Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Fluesternd ❯ Part 15 ( Chapter 15 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Crimson 
Ever wonder what Schu's past was all about...?
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.19.2002 | Updated On: 08.19.2002 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 253 | Status: Completed
Ever wonder what Schu's past was all about...?
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.19.2002 | Updated On: 08.19.2002 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 253 | Status: Completed
*****15*****
Have you ever been truly afraid?
I'm not talking about those prepubescent moments of cuddling under your covers to escape the monsters beneath your bed or hiding in your closet. I'm talking about real, life-flashing-before-your-eyes kind of fear. Ever felt that?
Maybe you think you have, but this type of fear is unforgettable. It dives straight into your timid, little heart, and chews off pieces bit by bit. It's the kind of terror a rape victim feels, a person at the end of a gang-banger's gun barrel feels, or the way a small child abused by his father feels, years - a decade or more - after it happened.
How would you deal with fear like that? Or, if you have, how *did* you?
I don't think I can answer that question, so I'm pretty sure it isn't an easy one for you, either. Fear isn't something you can prepare for. It sneaks up on you, slithers across your skin, and burns your eyes at the sight of it. Fear is the root of every human emotion.
We live for fear of not existing. We procreate for fear of dying off. We struggle for fear of loosing. We eat for fear of starving. We sleep for fear of collapsing. We dream for fear of being let down. We fall in love for fear of being alone. And we kill for fear of being killed.
Life is an endless ring of fear. A circus ring with God and the Devil playing center stage, ordering us around, and we have to decide who we're going to listen to. Some of us choose the tight-rope. It isn't easy when you're constantly having to worry about your balance, but it certainly is the high road. Others choose the lions' den. Appealing in its adventure and lure of an audience, but deadly, and hardly worth the sacrifice you may not even realize you're offering until it's gone. Others yet choose the trapeze - my personal favorite - swinging from one side to the next, and praying that when they fall something will be there to catch them.
That something, that safety-net below, is love. Don't you dare laugh at or mock my conclusion. It is the very presence of our friends and family offering us the help we so often feel ashamed at accepting, as if we would have to be weaklings before letting go and asking them to save us before we hit rock bottom.
If you ask me, I'm mighty thankful to have that net there at all.
*****
Beep.
The old, digital clock on the dusty coffee table has just began showing one in the morning upon its worn and fading face. Down in the basement of "Kitten's Cafe," everyone staying in the rooms above are gathered around a small, metal door. Everyone except the intruder, Schuldrich, that is, whose still unconscious body is locked up on the other side.
No one is paying much attention to their surroundings, but it is apparent that although the layout above can often seem quite similar to how "Kitty in the House" once looked, the basement is an obvious exception. It is smaller, for one thing, though the room Schu is being held in is much larger than the tiny closet "Kitty" has in the same spot.
"Anyone have any ideas, 'cause I don't think I can stand being this cramped for much longer." Amaya offers pointedly, considering there are eleven of them huddled in such close proximity.
"Until he wakes up..." Nori informs. "...there isn't much we can -"
WHAM!
Clearly, she is cut off before finishing her thought, and everyone jumps at the startling sound that came from the other side of the door. Actually, it was more like something slamming up against it.
Omi shivers, cowering away. "I think he's awake..."
"LET ME OUT!!" Schuldrich's voice booms, seeping through the metal, his accent sharper with the sharpness of his anger. "OUT! OUT NOW!! I'LL CRUSH YOUR MINDS INTO DUST IF YOU DON'T!!!"
Closest to the pulsing doorway, Youji leans nonchalantly against the wall, taking a long drag on a much needed cigarette. "Yep." Puff. Puff. "Definitely awake."
Again and again the sound of Schuldrich ramming into the door echoes around them, and his protests increase with each attempt, throwing out every threat and curse he can think of, though as far as mindfully carrying any of them out, he doesn't seem to be doing a thing.
"...Na...Nagi-kun...he sounds so scary......" Toto whimpers, clinging to the sleeve of the little telekinetic's night-shirt. "Is he...always like this?"
Nagi is more steady in the face of this scenario than most of the others, but the confusion and concern in his rain-storm eyes prove his apprehension. "No. I've never heard him act this frenzied before..."
"ARE YOU LISTENING!?! YOU FUCKING FREAKS, I'LL TEACH YOU TO LOCK ME AWAY! OPEN THIS DOOR!!"
Turning to Farfarello - who is standing very close to Aiko up front - Nagi worriedly catches his comrade's attention. "Do you......think he's afraid?"
"It's more than that." the albino answers evenly, portraying the eerily sane and sound persona that so often frightens even more than his psychotic episodes. "He can't stand being closed in on all sides - in the darkness. He's panicking."
Stepping forward a little, Hiromi turns to gaze straight into the door, as if trying to see right through it. "Is he...claustrophobic?"
"No." Farfie answers simply. "It's not small spaces that bother him, just being caged in. His problem has always been with having no way out. That's why he never closed my cell door behind him when he came in, even though Crawford kept yelling at him for it. I don't think he knew I noticed, but I did......everytime."
The crowd grows silent, leaving only Schuldrich's screams and pummels against the door to continue filling the confined space. No one knows quite what to do, when suddenly, just when they think things can't possibly get any harder to deal with, all sound from inside Schu's room stops. No more pounding, no more shouts. Nothing.
A slight murmuring amongst the group springs up as Aiko steps forward, right up to the door, and places a small, pale hand against it. Still nothing. Aiko's forehead creases in thought, and she bravely leans in, putting her ear to the cool metal for a better chance at picking something up. And then she hears it, and as it increases, the others begin to hear it, too.
Crying. Schuldrich is crying.
"Is he trying to trick us...?" Ken questions in a whisper, looking around at his companions, who all appear just as shocked to be hearing this as he is. "I know this guy's a good manipulator and all, but that doesn't sound faked to me."
As before, no one fully knows what to do next, so they just stand there, with nothing but Schuldrich's sobbing voice to keep them company. Soon, however, the gasps and sniffles begin turning into mumbled words, and they realize......he is talking to himself.
"...nein...Vater......nein..."
He is speaking German, in a very small, frightened voice, like a child hiding from what lurks within the shadows.
"......halt...bitte halt......Vater..."
"What's he saying?" Amaya prompts, to anyone who'll offer an answer. "Halt...? That means 'stop' or something, ne? Is he asking *us* to stop?"
Moving in beside Aiko, Farfarello mirrors her with a hand on the door, looking as if he alone truly understands the man on the other side. "No. He isn't talking to us. 'Vater' means 'Father'. He is asking his father to stop."
"Stop what...?" Omi asks slowly, still remaining as far from the action as possible.
In reply, Aiko spins around sharply, facing out to everyone in the room. "Perhaps that is what we need to find out."
Moving her eyes over each of them carefully, as if assessing their opinions and reactions, Aiko at last rests her gaze on Nori, who in turn nods very solemnly, instantly comprehending what her friend is silently asking of her.
As the navy-haired young woman walks forward to meet her teammate at the door, her ever-serious expression is as grave as the situation before her. "A meld, to lure out his demons?"
