Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Neutral Territory ❯ Crucial Discussions ( Chapter 30 )

Title: Neutral Territory [part 30/?]

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}}

*****

Sunday very early morning. The surgical recovery room in Komagome Hospital.

*****

Within a few minutes, the cheerful volunteer had escorted the two leaders of rival assassin squads to the desk at the front of the recovery room and said to the nurse on duty, "Here are the men the patient was asking for, ma'am."

Glancing up from the small bank of monitors that showed the views from the cameras focused on her patients, the nurse smiled and replied, "Thank you for getting them. I'll take it from here."

"You're welcome," the girl replied then went back to her usual happy chores of delivering flowers and baskets of congratulatory fruit that arrived on a daily basis for the patients whose lives weren't hanging in the balance the way that Omi's was at that very minute.

Rising from behind her desk and straightening her impeccable white uniform, the nurse then said to both scrub-clad men, "Follow me, please. He's in the bed at the end on the right." Without waiting for a reply, she walked down the short corridor between curtain shrouded beds to the one she'd mentioned, then paused and inquired politely, "Naoe-kun? Your visitors are here. Do you wish to see them?"

The sound of sheets rustling reached their ears and then a somewhat uncertain voice replied, "Yes, please." The way Nagi swallowed nervously was almost audible before he added, "And then can we be left alone to talk, please?"

Pulling the curtain aside and revealing a terribly wan teen whose too-slender body seemed practically lost in the generously sized hospital bed, the nurse answered, "Certainly. But before I go, let me check your IVs." She reached for the pale left hand that lay limply on the white starched sheet which had a thick needle jammed deeply into the vein on the back of it so as to deliver more of the lifesaving blood Nagi needed after his ordeal. After gently lifting it and adjusting the tape that held the needle safely in place so it would be less painful, she did the same to the one inserted into the elbow of the right arm that was delivering other needed fluids, earning her a tiny, grateful smile from Nagi. "There, I think that's better. If you need anything from me, just press the call button, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Nagi replied even as she walked away. Slow terror grew in his midnight-hued eyes as he then turned his attention on his visitors and found himself momentarily tongue-tied. No one had had an opportunity to warn him that the other assassins had been forced to change clothes, so the fact that Crawford and Aya were both standing there dressed as if they were doctors and not killers had taken him by surprise. But it wasn't half as shocking as Aya's crutches and badly swollen, bandaged leg were.

The realization that Omi would be upset to know that someone else he valued dearly had also been injured in the tragic course of events mere hours prior, Nagi frowned unhappily before asking nervously, "Are you hurt badly, Aya-kun?" Seeing chilled violet eyes narrow, he shrunk back on himself a little, then corrected, "Um, I mean, Abyssinian?"

Disdaining to answer the question, Aya replied instead with one of his own, "Why do you call me that, Naoe?"

"Because it's what Omi always called you when he talked about you, um, sir," Nagi replied in a small voice, then offered, "I'll call you whatever you want though."

Snorting softly and turning his head away, Aya replied with less vehemence than one might expect, "Call me Fujimiya or Aya or whatever you want, just not that." Hiding an expression of discomfort that flit across his features ever so briefly behind a scarlet earlock, he added, "I don't want to hear anyone call me that until after Omi does again. It's *his* way of saying my name, no one else's."

"All right," Nagi promised, then looked at Crawford who had stood by silently during the brief exchange and even though he desperately wanted to know how Omi was doing in surgery, he had other debts to pay first. In a voice smaller still than what he'd used to address Aya's angry question about his name, he offered, "I'm sorry, Crawford."

Powerful arms wrapped themselves across a broad and imposing chest as Crawford gauged whether now was the time for the most serious of discussions between himself and his youngest teammate. But the slightly hazy look in Nagi's eyes told him that until the boy was out from under the influence of the drugs he'd been given, there was no point in pursuing the matter of a shattered trust. With a sigh, he dropped his hands back to his sides and commented flatly, "I'm sure you are, but we'll speak of that another time." Casting a sidelong glance at the Weiss field leader whose own weariness was obvious, he added pointedly, "And we will speak of it in privacy, understand?"

