Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Out in the Fog ❯ Sixth ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

out in the fog: Sixth

Youji walked for an undeterminable length of time, not paying attention to where he was going. Early summer fog had settled over the city like it always seemed to. Spray from the ocean dampened his clothes and hair just enough to be annoying when combined with the misty fog.

His phone rang while he walked, and he ignored it until it stopped, only then pulling the cell phone from his pocket and glancing at the number. Ran. Youji sighed. He could only hope that the detective would sleep and not work himself into a frenzy. He knew better than that. He'd caught Ran working out late into the night once before; exhausted, he'd admitted to Youji that it helped him shut down, helped him stop thinking long enough to sleep. Youji couldn't call him back. He wasn't ready for that. He needed to be alone and think.

Somehow he wound up back at his apartment over the shop he owned. He took a long hot shower that did little to ease the chill he felt. Ran couldn't have known how real of a threat a call to Tokyo could be. Youji had nearly been caught there before, and he was sure Ran's contact could find something that would make it easier to put the pieces together.

But, Youji thought as he dressed, how much of Ran's questioning had been truly reflective of the way his lover thought? Youji knew he'd been elusive about the details of his past, because he couldn't afford to let Ran have too much information. He was too smart; he could put the pieces together too fast. He hated lying to Ran; that's why he hadn't told him anything.

Youji walked to a nearby diner, his car still parked at Ran's. The late night staff at the 24 hour diner knew him. He was a frequent customer in the early morning hours, stopping in for a cup of coffee after a job, or when he'd been up late enough it was just easier to make it through the next day rather than try to stop to sleep.

The waitress brought him a cup of coffee and a couple fresh biscuits without prompting and Youji nodded his thanks, curling his hands around the mug, staring into the dark liquid as if it held the answers to all this problems. He took a sip and grimaced, reaching for a few sugar packets. Ran's coffee was sweeter.

He needed a plan, Youji knew. He needed some way to make it all work, someway to tell Ran the truth. But he knew he just couldn't flat out tell him. Making that choice would destroy them both. It would tear Ran apart to have to deal with the situation that would force him into. California had the death penalty - and that was only if the Japanese government didn't get their hands on him first.

What Youji wanted more than anything was to whisk Ran away to some place warm, sunny, and without extradition agreements with the US and Japanese governments. He nibbled at the warm biscuits. He wanted to give Ran a week of peace and relaxation, tell him all the things he hadn't been able to. If Ran hated him after he was told the truth, if he wanted to leave, then at least Youji himself would be safe, able to finally retire.

But Youji had the suspicion that Ran would understand. He couldn't dare hope that Ran could forgive him for his betrayal, for his withholding of the truth. Ran had been hurt and deceived too many times in his life for Youji to believe he'd be so simply forgiven. But maybe he would understand. Maybe Ran could understand that Youji had been forced down the path his life had taken. He didn't want to be an assassin for hire - he just didn't know how to be anything else. Youji knew Ran made the distinction between professional killers and murderers. But he also knew that Ran hated them all. If he could make Ran understand it hadn't been his choice, maybe there was still hope.

The diner began to fill up slowly and Youji looked out to see the sun peeking over the horizon, changing the sky into brilliant colors that promised a bright day once the fog burned off. He flagged down the waitress and begged a sheet from her order pad, a pen, and a refill on his coffee. He had a little bit before the diner really filled up with the breakfast rush. She indulged his request with a soft, tired smile, and wandered off to tend to another table. Youji scribbled a note on the blank side, the kanjii coming more easily to him in that moment; tired as he was he just couldn't find the energy to think about the English alphabet.

Youji tossed a few bills down on the table after he rose, folding the note carefully and tucking into the back pocket of his jeans. If he walked fast, he could make it to Ran's before the detective left for work.

