Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ In the shadows ❯ chapter three ( Chapter 3 )

In the shadows

chapter 3

 

 

 

“Chibiiii!”

 

The uncharacteristically whiney voice could be heard even down in the kitchen where he was just enjoying a short break from his nursing-responsibilities. Omi rolled his eyes and put his rice bowl down, grimacing to himself as he got up from his chair. Just how was he supposed to do his homework if Yoji kept calling for him every five minutes? He was wishing desperately for Ken to come back from shopping so he could take over for him for at least a few hours to be able to catch up on this week's homework. But when he poked his head into the room the blond was currently occupying he immediately felt sorry for his friend.

 

Yoji was curled up on his side, shivering slightly every now and then as he squinted up against the light, gazing up at him with bright eyes flushed with fever. “… feel so… hot…” he wheezed miserably, indicating his discarded covers with a shaking hand. “… take away… too warm…”

 

Even in the dimly lit room he could see that Yoji's expression was confused and he slowly entered the room, speaking softly to the sick man, as one would address a child. “Easy, Yoji-kun, you have got to stay under the covers, please? You don't want to get sicker, do you? Come on, let me get you another washcloth for your head, okay? It will ease your headache… no, don't do that…” He patiently pulled the covers back over the shivering man, even though he tried to get them off. Yoji tried to fight him, for about half a minute, but then he was too weak to even lift his head and he just groaned softly, then tried to find a comfortable position.

 

Omi reached out and placed a gentle head on the warm forehead, gauging the temperature, then sighing in sympathy. The fever had not gone down, but he didn't think it had increased either, which was finally a good sign. He smiled at Yoji, mumbling a few reassuring words as he refilled the cup next to his bed with water and fetched another wet cloth. Yoji groaned deeply when he placed the cooling cloth on his forehead and only a few moments later his eyes drifted close and he relaxed, falling asleep almost instantly. “Sleep well, Yoji-kun…” he mumbled softly, tucked the sleeping man in firmly and sneaked out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar to be able to hear him should he wake up again.

 

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Yoji might be the oldest of them, but once he fell sick he immediately degenerated into the behaviour of a grumpy teenager, whining and simply just being a pain in their necks, trying to squeeze as much sympathy as possible out of his unsuspecting team members. Okay, so this time he was really sick, suffering from a really bad case of the flu, which had him burning up for the past day, up to the point where he and Ken had seriously debated about getting him to a hospital. Only the knowledge that Yoji would most probably not have agreed to the three-hours-ride to the doctor's had finally persuaded them that they would have to care of him on their own. Given the fact that it had not been the first time one of their team had been sick he figured they were doing pretty well. At least they had apparently managed to get his fever under control.

 

And, of course, it could always have been worse, Yoji wasn't by far the most difficult patient one could have the `honour' to look after. Sure he was moaning and whimpering all over the place, but even his regular calls for assistance were nothing compared to how dramatically the other two members of his team changed when they didn't feel well. Ken usually became very quiet and withdrawn. While that in itself wasn't really that bad, it was a completely different thing when you were forced to watch how seemingly every spark of life seemed to be drawn out of the normally vibrant body and the dark eyes slowly but surely lost their sparkle and became dull and listless. Aya was no better, if Aya Fujimiya became sick you wouldn't notice it at all. Maybe you would wonder why he was even grumpier than the day before, but other than that you really had no way of telling that he was feeling unwell. He attended work even when his fever spiked up to really unhealthy levels and because of his usual rather pale complexion you would never suspect that he might be feeling ill. But even their stoic leader had his limits, he remembered one special occasion when he had come home from school to find Aya passed out on the floor of the living room, still wearing his working-outfit and holding a clay-pot in his hand.