Nodding and feeling the heat of previously alien teardrops pricking the backs of his eyes, Nagi dared to change the subject and asked, "How is Omi doing?" His voice cracked as he continued, "They won't tell me hardly anything and I am so afraid he might…"

Turning his head back to face the bedridden youth, Aya insisted strongly, "He is *not* going to die!" Fiery determination filled his amethyst eyes as he added hotly, "Don't ever say that again where I can hear you!"

One of the tears he'd been fighting escaped Nagi's control and slipped free to leave a gleaming trail down a pale cheek as he nodded even more frightened than he had been before.

Crawford briefly considered interceding on the telekinetic's behalf, yet decided against it. Nagi had chosen his own path and now needed to begin to navigate it alone, something Crawford truly was not pleased to realize. Like a father whose child has chosen to leave home prematurely, the ebony-haired man would find it far more difficult than he'd ever imagined it could be to see someone he had cared for since childhood turning away from his guidance and seeking his future alone.

The flare of anger Aya had felt was washed away in part by the look of terror in Nagi's eyes and then, with a sigh, he shook his head and admitted more gently, "They haven't told us anything new about his progress recently either. As severely injured as he was, though, it will take quite awhile before they're done, so try not to dwell on it too much, Nagi." The addition of the Schwarz psychic's given name in place of his surname was one Aya made without thinking about it. The truth of the matter was that Nagi's pleading blue eyes reminded him so much of Omi's that affording him a similar level of care as he would his own friend came naturally under the circumstances.

Dropping his gaze and staring at the bright red blood moving through the plastic IV tube on its way into his body, Nagi sniffled slightly then said softly, "That's hard to do. I've never seen anyone survive after being hurt that badly."

"Well, I have, so let it go for now," Aya stated while suppressing agonizing memories he truly wished he could forget, then changed the topic of conversation completely by asking, "How long have you known Omi?"

Dragging slightly unfocused eyes back up to look at the men who towered above his reclining form, Nagi winced as Crawford remarked, "This is something I, too, wish to know, Nagi. Weiss apparently knew of your alternate identity, but I dare say Schwarz can't claim to have been given the same courtesy." He deliberately refused to mention the discussion shared in bed with his lover and the fact that they'd agreed to try to protect the telekinetic's new found love interest, there were too many other confessions to be had for now.

Shifting on the bed as if trying to avoid their gazes and then settling farther into his pillow with a sigh, Nagi wished his mind wasn't as clouded by drugs as it was while he admitted, "I met Omi for the first time at the library, Crawford." Without realizing he hadn't mentioned what day it had happened, he further explained, "I was just there to read like usual, but a bunch of bookshelves broke and almost crushed him, and I kind of saved him without knowing who it was under all the wood and paper. I wasn't sure what you might do if you knew I'd met him, so I didn't say anything about it."

Before Crawford could point out that fraternizing with the enemy was a bad idea in and of itself, Aya interrupted to ask, "Do you mean the main branch of the public library, Nagi? Downtown?"

Feeling slightly less frightened than before thanks to thinking of the first warm words shared with Omi over a tray of sushi in some small restaurant in Asakasa, Nagi turned towards Aya and replied, "Yes, that's right."

"But he'd never been there before last Monday." Disbelief filled Aya's tone as he stated, "You can't possibly mean that you and he became close enough in less than a week to take the kind of risks you did outside that club. It sounds impossible."

The idea that this could've been a reflection of some complicated telepathic trick of Schuldich's crossed Aya's mind for a split second and then was banished. The idea that the two young teens had somehow forged a bond that strong in so short an amount of time rang falsely to Aya who had never seen friendship or love blossom quite so quickly.

Fujimiya Ran had only known true love's touch once for a brief period more than three years in the past, but he knew its effects all too well from living with, working beside, and killing in tandem with Yohji and Ken. Even though he didn't wish to have seen the way his two teammates had reacted as the irresistible force known as romance had wrested their individual barriers aside and forced them to admit that what they felt for each other was no longer mere friendship, he had. Worried glances during missions, tender exchanges when they thought no one was looking, and more had all left an abiding impression on the only member of Weiss yet to have found someone to share his joys as well as his sorrows with.

With a sigh as he shook his head, Crawford commented, "It's no more impossible than the fact that you and I are standing here conversing the way that we are, Fujimiya." He slipped his glasses off and rubbed tired eyes before remarking with another sigh, "I won't tell you about Nagi's past or his life until now, those are his secrets to tell, not mine, but take my word for it. Finding someone he could trust as he apparently did your teammate would have made a world of difference for him and the length of time of their acquaintance would be of little consequence."

