Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ By the Book ❯ Not good enough ( Chapter 1 )

Title: By the Book

Author: this thorn

Disclaimer: Like I own any of these characters. Sheesh. I didn't even write an OC this time.

A/N: The only pairings that matter in this world are Schuldig/Ken, Crawford/Schuldig, Farfarello/Ken and, if the author is damned good, Aya/Youji. Honestly…those Weiß boys don't know how to enjoy life. For that reason, I believe it is impossible to write a good story without Schuldig.

Also, we may as well call this an Alternate Universe fiction, if only because I'm too lazy to try to make it fit into any specific timeframe from the series. I want the colorful characters, not their gray, angst-ridden sagas.

And more: this fic will use a minimum of Japanese and German. If I wanted the story in one of those languages, I would write it that way - though less people would read it, then, and I want some bloody reviews. So, except for Omi's "-kun" and perhaps a Japanese term if there really is no equivalent in English, there's no Japanese here. German is only for small instances where Schuldig wants to annoy Crawford. And it will most likely be colorful swearing that I will not translate to English. Deal.

"You're not good enough."

Ken twisted on his bed and pressed his pillow over his head, trying to silence the cold, rigid voice echoing in his mind.

"Go away. You're not good enough."

Ken could admit that it was his fault. He started it. He just hadn't expected the rejection to be so complete, so devastating.

After months of watching Aya, marveling over his skill, his strength, his untouchable stoicism, Ken had finally got up the nerve to approach him. To ask him out.

In retrospect, he realized it was a foolish idea. Aya had never shown the slightest inclination toward liking him, or even respecting him. The Ice Prince didn't even offer him the expected battlefield camaraderie.

Still, like the impulsive kid he still was sometimes - the wrong times - he'd gone ahead and approached Aya one evening while he was counting down the register. It must have taken him ten minutes to finally circle around and stammer out what he wanted: dinner and a movie, but Aya wasted no time in replying.

"No."

He didn't offer a reason, just went back to his work as if Ken wasn't still standing there, heart somewhere between beating out of his chest and stopping altogether. To his credit, Ken allowed himself, he hadn't tried to press the embarrassing situation further. He hadn't demanded a reason or tried to plead his case. He let it drop and went about his day.

That was a week ago.

Things with Aya had been somewhat tense then. If was at all possible, Aya talked even less, and to Ken not at all. Neither Youji nor Omi seemed to notice any difference, but it grated on Ken so badly he was glad for every flower delivery that got him out of the suddenly suffocating store, and he once almost fought with Omi when he spotted him heading for the delivery bike one afternoon with a bouquet of roses.

Was Aya mad at him?

It would be impossible to determine just from watching the aloof assassin. If he was capable of any expression whatsoever, he hid the ability well. In fact, during that week, things remained so unchanged that Ken almost convinced himself he was imagining Aya's strange behavior. Until Aya had finally decided to speak to him not two hours ago.

Ken had been working on an elaborate flower arrangement quietly in the back of the shop. He was rather content for once to be in the shop, lost in his own world as he toyed with the colors and lengths of different blossoms. He clipped the stem of a red rose and twirled it experimentally in his fingers a few times before it fell to the ground. When he stood from retrieving it, he found himself staring into Aya's violet eyes.

"Go away. You're not good enough."

Aya had snatched the flower from his hands and, in that familiar way of his, began working on the arrangement as though Ken was no longer there.

For once, he would have been right.

Ken had run immediately to his room and locked the door behind him, not wanting any concerned coworker to follow him and find him crying like a child into his pillow.

After the nervousness and waiting and ignoring, he finally had his answer.

"You're not good enough."

The one sentence clarified everything so easily. The reason Aya didn't want to go out with him, the reason he couldn't play soccer anymore, the reason he was so unhappy with his life in general.

He considered grabbing his bugnuks and finding something - anything - to destroy, but he realized it was stupid. He wasn't even a good assassin. Aya and Youji were good at it - strong and professional killers - and Omi was smart - smart enough to move onto something better. And where did that leave him? A second rate loser.

Ken vaguely realized he was drowning himself in self-pity but, all things considered, there really didn't seem to be any other good options. So for two hours he laid on his bed futilely trying to find a reason to get off it. Omi stopped outside his door once to check on him, but when he didn't respond to the concerned questions, the younger boy had despairingly left him in peace.

He was still on his bed when his brooding was disturbed by a knock on the door.

"Ken," Youji's voice came clearly through the thin wood, "Manx's here. Come downstairs."

Ken got up, scrubbing his eyes. He hoped it wouldn't be too obvious that he'd been crying. It would be nice to at least retain some small amount of dignity.

Reaching the briefing room he found the rest of his teammates already seated and watching the screen. He was silently glad he didn't need to face Aya and stood behind a pillar, making himself as invisible as possible. By the time he got himself situated, though, and found time to focus on the mission detail, Persia was already wrapping up his speech and Manx was handing out dossiers to each of them.

"Are you all in?"

Ken nodded absently as he skimmed through the pages in the folder. There was something about illegal arms - seemed to be international - and the two heads were based just outside Tokyo.

"All right, you'll need to split up for this one. Balinese and Bombay will handle Mr. Naginata and the retrieval of client data, and Abyssinian and Siberian will take care of Mr. Nodachi."

Ken snapped to attention. He still couldn't see Aya, but he was sure the redhead was glaring at Manx by the sudden strict frown she directed at him.