 

He passed the door behind which their current guest was resting and silently slid the door open to check on the strange man. In contrast to their other patient the redhead had been rather quiet, but that was most probably due to the fact that he was simply just out of it all the time. Right now he was lying partly on his uninjured side, his eyes closed as he breathed shallowly, still having some trouble to get the air into his lungs. Although he had never been shot that badly himself, he imagined the other to be in terrible pain whenever he moved ever so slightly, the miserable expression in the other's eyes whenever he had been conscious speaking volumes. Omi remained in the door for a few moments, watching the other sleep, thinking back to the evening three days before.

 

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-. FLASHBACK .-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

 

There was heavy rain that evening, just as the weather forecast had predicted it. It quickly reached torrential dimensions and all of them breathed a silent -or not so silent- sigh of relief that Kritiker had assigned them the van for this mission. Omi's equipment would surely not have lasted more than a few minutes in the heavy downpour, and to be able to reach their target and not be soaked to the bone was a small but very much appreciated benefit.

 

It should be easy enough, Yoji and Aya getting into the research-centre, Ken covering them from the outside of the building and him opening the various computer-controlled locks via his hacking-tools. They had done this countless of times and apart from a few all-too-cocky guards nothing extraordinary had ever happened. This time Persia had warned them about a possible complication, Kritiker agents had got a tip that another, yet to be identified company was after the same information. They were to keep their eyes open and, as usual, they had agreed to deal with the situation should it arise and be careful.

 

Yoji was driving the van, grumbling about how anybody could drive this “worthless piece of rotten metal” voluntarily and allow themselves to be seen doing it. As usual his rumblings were ignored. Aya and Ken were already putting on their headsets, checking if their equipment was working. Their goal was situated somewhere on the other end of the town and the drive was relatively silent.

 

They arrived at their destination right on time, without any problems at all, and Omi stayed in the van, while the others quickly disappeared into the darkness. Everything went smoothly, he guided Balinese and Abyssinian through the labyrinth that was the office building, opening doors for them, ignoring the occasional remarks Yoji directed at him, undoubtedly to cheer him up, while Aya kept quiet. And then they were inside and his part of the job was done. “Everything is cleared, Abyssinian, it's your turn. Bombay out.”

 

This was what he hated most, because he had to watch their equipment, forced to do nothing but sit in this damned car and wait for them. He had done that numerous of times, getting himself worked up over the worst case scenarios that kept popping up in his head, completely unwanted. It was a hard test for his self-control not to break the radio silence.

 

And then Yoji suddenly cursed and hissed, “Shit, Bombay, we're in trouble, somebody's here. Siberian's on the other roof with him, we're going up to him, get the car ready!”

 

Omi's eyes went wide, partly because he was worried about Ken, but he was also very aware of the fact that he didn't know anything about how to drive a car. “Bombay to Balinese, I can't drive, you know that!! Do you copy?” He couldn't stop his voice from sounding a bit panicked at that and Yoji must have picked that up despite the noise of fast movement he could hear over the mike.

 

“It's okay, Bombay, just keep an eye on the car, get the key into the ignition and open the doors as soon as you can see us. We don't know if there are more out there, so be careful. Balinese out.” With that Yoji's line went dead and he was left wondering what was happening on the roof. He really itched to get up there together with his team, but logic kicked in then and convinced him that he could help them even more if he stayed where he was and… well, got the car ready. He slid into the driver's seat and pushed the key Yoji had left with him into the ignition and… waited. From where the van was standing he could see the entrance of the building. This was hell…

 

“Balinese to Bombay, mission aborted unsuccessfully; we're coming back to you. Siberian and I have some private business to take care of, do you copy?” He almost jumped out of his skin, not to mention out of the seat, when his mike suddenly sprang back to life and he winced, responding before he could stop himself.

 

“What happened, Balinese, are you okay?” He jumped out of the car then, not caring that the rain instantly started to soak through his clothes. He was running a few steps towards the building when Yoji's voice sounded again, “We're okay, Bombay, don't worry, we'll talk later, we're coming back now. Balinese out.”

