Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction / Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ Troubled Times ❯ Betrayal in a Duel ( Chapter 10 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Untitled Document Disclaimer: I don't own Weiss Kreuz, if I did, then the designs in Gluhen would never have happened . . . I also don't own Yami no Matsuei. This fic is only done for fun and to relieve my boredom . . . Don't bother suing me, most that you would get is dryer lint.

Warning: This is a Yaoi fic. . . that means wonderful m/m action, if this offends anyone here, then get out of my site. I didn't force you to come here. If this offends the sensibilities of any parents, then you should be looking after your kids better and not using the computer as a babysitter.

On to the fanfiction. . .

Troubled Times. Part ten.

**********

Oriya looks down at the twin swords. . . and smiles. Just how skilled is the Fujimiya boy? From the calluses on Ran's hands, it is obvious that he practices quite frequently. . . but would that make the young man a challenge, or make him over confident in his abilities. . .

Ran stepped out in loose practice clothes, loaned to him by Oriya. He spies the man and walks over to him. Standing, Oriya holds one of the swords out for Ran to take. Brushing hair out of his face the taller man smiles, mostly out of amusement at the boy's reaction to him.

The younger man takes the sword with a little bow. Turning away slightly, he draws the blade, checking it for balance and craftsmanship.

"Our swords are twins. . . the only thing that will win this match is skill alone. . . " he comments while taking a little puff on his pipe.

Ran nodded and carefully lay the sheath to the side. He started to warm up, running through a couple kata to adjust to the slightly different weight and feel of this blade as opposed to his normal weapon.

Following suit, Oriya begins warming up a little. . . only after putting the still smoking pipe down. Finally Ran realizes what the more aggressive slashes were the other day as the older man slices through the air, and a small leaf splits in half less than a second later.

An eyebrow raises, amethyst eyes flash with pleasure, and a slight smile parts the man's face. A challenge, he hadn't had that for a very long time.

"Shall we begin?"

"Yes."

Settling into his stance, Oriya tries to stay serious. . . the boy's skill was obvious while he was doing his kata. While he might have grace and agility, it is not yet enough. Ran also readies himself. He watches the man's eyes... waiting for some signal that they are to begin.

Settling back a little, Oriya lets Ran set the pace of the match. . . preferring to drag the experience out as long as possible and spar defensively instead of offensively. . . let the child believe he has a chance of winning.

The younger man starts slowly, building up to his more powerful and skillful moves. Only to see those same moves deflected, and sidestepped. He tries moving with more speed, he has youth on his side after all...

As soon as he starts picking up speed, Ran is surprised to find out that as sedetary as Oriya looked. . . the man can still match him speedwise without yet breaking a sweat.

He tries trickery next, sudden changes of direction, unexpected angles of attack, etc...

Without warning, Oriya changes tactics. . . and next thing Ran is aware of is that his sword has been knocked from his hands, skittering across the garden path. Standing back a little, the taller man waits for Ran to pick up the sword again.

The younger man blinked, then bowed and went to pick up the blade.

"Shall we continue?"

"Hai..." The young man seemed a bit humbled... but at the same time... a burning rage was filling him.

Instead of fighting defensively. . . Oriya strikes at Ran. . . knocking him down within minutes of commencing the second part of their little match.

Ran stared up at the man... breath heaving in his chest. How? "How did you do that?"

"You over extended yourself." Resting the flat of the blade across his shoulder, Oriya offers a hand to assist Ran up from the floor.

Pissed... the younger man distains the offer of assistance, climbing to his feet. He grabbed the sword up again and face Oriya, temper fully up.

Dodging the blows, Oriya can't help but smile somewhat. "You hair color is natural, isn't it?"

Distracted, Ran frowned. "Yes..."

Using the momentary distraction, the taller man uses Ran's own momentum against him, and flips him. . . sending him sprawling across the floor again. "Your temper makes it obvious." The redhead bounced up again, swinging wildly...

In the middle of one of his wild swings, Oriya reaches over. . . cupping his free hand at the base of Ran's neck, the redhead is pulled closer to those smoky brown eyes as the long haired man steals a kiss.

Amethyst eyes widened in shock and Ran actually dropped the sword. He scrambled back away from Oriya. "What the hell?"