"Crawford?" Nagi asked with concern after noting the classic signs of either a vision or other sudden pressing matter which weighed heavily on the precognitive's shoulders.

Pushing his glasses back onto his face and trying to offer only strength, Crawford explained, "I must go soon before this situation becomes impossibly complicated." The vague reference to a brief warning flash regarding the incipient arrival of a flame-haired Kritiker agent who wouldn't let Schwarz leave unimpeded was left to hang vaguely in the air for a moment. Then he asked, "I need to know what you intend to do now, Nagi."

Both Nagi and Aya turned towards the American and it was the Weiss swordsman who said with a scowl, "What do you mean, Crawford? He just had surgery, so what kind of action is there to take other than to heal?"

The sedatives in his veins continued to slow Nagi's usually quick mind, but it only took him a moment to realize this was a much greater question than what Aya thought it was and he shook his head sadly and apologized, "I'm sorry, Crawford, but I can't go with you. Not now, not without knowing if Omi's going to be okay or not."

Nodding slowly despite the fact that this was only the first of several steps away from Schwarz that Nagi would most likely be taking, Crawford replied, "If that's your decision and you're willing to take the risks involved, all right, Nagi, but what about the future?"

Eyebrows drawing together in sorrow, Nagi shook his head again and answered, "I can't fight against Omi in the future." Flicking a quick glance at Aya, he amended, "I can't fight against Weiss at all anymore. They're Omi's friends, I won't hurt them ever again."

Deep concern etched itself into Crawford's forehead as he asked, "Do you realize that as a member of Schwarz you don't have the right to pick and choose who you must contend with? Even I don't have that freedom, Prodigy."

Sorrow was replaced with destitution as Nagi processed this information and then said quietly, "Then maybe it was a waste of time to have them fix my arm. Schu always said the only way out of Schwarz--or Estet for that matter--was in a box, so go ahead and shoot me now and get it over with because I'm not going back to being 'Prodigy'."

"Wait one damned minute here!" Aya finally interjected since he was afraid Crawford might do just that. Unwisely moving a hand off one crutch's grip to gesture towards the pale youth with the needles in both arms and a huge bandage covering numerous sutures where he'd been shot while protecting Omi, he added, "You can't *possibly* be considering killing him for that now, Crawford! He's drugged and out of his mind with worry! Let the kid recover and think this over, at least!" The vehemence of his exclamation gained added power when the crutch slipped and he might easily have fallen except that Crawford intervened and without any show of effort, caught Aya by the shoulder even as he snatched the falling crutch from mid-air with his other hand.

Returning the item without explanation, Crawford shook his head and said, "Of course I wouldn't dream of doing so, Fujimiya. However, such decisions will need to be made in the future. For now, though, I fear my time is almost gone." He sent a mental summons to Schuldich to bring Farfarello if they wished to say farewell to Nagi and missed the astonished look on Nagi's face that melted away almost as fast as it had formed.

The brief sense of confusion caused by the strange interactions between Crawford and Aya that Nagi had felt was rapidly replaced by one of sudden worry as he retroactively realized that he wasn't completely sure how Omi felt about him in the first place. An expression of sorrow entered his expressive eyes again and he said quietly, "Thanks, Crawford…" there was a long pause and then he concluded uncertainly, "I guess."

Gazing down at the small figure in the bed and experiencing an uncomfortable flashback to the first time Nagi had required extensive medical treatment following an Estet training mission that ended badly, Crawford lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What is it, Nagi?"

Shaking his head slightly, Nagi admitted, "I just realized that Omi might not feel the same way about me that I do about him. He said I was his best friend, what if that was all that he wanted?" The fact that he himself wanted so much more than mere friendship was clear to both of the older men and no further clarification was needed by either of them.

A slight hope that the life that he and Schuldich had worked so hard to build for the four misfits that had come together to form Schwarz might not be lost after all entered Crawford's heart. Yet he charitably kept that from his voice as he stated, "I have no idea one way or the other. However, for now, I'll inform Estet that you are on inactive status due to your injury suffered in the line of duty and will wait for you to get the chance to talk to your friend. If he doesn't share your feelings, you might want to be able to return."