"Hai." Aiko smiles. "We are the cause of his breakdown in there, so we must be the force of his resurrection, and only through true understanding can we achieve that." Grandly, the poised red-head whirls around to face the door once again, and immediately reaches to unlock it.
"Wait!" Ran calls to stop her, speaking for the first time since being saved up above, and stepping out of the corner he had escaped to. "You...can't be thinking of going in there..."
Looking over her shoulder, Aiko smiles very broadly, with a confidence Ran wishes he could have more faith in. "That is exactly what I am thinking." she replies. "So far, Abyssinian, you have had the pleasure of seeing both Amaya and myself in action concerning our powers. Well, tonight you're finally going to get a look at what Nori can do."
*****
What, exactly, can Kei Nori do?
With a mere touch of her hand, every secret in your heart could be unveiled, even those you yourself have forgotten. Nori has the power to withdraw truth from others, similar to what a telepath does, only the mind is opened not only for her to see and understand, but for the lucky victim to witness as well. Whether repressed memories or simply that which cannot be expressed into words, Nori takes it all into herself and reflects it back.
"So......all you have to do is touch him...and you'll know why he's freaking out like this...?" Ken asks softly from a corner of the room, on guard for any unexpected moves Schuldrich might make.
Six people from the group have decided to partake in this little endeavor for answers, leaving the others to wait in the main part of the basement. Those inside the storage room, hovering around Schuldrich's now shivering and delusional form, include Nori, Ken, Aiko, Ran, Hiromi, and Farfarello. As for those outside: Omi wanted absolutely nothing to do with such a memorably fearsome enemy, leaving Amaya to gladly remain behind with him; Toto was far too frightened, of course, so Nagi naturally felt more comfortable staying with her; and Youji......would rather jump in front of a moving train.
"Hai. Skin contact is all I need." Nori speaks nonchalantly in reply to Ken's question, kneeling cautiously in front of Schuldrich. "However...I have never attempted this with someone who...could do the things he does......an empath...telepath...whatever."
"Meaning...?" Ran prompts, hanging back slightly from the others, as if afraid to stand too near the now harmless and defenseless German.
Nori stops herself centimeters before touching the side of Schuldrich's face - whose eyes are tightly closed, with beads of sweat breaking out all over as he trembles, continuing to mumble almost incoherently in German. "Meaning...I don't know what's going to happen." the ill-tempered, young woman admits. "You might want to hold onto something......"
Struck with a sudden anxiety from choosing to be here at all, Ken starts, and just as Nori's hand makes contact......"What's *that* supposed to mean...?"
WHOOSH!
Lights out. Darkness. Every last person inside the room with Schuldrich is hit by a major wave of turbulence and nausea. When the ground at last settles again beneath their feet, and their eyes begin to adjust to the dim lighting, they become instantly aware that somehow they have left the basement below "Kitten's Cafe," and are standing in a completely different basement all together.
In much the same positions as they were in before, the only other abnormality is that Nori is now in amongst them instead of being crouched beside Schuldrich. Speaking of everyone's favorite German Mastermind, he has been replaced by a very frail young boy, with straggly, sunset-colored hair.
"Nor...what just happened......?" Hiromi's bright voice breaks into the quiet.
"What we assumed would happen." explains Nori simply, indicating Aiko as her accomplice. "Considering Schuldrich's power is centered around invading other people's thoughts, it makes perfect sense that my melding with his consciousness would create a sort of mental shield, sucking everyone in a particular radius directly into his mind for a front row seat at what I usually would see alone. Quite extraordinary, actually."
Ran and Ken take this news especially hard, and Ken goes so far as to rush right up to Nori and grab her by the shoulders. "You mean we're inside Schuldrich's head!?!"
"More or less..." Nori clarifies, looking quite frustrated. "...and if you don't mind, would you kindly let go of me? If I lose my concentration the link will break. On the outside I am still in contact with him."
Sheepishly, Ken jerks his hands away, internally scolding himself for overreacting so forcefully, especially after he and Nori have been getting along so much better. Still, the situation at hand is not your run-of-the-mill trip to the movies, this is a first-hand look into the mind of someone who has so often looked right into each of theirs.
"What you're saying then...is that we are seeing what *he* is seeing......" Ran's low, toneless voice states from the back of the room. "Meaning......that little boy...is Schuldrich."
The group stops dead, stone statues right where they stand, gazing across the room at the small figure huddled against the far wall, while he whimpers and mumbles just as Schu had. Though they can't make out his face as it rests buried in his arms, no one could mistake that hair, or the odd after-play of his voice, even if it *is* much younger.
"He's not speaking German anymore." Hiromi notes, inching a little closer to the sobbing child. "Why would he be crying in Japanese, though? He's so young, I wouldn't have thought he'd know it at this age."
"He isn't speaking Japanese." Farfarello corrects firmly, picking up on the sounds from little Schu more keenly than the others. "You only think he is because what you are hearing is what your mind can most easily interpret. We're inside his head, remember? We are apart of him. As far as he is concerned, he's still speaking his native tongue, even though we each hear our own."
Curious and somewhat skeptical, Ken takes a hesitant step towards Farfie. "How can you be sure...?"
Almost deliberately slow, the subdued albino turns to make eye contact, seeing right through his opposite's barriers of false confidence. "Because......I'm hearing him in English."
"...Father......please...don't come tonight...please stop......I don't want to do those things anymore...please......Father......"
SLAM!
Everyone is thrown into silence, including the whimpering young boy, as the door is blasted open above them. Placed at the top of a rickety staircase, it is a very heavy, wooden door, and the sound it makes is enough to shake the walls.
"Hmph...crying again?" an eerily familiar sounding, nasal voice booms from whatever room is on the other side of that basement door. "Just a useless, whining little boy, good for nothing but one thing."
A tall, well-built man strides in onto the landing, making his way downstairs one step at a time. At first, the invading group panics, falling back towards the wall on their side of the room, until realizing the man can't see them.
They are only visitors, after all.
"We're here to observe, so keep your eyes open and stay quiet." Nori instructs, whispering even though it is quite clear the man can't hear them either.
Vigilantly, they watch as he approaches Schuldrich, getting closer and closer, and causing the boy to tense up further with every move forward. The man is obviously Schu's father - the memory of him - but his voice is not the only thing that gives him away. His hair is short and tidy, but just as brilliantly orange as his son's, and the jade eyes piercing above a sharp nose and menacing smirk, are almost like seeing Schuldrich ten years into the future.
He is beautiful and horrible at the same time.
"......no, Father...please don't hurt me..." little Schu trembles, clutching at the wall. "I won't listen to the voices......I promise......please don't make me -"
"Shut up!" his father bellows, striking him across the side of the face, though still grinning just as cruelly. "I don't want to hear your excuses. You're a freak, a demon, and I'm going to keep treating you like one. I know about the voices in your head, the way you pry into other people's thoughts. Well, I'm going to show you what happens when the darkness of men's minds are acted out."
Roughly grabbing little Schu by the front of his ragged shirt, his father drags the boy to his knees in front of him, staring coldly down into the frightened, tearful eyes of his son.
