Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction / Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ The Suit of Swords ❯ Five of Swords ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Five of Swords

Nagi couldn't repress the shudder when the man returned. He studied the teen with one piercing silver eye. "It's nice of you to wake. It would have been rude if you weren't there to help me greet our guests."

"what…" it was nearly impossible for him to talk, his throat was so dry and sore. "what… do you… mean?"

"Why we will be having visitors later." He stepped over to the mattress. Kneeling, he produced a cord from one of the pockets of his lab coat and swiftly bound his slender wrists together. He slung Nagi over his shoulder like a sack of rice and headed out of the room. The teen was too weak to be able to look around, all he could do was bounce against the man's back. Abruptly, he was upended. The man held him up with one arm around his waist while his other hand took Nagi's bound wrists and looped the cord over some type of hook. He bent swiftly then stepped back and looked at him again.

Nagi found himself dangling from one of the ceiling beams, his feet didn't even touch the floor. He could feel the blush rise in his cheeks when he realized he was naked. The demon smiled at him, his gaze lingering on Nagi's bare body.

"Now… isn't this a lovely sight. Almost as pleasing as my other dolls. We should have enough time to play a little." The man approached again. Nagi tried to shy away from the unwanted touch, but all he managed was a slight swinging. The man laughed and lightly caressed his cheek. "Yes… please struggle… it makes much more enjoyable."

**

Hisoka suddenly cried out and doubled over. He would have tumbled down the stairway if Tsuzuki and Omi hadn't reached out quickly to grab him. "Hisoka… Hisoka, what's wrong." The blond seemed unable to answer his partner, clutching at his body and moaning. The brunette simply picked the younger man up and carried him down the stairs to a landing where he set the blond down. "Hisoka… are you okay." He shook his head.

Omi had taken up a guard position, facing the stairway so that he could see up and down so they couldn't be surprised. Tsuzuki knelt by his partner, lending support and waiting for the blond to get himself gathered together again. Hisoka's head was resting on his knees, every once in a while he took in a shuddering breath.

"Hisoka?"

"I… I was trying to follow, Naoe's mind… my shields were down a bit… and then… Muraki… he's…"

"Aa." Tsuzuki patted his arm and looked up at Omi. "We have to move fast."

The assassin nodded. "Yeah, we only have a half hour before the rest come charging in."

"He'll probably kill Nagi if that happens. Hisoka, if I help you can you stand?"

He nodded, and let Tsuzuki help him to his feet. "I'll be okay. I put up my shields. That means I can't follow him anymore."

"We'll deal, come on."

It was on sub-level four that they got their first sign that this was the right place. Hanging on the door knob, on the outside, was the coat to Naoe's uniform. It had several rusty-colored stains on it. Tsuzuki tossed it to the side and opened the door, a fuda already in hand. Omi had several darts ready. Hisoka pulled his gun and checked it. They looked at each other, and went in.

The door opened on a dimly lit hallway. The door at the end was propped open slightly. Moving as silently as they could, they approached the far end. They walked into what appeared to be Muraki's living quarters, a nicely appointed living room. A small kitchenette was off to one side. The door to the bedroom was open, revealing a western-style bed. There was no sign of the doctor or his captive. On the far side of the room was another door, this one was shut. Omi nodded toward it.

Testing it, he found it unlocked. Checking that the others were ready, he opened the door. There was another short hallway, this one more brightly lit. They could see one door to the left, and another at the end, both were shut. The one on the left appeared to lock from this side. Opening it, they found what could only be described as a cell. The walls and floor were bare tile, and there was a thin mattress against the far wall. Here they found Naoe's shoes and socks but not the young man himself. They headed for the last door.

This door too, was unlocked. Hisoka growled quietly. "He's toying with us, he wants us to come in."

"Hai." Omi checked the door quickly, then looked at the other two. "Ready?" When they nodded he shoved the door open and ducked in, darting to the side.

It was the lab. There were various types of equipment on the work tables, computers, stands of solutions and chemicals. On one side they could see an examination table, restraints open and waiting. And in the center of the sterile white room, hanging from his wrists from the ceiling, was Naoe.

The boy's back was to them, criss-crossed with bloody slashes. He hung limply, his head falling back. He was naked.

It was a long moment before they could move toward him. Hisoka felt sick. He was blocking as much as he could, it wasn't so bad with Naoe unconscious, but this brought back too many bad memories from before. He couldn't see Muraki anywhere, but that didn't mean the demon wasn't around. Tsuzuki was the first to reach for the limp teen. As gently as he could, he lifted the boy, freeing him from the hook and then lowered him to the floor. He quickly stripped off his long coat and wrapped Naoe in it.

"Is he?" Omi asked, his eyes darting around the room anxiously, there were too many places to hide for his comfort.

