Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Slipping through the Hourglass ❯ Slipping through the Hourglass - Training with the dragons ( Chapter 2 )

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

Disclaimer: We, the TwinShades, do not OWN anything that is in any way connected to Weiss Kreuz. The only thing belonging to us are the Original Chara's in our stories since we almost fried our brains making them up. We don't have money so PLEASE don't sue, this is non-profit work and for entertainment only. Thanks

Daystar and Moonshadow Shade

~*~*~

Day: *walks in wrapped in a towel* Well, that was fun. What do you boys think of this little break so far?

Aya:....We've been stuck inside doing all the cooking. What do you think? And just where is Ken?

Moon: *also walks in with a towel* Oh, don't worry, he's coming.

Day: *giggles* quite literally, ne, Moon?

Moon: Well...we took them skinny dipping...How the hell are we supposed to keep them from having hot kinky river sex?

Day: *shrugs* Got me.

Aya:....You took Ken skinny dipping....

Yohji: Here it comes.

Moon: *drops her towel and gets dressed* Yeah.

Aya: Without me!?

Day: You're dead.

Aya:....??

Day: *points at his halo*

Yohji: So you can make us dead people cook, but we can't go skinny dipping and watch Ken and Schu having hot kinky river sex?

Day: Pretty much...

Figleaf: Please don't take this conversation to mean that there is a lemon in this part. If that comes, it'll come much later. Enjoy anyway.


~*~*~


--HI BRAD!-Lucien squealed.

Schuldig jumped. "Bradley?"

Ken gave the telepath a look, "I think the sword was talking to the dragon."

The German shot him a dirty look. "Ha. Ha. Ha."

The dragon looked between the two humans, before speaking, "Keila did send you, did she not?"

"You mean that wench that dumped these," Schuldig lifted Keiran up, "On us?"

Braddock blinked at them, "Err…yes. The Sword of Light and the Sword of Dark. Of Life and of Death."

The German rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes, whatever. She technically didn't send us. That we got here was just plain dumb luck."

"For once, I agree with him," Ken said, "I mean, she didn't even explain anything."

"Of course not," Braddock sounded affronted, "If you are to survive, we must train you. If we are to train you, you must prove your resourcefulness."

"Oh…so after this whole training thing, you'll point us in the direction of this gate place?" Schuldig said, sounding somewhat hopeful.

Braddock laughed, the sound of it startling the two humans, "No…none of the Dragons of Killarney know where the gate is."

"WAS?" "NANI?" Two voices choused the same question in the same breath.

Schuldig later would have sworn the dragon smirked at them, "All we do is train you in your inherent magical abilities. Come, follow me. It is getting late." With that, Braddock turned and started leading the pair through the woods.

"Wait a minute! We don't have time for this!" Schuldig exclaimed.

"On the contrary, Death," Braddock said, not turning to look at them, "You are working towards going back in time. You have all the time you need."

The group traveled through the forest twilight. Ken found himself entranced by the forest, and the life in it. Schuldig found himself entranced b Ken, and the pure delight the younger assassin took in just watching the forest.

The group walked all through the forest, until after the sun had completely set. Braddock led the two assassins to a cave, well hidden between the trees. The bronze-toned dragon led the two humans through a long winding series of caves and caverns, until they emerged into an area of open sky.

There were two dragons already there, waiting for them.

Braddock left them in the middle of clearing, and went to join his kin.

"As I said before, I am Braddock, and I am going to be overseeing your training. Next to me is Charlene-"

"I can introduce myself, Braddykins." A pale blue female spoke. She turned to them, somehow less imposing than Braddock, "Like Brad said, my name is Charlene, and I"ll be in charge of languages. Devon, who is not here right now, will be in charge of ancient scripts and writings."

"And I'll be in charge of teaching 'ya history," The other dragon said from the shadows where she was hiding. "My name is Mari. And Charlene would let this go on all night if I let her. You'll be meeting the rest of us over the next several days."

Ken looked at the three beasts. "There are more of you?"

Mari dipped her head, which Ken interpreted as a nod. "Yes," she said in a smooth voice, seemingly unfitting to something her size. "there are ten dragons currently living in the vale."

