Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Go, Or Go Ahead ❯ Then, what has happened to love? ( Chapter 9 )

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

After some debate the six members of Kriptonbrand decided to head to KR's castle. In addition to it being a safer place to stay, they deduced that they might also be able to find an idea of where to start looking for their missing employer and Kurumi. They boarded a taxi-van and were on their way. It would take a few hours to get to the castle from the flower shop, so they all decided to get comfortable. Chloe and Michel read while Free slept and Yuki played his Game Boy. Ran stared out the window for the most part, talking with Ken occasionally. Since the redhead had told his lover about what happened with Aya, Ken had noticed Ran acting the way he did before his sister woke up.

"Ran." Ken said quietly, a short while after the sun had went down.

"Mm?" Ran didn't look away from the window. He didn't want to show how worried he was, so he let his stoic mask of indifference slide back into place.

"Aya-chan will be okay. She has Yohji with her. It sounds like a dumb thing to say, but please… try to relax a little."

"You don't know if she'll be okay for sure, Ken." Ran said almost harshly, turning from the window to face the other man. "Until I have her with me and completely safe, I can't relax."

Ken sighed in frustration and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right." He couldn't help but feel like Ran was shutting him out, much the way he used to when Aya was in the coma. It was supposed to be different now, not only because Aya was awake, but also because he and Ran were together. 'Maybe I was expecting too much from him. What led me to think that he'd open up to me if something was bothering him?' He thought bitterly, studying Ran's guarded expression. 'Same old Ran, cutting everyone off when he's the one hurting.' Ken only hoped that this was temporary.

After their arrival at KR's castle the assassins scaled the stone wall, then entered the grounds. With Yuki's lock-picking skills they managed to make it into the castle without incident. Once inside, they split into teams of two to make sure they were the only people inside, and to look for possible clues as to KR and Kurumi's whereabouts. Michel and Yuki paired off, heading for KR's office first. Ran and Chloe left to check the upper levels while Ken and Free stuck to the lower floors and the basement.

"So Yuki, which of these rooms do you think KR's office is?" Michel asked.

"…You mean to tell me you don't know?" Yuki tightened his grip on the flashlight.

Michel shook his head. "I don't remember. I used to always get lost in this place!" He laughed nervously.

Yuki held the flashlight even tighter, as not to give in and hit Michel in the head with it. "I guess we'll have to split up and search room by room, then."

The tiny blond looked despaired. "That could take all night!"

The young Japanese leaned against the wall. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Michel hung his head. "No… but we only have one flashlight."

"So?"

"I'm not going to wander around in the dark all alone!" Michel said, making a grab for Yuki's flashlight.

"What are you doing? This is mine!" Yuki yanked the only light source away from the other boy quickly.

"Yuki, don't be mean!"

Michel dove on top of Yuki, causing him to fall backwards. Yuki's fall was less than graceful, his short arms scrambling for purchase as he lost his balance. At the last second, the black-haired boy lost his grip on the flashlight with one hand while his other pulled on a decorative sconce to hold himself up. Michel had his arms wrapped around Yuki's torso in some feeble attempt to pull the other boy to the ground, but let go when he noticed the flashlight was gone.

"Wh-where did the flashlight go?" Michel whimpered.

Yuki squinted, trying to see through the darkness. "The flashlight didn't go anywhere. We did."

Michel squeaked. "You mean we went through a secret passage?"

The other boy only nodded. "And here I thought secret passages were only in movies."

"This is the coolest." Michel said giddily.

"It'd be even cooler if we could see." Yuki complained.

Michel frowned, feeling around the darkened room while his eyes adjusted. Yuki cleared his throat when Michel touched him inappropriately. "Sorry…" the smaller boy said, embarrassed. "…You know if this old castle has secret passages I bet it's haunted, too."

"Haunted?" Yuki asked, wondering where Michel suddenly went off to. He groped around blindly in the dark, trying to locate the smaller boy, but only managed to trip himself. The moment Yuki connected with the floor, a monitor blinked on. Michel screamed and glomped onto a coat rack, thinking it was the other boy.

A young man's face appeared onscreen. The text on the screen showed that it was recorded minutes before being sent. "KR, this is Kritiker operative Angora. I am sending over a civilian and ex-agent who require your assistance. We here at Kritiker would handle this matter ourselves, but outside assistance is necessary…"

The two boys continued to watch as the young man on the screen gave them the time and where to retrieve the two people, making sure they committed it to memory.

"We have to tell the others." Yuki said, once the transmission ended.

"Right." Michel agreed, trying to feel his way back to the door. Yuki cleared his throat again. "…Sorry!"

===

"Out of the question." Ran said, glaring at Michel and Yuki.

"But Ran, it was a distress call!" Michel whined.

Yuki was about to interrupt and call Michel on lying, but thought better of it after seeing the desperate look on the younger boy's face.

"Distress call or not, I severed all ties with Kritiker. I will not help Takatori."

Ken frowned. "It's not like we'd be helping. We're taking over a job. It's completely different."

Ran's eyes narrowed. "Incase you forgot, we're having a little bit of a crisis ourselves, Ken. We have about all we can handle for now, don't you think?"

"Well, I'm not going to turn down a request for help." Ken argued. "You can refuse all you want, but remember it'll be on your conscience later."

Ran folded his arms. "I don't want to bring any other people into this. If we take this mission, we'll only be endangering them even further."

The other four members of Kriptonbrand watched as the two men argued.

"Well, do what you want," Ken said, unable to convince the older man. "But I'm going." he finished.

"When you get yourself and the civilians killed, try to remember that I-" Ran didn't bother finishing. He punched the wall and stalked off instead.

"Bastard." Ken muttered. He then turned and looked at Michel and Yuki. "What time and where?"