"He's alive. But he's hurt very badly. We have to get him back to Watari as quickly as possible."

"You are going to leave so soon? After I prepared such a nice gift for you too." The doctor just seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Omi swore and the two shinigami moved in front of the unconscious boy. "I'm so glad you finally got here. As you can see… the boy isn't really good company right now."

**

Omi shouldered his burden as best he could and struggled up the steps. 'Damn basements…' He leaned against the railing needing to catch his breath, Naoe's body a limp weight against his back. He took another gasping breath and then hauled himself up the next flight. While Tsuzuki had faced off verbally with the sadistic doctor, Hisoka had helped Omi to drape the injured brunette over his shoulder, and then told the blond to leave. The younger shinigami didn't look up as the assassin left, he had said to go, and not look back. And that's exactly what Omi was going to do. He realized that he was way out of his league here, and Nagi-kun needed medical attention. He tried not to think about what had happened to the younger boy. He couldn't think about that now… he had to get them out.

He ducked his head and kept moving, dragging his tired legs up another flight.

**

Muraki snorted as he watched the blond assassin leave with the injured boy. "Good, I hate having an audience. Feel free to leave with them boy." Hisoka bristled. Tsuzuki looked at the doctor with suspicion.

"You're just going to let them go?"

The man shrugged. "Why not? It's not as if they are of any concern to me. It was fun to play with the boy while he was here, but I got what I needed from him. I really don't care what happens to him now."

"What do you mean, you got what you needed?" The brunette was mentally considering which shiki he could use in the limited space they had.

"Nothing you would be interested in. Research data for the most part. Oh…" He looked fully at Hisoka. "Don't worry; I had a much better time with you all those years ago." The man laughed at the blonde's anger-filled face, Tsuzuki lay what he hoped was a calming hand on his partner's shoulder.

Normally, Tsuzuki would be unsettled by this time. But he felt only anger, no fear, no trepidation. He wasn't sure whether he was becoming inured against the man, or if his concern for the three young men he was determined to protect was holding his usual feelings at bay. Regardless, he had to give Omi time to get Nagi out of harm's way. He wished Hisoka had gone with them, but in a way he was relieved he had not. Together… whatever happened with Muraki this time, they would face him together.

He pulled a fuda. "Bowing before you I present my wish, the twelve gods who protect me! Blade of air, steel of vacuum, bearing fang of silvery-white! Appear before me! Byakko!!!" (I didn't make this up… it came from Theria's translations of the manga)

The doctor smiled as the huge tiger appeared between him and the two shinigami.

**

Omi ducked around another corner and crashed headlong into someone. He felt himself falling and tried to pull Nagi-kun back over his shoulder so the boy's head wouldn't collide with the floor. But before he could fall far, strong arms caught him and pushed him upright. He saw long blond hair and glasses that flashed a bit in the low light.

"Bouyo! Where are Bon and Tsuzuki?"

"Watari…" Omi felt a sense of relief. He looked at the scientist and then Tatsumi who helped him to ease Nagi-kun's limp body to the floor. "They are down there… with HIM. Hisoka-kun told me to go."

Watari knelt and peeled open Tsuzuki's now blood-soaked coat, tsking at the damage to the smaller brunette's back. Tatsumi nodded at Omi. "You did the right thing. Watari?"

"I need to get him back to the infirmary, NOW! He's losing too much blood."

"Very well. I will go down. Tsukiyono, go with Watari." The shadow master disappeared down the steps.

"Will he be alright?" Omi looked after the departing secretary.

Watari nodded, even as he tossed the cord that had bound the brunette's wrists to the side in disgust. "He'll be fine. He doesn't have the same problems with Muraki as the other two. Come close, I'm going to take us straight to the infirmary." Omi knelt on the other side of Naoe and the scientist wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Then, they were gone…

**

When Tatsumi finally made his way into the lab, he found his subordinates kneeling on the floor, Hisoka being supported by Tsuzuki, and no sign of Muraki. He looked around at the room; it was for the most part destroyed with the exception of a circle around the two shinigami. He picked his way across the debris-strewn floor then knelt on one knee. Tsuzuki looked at him tiredly.

"Did you find Omi?"

"Hai. Watari's taking care of them."

"Good."

"How are you? And Kurosaki-kun?" The blond didn't appear to be fully awake, his eyes glassy.

"I'm fine. I think he'll be okay. When I summoned Byakko, Muraki called up some things of his own, hellhounds or something like that. They were dark and dog-like. One of them got by and brushed up against Hisoka. I don't know what he sensed from that thing… but he fell and didn't get up again. I got so angry… and… I think Byakko went a little crazy too."

Looking around at the devastation, Tatsumi had to agree.

"He got away."

