Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Demon's Dreaming ❯ Venus Smiles ( Chapter 5 )

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

Pairings: Schuldig x Ran, Yohji x Ran, Crawford + Schuldig + Ran

Warnings: Spoilers for entire series, severely AU, m/m relationships (a.k.a. yaoi), harsh language, violence, lemon...the list goes on and on.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters. I merely use them for my own amusement.

Demon's Dreaming

Chapter 5: Venus Smiles

It was cold.

Too cold, in fact. Yohji Kudoh blinked one eye open, turning over under the covers until the far wall was in sight. Ah, that explained it: the blasted window was wide open, the shade drawn back to allow weak sunlight to filter in. Shivering, the young man briefly considered getting up to close it before dismissing the idea. Too much work; it would be much easier to simply bundle up a bit more, and would be much less taxing on his aching head. Speaking of aching -- he'd apparently had a bit too much to drink last night, judging from the way his head was pounding and by the dryness of his mouth. Scrubbing the back of his hand over his lips, the brunet once again eyed the window speculatively, calculating the actual effort involved in getting up to close it. His bed was already so warm…

Making up his mind, he slid his legs out from under the top sheet, scowling at the drastic change in termperature. Shit, he didn't even remember opening his window last night…but then again, he couldn't quite recall stumbling home after a night of partying either. The first touch of his foot to the floor was a shock, enough to jar him completely out of bed and across the room. Tottering to the window he struggled to close it, breathing a sigh of relief when it slid shut with a heavy clink. One task done. Now to make it back to his bed in one piece.

He'd barely made it back into bed before the knocking started.

“Fuck.” He glanced at his bedside clock. His shift had started over an hour ago. If he kept quiet, Ken would eventually give up and go away. Then he could grab a quick nap, and hustle down to the flowershop before Omi returned from school.

The knocking continued unabated, and Yohji cursed once more, swinging his legs out from under the covers and readying to stand. “Hold your fucking horses Ken!” That dumb jock really got on his nerves sometimes, and it was high time he beat some sense into him. Grumbling, he decided to do just that, pushing himself up and taking a step towards the door - only to fall back when it swung open, revealing the figure on the other side. It wasn't Ken.

“Asu…Asuka?”

It was impossible, but there she was; clothes just as tattered and bloodied as they were the last time he'd seen her.

She was smiling.

He was moving before the door had fully settled, determined to reach his lost lover before she could disappear again. A few steps from the doorway and he nearly leapt on her, embracing her with enough force to send her staggering. He buried his face in her hair, ignoring the sudden wetness on his arms.

There was a startled gasp, then: “Yo—Yohji-kun!”

He opened one eye, then another. The person in his arms was much shorter than he remembered and had…blond hair?

Fuck.

Omi was staring up at him, blue eyes averted carefully, though he made no move to escape the older man's arms.

“Uh…do you think you could let go now, Yohji?”

“Sorry.” He unwound his arms from about the boy's body and took a step back, before deciding to go whole hog and return to his warm—lonely—bed. Omi hesitated for a moment before crossing the threshold of the doorway, still avoiding his eyes. Great. He'd come embarrassingly close to molesting the kid because he'd mistaken him for his dead girlfriend. If the floorboards had opened up and swallowed him at the moment, he wouldn't have protested.

Yohji was already sitting on the edge of his bed by the time Omi made it all the way inside, fidgeting uncomfortably. He'd have to make it up to his teammate somehow, someway. And fast.

“I brought you something to drink.” Omi thrust the hand holding the glass forward. “I take it you had a fun night?”

“Thanks, Omi.” Accepting the glass of water, he slid beneath his sheets once more, making sure to pull them up to his waist. No use in flashing the kid and scarring him even more than he already had. “Fun isn't the word I'd choose but…it was fine, I guess.” He grabbed blindly for his pack of smokes and his lighter, desperate for something to distract him. He lit one and inhaled, settling back amongst his pillows with a sigh.

