Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ In The End- Anfang ❯ Ties That Bind ( Chapter 3 )

Ken rubbed his eyes as he walked into a small flower shop a few miles away from the hospital. His eyes widened when he found himself confronted by angry emerald green eyes. "Yo... Yohji," he greeted weakly.

"Where the Hell have you been?" the tall blonde yelled as he grabbed Ken's shirt. "You knewOmi had the day off and you decide to bail after making deliveries!"

Ken's wide eyes grew. "Holy shit, Yohji, I'm so sorry," he said quickly. "I completely forgot that Omi wasn't in today. It's just that at the hospital, there was a small situation, and it didn't feel right to leave until a little while ago," he explained.

Yohji released Ken's shirt as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes. "This better be good," he said flipping the sign on the door from "Opened" to "Closed".

It amazed Ken how quickly Yohji could move and do various things with one hand while lighting a cigarette with the other. He shook his head and went deeper into the shop. "I finished the deliveries and went to the hospital. When I got to Fujimiya's room, Manx and Persia were there... with our new fourth." He saw how Yohji stilled and moved to get a broom. "She was losing it. I think she thought Kritiker was going to kill Fujimiya."

One gold eyebrow arched. "She?" he asked tilting his head. "Our fourth is a she?"

Ken saw the grin trying to spread across Yohji's face. "Yeah, and just remember, Aya's off limits you lech," he said with a glare.

"Aya? You know her name already?" Yohji asked. He had a feeling that the new member of Weiss was about to make things very interesting. And that feeling only grew stronger when Ken lowered his head, trying to fight a blush. "Maybe I should be telling you hands off."

"It's not like that!" Ken shouted. He could feel the blush on  his face burn when he saw the look Yohji was giving him. "I know her from a while back," he admitted. "When I was first joined Kritiker. When my back was all burned up. Aya was like my nurse. Persia had asked her to take care of me since she was there all the time anyway." Ken started to sweep out the shop and kept his eyes lowered to the floor. "When I was well enough, we were both moved to Sendai. Aya and I went through weapons training and we became real close friends. We were about to be placed on our teams when someone attacked the school. All I could think of was protecting Aya. She had taken a bullet to the chest, and I lost it." Ken shook his head trying to shake the images of his first kills. They were always the hardest to get over. "By the time Kritiker showed up, Aya was barely alive and I was covered in blood. We were taken to Kritiker's main holdings. I was able to check to make sure she was still alive, and then I came here. To Weiss."

Yohji exhaled a thin trail of smoke. "So, she was moved to another team, and for some reason or another, she's coming here," the blonde summed up. When Ken nodded, he crossed his arms across his chest. "So, where is she?" He sighed when Ken blinked at him. "You're here, and she's not? What happened at the hospital?"

"Fujimiya's her older brother. She had joined Kritiker to pay his bills and to get revenge for what happened to him. Aya was on a strictly non-lethal team, and last night she broke that rule. She went to her brother's room, waiting for the execution squad when Manx and Persia showed up. I guess they were just telling her about Weiss when I got there."

Both Yohji and Ken paused when the back door opened to reveal a young blonde boy with big blue eyes. "Ken-kun, where have you been?"

Yohji smirked and leaned against the counter. "Ken was off taking care of his girlfriend."

When wide blue eyes flew to Ken's face, the brunette frowned. "Aya isn't my girlfriend," he said clearly. "She's an old friend, nothing more." Ken turned his back to both blondes and focused on sweeping the floor.

Yohji continued to smirk as he went to the back door. "I've got twenty bucks saying that he jumps her within a month," he teased. "You taking Omi?"

The young blonde frowned when he heard a low growl coming from behind him. "Ken isn't like you Yotan," he said automatically. Omi was relieved when Yohji simply shrugged and walked through the back door of the shop. The youth then turned and looked at his best friend. "I got a call from Manx," he said going over to the counter and jumping up high enough to sit on it. "She finally told me who our fourth is," he added, trying to get Ken to say something. "How does she look?"

Ken stopped sweeping but kept his eyes focused on the floor. "She looks nothing like the Aya I knew," he said softly. "When I got there, she had guns on Persia and Manx. Aya hated guns. And all she was worried about was her brother." Ken ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "She's barely slept in days. After she agreed to join Weiss, she passed out."

"And you couldn't leave until you knew she was alright," Omi said lowly.

"The doctors said she'll be fine for the mission. We just have to let her know who is supposed to take out the target." Ken went back to sweeping the floor, lost in thought.

Omi watched him for another few moments with a thoughtful look. "I want you to take tomorrow and spend it with Aya. Same for the day after. During the mission, Yohji cam take out the target, we'll be his backup."

