Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ An Angst Filled Evening at the Koneko ( Chapter 23 )

A note of thanks to Yanagi-sen and Angel for the recent uplifting reviews here at MM.org, a place where such things are hard to come by. To my astonishment, the hit counts for the fic here have rocketed up to 531 and that's wonderful, too.

Enjoy the Story!

Enigma

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Title: Neutral Territory [part 23/?]

Author: Enigma

Written: begun October, 2001

Rating: R

Pairings: (Omi + Nagi) (Yohji + Ken) (Brad + Schu)

Category: Shonen ai/Yaoi Angst Friendship Romance Action Violence. AU-OOC. Giftfic.

Archive: fanfiction.net & mediaminer.org [author: "E-sama the Llama"] plus Wuffie.net [author: "Enigma"]

Warnings: shonen ai/yaoi, angst, masculine friendship in many forms, various levels of romance, action, coarse language, whiffs of citrus but nothing detailed, possibly graphic violence, bloodshed, tiny bits of humor, fluff, and sap; more warnings will be added as necessary. AU-OOC. Giftfic for Rubious.

Spoilers: Aya's sister's condition and a few other small things, nothing major.

Disclaimer: "Weiss Kreuz" is the property of Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiss. All original characters featured herein (including but not limited to: Glocksten, Charon, etc.) are © Enigma, 2003, and are not to be used without permission. This unauthorized work of fanfiction is intended for entertainment only; kindly do not sue me.

Notes: Omi's first trip to the public library results in an unexpected meeting when Nagi saves his life without being aware of the Weiss archer's identity. Can two lonely teens overcome the limits of their dark purpose in life to find friendship and possibly love in the midst of "neutral territory"?

//thoughts//

{{mental speech}}

*****

Friday night. Various locations in the Koneko.

*****

Despite the heavy clouds clogging the skies over Tokyo, Omi was able to make it home without rain interfering with his journey and as he parked his motorcycle behind the Koneko, he wondered in passing what else his night might bring. In all honesty, the movie and dinner with Nagi had seemed more than enough, but adding the hug and then a kiss as well had left him feeling as if he'd been given a king's ransom in joy and he didn't dare to ask for more.

Stepping into the back of the flower shop and glancing around the darkened store, he noted how still and peaceful everything was. Enjoyable though the sweet, floral-scented air around him was, it was almost too quiet.

"Where is everyone?" Omi asked himself, then shrugged and decided not to worry about it as he put his helmet and keys in their usual spot. He made his way first to the kitchen and then upstairs to the bedrooms, continuing to wonder where his teammates were.

As he walked past first Yohji's and then Ken's rooms and noticed that they were both conspicuously empty, he correctly assumed that the two lovers had gone out for the evening, most likely dancing to keep from dwelling on the upcoming mission. What gave him a more significant surprise was the fact that Aya's room was dark and desolate as well.

"Did Yohji-kun and Ken-kun *finally* convince Aya-kun to go out with them?" Omi wondered aloud before making his way into his own room intending to change clothes. With a small sigh, he added thoughtfully, "Poor Aya-kun. He's not doing well lately. I know how hard it is for him to be patient about tracking down Glocksten and Charon, but he also seems lonely. He'd probably never admit it, but I think he really needs to find someone special, too."

The blonde's rhetorical remarks lead him to think about the "someone special" in his own life and a gentle, loving smile grew on his lips as Nagi's smiling face filled his inner field of vision.

After changing into a warm pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved T-shirt, Omi decided to wash the silk shirt Ken had loaned him intending to return it even though the former J-league player had already indicated it no longer fit him. On his way to the laundry room in the basement, Omi belatedly felt a little guilty about having his cell phone off during his date with Nagi and he wondered if he'd missed any important information that might explain the absence of the team's field leader.

"I hope Aya-kun didn't try to call me earlier," Omi sighed to himself as he approached the top of the spiral staircase that lead to the living room-cum-headquarters area. An unexpected sound reached his ears and he cocked his head as he asked the air around him, "Who's down there listening to my Metallica CD? I didn't think anyone liked that but me and *I* only like it when I'm feeling depressed anyway."

