DISCLAIMER: Kyoko Tsuchiya and Project Weiß hold the copyright over all names, likeness and rights of Weiß kreuz. All these characters and materials are used without permission, and I'm not profiting from this piece of fan fiction.

I hate it when it rains at night. It was raining the night Ouka died in my arms. It's been years-- but I can't help thinking of her now, not since I'm walking past the tomb where she should have been laid to rest. First love, sister, cousin-- even now, I'm not sure what I thought she was to me then. I still shudder to recall how Ran-kun had showed me that the life-sized doll I carried back from grandfather's place was actually her real body. Grandfather insists he didn't know that his children's corpses were taken to make up the dolls of our family. I didn't want to pursue the matter. We did consecrate the bodies to proper burials, so that's the last we'll ever say of that.

My agents motion me forward to continue our track through the quiet graveyard. Our destination isn't all that far away. The Fujimiyas were fairly well off, and Ran-kun did dutifully give his parents a respectful plot. Being the ever so anal perfectionist he is, he reserved a space for himself, or maybe it was for his sister if she had died rather than waking up from her coma. The very idea that our friend would go to this kind of detail... Youji-kun and Schuldich--

As if the thought of them conjured their presence, I suddenly see them through the gloom of this rainy night, still dressed in the stark black suits they had attended the funeral in. I should have guessed that they'd be there long before me, given what we all know of their relationship to Ran-kun.

I still bristle when I see Schuldich. I can't help it. It was because of his games that Ouka died. I know he regrets her death, but it happened and I can never forgive him for it. As I look at him standing there with Youji-kun, it reminds me of the day Ken-kun first told me of Schuldich's entrance into their lives. I was furious with them then. I couldn't believe that Ran-kun would be so unconcerned about working with Schwartz, given our history of clashes with them when we were Weiß. Was I scared? Did I think that somehow Schwartz were suddenly positioning themselves to use my friends? Of course. And it didn't take much more prodding from grandfather to make me reactivate Kritiker, and rebuild Weiß and Crashers. I was terrified. I wanted to be sure my friends were safe. That the SS were not going to take this opportunity to get under their guard and kill them before they realised they were in danger. Youji-kun and Ken-kun were retired. Ran-kun, I knew was making sure they stayed out of the 'game', and he was keeping them safe in his own way. But who was watching out for him? As a freelancer, he had no set loyalties. But what prevented others from targeting him as an obstacle or an annoyance?

In retrospect, I should have realised that it was grandfather's intention all along that I would become Persia. I gladly embraced the role, thinking that I was doing so to safeguard my friends from the SS. I feel so naive now that I know how much more complex this society he once headed is. The foolishness of my uncle and father stands out even more, as does the treachery of the three 'ancients'. I run it all... Or at least Persia does. The SS, Schwartz, Kritiker, Crashers, Weiß... Under the original Persia, they worked together. It still grieves grandfather that when he retired, his organisation splintered and his three peers snatched the European operations out of the control of my father to further their arcane interests. What a tangled web was weaved...

"Mr. Takatori?" Crawford's cursory words shake me out of my reverie. "Wool gathering? You know it isn't as grave as it looks."

I give him a faint smile, which he returns. It still takes me a second or two to get used to the idea of the American and the Irish man as my subordinates, heading the SS and Schwartz respectively. Crawford has been looking much more settled and relieved now that he has the SS under control. He worked hard to break them away from the arcane arts they had descended into under the three mad ones. We're both relieved to return to the old status quo that had been established under my grandfather.

"Of all times to dwell on it, mate." Jei's words bring my attention to him as he quirks a smile at me. It strikes me as to how-- sane and dependable I've found this man to be when he's on proper medication. Funny how much difference a couple of pills can make to a man's life. "This situation must be one of the best examples to show you that nothing is immutable."

"I'll behave." I heave a sigh at his reassuring words. I can't say why I am so prejudiced against the German when I can accept Jei. It was Farfarello who fired the shot that killed Ouka, yet-- I can't find it in myself to blame him for her death because of his mental instability during that time. Schuldich-- I know he never intended for her to die, but I still cannot forgive him for it. Still-- I can't deny the love Schuldich does feels for Ran-kun, and Youji-kun.

Youji-kun... I can't help smiling a little at the memory of my reaction to the news, when Ken-kun first passed the gossip to me that Youji-kun was trying very hard to woo Ran-kun. In all the years we worked together in Weiß and at the Koneko no Sumu Ie, we never had inkling before of Youji-kun's inclination that way. There can be no mistake that the whole affair was precipitated by Schuldich's appearance in their lives. Apparently, Youji-kun didn't know what he was missing until he was in danger of losing it.