“Ah.” Omi was quiet, and Yohji began to fidget again. “I'm sorry I-” The boy hesitated. “Sorry to have barged in like that. I was knocking and knocking, and I wanted to make sure you were okay so…are you okay?”

“I'm just tired, nothing to worry about.” The older man took another drag from his cigarette, averting his eyes. Shit, he had almost leveled Omi, and that was the best he could come up with? Better that than admitting that there was a good chance he was finally cracking up. “I had a rough night.” He amended lamely, taking a sip of water and wondering if it were really possible to choke on your own lies.

“Yohji-kun…” The boy fell silent, eyes downcast. After a moment of awkward silence, he perked up, forcing a smile for the older man's sake. “I haven't quite finished drawing up parameters for tonight's mission. I'll let you know when I'm done, okay?”

The older man nodded, and Omi hastened to leave the room, shutting the door quietly behind. As soon as he was gone, Yohji set down the glass, ground out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray, and buried his head under the pillows.

He was losing it.

“Alone at last.”

Ran barely spared Schuldig a glance, knowing enough about the older man to have gathered that he would most likely be smirking at the moment. Despite his instinctual dislike, or rather, fear, of the man at their first meeting, it had been a long time since he had seen anyone other than Aya. Not that he could tell how long it had been, trapped in this place as he was, but from his growing impatience he could safely say that it was a lot longer than he appreciated.

“Is this a dream?” He already knew the answer, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

“No. It's much deeper than a dream.” Schuldig replied. “But in a way, I suppose that's exactly what it is. This is your mind, after all.”

“Ah.” Like it or not, that clarified things a bit, and assured him that he wasn't really dead. “Will I ever stop dreaming?”

For a second he thought that the other man wouldn't answer. Perhaps he didn't know. There was always the chance that this `Schuldig' was simply a creation of his mind as well, someone else he had held on to in order to keep the worst of the loneliness at bay.

“I have the ability to wake you.” Schuldig admitted after a moment, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder. He felt it tense, then relax as Ran shifted his weight closer to him. “But I won't. Not yet.”

“I see.” The young man fell silent, staring out at the sea once more. He may have been bored out of his mind, but he wasn't altogether sure that he wished to wake up, to have to face the reality of being alone in the world. He had lost his parents, his sister, and his home; he had nothing to wake up to, or to go on living for. Perhaps it would be better if he dwelled in this place for as long as he could, until he finally passed on and could be reunited with his loved ones.

“You won't be alone.” Schuldig said, moving his hand to play with the boy's hair absently. It was almost as if he had read Ran's mind.

“I did.” The older man tapped the side of his head with one finger, turning to gaze into the boy's eyes. “Ironically, it isn't as easy to do here. It might have something to do with you being in control but…”

“In control?” Ran interrupted, mind racing. What did Schuldig mean? He basically meandered around the beach for most of his day, Aya watching him cautiously from her own spot on the shore. There was nothing to lord over in a place this barren. “In control of what?”

Schuldig looked at him, seemingly puzzled, before smiling slowly. He nodded, then pointed to the sky. “It should be nighttime.”

“What?” Ran's irritation grew at the change in subject. “What does that have to do with anything? Tell me what you meant!”

“Just think about it, Ran. It's evening, out in the real world. The weather has actually been pretty clear for the last few days.”

The boy looked up at the sky, eyes narrowing. “It doesn't matter to me what time of day it is. I can't see it.”

“That's irrelevant. It's around er, 10pm right now.”

“Fine, it's nighttime! I don't get why it matters…” Ran trailed off as the sky inexplicably darkened, his eyes going wide. What was going on?

“Gut, just as I thought.” Schuldig looked him over appreciably, pleased by Ran's obvious confusion. “As I said: this is your world, not hers. Take advantage of it.”

“I did this?” Ran looked at the older man in question, before shaking his head. Stupid question. Schuldig had basically goaded him into it, repeating over and over just how he should shape his current world, and out of frustration he had followed. “Are you sure?”

