Huh?'
Yohji rolled his eyes at his leader. 'They are just like you and Aya were when we first got back.'
'Hmm, you think so,' came Schu's mental voice as he hugged his sister tightly.
The lanky assassin jumped at the sound of the unexpected voice.
'Is that a good or bad thing?' Shayna inquired curiously.
"Is nothing sacred in this house?" Yohji finally asked aloud in mock incredulity.
"No." Both telepaths replied simply.
The blonde finally smiled warmly over at Shay and answered her question. "It's a very good thing."
"We should be getting downstairs now," Ran said looking over at Schu, "everyone has been really worried about you."
Fear suddenly flared in the two telepaths' minds.
"Whoa," Schu exclaimed wrapping his arms around his sister in a tight embrace. "Calm down. Everything will be fine," he murmured soothingly as he figured out the problem. "Nobody downstairs is going to hurt or blame you for this morning. Ran took care of everything."
The auburn-haired woman looked at the American telepath who gave her a nod of affirmation.
"Come on then," Schu exclaimed, "I'm starving."
7:30 pm
Unable to take it any more, Aya strode out of her husband's office, silently dreading what she would find. Her mind was filled with visions of a burned kitchen, scorched dinner and half-empty fire extinguishers.
What she found was Sakura cheerfully setting the (new) dining room table while Far and Ken brought out the food. Omi was humming to himself in the kitchen as he waited for the bread to finish warming up.
"I told you everything would be fine," Toma's voice suddenly breathed in her ear. Aya let out an unladylike squawk and jumped in the air. "After all," he continued, a grin appearing on his face, "I'm not the one cooking."
"No, if you were cooking, the fire department would have already come and left," she snapped back, still peeved that she had been unable to assist with dinner. Seeing that the food had been neatly prepared, she darted into the dining room.
Brad sighed when he heard her scolding Sakura for using the wrong tablecloth. "Dear, please come back here," he stated in a penetrating voice. "They have things under control. You are just getting in the way." When Aya appeared long enough to give him a dark look, he merely raised a questioning eyebrow. "Tell me I'm wrong."
Aya huffed to herself and stalked into the sitting room to seat herself primly in an armchair.
"I thought of all people, you would be more progressive," Toma scolded, mischief filling his eyes as he threw himself into a chair. "You are American after all. Didn't you people have entire social movement about that? But no, have to order the lady about, have to keep her under control."
Aya looked pleased with her cousin's staunch defense. Brad wheeled away from the kitchen to give them both incredulous looks. "You want progressive?" he demanded. "In that case, I think it's about time I had a mid-life crisis and bought myself a motorcycle and a little red sports car. Aya will need to go get a job so that she can be a bread-winner and contributor, and oh, perhaps we should also tell Schu that you've been living with his sister for over a year."
Toma's dark blue eyes had gotten progressively wider and wider as sarcasm continued to spill from the precog's mouth. "Actually, I was thinking we could hold off on the telling the big brother and the sister thing and I think I'll be shutting up now," he stuttered.
A triumphant smirk appeared on Brad's face. After almost four hours of Toma doing his best to get under his skin and poking at him, he'd finally gotten him to stop.
An undefeated grin suddenly appeared on Toma's face, and with a wink, he casually rose to his feet and crossed to the other side of the room to idly study the books in the small library.
Ken rolled his eyes as he heard Aya congratulating Brad on 'letting go' and 'being himself in the presence of others.' The sound of footsteps on the stairs, however, drew his attention away from the married couple and to the assassins now descending from the third floor.
"Oh good," he said bluntly when he saw Yohji. "We can eat."
Movement in the room slowed and quickly came to a stop. Schu and Shay descended side by side. Schu looked a bit tired but generally cheerful. Shay's face was calm and composed. Behind them, Ran leveled a pointed look at Schatten, one that promised a number of unpleasant things should they react poorly.
