Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Sub-Skin Shadow ❯ escape ( Chapter 4 )

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

SUB-SKIN SHADOW : CHAPTER FOUR

"Ne, KenKen!?"

The familiar voice of Tsukiyono Omi snapped Ken out of his trance. He looked up from the empty dinner plate, to the sweet face of the younger Weiß boy, who was holding his hand out impatiently. "Gomen, Omittchi. I keep zoning out." He forced an apologetic smile and stood up, stretching.
"The only news thus far," Aya spoke up as Ken entered the living room from the balcony, "is that Ayumi was the girl Youji was going on the date with. I guess it just seemed like too much of a coincidence to consider it, but that may be why Youji disappeared. He's probably been out looking for her. I mean, can you blame him?"
"YES!" Ken barked, flopping down on the couch with an angry scowl on his face. He crossed his arms and stared at the floor. "He left the Koneko unguarded and didn't tell any of us that he was leaving! And how would HE find out before we did, anyway?" His expression was clearly more indicative of anger caused by jealousy of Ayumi than by Youji's leaving the Koneko unattended. Ken had trouble hiding his emotions when they were intense - he was pretty transparent right now, at least to Omi, who had by now figured out that Ken had something for their missing teammate.
And so Omi piped up, hoping to quell Ken's anger a little. "Maybe she was really late... maybe he called her and the kidnappers picked up, who knows, Ken-kun... we can't be sure until we find him, and we're not getting THAT done very fast just sitting around here."
In the kitchen, Aya didn't seem to be listening. "I wonder if he knows she's dead," he said, his hands scrubbing at the dishes in the sink. He didn't seem to care much, but it was impossible to tell how he really felt about the situation. Omi was about to give up. He sighed and collapsed onto the couch, holding onto a pillow. "Maybe we should go find him..."
"We'll probably be ordered to find Hanada, remember?" Ken frowned, looking at Aya with a glint of anger in his eye, as if HQ's decisions were Aya's, as if Aya had a choice in what he was told to make them all do. "Ayumi's dead. We're at a standstill. Until HQ lets us know, I guess all we can do is wait for Youji to come back."
"Then that's what we'll do," Aya replied coolly, walking off to his room. "Get some sleep. If we're contacted we should be well-rested."
Ken muttered under his breath, aware that Omi was watching him with worry. "Fucking psychopath."



* * * * *



While the Weißs were sleeping, Youji and Crawford had become one during the night. Emotionally, physically, they had connected in ways neither of them had thought possible. Brad truly loved this man, this assassin who had so many times drawn his blood... whose blood he had drawn, himself. Whose life he was ordered to end. A life that now seemed so perfect, so neccessary for his own to continue.
Yet he had confessed nothing.

"Mmnnhh..." Brad fought to keep his strength, but while Youji was trying to get him riled up again, he lay there completely exhausted. "You've spent me... I can't move..." He tried to turn away from his love, but the Weiß ran his tongue along the tanned line of Brad's throat and he couldn't contain his gasp of ecstasy. "Mm... never mind, I guess."
As much as Youji hated to admit it, he knew that the other Weißs had probably sent out a search party by now. And the last thing he wanted was for one of them to come traipsing through the door. He would have to leave... hopefully his new-found love would want to continue their torrid, forbidden affair. The thought of it gave him a chill that was both frightening and delicious.
"Crawford..." he murmured in the Schwarz's ear, sadly. "I'm going to have to leave you for a while... I have to let them know I am okay. In person, I mean... a phone call won't make much sense. They might think I've been kidnapped and am being forced to call... you understand, don't you?"
Brad's heart leapt into his throat. //What the hell am I going to tell Takatori?// he thought. //If Youji leaves, Takatori will think I failed, whether he was able to see Ayumi or not. He'll kill me... no excuse will be good enough, unless I tell him that Youji is wrapped around my pinky and is coming back... and if I tell him that, he'll call me a fool and say that it was a story Youji made up to escape.//
Youji was waiting for an answer, trailing unabraisive, gentle kisses across Brad's bare shoulder, eyes closed. It hurt Crawford to think that all this would soon be over. //I suppose I have no choice... I'll tell him I won him over, and he'll just have to believe me. It's what he ordered me to do, right? ...and I DID do it, after all. ...just not for the reasons I was originally supposed to.//
"I'll write my number down and you can call me some time when it's safe," Brad said, feigning a smile. He stood up and grabbed a pair of charcoal-grey slacks from his dresser nearby, putting them on while Youji watched, amused. He went to the desk and leaned over it to scribble his personal number down on a piece of paper. "Call me from a payphone so that they don't trace you. When you get out the door, make sure the floor hallway is empty and get on the elevator down 2 floors to 16. Then you can take the stairs." Brad knew that Takatori would be fine with seeing the Weiß's apartment phone number on their calling logs, but Youji didn't know this, so it was best to put up the appearance of an affair. Pretend like no one was supposed to know. //I wish it were that way... maybe then I wouldn't feel so fucking guilty,// Brad thought. //Why can't I tell him?//
Youji slipped his pants on, pulled on his jacket without closing it and stuffed his cigarettes in the right side pocket. "I guess it's over then, for now," he grinned, and put on the emerald-green-lensed sunglasses. "I'll walk home. I'll call you as soon as I can. ...I didn't think it would hurt this much, having to leave."
Brad leaned back against the desk and sighed. "It hurts me too. I didn't expect you to respond."
His love answered with a quick and unexpected open-mouthed kiss. Brad's heart pounded in his chest. //Damnit.//