"Ten," Schuldig mused. "interesting. How come no one has seen you yet."

A small chuckle came from Keiran. -It's their dragon magic. They only will be seen when they want to be seen.-

"I see… and why did they want us to see them. For all they know, we could have been normal tourists."

Ken gave Schuldig an incredulous look. "Tourists? In the middle of the night?! I think you have a few screws missing Schu."

Schuldig blew Ken a raspberry as Charlene answered. "The swords Lucien and Keiran, the swords of Light and Dark, are well known to us in this vale. We felt their presence on you."

Both humans blinked. "O-kay…"

Braddock shook his head. "Whenever the swords enter this forest it is, again, time for us dragons to train the future saviors of the world"

Ken shook is head. "That just makes me feel much better…"

Schu blinked. "What do you mean Ken?"

Ken looked at Schuldig. "Future saviors always are being hunted down. My night job isn't bad enough already? Hell even my day job is hazardous enough."

The German rolled his eyes. "What's so frightening about a bunch of shrieking teenage girls?"

Ken glared at the red-head. "You're just jealous because their after me and you don't have any fangirls."

Schuldig leered at Ken. "Who said I wanted fangirls?"

Ken opened his mouth to reply but Keiran beat him to it. -PERVERT!!-

Lucien chuckled.

The three dragons looked at each other. "This doesn't bode well…"

Charlene chuckled and looked at Braddock. "Oh don't be so glum. Gerald and Miranda where not much better then those two right now. And they were the greatest mage pair ever trained in the vale."

Braddock turned his gaze back to the bickering assassins. "Let's hope for the best then, shall we?"

~*~*~


Ken was sitting down on a log, leaning over a slate when Schuldig plopped down next to him.

"What's up, Kenken?"

~Go away, Schuldig, I'm busy.~

"That's no nice, Ken! I'm just here, inquiring about your well being."

Ken looked up from his slate. "Devon has decided that I'm not learning Hieroglyphics fast enough, and has assigned me about twenty-five to memorize by our next meeting. On top of that, Chloe gave me about three scrolls of Heal spells to memorize, and Mikhael says I'm too aggressive with Lucien. Hello, I'm an assassin! Of COURSE I go in for the kill aggressively!"

"Whoa, Kenken…calm down and take a deep breath…3…2…1…that's it…"

Ken glared at the redhead. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Don't you have weapons practice to be at?"

Schuldig shrugged, "Mikhael's classes are boring. I'd rather sit here and bother you."

"I'd rather you didn't. If I don't get these memorized, Devon will use me as the piñata for the New Year's party."

Schuldig looked at the sky. "It is strange."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"This place." Schuldig leaned forward and rested his chin in his knees. "No matter what season, this vale is always like spring. And now that you mentioned New Year it just dawned on me that we've been here for more than 6 months already."

Ken looked up from his slate and blinked. "You're right. Amazing, it didn't feel like that much time passed."

"Well, our winged teachers tend to keep us rather busy."

Ken snorted. "Me yes, you no."

Schuldig frowned. "What's that supposed to mean."

"It means that you are the worst lesson skipping human ever since Daniel." A raspy voice spoke from behind them.

Schuldig jumped and turned around, to see the weapons master standing right behind them, already in his human form. "Master Miki," the redhead chuckled nervously, "what brings you here?"

"Finding delinquent students is what brings me here, Schuldig. And that is Master Mikhael to you."

Schuldig ducked his head, hoping that the gesture would somewhat appease the angry dragon. "Sorry, but Ken and I rarely get to see each other anymore, just wanted to chat for a bit."

The weapons master shook his head. "You can talk to him after dinner. Now lets use what time we have left to train you in the use of your sword."

Schuldig nodded and got up, heading for his quarters.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta pick up y sword, unless you want to fight me with fists."

Mikhael's eyes narrowed. "You left Keiran behind? SCHULDIG!! How often do I have to tell you to _never_ leave your sword behind?"

Schuldig waved his hand lazily. "Nothing will happen. We are in a valley protected by dragon spells. It is more likely for the world to end tomorrow than someone finding us here."