Calmly Oriya picks up the dropped sword and returns it to it's scabbard. "I'm glad to see that you've calmed down," he comments while sheathing his own sword. "Though, it's rather entertaining to watch you with your face flushed in passion."

Ran spluttered and looked around wildly.

Standing over Ran, the dark haired man looks down smiling, once again offering his hand. "Don't worry. I don't bite."

"somehow... I'm not so sure about that..."

"Not unless you really want me to."

Ran accepted the hand, eyeing Oriya speculatively.

His eyes travel up the and down the form in front of him, speculating on the well-toned body hidden by the loose kimono the man obviously prefers wearing. Without meaning to, Ran starts mentally comparing Oriya to Ken. . .. wondering how the two would differ.

**********

Schuldig looks down at the blonde sleeping peacefully in his arms. . . it's nearly impossible reconcile the fact that this silly sweet person was actually a 'god of death'. A yawn, slightly distracts Schu as the shinigami snuggles closer in his sleep.

The redhead lightly strokes the golden locks. Amazing... he must be doing something right, to have met this wonderful creature. After years of pining fruitlessly for Brad... and dating anything that looked his way... he had finally met up with someone who he wasn't worthy of. Not only that... but Watari was accepting not only of him and his power, but of Nagi as well; someone Schu felt incredibly responsible for.

**********

Arriving back at her hotel, Mekago-sensei is informed that she has a package waiting for her at the front desk.

She thanked the smartly dressed girl and made her way over to the desk. "There is a package for me?"

A quick search brings up a small white box and a manila envelope. . . similar to the one that contained the photos of the little slut.

"Thank you." She accepted the packages and her key and headed for her room.

Entering her room, she opens the manila envelope. . . just like before there are photos of the blonde, this time showing him in a school environment, as well as the page from a high school yearbook torn out with Watari's image on it. . . identifying him as a substitute teachers along with his 'brothers'.

That bastard... how dare he have a 'life' when her father spent his in prison. When her father DIED there... separated from his family... Not to mention, that whore... that slut, being allowed around children?!

Leafing through the photos. . . a simple computer printed note falls out from among the glossies. Neatly folded into fours, she opens it up.

Mekago-sensei,

Watari Yutaka is legally dead. The creature in the photos is
not human anymore, but still very much the man that gave
testimony that put your father in jail.

The charm in the box can be utilized to ensure that this
creature remains in this plane.

enjoy.

A smile flitted across her face. Answers... finally... and a way to get back at that... thing... now to find a good opportunity to use it...

**********

Waking, with a soreness in his ass that he wouldn't have believed if he wasn't experiencing it firsthand, Ran looks around only to find that Oriya had already woken and left sometime earlier.

How did Ken deal with this? And why did he let Ran do that to him every night if it felt like this the next day. With a sound somewhere between a groan and a moan, he dragged himself off of the futon. Maybe a bath would help...

Better question. . . how will he face Ken when he gets back to Tokyo? If Ken had done something similar to him, the offending party would have found a katana aimed at them. . .

He sighed and stumbled off to the bathroom. He would just have to be honest with Ken when he got back... that's all...

**********

Flipping on the computer, Omi receives the distressing news that another set of victims has been located. . . five, three adults and two children under the age of 10. It's bad enough when adults end up dead... but the kids. He redoubles his efforts to find something... anything that can help them catch this madman.

**********

Only through a monumental effort, does Schuldig manage not to laugh out loud at the koala's reaction to the fact that Watari resigned retroactively. . . meaning the blonde won't be around any more for the lecher to ogle at.

Nagi hides his smile carefully. He was always happy to see the man upset, except when he then went surfing for more porn and downloaded a few more viruses. Well... that and he'd probably go back to patting Nagi's butt in the elevator again. But at least it was worth it to hear the man complain.

Speaking of complaints. . . . Nagi glares at Schu for dragging him out to lunch once again, more so for appearance rather than real annoyance. Even the teen has to smile when in the distance he can see both Watari and Nanjiro waiting up for him and the German.

He had to admit, he really liked Nanjiro. The other boy was friendly and interesting in many of the same things he was... and he didn't make Nagi feel like a freak.

