Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ Weiss Prepares for Battle ( Chapter 26 )

Anyone overly concerned by the foreshadowing in the fic at this point is cordially invited to drop by LiveJournal.com where there is a "Happy Endings Policy" that was posted under my username "e_sama" on April 15.

Thanks for reading my muses' latest creation and I hope that you will enjoy the angst.

~E~

Title: Neutral Territory [part 26/?]

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}}

*****

Saturday late afternoon. The Koneko no Sumu Ie.

*****

After a long, boring day with very few receipts to show for their efforts, Yohji, Ken, and Omi all agreed to close shop a little early.

Leaning against the front doors and peering out with an annoyed expression on his face, Yohji sighed dramatically and muttered to himself, "It's hardly worth getting out of bed to work on a day like today."

The rain had finally let up within the prior fifteen minutes and water still dripped steadily from the awning above the front doors in a sad rhythm that underscored the eldest member of Weiss' anxiety over the coming conflict too perfectly. Thoughts of the hopefully bloody confrontation with Charon and Glocksten had slithered and slid through Balinese's mind all day long. As he shoved the door open partway so as to grab a few quick puffs on a cigarette before resuming the end of day routine, Yohji lit up while contemplating his teammates' readiness.

//I know Abyssinian's katana was razor-sharp after too much time on the sharpening stone after Aya found out about those twins who were kidnapped. Ken's claws got pretty much the same treatment then, too, and the extension mechanism on his bugnuks got a tune up last week from Kritiker. Omi took a few hours off this afternoon to get all of his darts filled with poison or tranquilizers or whatever the hell he keeps in them. My wire's brand new and ought to go through almost anything I need it to. Yeah, we're in good shape.//

Melancholy jade-colored eyes were unfocused as gray smoke tendrils drifted out into the moist air before Yohji filled his lungs once more with cancer-inducing smoke which he held there as he disagreed with himself.

//No, that's not true. Not by half.//

Releasing the smoke from his lungs in artful little rings that drifted out into the darkening sky unnoticed and unappreciated, his thoughts saddened.

//Weiss can't *possibly* be in "good shape" with Aya half-dead from lack of sleep. I just wish we could find a way to get through to him so he doesn't let the insomnia run him into the ground the way that it does. But he tends to shut everyone out when we're in the middle of a mission like this and it's just damned hard to convince him to let us shoulder some of the burden.//

As he took a long, hard drag from the cigarette that he then extinguished in a small receptacle by the door, he considered a conversation he'd had with his lover and found himself increasingly certain the brunette had an excellent point.

//Then again, Ken's right. We need to get him to open back up to life before it's too late. I'll be damned if I'm going to let Aya toss away a perfectly good chance to enjoy the day to day if I can help it! 'Carpe diem' and all that jazz.//

While the lanky blond had been ruminating over everything from weaponry to a teammate's approach to life, his two coworkers had continued to strive towards wrapping up an otherwise unprofitable business day.

"Aya's going to be pissed when he gets back and I can't say that I blame him for it," Ken groused as he swept the floor near the workbench, collecting a small pile of leaves, stem bits, and ribbon that had escaped before it could be used properly. After throwing a gaze at the now overstocked display case, he explained with annoyance, "I'll bet we didn't break even today after you consider overhead and junk."

Carefully checking the soil of several large, exotic plants with a water gauge to see which needed a bit of additional moisture, Omi agreed with a sigh, "I know, Ken-kun, but at least we are all set for awhile and he won't need to make any arrangements. Who knows? Maybe he'll relax after we finish tonight's mission and sleep in tomorrow instead of getting up early to worry over the shop?"

"That would be nice, Omiitchi," Yohji commented with a dark sigh and then reached for the steel gate for the doors, pulling it partway down as he added, "I just hope he doesn't fade out on us tonight, though. Taking out both Glocksten *and* Charon at the same time is the only way to wrap up this assignment and it'll take us all working together to pull that off."

"Abyssinian won't let us down," Ken stated confidently as he put away broom and dustpan prior to getting to work on counting out the register, a task made simple by the lack of customers. Nodding to himself as he rearranged a stack of bills to suit himself, he stated optimistically, "As long as we can find those two creeps tonight, Aya should be fine on the battlefield. Adrenaline can make up for a lot of lost sleep."