It didn't take him long to notice the dirty looks that both, Ken and Mikhael, were giving him. He sighed and shook his head. "Right, that could happen now couldn't it. I get Keiran and I'll be right there."

Ken watched the German disappear between a line of trees, shaking his head. Sometime he wondered just how serious Schuldig took his role in this.

~*~*~


The firebolts kept landing near him, just a tad bit close for comfort. Not that the firebolts were comfortable at all to begin with.

~A wall…just visualize a wall and then add to it later…~ Ken told himself, before the firebolt landing two feet in front of him caused him to jump back. ~Ignore that they're frebolts…they aren't fire, they're…they're ice…just think that they're ice.~

"Dammit, Hidaka, You should be able to block things during combat by now! These are simple firebolts, not even a very high level spell!" Sean, a rust red dragon, shouted at him. Sean was the dragon in charge of Defensive Magic, and while he spent some time with Schuldig, the majority of his time was spent teaching Ken how to build custom shields.

Ken sighed, dodging another bolt while Sean lectured him. The brown-eyed assassin had an especially difficult time with this part of his training. He was used to being an aggressive killer…he was used to getting up close and personal with his target. He used bugnucks for crying out loud!

And then Sean had chosen firebolts…It was hard to concentrate on a wall when he kept thinking about Kase in this exercise.

"Visualize a wall between you and the danger, Hidaka…Don't worry about specializing your shield and making it water to neutralize the firebolts."

~What do you think I'm trying to do, baka dragon…~ Ken rolled to the side, and right into the other bolt. The one he _hadn't_ seen coming.

"Enough," Sean sighed, slinking up to him, "That's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow. I'll tell Chloe that I'll be taking you out of her lesson tomorrow. You're far enough advanced with that branch of your magic."

Ken lay on his back, glaring up at the dragon, trying to not superimpose Kase on him, "She won't be happy about that, Master Sean. She gets possessive about her time with me, since she doesn't get Schuldig at all."

"And what's the point in teaching a Death mage Heal spells? He couldn't use them. Now, heal yourself up so that those burns don't scar you, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Ken sigh, letting the pain flow through him. It wasn't bad, especially when compared to injuries he'd had before. But Sean just _had_ to use firebolts, didn't he? Eventually he pushed himself up and healed the minor burning on his side, completely avoiding the existing scars.

Ken knew he should go to his next lesson with Devon, but found himself wanting to take a page out of Schu's book and skipping his writing lesson.

--Then do it. There is no way you will learn anything if you keep thinking about how desperately you want the lesson to end-The German's nasal voice rang in his head.

Ken started a little but quickly regained his composure. ~Schu! Don't DO that.~

--He's right though.-Lucien quipped from behind Ken where the sword was strapped to his back.

Ken blinked. "Are you actually telling me to skip a lesson? I thought you and Kei are the responsible ones in our little group."

--We are. But when Schuldig is right he's right, even if that doesn't happen often.-

Ken chuckled at the swords droll tone.

--Not to mention it's been over a year and you never once skipped a lesson, doing it once won't hurt. Maybe you and Schuldig can just sit and talk. I could talk to Keiran again too.-

"You mean if he has Keiran with him." Ken grinned.

--Yeah, if.-

~*~*~


Danea lashed her tail in irritation as Schuldig's summoning spell failed yet again. Schuldig too looked equally frustrated. "Look I'm sorry but summoning is kinda hard."

"Had you brought Keiran as your medium it would be really easy. How often have we told you to never leave your sword behind?"

Schuldig growled. "I lost count after the first few weeks of training."

Danea sighed. "This isn't working. Tomorrow you will bring your lunch and we will make this a double lesson. And _bring_ Keiran."

"But…"

A low growl answered his protest. "You will never master the dark arts if you do not train vigilantly."

The redhead muttered but nodded. Danea could have a nasty temper at times and he really didn't feel like pissing off a female dragon that was the size of an average two story house.

"So I'm dismissed?"

Danea inclined her head. "Get out of here before I forget why you are here and I make you my dinner. Not to mention someone is waiting for you."

