Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Gerechtigkeit für die Toten ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Warnings: This chapter is very dark. Images of rape, gore, other frightening things, slash.

Disclaimer: I still do not own Weiss. I'm not sure I could afford to keep 'em if I did - bondage equipment's kinda expensive these days.

AN: Sorry this chapter took so long. It was very hard to write, but was too important to change. Special thanks to Moonraven and Krysana for helping out with it so much! The plot should start picking up after this chapter. Many, many thanks to all the reviewers - specific comments will be answered at the end of the chapter.

Oh yeah - and I had put it in the summary, but then had to retype that (weird things were happening) and forgot to put it back in. For the curious, the title translates to "Justice for the Dead".

Gerechtigkeit für die Toten

Chapter 3

by Xellas

"Undercover work?" Ken asked. Anything to keep the small blond talking instead of going up to his room to sleep, leaving the athlete alone with his nightmares and the waking terror of the angry dead.

"Professor Gewissenhaft was very well-liked and respected by nearly everyone, which is why Weiss was called in to handle this. He never recovered from the death of his wife nine years ago due to breast cancer and there is no indication of him dating anyone in all that time. His two children are currently living in America."

"So sex is out." Drawled Youji unexpectedly from the doorway, causing Ken to jump nervously. The tall blond had crept in at some point during the conversation and to all outward appearances had been listening intently - and soberly.

"Youji-kun! You're back early." Omi's grin was just a fraction wider than it should have been.

The green-eyed man strolled lazily into the room and sat down in the chair nearest Bombay's.

"Yeah, well, they didn't have anything at the clubs that could hold a candle to you, Bishounen." Youji flirted outrageously, even going so far as to blow a kiss to the younger man.

Ken shot Omi a look that clearly said, "See?"

Omi's eyes narrowed in reply and he shrugged as if to reply, "Nothing new here."

Ken would've agreed, except that Youji was home early. Sober. Which was very, very new.

"I'm surprised to see you awake, Kenken. You and Aya are always asleep by now." Youji's emphasis on Aya's name was clearly a threat. Despite his careless appearance, the athlete knew he had caught the nonverbal exchange and was being warned away.

"That's because some of us take our responsibilities seriously." Ken snapped and then winced. He knew he'd made a mistake the moment the words left his mouth.

"My, my, aren't you the jumpy one?" The eldest Weiss plucked a cigarette from behind his ear and lit it.

"I thought we decided no smoking in here." A deep voice entered the conversation, making Weiss complete.

"You were saying, Bishounen?" Youji asked and continued puffing away. Aya let it pass because he must have known, just as Ken did, that once the display was done, the cigarette would be stamped out, only half-smoked. Better to let the older man keep his pride and do it on his own terms.

Ken drank in the sight of the redhead, relieved to see him alive and well.

No one asked why Aya was awake. They all had sleepless nights from time to time, Abyssinian more than the rest. Asking the reticent assassin what kept him up was a definite line no one dared cross.

"Just as you said, Youji-kun. No one held any grudges against the Professor and he had no romantic entanglements. Which leaves only two possibilities I can think of. Either someone connected to one of the victims found out about the target's activities, or - " Omi paused, letting this sink in.

"He had an accomplice." Youji finished for him.

Ken summed up their thoughts. "Fuck!"

"We'll need to go undercover, to investigate the Psychology department. Every single one of the victims was one of Gewissenhaft's star pupils, promising Psychology majors. Members of Weiss, are you all in?" Bombay finished, lines of stress beginning to appear on his young face. He needed his team now more than he ever had. Without their help, he could easily lose control of Krikiter. The consequences if the organization fell into the wrong hands were unimaginable.

Omi needn't have worried; Weiss would not let him down. Ken groaned silently as he readily agreed to the job, the last to do so. It looked like he was being thrown to the shrinks after all.

Mission assigned. It was now up to Aya to lead; he was still Weiss' field leader, being much better suited to the role than Omi.

Aya wasted no time. He never did. "Omi, try to track down the sources of those rumors. Ken, you'll need to pose as a student. Monitor a few classes, see what you can find out. Youji, we'll want pictures and background history on everyone who was close to the Professor. I'll handle the staff."