"...no......please...I don't mean to hear the voices......I don't try to hear what people are thinking......Mother always said it was a gift..."
"A gift!?!" his father roars. "You're mother was a whore, and she's burning in Hell right now for having you! Now...if you ever want to see the light outside again, you'll do as you're told. Understood......Emery?"
Every solitary 'observer' has the very same thought at the very same time.
(Emery...?)
But no one carries through with the thought very far, for they are left dumbstruck as that awful man holds his son in place...and moves to undo the buttons on his trousers......
"...no, Father......no...I won't let you do this to me again!!!"
In an instant, young Schuldrich glares up at his father with the unmistakable look of concentration he only gets when truly diving into another's mind. His father stops. Releasing Schu as if the touch of the child burns his skin, he staggers back, gripping the sides of his head. There is a coldness to the little boy's expression, a determination of vile proportions.
"Wha...What are you doing to me!?!"
The man is in visible anguish, breathing heavily, but little Schu shows no signs of answering, nor stopping his assault. Stumbling about the room, his father searches madly, as if hoping to find some object with the power to free him, something to end whatever torment he is in.
There is a thick, metal pipe running from the ceiling down through the floor, and when Schuldrich's father spots it, he sees it as paradise manifested.
Rushing headfirst into the pipe, he slams his head against it. "Get out! Get out of my head, you little monster!!"
Again and again he brutally rams into it, screaming and cursing, until a final, strenuous collision signals the end, and he falls limp to the cold floor, lying motionless. For a moment or so longer, the powerful young boy remains in that same, intense stasis, but slowly his olive eyes begin to soften as his senses return, and he gasps, hyperventilating over the unearthly position his father is in.
All because of him.
"Father......I'm sorry...I just didn't want to be hurt like that again..." he sobs, crawling towards the fallen figure a few feet away. "......don't be angry...I didn't mean for this to happen......I was just...so scared. Father...? Father, why won't you wake up? I'm sorry, please wake up. Please...I......don't wanna be alone with the voices..."
Watching it all silently from the back of the room, the others are shocked beyond human comprehension. They now know the deepest secret of one of their most hated enemies - or in some cases, dearest friends - something they never could have imagined.
"Nori..." Aiko speaks sternly, wearing an unreadable expression. "...break your contact with him. Now."
WHOOSH!
The group is suddenly back below "Kitten's Cafe," with Nori kneeling beside an adult Schuldrich as she lowers her once outstretched arm back to her side and stands, gradually moving away.
If he was crying before, it is nothing compared to the tears streaming down Schu's face now, having relived a painful memory he had buried long, long ago. "...Stimmen...nur Stimmen...Ich bin allein..." he whispers, rocking back and forth, still caught up in his delusion of the past, and being heard in German once again now that the others have left his troubled mind.
Gracefully, Aiko glides across the space separating her from Schuldrich, taking Nori's old place beside him, and pulls the sobbing man against her, the way a mother would hold her injured child. "...Emery..." she soothes, her comforting use of his true name fluttering off her lips like feathers on the wind. "Frieden, mein Kind. Frieden......"
*****
Peace. Outside the wind is stilled, and the stars are struggling to peek through the overcast clouds blocking out the light of the moon above. It is almost two in the morning now, still that same night with so much commotion to remember. Schuldrich is no longer caged up in the basement, but sound asleep in Hiromi's room, while the robust blonde stands guard inside.
He's going to have a hell of a lot more than a pounding headache when he wakes up.
The rest of the mismatched group are spread out in different rooms, all wide awake. None of them hold much hope for getting any sleep tonight. Omi and Youji are in the kitchen getting a late night snack, Ken and Nori disappeared downstairs into the darkened shop, and Nagi and Toto are curled up next to the heater beneath the window that leads out to the fire escape, where Fafarello is sitting on the steps that go up to the roof, watching the mournful sky.
While Aiko leans against the wall on the other side of the living room, staring into nothing, Ran is just about to approach her when Amaya suddenly dashes in to offer a little of her boundless cheer. "Yo, Aiko! Why so glum?" she questions, racing to her friend's side, and leaving Ran in the dust to wait awkwardly near the landing. "We're winning! Three out of four is pretty good odds, ne?"
"Two out of four, Amaya. Emery isn't ours yet." Aiko corrects solemnly. The night certainly seems to have taken its toll on her. "I know I should be in lighter countenance, I guess this has just been a bit too draining on me for one night."
Wrapping gentle arms around Aiko's waist and laying her lovely head against the taller young woman's shoulder, Amaya snuggles in comfortingly. "You push yourself too much, Nee-chan. We'll get through this. We've been through worse."
Aiko hugs her dear friend in return, smiling down at her without a word, because words aren't really necessary when you know someone that well. Eventually pulling away, Amaya moves as if to head back down the hallway to retire for the night, and gives her long, dark mane a shimmering toss.
"I think I'm going to give ol' Mr. Sandman another whirl. You'll come get me if anything big happens, ne?" she asks, already knowing the obvious answer and turning as if to go, but before getting too far, she peers back over her shoulder. "Aiko......you'd never forget me...would you? Strange question, I know. It's just...in my dream......everyone forgot about me. I'm not forgetable...am I?"
Smiling gently, the tender red-head understands, even without knowing the full extent of Amaya's nightmare. "No one could ever be as unforgettable as you, Amaya. I promise."
Now, left relatively alone, Aiko notices Ran hovering a few feet away, watching her intently, and takes on the task of initiating contact, since he seems so flustered over how to do it himself. Holding rigidly immobile, Ran is devoid of all expression.
"Eyes speak volumes, you know? But words are more productive." Aiko grins, hoping to get a slight smile out of him, too. She doesn't. "Something on your mind, Abyssinian? I hope you aren't going to complain about our new tenant. It's becoming old habit with you."
"That's not what I want to talk about." Ran dismisses, looking far too serious. "After all that has happened, I'd be a fool to lose faith in you now. It's only......I feel like...something doesn't add up. You're afraid to use your own powers, and yet you dedicate your life to helping people who want to exploit them. I know you feel you owe something to Farfarello's mother and to......Botan......but is that everything? Is there something else you haven't told me?"
The change in expression upon Aiko's delicate features proves she has been expecting this inevitable line of questioning. "All of Fluesternd is fighting for their own reasons, as well as for each other, but you are right, Abyssinian. There is something else."
"What then? What is it?"
"If you really want to know......come with me..."
Sweeping past him, Aiko leads the way to her bedroom near the end of the hallway, not bothering to look behind to see if Ran is following. She knows he's there. Once reaching it, she holds the door open for him and shuts it behind them, causing Ran to tense slightly, remembering the similar situation with Schuldrich a few hours ago, though he immediately brushes his uneasiness away. The woman before him *is* Rosuto Aiko; there is nothing to be afraid of.
"I brought you here, Abyssinian..." Aiko begins, stepping towards her desk. "...to show you *this*." She picks up one of the pictures lying beneath her table lamp, and holds it out for him to see. It is the one of the boisterous, little girl, with auburn hair, and a beaming smile not even Amaya or Omi could hope to emulate.