"Maybe yes, maybe no," Yohji disagreed with a gentle shake of his head. The worry over the willowy redhead just wouldn't leave his mind, but this was mostly because the image of red-rimmed eyes peering at him over a coffee mug before Aya had headed out earlier in the day simply wouldn't leave his mind. With a dissatisfied frown, he started to shut the gate entirely yet paused when something caught his eye and he remarked with a soft chuckle even as he lifted it back up, "I'd know those boots anywhere."

"Hn," Aya snorted by way of acknowledging the former playboy's almost fetishistic fascination with footwear, then stepped into the warmly inviting interior of the Koneko no Sumu Ie.

"Welcome home, Aya-kun!" Omi greeted brightly before rising gracefully and smiling at his newly returned teammate whose rain soaked garments were creating a puddle on the floor.

Since Aya was dressed in street clothes as opposed to his mission gear, the standard length jacket he'd worn did little to protect his legs from the elements and the drenched denim of his jeans clung chillingly to his thighs and calves. As he'd been searching for information that would allow him to identify the best place to confront their prey, the ankle he'd broken months prior had begun to ache, yet he ignored it even as he silently noted the overstocked display case.

"Yo, Aya," Ken called by way of greeting, then immediately amended it with a question, "What're you all wet for? Did you forget your umbrella?" Frowning, he set aside the meager cash drawer and went to get the damp redhead a towel from beneath the small sink at the back of the shop.

Ignoring the question since the answer was obvious, Aya instead focused on getting a handful of sopping wet maroon tresses out of his eyes and then accepted the towel with a surprisingly open smile even as Yohji added his own concerns to the conversation.

"Are you *trying* to make yourself sick, Fujimiya?!" Yohji growled angrily, upset by Aya's disregard for his own health. With a scowl, he stepped close enough to reach out a hand demandingly as he commanded, "Give me the wet jacket, baka, and go get a hot shower or something!"

A blood red eyebrow arched dangerously as Aya responded, "I am *not* a child, Kudou." Disproving at least part of his defiance by obeying, he was secretly astounded by the over-protectiveness in Yohji and Ken's eyes. Then with a small shrug as he handed the elder assassin a jacket made heavier by virtue of being wet, he added pointedly, "After I take your advice, Balinese, I want a meeting in the basement. We're going hunting tonight."

"All right!" Ken enthused, sincerely glad to have a chance to end the waiting game as well as to know that the swordsman was going to be reasonable about Yohji's possibly inappropriate demands.

"That'll be great," Omi interjected and then offered, "While you shower, I'll get us some fresh tea and double-check the net to make sure Persia or Manx haven't sent us any updates we might need." What he also wanted to check was whether or not Nagi had responded to his earlier email, something the telekinetic hadn't done by the time Omi had been in the basement working on his deadly darts.

Toweling the worst of the wetness away so he wouldn't leave a trail of water behind himself as he ascended to the private quarters above the flower shop, Aya acknowledged, "That'll work. Everyone meet there in a half-hour."

There were various words of agreement and then the swordsman went to get clean and dry even as Omi vanished to do what he'd offered, thereby leaving the two lovers alone for the moment.

"See what I mean?" Ken said with a semi-confident smile. "He's the same old Aya as always, Yohji. The sleep deprivation isn't as bad as you thought."

"The hell you say," Yohji disagreed with a snarl. He then gazed at the jacket in his hand and growled, "Under normal conditions, he won't do anything that I *tell* him to, only what I *ask* him to. So how do you explain this?"

"Oh. Fuck, you're right," Ken agreed with a deep, miserable huff. Shaking his head sadly, he acquiesced, "What do we do about it then?"

"We need to be extra watchful," Yohji answered and wrapped an arm around his partner for a brief yet heartfelt hug. As they stood together, wordlessly sharing support for one another as well as their plans to somehow get past Aya's formidable barriers, he added with a sigh, "If we can just keep him in one piece tonight, we'll be doing well. And as soon as those two creeps are dead, we can do something about getting him to listen to us whenever we try to convince him that you and I can be more to him than just teammates."

Crestfallen, Ken leaned against Yohji heavily and commented unhappily, "Yeah, but I still can't think of a way to approach him so he won't just shut us out before we can get our point across."

An expression of loving confidence filled emerald eyes as Yohji stroked Ken's back warmly and assured, "Don't start doubting yourself now, baby. After all, you were able to convince me that there was a helluva lot of difference between just fucking and making love. Then you were able to go one better and prove to me that you were the only one I wanted in my bed after being a player for so long." When hopeful brown eyes lifted to gaze at him, Yohji added tenderly, "If you can get this roamer to settle down, I dare say you can defrost an ice cube, too." [1]

Chuckling appreciatively, Ken chastised gently, "You know, Kudou, if you want to get the guy into our bed so badly, you'd better stop calling him names like that."