A sternness that hadn't been there previously then entered Crawford's eyes and voice as he added, "But once you leave for good you have to realize that you will be unwelcome with us in the future. Keep this in mind before you toss aside the opportunity to return home."

With a sad nod of his head, Nagi acknowledged his team leader's words and then flicked his gaze towards Aya wondering if the redhead had any idea how his youngest teammate felt about him in return. The weary swordsman, unfortunately, was fighting off a wave of exhaustion and trying his best not to yawn openly and missed the entreating look that Nagi had sent him.

Before anything more could be said by those already present, a small commotion from the front of the room drew their attention.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but you can't…"

The woman in charge of the recovery room tried to stop the newest arrivals, but with a flippant wave of a hand and the rather forceful application of his paranormal abilities, Schuldich put an end to her attempts to enforce the hospital's rules. With a pained scowl since he'd overextended himself in the course of the long night, the German psychic responded firmly, "Yes, we *can* and *you* can go work on paperwork or something until we leave."

Her eyes now wide and slightly blank, the nurse nodded and replied woodenly, "Yes, sir. Of course, sir."

In a much more relaxed frame of mind than he'd been in when they'd arrived, partially thanks to the prior few minutes spent watching Ken and Yohji throwing them uncomfortable glances, Farfarello ignored the woman entirely and simply remained next to Schuldich obediently.

Rubbing at his aching forehead in an attempt to banish the pain and weariness he felt, Schuldich approached his lover demanding, "What the hell do you *mean* we're leaving, Crawford?!" Casting his first glance at Nagi since they had turned the then nearly unconscious telekinetic over to the emergency room staff, he added, "Nagi's not ready to go already, is he?"

Shaking his head, Crawford responded in a tone that was intended to brook no disagreement, "He wont be coming with us, Schuldich."

Hands on his hips, the redhead responded angrily, "Then what are we leaving for?" Disregarding the way Farfarello was peering with fascination at the blood dripping from the IV bag into the tubing that carried it into a terribly pale hand, Schuldich added silently for Crawford alone, {{I'm not going anywhere until I get a chance to talk to him. I want to know what the hell's going on since I couldn't listen in earlier.}}

The reason Schuldich had been denied the opportunity to telepathically eavesdrop had been the arrival of a sick child in the emergency room whose older brother had been left in the waiting room to amuse himself with a dog fight between his Strike and Aegis Gundam models. Farfarello had found the action almost too appealing to resist and it had been all Schuldich could do to keep the white-haired man seated instead of going over and offering to make the battle more exciting in his own inimitable style.

Offering a telepathic promise to explain fully when the three of them were elsewhere, Crawford replied aloud, "We must leave now or things will become exceptionally difficult. If you wish to say goodbye, do so now, Schuldich, Farfarello."

Hearing his name, the amber-eyed man tore his eye away from the lovely red seeping from plastic to plastic and then smiled slightly while saying, "Get better and come home soon, Nagi. We can watch 'Iron Chef' together, okay?" Unlike the others, Farfarello hadn't given the sudden new relationship between the two teens a moment's thought and because of this he hadn't considered that this might be an invitation that could never be accepted.

An unexpected tightening in his chest made Nagi aware that he'd not considered how much it might hurt to be considering leaving his Irish friend behind the way he might if he chose to remain with Omi, and that pain kept him from saying anything at all in reply.

The knowledge that Crawford wouldn't insist on denying him a chance to speak with Nagi at length without a very good reason for doing so didn't give Schuldich much comfort. Yet he wisely set aside his own usual stubbornness and said with as much levity as he could muster under the circumstances, "I don't like leaving you here on your own, chibi, but if pushy-bastard-leader-man over here says we gotta go, we gotta go." Eyes reminiscent of glittering fragments of emerald lingered sadly over the thick bandages surrounding Nagi's left arm and he desperately wished there was time for explanations even though he knew there wasn't.

Nagi was surprised to see expressions of concern on the faces of the eldest members of Schwarz's faces since he hadn't yet accepted the fact that perhaps Schuldich and Crawford both cared for him in a fashion they'd never openly demonstrated previously. Yet when deep mahogany eyes framed by silver rims caught his eyes and wordlessly commanded him to think long and hard before making an irrevocable decision, not even the sedatives in his bloodstream could hold the truth back any longer.

