Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Mortituri te Salutant ❯ Nothing but Black Shadows of Disease and Starvation, Lying Confusedly in the Greenish Gloom ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: Weiß Kreuz and all its associations belong to Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiß.

Mortituri te Salutant

Chapter 3 : Nothing but Black Shadows of Disease and Starvation, Lying Confusedly in the Greenish Gloom

By : Tora-uma

Author Notes :

". . ." - speaking

^. . .^ - inner thoughts

//. . .// - telepathy

Many thanks to Tygrrlyli and Silver Fox who reviewed the last chapter, to wannabeinanime for being my wonderful beta reader and to everyone who's been reading this.

Omi's head lolled to the side. Farfarello had left hours ago, leaving the blond assassin alone and bleeding. He'd tried again to wrench the knives out of the wall and hands but they had been driven too deeply into the wall and he failed again. The knives were long and thin, trapped between the bones of his hands. He'd finally given up, realizing that there wasn't much of a chance of getting his hands free that way. Blood tricked from his wounds and pooled around him as Omi drifted in and out of consciousness. When he heard the door open again, Omi kept his head down, pretending to be asleep. He waited until the other person had crept closer before thrashing out with the small amount of maneuverability he had left in his legs. Schuldig easily dodged the slow and clumsy attack and straddled Omi, pinning the young boy's legs between his knees.

"Well, isn't this cozy?" Schuldig grinned.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Omi demanded, thinking he would rather take his chances with Farfarello than the redheaded German.

"Aww, how cute. Your boyfriend wanted to know nearly the exact same thing."

Omi felt his stomach overturn. Ken was here. And Schuldig was the one who had been with him. "Ken-kun . . . ? What did you do to him? Is . . . is he alright?" Omi's voice cracked, the last few words were barely audible.

"Still alive but `alright' is a matter of opinion."

Omi jerked, trying to throw Schuldig off. The telepath stayed where he was, laughing. "You two are so much alike sometimes. I'm just here to collect a little present for my Ken-kun," Schuldig told him as he pulled a small knife from his belt. He leaned forward slightly, grabbing the forefinger of Omi's left hand. Omi tried to twist his hand away but with them pinned to the wall it was impossible. Schuldig pulled and stretched the finger away from the others, slipping the knife between the pointer and middle fingers. With a relatively quick slice he separated the finger from the hand, rewarded with a scream from Omi. Schuldig cleaned the bloody knife on Omi's shorts and put it away and, gathering his trophy, he left a whimpering Omi alone.

Omi sat in shock, trying to hold back the tears he felt straining at his eyes. He glanced up and watched the blood flowing off of the wound. He could clearly feel the pain from the wound and briefly wondered how much blood could be lost from a severed finger.

When the door opened once more Omi snapped his head around, fearful about who would come through. His panic lessened somewhat when he watched Farfarello walk into the room. He closed the door and walked over to the blond boy, bending down to his ear. Omi couldn't see what was being done to him but felt a short, pinching pain in his earlobe. Farfarello leaned back to examine the earring he'd pushed through Omi's ear just above his original piercing.

"A gift from your friend, Yohji," Farfarello explained, lightly tapping the earring he'd taken from Yohji's ear. "I don't think he'll hold on much longer. I'm curious to see if the three of you will break at the same time." Farfarello leaned forward to look closer at Omi's bleeding left hand. He reached up and pushed hard on the nub where the forefinger had once been, startling a scream from Omi. Farfarello released Omi's hand and pulled out a knife, slowly drawing across the younger boy's belly. Omi watched the blade carefully, preparing himself for the pain of it plunging into his stomach. Farfarello retraced the line he'd scraped into Omi's skin, pressing deeper and drawing some blood. He repeated the process three more times, slicing the skin and muscle open more with every repetition until he could see the glossy outside of intestines.

"This is your small intestine," Farfarello told him, tracing the tissue with a finger. Omi, having never felt human hands on his internal organs, shuddered in disgust. The pale hand disappeared inside the young assassin's stomach and Omi gritted his teeth. He could feel the fingers exploring inside of him, seeking and finding each and every organ. Every time Farfarello brushed against a new one he told Omi its name and purpose. Omi felt himself begin to drift out of consciousness and began to see a dark haze in front of his eyes. When Farfarello realized that his victim had stopped paying attention he gripped Omi's liver tightly. Omi cried out, startled awake and Farfarello grinned.