He wasn't sure he actually wanted to talk to Ran, but that's what the note was for, and Youji wanted to retrieve his car. He made good time and Ran's house was mostly dark when he arrived, and the hope that Ran had gotten some rest resurged. He paused at the door, trying to decide whether or not to knock. He didn't think he was ready to face Ran. He only had a couple of hours of light sleep under his belt. So he slipped the note halfway into the mail slot; enough that it would be seen by Ran on the inside without slipping onto the floor.

Youji dug his car keys out of his pocket; he'd had the wherewithal to grab them off the table before he'd left the night before. With a tired sigh, he slid himself behind the wheel of his car and drove off to his place, to crash for a few hours before meeting Ran for lunch. The note he'd left asked Ran to meet him fairly late; it might be easier for Ran to get out of the station and Youji really needed some time to gather his thoughts and get some rest.

He parked his car behind the building as usual, setting the alarm as always before climbing the back stairway into his apartment. He kicked his shoes off and stumbled toward his bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes before falling deeply asleep.

He slept for several hours, awaking to the soft bleeping of his alarm clock. He felt slightly better, his thoughts were clearer, and he felt ready to face the world at large again. He stretched, brushing the wrinkles out of his clothes. He ran a comb through his hair and brushed his teeth, staring long and hard at the image staring back at him.

He had at least one more hit. It was going down in what was turning out to be just a few short hours that Youji should have been using to do a little bit more reconnaissance. But he knew the building, knew that security hadn't been increased despite several of the company's employees having been killed around the city in the last six months. Slipping in and out would be easy. And since he was paid on a per target basis, if he walked away after that evening's mission, it wouldn't matter.

And if lunch went well, Youji thought, he would be able to get to Ran's before the detective left the precinct for the night, and maybe help his lover get the rest he needed and deserved.

Youji sauntered down stairs into the shop. His three "assistants" were bustling about, cleaning, stocking, puttering. "Good morning," he greeted them.

"Morning, Youji-san? It's practically noon," one of them responded with a wicked grin that Youji was accustomed to seeing."Yeah, yeah." He grinned back. "I'll be in the back," he said over his shoulder as he turned and headed that way. The ladies could run his shop with very little trouble. The only reason it was a success was probably because of them, he mused.

He slumped into the chair in the small office at the back of the shop, trying to put together a plan. There wasn't anything he could do about that evening's target. Everything was already in place. His employer would understand if he said he was through after that; they were both professionals, and both knew the nature of the game.

Ran would never be a target of his employer, Youji was sure of that. He'd been paid long before he met Ran, and there was no way to link Youji back to the funny little man that had hired him. Unless Youji himself made the dots connect, and he was too professional for that. So Youji could find that island, and at least make plans for himself to stay there. He could hope that Ran would want to join him, that maybe, just maybe, Youji thought, their love for each other would get them over this ultimate hurdle. Opposite sides of the law and all that. Youji snorted at his own melodrama.

But it was true. He loved Ran, was probably /in love/ with Ran. He wanted to be able to make a life with the redhead. But for all that they did love each other, they did come from different worlds.

And that's what scared Youji the most.

**

Ran stared into his coffee, huddled in his trenchcoat in the booth at the back of the restaurant Youji had mentioned in his note. His body ached with overuse, muscles stretched in a way they hadn't been for at least a month, and he feared something more. He'd been pushing himself too hard for too long; he took a long swallow of hot black coffee that eased the scratchiness in his throat somewhat. It figured he'd get sick sooner or later. Then again, he thought, it could just be the coffee burning a hole in his throat the way it was eventually going to burn through his stomach if he kept at it. He should be drinking tea, he mused, on the off chance he was coming down with something, but he needed the caffeine. Had to keep going long enough to get through the day. He had a few more interviews, a few more reports to go over and his own to write up. Ran was fairly certain he could convince his captain to let him take off early. He hadn't taken a day off in months.

He had a bed feeling about meeting Youji for lunch. There was some deep foreboding within him, his intuition screaming that Youji wanted to call him out in public and dump him - public to keep him from creating a scene. It was no surprise that Youji wanted to dump him. Ran wasn't worth the trouble, he knew. He was amazed what they had had lasted so long. Ran choked back a sigh; he loved Youji, but he wasn't going to beg him to stay. He could stand having his heart broken. He'd survived it before.