The realization that he hadn't been as alone as he thought he had been for quite a long time flooded Nagi's awareness and the tightness in his chest increased. He wanted to ask why he'd never known they'd cared until now or even why he was being given a choice at all, but no words could get past his lips and he merely lay there looking helpless.

Forgotten for the moment, Aya remained standing nearby, leaning heavily upon his crutches and finding himself continuing to be utterly baffled by the way the four psychics he'd known only as enemies and villains in their own right, interacted with one another.

The Weiss field leader had never paused to consider what Schwarz might be like as men instead of as assassins, but now that he saw them all together in this way, he began to question many of his most basic assumptions about them.

Only someone whose heart truly was made of stone as Aya still thought his teammates believed his own to be would have failed to see the signs of friendship and compassion on display before him. Earlier, he'd written off Crawford's act of mercy towards Omi as well as his vicious vengeance on the battlefield towards Charon to both be flukes. Yet here the broad-shouldered American was once more showing a different side of himself that Aya found disturbingly familiar.

Unaware that Aya was contemplating how similar they were to one another, Crawford decided that the time for parting was at hand. Pulling his eyes away from Nagi's, he said simply, "Let's go." Not wishing to allow for any further discussion, he turned away from his teammates, offered Aya a terse nod of farewell and then headed towards the door.

With a sigh, Schuldich commented, "C'mon, Farfster. Time to jet." After tugging lightly on his Irish friend's scrub-clad arm to remind him to move, he followed his lover's retreating form.

Dutifully trailing behind Schuldich, Farfarello waved once and said, "Bye, Nagi."

Finally able to speak again, Nagi responded with a slight hitch in his voice, "Bye, Farf." He wondered if he'd just bidden his teammates farewell for the last time or not, then noticed that the scarlet-haired swordsman remained nearby. Noting the weary slump in usually straight shoulders, he asked tentatively, "Um, are you all right, Fujimiya, sir?"

Snapping to awareness upon hearing his name, Aya replied falsely, "I'm fine and stop calling me 'Fujimiya'." Glancing away with slight guilt, he added, "Just call me 'Aya' like everybody else does, okay?"

"Um, okay," Nagi replied uncertainly, then decided to get an answer to a question he'd raised earlier that had been lost in the moment. After clearing his throat nervously, he asked, "Is your leg badly injured, Aya? What happened to it?"

Amethyst eyes narrowed slightly, yet Aya found it increasingly difficult to call forth the animosity he'd once felt towards the telekinetic. With less acid than he would rather have had in his voice, he responded with a question of his own, "Why are you asking?"

Mournful midnight blue eyes peered back at him as Nagi explained, "Omi would be worried about it if he was here, so I thought…?" Words failed him as he tried to sort through his own hazy mind and he just left the incomplete sentence hanging in the air questioningly.

"You just thought you'd worry about it for him, then, is that it?" Aya commented with a sigh. As he'd observed earlier, the two teens had a great deal in common. The fact that before meeting Omi, Nagi would never have allowed himself to openly express this level of concern for a relative stranger was irrelevant. All that mattered to Aya now was that fate had placed yet another young life into his hands to some extent and he knew that he'd try to protect Nagi as best he could until Omi could return to the sable-haired youth's side.

"I guess so," Nagi said, then looked away as he added, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

The unexpected desire to disagree with Nagi rose in Aya, but before he could say anything, the nurse who was no longer under Schuldich's control approached and said, "Excuse me, but I just got a call from the waiting area. The police and some redheaded woman are here and they have a lot of questions for you both."

Back straightening automatically as he forced his weariness aside and became Abyssinian once more, Aya stated flatly, "I'll go and talk with them, but they need to leave Naoe here alone for awhile. He hasn't exactly gotten any rest yet." He turned on his crutches and began to hobble towards the nurse never once affording himself a glance back at the too-slender boy in the bed.

Afraid of whatever he was about to face regarding questioning or worse, Nagi almost remained silent, but the sight of Aya's retreating form changed all that. Unwisely lifting his right arm in a gesture of entreaty, he called out, "Aya? Ouch." The exclamation of pain was unintentional, but the needle carrying vital fluids into his bloodstream shifted uncomfortably and vocalizing the discomfort was unavoidable.