"Schu, you're alright now?" Nagi asked anxiously as he hurried out of the kitchen.
"I'm just fine, chibi," the German reassured him.
"And Shayna?" Nagi continued, turning to the woman. "I'm sorry I grabbed you earlier. I hope I didn't hurt you."
"You didn't," Shayna replied, a warm smile appearing on her face. "I understand why you reacted the way you did. Everything's fine."
"And since we are ALL fine," Ran interrupted in a slightly impatient voice, "we may now eat."
The evening meal progressed swiftly and with little drama. Aya was forced to admit that the meal was up to her exacting standards ("But don't think this is going to be a regular occurrence!") and Toma put aside poking at Brad in favor of ensuring that Shayna was well.
Once the table had been cleared of the dinner dishes and dessert brought out and passed around, Brad got everyone's attention so the family meeting could begin before handing the proceedings over to Ran.
"I believe that you've been promising everyone a full explanation," the precog began. "This would be the time to enlighten us."
Ran gave Brad a mild look before beginning to speak. "Before I say anything else, I want to clarify what everyone has undoubtedly figured out by now: what happened this morning was the result of the emergence of suppressed memories. While Shayna's presence is responsible for triggering the return of these memories, she is not to blame for Brad and Schu's reactions to those memories."
Ran scanned the room once before continuing. "To understand today's events, you'll need to know more about the time I spent at Rosenkreuz. When I was eight, I was brought to Rosenkreuz. One day after I'd been there for a while, some of the older students began to harass me. Schu stepped in and drove them off."
At this, the German telepath snorted. "I probably didn't need to step in," he said. "You were doing damn well, especially considering what a little shrimp you were back then."
"But why did you step in," Nagi asked in a perplexed voice. "I may not have been at Rosenkreuz for very long, but I do know how it works. Age groups and talent types stick to their own. So, what made you step in?"
Schu shrugged. "No idea," he replied calmly. "Part of it was how aggressive he was, that he was willing to fight back against boys twice his size and several years older than he was. Another part was how well he was doing against them. As for the rest," he shrugged again. "I was curious."
"After that, we stuck together," Ran added. "Together, no one bothered us. Eventually, we were both given our codenames. Schu was Mastermind and I was Maelstrom. The link that had arisen between the two of us was named Mayhem."
"Why Mayhem, exactly," Yohji asked carefully.
"I'll show you the page out of Schu's file," Omi interjected in a dry voice. "It illustrates what those two were like at Rosenkreuz rather clearly."
Ran began to speak once more. "The link between us, the Mayhem link, eventually grew so strong that the higher-ups in Esset became concerned. They didn't want to lose our powers, but they wanted the link gone. I don't know what options they considered, but the decision they ultimately reached was to destroy the link."
The red-head's eyes closed for a moment. "They set us up with a false training mission and planned to use a post-mission physical to break the link. They knocked Schu out and tried to do the same to me. I panicked and teleported for the very first time even as they injected me with the serum to wipe my memories, to prevent me from remembering Mayhem. It's sheer luck that I landed in Japan."
"Why didn't anyone else remember you?" Ken asked after a moment of silence. "No one in Schwarz recognized you, after all."
"They tinkered with everyone's memories," Schu said in a dry voice. "Anyone who had been at Rosenkreuz while we were there, anyone who could have heard about us. That includes Brad," he added in a pointed tone.
"Then how did your memories returning trigger Brad's?" asked a puzzled Omi.
Brad smiled grimly. "Schwarz's team link is still in place," he answered. "When Schu's memories returned, the force of their return rippled through the link. That ripple is what removed the block on my memories."
An awkward silence filled the room. "Since there don't appear to be any further questions," Brad said after the silence had stretched on for over a minute, "I suggest we all go our separate ways. As far as sleeping arrangements go, Toma, you get Schu's old room and Shayna, you may have Ken's."