Youji grinned. "It's almost too good to be true. Just me and my trusty camera, at a university. As in, a college. The Golden Land of Opportunity, where every woman as far as the eye can see is single and over 18!" The playboy fairly crowed and rubbed his hands together gleefully.

Omi and Ken groaned.

"If you can't control your hormones you will stay here and help Momoe-san watch the shop." Aya snapped.

The tall blond lifted his hands as though in surprise. "Maa, maa… It's OK, Aya. You should know by now, Kudoh Youji will take care of everything. I'll bring *three* extra rolls of film!"

Aya growled. "Ken, you'll have to take the pictures - "

"You're no fun, Aya." Youji cut in. "I promise, I won't even so much as *look* at a girl there. Cross my heart."

The redhead stared at his teammate as if trying to figure out the catch. Given the overly innocent look on Youji's face, there simply had to be one, even though Ken couldn't begin to figure out what it was. Apparently, Aya came to the same conclusion; eventually he nodded his consent.

"Very well, then. We should all get some rest, there will be a lot to do tomorrow."

With great reluctance, Ken followed the others as they climbed the stairs. It wasn't that the athlete didn't want to sleep; despite the unbelievable number of hours he had slept lately, he was exhausted. He was simply terrified to be alone.

* * * * *

Ken lay in his bed, huddled into a ball with the covers pushed up to his nose, fighting to stay awake. He had left his bedroom light on, hoping to derive some comfort from its false illumination, but it didn't seem to help. Whispers played tag with the outside edge of his hearing. His eyes darted ceaselessly from one corner of the room to the next, expecting and dreading to find confirmation that he was not alone in the long night.

An hour passed, the electric green numbers of his clock succeeding each other in order, inexorably moving toward some unknown destination where the torture of waiting would be ended and the terror of living take over. But there was nothing to mark a change in any one minute from the next. His fear did not grow or abate and the increasing strain of his silent and lonely watch remained unnoticed; his unconscious shielded him against the burden of knowing the high price he would pay later, if he survived with his sanity intact.

And at last, when the wicked night finally issued its challenge, it was nothing like Ken's expectations. There was no cold, no pale figure, nothing that defied the natural laws of nature. Only a soft sobbing, heartbreaking to hear, the sound of a man who had lost himself.

Ken steeled himself to ignore the pitiful cry. It wasn't real; it was only a black soul that had returned from Hell to confuse and torment him. He wouldn't let it win.

The weeping broke off temporarily, interrupted by a smothered cry of physical pain. Without thinking, the athlete sat bolt upright and threw off the covers. He now recognized the voice that had been sobbing in the night and berated himself for letting his fears move him to ignore it.

He raced through the hallway in his pajama bottoms, not thinking to stop and grab a weapon despite his training, thinking only that he needed to get to his friend before another moment passed. He reached the door in record time and without stopping to knock, threw it open.

Omi was on his knees on the floor, his arms folded on top of his bed, facing away from Ken. His head was lowered, cradled in his arms and he did not move, even though he must have heard the other assassin enter. His small frame trembled, shaking violently although his sobs were quiet. As was normal for him during the night, he wore only a pair of oversize boxer shorts. His naked spine looked too exposed in his current position, bones poking sharply through thin skin. Ken's eyes were drawn to an awful stain, blood and semen mixed, that oozed through the bright and cheerful smiley-face pattern on the younger man's shorts. It was a thing he had seen too many times, more often on the dead than the living, more often old and dry rather than raw and fresh, a sight that marked the type of mission Ken never refused.

"Omi?" All that mattered now was making sure his friend was all right. That, and killing the beast who had dared to lay a finger on his teammate.

The youngest Weiss then turned to him. Ken drew in a sharp breath at the sight. Dark purple bruises distorted Omi's face into a shapeless mass along one side, closing one eye entirely. As painful as that was to see, it was harder to look into his friend's single undamaged blue eye. The gaze that met his was totally defeated, broken.

This was bad. Far beyond his limited ability to comfort. "Omi, you don't have to say anything. Would you like me to get Youji?" Youji would be able to handle this situation better than any of them, Ken thought. And he knew that the young blond trusted Balinese.

But at the mention of the older blond's name, Omi's eye shot wide open and he dropped to the floor in a fetal ball. "No, please, please, not Him, you'll keep Him from me, please?"