Schuldig's eyes followed the direction her tail pointed and a smile came to his lips. Ken was watching from between some willows, obviously waiting for Schuldig's lesson to be over. After excusing himself from Danea, not being stingy with compliments, he hurried over to where the Japanese boy stood.

"Tough lesson?" Ken asked as the German approached.

Schuldig rolled his eyes, "Danea is pure evil, I swear."

--Hello, Dark Arts teacher…what do you expect?-

"…She could TRY to be nice."

"I think she's very nice," Ken said, wandering down one of the many trails in the valley, "At least, she's always been pleasant to me."

"She's not your teacher," Schuldig said dryly, walking along right beside him, "If she were, you wouldn't be so kind to her…What is that?"

Ken looked up at him, "What is what? This basket? I thought we could get away from that cave and have lunch by the stream."

The redhead grinned widely, "Sounds good to me. You have the afternoon free too, right?"

Ken nodded, "Yeah, I finished Shields early. I'm finally getting it down really well. And it's about time, too."

Reaching the small river Schuldig picked up a stone and made it skip on the calm water before sitting down. "Wish I was that lucky. Summoning is a bitch, I just can't get the hang of it."

--Maybe if you'd bring Keiran to your lessons it would be easier.-Lu commented dryly.

Schuldig rolled his eyes. "Not you too. I keep hearing this lecture over and over, it's getting old."

--Then maybe you should actually take him with you instead of leaving him in that old cave.-

"Are you kidding Lucien? The dragons would die of shock if Schuldig would just one day start carrying his sword around." Ken chuckled.

Schuldig let himself fall into the soft grass. "Now wouldn't _that_ be a shame." He commented wryly.

Sitting next to the German Ken shrugged. "I still think it's kinda neat being here. Some of the things we learned are just… wow."

"Yeah, yeah," The redhead closed his eyes. "Awe-inspiring and stuff."

Ken sighed. "Don't be that way Schuldig. You're just cranky because you had a bad day. Here eat something."

Sitting up Schuldig took a bowl from Ken setting it quickly on the ground. "That's hot, what is it?"

Ken retrieved more things from the basket. "Some stew that Danea set up earlier this morning."

Taking of the protective lid, Schuldig eyed the concoction warily. "Are you sure it's not poisoned?"

Ken laughed, "I'm sure, Schuldig. Even if it is, don't you trust me?" Ken looked at him with his big brown puppy dog eyes.

Schuldig opened him mouth to reply when the thought flitted across Ken's mind, ~If only it was Aya here…~

"Sure I trust you, Kenken…but Chloe hasn't taught you everything she knows yet…"

Ken frowned at the unidentifiable _something_ in Schuldig's tone. "Schuldig?"

"Don't worry about it Kenken…feel like a swim?" The German stood up and headed towards the water.

"Swim? But…"

"But what, Kitten?"

Ken rolled his eyes, "Don't call me that. We don't have any swimsuits, duh."

Schuldig grinned, "That's the point."

The brown-haired assassin blushed, "SCHULDIG!"

His answer was a splash, as the red-head leaped into the cool water.

Looking away quickly Ken fought not to blush. What was the idiot thinking, jumping into the water like that.

"Come on Ken, what are you waiting for!?"

Ken turned before he could stop himself. This time he couldn't stop the blush that could be seen as a light rose under his tan. Schuldig was standing in the middle of the stream the water just barely over his waist. He had his arms spread wide in invitation.

The brunette opened and closed his mouth, trying to find an excuse to not strip down and join his comrade in the water.

"Don't just stand there and gape like a fish out of water. Come on in, it feels great."

Ken shook his head frantically. "What if someone sees us?"

"Like who? A bunch of lizards? Your sword? Please," Schuldig rolled his eyes. "Here I'll even turn around so you can get undressed in private."

Ken blushed more but started to undress once Schuldig had his back to him. "No peaking!"

"Not like you got anything I don't… unless, is there something you want to tell me Kenken?"

The amused tone in Schuldig's voice irritated Ken a little but then again, he had left himself wide open with that one. Walking to the shore he slipped into the water quietly, kneeling into the cooling stream. It really did feel good as the water refreshed his tired muscles.