 

He stopped and went back to the car slowly, opening the side-doors, needing to do something to keep himself occupied. He was worried sick by now, Yoji had said that they were okay, but he had not mentioned Aya. And what private business could they have to take care of in the middle of a mission for Kritiker?

 

A movement then caught his attention and his worried eyes darted to the entrance of the building next to their original target. Two familiar shapes stepped out into the pounding rain and he sighed in relief. Until two facts registered and he started, jumping out of the van again and running towards his team-mates: There were only two people exiting the building on their own feet and they were supporting a limp figure between them.

 

“Aya-kun!!!”

 

The two looked up at him and the next moment he reached them, his eyes resting worriedly on the unmoving, pale redhead they were carrying. Yoji had taken off his coat and wrapped it around their leader and he could see something dark running down the side of Yoji's chest, although he didn't appear to be injured.

 

“Aya-kun!” he repeated worriedly, looking up at them questioningly. “What happened?”

 

Ken blinked at him, seemingly confused, then shook his head, shifting the weight on his shoulder slightly. “No, Omi, it's not Aya, it's that guy from Schwarz. He got shot and we're taking him with us now!”

 

Omi blinked as well, confused. “What? What guy from Schwarz? Ken-kun, what are you talking about?” He took another look at the limp form between them and as Yoji shifted his weight a little the red's head lolled to one side, exposing a vaguely familiar, too-pale face. “Him??” he gasped, though at the same time he was relieved beyond anything it was not Aya who had been injured. Which nonetheless raised another question. “Where's Aya-kun?”

 

“I think he's walking home. Omitchi, it's really cold, you know? Could we please go to the van?” Yoji's teeth were chattering quite badly, his skin was almost completely covered with goose bumps, his hair hanging down limply against his chilled face. He looked so miserable that Omi immediately backed away. “Hai… Yoji-kun… The doors are open… but… Why isn't his team taking care of him? Yoji-kun, what happened up there?” He had addressed Yoji because the blond seemed in charge of what was happening, but it was Ken who looked back at him, grimacing slightly.

 

“You should have seen it, Omi, it was awful! He just shot him, without an explanation or a warning… It was that guy from Schwarz, the one with the glasses and there was nobody there but us and him and before we knew it he was gone… Can you believe that, Omi? He shot his team member and just left him behind to die!!” Ken was staring at him with haunted eyes, as if what he had just told him had actually happened to the brunette instead of the redhead. Omi frowned at this unexpected display of sympathy, but before he could comment on that he heard Yoji speak quietly from the other side of the limp gai-jin.

 

“We had the choice to leave him there bleeding to death… or take him with us…”

 

They had reached the van and together they managed to get the unresponsive body into the car. Omi searched for a place where they could lay him down and finally found an old blanket, which they used to cover the wounded man. Ken climbed into the back of the van after him and they busied themselves with getting the redhead tucked in for the drive. Yoji had already slid into the driver's seat, but his teeth were chattering so badly that Ken turned and threw him his sweater he had left in the van because of the heavy rain. Yoji eyed the `thing' for a moment, but then shrugged into it und turned up the heating. “How is he?” he asked over his shoulder and Ken shrugged slightly.

 

“He's still out of it… and he's still bleeding, Yoji, it doesn't stop.” He had taken away the blanket and Yoji's coat from the other's chest and Omi could see a gun wound which was bleeding rather badly. He winced, then looked at Ken with wide eyes.

 

“Ken-kun… what exactly happened? Where is Aya-kun?”

 

“He's not here because we're not kicking at somebody who's already on the ground!” Yoji grumbled cryptically and started the car. Omi blinked, confused, then turned back to Ken who gave him a wry smile and cautiously pressed what looked like a bloody shirt over the wound, applying a little pressure to it.