Smiling, Nan-kun watches as the two head their way. . . /Schuldig, want some interesting advise?/

/Do I have a choice?/

/You do. . . /

He chuckled mentally. /Shoot./

/You know how many telepaths there are in meifu?/

/I have no idea.../

Nanjiro verbally greets Nagi when they arrive, /somewhere over 30 work on the fourth floor alone. . . last time I checked./

/Okay... not to be rude... but so?/ He also verbally greeted the others, smiling at Watari.

/and that's just telepaths alone. . . i never looked at the stats for empaths./

/Yeah... there's a lot there... but what's your point?/ They started to walk down the street, looking for a good place to eat.

Watari points out a restaurant that just opened. . . .

/Next time you decide to screw Watari senseless in his lab. . . . shield./

Nagi frowned. "Schu... are you okay? Your face is really red. You're not coming down with something, are you?"

The blonde echoes Nagi's sentiments as Nanjiro continues, /We're only two floors away. . . I swear. some people even went and bought popcorn and soda./

"Schu... maybe we should just take you home... you don't look well at all." Nagi sat down, still radiating concern. "Do you need some water?"

After a bit, Nanjiro suggests to Nagi that they go and check out a near-by computer supply to see if anything new has arrived. . . . mostly to give Schuldig and Watari some more time alone.

Nagi agrees happily. It's nice to see Schu spending time with someone decent, now that he seemed to have recovered from whatever his problem was. "Nan-kun, what was wrong earlier?"

Still smiling, the blue haired boy quips, "I just let him know that there are over 30 people with abilities similar to his working in the same building that Watari and I work in."

"But why would that make him..." Nagi's eyes widened... than he giggled. "oh... I see... kind of like the other night..."

"I told him to shield in case they try that again."

Nagi snickered. "It was really funny to open the door and watch them fall to the floor... they were so embarrassed. Then of course they stopped me from studying..." He sighed. "At least I only have one more test..."

Looking up at some LCD monitors, Nanjiro nods, "looks hilarious from your memories. . . . "

"I'm sorry I embarrassed Watari-san though... I just wanted Brad to shut up..." He grumbled, looking at some of the new hardware available.

"Hey, if Watari is still on good terms with you. . .then it's okay." The green-eyed boy comments, while in the corner of his eye he sees a blonde wander past the main window of the store.

"Okay... hey, what do you think of this new equipment? I don't know that it's worth the price of upgrading..."

"Nah, it isn't worth it. . . Though I am tempted by that 21 inch monitor. . . " /nagi, i'm going to try to catch the attention of someone. . . when he comes in here, don't react when you see him./

/okay.../ "I want a monitor like that too... Brad says no though... says what I have is good enough. HE doesn't have to stare at it for hours though."

Letting power just flow out of him, turning him into a beacon for anyone even remotely psionic, Nanjiro continues talking to nagi. . .

/Nan-kun... there a blond guy that looks JUST like Watari looking this way.../

/He's a relative of Watari's. . . but he wasn't supposed to be in Tokyo./ Najiro informs Nagi as the blonde starts looking at some CPUs near them. /He is also a psy./

/oh... was he the one you were trying to attract?/ He made a show of checking the display.

/Yeah . . . there's kind of a policy about avoiding direct contact with family members. . . /

/Oh... I suppose that makes sense.../ He tisked over the prices.

As soon as Nanjiro receives word from a somewhat confused Schuldig that the blonde has left, he stops trying to attract Watari's nephew. . . /and, Watari has left the building. . . . in a manner of speaking./

Nagi chuckled. /Running interference?/

Nanjiro finally ends up deciding on a small 3.1 mega pixel digital camera. . . /but of course. . . Watari might have turned my hair blue back when we were partnered, but who can hold a grudge against him?/

Nagi smiled. "Yeah... that looks like a good camera. Are you buying it for something special?"

Holding up the camera, the shinigami turns it on and aims it at Nagi, "Nothing really. . . I just wanted something cute for my desktop."

The brunette hides his face. "Not me... you don't want me on your desktop!"

"Awe. . . come on. . . just hold that pose." /actually, right now i'm trying to focus on Watari's nephew that's over your shoulder. . . . I know that he'll will love to have this shot since he isn't supposed to visit his family./

Nagi sighed and relented. /I can't argue with that... I always wanted a family... Watari is very lucky./ He said somewhat wistfully.