"Hey."

Ran looked up into Youji's tired face. "Hey," he said softly, diverting his gaze back into his mostly empty mug.

The booth squeaked a little as Youji settled in opposite him. "You get any sleep last night?" Youji asked gently.

"No," Ran breathed. He felt like his heart was going to burst of his chest. Why should he be nervous? It was just lunch with a man he'd been sleeping with for months. A man you managed to scare away last night, he thought. A man that should hate you for what you said. Nervous because for all that he'd been through it before, Ran couldn't help but wonder if this was the last time he'd be able to stand being left.

"Ran, I'm sorry," Youji said suddenly. "I shouldn't have left the way I did last night. I know you didn't mean what you said, and that when you let yourself relax the words just come out. I'm sorry that I left."

"It's okay," Ran studied the ripples of coffee in his cup. "I shouldn't have pressed. I shouldn't expect everything -"

"No." The harshness in Youji's tone forced Ran's gaze up to meet his lover's green eyes. "You should. I'm sorry that I haven't told you what you want to know. I want to, Ran, believe me. But right now, I just can't."

"I understand," Ran murmured, turning his attention back to his coffee.

"No, you don't," Youji sighed. "Ran, I love you. I really do. You deserve better than me, better than what you believe you're worth. You deserve to have the whole truth. I'm just not ready to give it yet. It's not that I don't trust you." Youji took a breath. "It's myself I don't trust."

"Oh." Ran said in a small voice. He felt his pulse slow, the fear fading from his system. Youji hadn't brought him hear to dump him.

"You look like hell, you know." Youji smiled a little.

"I know." Ran felt a smile tug at his lips. Maybe everything would turn out okay. "Youji - I'm sorry."

"I know, babe."

The waitress wandered by and refilled Ran's coffee. "What'll it be, boys?" she asked in English.

"Turkey sandwich and coffee," Youji ordered in the same language. Ran realized he'd hardly ever heard the other man speak English.

"Just coffee," Ran said, stomach churning with the thought of food mixed with all the coffee he'd consumed.

"He'll have the same thing," Youji overrode his soft comment with a stern look.

"No," Ran protested. "Just, anou," he hesitated, seeing Youji smirk a little when he slipped into Japanese. He knew Youji would force him to eat something, but he just couldn't think about anything heavy. Certainly not a sandwich. "A bowl of the soup of the day. And toast." It was the best he could come up with. Youji practically beamed.

"You got it," she said with a smile and drifted away.

Ran felt Youji's foot nudge him under the table, respectful of Ran's dislike of public displays. "Are you okay, Ran? Really?"

Ran shrugged. He was tired, buzzing from all the caffeine he'd ingested, reeling from the direction the conversation had taken. He'd fully expected to leave with his heart broken, not be fed a little piece of hope. Was it possible that Youji really did love him, want to be with him, even after what had happened the night before? He really was too tired to deal with it all, was too tired to be working even, but he forced himself on, rather than just calling in sick like he should have, or at least telling the Captain he'd worked late and would be in later. They gave him that leeway most of the time because he was one of the best. But he hadn't been able to stay home anymore than he'd been able to sleep the night before.

"Babe?" Youji prompted.

"I'm tired, Youji," Ran admitted.

"I know," Youji consoled him. "I have an appointment this evening, but I'll come over after and see if I can help you sleep?"

"I'd like that," Ran responded to Youji's offer with a tired smile. Even just the man's arms around his waist helped him sleep at night. The sound of his heartbeat under his ear, the gentle rhythm of his breathing, the warmth of his body behind him helped lull Ran's thoughts into hibernation better than endless hours of katas.

The waitress returned with their food and Youji's coffee. Ran watched Youji dig into his sandwich with enthusiasm; Ran could only play with his soup. A glare from Youji over the top of his coffee mug forced him to actually try it. It was good, hot, and felt good against his dry throat. He sipped at it slowly, waiting to see how his stomach would accept such an offering after so much coffee.