"Ja ne, Crawford..." Youji smiled, letting his gaze linger for a moment. Then he left the apartment for what Brad thought would be forever. There was no turning back now... what was done was done.
Brad stood at the foot of his rumpled, abused bed, pausing to reflect on everything that had happened there. And there. And there. He chuckled and flopped down, resting his elbows on his knees and allowing his head to drop defeatedly. "He won you over, you miserable fuck..."



* * * * *



The other Weißs were startled to hear a key jingling in the lock on the door at around 3 AM. Aya leapt from his bed, katana in hand, and raced silently to the door. He turned his arms and put the sword horizontal with the floor, ready to lunge forward if the person entering the apartment was anyone other than Youji.
Youji expected as much, and lifted his arms as the door opened. "Hey, Aya. Sorry I'm late."
Aya dropped the sword halfway, a glare on his shadowed face. "Where the HELL were you."
Omi came out of his room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He was surprised when Ken leapt from his own room and charged past him, sending him stumbling a few feet forward. "Hey!"
"Don't you EVER do that to us again, Youji!" Ken shouted, his hands balled into fists at his sides. "You could have been DEAD for all we know! You're such an asshole!" Tears were building up in Ken's eyes, and Youji was completely taken aback by this show of emotion which seemed more personal than representative of the whole team's feelings.
"Hey... I'm back, aren't I? I just went on a little date... I told you I was leaving. I'm sorry I bailed but I was late."
"Who were you on a date with, then?" Omi asked, looking dissheveled as he stood in the hallway, holding his soon-to-be-bruised shoulder. Realizing that Nagi had helped to kill Ayumi had put him in an upset, and now he was even more confused to hear Youji spouting lies. Nagi had come to him before and they had been together, but all that time Nagi had known just what was at stake. Omi felt betrayed already, and he didn't want to add Youji to the list. Still, he could never think of Nagi as a traitor. He only knew that he was confused.
Youji spoke slowly, wondering if lying was the best choice. It was his only option. "I told you yesterday, I was going on a date with that girl from the Koneko..." Youji felt his stomach drop to his feet, wondering if they all knew. He would have some serious explaining to do if they had found out...
"Your date was killed by Schwarz yesterday," Aya said coldly. "So where were YOU when it happened? WHY weren't you there to help us carry out orders?"
The room went as silent as death. Now Ken seemed even MORE angry that Youji was covering something up, and Omi was still in the hallway, a disbelieving look on his young face. Had Youji betrayed them? Aya was still clutching his katana...
"...you're not serious," Youji laughed nervously, shaking his head. "She's not dead... why would Schwarz kill her?" She had never shown up... she had never shown up, and Youji now realized the reason why.
Aya shoved Youji against the wall, his katana at the man's throat faster than Youji could get out a sound of surprise. "You probably know exactly why. Hanada Kunihiko had a lot of dues to pay, and his daughter was their target. We tried to get to her first, but it was too late. Schwarz was sent to kill her, and they did. Now, I'm going to ask you again, and you'll be honest or I'll slit your throat. WHERE WERE YOU."
A million thoughts rushed through Youji's mind. //Killed by Schwarz... but Crawford was with me! ...but she hadn't shown up for the date. Maybe he'd helped do it before he came to kidnap me. Or unless he was just getting me out of the way... somehow they knew I was going to be... with her...//


Something... just... snapped.