Curiosity piqued, Omi descended and as he got barely low enough to lean down and peek at whomever was there, he was surprised to see Aya sitting hunched over the coffee table eyes closed and clearly very tired or possibly upset about something. Hurrying up, he made his way to the floor and stepped close to the swordsman who had apparently failed to hear him and he reached out to touch his friend's shoulder as he asked, "Aya-kun? Is something wrong?"

Too exhausted to even startle in response to the unexpected touch, Aya lifted his head slowly and then sighed before saying in a dead voice, "Oh, welcome home, Omi." He shoved a hand through red hair that needed washing and added, "How was your date?"

Confused as to why his friend hadn't answered the question and more than a little shocked that Aya had inquired about something he didn't think the swordsman even cared about, Omi replied, "It was really nice, Aya-kun, but what's going on? Why are you down here all alone and listening to that?" He didn't need to mention the plaintive strains of "Nothing Else Matters" filling the air, it seemed to saturate their very beings by that point. [1]

"What?" Aya responded dazedly and then glanced at the computer which was currently performing the role of CD player as much as anything else. With a negligent shrug, he answered almost darkly, "It suited my mood, I guess. As to why I'm alone, why do you think?"

There was the vaguest hint of regret in the other assassin's voice that gave Omi pause since he'd already surmised the truth about the two lovers himself. Yet there was a distinct element of sadness or something more in Aya's words and manner which confused him. After setting the silk shirt aside for the moment, he went to sit in the chair across from Aya and inquired carefully, "Well, I assume the others went out, Aya-kun, but what's happened? Why are you so, um, I don't know, angry? Upset? Sad, maybe?"

Moving to lean against the back of the couch tiredly, Aya let his eyes drift closed again since he didn't really want to see Omi's reaction when he told him about the latest development in the case that was frustrating him endlessly. With a heavy sigh, he explained, "There's been another kidnapping, Omi. A pair of sixth-grade twin girls vanished yesterday and the case has the stench of that bastard Glocksten all over it." Still blinded by his own eyelids, he shook his head and added remorsefully, "Ken's pretty upset about it. They're the same age as some of the kids he coaches and it was all he could do to get through the morning in the shop."

"Oh no!" Omi gasped as his own shoulders slumped as he apologized unnecessarily, "I am *so* sorry to hear that, Aya-kun. I should've found more information on Glocksten by now so we could have stopped him before this."

"You can't find what isn't there, Omi," Aya sighed miserably and dropped an arm over his still closed eyes as a wave of exhaustion rolled over him. A soul-deep sense of weariness emanated from his slender frame as he mentioned as if in passing, "I told Yohji to take Ken out for awhile. I couldn't stand watching him pace anymore." This was a half-truth. What he truly couldn't handle had been the way both Ken and Yohji kept throwing him worried glances and it was clear there were far too many things being left unsaid between the three of them for Aya to cope with at the time.

Nodding to himself and contemplating how best to deal with the increased need to bring the mission to a speedy conclusion, the Weiss tactician suggested, "I'm glad to hear they went out, Aya-kun, it sounds like they needed it. But you seem to need something, too. Why not go get some rest or take a shower or something while I try to see if this newest development might give us a clue we didn't have before?"

Almost hopeful, Aya allowed his arm to slip aside and he opened bloodshot eyes before he asked, "Do you honestly think something good could come out of that tragedy, Omi? How?"

Offering a guarded yet earnest smile, Omi explained, "I'm not really sure, Aya-kun, but there ought to be a police report on the twins' disappearance and there may be some small fact in it that might make all the difference." He rose to his feet then reached a hand out to the other man and reiterated, "But won't you please go take a break for awhile? Maybe take a hot bath or *something*?"

Accepting the archer's hand briefly and using it to lift himself to unsteady feet, Aya acquiesced, "All right, Omi, I'll go." Scrubbing a hand through lackluster scarlet locks, he grumbled, "Might as well take the shower I never got around to earlier. Good luck on finding some new information in the police files. I'll be back later."