 

“He was shot, we don't know why. Aya wanted to… to leave him there and Yoji told him we would take him with us and now he's angry with us…” He stopped and then sighed softly. For just one moment Omi could see the by now familiar longing in the brown eyes that he had seen for quite some time now, basically whenever Ken had looked at or talked about their leader in the past weeks. He knew that Ken had just recently found out he was having feelings for Aya - a fact he and Yoji had been smiling about for over two month at that time - they both were not that blind after all. Neither Ken nor Aya suspected anything, although Ken could very well have found out because of all the ambiguous comments Yoji had let off during the past weeks, but if the brunette had noticed he certainly didn't show it.

 

“Ken-kun, where is Aya-kun?”

 

Ken looked up at him, grinned sheepishly and said softly, “He did that disappearing-into-the-shadows-trick he likes so much, I don't think he wanted to come along with us… with him in the car…”

 

Omi shook his head slightly and sighed again, then turned to Yoji. “What are we going to do now? We can't take him to the Koneko, Aya-kun would kill us if we did and if Manx or Birman find out they'll tell Kritiker and who knows what they are going to do to him…”

 

“Yes, chibi, I know… I don't know where we could take him, I didn't really want to take him with us, I just didn't want Aya to kill him, you know? Hell, I thought he wouldn't survive their sweet little fight up there…” Yoji fell silent and Omi turned back to Ken, gazing at him incredulously.

 

“You fought Aya-kun?”

 

Ken blushed, then turned away, busying himself with tending their guest. “I didn't really want to and I didn't really fight him… He… he wanted to kill him after he had been shot and I just didn't think it would be fair… I mean, he couldn't defend himself…”

 

At this point Omi was completely confused, but he could sense that they didn't have the time to talk about what had happened, Ken was tense and didn't really want to talk about it and Yoji was seemingly concentrating as hard as he could to keep the van on the street. He could see that the blond was still shivering and whenever he had to stop at a red light he rubbed his hands together, apparently still trying to warm them.

 

And then his focus was drawn towards their redheaded companion who suddenly tensed up and moaned miserably, his bloody hands going for his chest, trying to push away Ken's hands. “No… hurts…” His voice was basically non-existent and the sheer pain seemed to lend him enough desperate strength to push Ken off of him, his body immediately curling in on itself and he groaned low in his throat. Ken winced in sympathy, but then crawled over to him again and put a steadying hand on the trembling shoulder, slowly pulling him onto his back again.

 

“I'm sorry, I really don't want to do that but we need to stop the bleeding…” The next moment he once again pressed the shirt onto the wound and the redhead gasped in pain, his back arching up against the hands which held him down. “Omi, come on, help me, try to hold his hands…” Ken ground out between clenched teeth and he rushed forward, trying to get a hold on the shaking hands. Jesus, that guy was strong…

 

Desperate green eyes blinked up at him, uncomprehending and completely confused “Hilf—“ The rest of whatever he had been trying to say was lost in a desperate gasp for breath and he went silent, closing his eyes and baring his teeth in a tired grimace of pain.

 

Omi knew he was their opponent, that he was supposed to feel nothing but dislike, if not even hate for him. From what little he knew it was clear that the redhead and his team were working for Takatori Reiji, one of their sworn enemies. They all knew that at least Aya had a personal thing to settle with this man and, inevitably, with his employees and it could well be considered to be inappropriate to be saving one of them, but…

 

…but he didn't look dangerous at all. At least not at the moment. All he could see was a hurt, weak, surprisingly young man who clearly didn't understand what was happening to him. For some reason he had always imagined their enemies to be a lot older than Weiss, but the redhead couldn't be much older than Aya, was most probably even younger than Yoji. He had seen pictures of Takatori and that guy really was the archetype of everything he hated about bad guys, he was fat, unfriendly and ugly, but most of all he was old.

