Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Never Split The Party ❯ Round One ( Chapter 3 )

Aya had immediately drawn his sword and had it pointed directly at Schuldig's chest.

The Drow rolled his eyes as Farfarello started laughing. “Think his head will explode if he casts sense evil?” Farfarello asked through his laughter.

“Without a doubt,” Schuldig said casually, eying the sword and his opponent with interest.

“Foul creature. Why are you here?” Aya snarled, glaring at the Drow then the Cleric.

Schuldig glanced at the leader of their party. “Why am I here again, my Prince?”

Oracle pinched the bridge of his nose above his glasses and sighed. Fortunately, their benefactor stopped any and all bloodshed for the moment.

“Sir Aya, if you would please, put away your sword,” Takatori said. “These people are to make up the rest of your party.”

“No.” Aya said flatly. “I refuse.” He glanced briefly at Takatori, taking his eyes off of Schuldig for only a moment. He suddenly felt the air shift and someone pressed against his back, most definitely felt the sharp blade of the dagger held against his throat.

“Ah, ah, ah, no playing rescue the ice maiden just yet, you three,” Farfarello said, still laughing but moving to block the path between Yohji, Omi and Ken to Aya.

“Pity, I was looking forward to working with you. Especially if you survived. I would take great pleasure in dragging you into the Underdark and selling your virginity to the highest bidder,” Schuldig said, nipping Aya's ear hard enough to draw blood while pushing the point of the dagger a bit more firmly into his skin. “I'm sure the profits from marketing your ass would see me nicely set for a lifetime. And don't say you aren't a virgin. I can smell it on you. Your virtue clings to you like a disease.”

“Schuldig, that's enough,” Oracle snapped. “We have to work with these people. Alienating them further is counterproductive.”

Schuldig stepped away from Aya as quickly as he'd gotten around him. “Of course, my Prince. I was merely pointing out his . . . benefits.”

Farfarello, who'd stopped laughing, started again. Nagi simply sighed and shook his head.

“Well, now that the excitement is over,” Takatori said. “Sir Aya, you said you were refusing this mission, did you not?”

“Yes,” Aya ground out, ignoring the trickles of blood from both his ear and just under his chin.

“May I remind you that you signed a contract, Sir Aya? Therefore, you are honor bound to it. Any refusal and I can send word back to your order that you would not honor a bound contract. That would not bode well for your future with the order.”

Aya snarled, knowing that Takatori was right. He had signed a contract and was therefore bound by it. There was no honorable way out of it. If he refused this mission, his order would demand his sword and shield. He would be disgraced among his brethren, shunned and never looked upon as anything clean again.

“As you wish, my Lord,” Aya ground out bitterly.

“Excellent. What of the rest of you? Will you honor the contracts or not?” Takatori said, looking over at Aya's party.

Omi spoke up. “We go where Aya does.”

Takatori nodded before looking to the other group.

Oracle nodded to him. “Of course, Lord Takatori. We are being paid handsomely for this endeavor, after all.”

“That you are,” Takatori said. “Now, what I wish you to find is called the Eye of Persia. It is said to be in the land of mists. That is why I brought all of you together. You have specialties that few have knowledge of and they will be needed in the journey there.”

“What exactly is the Eye of Persia, Lord Takatori?” Nagi asked.

“Ah, the Eye is a ruby the size of a man's head. It is said to bring untold riches to the holder.”

“Then who's to say we won't just keep it for ourselves once it's found?” Schuldig said, leaning against a pillar and looking suspiciously at their host.

A nasty smile spread across Takatori's features and it made certain members of both parties shiver a little. “Because, if you'd bothered to read the contract you signed, you would have noticed the clause in it. If you find the stone and keep it for yourself, your body will disintegrate slowly until it is either brought to me or you die.”

Farfarello restrained Schuldig while Ken and Omi did the same with Aya.

Oracle pushed his glasses up further. “I see. An excellent way to hedge your bets, Lord Takatori.”

“Thank you. I do try,” Takatori said, rearranging his bulk on the chair.

“Do you have any other orders for us?” Oracle asked coolly.

“Only that you bring it back to me in one piece. It's hardly any use to me if it's broken.”

“Naturally. Schuldig, Nagi, Farfarello. Outside. We'll discuss plans while Sir Aya gives Lord Takatori a rather large piece of his mind,” Oracle said, shepherding his group out.

“Hope he has some of it left afterward,” Schuldig sneered.

“I'm sure he will have,” Oracle said, sounding bored.

They made it outside before Schuldig turned to his leader. “What the hell were you thinking?! Having us sign a contract that could cost our lives. Isn't it your job to see this kind of thing coming?”

“It is and I did. It's why I had Nagi change the wording in the contract before any of us signed it.”

Schuldig looked stunned for a moment before grabbing Oracle's face in both hands and kissing him soundly on the mouth. “Fuck, Oracle, I think I love you.”

“Try to curb your enthusiasm.”