"I know this picture." Ran breathes in disbelief, reaching instantly into his back pocket. "It's Botan's daughter...Azumi. I have the same one." Pulling out an identical, though slightly more worn version of the picture, Ran holds his up to Aiko's in comparison.
Smiling in recognition, Aiko laughs a little under her breath. "I knew it. I just knew Botan wouldn't let anything happen to his copy. So, he gave it to you, did he?"
"Not exactly." Ran counters. "He left it in my car. I don't why, but I've been carrying it around ever since, as a reminder of something, I suppose."
"A reminder of what you are fighting for?"
This time it is Ran's turn to chuckle under his breathe. "I guess so. That sounds a bit...silly, ne?"
"Not at all."
Gently, Aiko sets her copy back down on the desk, and Ran returns his to its rightful place in his pocket. However, the smiling face of that little girl isn't exactly the explanation Ran had been expecting.
"I don't understand." he questions, looking at Aiko intensely, determined to get the answers he is looking for. "What does Botan's daughter have to do with this? I know she's the reason he got involved with Kritiker in the first place, but......she's dead, isn't she?"
Thoughtful and full of the patience that Ran is definitely lacking at the moment, Aiko moves towards the bed, sitting on the edge. "No, she is not dead. Azumi is very much alive, actually." the red-head's low-toned voice speaks casually, as if what she is saying is nothing out of the ordinary. "She's almost ten years old now, and even knowing she will never see her parents again, she still wears that invincible smile, optimistic in everything, no matter how bleak a situation looks."
Swiftly, Ran joins her in the space of a stride and sits down beside her. "You've seen her then?" he asks urgently, with hints of a hopeful fervor he rarely ever possesses. "Where is she? Botan still didn't know before he......was killed."
"In an orphanage a few miles north of here." Aiko explains, smiling over at him with a certain nostalgia. "It's well hidden; Esset used to control it. They were the ones who took Azumi and killed Botan's wife all those years ago. You see, Azumi is a very special, little girl. She's clairvoyant - almost identically to Brad Crawford, to be exact. Esset had originally planned to replace their Oracle with her, after catching wind of his conflicting plans with their own, but the members who knew about Azumi no longer exist, thanks to you. I just wish Botan could have seen her before he died."
Sighing at a loss for words, Ran isn't sure how to reply. Now he knows the answers to all his questions, but this is much more to take in than he ever expected. Aiko most likely discovered Azumi was alive only days, or even hours, before Botan risked his life to save Ran's. There is an unavoidable guilt that comes with knowing you are the only reason a father will never be reunited with his child.
Sitting there in silence for far too long, Ran at last looks up at Aiko again, and asks the only other question he has. "What's to become of her now?"
"She's going to have a family." Aiko answers simply. "At this very moment she is waiting for me to come take her away from that place. When I found her, she had been so excited at the thought of seeing her father again, and then......so broken when I had to tell her he wouldn't be coming. So, I promised that as soon as my mission was over, I would adopt her. And that is exactly what I plan to do."
Ran isn't as surprised at this revelation as one might think; Aiko is the very kind of person who would go to such lengths.
They fall into silence once again, occasionally looking at each other, as well as off into space, as both mull over what has happened so far, and what is likely to come. The journey definitely isn't over, but now there is even more reason to strive for a happy ending - the happiness of a child.
"Abyssinian......may I ask *you* something now?" Aiko inquires softly, peeking at her companion from out of the corner of her eye. "......what...what happened between Emer...Schuldrich and yourself? You've seemed very disturbed ever since we captured him. I must admit, a girl could infer a lot from walking in on something like that."
Clearly, Aiko had meant to make a joke and lighten whatever horrors Ran is going through. Her tactic, however, doesn't put him at ease. "......what do you think happened...?" he questions right back, eyeing her just as shadily.
"I think...he used his manipulative powers to make you think he was someone else. So, naturally, when he revealed himself, you were taken by quite a surprise. Am I right?"
Nodding in awe of Aiko's deductive capabilities, Ran doesn't pursue the topic any further, hoping she'll get the hint and change the subject.
No such luck.
"I guess the real question then......is *who* did he pretend to be?" Aiko grins, leaning forward to catch Ran's eye, since he is flustered and shying away from her. "You don't have to tell me, but I am a little curious. Who would be able to get you into a position like that willingly? Hmmm...I wonder......"
Pushed beyond the comfort zone, Ran is severely shaking as he slowly turns his head to look back at her, but the moment their eyes meet, something about Aiko's expression pushes him even further, and he jumps to his feet, backpedaling away.
"...I...err......need to...go...do something......uhhh...somewhere...." he mumbles, struggling for words as he stumbles back, and ends up backing right into Aiko's desk. The unexpected jolt causes the radio resting on the edge to plummet for the floor, landing with a crack, and jerking on in the middle of a familiar song. "Go...gomen. I'll get it."
Just as Ran is reaching down to turn the radio off and put it back in its place, Aiko unexpectedly appears right beside him, and stops him with the touch of her hand on his outstretched arm. "Don't. I love this song. It's been a long time since I've heard it. Let it play."
Ran obeys, pulling back, and swallows hard as he listens to the lyrics. It is a song by X Japan. //Dry your tears...with love......// It plays, a beautiful melody set to tender words, and infused with the power to make Ran even more uncomfortable.
"Abyssinian, it's been such a difficult night. Why don't we do something to make up for it?" Aiko suggests merrily, grasping both his hands to pull him closer. "Dance with me."
"Nani!?" Ran cries, blushing fiercely, and fumbling to get out of her clutches. "I....I don't dance....I can't."
"Nonsense! Anyone can dance."
"No....really. I'll cripple you."
Aiko only laughs, embracing him anyway, and taking the lead as she sways to the music, moving him like an unwilling puppet. Though a bit clumsy, Ran eventually gives in and relaxes against her, but a stirring deep in his stomach warns him to be careful. What happened with Schu is still fresh in his mind, and frankly......it scares him.
Resting her head on his shoulder, Aiko sighs, humming with the song, and whispers beside Ran's ear. "See, it isn't so hard. All you have to do is let the music take you. It's a wonderful way to relax. You don't even have to think. Just feel..."
(...just feel...)
Abruptly, Ran's entire body stiffens in rememberance of Schuldrich's imitation having said the very same thing, only in much different context.
"What's wrong?" Aiko asks worriedly, noticing his renewed unease.
A part of Ran longs to cling onto that fear pecking away at his confidence, but he has never been one to play the victim. Firmly, he pushes all negative thoughts aside, and settles in again, holding Aiko tenderly as they dance.
"Nothing...nothing's wrong. I've just never danced with such a...forceful woman before."
Aiko's low, musical voice laughs gently, clinging even tighter to him in return. Even out of place, the simplest, most taken-for-granted things, can mean the most after a hard day. Out of anyone in the world right now, these two certainly know how true that is.
The world might just be changing right before their eyes.