 

Without noticing it at first he reached out then, placing his hand on the other's forehead, smoothing a few sodden bangs out of the pale face. “We'll help you… just stay still…” he whispered softly, trying to soothe the fear he could sense inside the other man. Ken looked up at him questioningly at those words, but then grinned reassuringly and pulled the blanket a little higher. Their patient stayed silent, watching them with wide, fearful eyes, his confused gaze darting back and forth between them. The movement of the car pained him even more, but apart from an occasional weak groan he didn't seem to have much strength left to voice his discomfort, his eyes soon lost track of reality and he stared up at them with an empty gaze, blinking from time to time, getting weaker by the moment. Omi tried to catch Ken's gaze, but before they could exchange more than a worried frown Yoji stopped the car.

 

“Okay, guys, this is it, we're home…” He turned in his seat and looked at them, resting his gaze on the shivering body between them. “What now?”

 

Omi was at a loss for words and simply shrugged, while Ken watched their charge for a moment, then looked up at Yoji and tilted his head a little to the side. “What about the safe-house, the lodge? We could take him there, he'd be at a safe place and he'd have a chance…”

 

Yoji was silent for a moment, but then nodded slowly. “That's it! The safe-house! They couldn't find us there and Aya couldn't accuse us of blowing our cover. Thanks, Kenken!” His face brightened up a little and although he was still shivering ever so slightly he almost beamed at them and opened the door. “I'll get something for his wound and you two try to find something to eat for us, okay? We really need to get some supplies for the next week…” He hurried out of the car and disappeared into the house.

 

“You think you could watch him for a few moments? I'll get some blankets and stuff and help him, alright?” Omi nodded and watched Ken leave the van, then leaned back against the wall behind him, taking a deep breath. He didn't exactly know how, but this supposed-to-be-just-a-simple-mission had somehow turned into a serious matter with the potential to cause a serious dispute in their team. He didn't like that at all, it was his responsibility to work against complications that may arise during missions and plan them accordingly, but this time he simply didn't know what to do.

 

A faint whisper ghosted through the van. “Why are you doing this, Weiss?”

 

At first he thought he had imagined those words, a quick glance at the redhead confirmed that he still had his eyes closed and his head had rolled listlessly to the side, facing away from him. But when he took a closer look at him he found that his eyes weren't completely closed, but they were gazing up at him from behind the tiniest of slits you could imagine.

 

“I don't know…” he answered honestly after a moment, studying the pale face. “I don't know what happened up there on the roof and I don't really know who you are, but… I guess nobody deserves to be shot like a dog…” He trailed off, not really sure how to continue and for a long moment he thought the redhead had finally lost consciousness, but then the pale lips moved ever so slightly.

 

“You're Bombay, right?”

 

He frowned, he hadn't really thought that the redhead would be lucid enough to do small talk right now, but he answered nevertheless. “Hai, that's my codename. I'm very sorry, I don't know your name, I only know the alias we got… It's Scholderick, right?” He stumbled a little over the foreign name, but if the redhead noticed he didn't show it. Instead he took a shaky breath and stiffened, almost sighing the next word.

 

“… hurts…”

 

Omi sighed in sympathy, eyeing the wound critically. “I'm sorry… we're trying to help you, but… I don't think we'll be able to stop the pain… I'm sorry…”

 

A slight nod, barely a twitch, was his only answer and one shaky hand slowly reached up, then fell back down onto the blanket. The redhead said something, but this time his voice was so weak that it was lost amidst the surrounding noise of the traffic. Before he could say anything the body went limp and the head rolled to the side. Omi almost cried out in fear that the other might have died, but a weak fluttering of the chest convinced him that he had lost consciousness for good and was completely out of it. He took the opportunity to check the wound and was relieved when he saw that it had finally stopped bleeding. The next moment the side-door was opened and he almost jumped back when Ken suddenly appeared next to him, carrying a few blankets and cushions from their couch. He put them down next to Omi, glanced at the redhead and frowned.

 

“Is he okay?” He climbed into the van, checking the pulse.