Ran looked at Shay. "For tonight," he said, "take my bed. You and Schu need time to catch up. I'll bunk with Toma so that we may do the same."
"So that's why you had us move everyone about," Yohji interrupted, a note of satisfaction filling his voice. "You could have told us we were getting new people instead of just ordering Ken into Aya's old room and getting two new beds for Ran's."
"Yes, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun." The precog smirked at the blonde before speaking once more. "We'll be closing the Koneko tomorrow so that we can get to know our new members and have a team meeting."
"If we're having a team meeting tomorrow, what's this?" Ken asked in a plaintive voice. "If you have more to tell us, why don't you just tell us now?"
"Because team meetings and family meetings are different," Brad explained. "Our lives shouldn't be ruled by what we do and I intend to keep things distinct and separate. Family meetings occur on the second and third floors, team meetings in the briefing room. Period."
"Makes sense to me," Toma stated. He grinned. "Get to know everyone, huh? Can we play trust games?"
"You want to play trust games?" Nagi asked in a mocking voice. Toma's eyebrows shot up when he found himself levitating above the table.
"How about this for a trust game?" Toma responded as he raised his hand and snapped. Instantly, the window to the sitting room flew open and a hard wind suddenly swept through the room. The two stared hard at each other, Toma still floating above the table and the wind whipping around them. Neither were willing to back down.
Ran groaned and covered his eyes with his hand.
"I think this is making Aya upset," Far said in a low voice.
Toma dropped back into this chair and the wind abruptly disappeared. Aya was giving them both a thin-lipped look. Nagi settled for glaring at her blue-haired cousin. "Trust me now?"
"Of course," Toma replied, his voice serious. "Aya and Ran both trust you. You live and work with Shay's brother. Why wouldn't I?" He glanced over at Aya. "Sorry, K," he added.
"K," Omi repeated. "Do we want to know what that stands for?"
"It stands for Kryptonite," Aya explained. "It's a nickname from when we were kids. Apparently, I was their weakness." A sudden glint appeared in her eyes. "It was also my codename."
"Your what?" Brad demanded.
Schu gave Ran an amused look. The red-haired telepath was emitting waves and waves of dread and embarrassment. "Explain," he demanded.
"When we were kids and when we needed to pull something off without the adults knowing about it, we set up a code," Aya explained in a gleeful voice. "Toma was CK, which stood for Clark Kent, and Ran was DK-"
"Drift King?" Sakura asked puzzled.
Ran gave her a slightly disgusted and insulted look. "Dark Knight, thank you very much." He practically sneered the last part but winked to let the younger girl know he wasn't really upset.
"What kind of stuff did you do?" Sakura asked in a curious voice.
"That's classified," Ran began.
"We'd tell you, but then we'd have to kill you," Toma finished.
"That bad, huh?" Yohji asked in a pleasant voice.
"Worse," Aya added cheerfully.
Toma and Ran looked pleased. And rather proud.
10 am, Next Morning, Sitting Room
Toma leaned back against Shayna's chair and gave his cousin an accusing look. "You promised me an explanation of who's who and what they are last night," he stated in a matter of fact voice. "I want that now."
Ran gave him an amused look. "Very well," he replied. "I hope you know who I am. I am a telepath and teleporter who is capable of utilizing gestalt."
Toma nodded patiently.
"Schu is the strongest telepath to ever emerge from Rosenkreuz, Brad is the strongest precog and Nagi," Ran continued, his eyes glinting in amusement as he remembered the previous night, "is the strongest telekinetic. Farfarello can't feel pain and Aya is a very strong empath with microkinetic abilities that we shall soon be training."
Toma waited for a moment before frowning. "Is that all the Talents?" he asked in confusion. When Ran nodded, the confusion increased. "What about your Epispatial Elementals?"
"You didn't," Nagi said in horror.
Toma looked at him for a moment before grinning. "Oh, yes, I did."
"Did what?" Yohji demanded. "And just what is an Epispa-whatever?"