The flash goes off, and as Nagi is relaxing from not being the focus of the photo. . . a second flash goes off. . . Nanjiro snapping a shot of a rare smile. /You have a family. . . maybe not entirely normal, but they care for you./

Nagi shook his head, trying to clear his vision. /I know... it's not the same though. My real parents... they weren't good... I always wanted... you know?/

/no, i wouldn't know. . . . my family life resembled more thorns than roses. So I was glad to be taken into the Summoning Deptartment./

/oh... sounds like mine... only I got dumped on the streets... I'm sorry, for what happened to you./

Looking up into the sky, Nanjiro smiles, /hey, don't be sorry. . . I think that things have turned out pretty well. At least considering the circumstances and all. . ./

/As long as you're happy I guess./ Nagi smiled at Nan-kun. "Besides... I got to meet you... you're the first friend I've really had." he admitted shyly.

"I'm also old enough to be your dad . . . . " Mismatched green eyes sparkle with mischief.

Nagi laughed. "so... by chance... are you good in math... that's my last test tomorrow. I really need some help."

**********

Walking into the new hospital research center, even Ran has to be impressed. . . going past gleaming hallways and nurses that seem to almost shimmer in their white uniforms, the entire place has a surrealistic feeling to it.

He walked down the hallway, looking around curiously. This was all very new and in some ways, very strange to him.

Something about the place seems completely wrong. . . like something in a bad B film. As he follows Muraki-sensei around a corner, the redhead is almost surprised when a monster or a killer doesn't jump out at them.

The sensei turns and looks at him suddenly. "Here... we'll be using this room." He indicates one of a dozen doors lining the hallway.

Entering the room, Ran looks around. . . gleaming chrome reflects the light from the florescent lights above them, giving the room a sterile feeling.

The door shuts suddenly. Muraki picks up a chart and starts to make notations on it. "If you will please go behind that screen and remove your clothing. You will find an examination gown you can put on..."

Momentarily the younger man re-emerges from behind the screen wearing the cool hospital examination gown. "Good boy. . . "

Ran was uncomfortable. He hadn't has so thorough an examination since his initial one by Kritiker.

**********

Watari hummed as he walked down the street, not really happy with the fact that he had to leave Schuldig so abruptly. Then again, it was worth it just to know that his nephew was doing well. . . The blonde wasn't even aware of what was happening until it was too late . . . the loops of hair was slipped around his wrists just as the handkerchief with chloroform was put over his nose and mouth, rendering the shinigami unconscious.

The woman smiled... finally...

The note in with the hair had given directions to a hospital where she could keep her new little pet without anyone bothering her. Making sure that no one was watching, she manages to get the unconscious blonde into the backseat of her rental car.

It didn't take long to drive to the facility. Now she just had to figure out a way to get the 'thing' inside...

A laundry cart sitting discarded by the back entrance gives her an inspiration. Maneuvering the 'thing' into the cart and covering him with some white sheets she wheels him in through the back door. . . and to the level that was indicated she could use to treat the 'creature' that had led her father to his death.

She found a room that would suffice as a holding cell for the thing... with an observation room next door. She dumped the creature into the padded room and shoved the cart back out into the hall. She quickly checked the 'thing' for any items it could use, and removed anything she found.

Slowly the shinigami starts waking. . . hazel eyes flutter open and a slight moan escapes his lips.

She grabbed a chart and started taking notes.

Wincing, he gets up into a sitting position, trying not to add any more tension to his wrists bound and bleeding behind his back. Looking over at the one way mirror, he searches the glass from his seated position on the floor, "Hello?"

She doesn't respond... no sense giving the game away at this early stage. She continued to take notes.

Getting up, Watari walks over to the glass. . . halfway wondering whether it would be possible to get his hands in front of him, at least then he wouldn't feel so helpless, but to do that would put too much tension on the bonds they would end up slicing through his skin more so than they already are. "Is there anyone back there?"

She glared at the creature through the glass. He was beautiful... no wonder her father had wanted to sleep with him... harlot.

"If you aren't going to talk to me. . . you might as well not see me." the blond says as he finds a new place to sit. . . . directly underneath the observation glass, nicely out of Mekago's view as he tries to figure out what his options are.

She snarled and threw the clipboard down on the table. Stalking to the door she left, after activating the cameras... just in case it did something interesting.