*****A/N*****
*sniffle* I just love tender moments. Okay, all explanations are out in the open now. Well, there are few things left you don't know about - like Brad's secret past :-) - but we'll get to that later. Next is Schu waking up and facing...alot. Tune in next time, and...ON HANDS AND KNEES I BEG YOU TO REVIEW!! Ja!
Have you ever been truly afraid?
I'm not talking about those prepubescent moments of cuddling under your covers to escape the monsters beneath your bed or hiding in your closet. I'm talking about real, life-flashing-before-your-eyes kind of fear. Ever felt that?
Maybe you think you have, but this type of fear is unforgettable. It dives straight into your timid, little heart, and chews off pieces bit by bit. It's the kind of terror a rape victim feels, a person at the end of a gang-banger's gun barrel feels, or the way a small child abused by his father feels, years - a decade or more - after it happened.
How would you deal with fear like that? Or, if you have, how *did* you?
I don't think I can answer that question, so I'm pretty sure it isn't an easy one for you, either. Fear isn't something you can prepare for. It sneaks up on you, slithers across your skin, and burns your eyes at the sight of it. Fear is the root of every human emotion.
We live for fear of not existing. We procreate for fear of dying off. We struggle for fear of loosing. We eat for fear of starving. We sleep for fear of collapsing. We dream for fear of being let down. We fall in love for fear of being alone. And we kill for fear of being killed.
Life is an endless ring of fear. A circus ring with God and the Devil playing center stage, ordering us around, and we have to decide who we're going to listen to. Some of us choose the tight-rope. It isn't easy when you're constantly having to worry about your balance, but it certainly is the high road. Others choose the lions' den. Appealing in its adventure and lure of an audience, but deadly, and hardly worth the sacrifice you may not even realize you're offering until it's gone. Others yet choose the trapeze - my personal favorite - swinging from one side to the next, and praying that when they fall something will be there to catch them.
That something, that safety-net below, is love. Don't you dare laugh at or mock my conclusion. It is the very presence of our friends and family offering us the help we so often feel ashamed at accepting, as if we would have to be weaklings before letting go and asking them to save us before we hit rock bottom.
If you ask me, I'm mighty thankful to have that net there at all.
*****
Beep.
The old, digital clock on the dusty coffee table has just began showing one in the morning upon its worn and fading face. Down in the basement of "Kitten's Cafe," everyone staying in the rooms above are gathered around a small, metal door. Everyone except the intruder, Schuldrich, that is, whose still unconscious body is locked up on the other side.
No one is paying much attention to their surroundings, but it is apparent that although the layout above can often seem quite similar to how "Kitty in the House" once looked, the basement is an obvious exception. It is smaller, for one thing, though the room Schu is being held in is much larger than the tiny closet "Kitty" has in the same spot.
"Anyone have any ideas, 'cause I don't think I can stand being this cramped for much longer." Amaya offers pointedly, considering there are eleven of them huddled in such close proximity.
"Until he wakes up..." Nori informs. "...there isn't much we can -"
WHAM!
Clearly, she is cut off before finishing her thought, and everyone jumps at the startling sound that came from the other side of the door. Actually, it was more like something slamming up against it.
Omi shivers, cowering away. "I think he's awake..."
"LET ME OUT!!" Schuldrich's voice booms, seeping through the metal, his accent sharper with the sharpness of his anger. "OUT! OUT NOW!! I'LL CRUSH YOUR MINDS INTO DUST IF YOU DON'T!!!"
Closest to the pulsing doorway, Youji leans nonchalantly against the wall, taking a long drag on a much needed cigarette. "Yep." Puff. Puff. "Definitely awake."
Again and again the sound of Schuldrich ramming into the door echoes around them, and his protests increase with each attempt, throwing out every threat and curse he can think of, though as far as mindfully carrying any of them out, he doesn't seem to be doing a thing.
"...Na...Nagi-kun...he sounds so scary......" Toto whimpers, clinging to the sleeve of the little telekinetic's night-shirt. "Is he...always like this?"
Nagi is more steady in the face of this scenario than most of the others, but the confusion and concern in his rain-storm eyes prove his apprehension. "No. I've never heard him act this frenzied before..."
"ARE YOU LISTENING!?! YOU FUCKING FREAKS, I'LL TEACH YOU TO LOCK ME AWAY! OPEN THIS DOOR!!"
Turning to Farfarello - who is standing very close to Aiko up front - Nagi worriedly catches his comrade's attention. "Do you......think he's afraid?"
"It's more than that." the albino answers evenly, portraying the eerily sane and sound persona that so often frightens even more than his psychotic episodes. "He can't stand being closed in on all sides - in the darkness. He's panicking."
Stepping forward a little, Hiromi turns to gaze straight into the door, as if trying to see right through it. "Is he...claustrophobic?"
"No." Farfie answers simply. "It's not small spaces that bother him, just being caged in. His problem has always been with having no way out. That's why he never closed my cell door behind him when he came in, even though Crawford kept yelling at him for it. I don't think he knew I noticed, but I did......everytime."
The crowd grows silent, leaving only Schuldrich's screams and pummels against the door to continue filling the confined space. No one knows quite what to do, when suddenly, just when they think things can't possibly get any harder to deal with, all sound from inside Schu's room stops. No more pounding, no more shouts. Nothing.
A slight murmuring amongst the group springs up as Aiko steps forward, right up to the door, and places a small, pale hand against it. Still nothing. Aiko's forehead creases in thought, and she bravely leans in, putting her ear to the cool metal for a better chance at picking something up. And then she hears it, and as it increases, the others begin to hear it, too.
Crying. Schuldrich is crying.
"Is he trying to trick us...?" Ken questions in a whisper, looking around at his companions, who all appear just as shocked to be hearing this as he is. "I know this guy's a good manipulator and all, but that doesn't sound faked to me."
As before, no one fully knows what to do next, so they just stand there, with nothing but Schuldrich's sobbing voice to keep them company. Soon, however, the gasps and sniffles begin turning into mumbled words, and they realize......he is talking to himself.
"...nein...Vater......nein..."
He is speaking German, in a very small, frightened voice, like a child hiding from what lurks within the shadows.
"......halt...bitte halt......Vater..."
"What's he saying?" Amaya prompts, to anyone who'll offer an answer. "Halt...? That means 'stop' or something, ne? Is he asking *us* to stop?"
Moving in beside Aiko, Farfarello mirrors her with a hand on the door, looking as if he alone truly understands the man on the other side. "No. He isn't talking to us. 'Vater' means 'Father'. He is asking his father to stop."
"Stop what...?" Omi asks slowly, still remaining as far from the action as possible.
In reply, Aiko spins around sharply, facing out to everyone in the room. "Perhaps that is what we need to find out."
Moving her eyes over each of them carefully, as if assessing their opinions and reactions, Aiko at last rests her gaze on Nori, who in turn nods very solemnly, instantly comprehending what her friend is silently asking of her.
As the navy-haired young woman walks forward to meet her teammate at the door, her ever-serious expression is as grave as the situation before her. "A meld, to lure out his demons?"
"Hai." Aiko smiles. "We are the cause of his breakdown in there, so we must be the force of his resurrection, and only through true understanding can we achieve that." Grandly, the poised red-head whirls around to face the door once again, and immediately reaches to unlock it.