"He mixed a Greek prefix and a Latin derivative," Nagi answered in disgust. "It's just not done, not to mention being the grossest misuse of language I've ever encountered. It's appalling really."
"The Epi thing means Time and Space Elemental," Toma clarified as he carefully ignored Nagi.
"Elemental … as in the five elements?" Sakura asked hopefully.
"No, it's more basic than that," Nagi muttered. "The building blocks of the building blocks, you could say."
"Lovely," Brad said shortly. "What does it mean?"
"Well, she's Time," Shay said pointing at Sakura.
"Which leaves Space," Toma finished, looking about the room expectantly.
All eyes turned to Yohji. "Hey," he said defensively. "I didn't ask to be an Epi-whatever."
"Epispatial Elemental," Toma and Nagi said together. Toma glanced at Nagi in amusement. "I suppose the next question will be what that means," he said dryly.
"Since I haven't actually seen your powers in action some of this is going to be a bit speculatory, but here goes nothing. Sakura has the ability to manipulate time. Not so much time itself, but more like she has the ability to manipulate how she and others around her move through time. Yohji works with space." Toma paused a moment when he remembered something Ran had told him. "You used to be a PI right, and a good one at that if I'm not mistaken?" When he got an affirmative nod, he continued. "Okay, quick physics lesson. Matter curves space and all things are made up of matter. So, Yohji is something like a cross between a finder and an object reader. He gets a sense for things and vibes off objects and people. He is always highly aware of his surroundings. When you put the two together, you get spacetime.
You see, when it is just Sakura she is affecting herself, and when it is just Yohji he is being affected by matter. However, when they are together they act like the force in Newton's first law, all objects that are in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by an outward force, and the same goes for objects at rest. The point is, Yohji and Sakura together are that outward force. But they don't affect physical matter like we think of, they affect dark matter, which is all the matter we postulate into existence because there is not enough observable matter to account for the functioning of the universe."
He explained this as if it was the most simple and obvious of concepts and anyone who couldn't grasp it was a dim-witted moron.
Schu leaned over and gave his sister a pained look. "Where did you find him, exactly?"
"Oh, well, we had a small scuffle," she explained. "We fought, he knocked me around a bit-"
"He did what!" exploded Schu.
"Toma!" Aya said in an appalled voice.
Yohji gave him a harsh frown. "You hit a woman?" he demanded in a dangerous voice.
Toma quickly found himself on the receiving end of a number of harsh looks. "Now wait just a minute," he began in an irritated voice. "She started it!"
"So you hit her?" Yohji demanded again.
Annoyance flickered across Toma's face. "Why don't we look at the situation this way," he said. "What would you do if, you're alone in the woods and were suddenly attacked by a demon horde and the last surviving demon you are attempting to question suddenly sprouts a knife in his skull, embedded up to the hilt, might I add. And if, after throwing the body at the unknown attacker, said attacker taunts and sneers, clearly cruising for a fight."
He looked around the room once more. "What I did," he continued, "was tackle my attacker, who wiggled free and then proceeded to launch an attack of her own. I blocked the attack and slapped her once. It was an open-hand slap because I was trying my best not to hurt her. I was simply trying to get her to stop long enough so I could figure out what the hell was going on."
Toma cast a look around the room, trying to see if his point had been fully expressed. Finally he locked eyes with Aya. "Do you honestly believe I'm capable of abuse?"
Aya stared back into the blue depths of his eyes for a moment before shaking her head and replying. "No. I know better than that. I'm sorry."
"Obviously, he didn't hurt me," Shayna suddenly said in a calm voice. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here now. That is the only time he's hit me and it was in the course of a fight that I started. In the year and a half that I've known him now, there's been nothing like that." She took a moment to brush an imaginary fleck of dust off the arm of the chair. "Moving along, now."
