Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Hope Diamond ❯ Tsukiyono - 24 ( Chapter 24 )

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dawn was peeking over the horizon when four young men suddenly shimmered into existence on a beach, miles away from Magnoris Inlet. They were all battered and injured, drenched and exhausted; their clothes tore and ripped in many places.

The minute they solidified, Weiss collapsed onto the sandy beach in various poses of exhaustion. Even Ken, with his superior physique, found it necessary to sit down and used a boulder as a prop. The mission had taken its toil on all of them.

Except for the Gem. Ran remained as fresh and vigorous as ever, his Gem nature compensating quickly to replace his fatigue with strength.

Ran sat close to Yohji's sprawled side, anxious and terse as he tried to determine the extent of Yohji's injuries. Beneath his golden tan, Yohji was pale and his face drawn tight with pain. He felt a stab of guilt when he saw how much Yohji was hurting and it was all because of him. The most frustrating thing was he could not relieve Yohji some of that pain. Healing someone else but his master was not part of a Gem's abilities.

All he could do was to use his power and transported them away from the ghetto amphitheater before they could be buried alive. It was a narrow escape, one Ran wasn't sure he could pull it off. He never had to spirit away so many people at one time before. But he did it, and they were safe now.

He leaned over and clasped his lover's face, willing Yohji to open his eyes. "Daijoubu?"

"I'm…all right," Yohji managed to force the words out. He opened his eyes and smiled wanly at Ran. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere far from Magnoris Inlet. We should be safe now."

"Omi and Ken?"

Ran turned his gaze to the other two Weiss assassins, assessing their injuries. "Okay, just battered and tired. Much like you."

"Good. And you?"

"…Never mind about me now. We have to get you guys out of here." Ran carefully pulled Yohji to his feet, slinging an arm across his shoulder to hold Yohji up. Together they staggered over to Ken and Omi.

"Ken, can you walk?" Yohji asked.

The brunette Crossbreed nodded tiredly. He slowly got to his feet and reached for Omi. The young blond did not even stir as Ken picked him up like a sack of potatoes. Poor boy was still too wrung out by the ordeal.

"Where we going?" Omi mumbled dully.

"Somewhere safe, chibi."

Together, slowly and painfully, they walked off the beach towards the small road they could see in the distance. They haven't got the slightest idea where they were. Hopefully, they would be able to hijack some passing vehicle.

A van sped down the road and, much to their surprise, screeched to a halt before them. The back door was thrown open and Birman peered out.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she demanded. "Get in!"

Bewildered as to how Kritiker knew where to find them, they nevertheless piled into the van. They were barely seated before the van took off again.

"You guys certainly look like drowned cats," Manx remarked from the driver's seat.

"How do you know where to find us?" Yohji wanted to know.

"I tracked you guys down," Birman replied as she passed out dry towels. She paused when her gaze fell upon Ran. "Manx, we seemed to have picked up an unwanted passenger."

The redhead woman barely glanced at the silent Gem in the rearview mirror. "Leave him be, Birman. Persia's order."

"Where are we going?" Omi asked again, a little more alert than before.

"Safe house," Manx replied. "You guys have just sent the entire city into an uproar. Not only have you destroyed Magnopolis' most beloved historical site in one night, you have also helped caused the collapse of the Estet Foundation as well. Do you have any idea what you have done? By the time the stock market open today, the entire financial world would be reeling from the shock. God knows how much the stocks are going to plummet today. People would want to know why and how it happened, and suspicions would naturally fall on Kritiker as well. You have to lay low for a while."

"Stop the van," Ran said suddenly.

They looked at him in surprise.

Violet eyes, hard and cold, stared back at Manx. "I said, stop the van."

Manx pulled over to the side of the road.

Without a word, Ran got out from the van. Yohji was after him in a heartbeat. He grabbed hold of Ran's wrist, pulling him back. "Where are you going?"

"You should follow her to the safe house," Ran replied distantly. "Get some rest and medical attention."

"I didn't ask that. I asked where are you going?"

"Unfinished business."