The man—the mind reader, Ran amended—seemed taken aback by the question.

“Aya…Aya can make things happen here. Mostly to amuse me but…” Ran hesitated. He wasn't sure just how much he should reveal to Schuldig, though taking the man's abilities into account, it really shouldn't have mattered. “If I remember something—anything—she can recreate it. Maybe she's doing this now, wherever she's run off to.”

“That little...” Schuldig shook his head, smirking. “Listen carefully, kid: she's a part of you; a fragment, a facet. The only power she has is what you give her. Don't let your…sister…tell you otherwise.”

“You act as though she's deliberately deceiving me.”

“She's twisting your mind to suit her own needs. Seems the little bitch has developed a taste for freedom.” The older man grimaced. “She needs to be brought to heel, and quickly.”

“Shut up.” Ran hissed, suffused with a heretofore unknown emotion. “You don't know anything.”

“Ah, silly boy. I know everything.” Schuldig turned away, seeming to scan the forest, before returning his attention to the boy. “Duty calls, Liebchen. Aya should be returning shortly - hopefully knocked down a few pegs.”

Ran stayed just out of his reach. “What are you talking about? What have you done to her?”

“Nothing much.” Schuldig studied his face carefully before shrugging, before gazing at the forest once more. “She would have interfered with our little discussion, and it could have gotten quite…nasty, honestly. I saw to it that she removed herself for a little while, that's all.”

It wasn't long before Aya appeared at the edge of the woods, her steps surer than normal. Schuldig watched her intently, and as the girl came closer Ran realised that her eyes were trained on the telepath as well. Ran recognised the emotion in her gaze and turned away.

“Welcome back.” Schuldig said pleasantly as Aya neared them. He patted Ran on the shoulder once, then began his own journey back into the forest. “I'll be leaving you two now. I'm sure you have much to discuss, no?”

Aya flinched as he passed her, her footsteps faltering, but then righted herself and hurried to Ran. She looked him over for a long moment, her mouth working soundlessly. After a glance over her shoulder, she finally addressed him. “What did he do to you?”

Ran wasn't surprised. The animosity between Aya and Schuldig was undeniable. “Nothing.”

“What did he say?” Aya pressed.

“He said that he'll wake me up. Eventually.” He hastened to add the last, not wanting to get her hopes up too much. That was part of the reason why her reaction surprised him.

“You can't let him do that.”

“What?” He looked at her sharply, hackles rising. That didn't make any sense. Didn't she want him to return to the real world? He didn't move when she grabbed his arms, and didn't speak.

“Ran, you can't!” The girl shook him hard and Ran gaped, surprised at her strength.

“Aya, let go.”

She spoke again, her fingers digging into his biceps. “You can't trust him.”

“What are you…?”

“Don't you get it?” Her face twisted, features contorted with rage and…fear? “He's a monster! He can read minds; he's evil! A demon!” She was fairly screaming now, voice choked with anger.

“Stop it.” His voice was quiet, but brooked no argument.

Aya's mouth snapped shut, stunned into silence by his order and dismissal, her eyes wide and hurt. Ran resisted the urge to comfort her, and felt something go cold within him. She wasn't really his sister, his mind provided. As much as he tried to deny it, that was the truth, and he could no longer run away from it. But there was something else he could no longer hide from as well.

“What am I, Aya? You said that Schuldig is a monster - what does that make me?”

The girl flinched again, apparently stung.

“You know something, and you're not telling me. I told myself that it was fine but…”

He was disgusted, with both her and himself, and he turned away, anger building slowly.

“Ran, please stop.”

“Stop what?” He whirled around to face her, eyes blazing. “I'm not doing anything!”

Aya's brow knitted in confusion. “You don't feel it?”

“Feel what?” He was lying through his teeth, but if Schuldig was right, she surely knew it. He did feel a bit different; warmer, though he gladly attributed it to his anger and frustration. Even as he looked into her widening eyes, he could tell that wasn't the case.