"You can't get out of this that easily," Farfarello told him, "We still have work to do."

"Just kill me and finish it," Omi whispered.

"In due time. I want to feel the sin of God's tears on my soul." He turned back to his anatomy lesson as Omi began to cry softly.

~ * ~

"Ken-kun, I brought you a gift!"

Ken was startled awake by Schuldig's sudden entrance and exuberant cry. The redhead sat on the edge of the bed, eyes roaming over the other man's body.

"Don't look at me like that," Ken told him, disgust evident in his voice.

"Like what?" Schuldig asked, full of feigned innocence.

"Like you don't get fed!" Ken hissed, struggling against his bonds once more in vain. Schuldig smirked at his efforts and examined the body laid out before him.

"Well, you've stopped bleeding. I guess I ripped you up a bit worse than I intended." Schuldig pulled something small out of his pocket. "I almost forgot, I promised you a gift," he said as he drew the tip of Omi's severed finger across Ken's cheek, just out of the brunette's line of sight.

"What . . . what is that?" Ken whispered. He knew what it felt like but didn't want to admit what he thought.

"I suppose that, technically, it's from that little blond boy-toy of yours," he told him, tracing the outline of Ken's lips with it. He brushed the tip of Ken's nose and dangled the finger in front of the man's eyes, ensuring that he got a clear view of his "gift".

"Omi . . ." Ken shut his eyes as he whispered the name, feeling a sharp prickle start behind his eyes. Schuldig saw the tears form at the corners of Ken's eyes.

"Don't cry, kitten. Think of it this way," Schuldig reasoned as he tucked the finger behind Ken's ear, "at least now you'll always have a piece of him with you."

"You goddamned bastard!" Ken screamed, throwing his entire weight against the handcuffs as Schuldig laughed.

"Come now. If you keep this up I won't be able to keep my promise about letting you enjoy my ministrations this time."

Ken froze and winced as he felt a hand brush over his stomach. He let his mind slip away, trying to pretend he was somewhere other than strapped to a bed with the German. As Schuldig gently stroked Ken's torso he probed the other's mind experimentally, finding no resistance. With Ken distracting himself there was no way he could fight for control of his own head.

Schuldig reached down with one hand carefully, pushing one finger slowly into Ken's tight entrance. There was still no resistance from the younger assassin. The first finger was joined by a second as Schuldig began to stretch and relax the other man's muscles. With the other hand he carefully stroked Ken's sex. He felt the brunette begin to fight for control over his body's actions and quickly pulled his hand away, not wanting Ken to fight him yet. Instead he added a third finger inside the other man, scissoring all three in different directions to be certain Ken was properly prepared. He pulled away completely, stripping his clothing off haphazardly, and slipped between the Weiß member's legs. He picked up where he'd left off, gently taking over Ken's mind as his fingers moved inside.

Ken, still trying to escape the situation in his own mind didn't feel the sudden loss of control. It wasn't until Schuldig began to stroke him again and Ken tried to keep himself from hardening did he notice that he could no longer keep his body in check.

"What did . . . you do?" Ken whispered, still struggling with himself. Schuldig laughed quietly as he felt the sex under his hand grow and harden. Reaching deeper inside Ken he lazily stroked the small spot that caused the brunette to groan involuntarily and harden further.

Ken was lost, drifting between his struggle for control and the unconscious desire to let Schuldig do whatever he wanted. The redhead could feel the fight fade from Ken's mind and pulled his fingers from the athlete, grinning mentally as he watched the younger man try to follow his fingers to prevent them from leaving his body. He readjusted himself so the head of his own sex was positioned against Ken's entrance and began to slowly push himself in, keeping his hands in constant contact with the other man's body.

The moment Schuldig began to enter him Ken resumed his fight for control over his own body. He ignored the sensations washing over him and tried to push the German out of his head.

"Yameno . . ." he whispered, trying to focus on the pain of penetration. He felt himself losing as Schuldig buried himself completely and began to thrust slowly and gently. His left hand drifted over Ken, keeping the same rhythm as his body before finally coming to rest on the brunette's fully hardened member. He began to stroke and pump Ken, slowly increasing the speed to keep up with that of his body. The emotions and feelings swimming in Ken's mind eventually overwhelmed him and Schuldig felt him give up the fight. He kept a tight hold on the other's mind still, refusing to let the brunette come just yet. He finally felt the rush of blinding heat rush through his body, letting every muscle tighten and release rapidly and he freed Ken's mind.