Tsuzuki didn't elaborate, but Tatsumi didn't need more explanation. He always seemed to get away. With a sigh, the secretary stood. "I know. Come on; let's get Kurosaki-kun to Watari just to make sure." He didn't offer to carry the boy himself, even though he could see how tired Tsuzuki was. There was 'something' between the two of them. He wasn't sure what… but it was there. It had gotten stronger since that disaster in Kyoto. And their time in the Gensoukai. But whatever it was, it was their business. It wasn't his place to interfere. Tsuzuki struggled to his feet, lifting Hisoka into his arms as if carrying a child. It seemed to be something that happened far too often.

"Tatsumi."

"Yes?"

"Let's go home."

**

When he finally woke up, it was to the preening of a small owl. He noticed that he was lying on his stomach, oddly enough, propped on a couple of pillows. He sighed, a nearly silent sound, but it was enough to alert the person sitting beside the bed. He heard movement, and then a blond with bright blue eyes leaned down into his field of vision. It was probably the first time he was ever happy to see Weiss.

"Hey." Tsukiyono's voice was very quiet, soothing almost.

He acknowledged the boy with his eyes, and then glanced around. "here again." His voice was barely more than a whisper, his throat felt raw.

"Hai. How are you feeling?"

"like shit."

The blond smile slightly. "I bet. This time you have a roommate." He looked over to Nagi's right. It was an effort, but the brunette got his head to turn in that direction. In the other bed was Hisoka; apparently asleep, sitting on his far side was Tsuzuki, who also seemed to be sleeping in his chair. That would explain why Tsukiyono was being so quiet.

He looked back at the blond boy. "what…"

"What happened to them?" He just nodded. "After we… found you… I took you out. They stayed to fight with Muraki. He summoned some dog things; one of them touched Hisoka-kun. He's been sleeping since they got here. I guess it overwhelmed him or something. Watari said something about him retreating to protect his mind. They think he'll be okay in a day or so."

"me?"

"What's wrong with you?" Tsukiyono looked a little upset. "Um… to be honest, you're a mess. Watari had to put about a hundred stitches in your back. Your wrists have some nasty rope burns…" Nagi looked over at his arm; he hadn't even noticed the thick bandages around his wrists. "… and well… there was other damage…" He shuddered slightly; he knew what the blond was talking about. "You needed a blood transfer; you were losing yours too fast. But you should be fine physically in a few weeks."

"weeks?!" He winced, the strain on his damaged vocal cords was nearly enough to bring tears to his eyes. If he had to spend weeks here… they must be going crazy worrying about him.

"Easy. Umm… by the way, I kinda ran into Schuldich…" The blond seemed a little agitated. "Actually he ran into me, and tried to throttle me. They thought WE had you. That's what tipped us off. Tatsumi-san was going to have a message sent to them that you had been rescued and were receiving treatment."

He breathed a bit easier. They would still worry, but at least it wouldn't be as bad. He felt his eyelids getting heavy again.

"Try to go back to sleep if you can. I'm going to find a bed. I didn't want you to have to wake up alone. I'll see you again in the morning." The blond patted his hand gently, then left. Nagi gave up trying to stay awake. He was safe. That was all that was important right then.

**

He blinked a couple times before being able to focus. The first thing he saw was Tsuzuki… sitting by his bedside. Baka… he'd fallen asleep in the chair again, he'd have a sore back when he woke up. He turned his head, enough to look around the room; he didn't quite feel up to actual movement yet. In the bed next to him was Naoe. He was very pale and bruises stood out vividly on the skin of his arms, between where the short sleeves of the hospital gown stopped and the bandages were wrapped around his thin wrists. He sympathized with the small brunette; he had been in the same condition, also from Muraki's hand. He could only hope the doctor hadn't had time to curse the boy as well. Only time would tell.

The next bed over contained Tsukiyono. The blond was curled up on his side, facing away from them. The teen had shown remarkably good sense yesterday, leaving when told to. He was very glad the other blond had followed directions, he shuddered to think how much worse it would have been if he and Tsuzuki had to protect them too. As it was…

He tested his limbs. Not much in the way of response yet. He wasn't overly surprised. He didn't know what layer of Hell Muraki found those dog-demons… but touching one had been a truly horrible experience. He thought it overloaded every sense he had, physical, mental, psychic. He ached… he ached in places he didn't think possible.

"Bon?"

When had Watari come in? "Aa."

"How you feeling?" He just shrugged. "That's what I thought. There isn't anything I can do for you unfortunately. Only rest will help."

"Aa."

The blond scientist shook Tsuzuki's shoulder. "Tsuzuki… wake up… at least move to a bed. Why you choose to sleep in a chair…"

"I'm awake… I'm awake…"

"Shhh… keep it down, the children are still sleeping."