"Don't worry about it, Aya-kun," Omi recommended, then offered, "If I find anything useful, I'll make sure you know about it right away, but it will probably take me awhile to go through all the documents. Kidnapping cases are always so paperwork-heavy."

"True," the swordsman agreed then went back upstairs to the living quarters with far less energy in his strides than normal and leaving behind a dreadfully concerned friend.

Troubled cerulean eyes watched as Aya left the basement with his shoulders drooping and a sense of disquiet in his every motion. Shaking his head as he decided the laundry could wait an indefinite period of time, Omi moved over to the computer and sat down with a sigh before commenting to himself, "I wish I could help Aya-kun more than I can. Maybe I'll talk to Yohji-kun and Ken-kun and see what they think might help?" Switching out the melancholy CD for something more upbeat, he added with a soft smile, "Or maybe I'll ask Nagi-kun about it online later."

Nimble fingers flew across the keyboard as Bombay accessed the report on the missing twins. It was indeed quite lengthy and he hadn't even gotten through half of it before the first of several long hours passed him by. Omi was tenacious and he kept at his work driven by a desire to find something to offer his friend in the hopes that seeing a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel might grant Aya even a few hours of much needed sleep before the night was out.

*****

Friday almost midnight. The basement of the Koneko.

*****

The soft clatter of footsteps on the metal staircase that lead down to the basement alerted Omi that he was about to have a visitor after several long hours of hard work.

Leaning back in his chair and stretching slightly, the blond turned his head and was surprised to see Aya coming down carrying two plates of something Omi didn't recognize at first. As the violet-eyed man came closer, the unmistakable aroma of cocoa reached his nostrils and with surprise in his voice, he asked, "Are those brownies, Aya-kun? I didn't know we had any of those."

"We didn't," the slender man responded and handed him a plate which was suspiciously warm to the touch. Acting as if it meant nothing to him, he explained, "After my shower, I was bored so I baked some." In truth, Ken had a weakness for the sweet treats and Aya hoped that the teen whose eyes were the same color as the brownies might find some small measure of solace in one whenever he got home.

"Oh? Fresh *hot* brownies are the best!" Omi enthused and smiled as he broke off a corner and popped it into his mouth. "Yumm! This is really good. Thanks, Aya-kun, I needed a snack."

"Hn," Aya responded noncommittally then asked, "So? Have any luck yet? I assumed there were no major breakthroughs or you would've told me, but I wondered how it was coming."

Frowning despite the delicious taste in his mouth, Omi turned towards the screen and pulled up the flowchart he'd minimized earlier which he'd been using to correlate what little data he'd been able to piece together about Glocksten's quiet reign of terror over the children of Japan. Pointing at several columns on it, he explained, "I might have found something we can use here or here, Aya-kun, but I'm not certain." Scowling more deeply, he added, "Glocksten's awfully unpredictable, yet I was able to determine that there's a slightly higher than 40% correlation between disappearances of children that the police tentatively blame on him and his appearance at various clubs within a night or two thereafter."

"The bastard likes to celebrate, huh?" Aya growled angrily and lost his appetite for the brownie he was barely nibbling on. Setting it aside, he leaned closer to the screen and peered at row after row of notations Omi had painstakingly made and then nodded slowly before saying, "I think this might be just what we needed, Omi. Good work."

"Thanks," the Weiss tactician responded yet remained somewhat disturbed as he glanced at the clock on the screen and shook his head minutely.

"What's wrong?" Aya asked, turning his attention towards the atypically non-genki youth. "This might be the breakthrough we need to bring these bastards down, Omi, why are you unhappy about it?"

"It's not that, Aya-kun," Omi rushed to reassure. Then with a sad sigh, he admitted, "It's just that I expected Xavier to be online tonight, but he never showed up. I hope he made it home all right."

Recalling the earlier discussion about how the boy who had apparently stolen the youngest member of Weiss' heart lived with people who might not readily accept Omi, Aya frowned as well and then asked, "Can't you call him?"

"No," Omi shook his head and explained sadly, "he never gave me a phone number."