Ken's bodily reactions finally caught up with him before he could do anything, spraying his climax across both Schuldig and himself. The German pulled out when he felt the heat spatter on his stomach, wiping both of them off with a corner of the bed sheet. With a final grin at Ken he dressed and left the room, leaving the Weiß assassin alone on the bed once more. The moment he heard the door close Ken began to sob quietly.

"Omi . . . gomen nasai . . ." Guilt flooded his mind as he lay there, crying. He could still feel Omi's finger tucked behind his ear. The thought of it made him cry harder. He felt helpless and weak as he convinced himself that everything that had happened was his fault. He continued sobbing until he'd literally cried himself to sleep.

~ * ~

Yohji slumped to the ground, staring at yet another dead Asuka body in front of him. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd killed her while he continued to fight the control Crawford held over his mind. He closed his eyes and fought the nausea that suddenly rose, knowing that it signaled the shift to another dream he could not control. He focused on remembering the rest of Weiß and imagined every detail of the Koneko No Sumu Ie, trying to stop the latest Crawford-controlled vision before it began. Instead of slowly fading away as it had every time before, the nausea stopped suddenly and without warning. Yohji felt his eyebrows draw together in confusion but still refused to open his eyes.

"Yohji-kun, why are you on the floor?"

The emerald eyes flew open the moment Omi's gentle voice registered in his consciousness. He slowly looked around, realizing he was sitting on the floor of the small flower shop behind the wooden table. Omi crouched over him, concern evident on his face as Ken and Aya peered over at him from their respective areas of the shop.

^I did it. Somehow I stopped Crawford.^ Yohji felt his face break out in a grin as he reveled in the feeling of telling his body to collect itself to stand up and having it obey him. He tentatively stood on his feet as the other three looked at him questioningly.

"Yohji, are you feeling alright?" Ken asked him. Yohji nodded and looked around. The shop was obviously closed; the four assassins were the only ones inside. Apparently satisfied that Yohji was not going to fall over, Omi left his side to clean part of the shop.

"Finish what you were doing and go to bed," Aya told him. "I don't want you getting sick."

Yohji nodded again and began clearing off the wooden table. He knew it was an illusion, Crawford-controlled or no, but ignored the warning in his own head and let himself fall into the natural rhythm of cleaning the shop. Ken and Omi pushed each other jokingly as they tried to clean the same area until Aya scolded them to get back to work. Yohji grinned, feeling as though he was back at home. He finished cleaning the table and headed towards the back door of the shop to go to bed. Omi had moved to the back wall to sweep the floor and Yohji passed by his small, unprotected back. He froze mid-step and realized that he'd lost control yet again.

^Iya! Not again . . .^ Yohji screamed inside his head as his hands wrapped around Omi's neck and began strangling him. The broom clattered to the floor as Omi lost his grip on it, trying to fight off Yohji.

"Yohji! What the hell are you doing?!" Ken shouted as he tried to pull the taller man off Omi. Yohji released one hand from the thin neck and grabbed Ken, throwing him into the wall. He saw Aya move towards him and twisted Omi's head, slamming it into the wall temple first. Omi's head hit with such force that, with his hand still wrapped around the boy's neck, Yohji felt his breath catch and stop immediately. The tall blond tossed his teammate's dead body aside. Ken picked himself up and both he and Aya attacked Yohji. The playboy barely dodged Aya's attack but managed to slip behind Ken as the former football player made a clumsy swing, still unsteady from being thrown into the wall. Yohji latched onto Ken's head and twisted it, swiftly snapping his neck. He let Ken's body drop where it was, focusing solely on Aya.

Yohji watched the entire scene play out in front of him, detached. He sat inside himself as he struggled to stop himself from killing each of his friends in turn. Aya and Yohji struggled with each other, slamming themselves into furniture and walls. Aya threw Yohji into a shelf full of glass vases. The blond felt the shards of glass slice into him, creating multiple small wounds all across his body. He unconsciously palmed a large shard of glass before picking himself up and continuing the fight. The two assassins struggled, neither gaining much of an upper hand. Yohji managed to block a punch from Aya that left the redhead open for a brief moment. Letting the glass hidden in his palm slip down to his fingers he swiped it across Aya's throat, slitting it. Aya stared at him, more in surprise and disbelief than pain, before collapsing on the ground.