For the first time, Aya felt himself overpowered by Youji, who grabbed the Weiß leader and spun, throwing HIM into the wall. "THAT BASTARD LIED!!!!!" he roared, throwing the door open again and flying down the stairs. Ken rushed out the door and followed him halfway, but stopped in a daze.
"What the hell..." Aya frowned, rubbing his shoulder. Youji's rage had unlocked a strength that none of the Weißs had ever seen him use before.
Omi stood behind Ken and Aya with tears in his eyes. "What could possibly be going on?" he murmured, feeling as if he'd been stabbed in the gut. Everything was so upside-down... uncertainty about Nagi, knowing Ken's feelings for Youji, and now Youji was running off again? Omi tried to sort the situation out; he was as lost as the rest of the Weißs, and though he didn't know it, he as lost as the rest of the Schwarz as well.
But as Youji rushed through the nighttime streets of Tokyo with anger blazing in his eyes, he knew that he had been tricked.
That much was _painfully_ clear.



* * * * *



Brad had fallen asleep among the tousled sheets and the heady scent of sex that had settled in the room. He lay atop the blankets cradled in a world post-fantasy, after the fact, unsure if there was to be a continuance to the love which had started with lies.
There came a knock at his door which awakened him from a beautiful dream. The person at the door seemed calm enough, despite how late it was; perhaps Nagi was back to hassle him some more. 3:30 AM... fucking brat.
Raising up from his bed and allowing himself a catlike stretch before he reached out to open the door, Brad was more than surprised to see the face of Kudou Youji again so soon - and so terribly, terribly angry. Before he had time to think, he felt his vision go white and a throbbing pain started in his right cheekbone. Youji had punched him!
"What the hell!?" Brad shouted, staggering backward with his face in his hands. "Youji, what are you doing!?!"
"LIES! IT WAS ALL LIES!" The furious Weiß lunged forward and took Brad to the floor with him, pinning his arms down and glaring at the Schwarz with an old, familiar hate. "YOU LIED TO ME!"
//Oh god...// Crawford thought, the look of betrayal on Youji's face cutting into him far deeper than the pain of the wound below his eye. //He found out... Weiß found out and told him and now he hates me... why didn't I think of this happening before I let him leave?//
"SAY something, you fucking BASTARD!" Youji shouted, letting go of one of his arms and rearing back to punch him again.
Brad managed to catch Youji's fist as it swung towards him, holding it tightly. "WAIT, YOUJI!"
Silent but for Youji's panting breath, the room was electric with the feeling of panic. //How am I going to explain this... FUCKING HELL, just tell him the TRUTH!// Youji was staring down at him with a reborn, seething fury.
"Youji-kun... please... wait. Just wait..." came Brad's voice, softer now. "It's going to take a lot of explaining but there's a reason why everything happened the way it did..."
"LIKELY story!" Youji snorted, trying to worm his way out of Brad's grasp. Brad took advantage of Youji's blind rage and pushed him backwards, throwing him down and straddling his hips -- reversing the roles yet again. Youji struggled, infuriated at his lack of control. "LET ME GO!"
"NOT until you LISTEN to me," Brad said firmly, readopting the tone he'd first used when Youji had been tied up here just hours before. "Takatori ORDERED me to get you out of the way. I was to seduce you or kill you..."
As Brad explained, Youji felt all of his strength drain from him. //It was just a game...//
"GET that look off of your face!" Brad shouted, giving Youji one good shake. "I was to seduce you or KILL you, Youji, and I didn't KILL you though it would have been easier than you think!" Youji hadn't seen real tears from a man as sleek and powerful as Crawford since his own tears had come tonight, but the sight of Crawford's hurt, desperate expression was painfully beautiful. //Maybe he does love me... I can only hope,// Youji thought. He lay there now, as weak as he had been when Brad's hands were wrapped tightly around his throat, draining him of his life.
Brad let out a choking sob, pulling the Weiß up into his arms weakly, holding him against his trembling body. "How can I PROVE this to you, Youji... I never meant to hurt you..." There was no getting through to him. Despite his thoughts of hope, on the outside Youji appeared completely defeated. He didn't respond to Brad's embrace... he was as limp as a rag doll in Crawford's arms. "Please, Youji... say something... PLEASE!"
Youji's eyes fell closed. He spoke.
"I'm sorry, Brad--"
Crawford's golden eyes snapped open. //...No...!//
"--this was a mistake."