Tired enough to continue the uncharacteristic conversation about something as simple as a failed online rendezvous, Aya then suggested, "Why not go check on him, then?" Years of training in stealth had to count for something and if anyone could get past some uncooperative family members or roommates, Bombay certainly could.

With an unhappy shake of his head, Omi admitted, "I don't even know where he lives, Aya-kun. The same goes for him about me, I'm afraid. We just never got around to talking about it, I guess."

Aya nodded slightly then said simply, "Well, try not to worry over it too much, Omi. You've been in the police network all evening, if anything serious had happened to him, don't you think you'd have seen something about it there?"

"That's true," Omi agreed, yet deep inside a voice murmured that Tokyo's finest certainly wouldn't have had a clue if Nagi's teammates had discovered who he'd been spending time with lately and decided on retribution for what might easily be interpreted as a betrayal. To cover for the dark thoughts streaming through his mind, he popped another piece of brownie into his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

Now that the minor crisis regarding the absence of Omi's friend online had been dealt with, Aya returned his attention to the computer screen. After barely stifling a yawn of exhaustion, he asked, "What can you tell me about the nightclubs where Glocksten has been sighted in the past, Omi? Can you give me some details I can use to chose between the ones we'd identified before?"

Glad to have something to focus on instead of thinking too much about Nagi and what might have happened to him, Omi replied, "Right now they all seem pretty similar, Aya-kun, but if you like I can do some more digging. Maybe there's a trend I can find that Kritiker missed."

"Sounds good," Aya agreed and then failed to stop another exhausted yawn which left him looking as tired as he had been when Omi had first found him in the basement that evening. Even though he thought it would be a fruitless effort, he said with a sigh, "I think I'll go try to get some rest. I'm dead on my feet as it is."

Omi gazed at him with sympathetic eyes and said encouragingly, "I hope you can actually sleep, Aya-kun. I know it's hard for you to do that when there's an unresolved case like this, but if I can help you pick a location for an assassination attempt, we will all need you to be as well rested as you can be." Nervously, he added, "None of us want what happened before to happen again."

Understanding that the boy was referring to the incident that had left Weiss without its field leader for several weeks, Aya winced and nodded even as more yawns presented themselves. Once he fought down the need for extra oxygen, he nodded and promised, "I'll try, Omi. Do what you can here and get some sleep yourself soon, all right? You're supposed to open the shop with Ken tomorrow morning, remember?"

"I remember," Omi assured then offered a promise of his own, "I'll make sure to leave you a print out of anything I can find that might make choosing a location for the assassination attempt easier, Aya-kun. There will be a folder with everything I can find on the coffee table so you won't have to come looking for me whenever you're ready to work on it more, okay?"

"That'll be fine," Aya gave the youth a solemn though grateful semi-smile then turned and headed back to the stairs offering, "Goodnight, Omi."

"Goodnight, Aya-kun," Omi answered and added, "rest well." There was no reply since the elder assassin was too busy yawning again to have heard him, but this didn't bother the Weiss tactician in the least. Instead, he turned his attention back to narrowing down the hunt for a criminal who they all hoped would lead them to a murderer and he soon lost himself in the depths of the search engines he used to answer the seemingly unanswerable questions he sometimes needed to address.

The night was destined to be a long one and if he'd had even a fragment of foreknowledge of the fact that this was to be the last night he'd spend in his own bed for quite some time to come, Omi might've shifted his search to another target entirely. Even though he'd never bothered to do so before, it wouldn't have been half as difficult as one might assume to track down a supposedly secret base of operations belonging to a rival assassin group and with that information, he might've sought the youth he was so concerned about.

Prescience, however, remained the sole purview of a certain brown-eyed American and not even Bradley Crawford had a ghost of a hint that Omi's diligence would result in a bloodbath in less than 24 hours.

*****

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

[1] When I was trying to select a song for Aya to be surrounded by in the melancholy scene in the basement, I turned to Amanda who is my resident expert on such things. Despite the slow, dark melody, the lyrics are actually all too perfectly matched to our resident swordsman whose need to find someone to trust completely is growing stronger and stronger within the context of this story.