Yohji's body relaxed as he regained control over himself and he stared around the shop. His three friends lay strewn across the destroyed flower shop. He carefully checked each for signs of life, knowing that it was futile but feeling obligated through guilt to see if there was anyone still alive. It wasn't until he saw tears falling to the ground that he realized he was crying. Yohji stood where he was as the shop disappeared, leaving him alone in a never-ending stretch of black.

"You're starting to slip, Kudou, I'm beginning to think that you won't survive this much longer."

Yohji whipped around when he heard the voice and saw Crawford behind him.

"If you think this is bad, you should see what I'm allowing Schwarz to do to your teammates."

"Who else do you have here?" Yohji demanded. A small smirk spread across Crawford's face.

"That's right; you were unconscious the entire time." Crawford motioned to his side where a picture began to form out of the darkness. Yohji watched as Schwarz pulled his body from the rubble, saw the other three members of Weiß attack and felt his breath catch as he watched the bullet from Crawford's gun rip through Aya's body. The scene faded out after Ken and Omi's capture and Yohji turned to Crawford.

"You killed him?! Why the hell would you kill him and capture the rest of us?!"

"Frankly, the three of you are more interesting. Would you like to see how the others are being treated? Schuldig told me everything . . ." Crawford drifted off as an image of Ken, tied down on a bed and being raped by Schuldig appeared where the other scene had been. It soon faded to be replaced by Omi, nearly crucified on a wall, covered in blood. The picture disappeared and Crawford watched a look of horror and anger play across Yohji's face.

"It's too bad, really. Aside from the coma, of course, you're in the best physical shape of anyone but here you are, slowly dieing and unable to do anything to help your friends."

"I'm . . . dieing?"

"Indeed. The stress on your mind combined with the lack of food and water isn't exactly a healthy combination. But don't worry, I'm sure the rest of Weiß will join you in death soon enough." Crawford laughed and dissolved into the darkness, leaving Yohji to torture himself with guilt over the images of his teammates.

~ * ~

"Ah, Schuldig, good," Crawford said as the German walked into the office. He straightened from Yohji's body on the couch and walked to the desk, pulling something out. He held out his hand and Schuldig took the gun from him. "Keep this with you," Crawford told him. "While I'm inside Kudou's head I can't receive visions and I don't want you to be unprepared. Have you seen Nagi?"

Schuldig shook his head as he tucked the handgun inside the shoulder holster under his jacket. "He told me he was going out a while ago. I haven't seen him since."

"Are you done with Hidaka for the time being?"

"For the time being. I was going to get some food, want to come?"

Crawford shook his head. "I have too much to do," he said, motioning to the papers piled on his desk.

"You really should take it easy," Schuldig told him as he turned to leave. "You don't want to work yourself to death."

~ * ~

Aya awoke from his afternoon nap to see Nagi standing at the foot of his bed. He stared coldly at the Schwarz member. This was not, after all, what he'd wanted to see when he woke up.

"I want to help you." Nagi broke the silence. Aya continued to stare at him. "This will tell you where Schwarz is." Nagi held up a small piece of folded paper. Aya still stared. "You can find you friends," Nagi told him. More staring. Nagi finally gave up trying to initiate a conversation.

"What are you in this for?" Aya suddenly asked him.

Nagi's brows drew together, the boy looked genuinely confused.

"I don't believe for a moment that you're helping me out of the goodness of your heart. Is Schwarz trying to lead me into a trap?"

"If they wanted you dead Schwarz would just come here and kill you."

"Your friends are a bit more sadistic than that."

"They're my teammates, not my friends," Nagi corrected him.

"You still haven't explained why you're doing this."

Nagi stared blankly at Aya. "I don't want to be a part of Schwarz anymore."

Aya's eyes narrowed. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"It's the truth. But you don't have to believe it if you don't want to, I suppose." Nagi walked to Aya's bedside table and put the folded paper onto it. "Your teammates and Schwarz are all there, though, if you decide to believe me." With that Nagi walked out of the room, leaving Aya to himself. Aya picked up the book Manx had brought him, adamantly refusing to look at the paper that Nagi had left. He buried his nose in the book, managing to read a decent amount of it before Manx came in just after sunset.

"How are you feeling today, Aya?" she asked as she sat down next to his bed.

"I'd be better if I knew what was going on," he told her without looking up from the book.

"What do you mean?"

His eyes rose from the book slightly to watch her reaction. "Why was Nagi allowed in here?" he asked. "I thought you said this was a secure hospital."