Schu frowned slightly, his mind ticking over the 'year and a half' comment. Judging by the current mood of the room, however, now was not the time to bring it up.
Toma could tell he that the subject needed to shift and fast. "Oh, I forgot the most interesting part . . . at the end of the fight she kissed me." The blued haired warrior reveled in the shock that pervaded the room.
Shayna's face turned bright red as she shot Toma a glare that promised suffering in some form or another. Then she looked up and explained to very confused group. "He had me pinned," she stated simply. "How else was I supposed to get him off me?"
The room erupted in laughter.
11:00 pm, Schatten Mission Room
Brad looked out over Schatten with a grave expression on his face. He was standing in front of the TV they typically watched their mission tapes on. Aya had claimed the large armchair directly facing the television with Ran perched on the arm, while Ken, Sakura, Nagi and Omi squeezed themselves onto one couch and Yohji, Schu and Shay sat on the other. Far sat on the floor near Ken and Toma leaned against Shay's legs, one hand tracing idle patterns on her foot.
Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, the precog began. "Schatten is a team. The best team employed by Kritiker and the best in the world. More than that," he continued, "we are a family. And this distinction must be maintained as much as possible.
When Esset attacked us and we dared to retaliate, we started a war. We did not set out to start a war with Esset but start it we did. And we. Will. Finish it."
Brad looked from one face to another, trying to gauge how his words were being received. He had to get this across, to make it crystal clear. The needless loss of any one of them was too painful to contemplate.
"All who choose to fight this war must do so knowing that the fight will be long and brutal. We will not emerge unhurt. We will emerge with countless nightmares that will plague us for the rest of our lives. But as far as I can See, we will win.
But, to demand that you fight this war would be to declare us, to declare ME no better than Esset. All of you have the option of leaving, of walking away from Kritiker and starting a new life. You will not be bothered by either side. No one will think less of you for choosing to live in the daylight while the rest scurry in the dark.
If you choose to remain, however, you do so knowing that everything you have and more will be required. Some of us may lose little, others everything. Even my Sight cannot see all ends. Human nature does not lend itself to being predicted. The visions I have had already and the ones I will have are no guarantee. In the end, you may lay down your life so that the others may continue.
This is the choice you must make now."
Brad's neutral, carefully measured tone betrayed none of his emotions. His incredible mental shields where at their strongest so that none of the sensitives in the room could be unknowingly swayed. He did not expect anyone to decide to leave. What he was proposing, however, was leagues above their typical assassination work. Esset had existed, in some form or another, for centuries. Tearing it down completely would be the work of a lifetime. Perhaps even longer.
Silence filled the room and the assembled assassins were carefully avoiding each others eyes.
"Your silence will be taken as consent." Brad finally stated.
Everyone looked at each other meaningfully.
"This is our family," Ken suddenly said in a serious voice. "None of us are leaving, no matter what the cost may be. We're staying. All of us. So, why don't you fill us in, so we can all survive this war?"
Brad looked around the room carefully, and getting several nods that signified agreement with Ken's statement, he spoke again. "Very well then, let's begin.
First of all, several changes need to be made. Soon, we will need to take time to train at the Villa. We shall also need to prepare for one last member to join us. It will be time yet before her arrival, but once she has joined us, Schatten will finally be complete.
While at the Villa, we will be cross-training. Everyone needs to know how to use everyone else's weapon. We need to think alike, to be inside each other's heads and function as a single unit."
Brad's lips tightened for a moment. "It will also eventually become necessary for the ladies of Schatten to join us in the field."
A number of outcries and growls rippled through the room.
"I don't like this any more than you do," the precog finally snapped. "But it will be necessary. Aya," he said, looking at his wife, "you already know the basics. Sakura," he continued, turning his head to look at the teenager, "we all know that you can pull a trigger. And Shayna," he finished, pausing for a moment, "well, I'm sure your general disposition will be enough to drive off any would-be attackers."
