Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ What is Mine ❯ The Final Decision ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: Sorry about the wait but this one is a bit longer than the other chapters, hopefully you won't mind "too" much. ;

What is Mine

I do not own Weiß Kreuz or any of its characters.

Warning contains: Adult language, Violence

/Telepathy/

Inner Thoughts

Chapter 12: The Final Decision

"Do you think that Aya's enough time with Yohji?" Omi asked Ken somewhat worried. He looked in the window again to the blonde's room, Aya still hadn't appeared from behind the curtain. From the distance, he faintly heard the sounds of police sirens.

Ken looked out the window leading to the parking lot; five or six police cars were coming toward the hospital. He hadn't expected them to respond so quickly- they had to get out of here now. "Let's go get him."

They entered the blonde's room. Pulling back the curtain, Ken saw Aya crouched besides his bed not moving. "Aya."

The Weiß leader snapped out of his trance, he slowly looked up and saw Ken standing above him.

"The police are coming, we've gotta get out of here."

Aya's dull eyes fell to his knees again.

"Aya, come-on." Ken said as he extended his hand to the redhead. "We have to hurry."

The redhead slowly stood up, not taking the brunette's hand. His eyes fell on his comatose lover please, don't leave me. . . Grief-stricken, he tore his gaze away and headed to the door, Ken and Omi following closely behind him.

As they left, Manx was standing on the stairs looking at them. "The police are here. Hurry and get out of here before anyone sees you." She turned to look at the Weiß leader. "And Aya-"

The Weiß leader lifted his head up to meet her eyes.

"-Don't worry about your sister, she'll be taken care of."

"Thank you," He said. He looked one more time towards Yohji's room. God he didn't want to leave, but he would be putting the blonde in even more danger if he stayed here. The three Weiß assassins cautiously slipped into the emergency stairs making sure no one had seen them. When they got to the first floor Aya cracked open the door just enough to see the front door. The police were already beginning to evacuate people from the building. When he was sure that no one was looked he slipped from behind the door with Ken and Omi. The three assassins merged with a group of people that were being escorted outside.

Ken led them to Yohji's jeep parked a couple of feet away. As Aya was about to open the backseat the brunette stopped him. "Wait Aya, you can sit in the front." He turned towards Omi, "Omi do you mind sitting in the back do you?" The young assassin gave him a confused look and he countered with pleading eyes. He didn't want Aya sitting back there because they had not cleaned up the blood yet. The Weiß leader was hurting enough as it was, he didn't need to see that.

Omi finally nodded as if he understood what the brunette was trying to do.

Thank you Ken said. They hopped into the jeep escaping from the chaos that was erupting inside Magicbus. The ride was all but quiet except for the low hum of the engine.

Aya rested his head against the window blankly looking at the lights in the streets as the police sirens grew fainter and fainter. Even though he didn't bother back looking behind him, Aya could swear that he smelt something inside the vehicle, it seemed so familiar. But it didn't matter what it was, he was so tired of the things that were happening to him. . .he just wanted to sleep. . .

Crawford sat at his desk casually drinking from a new wine glass staring at the night sky from the window. They're late. . . Schuldich did seem a little anxious to fulfill his little assignment- perhaps that got him in trouble. He noticed Schuldich's red car pulling up in the driveway Well, speak of the devil. Finishing the last of the wine he left the window heading downstairs.

The telepath stumbled out of car; his wounds still throbbed with pain. As he shut the door he noticed that the driver's seat was covered in blood. "Damn, it's gonna take me forever to get that cleaned up," He muttered. He looked around, no sign that anyone had noticed he was back- hopefully it would stay like that, at least for a little while anyway.

Using his good hand, he fumbled with the keys and let himself into the house. As soon as the door was opened, a pair of amber eyes locked on to him. God, out of all the people I need to see right now. . .

"You lost him didn't you?" Crawford said noticing the blood dripping from Schuldich's right hand.

Schuldich shuddered at the calmness in Crawford's voice. He wondered what could he was thinking. It was useless to pry into his mind; the precog was one of the few people that had a mental barrier strong enough to keep even him out. The telepath's mouth went dry when he stared into the emotionless orbs.

Growing impatient, Crawford grabbed Schuldich by the collar of his coat looking dangerously into his eyes. "Did. You. Lose. Him?"

Schuldich hissed in pain as the fabric of the coat rubbed against his back tearing into the open wounds even more. "S-something like that," He choked out. The grip on him loosened slightly, but the precog's eyes still bore into his own, cold and impassionate as ever.

"Come with me." Crawford commanded as he headed toward his room.

Hesitating for a moment, Schuldich followed him. This was not how he had expected the Schwarz leader to respond, which made him even wearier about what he was planning.

When they got the room, the precog pointed to a couch. "Take your coat off and lay down there on your stomach. Your wounds need to be cleaned."

By the time he had managed to get there and take off his coat and shirt, he saw the precog coming towards him holding a medical bag in his hand.

Crawford pulled up a seat beside the telepath putting some latex gloves on go got for a drawer. After both were on, he reached in the bag and produced a bottle of rubbing alcohol and gauze pads. He poured some of the foul smelling liquid on some of the sheets and lowered them to Schuldich's back wound.

The telepath clenched his teeth when the alcohol made contact with his skin. It felt as though acid was traveling through his entire body burning into his very bones. Fuck that hurts! He moved his body slightly trying to get the gauze away from him.

