Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Coming Home ❯ 8 ( Chapter 8 )

8

if all you told was turned to gold, if all you dreamed were new,
imagine sky high above in Caribbean blue...

"I'll watch the boy."

I gave Brad an odd look, then we both turned to look at Farfarello. The Irishman stood over Nagi, regarding us with a calm eye. ::Brad, is this a good idea, do you think?::

::Well, one of us will be driving, and the other can keep an eye on things. I'm more concerned about him getting angry if we don't let him help.::

"I know you're talking about me. I won't hurt him, Crawford. I'm not about that."

"I didn't accuse you," Crawford stated, adjusting his glasses with a casual hand. His thoughts were on full alert, though outside he displayed only calm. ::Schu, I'll drive. You watch them. I'm getting mixed possibilities on this one.::

"You didn't have to. I won't hurt him. He...he saved our lives. I belong to him now. We all do." With that, Farfarello bent down and picked Nagi up as tenderly as a good parent.

"Let's get going." Brad shouldered the smaller bag and headed for the door.

I collected the rest of our things, our meager fortune as it were, and followed my team to the car.

It wasn't the same car we'd come in with. This one was sleek and black, with tinted windows and, a delightful surprise for me, a totally tricked out stereo. I smiled in spite of myself. This temporary exile might not be too bad, if it included things like this. I settled into the passenger seat, sighing at the firm, leather-clad luxury of it. It even felt good to rest my head against, so I did. A better bed I had rarely found than a good leather car seat.

"Thanks for taking this part of the drive, Brad. I'm still tired from last night."

"Take this time to pull yourself together, Schuldig. I'm not kidding, things are going to be hairy for a while." He put down the arm rest, fiddled with something on the side of it, and flipped it open. "These are for you."

I looked down. There was a tape compartment inside, and it was full of gaijin music. I grinned. Between these and the ones I'd bought at the little shop the previous evening, we had my taste and Crawford's pretty much covered. "I'm impressed, Brad! You remembered!"

"I did nothing of the sort," he said around a smile as he started the car. "I merely traded our blue sedan, presumably not on the missing or stolen list anywhere, for a car that wouldn't be looked at twice and all the gaijin tapes they could spare."

"Not looked at twice? Whose car is this, Brad?" I asked, knowing full well how these things worked in the world of the yakuza.

"It's a gift from one of the higher ups in this clan. Repayment for an old debt, as it were. As far as the police are concerned, you don't mess with this car. And that's saying a lot."

With all the choices of music, oddly enough I couldn't decide on one, so I tried silence for a little while. I didn't do that often, and the novelty of it pleased me. Beside me, Brad drove with his usual care and confidence, obviously with a destination already in mind.

Enough silence. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"We're going to stay with the lord's nephew for a couple of days. It's a smaller place, but totally secure. They're trying to arrange something a little more long-term for us; we wait there until they do."

A soft voice from the back seat caught my attention. I turned to look.

Farfarello, Nagi's head cradled upon his lap, was singing. I hadn't heard him do that in a long time, and never around Crawford. Now he sang, unmindful of any audience but one. He sang for the sleeping boy, and his voice was beautiful. I closed my eyes and let his sure and strong tenor wash over me like wind.

I thought I should feel like an eavesdropper, but I didn't. When he sang, his voice slipped into older accents that suited him better than the flat tones he used for speech. In those moments, it was hard to remember that he was dangerously insane.

Farf gently brushed the hair from Nagi's forehead, caressing the cool skin of his face with calloused fingertips. I opened myself to his mind a little bit, just to be sure. He was totally focused on his song, and on Nagi. I probed a little further; it was usually a bad sign when Farfarello focused on a person so strongly, and Brad had Seen mixed possibilities for the day. But I found nothing to worry over. The man was honestly worried about his teammate, and full of confused emotions ranging from tenderness to sorrow. I withdrew from his mind before he noticed I was there.

Or, so I thought. Farfarello looked up at me, eye full of grief. "Do you really think I'd harm him? I know I'm damaged, moreso now than before, but really, Schuldig. Don't you trust me?"

I sighed, feeling as heavy as if I'd just shot my best friend. "Far," I said, using the nickname only I used for him, "I do trust you. But be honest, you don't even really trust yourself most of the time. And it's happened before. I know you remember."

"Aye, I do remember." He stroked Nagi's cheek. "And it worked, didn't it."

I felt Brad turn his attention to the back seat; he was already looking for a safe place to pull off the road.

"God knew him, and kept him alive. He doesn't want a boy this powerful in his heaven, so he kept him here, with us."

"Farfarello," Brad addressed him in a commanding voice, "what is your intention?"

"I would die for him, Crawford. You know that. I said we belong to Nagi now, he saved our lives and we should all be ready to die for him."

"I don't foresee anyone dying for anybody just yet," Brad stated. "Are you in a safe way, Farfarello? I know you've been injured, but I need to rely on the team, and you're part of that team. Can I rely on you?"

"Of course, Crawford. You can always count on me." His golden eye glowed with wounded pride, and his voice shook a little with emotion. It sounded like the old accent had stuck a little; his speech had taken on an odd, rolling quality of late. I wondered if it were a result of the head wound, or a rebellion against his training.

"All right, then. We are almost at our next stop. You will be responsible for Nagi for the next two days. Schuldig, you will be responsible for Nagi's IV. You'll need to change it out when we arrive."

::Glad I don't have to worry about needles,:: I sent to Brad. ::Wouldn't be good for Farfarello to see any blood.::

In the back seat, Farfarello resumed his singing.