"See, I told you it's great."

Ken nodded. "Aa." The brunette ducked his head under the water, completely cooling himself off. Standing, Ken shook his head to rid his hair of the excess water.

Schuldig blinked, seeing the burn scars that decorated Ken's chest, and he assumed, back.

Ken noticed the redhead staring, "What?" He asked a bit defensively.

"Nothing," the German shook his head. "Uhm…Where did-"

The younger assassin's entire body went stiff, "None of your business."

Schuldig rolled his eyes, "Come off it, Ken, don't _you_ trust _me_?"

"….I'd rather not talk about it." Ken crossed his arms over his chest.

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "That bad?"

"You have no idea. It… these scars, they are the reminder of why I joined Kritiker."

Schuldig whistled through his teeth. "Sorry, didn't mean to bring up the past. Even though, it might help to talk about it, you know, 's what the shrinks always say."

Ken looked Schuldig in the eyes. "…… You tell anyone else, and I'll gut you with Keiran's help you understand?"

Schuldig nodded and watched as Ken waded to more shallow water, sitting on one of the rocks there. After a while he followed and sat next to the younger man, listening as Ken talked about the J-League, his friend Kase, and the fire that had in the end caused him to work for Kritiker.

~*~*~


Mikhael stood in his human guise as both of his pupils joined him for the lesson. They'd been in the valley for four years, and were progressing nicely in all areas of their magical development. A moment later, Sean joined him at the edge of the clearing.

"Do you honestly think they're ready for this?" Sean asked, settling down.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Really?" Sean asked, before turning away from the other dragon.

Mikhael ignored Sean, watching the two enter the arena. He smiled slightly, as Schuldig started chasing Ken around, Ken clearly having been teasing the redhead about something or other. The dragon let the two chase each other around for a while before calling for their attention.

"Today we're going to try something a little different." Mikhael informed the pair.

"Oh?" asked Ken, coming to a stop in front of the weapons master, "What kind of something different?"

The dark haired weapons master looked at them, "You two are going to spar. Use whatever spells and skills you have at your disposal."

Schuldig blinked. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Sean shrugged. "Mikhael thinks you're ready, and he's the expert. You should be fine as long as you remember your training."

--Well that fight should be over quickly.-Keiran said smugly. -After all Life and Light only know defensive spells.-

A snort answered him. -And what good is all the offensive magic when you can't get through a protective shield?-Lucien asked snidely.

"Enough already," Mikhael silenced the swords, "you two are not to intervene in this fight. Let the two do it on their own, just act as a medium for their spells."

Sean looked at Ken. "Don't forget, just concentrate on the shields, and you'll be fine."

Ken nodded and watched as Schuldig walked a few paces away and slowly removed Keiran's sheath from his back. In training they never kept the extra leather on their backs unless instructed to. Slowly he took his own place, readying himself for the fight. Something inside him didn't want to fight his partner, something didn't seem right.

--Don't worry so much,-Lucien said calmly as Ken unsheathed the bluish blade. -It's just a sparring match, not a real fight.-

"I should fight like it is one though. Underestimating a fight can mean the end."

Ken was sure if Lucien could have, he would have nodded in approval.-Very good. Now pay attention, I'm not allowed to help you through this.-

Looking ahead Ken took the fighting stance that Mikhael had drilled into him for the last 4 years, facing Schuldig. He noticed that the German's stance was quite different from his, a little more open but too offensive to allow an opponent a save strike.

Mikhael looked from one to the other. "Ready… FIGHT!"

Ken barely had time to register what was going on when Schuldig was upon him, charging with the same speed that he had used once to dodge Yohji's wire. Bringing his sword down in a wide arch Ken managed to block quite easily but had a hard time bringing any distance between him and the German. Blow after blow he blocked not giving Schuldig an opening to strike true.

"Ken! Just because you're mostly a defensive fighter does not mean you can't initiate at all!" Mikhael's words came from somewhere behind him.

~He says that like I'm not trying…~ Ken clenched his teeth. This wasn't getting him anywhere.