"Lie still." Crawford commanded as he applied new cloths on the wound. After a thorough cleaning on the back and hand, the precog dove into the bag again producing a needle and thread. He methodically stitched the wounds, then wrapped them in bandages. He got up and disposed the gloves and put the medical bag away. When he came back, he sat back down on the seat beside the telepath. "How did you get hurt?"

"Siberian surprised me."

"Really? And how did that happen?"

"Got me." He muttered.

The precog got up and stood in front of Schuldich. "You don't know? Or you won't admit it?"

The telepath looked staring at his unreadable face. "I don't know."

Crawford lifted his chin up, "Well then, allow me to enlighten you. . . You were so distracted about losing your beloved pet that your mind couldn't distinguish his from everyone else's." He let go of Schuldich and walked over where his wine bottle and glass were. Unscrewing the top, he let the red liquid flow into the glass. "I should punish you for that avoidable error. . ."

The telepath flinched at the thought of another one of his punishments.

Crawford lifted the glass to his lips, "But I'm not going to."

Huh. . . Now Schuldich knew something was brewing inside of the precog's head.

"-You see, I was hoping that Fujimiya got away from you. . . "

The telepath used one of his elbows to sit up halfway. "What are you try trying to say?! You're telling me you knew this would happen?!"

"To an extent," Crawford replied simply. True, he had seen that vision only after both of them left, and he could have warned the telepath what to expect, but something had occurred to him in that short time period which kept him from revealing that information.

"An extent?! Why didn't you tell me that this would happen?! Was this all just for your damn amusement?!" He knew he shouldn't be talking to the Schwarz leader like this, but why the fuck did he let this happen.

Crawford calmly sipped more of the wine, ignoring the telepath's shouts. "As much as I find it funny, it's not."

"Then why?!"

"It really doesn't matter if Fujimiya goes back to them or not, either way, he will fit in nicely with my plans."

Schuldich eyes narrowed, he should have known. The precog always had a reason for letting things like this happen. Crawford didn't care who had had to step on to get what he wanted- even if it was him.

"It turns out Weiß might help us with a little pest control problem. . .And we won't have to get our hands dirty in the process."

"You're using them?"

"Why not? You've already ruined the perfect opportunity for us to destroy them, so I've decided to put them to better use."

". . .What about Ran?"

Crawford raised an eyebrow at him, "Such concern you show for him Schuldich. Do you really desire him that much?"

"You think I would let my new pet get away from me that easily? Besides you're the one who said I could have him."

". . .I see." Crawford knew that it would be amusing to give Schuldich something to play with, but even he could have predicted the possessiveness that the telepath would show for Aya, it almost disgusted him. But then again, now that Schuldich had something else to keep him entertained he wouldn't be annoying him as much anymore which was a damn good thing.

"What pest control problem are you talking about anyway?" Schuldich said breaking the silence.

"Reiji is becoming quite an eyesore to me. I really don't give a damn what Estet is planning to do with him anymore, I have my own little plans now."

"So, you want Takatori killed now?"

Crawford readjusted his glasses. "I've always wanted that bastard killed, I just waited for the most opportune moment to do it, it just so happens to be now."

Despite what the precog had done to him, Schuldich was more than happy to hear that. No more wiping that sorry man's ass, no more playing the ever obedient dog, and last but not least, no more protecting him. God how he loathed doing that, but Estet insisted that they had a use for him, which is the only reason he was kept alive. Well. . .not anymore. "What makes you think that Weiß will go after him on such short notice?"

"It doesn't matter if they want to of not. . . they won't be given a choice."

Schuldich's eyes narrowed, What the hell could he be planning to do?

"I'll fill you in on all the details later, right now, I suggest you get a good night's sleep. We have a very busy day tomorrow."

"Wait," Schuldich said as Crawford turned around to leave. "You still never told me why you didn't tell me about this little plan."

The precog looked back at him, "That's your punishment for disobeying me on our last mission."

The telepath's eye narrowed, "I thought you already gave me my punishment?"

"Oh, that was your punishment, but I still thought you hadn't got the message. Besides, I'm sure by the way you've fought Weiß, you've didn't arouse their suspicions." The precog gave him a dark smirk before turning back around to leave. "Congratulations on your five-star performance Schuldich, nightly-night." As he left he looked up at the telepath, he was seething. But it didn't matter to him, he had other things to worry about.

The door opened to the flower shop and the three Weiß members entered.

Not saying a word to Omi or Ken, Aya headed upstairs to the room that he shared with Yohji. The other two assassins listened as the heavy footsteps became softer and softer. They heard a click of a door and knew that the Weiß leader wasn't planning on coming back down again.

"I'm worried about him Ken."

"I know, I am too. . ."

Omi moved toward the stairs, as he was about to go up Ken's hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"No. . . let him rest."

"-But."

"We'll try to talk to him tomorrow."

Omi sighed; they said good night to each other and silently headed for their own room. In the back of their minds they told themselves that Aya would be all right, he would be back to his normal self soon. That's what they told themselves. . . whether it was true or not, they weren't completely sure.

Aya leaned against the back of the door looking at the room. The smell of cigarettes hit his nostrils, but he didn't seem to care. He moved toward the bathroom, clothes were littered upon the floor and papers thrown every which way. He stepped over them nearly stumbling in the process, normally he would've scorned the blonde for being so messy, but it didn't bother him at all. Walking in the bathroom, he removed all his clothes and got into the shower. The warm water splashed against his naked body- but inside, he was still cold as ice.