 

“He was talking a moment ago, but then he passed out… He knows my codename… and his name is Scholderick… or something like that… He's in pain, Ken, I don't know how long he's going to tolerate it. Is there nothing we can do for him?”

 

“Yoji wants to look for some painkillers, but I don't know if we got stuff that's strong enough for something like that… I don't know---“

 

He was cut short by Yoji's angry voice and the slam of a door. “FINE, have it your way then!!!”

 

The next moment Yoji opened the door on the driver's side and slid in behind the steering wheel. He was wearing a rather bulky black sweater right now, though the hood of Ken's shirt was still visible.

 

“Yoji-kun, what happened?” Omi had jumped to his feet, staring at the blond. “What did he say?”

 

Yoji turned towards them, handing him a rucksack. “He's just being his usual enjoyable self right now, with all the glaring and accusations you can imagine. No help from this side… He says he'll open the shop tomorrow and that he won't fill in for us. We've got to work something out for that, okay?”

 

Ken took his time to nod slightly, his gaze resting on the entrance they could see through the front window. “Okay, I'm with you, Yoji. I don't know why I'm doing this, but I'm with you…” He smiled at Yoji half-heartedly, then grabbed the blankets he had brought and started to wrap them around the unconscious body.

 

Yoji looked at him then, raising a questioning eyebrow. “What's with you, chibi? What do you say?”

 

He didn't know what to say for a moment, but before he could come up with any reasons as to why this was a bad idea he forced himself to nod slightly. “Hai, Yoji-kun, I'll go with you.”

 

“Thanks, Omi, I owe you one… Both of you…”

 

“I think this is finally a chance to save a life and not take one… “ Ken mumbled softly, surprising both Yoji and him. He didn't look up at them, simply continued to put one of the cushions under the soaking wet head, trying to get him as comfortable as possible in the small van. He had a point and Omi involuntarily smiled at him, although Ken didn't see it.

 

“You're right, Ken-kun, we'll help him. He wasn't the target after all…”

 

“So this is official now, Weiss' new mission if you will…” Yoji smiled at them for a moment, but then turned back in his seat. “Okay, then let's get comfortable, chibis, only three more hours and we'll be at our destination…” He sighed softly, then buckled in and started the car, giving the dashboard a not-so-gentle pat. “Let's just hope that Kritiker doesn't miss this pretty baby, shall we?”

 

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-. END OF FLASHBACK .-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

 

 

The drive to the cabin, though long, had been uneventful, the redhead had not regained consciousness, and Yoji had kept quiet after some time, concentrating on driving. Ken and he had managed to dress the wound and they had confirmed that for whatever reason it had indeed stopped bleeding and “Scholderick” didn't lose what little blood he still had. After that they had both dozed off occasionally and before he had known it the van had suddenly stopped and Yoji had turned to them and told them to get the source for all the trouble into one of the beds.

 

And that was where the redhead had been staying ever since, spending most of his time unconscious. They had tended his wound as best as they could, providing him with the strongest painkillers they could come up with.

 

Aya had called, twice, speaking to Ken and Yoji, but he had not said anything about their guest nor had he asked about his condition, he seemed fine to just ignore him. They had not yet talked about how to go on with everything, what to do with the “enemy” once this crisis was over, but they didn't dare think further than the next day. Yoji had fallen sick the first morning they had spent at the house, starting with never-ending coughing-fits and working his way slowly but surely towards the nasty flu that currently held him under its spell. Omi had Ken call in sick for him at school and they had divided their nursing-duties between the two of them. Ken had voluntarily chosen their guest as his charge and although he seemed to have the easier part - the redhead simply didn't have the strength to whine for help every 15 minutes - Omi didn't really want to change places with him.

 

Omi sighed softly and was about to turn back to the stairs to get back down to his homework when an all too familiar whine once again drifted through the house.

 

“Chibiiii!”