The brunette stretched, and then noticing that Hisoka was awake, smiled. "How are you doing?"

"I'm here."

"That bad huh?" Tsuzuki commented, well acquainted with his nature. "I'm glad you're awake though, I was afraid after you went down…"

"Aa." He always seemed to forget how personally his partner took everything. "I'll be okay… just need some rest to get everything balanced again." He felt a gentle touch on his forehead, brushing the hair from his eyes. Tsuzuki smiled and leaned forward to lay his head beside Hisoka's on the pillow. The blond felt sleep rising up to claim him again, and drifted off, secure in the knowledge that the brunette was there.

**

Upon waking Nagi was aware of one thing… and one thing only… pain. Pain that deserved to be described with capital letters, burning, searing… and seemingly coming from every area of his body. He heard movement near him and then a hand rested on his arm. Opening his eyes, he saw the brunette shinigami, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"hurts" A barely audible whisper was all he was capable of.

"I'll call Watari… try to relax." Then he was gone from the boy's field of vision.

'Relax'… sure… he whimpered mentally. He didn't think he had ever hurt so much in his life. Then again, he hadn't had this combination of injuries before. He shifted slightly and gasped. Everything seemed to gray out for a moment. He fought back the involuntary tears. Mental note… don't move… his back felt like someone had flayed all the flesh off of it.

"Naoe-kun… can you hear me?"

He opened his eyes and saw two shinigami kneeling beside the bed now. The usually genki blond lightly touched an unbruised part of his arm, much the same way Tsuzuki had before. "hai..."

"Tsuzuki says you are in a lot of pain?"

"hai."

"Okay. I'm going to give you something mild for now. Then you need to try to eat something… after that we can give you something stronger that will knock you back out again."

"iie."

"You need to rest. For now you are under my care and I'll decide what medicine you need. Do you think you can swallow a pill?"

"hai." A small pill was placed on his tongue, it was bitter and he was grateful that they had water ready with a straw so he could drink. Then he took a few more sips, his mouth starved for fluids.

"Easy… you need liquids, but take it slow. Tsuzuki… take this… I'm going to see if that soup is still warm." The brunette took over, allowing him a couple sips, and then taking the glass away again. After a moment he allowed him to drink a little more. Behind Tsuzuki, Nagi could see Hisoka was starting to stir. When the glass was drained, the brunette set it on a nearby table and turned to his partner. As the shinigami started to speak to the blond, Nagi turned his head the other way with difficulty.

On this side, he had a view of Omi, sound asleep. The Weiss assassin was burrowed in under a pile of blankets, curled up, sound asleep. The only word Nagi could come up with was cute. As he watched, the other boy's eyes blinked a couple times, like a kitten waking from a nap, then stayed open, looking straight into his own. Then the blond smiled. "Hi there." He frowned a bit when Nagi didn't reply but then went on.

"How are you doing? Oh sorry… stupid question… did they give you anything?"

"hai."

"That's good."

"Oh good, Omi… you're awake." Watari walked around to that side of the bed and set the cup of what smelled like chicken soup on the table. "There's more soup if you are hungry."

"Sure… do you want me to give you a hand first?"

"Actually, yes. If you could help, Naoe-kun; I have to do something for Tatsumi right now." He turned to look at the brunette. "Eat as much as you can… it's just broth to make it easier to swallow for now." He smiled encouragingly, and then left.

Omi slid out from under his blankets and pulled a stool over to Nagi's bedside. He sat and picked up the cup and the spoon Watari had left. The blond looked at the bedridden telekinetic and frowned. Looking around… he grabbed a small hand towel that had been left on the table. He spread it over the brunette's pillow and under Nagi's cheek. "Just in case I spill it." The brunette was grateful that the blond didn't imply that it would likely be Nagi who spilled the warm liquid. Without making much more of a deal out of it… Omi calmly fed the other teen.

The cup was no more than half gone when Nagi indicated that he'd had enough. Omi frowned slightly, obviously not happy with the amount, or lack thereof that the younger boy had eaten. "All right." He removed the towel and lightly ran the back of his fingers along the brunette's pale cheek, smoothing back the fine chocolate hair. "I'm going to go grab some of that soup, and then I'll be right back… okay?"

Nagi felt oddly comforted by that. No one had really taken the time to sit with him when he'd been ill or hurt before. The others cared… but Brad was too busy, Farf too unstable usually, and Schu got too bored. He'd been cared for… but not really 'cared' for. The blond soon returned, as he'd promised and talked between sips of soup. Even when Watari came back and gave him a stronger painkiller, the other assassin didn't leave or stop his one-sided conversation. Nagi fell asleep feeling as if maybe he didn't have to be alone.

**