Pleased that the dark moment had passed, Yohji laughed quietly and responded with a nickname reserved for their most private moments, "Ken-love, if we can actually get him to even spend some downtime with us at all whether we have sex together or not, I'll be happy. He's just got to start letting that damned nice smile of his out more often, that's all."

"Yeah, he does have a nice smile," Ken said with a soft sigh before adding, "but I can't help but wonder what he sounds like when he laughs."

Releasing his lover from his one-armed embrace, Yohji commented thoughtfully, "Good point. We'll just add that to our list of things to try to get him to do someday. Who knows? Maybe we'll make a real live boy out of him after all."

Shaking his head and walking back over to the temporarily forgotten cash drawer, Ken replied, "Aya's not Pinocchio, Yohji, but I know what you mean." Tossing a resolute glance at his lover who was about to close the gate for the night, he added firmly, "After this mission's all wrapped up, we'll get started on our own private 'Assignment: Aya'. Come hell or high water, we'll find a way to get him to smile, laugh, and live again before it's too late."

"Now you're talking, Kenken!" Yohji beamed, relieved to see the confidence in his handsome brunette's eyes once more.

Without further discussion, the two of them finished taking care of seeing to it that the Koneko would be ready for business the next day and then turned to the more important matter of preparing to go forth to deal well deserved deaths to a pair of vile criminals.

*****

Saturday early evening then into the night. Weiss mission headquarters.

*****

As planned, all four members of Kritiker's finest assassin team soon convened in the Koneko's basement to discuss the approach to be taken to hopefully draw their current assignment to a close.

Aya opened the meeting by saying, "Tonight we've got a fairly good opportunity to eliminate both Glocksten and Charon only if that German bastard stays true to his pattern of partying after a successful kidnapping." The distaste was evident in his expression as he pointed to the table which was covered with computer printouts and a set of blueprints, and added, "Unfortunately, the places he likes to do that aren't ones we can set up a strike inside without endangering an unreasonable number of civilians. So we'll be working on an exterior interception approach as opposed to an interior ambush."

Frowning slightly since this didn't sound too bad to him, Ken asked, "What's wrong with that, Aya?" Cocking his head to one side thoughtfully, he added, "That's worked in a bunch of other cases. Why wouldn't it be fine tonight?"

"Because of the rain, Ken-kun," Omi supplied helpfully yet without enthusiasm. Even though he was very glad that the strike wasn't one that fit the profile of the type of battles where Nagi might be involved if Schwarz came into the picture unexpectedly, he was worried about a number of factors all the same. With a small frown, he continued, "I checked the forecast when I was looking to see if Manx or Persia had sent us anything, and unfortunately the weather bureau is calling for scattered showers, some of them possibly heavy tonight."

Shrugging, the former J-league player remarked, "Okay, Omi. So, we get a little wet, so what? No biggie."

"It's all about visibility, Siberian," Aya snarled with less patience than he would've liked. Before Yohji could even send him an angry glance, he then sighed, rubbed both hands over exhausted eyes and amended, "I'm sorry, Ken, that just slipped out."

Since he was temporarily blinded, the swordsman never saw the astounded expressions on those around him. The sudden apology was far more out of character for him than the angry remark had been and it worried them even more to watch as Aya slumped into a chair instead of remaining standing like usual during a strategy briefing.

Scarlet hair cascaded over the back of the chair for a moment as Aya let his head fall back and he added to their concerns by actually admitting with a moan, "Gods, I'm tired." His arms hung limply from slumped shoulders and his entire posture spoke of a bone-deep weariness that words could hardly express.

Frightened, Omi turned towards Ken who was seated on the couch and spread his hands in a gesture of entreaty hoping for a solution he already knew didn't exist.

With a worried shrug, Ken responded that he didn't have any ideas before he glanced at Yohji who was leaning against a wall near where Aya now sat.