In spite of my feelings about Schuldich, it still makes me laugh to remember Ken-kun's descriptions of their frustrating attempts to court Ran-kun. Ken-kun would swear that our redhead friend was totally oblivious to their antics. They'll never live down the mortification of the time they were experimenting and fell over the couch, just as Ran-kun came down the stairs to stumble in on them. Ken-kun told me that Ran-kun was tiptoeing around them and trying to keep out of their way for weeks, before he clued him into the reality of their feelings for each other. I heard that poor Ken-kun got his foot stomped on to stop him from telling Ran-kun that they were in truth interested in him. I still think it would have saved them a lot of trouble, if they had let Ken-kun tell him.

"Youji-kun. Schuldich."

"Hey kid." The German gives Crawford and me a quick nod before turning away. I know his real name, I just-- I still can't make myself use it. He never pushes the issue though. He understands why.

"Can we get this over with?" Youji-kun doesn't look up. "I hate it here."

They're both staring at a gravestone. I don't need to read it to know what it says. After all, I helped choose the words for it. Etched on the marble surface is 'Fujimiya Ran - We've only laid you to rest awhile. You have not disappeared from our hearts and minds.'

Ken-kun is late, but we're not surprised. We could all see that Aya-chan was utterly devastated at the funeral service earlier in the afternoon. She had seen so little of her brother before this happened. If Ran-kun had it his way, she wouldn't have had a chance to meet up with him again at all.

I don't know if Ran-kun ever truly forgave me for stationing another Weiß team at the Koneko no Sumu Ie; letting Aya-chan be to them what Momoe-san was to us. It was too perfect a cover to give up, and having it that way also made it so much easier to allow Ran-kun to let his sister understand what he does. At least it's much better than the earlier ideas Aya-chan had of what her brother was involved in. We certainly had a good laugh at Ran-kun over his sister's impression that he was working as a-- 'social escort' to pay for her hospital bills, and provide her the generous endowment fund. From what Ken-kun told me, Youji-kun and Schuldich had a great deal of fun teasing Ran-kun about it, especially since he was receptively receiving their courtship by then. Up to today, I don't believe that Aya-chan knows that her brother was an assassin. My Weiß team have assured me, she has the romantic notion that they are a covert government team run much like that American show 'Mission Impossible'. They did not try to correct her.

It was good that Ran-kun finally came around in time to give her away at the wedding. Ken-kun had taken the chance to push it when Ran-kun asked him what he wanted as a wedding gift. It was a tensed period for us all. We had to be careful how we nagged Ran-kun. Youji-kun, Ken-kun and Schuldich were so afraid that he would walk out of their lives and disappear on them. Up until the day of the wedding, we didn't know if he'd given in to Ken's request for him to give Aya-chan away. But he did, and Aya-chan was the most radiant bride you could ever ask to see.

We were all glad that Ran-kun changed his mind. He can be stubborn like that, in not believing that he is deserving of love or even to have a normal life. We sometimes think that that more than anything is one of the strongest reasons why he returned to being an assassin. With my re-establishment of Kritiker, Crashers and Weiß, and the reintegration of the SS and Schwartz into my organisation, I had thought Ran-kun would have at least felt relieved of the responsibility Botan laid upon him with his death. But he didn't retire. And he would not accept my invitation to rejoin Kritiker either.

I suppose part of the blame can be laid on the new Police Commissioner who took over after my father died. Ran-kun's not too worried about how Yoshida-san caught onto him. It was chance that made her connect the old doctor and the rescue of his granddaughter from the child prostitution ring to Ran-kun. Doc was sorry about the whole thing, and he was more careful and tight-lipped over Ran-kun's activities and needs after that. I can only guess that Ran-kun did not want to risk exposing my organisation to the law and felt an obligation to keep the attention of the Tokyo police on his activities. Not that he could have kept attention away from me for very long. She is one uncanny lady, this Yoshida Namiko. While my father was always careful not to have any evidence of his role as Persia appear at his place of work as Police Commissioner, and Kurasuma-san was equally careful when he was Persia, Kritiker learnt that Yoshida-san worked out on her own a theory of our three field units. Ran-kun had tried his best, but she knows about me.