After about thirty minutes, Aya stepped out of the shower. His gaze shifted to the mirror in front of him. He grimaced over the sight he saw- many bruises covered his chest and ribs. His branding wound still hadn't completely healed and was still clearly visible against his pale skin. His face had sunken in a little bit and once bright amethyst eyes had turned dull in color. God. . .what's happened to me? He never had looked this terrible before, now he knew why Ken and Omi had been staring at him. He grabbed a nearby towel drying himself off, as he was about to dry his hair, he noticed the mark that Schuldich had left on him. He had thought by now it would have disappeared by now, but it still lingered there reminding him of the time he'd spent with his "Master". He reached for his rag and drenched it in ice-cold water then placed it on the mark. After a while, he removed it and grimaced, the mark was still full in color. Trying the same process again, he got the same results. After awhile he sighed admitting defeat and left heading for the bed.

He slipped into some white pajamas and climbed into the bed. As the covers were pulled back a low hum of thunder could be heard in the distance. Aya remembered that Yohji once joked that it rained because God was pouring his tears onto the world, now he wondered if what he said was true. His head rested against the pillow as the sound of the rain hitting the roof seeped into his ears. Mind and body exhausted, his heavy eyes closed as sleep finally claimed him.

It was morning when Takatori Reiji casually walked into the capital building. He couldn't stop a smirk from playing on his face. He was Prime Minister of Japan, now no one could stand in his way. Two guards escorted him to his new office. Reaching the door, they stood at attention outside. As Reiji walked inside, he noticed a silhouette on the floor in front of him. He looked to the windowsill and was startled to see someone there. "S- Schuldich! What the hell are you doing here?! How did you get by security?"

"Is that what you call it?" The telepath mocked. He chuckled inwardly as Reiji's face contorted into an angry scowl.

"What the hell do you want, I've got better things to be doing."

The telepath leapt off of the window landing gracefully on the floor. "Actually boss, I have a bit of good news that I just `had' to tell you."

"And what might that be?" Reiji said somewhat annoyed.

A slight grin formed on Schuldich's mouth before he spoke. "I know the identities of the terrorists that you're after. . ."

Aya groggily woke up sitting on the edge of his bed. He had barely got any sleep at all last night. The nightmares once again had come back to haunt him causing him to keep waking up in the middle of the night. He looked at the alarm clock; it was only 8:21. He sat up on the bed, pushing some of the red locks from his face. It was obvious that he wasn't going to sleep again, might as well get up.

Beep Beep Beep Beep

Ken drifted out of his sleep looking at the alarm clock beside him. Why the hell did I turn that damn thing on? He reached over to turn it off. "Only 8:30. . ." Oh well, he did sometimes get up this early. He sucked in a mouthful of air and noticed the faint aroma in it. Guess Omi's up He quickly slipped into a pair of discarded jeans and headed towards the kitchen. Sure enough, there was the young assassin over the stove.

Omi heard the shuffling of feet behind him and turned around. He smiled at the brunette. "Good morning."

"Mornin'." Ken yawned. He eyed the frying pan behind the young assassin, "Whatcha making?"

"I thought Aya might be hungry so I'm making him some Domburi."

"Oh. . . he's up already?"

"Yeah, I heard him in his room just a few minutes ago."

He looked at the clock 8:38. . . Weird, Aya had never gotten up this early before.

Omi poured the rice into a bowl and then placed the tempura on top. "After I take this to Aya I'll make us something to eat." He said as the food was placed on a tray. He headed up the stairs to the Weiß leader's room then knocked. "Hey Aya."

No answer.

Omi frowned knocking a little harder, "Aya?" As he reached for the doorknob it slowly opened. The redhead stood there, dressed in light blue jeans and a red T-shirt. Omi held the tray to him; "I thought you might be hungry, so I made you something."

Aya looked at the food then to him, ". . . thanks."

"Your welcome." The young assassin smiled as the Weiß leader took the tray from him. "If you need anything else just let me know."

The Weiß leader nodded and Omi went back downstairs. Aya stared at the food, he really wasn't hungry but Omi had taken the time to fix him something. The least he could do is try to eat a little.

Omi walked downstairs and noticed that Ken was still standing in the same spot.

"How is he?"

"Better, I think." The young assassin said happily moving to get the remote for the television. "How about some hotcakes for breakfast?" He said as he turned it on.

"Mmm. . .Sounds good."

"Alright then." Omi moved to get the refrigerator to get the ingredients.

Ken yawned again, "Guess I'll go wash-up."

"Okay." The young assassin said as he reached to grab a bowl from the shelf.

[Next time on Dragonball GT~ We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news from the new Prime Minister of Japan, Reiji Takatori, who was inaugurated yesterday afternoon. He has released an APB on the terrorists known as Weiß.]

The egg that Omi had been holding in his hand landed on the floor. Had he been hearing things?

Ken halted as he was about to leave the kitchen. He turned back around to face the television. God no. . .please don't let them say it. . .

[The four assassins involved in this organization have been identified as Fujimiya Aya, Hidaka Ken, Tsukiyono Omi, and Kudou Yohji.] Pictures of Omi, Ken, and Yohji were shown on the screen of along with their names, but a picture of Aya never showed.

Omi's face grew pale But. . .how could they have known?

[It seems that the one known as Fujimiya Aya has no composite sketch or picture, but we are told that one is in the process of being made. Police warn that these assassins are to be regarded as armed and extremely dangerous. If you come across any of these persons do not approach them under any circumstances, please contact the police immediately. A reward of 535,345(1) yen is being issued for information leading to the capture of any of these men. We will keep you updated as we get more information.]