Green eyes narrowed behind his omnipresent sunglasses, Yohji shook his head firmly only once, then pushed off the wall and strode over to Aya's chair. Crouching beside the redhead, he took a significant risk and wrapped a hand around Aya's forearm to draw his attention before saying, "Look, Aya, you're probably going to hate me for saying this--and I can live with that because this is damned important--but are you sure you should be going anywhere tonight?" Ken and Omi both tensed when they noticed the slowness with which violet eyes opened once more and gazed lifelessly as Yohji continued, "As exhausted as you are, maybe you should just let the three of us handle things for once."

In a dead voice that did nothing to allay anyone's fears, Aya replied, "I'll be fine, Yohji." The fact that he hadn't brushed the hand away hadn't been lost on them and neither was the unexpected use of the lanky blond's given name. As red lashes feathered shut briefly, he added, "This mission's too important to risk failing because we're a man short. I'll take something in awhile to make sure I'm alert later."

"Caffeine?" Omi suggested nervously.

Shaking his head, Aya answered, "No, that stopped working yesterday. I'll find something else, though." Forcing his eyelids to open against their will, he added decisively, "But that's enough about me. We've got a strike to plan."

"But, Aya--"

Ken started to say worriedly but was cut off when Aya finally reached to pull Yohji's hand from his arm while saying, "I said that was *enough*! Now get your hand off me, Balinese, and let's get back to business."

Noting the lack of punishing pressure on his wrist which would've been more normal, Yohji nodded and rose to his feet once more while saying, "All right, Abyssinian. Just be careful what you decide to take."

Nodding and letting the topic drop, Aya sat forward in his chair, reached for a printout and resumed the briefing by commenting, "Based on this spreadsheet Omi put together, I've decided that our best chance to intercept our targets is at a certain club tonight." Pointing at an entry written in by hand only a few minutes before their meeting had begun, he continued, "There is an unconfirmed sighting of Glocksten at a dance club last night in Roppongi, but I doubt he's headed back there tonight. Instead, I'm sure he's going to go to one of the more expensive clubs on the outskirts of the city."

"Why is that, Aya-kun?" Omi asked, glad to hear him sounding more like himself finally now that the mission itself was the topic of discussion instead of Weiss' field leader himself.

Using a pencil as a pointer, Aya indicated several different entries on the spreadsheet and explained, "He has eclectic tastes in music, but he's been seen at several places where a certain band was performing and that group is at a place named 'The White Dog' tonight."

With a startled expression on his face, Yohji ran a hand through his hair and remarked, "That's a damned expensive place." Noting the curious expressions on the two youngest assassins' faces, he explained, "'The White Dog' is one of those limos and champagne clubs instead of beer and bimbos."

"Oh," Ken commented with a nod, "so that's why I've never heard of it before."

Feeling a twinge of guilt for not ever taking his lover to such an upscale club, Yohji was about to apologize for his lapse, but Aya's voice pulled his mind from the non-mission related thoughts when he said, "Actually, it's to our advantage that it's like that. Establishing a perimeter around a building with a parking area is much more effective than doing the same in Roppongi or Ginza."

Reaching for the blueprints of the club in question, the Weiss field leader began outlining his plans for the night's strike. He dictated placement of personnel as well as reviewed weaponry with his tactical leader. Time flew by as the team debated several different approaches to reach their goal and eventually a final agreement was reached.

Once everyone knew his role for the night, the foursome went their separate ways for a time with an intention of gathering later for a light meal prior to heading into the night intending to eliminate two men who deserved far worse than what they would receive.

Omi would be frustrated by the fact that Nagi wasn't online to chat with. Ken and Yohji would feel similarly when they discovered Aya had vanished from the flower shop and was out purchasing whatever potentially disastrous stimulant he'd decided to use. As for the redheaded swordsman himself, there was little to say other than it was only stubbornness that kept him going as he ghosted through a less than savory section of Tokyo in search of what he felt would help him attain his goals.

Each of the four would eventually retreat into his own thoughts and the dinner they'd intended to share was forgotten long before they departed the Koneko around ten o'clock en route to what would be a more than fateful rendezvous.

*****

To be continued.

Authors Notes:

[1] Recently, Kyra posted a comment at ff.net regarding Ken's eye color and I thought I'd addressed this issue earlier, but apparently I didn't. I've already sent her an email with this information in it, but in case anyone else wondered, allow me to mention that like many other writers, I follow the original manga specifics and give him brown eyes instead of the blue he was given in the anime. I feel that the warmer color suits his down to earth personality better as well as granting him a more cuddly, "boy next door" appearance. There are other reasons, too, but I hope this is enough of an explanation to satisfy anyone's curiosity.