Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Oceans Apart ❯ I'll have to remember it. ( Chapter 3 )
Yep, still don't own Weiss… or Schwarz for that matter, but someday… Either way, enjoy the next chappie and check out my deviantart account (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/12013106/) to see pics of my story and pics relating to my story. All I have up right now is line art of Rayne, but it will get colored… eventually…
Either way, here's chapter three!
Oceans Apart
Chapter Three
Rayne, dressed in a three-piece designer Italian suit sat in a booth in an Italian restaurant. He was sipping at his drink when his new client entered the restaurant and was led to Rayne table. Setting his drink down, Rayne stood up bowed respectively to his Japanese client, and then they both sat down. Sipping at his drink again, Rayne waited for the man to speak.
"You are the Relic Hunter?"
Rayne nodded his head, confirming that fact. The man was about to continue when the waiter came by to take their orders. When asked for his wine choice, Rayne shook his head. Grinning at his companion, he apologized. "I'm sorry, but I am still too young to drink alcohol. Iced tea will be fine."
Nodding, the waiter turned to Rayne's companion, who simply waved him away. Nodding his head at the request, the waiter backed away. Turning back to the man sitting across the table from him, Rayne smiled slightly. "Don't let my age fool you. I am quite good at what I do."
The man replied, "I am well aware of your conquests, my people did extensive research before hiring you. They simply failed to emphasize your youthful stature."
Rayne shrugged is shoulders, "Well, better energetic and youthful than wrinkly and old… especially in this line of work."
The man hummed in agreement, then handed a file folder across the table. Paper clipped to the outside of the folder was a glossy folder. Unclipping the picture, Rayne gazed at it. And looked up when he heard the man's voice.
"This is what my superiors want you to find. It is worth its weight in gold and if you retrieve it, my superiors will pay you three times that. If you fail to retrieve it, you wont need money where they will send you."
Rayne raised an eyebrow at that thinly veiled threat. For some unknown reason, threats fail to motivate him…
"This is how you can contact me." Rayne took the business card from the man's outstretched hand. "They expect to be updated in a week. There had better be results and they better be positive."
Looking at the man who's trying to scare him and failing miserably, Rayne flashed his teeth in a predatory smile. "I seldom fail."
"This time, make sure of that. Enjoy your lunch, it has already been paid for." With that, the man got up from the booth and walked away. Smiling slightly, Rayne murmured, "Yay free food."
Placing the rather big file folder into his messenger bag, Rayne set his glass down on the photograph when the waiter came back with his order. When he left, Rayne removed his glass and picked up the photo. Spearing some pasta on the end of his fork, he brought it to his lips. Chewing, he stared at the picture.
Azrael's Bell: The bell to summon demons and wake the dead… Unlike much of the other artifacts, relics, whatever he has been sent to find, this is of some value for it actually does what it is believed to do. Now, as for the why… why do these people need this kind of power? More importantly, who needs this kind of power?
Lifting another forkful of pasta to his lips, Rayne chewed thoughtfully. Either way, I really have no choice in the matter. As the Sebastian, I have to find it; being the only way to protect humanity from it. I must also find out what these mortal men are truly up to, and discover if they have any other magickal relics in their possessions.
Tilting his head to the left slightly, Rayne smirked at his momentary loss of intelligence. Of course they must already have powerful magickal relics in their possessions, for no mortal could possibly know about Azrael's Bell otherwise. Hn… an interesting little puzzle. Rayne grinned. This will be fun.
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At the pool located in Ken's gym, Nagi and Omi were swimming there on visitors' passes, and were being "chaperoned" by Yotan and Schuschu. Looking up from his boyfriend, Omi looked at Yoji and Schu who were lounging on some deck chairs. Pouting cutely, Omi asked in an annoyed voice, "Aren't we a little old for chaperones? As Persia of Kritiker, this is slightly demeaning…"
Nagi glanced sideways at Omi, "Only slightly?"
/It's so you two don't do anything…/ Schu interjected in a lazy tone.
Looking at his boyfriend, Omi grinned. "Careful, I think they're trying to protect our "innocence"."
Nagi laughed softly, "They're okay with killing, but not with us having sex?"
/No, no! We're just trying to protect Omi from becoming a Dark Beast, and having to have Weiss kill him./
"How so?" Nagi asked, looking at Omi.