"Wait!" Ran calls to stop her, speaking for the first time since being saved up above, and stepping out of the corner he had escaped to. "You...can't be thinking of going in there..."
Looking over her shoulder, Aiko smiles very broadly, with a confidence Ran wishes he could have more faith in. "That is exactly what I am thinking." she replies. "So far, Abyssinian, you have had the pleasure of seeing both Amaya and myself in action concerning our powers. Well, tonight you're finally going to get a look at what Nori can do."
*****
What, exactly, can Kei Nori do?
With a mere touch of her hand, every secret in your heart could be unveiled, even those you yourself have forgotten. Nori has the power to withdraw truth from others, similar to what a telepath does, only the mind is opened not only for her to see and understand, but for the lucky victim to witness as well. Whether repressed memories or simply that which cannot be expressed into words, Nori takes it all into herself and reflects it back.
"So......all you have to do is touch him...and you'll know why he's freaking out like this...?" Ken asks softly from a corner of the room, on guard for any unexpected moves Schuldrich might make.
Six people from the group have decided to partake in this little endeavor for answers, leaving the others to wait in the main part of the basement. Those inside the storage room, hovering around Schuldrich's now shivering and delusional form, include Nori, Ken, Aiko, Ran, Hiromi, and Farfarello. As for those outside: Omi wanted absolutely nothing to do with such a memorably fearsome enemy, leaving Amaya to gladly remain behind with him; Toto was far too frightened, of course, so Nagi naturally felt more comfortable staying with her; and Youji......would rather jump in front of a moving train.
"Hai. Skin contact is all I need." Nori speaks nonchalantly in reply to Ken's question, kneeling cautiously in front of Schuldrich. "However...I have never attempted this with someone who...could do the things he does......an empath...telepath...whatever."
"Meaning...?" Ran prompts, hanging back slightly from the others, as if afraid to stand too near the now harmless and defenseless German.
Nori stops herself centimeters before touching the side of Schuldrich's face - whose eyes are tightly closed, with beads of sweat breaking out all over as he trembles, continuing to mumble almost incoherently in German. "Meaning...I don't know what's going to happen." the ill-tempered, young woman admits. "You might want to hold onto something......"
Struck with a sudden anxiety from choosing to be here at all, Ken starts, and just as Nori's hand makes contact......"What's *that* supposed to mean...?"
WHOOSH!
Lights out. Darkness. Every last person inside the room with Schuldrich is hit by a major wave of turbulence and nausea. When the ground at last settles again beneath their feet, and their eyes begin to adjust to the dim lighting, they become instantly aware that somehow they have left the basement below "Kitten's Cafe," and are standing in a completely different basement all together.
In much the same positions as they were in before, the only other abnormality is that Nori is now in amongst them instead of being crouched beside Schuldrich. Speaking of everyone's favorite German Mastermind, he has been replaced by a very frail young boy, with straggly, sunset-colored hair.
"Nor...what just happened......?" Hiromi's bright voice breaks into the quiet.
"What we assumed would happen." explains Nori simply, indicating Aiko as her accomplice. "Considering Schuldrich's power is centered around invading other people's thoughts, it makes perfect sense that my melding with his consciousness would create a sort of mental shield, sucking everyone in a particular radius directly into his mind for a front row seat at what I usually would see alone. Quite extraordinary, actually."
Ran and Ken take this news especially hard, and Ken goes so far as to rush right up to Nori and grab her by the shoulders. "You mean we're inside Schuldrich's head!?!"
"More or less..." Nori clarifies, looking quite frustrated. "...and if you don't mind, would you kindly let go of me? If I lose my concentration the link will break. On the outside I am still in contact with him."
Sheepishly, Ken jerks his hands away, internally scolding himself for overreacting so forcefully, especially after he and Nori have been getting along so much better. Still, the situation at hand is not your run-of-the-mill trip to the movies, this is a first-hand look into the mind of someone who has so often looked right into each of theirs.
"What you're saying then...is that we are seeing what *he* is seeing......" Ran's low, toneless voice states from the back of the room. "Meaning......that little boy...is Schuldrich."
The group stops dead, stone statues right where they stand, gazing across the room at the small figure huddled against the far wall, while he whimpers and mumbles just as Schu had. Though they can't make out his face as it rests buried in his arms, no one could mistake that hair, or the odd after-play of his voice, even if it *is* much younger.
"He's not speaking German anymore." Hiromi notes, inching a little closer to the sobbing child. "Why would he be crying in Japanese, though? He's so young, I wouldn't have thought he'd know it at this age."
"He isn't speaking Japanese." Farfarello corrects firmly, picking up on the sounds from little Schu more keenly than the others. "You only think he is because what you are hearing is what your mind can most easily interpret. We're inside his head, remember? We are apart of him. As far as he is concerned, he's still speaking his native tongue, even though we each hear our own."
Curious and somewhat skeptical, Ken takes a hesitant step towards Farfie. "How can you be sure...?"
Almost deliberately slow, the subdued albino turns to make eye contact, seeing right through his opposite's barriers of false confidence. "Because......I'm hearing him in English."
"...Father......please...don't come tonight...please stop......I don't want to do those things anymore...please......Father......"
SLAM!
Everyone is thrown into silence, including the whimpering young boy, as the door is blasted open above them. Placed at the top of a rickety staircase, it is a very heavy, wooden door, and the sound it makes is enough to shake the walls.
"Hmph...crying again?" an eerily familiar sounding, nasal voice booms from whatever room is on the other side of that basement door. "Just a useless, whining little boy, good for nothing but one thing."
A tall, well-built man strides in onto the landing, making his way downstairs one step at a time. At first, the invading group panics, falling back towards the wall on their side of the room, until realizing the man can't see them.
They are only visitors, after all.
"We're here to observe, so keep your eyes open and stay quiet." Nori instructs, whispering even though it is quite clear the man can't hear them either.
Vigilantly, they watch as he approaches Schuldrich, getting closer and closer, and causing the boy to tense up further with every move forward. The man is obviously Schu's father - the memory of him - but his voice is not the only thing that gives him away. His hair is short and tidy, but just as brilliantly orange as his son's, and the jade eyes piercing above a sharp nose and menacing smirk, are almost like seeing Schuldrich ten years into the future.
He is beautiful and horrible at the same time.
"......no, Father...please don't hurt me..." little Schu trembles, clutching at the wall. "I won't listen to the voices......I promise......please don't make me -"
"Shut up!" his father bellows, striking him across the side of the face, though still grinning just as cruelly. "I don't want to hear your excuses. You're a freak, a demon, and I'm going to keep treating you like one. I know about the voices in your head, the way you pry into other people's thoughts. Well, I'm going to show you what happens when the darkness of men's minds are acted out."
Roughly grabbing little Schu by the front of his ragged shirt, his father drags the boy to his knees in front of him, staring coldly down into the frightened, tearful eyes of his son.
"...no......please...I don't mean to hear the voices......I don't try to hear what people are thinking......Mother always said it was a gift..."