It took a moment for Crawford to get over the shock of Youji's comment. It cut into him like a knife on a fast course straight to his heart. Did his heart stop? It may as well have... for Crawford suddenly wished and hoped that Youji would just kill him. Everything had been so meaningless up until now, but the spark of hope that had been borne of their newfound love had gone out with those words that Brad had never, ever hoped to hear.
He stood. He staggered to the window. He clenched his fists and he tried not to beg.
Youji pulled himself to his feet, still weak from the effort of having to speak a lie of his own. //I STILL LOVE YOU!!!// his heart was screaming, but the words wouldn't even form on his lips. Youji tried to be firm on this... he wouldn't allow Crawford to get away with what he had done with his dishonesty.
"Fine," Crawford hissed, flying to the dresser beside his bed and fetching his gun. "We'll settle this right now."
The American Schwarz seemed like a different person... though he was holding the weapon in his hand, Youji was not afraid. The thought never crossed Youji's mind that Crawford would ever aim at him again. And he was completely right.
Brad was flying down the seemingly endless hallway before Youji had realized that he'd intended to leave. He gave chase, but at the end of the hallway, the doors to the elevator were closing in front of Brad's face. His expression was resolute. If only Youji knew what Brad was planning to do... he watched the numbers on the digital display above the elevator ascend, until finally stopping on floor 31.
"...that's Takatori's floor..."
Youji threw open the door to the stairs and began to run, hoping that he could make it before it was too late.



The lobby on Mr. Takatori's floor was completely still. Black. Cold. Just like the man himself, Brad noted. He stood in the center, weighing the gun in his hand silently. By its lightness he knew he had only three bullets left. That was fine with Crawford. Takatori would get a gunshot wound for every person he'd fucked over today. The silencer on the gun's muzzle would hide his crime until the morning.
Brad padded along the cold lobby floor with bare feet, past the ornate fountain with its beautiful nude goddess statue, past the indoor garden giving off the sweet scent of tea roses. Such a beautiful place designed by such a cruel, horrible man. He didn't know if killing Takatori would finally make Youji believe him, but at this point he didn't care. He had nothing to lose -- he'd lost everything tonight.
Standing at the large, wooden doors that made up the entrance to Takatori's living quarters, Brad took a moment to gather himself. "I've spent all this time protecting you, Takatori," he whispered, placing his free hand on the cold wood of the door, as if he were touching the man's shoulder. "But you've gone too far. I won't work for you anymore. And neither will anyone else. You'll return to hell."
Being head of security granted Brad access to just about every room in the building - after all, how could he protect Takatori in the night if the Weißs snuck in through the window to kill him? Would he be trapped on the other side while they eliminated his boss? Of course not. Brad slipped his hand into the pocket of his slacks, producing a green key card. He slid it through the slot in the door, watching the little light on the panel turn green. The lock clicked. Crawford pushed the door open silently, thankful that the door's hinges had been oiled. Now it was time to repay Takatori for his... "kindness".

The door to the stairs flew open and Youji dashed across the lobby, jacket flying behind him as he shot towards what he knew only from blueprints was where Takatori's office was located. //Please, Brad, don't do anything stupid... I need you...!//
The door was shut. Youji couldn't hear anything going on in the room, but the doors looked to be thick and his own breathing would have kept him from hearing much. He tried to calm down and turned, leaning back against the door. "God damnit," he mumbled. He knew he was probably too late.
A gunshot fired, and Youji hit the ground. It had hit the door several feet above his head. He leapt back up, pounding on the door. "CRAWFORD!!!" he cried, trying to break the door down but having no such luck. His heart pounded out of his chest... if Brad were dead, he didn't know what he'd do. //Please don't be dead...//
He stopped to gain his composure. Even though life without Crawford would be unbearable now -- and the thought seemed so alien and strange to him -- Youji knew that whoever had won the fight would emerge any moment. If it were Takatori, his only chance of survival would be to wait in the shadows with his wire and strangle him when he came out.
Crouching low in the plants next to the door, Youji waited. It was 45 seconds before the door opened, and Youji felt his stomach drop to the floor. Brad was alive!
"Brad!!!" Youji cried, leaping up and throwing his arms around the man's neck. "I thought you had died -- I... I didn't know you'd actually gone in to..."

Crawford was completely silent. Still. "I ...only used two bullets..."