/We-ell… If Omi, a legal adult, has sex with a minor, that's statutory rape and is considered illegal./
Omi rolled his eyes, but before he could respond, Nagi stopped him. "Just ignore him. He doesn't know what he is talking about."
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Glancing at the annoying redhead who insisted on sitting next to him, Yoji asked, "Why are they here? They've never been interested in swimming before… And I know I had my fill of swimming after the whole falling-into-the-ocean thing."
With the chibis now ignoring him, Schu turned to Yoji. "About a week ago, Nagi became infatuated with a swimmer on TV; some gajin who decimated the competition."
"The one with the braid?" Yoji asked with a lecherous grin plastered across his face.
"You watched that too?"
Yoji's grin widened, as he laid back and closed his eyes. "I've been watching competitive swimming for a long time now. All those little bathing suits, water-slicked muscles, …" Yoji trailed off with a happy look on his face.
Shaking his head, Schu murmured, " And they call me the perverted one…"
Hearing the springs of the diving board, Schu looked up and poked Yoji in the ribs, getting his attention. Indicating with his head, Schu grinned, "Lookit."
Yoji opened his eyes and tilted his head to the left and up, seeing a person bouncing on the end of the diving board. Before he could say anything, he watched as the person held his arms out and jumped up and away from the diving board. Getting incredible height, the diver arced his body in midair and completed three full summersaults before opening up his body into a straight line and sliced through the water's surface.
Sitting up, Yoji watched as the man turned a half summersault in the water, and then twisted his body so that when he broke back through the surface he was facing the wall of the pool. Entranced, Yoji continued to watch the man as he swam lazily towards the pool's edge and then pulled himself up and out of the pool. Wide eyed, all Yoji could say was, "Sugoi…"
Yoji, just like everyone else at the pool, watched the man as he climbed up the dive tower, only to jump off again in increasingly more impressive dives. Yoji watched the man complete several more dives before the shrill ringing of a phone broke the spell.
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Ears picking up the ring of his cell phone, Rayne swam past the boys around his age who were staring at him and swam towards his phone. Hauling his body out of the pool, Rayne dripped his way towards the deck chair with his bad tossed across it. Grabbing a towel and dabbing at his sopping wet hair, he grabbed his cell phone out of his bag. Feeling more eyes on him, Rayne looked up to see a jade-eyed redhead and a green-eyed blonde both staring at him. Quirking up an eyebrow at the strange behavior - did he have something weird on his face or something?- he flipped open his phone, answering it. "Rayne Fields speaking."
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Watching the God-like creature take out a hands-free headset and clipping in onto his ear then attaching it to the phone, Yoji smiled. Chance!
Rayne unfastened the tie on the end of his braid and began to unweave his hair, making it easier to dry with the towel. Highly interested, Schuldig listened to the one sided conversation.
Rayne tilted his head slightly, pausing momentarily in the dabbing of his hair. Nodding slightly, "Janis. Why are you calling me?" After a brief lapse, Rayne smirked, "Really, and?" Raising his eyebrows slightly, a slightly condescending tone bled into his voice, "Is it that they're truly only interesting in that, or is it that they do not know about what else I can do?"
Schuldig raised his own eyebrows, how interesting…
Rolling his eyes slightly, Rayne grunted. "Hn…" Lips quirking up, amused, Rayne interjected, "I expected as much. I plan to use the lodestone to find it."
Schu frowned thoughtfully, lodestone? Better ask Crawford about that one later… This doesn't sound like an ordinary phone conversation. When he tried to see the other side of the conversation in Rayne's mind, all he got was a brief glimpse of some beribboned object before telekinetic-blocking walls shot up in Rayne's mind. Schuldig pouted.
Glancing at the redhead, Rayne raised a single eyebrow, and then said cryptically, "We shall see. Anything else?" Rayne listened with a thoughtful expression on his face, and then sighed out. "Yes. My priorities have not changed. I'll give them the world, if they can get me information on him."
Schuldig watched as the man flipped his cell phone shut, and then stared at the object, lost in thought. Trying to see into the man's mind again, all he was allowed to see were walls that resembled the fortifications of a castle, before the walls fully pushed him out of Rayne mind.
Pouting at Rayne who was inconsiderate enough to not allow him into his mind, he was startled slightly when he was suddenly looking straight into Caribbean-blue eyes. It was almost like those eyes could stare straight into his soul, the gaze was so intense. Rayne raised both his eyebrows at Schuldig and tilted his head slightly, asking a silent question, issuing a silent challenge. The trace he was under was only broken when Rayne blinked then turned his head away.