"Nani? Nagi was here? When?"

"He left a few hours ago."

Manx nearly growled in exasperation. "Aya, gomen nasai. I left explicit instructions with the staff that I was the only non-personnel allowed in here. Are you alright?" she asked with concern. Aya nodded.

"He left that," he motioned to the paper on the side table, "supposedly it's where Schwarz is hiding the others."

Manx nodded and slipped the paper into her briefcase. "I'll have Kritiker check on it. Did Nagi say anything?"

"He said he wanted to help me and that he didn't want to be a part of Schwarz anymore."

Manx nodded slowly and closed her eyes as she sat on the edge of the bed. "So he apparently assumes you'd kill them off and he'd be free."

"Apparently."

The two sat in silence for awhile, not looking at each other. "Do you trust him?" Manx asked quietly.

"Of course not," Aya said immediately. "I can understand that he wants to get away from the rest of Schwarz but I can't believe that he wants to help me for that reason alone."

Manx nodded, agreeing with him. "In any case, don't go rushing out there until I have more information."

"Will you have it by tomorrow night?"

Manx nodded quietly, her eyes became saddened. "I want you to be careful . . . Abyssinian."

"I thought you said I was out of Weiß if I go through with this," Aya raised an eyebrow at her.

"You'll always be Abyssinian." She stood to go, pulling a plastic container of soba from her briefcase and handing it to him. "I thought you might want to limit your intake of hospital food as much as possible." He took the food from her and she left quietly. Opening the cold noodles he turned back to his book and started eating.

" `You have been well since you came out this time?' he asked. The other gave a start. `Who? I? Oh! Like a charm­ - like a charm. But the rest - oh, my goodness! All sick. They die so quick, too, that I haven't the time to send them out of the country - it's incredible!' `H'm. Just so,' grunted the uncle. `Ah! My boy, trust to this - I say, trust to this.' I saw him extend his short flipper of an arm for a gesture that took in the forest, the creek, the mud, the river, - seemed to beckon with a dishonouring flourish before the sunlit face of the land a treacherous appeal to the lurking death, to the hidden evil, to the profound darkness of its heart. It was so startling that I leaped to my feet and looked back at the edge of the forest, as though I had expected an answer of some sort to that black display of confidence. You know the foolish notions that come to one sometimes. The high stillness confronted these two figures with its ominous patience, waiting for the passing away of a fantastic invasion."

~ * ~

"Where have you been, Nagi?" Crawford continued working without looking up as Nagi walked into the office.

"Shouldn't you know?" Nagi asked politely. At this, Crawford raised his eyes to the boy.

"While I'm inside his head," Crawford pointed to Yohji, "I am unaware of anything else. You know that. Now, tell me where you were."

"I was just talking to someone. He's not dead, you know."

"Who isn't?" Crawford turned back to his work.

"Fujimiya."

"I expected as much. He has an irritating way of coming back to life. Like a cockroach."

"Aren't you worried? He could come after Schwarz."

"One mere human can't stand against all four of us. Even if it is Fujimiya." Crawford stood from the desk and walked to Yohji. "Go check on the others and go to bed. I have to sleep and then I must continue with Kudou."

Nagi nodded and left Crawford to himself. He walked down the hall to the padded room where Farfarello was. He opened the door to see the Irishman covered in Omi's blood. The boy's head nodded and rocked, barely conscious.

"Is he going to last much longer?" Nagi asked quietly.

"Another day at the most," Farfarello responded.

"Maybe you should stop for today. It's almost dawn."

Farfarello nodded and wrapped Omi's bleeding stomach with the boy's T-shirt to prevent too much blood loss while he was alone. Nagi left Farfarello and headed further into the house to check on Schuldig. He was the redhead come out of Ken's makeshift cell as he came up on the room.

"Are you finished?" Nagi asked him.

"For now. Thought I could use a nap."

Nagi headed for his own room, grateful that he could now be alone. He lay on his bed in the dark and stared at the ceiling, feeling the bile rise in his throat at the actions of Schwarz. Extended torture was something he could not condone. Death and manipulation was one thing but this callous behavior was something entirely different. Forcing his thoughts away from the treatment of Weiß he imagined what he would do when he was finally away from Schwarz. His pupils dilated slightly in excitement as he planned for his impending freedom. A soft, dark giggle rose from his throat as he realized how close his plan was to being complete. The sun had risen fully in the sky before Nagi finally drifted off to sleep.