Ran frowned as he looked around the office. He was tired of looking at the same four walls, same furniture, same everything. It was becoming too much. Every time he went to either the window or door, he would only feel crippling amounts of pain.

He found himself wrapping his arms around his body. It was ironic, really. Ran always did things by himself. His favorite pastime was reading quietly, in the privacy of his own room. But now, all he wanted was someone to talk to, be it Schuldig, Aya, or any of the dozens of people that have touched him.

Ran went over to the window. Everyone was stopping by less and less. Aya hadn't been by to see him in months... or was it years? Everything was started to bleed together. As violet eyes looked out, Ran felt his arms slowly fall to his sides. Instead of seeing only darkness, he saw gray space. He could also hear a steady beep in the distance.

Biting his lip, Ran quickly crossed the room. He could feel his body trembling as he realized all of the pain he would normally experience was gone. He curled his hand around the door knob, and then felt it. The stabbing sensation, just behind his ear. When he fell to his knees, he released the gold knob and allowed himself to fall back completely.

Ran gazed up at the ceiling as the faint beeping continued. He felt tears coming to his eyes as he realized what he was hearing. A sob escaped him as he curled up on his side. First, he was stuck alone in his father's office; now he has to listen to the sound of his heart monitor and the utter silence of his hospital room.

Ran's eyes slowly opened when he felt a soothing hand going through his hair. He couldn't bring himself to smile when he looked at Schuldig. The only thing he could do was crawl into the German's arms and bury his face in long locks of orange-red hair.

Schuldig closed his eyes and sighed. That had been entirely too close. If Ran would have opened that door, everything would be ruined. "Shh, I'm here now," he whispered as he held the younger redhead close. "It's alright."

"Get me out of here," Ran pleaded weakly. He slid his arms around Schuldig's neck and held onto him tightly. "Please, I can't take this anymore."

All Schuldig could do was hold the slightly smaller man. He could feel the despair in Ran's mind when he heard the heart monitor echoing around them. The telepath put one arm under Ran's knees and stood. "I can't take you out of here yet," Schuldig said quietly. His arms tightened around Ran's body when the pale redhead started to struggle. "I can get you from the office, but I can't wake you up yet," he said softly.

Ran stopped struggling as he leaned his head against Schuldig's shoulder. "I don't want to be alone anymore," he whimpered.

Schuldig looked around the office and saw the door hidden by the shadows. He easily walked over to it and waited as it opened. He turned his attention to Ran and found the young man still saying he didn't want to be left alone. Schuldig stood Ran straight and looked into wet violet eyes. "I can't carry you through there. You have to walk."

Ran turned his back to Schuldig. "If I leave here, I won't be able to talk to Aya," he said quietly.

Schuldig stepped closer to Ran and leaned down to his ear. "You've said it yourself, she doesn't come by to visit you anymore." He let his arms ghost up and down Ran's arms. "Everyone has given up on you except for me. I know you'll wake up and leave this place forever. But you have to trust me. Right now isn't that time."

"But you'll come and get me as soon as it is time?" Ran asked looked at the German once again.

Schuldig found himself nodding as he Ran leaned closer to him. "Of course I will," he breathed before finding Ran's lips pressed against his. Schuldig tangled his fingers in Ran's silky hair as he took over the kiss. He tilted Ran's head back as he ravaged the younger man's mouth. The taste was beyond intoxicating. Schuldig was instantly addicted to it. He pulled away from Ran just enough to swallow mouthfuls of air and to get his answer. "You have to walk through the door on your own," he panted.

Ran stepped away from Schuldig and went over to the door. He took Schuldig's hand into his own. The beeping reached his ears again, making him pull the intruder close. "I don't want to listen to this," he whispered. Before Schuldig could say anything, he kissed the German desperately. As his fingers tangled in orange-red hair, he stepped backwards. He didn't want to think... if he thought, that would lead to regrets. Ran took another step, pulling Schuldig with him.

That was all Schuldig needed. He devoured Ran's mouth as his eyes closed, and he found himself going deeper into Ran's mind. Schuldig moaned as he broke the kiss, in favor of Ran's neck. He opened one eye and looked around to see what Ran created now. A grin broke across his face when he saw a lavish hotel room with a view of Paris out of the window. "You've been to France?" he questioned.

Ran opened passion dazed eyes and glanced around the room. "I... I don't think so," he whispered as he lead Schuldig to the bed. "It could be someone else's memory."

Schuldig looked into Ran's eyes. The pale redhead had the power to see into the past of who or whatever he touched. His grin widened as he started to work on the buttons of Ran's shirt. "So, we could go anywhere we want," he said playfully.