"Omi, are you sure? I'm sure Youji will understand, he can help…"

The athlete's voice trailed off as Omi began a terrified raving, one that continued on indefinitely, the exact words changing slightly but their meaning all too clear.

Youji had done this.

At first Ken simply would not believe it. But the sight of his teammate's eye convinced him and a betrayal deeper than Kase's sliced Ken's soul open.

"I'm going to kill him."

He hadn't realized he had spoken the words out loud, not until Omi's shaky voice responded. "No, Ken-kun, you can't do that, it will break up Weiss. Besides, it was my own fault. I shouldn't have led him on." Horrified, Ken watched as the young man tried to pull his bruised face into something resembling his normal smile.

Ken berated himself for once more not recognizing that the man he had considered his friend was just another monster. He should have seen this coming! He'd known Youji was lusting after Omi; this was entirely his fault.

"Please, I just… I need to be alone right now." Omi interrupted his thoughts, his voice as kind as always. That the hurt man was being so considerate sent another stab of guilt through Ken's heart. The least he could do was comply with his friend's wishes, but how could he?

"I want to make sure you are alright…" He trailed off uncertainly, not voicing his fears.

"Don't worry. I won't do anything stupid." Now Omi's mask started cracking, the depth of bitterness in his voice was like a slap in the face. "Please."

Ken had no choice; he turned and left. He struggled to draw breath and his vision swam red with pure rage. What Youji had done went well beyond any betrayal Ken had ever experienced. Omi's wishes or not, he was not going to allow that traitor to draw another breath under their roof.

He headed straight for the blond's bedroom, slipping his hands into his bugnuks and his spirit into something much darker. Noiselessly, he opened Youji's door.

Ken hadn't been thinking at all about what he expected the man to be doing so soon after... Still, the sight of the blond sleeping so peacefully, so much like the Professor and countless other brutal bastards the assassin had seen, shocked him and added a fresh layer of rage to his already unstable condition. He strode right to the traitor's bedside and raised his clawed hand.

"Killing your teammate who trusts you. For shame. Now who's the dark beast?" A voice he had never thought to hear again asked him softly.

"Shut up." Ken hissed, turning his head to glare at the ghostly form of his last victim, standing beside him.

"Ken, what the hell are you doing?" Youji's voice startled the athlete.

The brown-haired man knew he didn't have any time left; he did not want to give the eldest Weiss a chance to get his bearings and fight back. He slashed down with his claw. His hand moved too quickly, felt too light. He heard a slapping sound as his palm connected with naked flesh. Professor Gewissenhaft smirked as Ken looked stupidly down at his weaponless hand. Where had his bugnuks gone?

"Ken!" Now the blond sounded angry. "What the fuck? You hit me!"

"But...he…" Ken stammered in response, gesturing at the darkly amused specter. The ex-soccer player shook his head to clear it. Obviously, Youji saw nothing. Anyway, that wasn't important, this was about Omi. A tinge of hysteria crept into the brown-haired man's voice as he pointed at the lanky blond accusingly. "You just couldn't keep your damn hands off him, could you?"

"What's going on in here?" Omi's voice called from the doorway as he switched on the light. His voice sounded concerned, stressed and more than a little irritated, but nothing worse than that. Ken waited for his eyes to adjust to the light, and then studied the younger man's face.

Not a mark was to be seen.

Completely at a loss, Ken turned to the ghostly figure accusingly. His misplaced anger at his team member now focused on a new object.

"You…what the HELL do you want from me?" The athlete yelled in frustration. There was nothing else he *could* do. He could only kill the Professor once.

"Justice." Came the chilling answer, and the apparition disappeared.

Ken began screaming and found he couldn't make himself stop.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Ken! Ken! Snap out of it!"

A sharp slap brought the athlete back to his senses. He blinked dazedly, scanning the room, relieved that all the people currently in it had a pulse.

"Hey! You didn't have to hit me so hard!" Ken glared at Youji, who didn't look the least bit contrite.

"Yes, I did. What the fuck is going on with you anyway?" The playboy almost never got angry. He was obnoxious continuously and depressed occasionally, but real anger was very, very rare. This was a good thing. An angry Youji was every bit as intimidating, if not more so, than a pissed Aya.