A crash broke the two assassins from trance the television had on them, their eyes shifted to the doorway leading to the living room. Standing above the shattered bowl was Aya. "Yohji. . ." He was defenseless in the shape he was in, there was no one protecting him! If anyone saw him he would be. . .NO!! He had to get over there!!

Ken saw the panic in the redhead's eyes. Before the Weiß leader was able to walk out, the brunette grabbed onto his wrist "Wait Aya!"

"Let go of me!"

"You can't go to him! They'll bust you before you even get within a mile from Magicbus!"

"Let them try!" Aya spat. He jerked his arm free heading toward the front door.

The brunette darted in front of the Weiß leader, "Dammit Aya listen to me!" He shouted angrily.

"Get out of my way!"

Ken stood his ground, "Look, I know how you feel Aya, but Yohji would never forgive me if I let you walk out of here and you get killed. Is that what you want? For him to be sad again, knowing that all the time he spent looking for you would be for nothing?!" His head lower and his voice dropped to a whisper, ". . .and that I was wrong when I told him that you were probably dead?"

Aya's eyes widened slightly, no . . .that was the last thing he wanted. The tension in his muscles relaxed and the rage and despair he had been feeling a moment ago vanished.

Omi stood silently in the doorway after watching the whole incident. Ken. . .

The brunette was relieved to see that his words had had an impact on the redhead. "Aya, we gave the hospital false information on him so he'll be safe."

The Weiß leader shook his head. "No, he's still in danger, even now, one of the doctors or nurses could remember his face and they'll turn him in for the reward."

Ken frowned, he really hadn't thought of that. "There's gotta be something we can do to end this. . ."

"It's Takatori. . ." Omi chimed.

Aya and Ken looked at the young assassin.

"That's the only way to save Yohji, Persia, and ourselves. We've gotta finish him."

"It'll take forever to find him!" Ken exclaimed, "He could be anywhere in the damn country for cryin' out loud!"

"No, he's only been in office for only a day."

"That may be true, but he could still be anywhere."

"-No, there's only one place that he would be right now."

"Where?"

"The capital building."

"What makes you so sure he'll be there?

"I don't, but that's the first place we should be looking."

"Lets get ready then." Aya said as he headed towards his room.

"Hey, what about Manx? We should tell her what's going on."

"No, a lot of people know we work here and will want that bounty, I'm sure the police will be coming here, we have to hurry." As he headed up the stairs he could hear Ken's voice.

"God, I want to know the bastard who ratted us out."

Somehow, Aya knew that this was no coincidence. He had been here only one night but already trouble was starting to happen, ^Schuldich. . .^ When he reached the room he went to a drawer and retrieved a pair of black pants and shirt putting the garments on. He had the clothes, now he needed his katana. He cursed inwardly when he remembered that Schuldich had taken it away from him when he was there. Damn! How the hell was he supposed to fight anyone without a weapon? He rummaged through the room looking for anything that could be used. When he looked under the bed his gaze traveled to a wooden pole. His heart lifted when he found it, it was the wooden sheathed shira-saya he had used earlier in the Human Chess Tournament. He reached over and grabbed it opening the sheath. He rarely used it so it wasn't as sharp or strong as his katana, but he would have to manage. That was the only other weapon he had in his possession at the moment. Now that he had a weapon he could get out of here. He walked over to a closet and retrieved a trench coat from it. After putting it on he grabbed the shira-saya and headed back downstairs. Omi and Ken were already dressed waiting on him. "Omi, did you bring any bombs with you?"

"Yeah, just about five or six."

"Let's go then."

"Did you tell him?"

"Yeah." Schuldich said to the precog.

"Well?"

"He bought it, the broadcast just aired a few minutes ago. He said he would continue to air it every thirty minutes or so."

"Good, the stage has been set, now we wait for the ponds to make their move."

"If they make it. . ."

"I told you. . . "Crawford said, "They don't have a choice. I suggest you get ready if you want to see the fireworks."

"Fireworks?"

The precog smirked, "Yes, they certainly have been getting creative lately."

"God, you're so damn jumpy tonight."

"I'm tellin' ya I heard something."

"That's what you said the last three times, but we didn't find anything did we Suzuki? "

The guard nodded in approval, "Yeah Ichiro, you need to calm down."

"Humph," He snorted. "Maybe I just need a shot of sake to cool my nerves."

"We all do. . ."

When Ichiro looked up he saw a figure coming towards him, "Who's there?" He motioned for two other guards to follow him and stop the intruder from entering the building. His rifle pointed towards the figure, "Stop where you are or I'll shoot!"

Aya stopped where he was. His hands held no weapon, but the shira-saya that had was covered up by the long trench coat.

"Who are you and why are you trespassing on government property?" Suzuki asked the redhead.

"I got lost. . ." The Weiß leader said impassively.

The guard narrowed his eyes cocking his rifle, "I'll ask you one more time. . .why are you here?"

"I got some information that the Weiß assassins are on their way over here to kill the Prime Minister. Just wanted to let you guys know."

"What?! When?!"

"Now. . ." Ken's voice intruded from the shadows.

The guards took their sights off Aya and turned towards the voice. Before they realized what was going on, Aya silently slipped his hands behind his back reaching for the shira-saya. The weapon gave a single blow to one of the men where the neck and shoulder met, and Ichiro immediately fell to the ground knocked out. Before the remaining two guards could get a good shot at the redhead, Ken rushed out of the woods and kneed them in their stomachs. They both doubled over passed out.

The Weiß assassins stripped the three guards of their clothes. After exchanging the clothes they had on, their sights set on the capital building. There was only one person they had to kill.