"A gift!?!" his father roars. "You're mother was a whore, and she's burning in Hell right now for having you! Now...if you ever want to see the light outside again, you'll do as you're told. Understood......Emery?"
Every solitary 'observer' has the very same thought at the very same time.
(Emery...?)
But no one carries through with the thought very far, for they are left dumbstruck as that awful man holds his son in place...and moves to undo the buttons on his trousers......
"...no, Father......no...I won't let you do this to me again!!!"
In an instant, young Schuldrich glares up at his father with the unmistakable look of concentration he only gets when truly diving into another's mind. His father stops. Releasing Schu as if the touch of the child burns his skin, he staggers back, gripping the sides of his head. There is a coldness to the little boy's expression, a determination of vile proportions.
"Wha...What are you doing to me!?!"
The man is in visible anguish, breathing heavily, but little Schu shows no signs of answering, nor stopping his assault. Stumbling about the room, his father searches madly, as if hoping to find some object with the power to free him, something to end whatever torment he is in.
There is a thick, metal pipe running from the ceiling down through the floor, and when Schuldrich's father spots it, he sees it as paradise manifested.
Rushing headfirst into the pipe, he slams his head against it. "Get out! Get out of my head, you little monster!!"
Again and again he brutally rams into it, screaming and cursing, until a final, strenuous collision signals the end, and he falls limp to the cold floor, lying motionless. For a moment or so longer, the powerful young boy remains in that same, intense stasis, but slowly his olive eyes begin to soften as his senses return, and he gasps, hyperventilating over the unearthly position his father is in.
All because of him.
"Father......I'm sorry...I just didn't want to be hurt like that again..." he sobs, crawling towards the fallen figure a few feet away. "......don't be angry...I didn't mean for this to happen......I was just...so scared. Father...? Father, why won't you wake up? I'm sorry, please wake up. Please...I......don't wanna be alone with the voices..."
Watching it all silently from the back of the room, the others are shocked beyond human comprehension. They now know the deepest secret of one of their most hated enemies - or in some cases, dearest friends - something they never could have imagined.
"Nori..." Aiko speaks sternly, wearing an unreadable expression. "...break your contact with him. Now."
WHOOSH!
The group is suddenly back below "Kitten's Cafe," with Nori kneeling beside an adult Schuldrich as she lowers her once outstretched arm back to her side and stands, gradually moving away.
If he was crying before, it is nothing compared to the tears streaming down Schu's face now, having relived a painful memory he had buried long, long ago. "...Stimmen...nur Stimmen...Ich bin allein..." he whispers, rocking back and forth, still caught up in his delusion of the past, and being heard in German once again now that the others have left his troubled mind.
Gracefully, Aiko glides across the space separating her from Schuldrich, taking Nori's old place beside him, and pulls the sobbing man against her, the way a mother would hold her injured child. "...Emery..." she soothes, her comforting use of his true name fluttering off her lips like feathers on the wind. "Frieden, mein Kind. Frieden......"
*****
Peace. Outside the wind is stilled, and the stars are struggling to peek through the overcast clouds blocking out the light of the moon above. It is almost two in the morning now, still that same night with so much commotion to remember. Schuldrich is no longer caged up in the basement, but sound asleep in Hiromi's room, while the robust blonde stands guard inside.
He's going to have a hell of a lot more than a pounding headache when he wakes up.
The rest of the mismatched group are spread out in different rooms, all wide awake. None of them hold much hope for getting any sleep tonight. Omi and Youji are in the kitchen getting a late night snack, Ken and Nori disappeared downstairs into the darkened shop, and Nagi and Toto are curled up next to the heater beneath the window that leads out to the fire escape, where Fafarello is sitting on the steps that go up to the roof, watching the mournful sky.
While Aiko leans against the wall on the other side of the living room, staring into nothing, Ran is just about to approach her when Amaya suddenly dashes in to offer a little of her boundless cheer. "Yo, Aiko! Why so glum?" she questions, racing to her friend's side, and leaving Ran in the dust to wait awkwardly near the landing. "We're winning! Three out of four is pretty good odds, ne?"
"Two out of four, Amaya. Emery isn't ours yet." Aiko corrects solemnly. The night certainly seems to have taken its toll on her. "I know I should be in lighter countenance, I guess this has just been a bit too draining on me for one night."
Wrapping gentle arms around Aiko's waist and laying her lovely head against the taller young woman's shoulder, Amaya snuggles in comfortingly. "You push yourself too much, Nee-chan. We'll get through this. We've been through worse."
Aiko hugs her dear friend in return, smiling down at her without a word, because words aren't really necessary when you know someone that well. Eventually pulling away, Amaya moves as if to head back down the hallway to retire for the night, and gives her long, dark mane a shimmering toss.
"I think I'm going to give ol' Mr. Sandman another whirl. You'll come get me if anything big happens, ne?" she asks, already knowing the obvious answer and turning as if to go, but before getting too far, she peers back over her shoulder. "Aiko......you'd never forget me...would you? Strange question, I know. It's just...in my dream......everyone forgot about me. I'm not forgetable...am I?"
Smiling gently, the tender red-head understands, even without knowing the full extent of Amaya's nightmare. "No one could ever be as unforgettable as you, Amaya. I promise."
Now, left relatively alone, Aiko notices Ran hovering a few feet away, watching her intently, and takes on the task of initiating contact, since he seems so flustered over how to do it himself. Holding rigidly immobile, Ran is devoid of all expression.
"Eyes speak volumes, you know? But words are more productive." Aiko grins, hoping to get a slight smile out of him, too. She doesn't. "Something on your mind, Abyssinian? I hope you aren't going to complain about our new tenant. It's becoming old habit with you."
"That's not what I want to talk about." Ran dismisses, looking far too serious. "After all that has happened, I'd be a fool to lose faith in you now. It's only......I feel like...something doesn't add up. You're afraid to use your own powers, and yet you dedicate your life to helping people who want to exploit them. I know you feel you owe something to Farfarello's mother and to......Botan......but is that everything? Is there something else you haven't told me?"
The change in expression upon Aiko's delicate features proves she has been expecting this inevitable line of questioning. "All of Fluesternd is fighting for their own reasons, as well as for each other, but you are right, Abyssinian. There is something else."
"What then? What is it?"
"If you really want to know......come with me..."
Sweeping past him, Aiko leads the way to her bedroom near the end of the hallway, not bothering to look behind to see if Ran is following. She knows he's there. Once reaching it, she holds the door open for him and shuts it behind them, causing Ran to tense slightly, remembering the similar situation with Schuldrich a few hours ago, though he immediately brushes his uneasiness away. The woman before him *is* Rosuto Aiko; there is nothing to be afraid of.
"I brought you here, Abyssinian..." Aiko begins, stepping towards her desk. "...to show you *this*." She picks up one of the pictures lying beneath her table lamp, and holds it out for him to see. It is the one of the boisterous, little girl, with auburn hair, and a beaming smile not even Amaya or Omi could hope to emulate.
"I know this picture." Ran breathes in disbelief, reaching instantly into his back pocket. "It's Botan's daughter...Azumi. I have the same one." Pulling out an identical, though slightly more worn version of the picture, Ran holds his up to Aiko's in comparison.