More than a little flustered about what just transpired, Schu watched as Rayne packed up his belongings and walked towards the men's changing rooms. Staring after him long after he was out of sight, one simple question kept repeating itself in Schuldig's mind. What was that?
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Dropping his swimming bag by the door after kicking off his shoes, Rayne walked into his house, stretching his arms and yawning loudly.
"Good day?"
Rayne paused mid yawn and mid stretch and looked at Janis, sipping coffee on his couch. "Nice…" At J's comment, Rayne closed his mouth and smiled.
"Yeah, it was great! I swam for hours and even got to dive, and then I went in to one of those markets and got fresh fruit for smoothies - wow, fruit is expensive here - and then I went to this great restaurant…."
Smiling around his coffee at Rayne's childish enthusiasm over everyday things, Janis asked about what was important. "And, what about Azrael's Bell? Make any progress on that yet?"
Rayne tilted his head to the left, and pouted his lips slightly as he thought about that question. "Well… I have some ideas about where I can find information relating to it, but, seeing how I have other deadlines before that, I'm not going to sweat over it."
"But you do have some ideas? That guy sounded quite `intense' during that meeting."
Rayne grinned as he puttered about his house, putting away his purchases, "I've dealt with worse…" after a pause, he continued, "a lot worse."
"Hmm… and have you decided if you are actually going to give it to them once found?"
Rayne shrugged, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
"But you can't not give it them…"
Rayne poked his head out of the kitchen and grinned at Janis, "Oh, I'll give them something. But, who are they to know that it isn't exactly what they were hoping for?"
"Are you seriously considering double-crossing such a big and powerful organization?
"It's not considered a double-cross when you give them what they want. Especially when they are not entirely sure about the power of the Bell."
"But you know of the Bell's power?"
Rayne simply smiled. "Oh, how did this afternoon's meeting with Kritiker go? What do they require of Rayne Fields, Relic Hunter?"
Rolling his eyes slightly at Rayne's antics, he smirked as he relayed the extent of the meeting. "Basically, they quite interested in your abilities, but they don't know if you will be strong enough to complete the mission they have set out for you."
Rayne raised an eyebrow. "Really…"
"And in order to judge your abilities, they want you to complete a little scavenger hunt first."
Rayne narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "Scavenger hunt? …Talk about juvenile. Were those their exact words?"
Janis nodded. "Remember, Kritiker is an organization that deals with assassins…"
"Deals with assassins? I thought they were assassins…"
"Either way, there is more to this little scavenger hunt than meets the eye. I would be careful"
Rayne grinned and winked at Janis, "Aren't I always?"
Janis just looked at Rayne.
"What? Don't give me that look! I really am!"
Sighing, Janis handed Rayne a sealed envelope. "Everything that you'll need is in here. Good luck, and try not to get yourself killed."
Rayne rolled his eyes, "I'll try not to."
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Quietly letting himself into the apartment, Schuldig heard is name being called. Groaning, the let his head thump against the closed door. He knew he should of stayed away tonight. Nagi had his kitten over to play and Crawford was out with his kitty… At least they were going to have sex before coming home… Ick… Crawford and Aya having sex, eww…
Waving a greeting to the two chibi snuggling on the couch - there was no way that they could be studying when sitting like that - he went into his bedroom. Turning on the tv, he connected all the wires to his XBox and settled himself down for a quality night of video game playing.
After a couple hours of mind-numbing excitement, Schuldig "felt" Crawford and Aya enter the apartment. /I thought the agreement was that we are supposed to have our "fun" outside the apartment. If you can bring Abyssinian home, why can't I bring home my conquests?/
/Schuldig…/ Crawford thought in a warning tone, /I am only here to pick up a few things…/
/Ohhhh… So the Oracle forgot something? Careful Brad, or you'll wake up one day all senile!/
/Crawford. Not Brad, Crawford. And Abyssinian is not one of the disease ridden, flea infested…/
Schu frowned, /Are you insulting my bed choices?/
/If the ticks fit, …/
/Ha ha haaa… Very funny, Braddikins. I'll have to remember that one for later, very impressive. No, really, it truly is!/
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When they entered the apartment, Ran slid off his shoes and nodded his head in greeting at Omi and Nagi curled up on the couch. And then followed Crawford down the hallway and into his office. While Crawford was taking care of some business that he saw in a vision, Ran walked around the office, picking up little figurines and studying them. When he got to Crawford's desk where Crawford was working quickly on the computer, Ran reached forward past Crawford and picked up a framed photograph.