Omi carefully removed the outer cover of the security panel exposing the wires. He popped open his laptop hooking a few wires to the mainframe. He hacked into the database, trying to decrypt the password leading to the major security system.

"Are you almost done?" Ken asked impatiently.

"Got it." He replied. "The security system has been disabled. Now all we need is a diversion."

"Leave that to me." Ken stated. He eyed the two trucks that sat near the western side of the building. "Hope you guys don't mind a little fireworks." He silently headed towards the vehicle and was relieved to find that there was only one was guarding it. The last thing the guard saw was a fist coming towards his face, his rifle slipped out of his hands and made a crashing sound when it hit the pavement. Ken quickly disposed of him dragging him away from the vehicle. Using his bugnuks, he slashed the pipe that held the oil in the trucks. Okay, he had the fuel, now he needed the fire, but he didn't have any matches or anything like that to start it. Think Ken, think. . . As he walked around the side of the one of the trucks, he saw the guard's rifle. Perfect He picked it up and aimed at the black liquid, "One diversion coming up." He squeezed the trigger and in a matter of seconds, a flame traveled through the accelerant hitting the pipe. The chain reaction with flame and gas caused a massive explosion and the trucks were immediately set ablaze.

Diversion made, Ken ran back to where Aya and Omi were. "All set."

Omi nodded, "I just hooked up the bombs so if anything goes wrong, we have a back-up plan." He typed in something in his laptop again. "I've got the blueprints to this building. If it's correct, Reiji should be on the 25th floor."

Ken looked up at the building, "Damn, that's a lot ground we're gonna have to cover."

The Weiß leader stood up calmly looking at the building, "Let's go."

As the three assassins entered the building, they could already see guards responding to the fire. Hopefully that would keep them busy for awhile. Even as Aya enter he could feel his heart ramming against his chest, but it wasn't the mission that made him feel nervous. He remembered that Schuldich had told him that they worked for Reiji; there would be a big problem if Schwarz was there with the politician. He hadn't seem them enter the building but, he couldn't help but wonder if they had been in there a day and just not come out. But if that was the case, why hadn't they shown themselves.? Surely Crawford would have seen this by now. . .His thoughts were pushed aside as a score of guards blocked the elevators, so much for their disguises. He pulled out his shira-saya ready to face them. I won't die. . . I want to protect you. . .

From another building facing the capital building, Schuldich watched as the three Weiß assassins entered the building. "They came. . ."

"Of course they would come." Crawford said leaning over the edge gazing at the ember flames. "Now we wait."

Farfarello sat on the concrete floor scraping his knife over it. "God dies, He cries. . ."

"Well Farf, you seem to be in a good mood." The telepath said amused.

"Of course," The Irishman said gleefully, "A Takatori dies tonight."

"Heh, I guess that is worth celebrating. . . Though Nagi should be here too, why didn't he come with us anyway?"

Farfarello gouged his knife into one of his bandaged arms. "Because he visits his Dead Lady. . ."

Schuldich snorted, "Ch' Nagi is getting to caught up in his relationship."

"You're one to talk." Crawford retorted.

"I don't have a relationship."

Well, it was good that that the telepath had developed any emotions for Aya, but he had another problem on his mind. "Schu, do you still intend to get Fujimiya back?"

"Of course." Damn right he would get Aya back from them, he claimed him and nothing would stop his desire to possess the Weiß leader. "Why do you ask?"

The precog wasn't surprised by the telepath's response. "He is becoming quite the unpredictable one."

Schuldich turned around and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that when you approach him tonight, there are five different outcomes for both of you."

He arched an eyebrow, "Your point?"

"In three of those visions I saw, he kills you. . ."

Farfarello stopped what he was doing staring at the Schwarz leader. "NO! God cannot have the Guilty One!" He rasped, "The angels will not take the Sinner away!"

The telepath's lips thinned. So, it seems that his hold on the redhead wasn't as strong as he thought.

"Schu, Fujimiya is just an expendable pawn for us. Don't risk your life for such a meaningless thing."

"-Crawford. . ."Schuldich said impassively. "I'm not letting him get away from me- you said I could have him and I intend to. . ."

The Schwarz leader sighed removing his glasses wiping the delicate lenses with a cloth. "You do realize that this is no joke don't you?"

The telepath turned back around to where the building was gazing the guards trying to put out the fire. "I'm sure it wasn't."

"Then you know that you're dancing with death if you go after him."

"That's nothing new to me. Death and I have always crossed paths before, this time is no different."

". . .Such arrogance and stupidity will get you killed."

The telepath chuckled, "You know Bradley. . .If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you cared about me."

Crawford leaned on the side of the building. "I don't care about you." He replied callously. "But you are far more valuable to me alive than dead." Lies, they were all lies that where coming out of his mouth. He did care about what would happen to the telepath, and it infuriated him that there was nothing he could do to control the situation. But he refused to let his emotions get in the way of his future plans. And since he was wise enough to know that he couldn't change Schuldich's mind, the only thing he could do was watch as the two men's futures intertwined. He had warned Schuldich what would happen and would give him a choice in the matter. It was up to him to decide live the consequences of his decision. "I just certainly hope you comprehend what you're getting yourself into. . ."

Schuldich brought his bandaged right hand up to his face staring at the cloth. He contemplated on his dilemma, while it was true that he had escaped death many times before, this time it would be different. The most obvious thing was that his was wounded. Trying to move at highs speeds would be difficult with the stitches still in his back. Not only that, but he had lost his pistol when he fought Ken and Manx so he had no weapon to fight with. But even if he did, he couldn't use it, his right hand was completely useless anyway. . . He couldn't help but chuckle; it was interesting how life had been treating him lately. Well, he was getting awfully tried of standing here, wordlessly he moved to where the door leading to the elevator was.

