Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Surrender ❯ The Dangerous Two Years ( Chapter 2 )

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

Was that really him?  
Yes.  Of course it was.
Red hair, black trench coat, hard gaze, it was Ran.  He looked different, less jaded, but more lonely since Weiss had ended.  It was like Ken had always suspected; the night life, the anticipation of the kill, it all kept him alive somehow.  Without it he was dying inside.  How else could the redhead seek vengeance for his family if not through destroying the demons of the earth?  Assassination had been his calling, his catharsis all those years.
Ken just kept staring, watching Ran as he waited at the crosswalk, briefcase in hand.  He had a real job now, didn’t he?  Somewhere with a desk, a nameplate, a little lamp with a green hood that looked like all the other green hooded lamps in the office.
They weren’t supposed to see each other anymore.  Go their separate ways for five years; that was the deal and breaking it meant could mean death.  The powers that be didn’t want any death orders being linked back to them, any puzzles being solved and that meant scattering the pieces.  
Ken looked for them anyway.  
Omi was doing time in New York for aggravated assault.  He was released after 11 months, but Ken lost track of him after that.  The public records in Austria held a death certificate for Yohji.  It made him sad, but Maybe Yohji had found peace in death that his drinking never could
It was probably time to leave Kanagawa, stop haunting old acquaintances.  Ken just wanted to get a little closer, hear an old friend’s voice one last time.  It’d really been so long.
Catching up with Ran at a newspaper stand, Ken listened as the redhead thanked the street vendor.  The brunette kept out of sight of course, hiding behind the wooden stand.  Or so he thought.
“You can come out now,” a strong voice said.  Ran never had been the type to play games.  And he certainly wasn’t the type to be fooled.   “Since I left the elevator,” he said as the other man emerged.
“What?”
“Since I left the elevator.  That’s how long I know you’ve been following me.  I could see your reflection in the picture frame across from it.”  
“Oh.”
“Are you here to finish me?” asked the redhead.  Ken noticed his hand tucked inside of his jacket.
“No.  No, at all!” the brunette shook his head.  It wasn’t completely irrational for him to wonder if Ken had been hired to assassinate his former superior.  It would have been the best way to maintain secrecy about Weiss.
“We aren’t supposed to meet.”
“I know.”
“We have two more years.”
“I know!” Ken repeated.  He felt frustrated.
“We’re at risk like this.  This is dangerous,” Ran said walking away.  He stopped after a few steps before looking over his shoulder.  “C’mon then.”  Ken perked up and followed, this time without stalking.  They caught a cab and went to the redhead’s home.  He lived in a middle class high-rise facing the sea.
In the apartment, Ken was surprised to see baby toys on the floor and some in a bin in the corner.  Ran had a family?  The younger boy looked to his marital finger and saw the ring.  Then, the redhead’s gaze caught his eye.
“We have two more years,” he began quietly.  “If you ever come back before then…I’ll kill you.  I don’t want to…but I will.”
“Oh.  Yes.  Yes, I understand,” Ken nodded his head, backing up to the front door slowly.  Ran certainly had more at stake then he imagined.  If only Ken had known, he wouldn’t have bothered the older boy.  “I’m sorry.”  Ran followed him out and stood in the threshold, watching his former friend walk limply down the hall.
“Ken!” he called out.  The brunette turned around hopefully.  “Two years.  I’ll find you.  I’ll find all of you if you’ll let me.”  The younger man sighed.
“You’ll find me and Omi,” he said regrettably.  “I hate to say this, but Yohji is—,”
“Hiding,” Ran interrupted while twirling the ring on his wedding finger with the adjacent thumb.  “He found me too, a while back.  We started a family and we were careful…but it went bad anyway.”  He paused.  “We have to protect our daughter.  We had to split up.”
Ken wasn’t sure if it was the right decision, but he rushed forward to hug the redhead anyway.  It made him feel good that Ran didn’t push him away.  Now he understood why the older boy had thought he might’ve come to kill him.  Ran and Yohji had broken the rules, they’d put themselves in danger and although they had separated again, there really were no guarantees for their safety.  Ken had to respect that.  He pulled away from the taller man, smiling faintly.
“Two years,” he nodded.  
Just then, an older woman with a baby carriage came striding down the hall.
“That’s the nanny,” Ran said.  “You should go now.”
The separation was bitter sweet as Ken left town.  He was happy to help protect Ran’s family, but sad to be leaving without him.  The next day, he was back in Taiwan.  Life was decent there, but he was all alone again.  It was especially hard at night when he had no one to talk to, console, eat dinner, argue, laugh with.  
It was raining and near midnight when the sound of heavy footsteps outside his kitchen window put fear in Ken’s heart.  Maybe the visit to Kanagawa would be his undoing.  He’d broken the rules after all.  Suddenly, there was a knock at the glass.  Ken reached for a knife as the knocking persisted.  He wouldn’t let anyone just take him, just kill him.  They’d have to struggle first.
“What?!” he yelled.  “Just come in and fight me already!”
“Why for?” he heard a familiar voice say.  “Thought we were friends.”  Pulling back the curtains, Ken couldn’t help, but smile.  Outside in the downpour stood a slender blond that was drenched from head to toe.  “Aren’t we?”
“Omi!” Ken finally said.  He was still smiling, but wanted to remind his friend how unwise this was, how unsafe.  They still had two years.
“Come around the side door,” he replied instead.  The brunette gave his friend some dry clothes and food for his empty stomach.  They ate together quietly, ignoring the danger that they knew they were putting themselves in.  The powers that be were always watching.  Would the blond have to leave soon?  Staying together meant hardship.  That fact grew more and more apparent as Ken recalled his visit to Ran.
Omi was near the end of his rice when he began to speak without looking up from the plate.
“I hear Yohji’s dead now.”  He almost choked on the words, but had to say them.  “I read it, I mean.”  
Ken nodded slowly.
“Yes.  And we’re gonna be dead soon too.”  The blond looked up at him startled, wondering if he’d just walked into a trap.  “How do you feel about California?” asked Ken.   Omi seemed confused.   “I think we should die in California.  Just for two years.”
*This was sort of a one-shot conclusion to Surrender.  I tried to post it separately, but couldn’t.  I’ll try again in the future.  Thanks for reading!
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