Given that revelation, we would have expected Ran-kun to back off his activities. What a surprise to learn from Ken-kun that he had heard Youji-kun and Schuldich remark rather jealously that Ran-kun liked the woman. And that he would often take jobs that surreptitiously assisted her department. He seemed to delight in hiding in plain view and fencing with her suspicions. Youji-kun would complain that Ran-kun was taking too many chances to let Commissioner Yoshida catch him. She's never been able to clearly associate the assassin Abyssinian to Ran-kun though. He's always managed to stay one step ahead of the woman and occasionally drop her untraceable leads to his jobs when he's finished. You'd think that he was working with her the way the American Comic book hero Batman worked with Commissioner Gordon. I've heard that Youji-kun and Schuldich would tease her mercilessly about her inability to catch the mysterious Abyssinian, whenever she dropped by the store to see Ran-kun.

If there was a female that Ran-kun's lovers were ever worried about, she was it. Never mind Sakura-chan; we were all aware that Ran-kun only ever treated her like a younger sister. However, with Commissioner Yoshida... Ran-kun clearly never looked at her that way. He respected her. We know he did genuinely like her and that the feelings were mutual. Heh, they were on first name basis. Though Ran-kun would often reassure Youji-kun and Schuldich, she made them nervous.

I'm not sure what lead to it, but Ken-kun told me that he was a witness to seeing Youji-kun and Schuldich's hackles rise in jealousy with one of the Commissioner's visits. Not that I wouldn't have heard that little tale. The press had a field day on that bit of gossip. Apparently the woman had come into the store and planted a sweet kiss on Ran-kun's lips before an audience of squealing schoolgirls. Imagine that-- This sophisticated lady, of her standing and stature in society, caught kissing a man, clearly a decade or more her junior, in public. The tale that's still making the rounds gets raunchier with each telling of it. Poor Ran-kun was so embarrassed. He never did state though that he didn't like the kiss. If Youji-kun and Schuldich had had it their way, they would probably have fled Japan with Ran-kun to get him out of reach of that woman.

She was at the funeral service to bid him farewell earlier today. I remembered seeing Schuldich pass her a magnetic disc, probably filled with information Ran-kun wanted her to have. It's almost certainly the only concrete admittance that she will ever have that her suspicions were true. We know she won't ever pursue the matter post-humously though. Ken-kun did say that eventually Yoshida-san seemed grudgingly accepting of the results Ran-kun's jobs would produce. Even though it was 'vigilante justice'. She stayed long enough to throw a red rose into the grave. If I did not know Ran-kun as well as I did, I would probably have thought that they were lovers.

It was just as well that Aya-chan saw Commissioner Yoshida at the funeral. It added to the mystique that we weaved around her to make her think that Ran-kun was working for a secret government security agency. Ran-kun never told her what he really did and we will keep his confidence. For Ran-kun, Kritiker will make sure that she and Ken-kun's children will always be safe. Children... At least Ran-kun had the chance to hold his first niece in his arms. The nephew that will be born in a few months though, will never have a chance to meet his uncle.

We've made sure that Aya-chan's life will no longer be linked to Weiß after this. Ken-kun has already seen to it that the Koneko no Sumu Ie has been transferred to Weiß IV. With the birth of their son, Aya-chan will be too preoccupied with raising their children to work there anymore. And I would want to keep their children away from the activities of my organisation. In any case, with the number of schools Ken-kun is serving with as their soccer coach, he already makes enough for them to be very comfortable without the need for her to work. And they still have the trust funds Ran-kun set up for them and their children for university. Ken-kun and Aya-chan will be well

I can't say I was surprised to find out that Youji-kun and Schuldich have arranged to sell their shop to Schwartz. Jei has been thinking of setting up a shop as a base of operations for Schwartz for sometime now. I understand that he is turning the place into a curio and mystic store, to sell tarot cards, new age books, sculptures and incense. If he wears his eye-patch again instead of the glass eye, he'd probably be a hit with the customers. Besides, where else would he be able to hide Ran-kun's knife and dagger collection in almost plain view? Crawford told me that Jei was ecstatic to be bequeathed with that little treasure.

Considering the circumstance under which Ran-kun amassed the collection... We don't believe he ever got over having to kill his former mentor and sword master. According to Youji-kun, Ran-kun had started the collection for a purpose; looking for something to replace what he had lost when the sword his mentor had given him was shattered during their battle. Ran-kun must have known that Jei would best appreciate his knife collection. Jei's interests in knifes never did end even after he regained control of his mind.

As for the store... Though they did go ahead and rename it 'Kudou's Creations' after Youji-kun started winning awards at Ikebana exhibitions, it holds too many memories for them. I can understand their need to get away from it all. I can't imagine how it was for them to have received that last phone call from Ran-kun. As far as I'm able to piece the story together, Ran-kun received some misinformation on that last mission. Schuldich told us that he sounded like he was hurt really bad when he called them from a payphone to ask them to take care of Aya-chan, and to say 'goodbye' and 'I love you'. Youji-kun was almost hysterical when he called me to ask for my help to find him.