Several hours later when she returns, there is a large crack running down the observation glass smeared with blood. Concerned... after all, she couldn't hurt the think if it was already dead... again, she tried to peer through the cracked mirror... and realizes that he has returned to his position just out of her sight under the cracked glass.

Going to the door... she tries looking through the narrow window there...

Lying on the floor, having over exerted himself and loosing plenty of blood in the process, is Watari. A quick visual check from her distance, Mekago can tell that while he isn't physically hurt, his wrists are still bleeding freely.

She darted in to start making notations... this was simply too valuable of an opportunity for research...

**********

miko-chan: midnight. . . is 004 with you?
Midnight: who is 004... Schu keeps forgetting to tell me...
miko-chan: oo4=Watari.
Midnight: no... I haven't seen him since lunch, two days ago
miko-chan: does schu know where he is?
Midnight: let me check... no... hasn't heard from him for a while... thought 004 was mad at him or something.
miko-chan: (*(#%$()_%@#%_)!!!!!
Midnight: *cower*
miko-chan: 004 is missing. no one have see him. Schu is last person to see 004.
Midnight: oh no... I'll tell Schu... maybe we can figure out something... I'll start searching
miko-chan: thanx. we'll keep looking here too.

**********

Yawning, Ken stretches while climbing out of bed. It's a miracle that Ran, the anal retentive lovable bastard has been somewhat nice to him lately. . . Stumbling to the shower, the ex-soccer player washes up and changes into a clean set of clothes before heading down to start on his shift in the flower shop.

Ran was already there of course, with tea ready for him and already sweeping the back room.

Slipping into the back room, Ken wraps his arms around the highly irritatable red head and plants a chaste kiss on Ran's lips. "Morning."

The older man kissed him back. "Morning. Tea?"

**********

"Hello? Are you there kidnaper-san?" Watari asks once again to the silent cracked one-way glass.

She glared at him, even though he couldn't see it... and continued her notations.

The sound of something small and metallic can be heard hitting the floor, leaving Mekago wondering what the little whore is up to.

She tried peeking through the mirror... but the damn slut was under it again. Exasperated... she made her way out into the hall to look in the door window... Peering in through the slender window, she can see Watari sitting there, a look of concentration across his features. . . then it hits her, where are his glasses?! She had checked them out before and found them to be real... and quite a strong prescription at that. So why wasn't he wearing them?

Someone once, long ago had said that whatever doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. Watari assumes that statement applies perfectly to this situation. He nearly curses when the small sliver from his spectacles slips from his fingers and back onto the floor. Carefully, he manages to find another after a quick search and continues trying to slice through the charm binding him.

For the first time since he had been dumped in the room, the lock was released with a loud click. Tentatively, she pulled open the door to see exactly what the thing was up to...

Watari looks up at the sound of the bolt releasing. Hazel eyes wide, like a child being caught being naughty. Her eyes lock with his for the first time... and even though she is certain that he can barely see her, she can still see the intellect behind those hazel eyes. He's not just a harlot, he's worse, and more dangerous because of his intelligence.

"Who are you, kidnapper-san?"

"Whore." The word slips out before she can even stop herself...

Gingerly he stands, revealing the remains of his glasses. Swaying a bit, he re-focuses his (limited) vision back on her. "Whore?"

"Yes... you whore... my father rotted in jail because of you!" Venom laced her voice, twisting it into something ugly.

Only a few more stands to go. . . "I don't understand, who was your father?"

"You don't understand... he died in prison and you don't understand?!"

Prison, prison, prison. . . . "Mekago Val is your father?"

"Yes... you fucking slut! Don't speak his name!"

Cringing under the vocal onslaught, the final strand is cut. Taking a step back, the shinigami tries to retain his balance and without thinking, he reaches out and uses the wall as a support. "He and his friends murdered me. I died in the hospital because of what he did to me."

"How DARE you twist the truth?! You lured him into having sex... seduced him... then you turned on him and he ended up in jail!" She noted his unbound hands and started back through the door...

"People do not end up with a broken arm and two broken legs because of a physical relationship. . . neither do they leave the other person lying on the floor beaten and bloody to be found by complete strangers the next day."

"You're lying... you're lying and now you are going to pay..." She darted out of the room and slammed the door shut, locking it. Remembering the other instructions she received... she pulled out a slip of paper and stuck it in the door. Supposedly it would keep that thing from getting out.