"Likewise, I'm sure," Schuldig's twin replied in an even voice.
"But if all else fails," Toma suddenly injected, "I say we give the girls weed wackers and let them have at."
Far shook his head. "You don't start with garden tools. You start with kitchen implements. That's far more terrifying."
"Toma's not allowed in my kitchen," Aya said. "Things start exploding when he gets close."
"Alright, just because that one time," her cousin began.
"I'm fairly certain the great Oracle has more to say," Yohji interrupted. "Why don't we let him finish before turning to the childhood anecdotes?"
"What I have left," Brad said once everyone had fallen silent, "are individual assignments and requests. You have all heard of and seen the benefits of the Schwarz team link. Schatten will need to have a similar link and everyone will need to construct mental shields strong enough to keep out telepaths and other mental talents. Schu, Ran, I'd appreciate it if you would both begin to work on that.
Sakura, you and Nagi need to finish school so that you can devote time to the team. We shall be making arrangements for you to test out very soon, so you will need to study.
Sakura, you will also need to grow your hair out. I would like to take advantage of the close resemblance between you and Aya. You will both need to learn to do what the other does so that you may double for each other should the need arise. Ken, you and Nagi will be doing the same."
"Problem," Yohji interrupted after a moment. "There's a height difference. A noticeable one."
"A temporary problem," Brad replied, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. "He and Omi both have a few more inches to grow. Now, Yohji, please assist Toma and Shayna. They will need time to adjust and learn how we do things. Show them our protocols and give them all the information they may need to know.
Toma, since you and Shayna appear to be knowledgeable, I'd like you to assist Yohji and Sakura in learning to control their powers. I leave to you the method by which you instruct them.
Farfarello, I'd like to speak to you after the meeting has concluded about what your task shall be.
Now then," he finally finished, looking about the room once more. "Is there anything else? Questions, concerns, anything?"
"Well," Omi began in a hesitant voice, "there's this project I've been thinking about. I think I might have figured out a way to hinder or neutralize psychic abilities."
A startled look crossed the faces of the Talents.
"Why would you want to figure something like that out?" Schuldig asked in a slightly sick tone. "This could hurt us, too."
"If I'm right, I can isolate it so that it won't hurt anyone on the team," the young blonde said reassuringly.
"It's a good idea," Ran and Brad said together. They gave each other a look. Brad continued, "Nagi, help him, please. Between the two of you, I believe you'll figure it out."
"Mind if I lend a hand?" Toma asked in a curious voice.
"We could use all the help we could get," Omi admitted. "In fact, we'd welcome it."
"If there's nothing else?" Brad paused, waiting for any further objections or comments. "Ultimately, we need to communicate. I can't See everything. If anything comes up, if someone notices anything, then we need to know."
"We'll need a new shift schedule for the Koneko," Aya mused suddenly. "But that can wait," she added, sitting up straighter. "It's getting late, and we have a great deal to do tomorrow."
"We have school," Nagi said rising.
"And we have to open the Koneko tomorrow," Yohji added with a note of regret. As he spoke, everyone rose to their feet and began to drift upstairs.
Once the room had emptied, Brad turned to Far.
"I need you to watch," he said with no preamble. "Everyone, for enemy agents, for anything out of the ordinary. And I need you to do it quietly."
"Whatever you need me to do," the Irish man said in a serious voice. "Just like a watchdog, huh?"
"Well, I wouldn't have put it so crudely myself, but the basic analogy is correct."
"I'm happy to do it, then," Far replied before standing and disappearing up the stairs.
Brad watched him go and slowly took a deep breath. Things were in motion now, things that could never be undone.
Finally, he headed up the stairs to his office, as there were a few last papers to take care of before the next day. Upon opening his door, he was startled to see Sakura sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. When she heard the door, she turned.
"During the meeting just now," she began hesitantly, "you said that we should talk to you if something came up."
