Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ New Rules, New Ruler ❯ Chapter 26 ( Chapter 26 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Part Twenty-Six

Nagi woke up to the sound of a car dying outside. Crawford was nowhere to be seen, but the bathroom door had been unlocked and there was a trail of something unpleasant leading outside. He climbed unsteadily to his feet.

Having checked on Schuldig, who chattered on about checking on Schuldig, Nagi walked to the already open front door and peered out. A white Porsche, well, what used to be a white Porsche but could probably be better classified as a brown Mini by now, mounted the drive triumphantly. One of the occupants was beating against the window.

Crawford stepped out of the trees and cursed himself for not having his revolver. If this was what Farfarello had managed to do to Fujimiya's car, heaven knows what state his own must be in, and where it actually was.

Farfarello kicked the door open and it fell to the ground with a crumpled thud. He clambered out, a wide grin splitting his face in two. There was a muffled shriek as he tried to extract the car's other occupant. Crawford's frown deepened. Tash. Now he really wished he had his revolver. But it was in his car. Which was somewhere in Tokyo, probably outside the Koneko, all things considered.

Nagi saw the look on his boss's face and gave a reassuring wave. Crawford gave a grim smile as Nagi moved his gun back and forth. Nagi moved as though to throw it, and Crawford nodded. The killing metal spun gracefully through the air to land squarely in Crawford's palm. As Farfarello dragged the kicking and screaming telempath from the vehicle Crawford shot her squarely in the back. She went limp.

* * *

`Noooo! He can't… idiot! I curse you, Bradley Crawford! Stupid, stupid man!'

`Calm, my friend-'

`Fuck off! You're supposed to be here, I'm not.'

< I could be so cruel, and leave it here, ne? But that would be an incredibly short chapter, and the suspense is killing me, so I can't imagine what it's doing to any readers who've stuck with me this far. >

* * *

Farfarello slapped Tash's face. It rolled to one side, pale and ghostly. Blood poured from the bullet wound in her back and began to see from her mouth and nose. Crawford had hit her lung, that was for certain.

"Ye killed her!" Farfarello shrieked indignantly.

"I had to. There's no knowing what she would have done to us," Crawford justified.

"Aye, like save Schuldig?" Farfarello snapped. He hadn't sat and listened to the bint whine for the last few hours solely for the pleasure of burying her corpse.

Crawford paled. "What?" Farfarello saw just how badly everything was affecting their leader. His skin was like dry parchment, hanging off of his face, and dark circles defined bloodshot eyes. He was twenty-seven, but right now he looked about seventy-seven. Grief had taken its toll on the older man, and the cracks were beginning to show.

Farfarello considered his next words carefully. They were likely to be his last, it seemed. "Schuldig left his head, when she knocked his shields down. But he can't get back in without help, because it's his body that's telepathic, not mine."

"Yours?" Crawford sank to the ground and began to search for a pulse on the body. The blood flow had already stopped, he noted with anguish.

"Aye. I mean, there are bits of my mind I don't go into, so I guess it made sense. He told me, ye see, in a dream."

"A dream?" Nagi crossed his legs and joined the bizarre little circle.

"Aye."

"It could just have been a dream," Crawford suggested gently. Please, let it just have been a dream, he begged miserably.

"Nae. It were Schuldig. She woulda been a conduit, see, twix him and his body. I can't find Schuldig meself, but he's lurking there somewhere," Farfarello added hastily.

Crawford didn't want to cry again in front of what remained of his team. Nagi was emotionally fragile as it was, and Farfarello seemed to have slipped further into his delusional insanity. He had to be the strong one. Part of him raged against this, raged against he fact he had to be the support, not the supported, when it was he who was suffering the most. Of course, all those lost in grief believe themselves to be the most in pain, and Nagi and Farfarello were equally distraught in their own way.

As Crawford stared at the body, he felt a weight lift from his heart. So there was no hope any more. It was easier, in many ways, not to hope, not to believe. He could go back to being emotionless, stoic Crawford-san who didn't give a damn about who lived or died. Schuldig was gone. Schuldig, who had always been the one to demand such emotions from him anyway. Schuldig, whose sheer ability to irritate had forced down Crawford's barriers and made him a less efficient killer for it. Schuldig had always interfered in the job, really.

Yes, Crawford would miss him, but perhaps it was better this way. They could keep going, they could survive and thrive without him. And Schuldig would still be able to watch.

Nagi chewed his lip. Schuldig was dead. Schuldig, who had been a good friend from time to time, but a worse enemy. No need to keep those secrets so close anymore, at least, there wouldn't be once Schuldig's body finally admitted the truth the rest of them had accepted and died. And, well, he'd always been a little scared of Schuldig. Schuldig who called him `Bishounen' and made jokes about how desirable he was. Schuldig who would come home drunk and try to grope him, until Nagi locked himself in his room and prayed for Crawford to deal with him. Schuldig had never known when to stop, never known restraint. He'd jeopardised them so many times.

Yes, he missed him terribly, but there was a little relief, and he didn't feel guilty for admitting that. Not like he had when his mother died, when he ran away from home and wished his father would suffer and burn and just die! Yes, it would be okay without Schuldig. He still had Crawford, he still had Farfarello.

Farfarello would have felt a weight lift from his heart, but the contented looks on his teammates' faces made him extremely suspicious. His mind worked differently, he wasn't connected to all the same chemicals as every one else, and he honestly wasn't stupid.

"She ain't dead," he declared. "She's invulnerable, ye blithe fools."

<Yeah, I'd forgotten that too! Thought I'd written myself into a corner for a bit there. Hehe, did I fool anyone else? >