She took a step back, then another, shaking her head frantically. “Brother, please don't. I'm sorry.”

Brother. Brother. Aya-chan had said it more times than he could count, with much more affection than this girl ever had. Nii-san. He saw without seeing.

This girl—this thing—was afraid of him. Aya-chan had never feared him as, sweet as she could be, she was more prone to temper than he.

This `Aya' was a pale imitation of his sister. She wasn't even what he wanted her to be.

The girl was still backing up, her hands raised to ward him off. He felt another jolt of anger go through him, all of the rage he'd kept bottled up inside for the past few days? Months? Years? He couldn't take it anymore; the monotony of his everyday existence. He couldn't even tell when the sun rose and fell, or even if it had—he was trapped in this parody of reality with a girl who wore his sister's face. And he wanted out.

“I'm sick of this—this place. I'm sick of you, and him,” he jerked his thumb in the direction in which Schuldig had vanished, “telling me what I can and cannot do.”

Aya was still moving, her eyes widening comically with each word. Not only was Ran fighting—fighting her—but he truly didn't seem to know what he was doing. Or rather, what his so-called `Talent' was doing. A burst of heat from behind her had her whirling to face it, and she shrieked in terror, whipping back to face Ran again. This was insane. She had to stop him, before he destroyed everything that they had built.

Or worse, before he accidentally destroyed her.

“Ran, calm down, ple-”

“I'm sick of it.” The boy interrupted, eyes cold and dark. “And I'm getting out.”

The mission had gone relatively well, if you ignored the fact that Yohji and Ken had come quite close to having their brains blown out. As it was, Ken had been forced into an overnight hospital stay, while Yohji had been patched up, given a measly pile of pain medication, and sent on his way.

They had retrieved the necessary data, so at least Omi was happy. The teen walked briskly down the hallway, stopping periodically to wait for his brunet teammate, who was having a difficult time keeping up with him. Yohji made a mental note to check the bandage; the amount of constriction to his leg was more than he could handle, and more than he thought he needed.

It was while he was lost in his own thoughts, nodding mindlessly as Omi chattered on, that he saw it. It was just a brief flash of red, but it was enough to make him falter. Manx? He'd rarely ever seen the woman here; granted, he was lucky enough to only have to visit every once in a while, but…

He peered into the room, completely drowning out Omi's blathering.

The red did turn out to be hair, but it wasn't Manx. Instead the vibrant colour he was sure very few people in the country could recreate belonged to a young man, one who was lying quietly in one of the Magic Bus' regulation beds, apparently asleep. The young woman sitting beside him however, was very much awake. She was curled up in her seat, dark, twin braids bouncing as her shoulders shook.

The girl was crying.

Her face was streaked with tear tracks, more slipping steadily down her cheeks. Although she wept, her face was altogether impassive, and Yohji shifted uneasily. They weren't crocodile tears; his instincts told him that, but her grief seemed to be something she had grown used to. He could identify with comfortable heartache, and as such he paused, allowing Omi to continue on obliviously. It wasn't until the teenager had reached the end of the hall that he realised his teammate had strayed.

“Yohji-kun, are you feeling okay? Are you in any pain?”

“Omi…” Yohji shook his head, bracing himself on the doorframe. “I'm fine, kid. Just saw someone I used to know. I think I'll stay a while, and catch up with her.”

Omi resisted the urge to roll his eyes, smiling brightly at his teammate instead. “Ah, that's fine. I'll go and visit with Ken-kun; come find me when you're done and we can go home.”

Yohji waved him off, and Omi continued down the hallway. The older man watched him until he turned the corner, then returned his attention to the room.

Only to find it empty of anything but the boy and the bed.

If the situation was not as maddeningly close to last night's, he would have laughed. Instead, he stepped all the way inside and proceeded to search every corner of the sterile room, growing more and more frantic as he turned up nothing. It didn't make any sense: the incident with Asuka he could somewhat understand, but this…he hadn't even recognised the weeping young woman. In that case, why was he getting so worked up about it anyway?