//What are you thinking, Brad...? Do you want to die?//

"Two bullets," he said, and staggered away, his back turned to Youji. "That means I should have one left."
Had Youji been able to see the former Schwarz's face, he would have seen that golden glow grow pale and he would have watched it die under the weight of Brad's terrible guilt. "I hurt you, Youji," he murmured, once again weighing the gun in his hand. "I can never forgive myself for that..." Brad's arm was moving... the gun growing inches and inches closer to being more dangerous than Youji could imagine. "I've lost everything."
It was as if someone had turned on a strobe light, frames taken away from the action, pieces of the puzzle missing yet still making up a picture that could be seen and understood. Youji could see what was happening, but the whole of it didn't register. The gun was at Brad's temple, waiting to become deadly. Brad had turned away to hide his tears. No movement. As if he was dead already. The air in the room felt thick, like it wanted to strangle them both. "No, Brad!!" Youji managed to get out, though he was choking up with tears and could barely speak. If he made a move, Brad would pull the trigger and that would be it. But if he just stood there... would Crawford really do it? He didn't want to take any chances. "I don't want to live without you...! If you're going to do that, then use that bullet on me... because I might as well be dead, TOO, if you would ever leave me this way!"
When Youji had ceased speaking, Brad looked out at the night sky through the tinted glass windows of the lobby. Each star was unique... as a whole, all they added up to was a plural word - "stars" - drowning in an expanse of endless, dark sky. Winking out one by one. Becoming nothing. Becoming useless. And how useful were they, really, floating up there? Dancing together, dancing apart, shining for a short while and then ceasing to exist? Did they have memories, he wondered? Did they dream... did they need each other?
Lost in his pensive state, Brad was snapped out of it when his clairvoyance came through and he saw a vision in his consciousness.
In his mind's eye, the gun was flying from his hand as he fell to the floor, dead. Soul escape. But it wasn't what he wanted. Beneath his skin, he had thought that all this time he had been a true killer, and that for hurting the one person he'd ever loved, he felt that he deserved to die. But the shadow lurking there had been illuminated -- destroyed -- by Youji's selfless, trusting love. This much, Brad suddenly realized.
Taking heed of the warning in his mind, Brad instinctively hurled his gun away from him, hearing a loud clatter as it hit the floor on the other side of the lobby. As soon as it had stopped spinning, Youji threw himself into Brad's arms, and Brad pulled the man to him, holding on as if for his very life. And perhaps he was... maybe he did need Youji to stay alive.
Crawford held onto Youji so tightly that he thought he would never be able to let go. Youji's body trembled within his arms, and Brad couldn't deny that he himself was also shaking. "Takatori's dead... he had a gun. He fought me with his one bullet... he missed," he said quietly, brushing the hair from Youji's eyes. "I can't stay here anymore. ...Youji, I love you. I just had to prove it. I could never hurt you. When I thought that I had lost you..."
Tears sprung to Youji's forest-green eyes, and he clung to the now-former Schwarz more firmly than ever. "Don't leave me, Brad... let me go with you. There isn't anything for me here." It would only be a matter of time before the other members of Schwarz discovered Takatori's body... IDed the bullets... and realized that Crawford was gone. Weiß would consider Youji a traitor - but peace would be made, somehow. They would find a way. Maybe they'd all meet again someday as new people. Maybe the rest of them would flee, too. Brad wondered if Nagi and Omi would leave together. Would those two ever see each other again, or become true enemies because of himself and Youji? The idea cut into his soul, but somehow, he had a strong feeling that he would find out in the future whatever became of the two young assassins.
The two of them held each other in serene silence, the darkness of the lobby enveloping them in a blanket of night. They could make their escape now -- perhaps both could finally be at ease. Youji only knew that he had found exactly what he had been looking for... and Crawford would spend the rest of his life fighting to protect the one person who had given him a chance in love when he didn't feel he would ever deserve it. The cruel kingdom had fallen, and Crawford vowed to never again be forced to bow to the orders of a monster. Youji had saved his life, whether he realized it or not.



As Brad's black car sped away from the streets of Tokyo, a glimmer of gold sparkled in mid-air as he tossed the burdensome lock necklace into the darkness where it belonged. Within the car, Youji put his seat back and turned to Brad, giving his love a smirk. "Put the top down," he grinned. Brad hit a button beneath the dash and the hood of the car began to retract. Youji reached out to take his hand, and let his eyes fall closed. He took a drag from his cigarette and just _breathed_. "I feel like flying today..."

~END~