Trying the door, Watari receives a nasty shock when he grabs the handle. Hitting the floor somewhat dazed, he tries to pick himself back up, breathing heavily, he looks back at the cracked glass.

Panting... she sits down again. That... creature... she couldn't handle this much longer...

From inside the room, Mekago hears something hit the floor with a muffled thump. At the limit of what she can handle right now... Mekago doesn't even look... she just leaves.

**********

Flipping the shut his imported copy of 'The Wallstreet Journal' Brad's eyes rest on Nagi. "Nagi, go out and get that memory upgrade that you wanted. Now."

Nagi looked up in surprise. "Really? But I thought you said I couldn't have it?" He looked at Brad suspiciously. "Why do you want me to leave?"

"You have less than five minutes before I change my mind. . . "

"Okay..." He jumped up and ran to his room. Grabbing his coat he reached into the pocket... no phone. Great... where did he leave his phone?

Standing by the door Brad announces that he has less than two minutes to leave. . .

"I'm hurrying... dammit." he muttered that last part under his breath. Phone... phone... where did he have it last... He dug through his school bag...

In the living room, Watari shimmers into view. . . his skin pale, and his lips already taking a bluish tint from blood loss. The shinigami's clothes are almost uniformly stained a sickening shade of rust from the amount of blood they have soaked up. Unable to maintain himself standing, the blonde falls to the ground. . . barely conscious of his surroundings.

Hearing the thud in the living room... Nagi ducks out of his bedroom, curious. He gasps. "Watari-san!" Running into the room he falls to his knees beside the pale figure. "Watari... WATARI!!!"

Hazel eyes peer up, barely able to stay open under long lashes, "Nagi?"

"Watari-san?" Nagi pushes the blood-streaked hair away from the man's face. "What can I do? Schu's not home..."

Brad walks in with a medical kit. "The first thing we need to do is stop the bleeding. . . "

Nagi nods and takes some of the bandages from the American. He starts to apply pressure to one wrist.

Cleaning the wounds, a few more strands are pulled from the raw flesh as the shinigami finally submits to the oblivion of unconsciousness. Sending Nagi to get a clean set of clothes from his room, knowing that his tastes and Schu's pet's tastes run along similar lines, the American starts stripping Watari of the hopelessly stained clothes. Nagi digs through Brad's closet... finding a pair of loose pants and a shirt. He runs back. "here..."

Accepting the clothes, Brad does his best to quickly wash the remaining blood away, "Now find your celphone and let Schuldig know that his little toy is here. . . "

"Yes, Brad." Nagi finally digs his phone out of the very bottom of his school bag. He dials Schu's number...

**********

Breaking more traffic laws than anyone even knew existed, Schuldig arrives home. . . Nagi opened the door for him, his face pale with worry. "He's still in the living room..."

Walking into the living room, Schu can barely believe his eyes when he sees the condition Watari is in. . . his happy, laughing, smiling, silly Watari, lying on the sofa, wrists bound with a tinge of pink starting to show through the bandages.

Nagi knelt by the blonde's head... carefully trying to clean his hair with a damp cloth.

"What the fuck happened to him?" the red head asks as he notes the shinigami's shallow breathing.

The boy shook his head. "I don't know... he just appeared. He said my name and that was it..."

Light glints off of Crawford's glasses, "In about half an hour you can ask him yourself when he wakes."

Nagi sighed and when back to his self-appointed task. Now Brad and Schu were going to argue and he was going to get a headache...

Forty-five minutes later, while Schuldig is combing through long golden curls he can sense Watari coming back to consciousness. . . "i'm cold. . ."

"Nagi... get a blanket."

"Okay..." The boy disappeared...

Confused hazel eyes peer up at the German. "schu? how did i get here. . .?"

"I was hoping maybe you could tell us that. Nagi said you just appeared."

"Here..." The boy in question returned with the down comforter off his own bed.

Watari offers a weak smile for Nagi. . . not really feeling up to much else. "thank you. . . was all of the charm removed?"

Nagi nodded. "Brad and I looked for as many of the hairs as we could find."

"thank you. . . charms and wards annoy me. . . "

Nagi knelt down next to Schu. The redhead was still brushing through the blonde's hair. "What do you need?"