"Where are you going?" Crawford asked.

"I thought I'd go greet Weiß."

"So, you ignore my warning then?"

"I've acknowledged it, not ignored it."

Well, it seemed that Schuldich had made his choice. . . He sighed, nothing he could do now. It seemed that the extra weapon that he had brought with him would serve a purpose after all. "Take this." He said throwing the weapon in the telepath's direction.

It made a clanking sound as it dropped by Schuldich's feet. He bent down and picked up the object. "Huh? Why are you giving me this?"

"Well you don't exactly have a weapon with you."

"And what the hell makes you think I'll be able to use this with one hand?" The telepath said angrily.

"I'm sure you'll manage, besides I hope you didn't plan on getting him back with telepathy alone."

"Actually I did. . ."

"You're being arrogant again. . ."

"And you're surprised?" The telepath retorted.

Crawford's gave him a withering glare. "Schuldich-"

"-Well, if you won't let me go because of that, at least let me test my new weapon a bit. . ."

"And just who do you plan to test it on?"

The telepath looked towards the guards trying to put out the fire below. "Just a bunch of friendly neighborhood firefighters." He said sardonically.

"Make sure you kill all of them."

"Don't I always."

Crawford watched as he left, he knew it was dangerous for him to give Schuldich that weapon and try to alter the futures of both assassins since they had so many different outcomes, but it was the only thing he could think of to make swing the odds in the telepath's favor, and besides. . .anything was worth a try.

"Will God cry or smile tonight?" Farfarello asked the Schwarz leader.

The precog looked at the Irishman, "God doesn't know what He wants anymore . . ."

"Hey you! No unauthorized personal is allowed in here!"

Aya slashed the guard that stood in his way. He would take out anyone that tried to interfere with him and his target. Yeah, he knew it was careless for him to fight five or seven guards at a time, but something inside of him burned. It screamed at him, warning him that he better not die, that he couldn't be defeated by the foolish soldiers standing in his way, that Takatori Reiji would not live another night alive. What was this feeling? Love? Hate? Fear? Revenge? Rage? He didn't know what it was, but it didn't matter. As long as it was driving him on he didn't care. This was one mission that he couldn't afford to fail. One by one the men fell, lying in pools of their own blood. After finally making a path to the elevator, he ran into the closed area and the door automatically shut.

Ken and Omi were barely able to keep up with the Weiß leader. "Aya!" Ken yelled as more guards replaced the ones that the Weiß leader had killed. They drew up their rifles pointing at the two, "Halt!"

Shit! Ken cursed. He and Omi backtracked to a nearby wall escaping the shelling. He extended his bugnuks, he didn't plan on killing anybody else besides Reiji tonight, but if these guys were becoming a real pain in the ass. He looked to Omi, "Ready?"

The boy smiled holding a few darts in his hands, "I've been ready."

What the hell. . .? Reiji said as he felt a violent tremor travel through the building, the lights had flickered out and he heard the faint sounds of screaming. He moved towards his window and noticed guards frantically trying to put out something that was on fire. "Stupid guards. . ." He mumbled, one of them had probably been smoking near a flammable substance again. Reiji pressed the button for his intercom. "Would someone fix the damn lighting in here!" He shouted into the device. Instead of someone responding to him, a score of screams ran through it. His breath hitched, "What the hell is going on out there?!"

"It's the assassins! They've broken into headquarters!"

"What?!" Dammit, where the hell are Schwarz at when you need them? Just then, the front door burst open. His head jerked up to face the figure there. He was relieved to see it was only one of his guards, "Hey! You get me out of-" He stopped when he met the guard's face. It wasn't the guard he was expecting to see. His mouth went dry when he meant Aya's eyes; they were the same emotionless orbs that he had looked at when they meet before- but unlike last time, anger and hatred show in them as well. "You. . ."

Aya entered the room still staring at the politician. A quick glance around revealed that Reiji was the only one in the room, good he wouldn't have to worry about Schwarz.

"Where are the rest of Schwarz at?" Reiji finally managed to say.

No response.

"Look, a couple of assassins broke in here, I'm ordering you the rest of Schwarz to get rid of them now." Still Aya didn't budge. Reiji's eyes narrowed, "Do you hear me talking to you?! Answer me dammit!!"

The Weiß leader silently raised his shira-saya at his "boss".

Reiji's mouth opened slightly, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He took a step back towards his desk and Aya followed him. "Stop right now before I report you to Estet! Do you hear me?!" God he had just become Prime Minister and already someone was trying to kill him. And to make it even worse the guy that was trying to kill him was his own damn employee. I should've known better than to trust this guy! His hand slithered to one of his top drawers, and pulled out a pistol aiming it at Aya then pulled the trigger again, and again, and again. . .

Whether by instinct or sheer luck, the Weiß leader saw the shining metal in enough time to duck behind a wall and escaped the hail of bullets that were coming towards him.

Though he had kept a gun, Reiji really, never had used it before, that's what he had his bodyguards for. So he clumsily shot until he heard a clicking noise. Bullets now gone, he ran out of the door of his office escaping. As he turned his head to the side he saw the bodies of about ten guards slain.

Aya cautiously stood up looking in the room. Fuck He cursed when he realized the room was empty. He ran to the door, Takatori HAD to die tonight, there was no other way. When he got there looked down the hallway and found it empty. Damn, where did he go? Aya turned his head to the left, and saw a glimpse of fabric heading toward the top floor. Got you He took off after the politician; Reiji wouldn't escape from him this time.