Turning partially so he could gaze behind himself, Aya took note of the problem and scowled slightly before cautioning, "Be more careful, Nagi. Omi isn't the only one who is suffering because of what happened last night."

Carefully laying his arm down even as the nurse approached him quietly clucking her tongue in motherly consternation, Nagi replied, "I'm sorry, Aya, I'll be more careful. But I wanted to say 'thank you' before you left."

"Stop saying you're sorry for everything," Aya advised with a small frown. Then he asked, "Why are you thanking me? I didn't do anything for you."

"Yes, you did," Nagi disagreed earnestly. He ignored the nurse who was applying additional adhesive strips to keep the needle in his elbow anchored as he explained, "You were the one who let Crawford bring Omi here with me. One of the doctors said he would've bled to death if not for, well, you know." The evasive words were due to the presence of the woman nearby but Aya understood their meaning perfectly.

Nodding and allowing the negative expression to slip from his face, Aya said, "I had assumed as much, but it's good to know. Thank you for thinking quickly enough to do that."

With a sigh as the tiredness of blood loss combined with the medication in his system re-exerted their control, Nagi shook his head and replied, "I wish I'd thought faster. Maybe none of this would've happened."

The reproach Aya almost gave the boy died on his lips when his conscience told him that no, it was Abyssinian himself who should've done quite a few crucial things sooner than he had. With a sigh of his own, he just shook his head again. As a scarlet earlock slipped back and revealed the long golden earring hanging from one ear, Aya commanded gently, "Just rest now, Nagi. I won't let the police or Manx bother you for awhile and as soon as we know anything about Omi's condition, someone will be in to tell you."

"Oh, okay, Aya," Nagi promised in a somewhat confused tone and then watched as the usually graceful swordsman made his ungainly way out of sight as he went to rejoin Yohji and Ken as they began to try to cope with both Manx and the police.

"There, you're all set," the nurse said as she patted Nagi's arm and then adjusted his covers for him. She wondered why he startled the way he did when she'd spoken, but didn't inquire choosing instead to waggle a warning finger at him and say, "Now, though, you'd better take your friend's advice and get some sleep. You've been fighting that sedative this whole time, so relax and rest now."

Blinking owlishly, Nagi momentarily had no clue who she was referring to, but as soon as he realized the truth, a faint expression of surprise washed over him. Nodding an agreement to do just that even as a yawn presented itself, he retroactively came into awareness that now Omi's friends might become his friends, too, and that was something totally unexpected.

As peace descended on the recovery room once more and Nagi began to drift towards slumber, a random recollection of when Omi told him that Weiss was like a family came into his mind. It hadn't occurred to him that by becoming involved with one of them meant interacting with all of them eventually since the concept of neutral territory ought to have precluded it. Yet here he lay, under the protection of the Weiss field leader, unwittingly being worried over by two other members of that same team even as he himself shared their worries for the boy whose life still hung in the balance.

Fading into the world of dreams with that thought in mind, Nagi narrowly avoided the almost guaranteed nightmares that would've been his if he'd taken this line of thought one step further. If he had, and came to the realization that if Omi died, Schwarz would be held accountable at least to some extent, then he would assuredly have been trapped in dreams filled with blood and sorrow.

Despite the atypically gentle side of Aya that he'd just been witness to, Nagi instinctively knew that he was also a man driven by a need for vengeance as almost all assassins were. If the possibly mortally wounded archer failed to survive, then he would surely witness another meeting between the two leaders who had just conversed so civilly in his presence and it was a foregone conclusion that at least one of them would not leave the reunion alive.

*****

To be continued.

[Posting Run Dedication] Despite the somewhat belated nature of it, this evening's posting run is dedicated as a gift to my exceptionally good friend Yanagi-sen who celebrated her birthday on May 11th while on assignment for the JET program in Hirado, Japan. She's one of the finest writers of yaoi anime fanfiction it's ever been my distinct pleasure to read and she is also one of the nicest people on the entire planet, in my humble opinion! The adventures she's shared with all of us through her LiveJournal about her time far across the sea have been nothing short of inspiring and occasionally have brought a whole new perspective about things to mind. I couldn't ask for a better reviewer for my stories or a better person in my corner when things get tough as they have lately, so I only hope that she enjoys this small offering as well as my belated birthday gift to her.