As if summoned, the redhead entered the room, naked katana held ready. Aya stiffened visibly at the scene before him; Youji and Ken were standing barely an arm's length apart, wearing only their pajama bottoms, while a boxer-clad Omi fumed from his spot near the doorway. The violet-eyed man, covered completely a full set of white pajamas, did not say a single word but lowered his sword and watched impassively.

"Yeah, Ken-kun. What were you doing in Youji-kun's room in the middle of the night?" If Youji was angry, then Omi was beyond pissed.

Ken had no idea what Bombay had overheard. Besides, what could Ken possibly say? At this point he would gladly have broken down and confessed to his teammates that he was losing his mind. Unfortunately, he could not figure out a way to do so without disclosing the contents of the last horrible nightmare. And if Youji found out what Ken had believed the older man capable of…even if only for a few moments during a nightmare…even if Ken was certifiably insane…nothing would ever be the same between them again.

"I…I had a nightmare." Ken answered weakly.

"What sort of nightmare has you stalking into other people's bedrooms at this time of the morning?" Omi was not about to let the athlete off so easily.

"I don't remember."

"That's not good enough!" Bombay snapped.

"Omi, could I speak with Ken alone for a minute?" Already, Youji's anger appeared to be settling somewhat, replaced by an abnormally thoughtful expression.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Omi argued. "This affects all of us." The young man looked as though he had every intention of standing his ground.

Youji met Omi's gaze evenly. "Please." He said quietly.

A look Ken could not identify passed between the two blonds, then Omi turned and left. Silently, Aya followed, his back rigid. Before the door had closed completely, the athlete could hear the blue-eyed man speaking quietly to Aya in the hallway. Just great.

Then the latch clicked shut. His crush gone, Youji's anger returned in full force and with interest. He crossed his arms over his bare chest and glared daggers at Ken.

"Ken, what the *fuck* is your problem? Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Anything that may or may not be going on between me and Omi is none of your goddamn business!"

Ken nodded, resolved to stay mute no matter what Youji threw at him. He deserved it all, and more.

"What is it with you anyway? Can't get any yourself? It must be driving you nuts that someone else has a chance to be happy. Is that it?" The blond's voice dripped acid contempt.

"You know what, Ken? Aya's right to stay the hell away from you." Youji continued, not waiting for a reply. "You get some fucked-up little vision in your head of the way people should be and then get all worked up when they don't measure up. I'm not the insensitive bastard you seem to think I am. Omi's probably farther from innocence than the rest of us combined. And Aya…Aya's flesh and blood, a human being. Which you'd know if you had ever bothered to sit down and talk with him instead of acting like you expect him to start scolding you any minute."

Ken swallowed. He knew he didn't deserve any of them. What Youji said was right. For all his quirks, it had been the tall blond who had been a good enough friend to point out his mistakes with Yuriko before he had made them any worse. And not even ten minutes ago, the athlete had been ready to tear the life out of his body.

He bowed deeply. Nothing less than a formal apology would do, and even then the athlete knew he would probably never be able to forgive himself. "I am very sorry, Youji-kun. I haven't been a very good friend to you guys. That will change, from now on."

Youji blinked at the normally stubborn man's docility. His green eyes softened from cutting to concerned. "Ken, what's been going on? You know you can talk to us about it, right?"

Ken just shook his head and offered a weak smile. "It's nothing, really. Just a little stress. I'd better get back to bed, we've got a lot to do tomorrow."

He walked shamefully, silently, back to his room past an emotionless Aya and a still disgruntled Omi. He spent the small remainder of the night cleaning every inch of the messy space, not willing to risk falling asleep again.

* * * * *

"There's been a change of plans." Aya announced neutrally over a late breakfast. The Koneko was closed for the day so that Weiss could begin their newest assignment. Youji had eaten quickly and already left, claiming that he had something to take care of before leaving.

"Ken, you will accompany Omi to his classes. You are a cousin visiting from the country and are currently evaluating the University for a possible transfer."

This hurt the exhausted assassin more than he had dreamed anything still could. The implication was clear: he was no longer trusted.

"Really guys, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me!" Ken would protect his teammates at the cost of his own life, in a heartbeat. Whatever he was going through, he would never allow anything to interfere with that!