"just time. i'm sorry for having scared you. . . "

The brunette shook his head. "That's okay. I was just worried... seeing all that blood. I better get working on the carpet too."

Struggling a little to sit up, Watari accepts Schuldig's aid gratefully. "nagi-kun. . . . could you look up someone for me?"

"Sure." The boy looks up from where he is carefully treating the stains on the carpet.

"the daughter of mekago val. . . her father died a few years ago in prison if that is any help."

"Okay. Any idea what prefecture or prison?"

"kyoto."

"Okay." Nagi rose and went to his room to start his search.

Within moments the search brings up a court case approximately some twenty five to thirty years old of a man that was sentenced to life imprisonment, along side Ginta Yoshi and three others for the beating, brutal rape and eventual death of recent university graduate Watari Yutaka.

Nagi reads... and then rereads the records. It couldn't be... so... so cruel...

There on the screen are some of the excerpts from the trial. . . . Watari Kiyoshi's testimony of his brother's last words before, what Nagi assumed was a simulated, death in the hospital about how he was chased into the alley way, lightly beaten, raped during which his right arm was broken while they were holding him down, and then beaten again with a large blunt object, most likely a pipe which was later identified at the crime scene with the victim's blood on it.

Nagi continues to read, unable to stop, and yet horrified. Watari-san was so sweet... how could someone do that to him? Then again... how could someone dump their four-year old on the streets... or give a seven-year old money for sex? He kept reading... all the time becoming more and more disgusted with the details that keep emerging. Worse yet, how the resident's had found the blonde the next morning, broken and bleeding. . . . barely alive, only to survive long enough to see his older brother and pass away as Kiyoshi tried to comfort him.

Nagi kept at it... looking for more information on the one man Watari had spoken of. He skimmed ahead... looking for the sentencing information.

Finally he turns up with a life sentence for Mekago and one of the others, while the other three were found guilty of lesser charges.

Digging a little more into Mekago's file... he finds information on his family.

One child, a daughter. . . Mekago Hikura, currently employed as a doctor in Tokyo, more precisely at the Magic Bus Hospital.

For some reason... that rang a bell with Nagi. But he couldn't figure out why. Printing out the information he headed out to check on Watari. Sitting on the sofa, Nagi finds Watari sleeping comfortably wrapped around Schuldig.

He sets the papers on the coffee table. Then he goes back to working on the carpet, before the stains can set in any more. A green eye cracks open, /Find anything interesting chibi?/

Nagi nodded. /And... well... disturbing is the best word for it.../

/Disturbing?/ Schu asks. . . noting offhandedly that once again his blonde is waking, and at least his color is improving greatly.

/Oh Schu... it's awful... what they did to him!/

A stifled yawn draws their attention back to the topic of their conversation. . . "hello. . . what's with the long faces?"

"Watari..." Nagi looks away... back down to the carpet he is supposed to be cleaning.

"hei, what's wrong nagi?"

"I'm so sorry... that's horrible..." his voice is choked.

Reaching over, Watari ruffles Nagi's hair. "what happened is not important anymore. . ."

"But..."

"It happened. There's nothing that can change that fact now. . . every one at the summoning department has their reasons to be there. . . you just found out mine."

"But that's so horrible.. how.. how did you get past it?" Nagi's blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"Come here. . . . " the blonde says, wrapping his arms around the teen. "What happened, occurred thirty years ago. Time passes, and things change. . . I'm not the same person that I was then when I started working for the Summoning Department. Time has a way of soothing things. . . " and being partnered with Tsuzuki usually helps." Nagi relaxes against the blond hesitantly, not wanting to hurt him. Schu reaches out to rub his back soothingly.

"Better?"

Nagi nodded, resting his face against Watari's chest.

"What did you find out. . . other than my little incident?" The blonde asks with a reassuring smile.

Nagi didn't move out of the man's arms, reaching out for the papers and levitating them to his hand. It was too rare that someone actually held him for him to break it prematurely.

Looking through the papers the shinigami frowns. . . the woman is a doctor? Talk about breaking the Hippocratic oath. . . then again, he can think of another doctor that runs along similar lines. Schu reads it with him, hand still on Nagi's thin shoulder.

"Nagi, do you think you could cross reference Mekago Hikura with Muraki Kazutaka?"

The boy nodded. "I can go do that now if you want..."