"You boys know what to do. I expect nothing less than perfection. You've got all the information this time. Ciao."

Suiting up in his room an hour later, Ken couldn't help but feel apprehension for the coming mission. The targets were on opposite sides of the city. Youji and Omi would be taking care of one - rather, Youji would take out the target while Omi hacked the computer. But Aya and Ken only had one objective, one man to kill. They would have to work together.

Ken grimaced. He didn't want to be in a situation where Aya could judge him. Tell him again how inferior he was. If it wouldn't be clearly proving Aya's earlier statement true, he would have looked for a way to get out of the mission. It wasn't like they needed him there.

He sat on his bed toying with his bugnuks, unwilling to leave the quiet safety of his room. Finally Aya knocked on his door.

"Siberian. We're leaving."

Wow, not even my name.

The ride to the site was silent.

Aya parked the car well away from the building where the target was located in between two rusted warehouses. After a brief run toward the office building, Aya stopped them near a stand of large bushes.

"Stay here. I don't need you for this."

Ken couldn't force himself to respond. It was what he had expected, after all, but it was still frustrating to hear it again from Aya. Without another word, the redhead disappeared, trenchcoat gently billowing behind him.

Crawford smiled wryly as he watched the two assassins approach the building.

"It's time to leave. He's here," he said, turning from the window. "Are the explosives in place?"

Schuldig closed his eyes for a long moment, concentrating. "Yeah," he answered with a smirk.

Crawford gave a curt nod and headed for the door. "You'll lead him out?" he said, not turning around.

Schuldig didn't answer. He knew it was a command, not a suggestion, regardless of how lightly Crawford may have said it.

The front door was easy and with a passcode to disable the alarm, Aya had no trouble reaching the uppermost floors of the building where the target was supposed to be meeting with a client. There were no guards, and Aya walked quietly down the hallways, scanning the doors for Nodachi's office.

As he rounded the corner he caught a glimpse of unnaturally red hair.

Schwarz.

Aya's mind made connections even as he took off after the enemy assassin. Schwarz worked for Takatori. Takatori wanted power. Weapons could give him power. Takatori was the client meeting with Nodachi.

His thoughts were still racing as he burst out of the building, heart pounding with the effort of chasing down the agile telepath. Looking around frantically, he finally spotted him racing toward a black limo parked two blocks away.

Takatori.

Ken watched as Schuldig ran out of the office, closely followed by Aya. Aya who had only entered moments before, whose unbloodied katana glinted in the moonlight. It didn't take Ken more than a moment to surmise what had happened.

Obsessed idiot.

The mental insult cheered Ken somewhat, knowing that in at least one thing he had more control than his otherwise perfect teammate. With that added confidence, Ken broke cover for the building, charging up the stairs to the executive area. With Schwarz around there really wasn't much need to be secretive. Speed was more important by far. Ken found the president's office almost immediately and hurtled through the door. To find a dead president.

The balding man was slumped over his desk, innumerable knife wounds spilling blood over the dark wood. Ken panicked for an instant, recognizing instantly that Aya hadn't been the one to kill the target. He scanned the shadows for the killer, but found no one, and quickly tore out of the room.

He hadn't taken three steps into the hall when he heard and felt a strange rumble beneath him. He reacted before his mind completely registered the cause, leaping from the window and praying something would break his fall, even as a wave of heat propelled him from behind and the world went dark.

Schuldig grinned at the unconscious assassin at his feet. It was also fun to tease the swordsman with his speed, though Crawford had rather drearily insisted he cut the game short so they could leave before the authorities arrived.

The telepath winced slightly as the office building exploded, the roar tearing through the cool night. Farfarello calmly walked away from the building to the car, seemingly unfazed by the destruction he had just caused. Just as Schuldig was about to get in, however, he heard a dull but unmistakable thump not twenty feet from where he was standing.

Ignoring Crawford's angry shout to get in the damned car, Schuldig went to investigate, and was slightly surprised to find the twisted and broken body of one of the Weiß boys. His smirk quickly turned to a frown. He didn't really want the other assassins to die: they were an entertaining diversion at the very least. And especially this one - he wasn't as frightfully grim as his teammates.

Schuldig bent down and was somewhat relieved to find that the brunet was still breathing. He quickly glanced back to the waiting limousine and the unconscious redhead and an idea formed in his mind. He began explaining it to Crawford even as he carefully hefted the battered assassin into his arms and returned to the car.

Crawford glared at him for a moment before his expression suddenly softened and he helped ease the boy through the door.

Schuldig could have sworn he saw the American smile.

At the sound of sirens Aya's eyes snapped open.

He heard the building next to him burning before he actually saw it, but he knew immediately that it meant trouble. Police and firefighters were already speeding down the road.

Aya leapt to his feet and began running for the car, briefly looking around for Ken, but assuming he'd be waiting at the vehicle. He found himself briefly annoyed that Ken had done nothing to extract him from the situation once the building had exploded, but he decided he could deal with that indiscretion later.

But he couldn't stop himself from cursing loudly when he reached the car and found no Ken. A glance back at the building assured him there was no way to safely extricate Ken if he was still there.

If he got caught, it was his own fault.

Ken: So he just left me?

Schuldig: Don't worry, kitten, I'll take care of you.

Ken: What's that supposed to mean?

TT: *grins*

Ken: WHAT!?!

Aya: Serves you right.

Ken: What the HELL did I ever do?