Reiji pushed open the door to the roof locking it behind him. He looked around; fire and smoke were engulfing the entire building, the blazing flames seared up the walls burning everything it came in contact with. There were no helicopters or extra fire-escape stairs leading to the first floor. Shit He should've really inspected this place a little bit more. He heard a crash and realized that the door he had locked was being forced opened. He gulped; there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no one to protect him. Eventually the door gave way and he found himself staring at the Weiß leader. "Damn you. . ." He said taking a step backwards.

God, how the hell did Aya take out all of these people that fast? Ken said as he looked in the 25th hallway. Bodies and numerous rifles and other weapons lay in a large puddle of blood. Whatever tactics they had used to try to stop the Weiß leader had all but blown up in their faces.

"D-did Aya do all this?" Omi asked nervously.

"I hate to say it, but it looks that way." It all the missions that he had did with the redhead, he had never seen him act like this before- that almost scared him. But then again, Reiji had done more than enough to hurt the Weiß leader, so he kind of understood why Aya would be acting like this- though this did seem to be taking things overboard a little. "Come-on, lets go." The two ran to Reiji's office and cautiously entered.

After a quick look around they realized that no one was inside. "Where did they go?" The brunette asked puzzled.

"Ken look," Omi said as he noticed the bullets lodged in the wall.

"Looks like Reiji didn't go down without a fight. . ."

"Do you think Aya's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure of it." From the way the Weiß leader had been fighting, he seriously doubted that Reiji had managed to surprise him, but they did need to find out where he was. They walked out the room again, the brunette closely looked on the floor to see if they could find out where the Weiß leader had gone. As he looked on the floor he noticed that two pairs of bloodied footprints led down to a corridor. "Omi this way." They followed the trail until they disappeared in crossed hallway. Dammit. . . They could've gone in any of the three halls. "God, I wished we'd remembered to bring the communicators with us." He muttered. "Well, we have three halls, which way do we go?"

"Looks like we'll have to get lucky."

"You damn traitor!!" Reiji shouted at the Weiß leader. "I swear you'll pay for this!!"

/What's wrong Prime Minister?/

Reiji's eyes widened, /Schuldich, where the hell are you?! Weiß is attacking me!!/

/Oh. . ./ The telepath said in a mocking tone, /Guess Bradley forgot to fill you in on that little detail. . . to bad/

/What?!/ The politician screamed /If you knew this would happen why the hell aren't you protecting me?!/

/My, my, someone needs to control their temper. Besides, Weiß isn't attacking you at the moment, all I see is little Beansprucht with you, he's all the protection you need/

/HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!!!/

/Hmm, since you put it like that, I guess you're screwed huh?/

Reiji gritted his teeth /You are MY bodyguards and you will protect me when I say, where I say, and you WILL follow my every orders! Now get up here and protect me!!/

/Hmm. . .risk life and limb to go up a 30-story burning building that's about to collapse on itself, while fighting dangerous assassins. . .Sorry, no can do/

/What did you say?!/

/You heard me "boss" as far as I'm concerned I hope you burn in hell, so goodbye and good riddance/

/You son-of-a-bitch!!/

/I learn from the best. . ./

Reiji could hear Schuldich's mad laugher echoing in his head. Damn them!! Damn them all to hell!!!

Aya saw Reiji's face change into a look of pure rage, probably because he knew that there was no escape for him. But he didn't really give a damn why. All of a sudden, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Aya?" Ken's voice said as he ran up the stairs. He could scarcely make out a silhouette hovering above the cloud of smoke at the top. God he hoped it was the redhead they other two halls Omi and him had gone in were dead ends.

The Weiß leader looked at the broken door at the brunette.

Reiji pointed at Ken. "Look! There's one of them! Kill him now!"

Ken froze, why did Reiji say that? There was no one here that could possibly help him. ^Pathetic bastard's going insane. . .^

Aya unsheathed his shira-saya still not saying a word.

Reiji looked angrily at the redhead, his comment had fallen on deft ears as the Weiß leader made his way towards him. He stepped backwards until the intense heat from the flames behind him stopped him dead in his tracks.. So close. . .I was so close to having control of Japan!! To lost in his own thoughts, he didn't see when Aya had rushed him. His whole body jerked spasmodically as sharp strings of pain racked through his body. The Weiß leader's weapon plunged into Reiji's stomach, the blood-soaked tip sticking out through his back. Aya's eyes shifted to Reiji's pale face. The politician's mouth was partly opened feebly gasping for breath as numbness consumed his entire body. His eyes locked onto his traitorous bodyguard. "Damn. . .you. . .and. . .Schwarz. . ." He whispered silently.

Ken noticed that Reiji's mouth moved but he was too far away to make out what he had said. But looking at Aya's eyes, it clearly had made the redhead angry.

The politician's statement struck a cord within the Weiß leader; he WASN'T Schwarz and never would be part of that twisted group. He gripped his shira- saya firmly with both hands pushing upwards. The blade sliced through his insides, splitting his breastbone, cutting into his lungs and eventually his heart. Blood gushed from Reiji's body spattering over the hilt of the blade and his hands, but he didn't seem to care- or feel it for that matter. Only after did the politician's body go limp did Aya harshly pull the weapon away out of him.

Ken walked over to the fallen body looking at the Weiß leader. "Hey Aya, what did he say?"