So he did something that no one had been expecting. Falling back to his assassin training he dropped to his knees, and using his arms to support him he pulled Schuldig's leg out from under him. With a yell of surprise the German fell on his back while Ken was already back to his feet.

Schuldig for his part stared at the sky, blinking and trying to get his wind back.

--Oh that was mean kitten…--

Ken just grinned. "Hey all is fair in love and war."

"Well," Schuldig said as he got back to his feet, "if _that_ is how you want to play, fine with me."

Ken blinked confused as Schuldig leaped back, quickly increasing the distance between them. What was the German up to now? It hit him when Schuldig raised his sword above his head, eyes closed in concentration. He leaped to the side, rolling off the impact and looked up to see a streak of lighting hitting the spot he had just been standing in.

"Damn… Schuldig are you trying to kill me?!"

"That would be the idea of this exercise." Mikhael commented from the sideline. "Or at least beating you in battle."

Ken growled deep in his throat. ~How am I supposed to save the world if I die training first. These guys have a whacked out sense of humor, really.~

"Ken, you can not beat him with magic yet! Use your shields to get close to him and engage him in physical combat!" Sean's voice cut through his thoughts.

Ken brought Lucien up in front of him again. "Great. Just fucking great."

He dodged another lightning attack from his partner and turned to face him. He needed a shield to block the lighting, and that quick. Closing his eyes he focused, imagining a sphere around him, a sphere that wouldn't let the lighting in. Slowly he added more and more power to his shield, feeling it weakening every time one of Schuldig's attacks struck it. He kept his mind focused, letting the energy run through Lucien and from him into the shield.

He barely registered someone screaming his name when he felt a sharp pain in the left side of his ribcage. His breath left him and his eyes opened. In front of him stood Schuldig, eyes wide in shock as he stared at Ken. "Ken… I… Why didn't you move?"

Ken tried to process what Schuldig meant, but all he could do was concentrate on breathing. It was so hard, what had happened? Then suddenly the pain faded, along with anything else and he fell backwards, collapsing on the grass.

Schuldig couldn't do anything but watch as Ken slipped off his blade and then laid still in the grass. Some part of him knew that he should check on the Japanese man, and then try to stem the blood that was flowing freely from the wound, but is body had gone numb. All he could see was his sword impaling the younger man over and over.

Strong hands were on his shoulder, pushing him backwards. Someone was talking to him but he barely registered what was said. All he could do was staring at Ken's prone body without really seeing it.

He dimly noticed Sean running off, probably to get Chloe. He really hoped he would make it in time. Then the numbness of his body overtook him and the last thing he felt was Keiran slipping from his hold before the world turned black.

~*~*~


Ken came to, staring at the cavern above him. It appeared he was in his cave, and the pain in his chest had been reduced to a pale throbbing. That meant Chloe must've healed him after the sparring match. That wasn't unexpected, since she was the best at what she did.

Movement on the fringes of his peripheral vision caught his attention, and he turned his head to find Sean sitting next to him. He assumed it was Sean, anyway, since whoever it was in a Human form.

"So you're awake, are you?" The voice confirmed his suspicions. "It's about time, too. Idiot, concentrating on your shield so much. That'll get you killed in a real fight. It almost got you killed in a sparring match!"

Ken opened his mouth to speak, but Sean cut him off, "Don't even say it. I don't want to hear your excuses. As soon as you're able, you'll be doubling your lessons both with me and with Mikhael."

Ken groaned, turning back to the ceiling. Double lessons? That was going to suck, and not in a good way, either.

"Anyway," Sean spoke again, drawing his attention away from the doom of double lessons, "I'm going to go get Schuldig. He made me swear to tell him when you woke up. And between you and me," the dragon leaned down towards Ken with a confidential air, "Mik was mighty impressed by your little tripping move."

Ken grinned, sitting up in his cot. Before he could even say a word, however, Sean was gone. The brunette assassin sighed, bored after only a few seconds of being left alone. He'd assumed that since Sean went to go tell Schuldig that he was awake that the German would have arrived shortly to visit, but the redhead never showed.

It was after dinner (Chloe had brought him his meal, and, to Ken's dismay, gave him a scroll of plants and their medicinal properties to memorize) before Schuldig finally came to Ken's room.