Right. He took a deep breath, then another, hoping to calm himself down so he could leave and find Omi, when a familiar voice rang out from behind him.

“Oh, Kudoh-san? Is that you?”

He turned slowly, cursing under his breath. The young woman standing in the hallway wasn't immediately familiar, but after a moment of thought it came to him. She was a nurse here, named…Emi? Young, relatively pretty, and not easily flustered by his advances. He'd always meant to ask her out. Right now she was watching him suspiciously, shooting furtive looks at the slumbering boy.

Yohji smiled easily, holding up both hands in an effort to ease her mind. “Heh, I thought I recognised the kid, that's all.”

Emi visibly relaxed, bustling inside and gently pushing him from the boy's bedside. “I saw you on the monitor, and thought-” she trailed off, then shook her head. “Mm, you know Fujimiya-san?”

“Fujimiya?” He peered over her shoulder at the boy' slack features. The name didn't ring a bell, and neither did the face, but he wasn't sure if he should let her know that. Yohji watched as she pulled the sheet down from over Fujimiya, then lifted one of his arms carefully and began to move it back and forth. “What are you doing?”

“His muscles need to be exercised regularly. In comatose individuals it helps to prevent atrophy from setting in. Of course, he's been here for so long now that there's very little we can do about that.”

“How long has he been like this?” Yohji glanced at the boy's prone body, wincing at the bruising on his arms. It was a good thing the kid was unconscious, considering how much he'd apparently been poked and prodded.

The nurse thought carefully for a moment. “Ah, it's been two years now, I believe.”

Two years of silence, or whatever the hell coma patients experienced. He couldn't suppress a shiver, fighting not to look at the young man again.

“Two years, and without even one visitor. Well, aside from Manx-” The woman stopped guiltily, her face flushing prettily before she resumed flexing the comatose man's legs.

Yohji decided to ignore her slipup for the moment, considering he had seen a girl in here not ten minutes ago. “Family?”

“They're all gone.”

“What happened to him?”

“I'm not sure.” She looked at him strangely, and Yohji responded with an innocent grin. “There was an accident and…” The nurse had finished with one leg, and moved to pick up the other. She had just wrapped her hand around his ankle when she dropped it, hissing in pain.

“Oh.” Emi blinked in surprise, her hand shifting to the young man's forehead. Her other hand flew to her mouth. “Ah, I'm sorry Kudoh-san, but it seems he's running a fever. I'll have to ask you to leave.”

“A fever?” Yohji was taken aback. “Is that even possible?”

“Kudoh-san…Yohji. Please, you have to go. Now.” Emi said firmly, tucking the sheet back under Fujimiya's arms. She picked up a device lying at his bedside and pressed a button, scowling at the assassin as he remained in position. The woman had barely set it down before she was pushing Yohji out the door, her expression fierce. “Goodbye, Kudoh-san.”

He moved down the hallway as several individuals rushed in and crowded around the bed, one man in blue gesturing wildly before the door was abruptly shut. Yohji blinked, debating listening in before ruling it out. The young man was obviously of interest to Kritiker, and it was never a good idea to nose around when it came to the organization, considering they quite literally held their agents' lives in their hands. No, he would put it out of his mind and hopefully that would be the end of it.

“Fujimiya.” He frowned. It wasn't an altogether uncommon name, but…he pushed aside the thought and made his way to the elevator. He would go to Ken's room, pick up Omi, and get the hell out of this place before he lost his mind. Considering his little episode a while ago, it seemed he wasn't too far off. The playboy snorted, closing his eyes as he waited for the lift to arrive. First Asuka, now the crying girl. What was it with him, women, and unhappiness anyway?

Notes: After intense deliberation (haha), I decided to go with using manga! Yohji. Don't get me wrong, there actually isn't that much to separate the two, other than a few emphasized personality quirks, but I prefer the manga version's colouring. Also, I felt the ending of this chapter was too rushed but…as I've stated before, all chapters will eventually be revised.