"It's Aya-chan, right? You are going back to get her, aren't you?"

"I can't ask you to help me anymore. You have helped me too much. This is between Takatori and I."

"Bullshit. I'm coming with you."

"Don't be foolish," Ran snapped. "You're hurt bad."

"I'll live."

"Don't be stubborn, Yohji. Just follow her to safety, please. And please, let me go. I have to rescue her before it's too late."

"What do you mean 'before it's too late?" Yohji demanded. "What is Takatori going to do to her?"

Ran bit his lip.

"Tell me!"

"He-he never intended for me to survive the summoning. Mastermind…he told me Takatori was going to turn my sister into a Gem to replace me."

Yohji stared.

"Takatori deceived me, has been deceiving me for ten years. He killed my parents, put my sister in a coma, tricked me into becoming his Gem. He never planned to wake Aya from her coma; he used her to control me. And now, he's just going to discard me to further his goal and replace me with my sister."

Angry, betrayed violet eyes locked with verdant green.

"I should have known. No one would be willing to keep a tainted Gem for long. Aya…she's in a coma, unknowing and unable to resist, pure in soul and body, passive in her sleep. She's perfect!"

Ran reached up and caressed Yohji's face. "I can't put you in danger again for my sake. It's too much to ask. So please, let me go. Let me finish this on my own."

Yohji looked at him a long steady moment, and then grasped Ran's wrist. "Iko." Holding securely onto Ran, he dragged his reluctant lover back to the van. "We're going to Takatori. All of us."

"Yohji -!"

"No debate, Ran." He replied sharply. Then his tone softened. "Not this time. If Takatori is going to create himself a brand-new Gem, then as Weiss, we are obliged to stop him. So you see, Ran, you can't prevent us from rescuing your sister."

"But…"

"Beside," Yohji gave him a small tight smile. "I keep my promises."

"…"

"Any idea where the ceremony would be held?"

"His island. It was where he changed me."

"Great." Bundling his lover into the van before him, Yohji leaned over the front seat. "Hey, Manx? We got a new mission."

"Mission?"

"To bring down Reiji Takatori."

Interlude

Somewhere else, across the bay from Magnoris Inlet, on the opposite shore, another four equally drenched and disheveled men waded ashore. Farfarello carried a near-unconscious Nagi in his arms, while before him, Schuldich and Crawford fought to stay on their feet.

"Damn," Schuldich gasped. "That is one experience I do not want to go through again."

Crawford said nothing. He took off his spectacles since they were too wet to look through properly. "How is Nagi?"

"Alive, barely." Schuldich said after a quick examination. "Pulling us out of danger from the collapsing debris was too much stress even for him. He'll sleep for days."

"Let him. He'll have time to recuperate." Crawford looked across the vast bay to the tiny clouds of smoke rising in the horizon. "We all will."

Schuldich came to stand next to him. //So, Brad, is this the fruition of your schemes?//

//Yes.//

//Brilliant. Using our enemies to get rid of the Elders, so we can take over Estet.//

//Who says we are taking over Estet? I care nothing about Estet.//

//Oh?//

//Tell me, how long do you think we will stay alive if the Elders succeeded in freeing Belial? We would have been redundant, no longer of any use to them. We would have been dead at their hands in very little time. But now…Schwartz is free.//

Crawford gave him a sidelong smirk.

//Free to disappear and do whatever we like. Along with a good portion of Estet's assets.//

Schuldich chuckled, which quickly turned into laughter. //Like I said, brilliant.//

Crawford turned his back to the bay. "Come. It's time to go."

Author's Post-Script Notes:

I really wrote this as fast as I could. Of course I got distracted midway by FF.Net's announcement (who wouldn't be?)

Anyway, I just like to say here that this Tsukiyono arc will be the last one posted to FF.Net. After this, updating to 'Hope Diamond' will be done only at my site. I'm sorry but it's really no fault of mine, and I'm still rather pissed.

Some German words Schuldich used:

Liebe - love

Klein diamant - little diamond

Juwel - Jewel, which means Gem