"I've missed you," Ran found himself saying as he tore a piece of toast off and dunked into the broth. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time."

"I know, babe," Youji's foot caressed Ran's ankle. "What would you say to a vacation? Someplace warm and dry, without cell phones or email." He grinned. "A beach, a bed, you, me--" Youji trailed off suggestively.

"I'm due for some vacation," Ran mused aloud. "After this case closes," he paused. "I'd like that, Youji. I really would." Ran wasn't sure what he would do if it didn't end soon. He was tired of it all, the long days, the endless paperwork, the criminals that walked no matter what the cops did. He was ready for a very long vacation. Maybe even a semi-permanent one.

"Good." Youji smiled and tossed his napkin over his empty plate. "I'm sorry to eat and run, babe, but I left some things unfinished and I have a few people I have to see later."

"It's okay. I should be getting back too." Ran swallowed the last of his coffee as Youji slid out of the booth and dropped a few bills on the table. Before Ran could react, Youji's lips pressed against his briefly.

"Wanted to do that since I got here." Youji smirked. "I'll see you tonight."

Ran watched Youji carve a path through the crowded restaurant, glad he had chosen a booth at the back. His lips tingled slightly like they always did after one of Youji's kisses. With a sigh and the shake of his head, he slid out of the booth, mentally chastising himself for being a hopeless romantic. Things had turned out better than he'd expected, but he still had to face the rest of the day.

The rest of the day turned out to be uneventful for the most part. He stayed late at his desk, searching forensic reports one more time, hoping for the tiniest shred of something that he'd missed before. But they didn't reveal anything more, and Ran eventually gave up.

His bike was in for maintenance, so he signed out the car that was generally his to use, and drove carefully out of the carpool, his phone on the seat next to him with the earpiece ready to go, as always when he was behind the wheel.

Ran was halfway home when it rang. "Fujimiya."

"Detective Fujimiya, this is dispatch."

As the words sounded inside his head, Ran flipped the switch that activated the bubble light on the roof. "We received a call from the Takatori building. The silent alarm was tripped about ten minutes ago, and we just received a call that there were loud voices coming from an office on the seventeenth floor. Nothing else to report, but we have a standing order to call you."

Ran turned abruptly and headed back the way he came. "Thank you. Send all available units to that location. I'm on my way." He weaved through traffic that was slow to respond to the flashing light. He thumbed the call off and concentrated on driving, making good time through the city streets.

There was no sign yet of his backup when he pulled into the parking lot, not even the distant wail of sirens. Great, he thought, attaching his cell phone to his belt and pulling his gun from his holster as he slid out of his car. There was only one other vehicle in the lot. He recognized it - it belonged to Muramoto-san, the Vice President of the San Francisco Operation of Takatori Industries.

Quietly, he ran to the door, seeing it propped open. The lock had been expertly picked; anyone not knowing what they were looking at would think it was just casual damage done by careless employees with a key. His gun gripped tightly in his hand, aimed at the ground, he slipped through the door, careful not to disturb anything.

Silently, his gaze darting around the expansive lobby, Ran made his way to the stairs. He'd been in the building several times in the last few months. Even though a number of the company's employees had been murdered, none near the building, and Muramoto-san had ignored Ran's suggestions to increase the security around the building.

Ran made his way up the stairs to the 17th floor. He paused silently at every turn, glancing up and around for any sign of another person before continuing. Despite it, he made good time. He held the heavy fire door protecting the stairwell, slowing the door's descent and keeping it from making a loud noise.

Sidling along the wall, Ran listened intently for voices or other noises. He could see a couple doors not quite closed all the way, but only one had a sliver of light spilling out into the hallway. Ran took one more deep breath and crept toward the open door. He heard a whisper of sound, then a grunt, and the sound of bone breaking.

He ran. "Freeze!" he shouted as he threw himself through the open door, gun drawn and ready.