"Well, I wasn't expecting something this soon, but by all means," he said as he pulled the door shut and crossed over to his desk, "continue."
"Oh, um." Sakura hesitated, struggling to find the words. "After the attack on the Koneko . . ."
"Yes," Brad prodded.
"Well . . ."
Brad sighed. "You've obviously come to me because you think this is important and I promise that, if at all possible, whatever you tell me will remain confidential. Whatever you tell me, I will take any and all necessary steps to make sure no one finds out that the information you disclose came from you."
Sakura looked into his eyes and saw that she could trust him, that telling him what she knew was the best thing she could do. "After the attack on the Koneko, Birman sort of threatened us."
"What do you mean 'sort of' and who exactly is 'us'?" Brad asked, suddenly very upset.
Sakura became slightly uneasy at the very possessive look in Brad's eyes, but answered his question. "When Birman was leaving, she stopped to talk with Nagi, Omi and I. She said that if what had happened was our fault, was because of a breach in our security, then we would be held accountable as we are the active technical/security support for Schatten. That's why we had to get a report in so fast."
"Why didn't you tell me this at the time?" Brad was careful not to sound angry because he wasn't, not with her at least.
"Nagi said we should tell you, but Omi said no. He pulled rank on Nagi since he is the senior Kritiker agent. Said if we were responsible he would take the blame. Clearly it wasn't us, and we did come up with a way to protect ourselves from Kritiker, but . . ."
"You were right to tell me about this. I'll take care of it. I will not tolerate my team being threatened. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Brad paused for a moment. "You should go on to bed now. You have school tomorrow and those tests will be coming up very soon. These past few days have been rather hectic, so go get some rest."
Sakura nodded and stood to leave. "Good night," she said quietly.
"Good night."
11:27 pm, TV room
"Hey, who's supposed to be opening the shop tomorrow?" Schu asked as he unscrewed the top of another beer and glanced around the room. The men of Weiss, Far and Toma all looked at him in amusement.
"Never mind who's opening it, what are you doing running a flower shop?" Toma demanded after taking a gulp of his own drink.
"The flower shop is boring," Ken said bluntly. "I want to keep with our current topic. Who's turn is it?"
"Mine, I believe," Yohji said, taking a small sip to fortify himself. "Back when I was a P.I., I occasionally had to take some shadier jobs to pay the rent. One of those jobs was to collect some money due to a minor yakuza boss. The only problem was that the man I was supposed to collect from fancied himself an up-and-coming rival and had decided to make an example out of me. They let me all the way into the office to talk to the boss when I was attacked. The attack resulted in having to shoot my way out of the building." He tipped his head back thoughtfully. "That's also when I first laid my hands on a wire. It wasn't until a few months later that I came up with the idea of hiding it in a watch."
"Putting that together must have been fun," Toma commented. "Could I see it?"
"Sure," Yohji replied. With a quick gesture, he undid the watch and handed it over.
"My turn, I guess," Toma said in an absent voice as he turned the weapon over in his hands, studying it with intent eyes. "My first kill was last year. It was a few hours after I met Shayna. We'd traveled to another realm and were headed towards a demon lord's castle, the same demon we were planning on destroying. One of his generals assailed us. This, of course, forced me to take measure I'm not normally inclined to. However, I couldn't let his comment pass. So, I did the only logical thing: I took my bow and I sent an arrow through his throat. And seeing as I used one of my more minor attacks, it only ripped through his throat instead of taking off his head. He drowned in his own blood. It was a very interesting sound, a demon drowning."
With the flip of his wrist, he tossed the watch back at a slightly wide-eyed Yohji.
Far leaned over to Ken. "I think I'm concerned," he murmured.
Ken paled slightly.
We have written a short, 3 chapter fic that illustrates Toma and Shayna's first meeting and subsequent quest. To read it, visit our profile and select "One Night Out." Don't worry about not completely understanding it. We're not using much more than the characters.
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