Aya turned away from him walking away from the brunette. "It was nothing. . ." He said softly. God he couldn't look at the brunette, and if couldn't even do that, he sure as hell couldn't tell him what Reiji had said. As he sheathed the bloody shira-saya, he realized that the hilt had cracked a little bit. Apparently he had pushed the sword to its breaking point. He would have to get another one to replace it, but that was okay with him, it was well worth it.

A violent tremor racked through the entire building and both Weiß assassins stumbled.

"Siberian, Abyssinian. . ."

The two assassins turned toward the emergency stairs and saw Omi. "Are both of you okay?"

"Yeah," Ken said, "Mission accomplished."

Omi smiled, luck had been on their side tonight. Not only had they not run into Schwarz, but none of them had gotten even hurt. He pulled out a small remote from his pocket, "I just set the bombs to go off in seven minutes, we gotta get out of here."

Ken nodded and headed to the door. The intense heat and heavy smoke was rapidly spreading to the top floors.

Aya looked at Reiji one more time before following the brunette. Aya-chan. . . I've gotten your revenge Now he just had to wait for her to pull out of the coma- her and Yohji.

The three Weiß assassins ran out of the burning building. Fortunately for them, all of the guards had fled so they didn't have any trouble getting to the first floor- another lucky break. Aya was the first one outside coughing to clear his lungs of the vile smoke that tickled the back of his throat.

Omi and Ken followed him, coughing but relieved. It was finally over; with Reiji gone all of his twisted laws and the bounty on their heads would all but disintegrate. Omi walked over to the stop where he had ditched his clothes. As he bent down to pick it up, he noticed a body. Around it, was large amounts of blood. Funny, he didn't remember them killing any guards outside, just knocking them out. He walked over to the still body. His eyes widened when he got a better look at one the dead men. "aya. . ."

Aya turned towards the young assassin, "What is it?" He saw Omi was standing over a body. He walked over to him, "Omi what are you-" He stopped when he looked at the dead guard. A bloody cross with a "W" in the middle was engraved in one of the men's back. Who. . . did this? Was someone toying with them? He scanned the area and noticed more bodies, they were carefully laid out forming a line that led to the burning trucks, almost ritualistically. A lump formed in his throat, it was obvious that someone deliberately did this, but why and for what reason? His train of thought was disrupted when the second truck's engine exploded. Startled, his head jerked up to the truck again. Blank amethyst eyes seemed enthralled by the yellowish-orange flames roaring from the vehicle. But as he looked, a shadowy figure seemed to materialize in the fiery blaze. He blinked, was he seeing things? He stared at the figure a little longer; it was still there and beginning to have a distinct appearance of a human. . .

Schuldich stood behind the burning trucks were and mentally drunk on the confused thoughts of the Weiß leader, oh yes; playing with people's minds was indeed his all time pleasure. The sweet emotions entered him filling his mind with a sadistic joy. But he wanted more than his mind- far much more. . . It's was time to drop this little charade and go after his real prize. The cards had been dealt, the bets made. Now it was his move, the question is would he fold or lay down his hand? Decisions, decisions. . . As much as he wanted to, what Crawford had said to him stayed imbedded in his mind. Would he really let all the work he had done be for nothing? But then again, was Aya worth more than his life? He closed his eyes for a minute contemplating lust or life? Sure, he could always find another pet, but no one could match the redhead's beauty. He had tasted his mind and body and found the Weiß leader to be quite the catch- almost to the point of an addiction. Indeed, he was the most dangerous prey that he ever pursued before, but if he played his hand right he could be caught again. Minutes passed by before his eyes opened- he had made his decision. Hiding the weapon Crawford gave him behind his back, the telepath slowly walked from behind the burning trucks, totally exposing himself to the Weiß assassins.

Aya watched as the human figure became clearer and clearer, his blood ran cold when he recognized who it was. The green coat, the white pants, the flame hair, those malevolent sapphire eyes- they were unmistakable. . .It was HIM!!

Omi noticed that the redhead had become rigid. "Aya, what's wrong?" The redhead still didn't budge, "Aya what's-" He sentence was cutoff when he realized that the redhead was staring at something. When he turned in that direction he was startled to see Schuldich. Unconsciously, he reached for his darts and in one fluent motion; they were aimed at the telepath. "Schwarz!" He said furiously.

Ken tensed at Omi's outburst; his body whirled around and scanned the area. Sure enough, walking away from the truck head in their direction was the telepath. "Schuldich!!" He snapped.

Aya felt his mouth go dry. The blazing flames behind the telepath seemed to make his eyes glow with a mystifying, yet ethereal light. Aya recognized the look; it was the expression of a hungry predator looking at its prey. He forced himself not to let his face show the emotions that were beginning to boil inside him. A part of him was glad he was here, he wanted to kill the bastard who had beat him, raped him, tormented him, and literally fucked-up his mind, those long agonizing nights ago. But the other part of him was scared. . . Schuldich had made it clear to him that he wouldn't lose the redhead, and Aya was sure that he would use every dirty method that he could think of to get him back. Looking into the glowing eyes though, he did realize one thing- this had to end tonight; if he didn't kill Schuldich. . . then he and everyone else that he came in contact with would never be safe from his tormentor.

Schuldich was a little disappointed when he saw the redhead's face. He had expected some king of reaction from his "other half" but he just was standing there with a mask of indifference. How typical. . . No mistake about it now, Aya had to be treated with extreme caution this time. He couldn't stop a grin from forming on his face at the challenge. "Weiß. . . what a pleasant surprise. . ."

To be continued. . .

(1) That's worth around 5,000 dollars in the US