The brunette was dozing when his assassin instincts kicked in and told him he was being watched. Pretending to be asleep, Ken listened as the someone approached.

"Oi, Kaetzchen…" The voice gave Schuldig away. Ken was startled at the guilt in the German's voice. He was even more surprised when he reached down and brushed Ken's hair out of his eyes.

Before the redhead could leave, Ken's hand shot out and grabbed the other's wrist. Schuldig jumped at that, surprised at the unreadable look in Ken's now wide open eyes.

"Where were you earlier, Schuldig?" the Japanese assassin asked in a low tone, "I thought we were friends."

"I didn't think you'd want to see me. After all…"

Ken rolled his eyes, "Damn straight you didn't think."

Schuldig glared, "Well, after I…that is to say…"

"Guilt doesn't suit you."

"What?"

Ken released Schuldig's wrist, confident that the other wasn't going to bolt, "Just what I said, guilt doesn't suit you…You're supposed to be cocky and arrogant."

"Well thanks for that evaluation, Kitten."

"It's true," Ken sat up slowly, "You're supposed to come in here, acting all arrogant about the fact that I let my guard down."

Schuldig blinked. "I… but…"

Ken shook his head. "It is not your fault that I obviously can't multitask. That's something Sean and Mikhael will drill into me as soon as Chloe says I can get up though. If I had paid just a bit more attention to you and not just your spells you'd have never caught me off guard like that."

Schuldig sighed. "Still, I'm sorry, it must have hurt."

Ken shrugged. "Well, yeah, but the pain is almost gone now."

He blinked when Schuldig ran a finger along the edge of the bandage that covered his chest. Then as sudden as it had been there the touch was gone. "Did you have dinner yet?"

Ken nodded. "Yes, Chloe brought it earlier with more homework."

Schuldig grinned a little. "No rest for the wicket, ne? Well I better go and see if I can scavenge something or I'll go hungry until breakfast. I see you tomorrow." And with a smile the German was gone.

Ken slowly settled down in bed again, glad that this small situation had been worked out. Thinking about what would happen in the morning he didn't even notice that his own fingers kept retracing the path Schuldig's had taken right at the edge of the bandage.

~*~*~


~Five years,~ thought Ken as he watched Schuldig pack up their meager possessions. ~Amazing how five years can change a person…I never would've thought that Schuldig and I would have become friends, and now we're about to go and save the world together.~

Schuldig lifted his backpack to his shoulder. "Well, I'm ready now. What about you?"

Ken nodded, "I've been ready since day one, haven't you?"

"HA! It'll be great to get away from Mikhael and his hard ass lessons."

"You think that's bad?" The brunette raised an eyebrow, "At least you didn't have to memorize the medicinal properties for each and every plant you've ever come across. Did you know that a poultice of gentians and rose petals will draw out the poison of a South African frog spirit?"

"No, really?" Schuldig said, rather sarcastically, "Well, let's get going, I want to get out of this valley and back into civilization as quickly as possible."

Ken nodded, "Hai, hai. C'mon, I think Braddock and everyone wants to talk to us before we leave…You _did_ remember to strap Keiran to your back, did you not?"

"Yes, mother," Schuldig answered, "And I took my medicine and crossed my I's and dotted my t's."

"…it's crossed your T's and dotted your I's."

"Whatever." Schuldig led Ken into the main clearing, where, five years before, they had been led by Braddock and met Mira and Charlene.

Today, all of their teachers were present, waiting for them with loads of advice for the newly trained mages.

"Remember, Ken, it can be very difficult to differentiate between Ancient Arabic and the Babylonian written scripts," Devon said, followed by Mira's desire that they remember that even trivial historical knowledge could save a life. Charlene's advice was to practice languages, or they'd lose them, while Chloe begged Ken to remember the difference between the common plant 'poison ivy' and the magical cure for menstrual cramps of 'three-leafed forest cover.' Danea cautioned Schuldig on keeping in mind that black demons were quite ferocious creatures while extremely dark grey demons were merely very ferocious.