Smiling in recognition, Aiko laughs a little under her breath. "I knew it. I just knew Botan wouldn't let anything happen to his copy. So, he gave it to you, did he?"
"Not exactly." Ran counters. "He left it in my car. I don't why, but I've been carrying it around ever since, as a reminder of something, I suppose."
"A reminder of what you are fighting for?"
This time it is Ran's turn to chuckle under his breathe. "I guess so. That sounds a bit...silly, ne?"
"Not at all."
Gently, Aiko sets her copy back down on the desk, and Ran returns his to its rightful place in his pocket. However, the smiling face of that little girl isn't exactly the explanation Ran had been expecting.
"I don't understand." he questions, looking at Aiko intensely, determined to get the answers he is looking for. "What does Botan's daughter have to do with this? I know she's the reason he got involved with Kritiker in the first place, but......she's dead, isn't she?"
Thoughtful and full of the patience that Ran is definitely lacking at the moment, Aiko moves towards the bed, sitting on the edge. "No, she is not dead. Azumi is very much alive, actually." the red-head's low-toned voice speaks casually, as if what she is saying is nothing out of the ordinary. "She's almost ten years old now, and even knowing she will never see her parents again, she still wears that invincible smile, optimistic in everything, no matter how bleak a situation looks."
Swiftly, Ran joins her in the space of a stride and sits down beside her. "You've seen her then?" he asks urgently, with hints of a hopeful fervor he rarely ever possesses. "Where is she? Botan still didn't know before he......was killed."
"In an orphanage a few miles north of here." Aiko explains, smiling over at him with a certain nostalgia. "It's well hidden; Esset used to control it. They were the ones who took Azumi and killed Botan's wife all those years ago. You see, Azumi is a very special, little girl. She's clairvoyant - almost identically to Brad Crawford, to be exact. Esset had originally planned to replace their Oracle with her, after catching wind of his conflicting plans with their own, but the members who knew about Azumi no longer exist, thanks to you. I just wish Botan could have seen her before he died."
Sighing at a loss for words, Ran isn't sure how to reply. Now he knows the answers to all his questions, but this is much more to take in than he ever expected. Aiko most likely discovered Azumi was alive only days, or even hours, before Botan risked his life to save Ran's. There is an unavoidable guilt that comes with knowing you are the only reason a father will never be reunited with his child.
Sitting there in silence for far too long, Ran at last looks up at Aiko again, and asks the only other question he has. "What's to become of her now?"
"She's going to have a family." Aiko answers simply. "At this very moment she is waiting for me to come take her away from that place. When I found her, she had been so excited at the thought of seeing her father again, and then......so broken when I had to tell her he wouldn't be coming. So, I promised that as soon as my mission was over, I would adopt her. And that is exactly what I plan to do."
Ran isn't as surprised at this revelation as one might think; Aiko is the very kind of person who would go to such lengths.
They fall into silence once again, occasionally looking at each other, as well as off into space, as both mull over what has happened so far, and what is likely to come. The journey definitely isn't over, but now there is even more reason to strive for a happy ending - the happiness of a child.
"Abyssinian......may I ask *you* something now?" Aiko inquires softly, peeking at her companion from out of the corner of her eye. "......what...what happened between Emer...Schuldrich and yourself? You've seemed very disturbed ever since we captured him. I must admit, a girl could infer a lot from walking in on something like that."
Clearly, Aiko had meant to make a joke and lighten whatever horrors Ran is going through. Her tactic, however, doesn't put him at ease. "......what do you think happened...?" he questions right back, eyeing her just as shadily.
"I think...he used his manipulative powers to make you think he was someone else. So, naturally, when he revealed himself, you were taken by quite a surprise. Am I right?"
Nodding in awe of Aiko's deductive capabilities, Ran doesn't pursue the topic any further, hoping she'll get the hint and change the subject.
No such luck.
"I guess the real question then......is *who* did he pretend to be?" Aiko grins, leaning forward to catch Ran's eye, since he is flustered and shying away from her. "You don't have to tell me, but I am a little curious. Who would be able to get you into a position like that willingly? Hmmm...I wonder......"
Pushed beyond the comfort zone, Ran is severely shaking as he slowly turns his head to look back at her, but the moment their eyes meet, something about Aiko's expression pushes him even further, and he jumps to his feet, backpedaling away.
"...I...err......need to...go...do something......uhhh...somewhere...." he mumbles, struggling for words as he stumbles back, and ends up backing right into Aiko's desk. The unexpected jolt causes the radio resting on the edge to plummet for the floor, landing with a crack, and jerking on in the middle of a familiar song. "Go...gomen. I'll get it."
Just as Ran is reaching down to turn the radio off and put it back in its place, Aiko unexpectedly appears right beside him, and stops him with the touch of her hand on his outstretched arm. "Don't. I love this song. It's been a long time since I've heard it. Let it play."
Ran obeys, pulling back, and swallows hard as he listens to the lyrics. It is a song by X Japan. //Dry your tears...with love......// It plays, a beautiful melody set to tender words, and infused with the power to make Ran even more uncomfortable.
"Abyssinian, it's been such a difficult night. Why don't we do something to make up for it?" Aiko suggests merrily, grasping both his hands to pull him closer. "Dance with me."
"Nani!?" Ran cries, blushing fiercely, and fumbling to get out of her clutches. "I....I don't dance....I can't."
"Nonsense! Anyone can dance."
"No....really. I'll cripple you."
Aiko only laughs, embracing him anyway, and taking the lead as she sways to the music, moving him like an unwilling puppet. Though a bit clumsy, Ran eventually gives in and relaxes against her, but a stirring deep in his stomach warns him to be careful. What happened with Schu is still fresh in his mind, and frankly......it scares him.
Resting her head on his shoulder, Aiko sighs, humming with the song, and whispers beside Ran's ear. "See, it isn't so hard. All you have to do is let the music take you. It's a wonderful way to relax. You don't even have to think. Just feel..."
(...just feel...)
Abruptly, Ran's entire body stiffens in rememberance of Schuldrich's imitation having said the very same thing, only in much different context.
"What's wrong?" Aiko asks worriedly, noticing his renewed unease.
A part of Ran longs to cling onto that fear pecking away at his confidence, but he has never been one to play the victim. Firmly, he pushes all negative thoughts aside, and settles in again, holding Aiko tenderly as they dance.
"Nothing...nothing's wrong. I've just never danced with such a...forceful woman before."
Aiko's low, musical voice laughs gently, clinging even tighter to him in return. Even out of place, the simplest, most taken-for-granted things, can mean the most after a hard day. Out of anyone in the world right now, these two certainly know how true that is.
The world might just be changing right before their eyes.
*****A/N*****
*sniffle* I just love tender moments. Okay, all explanations are out in the open now. Well, there are few things left you don't know about - like Brad's secret past :-) - but we'll get to that later. Next is Schu waking up and facing...alot. Tune in next time, and...ON HANDS AND KNEES I BEG YOU TO REVIEW!! Ja!