Just as he was about to open his mouth to continue his argument, the soccer coach looked over at Omi and everything came rushing back to him. The nightmare, what he had been ready to - had even tried to - do to Balinese. He bit the words back. They had every reason not to trust him, even more than they knew. He should consider himself very lucky that the small blond showed no signs of any lingering resentment this morning.

Aya looked at Ken directly, capturing his gaze. It wasn't often that the redhead made full eye contact with anyone, and the athlete's overwrought brain came to a sudden, rare understanding as to why. The redhead's electric purple eyes destroyed the cold and emotionless image the older assassin worked so hard to project. Emotion ran through them like current through a live wire. His worry and deep concern over his troubled teammate's state were obvious. Never would Ken have imagined Aya to be so compassionate; he hadn't allowed himself to realize it until now, when his defenses were lowered and Youji's words from the night before were still ringing in his ears.

"You haven't been sleeping." The deep voice finally spoke. It was an accusation, blunt, harsh.

"It's for the best." Omi agreed, his voice thoughtful.

Normally, Ken would have cringed under Aya's disapproval. However, those intense eyes still held his and he could no longer avoid the genuine sentiment behind those clipped words so easily. Another stab of guilt ripped through him.

"You're right. I will stick close to Omi." A slight blush of shame touched the athlete's cheeks as he conceded.

If anything, the apprehension in Aya's expression grew upon hearing Ken give in so easily. After another long moment, Abyssinian let his gaze drop. Gratefully, Ken rose, cleaned his plate and did not say another word as he meekly followed Omi to class.

* * * * *

~End Chapter 3

To Be Continued…

Krysana: *Hugs* Thanks again for all your help! I hope you like the end product - I seriously couldn't have done this without you guys! BTW, that last bit was for you. ^__^

Sky Rat: A writing slump? Nooo! Hopefully it won't last and while you're in the middle of your Thanksgiving turkey, work all caught up, you'll be hit on the head by an invisible muse so hard you're writing Chichiri and Tasuki goodness as fast as you possibly can!

Aikawa Fuuko: *beams* I'm so glad you like all the violence and that the scary stuff is working for you! I hope this part did as well…

Moonraven: I promise, no fangs. Not even a hint of a fang, except possibly in the random mention of Tasuki in the first chapter. ^__^ I'm really glad you're liking Omi, he's going to have a bit of fun next chapter! Thanks SO much for all your help, I don't want to think what this would've turned out like otherwise…

marsupial: Creepy and different happen to be exactly what I'm striving for - thank you!!

Kael Kalespel: *whistling innocently* You're asking very good questions, no da…but if I give you the answers, it'd kinda ruin the story! ^__^ Hopefully you will continue to read (and continue to be frightened) and find out!

Space Cat: Late? I'm just happy to hear from you! I've tried writing you a couple of times, but I don't think it is getting through - Hotmail's spam filter might be deleting my messages. *looks indignant* So you really think I'm pulling this off? Wai! *Glomp!* Thanks!

annonymouse: *giggles* Such a cute penname! Yeah, I'm kind of torturing poor Kenken…but that's what cute animated bishies are for, right?

Hisui-chan: Thank you! I'm so glad people are enjoying this, horror's really tough!

Kira: Heh heh heh…who knows? Er, OK, I do. But if I told you, then no one would finish reading! I'm really glad you're enjoying and thanks for the compliment! ^__^

Haitani: Hi! How are ya? I'm really glad you're enjoying the story despite WK not being one of your favorites…I agree with you, actually, normally I prefer Youji/Ran or Ran/Schuldich, but I really do think Aya/Ken is perfect for this storyline… *Grins* And you won't have to wait long for your Youji/Omi!

methodic madness: Thanks! I wanted to do the unusual and it is really good to know that it is working! I promise - no vampires in this fic and no prostitution either. *LOL* My word. I hope this dream sequence worked for you as well, it was a lot harder to write and is a different kind of scary.

Obsessive Kitten: Thank you so much for commenting, it is always so nice to get comments on MediaMiner, given that the site can take forever to load… I apologize for the delay in the update… And as for your question, sore wa himitsu desu! *cough* Er, sorry, I couldn't resist. It's a good question, but I don't want to answer it here and possibly give spoilers. I will try and update more quickly though!