Finally, Mikhael and Sean approached the pair, "Remember, Ken…multitasking is a good thing…" Sean said with a grin. "You keep him in line, Schuldig."

"Aa," Schuldig smirked, ignoring Ken's glare.

Mikhael rolled his eyes, "And remember that being a defensive mage doesn't mean you can't attack…As I'm sure Schuldig remembers." The weapons master grinned, referring, not only to Ken's surprise attack the day the brunette assassin had been injured, but also to Schuldig's surprise when Ken had trapped him in a spherical water shield.

Ken giggled, nodding at the weapons master, while Schuldig scowled darkly.

"Come," Braddock's deep voice called to them from the valley's entrance. "The sun is setting swiftly. And your road will be a long one. Do you remember which Mayan temple you have to find?"

The two assassins sighed and nodded, following the bronze dragon back through the forest. They reached the edge of the woods just as the sun fell below the horizon.

Braddock looked at the pair, "Despite my initial doubts, you two have proven to be excellent students these past five years…from here on out, remember, above all, remember to work together and you'll triumph over anything."

Ken nodded, "I think we've learned that we can trust each other…even though we really didn't want to in the beginning."

Schuldig agreed with Ken, "Yeah…I used to think all the little white hunters' survival were flukes…I guess I was wrong, though."

Braddock dipped his head, "So long as you remember that, you'll do fine. Stick together above all else…and Good Luck."

Schu whirled around to where the dragon had been, only to see the empty forest. Ken sighed, settling his backpack more comfortably on his back. "Well…No time like the present."

Together, the two assassins headed off down the road.

~*~*~


Ken looked at the little white plastic card in his hand. At first he could have killed Schuldig for insisting on going to Switzerland first. The three hours in the plane had been horrible. But now he had to admit, having a bank account instead of carrying the cash around was much more convenient.

It had been no problem for them to open the account. When the curious teller had asked where they had the money from Schuldig quickly said that they had won in the lottery. With a little help from Schuldig's special gift the lady didn't ask any more questions.

Schuldig's hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. "So, where to now?"

Ken looked at the redhead. "The Mayan temple of course. That was a no brainer Schu."

The German rolled his eyes. "Ken no baka. Here we are, traveling the world for free, well… pretty much for free. Isn't there anything you always wanted to see?"

Ken sighed. "Schuldig, you know I'm scared to death of planes. Guess what, I want this to be over ASAP!"

"And miss this perfect chance, come on Ken, you're smarter than that. There must be at least one place you always wanted to go."

Ken looked at the German then at his feet. "Well…"

"Well?" Schuldig's eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"I always wanted to go and see Chicago, and some other cities in the US."

Schuldig grinned. "Now isn't that convenient? The US and the Mayan temples happen to be on the same continent."

Ken gave Schuldig a look. "Are you sure? Because North and South America are seen as two continents by most normal people."

Schuldig shrugged. "Two landmasses connected equals one continent."

"You know they built that canal, right?"

Schuldig glared at Ken. "Are the landmasses drifting apart? No, so the two parts are still connected."

Ken rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Well then, off to Chicago." Said Schuldig, hailing a cab.

Ken whimpered. "Not another plane…"

Schuldig sighed. "Unless you know how to teleport it's the only way how to get there."

Ken shuddered and held his arms close to his chest. "Easy for him to say. Mr. I-won't-use-boats-because-I-can't-swim."

"I heard that Ken."

"Good, you were supposed to."

~*~*~




Ken: *walks in, towel wrapped around his waist*

Day: Aww...Kenken what's wrong?

Ken: *yawns* I'm tired.

Schu: *comes in, smiling like the cat that got the canary*

Moon: *rae* I see...

Aya: *scowling, huggles Ken* Mine. He likes ME not YOU

Schu: Ch'. Yeah, he's going to get off on necrophilia...you're dead Fujimiya.

Ken: Ano...Can we please stop arguing?

Aya: *glomps Ken tighter, glares at Schu*

Schu: *glares at Aya* The boy is mine. Ken and I are their *points at Day and Moon* favorite pairing, not YOU and Ken.

Ken: *sweatdrop* This...doesn't look like a safe place to be...