"I guess we could," Ran whispered. He leaned forward and started to give Schuldig's neck the same treatment he gave his.

A moan passed Schuldig's lips as Ran's shirt fell to the floor. He trailed his fingers up Ran's spine, delighted when the pale man shivered in response. "Then let's see what mischief we can get into," he whispered, pushing Ran down onto the bed.

Persia entered the hospital room quietly. His heart broke when he looked at the two young adults lying unconscious on the beds. He'd done everything he could to protect Aya, to keep her safe. And now it seemed like everything he did was only making it worse.

"You couldn't have known," Manx said from the doorway. She entered the room, closing the door behind her and looked at the man she loved. "No one could have known that last night was going to play out like this." A frown crossed her face when a dark laugh escaped him. "Shuichi?"

"Aya knew," he said in a whisper. He glanced at the redheaded woman before turning his attention back to his goddaughter. "What was why she volunteered to go on the mission with Knight. She's a precog."

Green eyes moved from Persia to Aya. "Does Kritiker know?" she asked in an almost cold voice.

Persia closed his eyes to fight back a sigh. Manx had never been fond of Aya. Not since the girl had beaten her in a sparring match when she had been training in Sendai. "No. I promised her that they wouldn't know." He moved and looked into Manx's green eyes. "Don't make me regret telling you," he said seriously.

Manx bit the inside of her lip as he stared into her eyes. "I won't," she said after a few moments of silence. "But Shuichi, why do you look after these two like this? You could have adopted them. You look over Aya as if she's yours...." her sentence trailed as she saw Persia lower his head. She licked her lips as she collected her thoughts. "Shuichi, is she your daughter?" she asked quietly.

He stood and started for the door. "I won't talk about this in here."

The red headed woman frowned and quickly followed after him. Her mind was racing as he entered a private elevator and held the doors for her. She had known about his... indiscretions with his brother wife, but she believed they loved each other while she was forced to marry Reiji. But to think that he would have done the same to his best friend... and may have even fathered that damned brat Aya. Manx didn't want to think.

Persia stood silently as his assistant thought. He had known that she wouldn't have taken the idea of his possible relation to Aya well. That was one of the reasons for his silence. Another was the knowledge that Aya herself didn't even know. Persia quietly left the elevator when the doors opened. He made his way to his office, knowing she was behind him. He held the door open for Manx as she walked into the large room. Persia closed the door and looked at the beautiful woman. "Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain what happened," he said as she sat in her normal chair.

She looked at him with a piercing gaze. "I'm listening," she said as she crossed her arms.

"You already know that Shiro and Hitomi Fujimiya were agents. They were married and already had Ran by the time I met them," Persia started to explain. "Hitomi and I were assigned a mission and she had to pose as a prostitute. I was supposed to be her contact, but we were caught in a set up but the target. If we didn't sleep together, if she blew her cover, both of us would be dead."

Manx lowered her eyes. She didn't think of that as a possible option. "Why wasn't Shiro her contact?" she asked.

A thoughtful smile crossed Persia's face. "He was recovering from the gunshot wounds a certain redheaded teenager gave him," he said looking into her eyes.

She had the decency to blush. "Oh," she breathed, remembering how she first came to Kritiker. She shook her head, wanting to get back to Aya. "Why did Aya's paternity become an issue?"

The small smile on Shuichi's face disappeared. "It was a month later that we found out she was pregnant," he said lowly. "Shiro had known about what happened on the mission, and while he was pissed about it, he understood. The mission always came first; to all of us."

"So you are Aya's father?" Manx asked softly.

"Honestly, we don't know," Persia answered. "After Aya was born, Shiro and I agreed he was Aya's father. I was her godfather, the blood work didn't matter."

Manx watched him for a moment as tears filled her eyes. She hated what she was about to say, but it was past the point of no return. "In some places, it does Shuichi," she whispered. "I've already learned that you fathered one child. My baby and I need to know if you fathered two."

A frown crossed his face as he looked at her. "What are you saying Felicia?" he asked stepping closer to her. When her eyes lowered, he ran his fingers through her hair and made her look at him. "Are you pregnant?"

She swallowed, unsure of the blank look in his eyes. "Yes, I am Shuichi," she said, proud that her voice didn't tremble.

He took a slow breath and kissed her. Persia had suspected this weeks ago. He was finally going to have a family of his own, with someone he loved. Persia slowly broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. Yet again, she was unsure of where she stood in his life. "Take the test," he told her softly. He saw the way she bit her lip and gently pressed his lips against hers. "Do one on Mamoru as well," he added.

Manx nodded just before she kissed him again. Everything was starting to come together. She and Shuichi would have their family and it would have all of his children, not just theirs.