"Who is this?"
Crawford stopped typing and looked at Ran, who was holding the photo out to Crawford. Taking it from Ran, he looked at it then set it back down on his desk.
"A memento to my past."
Ran watched Crawford's actions, an almost melancholy expression on his face. "Your family?"
Nodding his head, he caused his glasses to flash white. For the first time, that expression failed to cow him, now, it invoked a feeling of sadness in him. "What happened to them?"
Crawford looked back up at Ran, "Eszett killed them trying to capture Robyn."
"Robyn?"
"My little brother. I saw how Eszett tried to take him from my parents so I warned them. Instead of losing my brother to Eszett, I lost my family to the sea."
"They drowned?"
"Yes, Eszett accidentally sank the cruise ship they were on trying to take Robyn"
Ran frowning, asked, "Why would they need to take Robyn away if they didn't have to do that for you?"
Going back to his work, Ran assumed that Crawford did not want to answer any more questions. "I was taken by Eszett when I was thirteen, so it was plausible for me to continue my schooling in Europe. They wanted to take Robyn when he was five."
Perching on the corner of Crawford's desk, he watched as the blacked haired American type for several minutes. "Sometimes, it helps to remember the good times…" he offered softly.
Closing his laptop, Crawford turned in his chair to face Ran. "I only spent four years with Roby, and then I was sent to Eszett. And during that time, I spent more time ignoring Robyn than being a good brother."
"How old were you when he was born?"
"I was nine."
"Well, that is a pretty big difference in age… Aya and I were a lot closer in age than that and even then there were a lot of times when I didn't want to spend time with her because she was too young."
"And now, after all that has happened, do you regret that? Missed time?"
Ran shook his head, "I try to live my life without regrets. Why did your parents allow you to go to Eszett?"
Crawford smirked slightly, "Punishment." At Ran's questioning look, he elaborated. "I wasn't watching Robyn, and he managed to make his way into the kitchen. He managed to knock a pot of boiling pasta off the stove and scalded the left side of his back. It caused a very distinctive scar, I always thought it looked like a feathered bat's wing?"
"Feathered?"
"The pasta caused a burn different than the water."
Ran smiled, "It may not be the best memory, but it is something."
"It gets better. Robyn was born with a crescent shaped birthmark at the base of his spine."
"How did you find that one?"
Crawford looked at Ran in a serious manner. "I had to change my share of dirty diapers."
Ran couldn't help but laugh. The sight of the Oracle of Schwarz changing dirty diapers… Wow.
Seeing the total change of Crawford's expression, Ran frowned. "What's happening?"
In a very Oracle-y voice, he said one word. "Trouble."
Following after Crawford, Ran ran out into the living room to stop dead in his tracks. Standing in the middle of the room, looking about with hand on his hips stood a man fully clothed in black, the monochromatic color scheme only broken by the brown belt loosely strapped around his hips with a bag tied it.
Talking to no one in particular, the man was commenting about how nice the apartment was. Seeing the varying startled, stunned, deadly expressions on the faces of the occupants of the room, the man smiled. "Sorry about the rude interruption, but there is something of yours that I need. And you will give it to me, as you have no real choice in the matter."
Schuldig smirked, "Funny, every person who says that to us tends to wind up dead."
The man shrugged, turning his hands out and smiling, "Really? That's good, I'll have to remember it."
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Whoot! Another chapter done! And it's a longer one too, even though I didn't really get to any actiony scenes, there will be action in the next chapter… Probably because there couldn't be anything else after strangers threaten Schwarz in their own home… Umm, what else…
Oh yeah, a big thank you goes out to Bet You Love That and to YohjisKarebear two very lovely people who were kind enough to read and review! So, everybody scroll down to the bottom (or is it at the top) and click on the review button. Because I'm a poor college student, your reviews are the only way for me to know that people are actually reading!
And, yeah. That's enough rambling for chapter three! Hope you enjoyed it, unfortunately there will be a longer wait for chapter four `cause I got to work on Apo.
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