It still chills me to recall the panic we were all in. I had every available field agent out looking for him, but it was Crawford's visions that finally gave us the general vicinity to locate him. Youji-kun and Schuldich were way ahead of us and managed to get to him just before Ran-kun's pursuers reached him. I understand Youji-kun took his watch back from Ran-kun then and drew out the wires again, while Schuldich took Ran-kun's gun. They were a bit rusty, but they managed to hold their ground until Weiß IV got there to back them up. But--

"Omi, sorry I'm late. I wasn't sure I'd be able to escape." Ken-kun's arrival interrupts my thoughts. "I got Sakura-chan and her husband to help me watch over Aya and our daughter."

I nod to him and give him a reassuring smile in return. "You're not the latest--"

"Omi, can we..." Youji's words interrupt us bringing my attention to where he stands with Schuldich. The two are quite agitated with all this waiting. Unfortunately, all I can offer him is a weak apologetic smile. My koibito has yet to appear and he is currently the most important person in this matter.

"Omi!"

The unexpected voice startles us all. I turn to glare in the direction of the call to find Nagi looking shamefaced as he walks towards us. With him is a blue-haired girl carrying her ever-present umbrella to shield them from the rain.

"It's not Nagi's fault, Omi." She pouts at me before I can say anything. "It's not fair! You can trust me! I'm older than he is, I won't tell anyone. I promise!"

"Tot." I sigh as I walk forward to take one of her hands. She is a woman in age, but her mind... If there is one good thing that my brother Masafumi begot with Schreient, it was to take this beautiful young lady away from her abusive father.

"You can trust me, Omi. Please? Cross my heart, hope to die. May lightening strike me if I'm telling a lie!"

"I know that song too, Tot. And isn't it a bit old now."

"It's the truth!" Nagi and I exchange furtive grins. She looks adorable when she's angry. "I understand how serious this is. I won't tell! Please believe me."

By design or accident, a flash of lightning and a loud boom thunders over us, making everybody jump. "Hey! Who asked you?! And I won't carry tales. I won't!" The exuberant girl stamps on the muddy ground.

I sigh and give Crawford a mock glare while he shrugs helplessly. He hadn't foreseen this. But I can't say that I'm all that angry to see Tot. Her presence has, at the least, lessened the tension of the moment. If I'm not mistaken, her antics have succeeded in bringing a ghost of a smile to Youji-kun's lips.

"Sorry for taking so long." Nagi kisses me on the cheek as one of his hands link with Tot's over mine. "Our little Koibito here refused to be left behind. It was bring her along, or be even later than I already was."

"I won't tell, Omi. Please don't be mad."

"Nagi, please? Can we get on with it?" Schuldich's plea cuts into my exasperation with my two lovers. Tot-- I suppose there's nothing we can do about it now. She has proven numerous times that she can be just as sharp as my best tactician despite her 'damaged' mind.

"Will you be okay, Itoshi?"

"No need to fret, I can handle it." Nagi grins at us reassuringly as he releases my hand and turns to look towards Ran-kun's grave.

No matter how many times I am witness to his ability, it never fails to cast a feeling of wonder over me to see my koibito demonstrate his powers. Silent as a whisper, the ground shifts and he easily extracts the coffin from the soft earth without raising a drop of sweat.

Nagi grins at me as Youji-kun and Schuldich rush forward to pry the coffin open. "No problem, Koibito. The soil was recently turned and not hard packed earth. After all, the burial was only this afternoon. The rain didn't make it that much more difficult."

We let Youji-kun and Schuldich handle this. After everything that they've been through, they need to deal with this themselves. We watch in silence as Schuldich's steady hands inject a vial of stimulant into a vein in Ran-kun's neck. Youji-kun is already in position, holding an oxygen mask over Ran-kun's nose and mouth. It takes a few tensed minutes before there is a response to their actions. We can't help grinning in relief to see Ran-kun come awake with a cough before he blinks and opens his eyes to see his lovers hovering over him.

"Hey, Liebchen. Ready to go?" Schuldich tries to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. We all know better. The hoarseness in his voice and the tears that stand in his eyes are enough to tell us of his feelings.

"Kitten, don't you *ever* do this to us again." Youji-kun steals the moment to give Ran-kun his first kiss after his awakening. "Seeing you like-- Don't you dare do this to us again!"

"Promise-- I-- don't want a repeat of this." Ran-kun groans as they help him out of the coffin and he starts to move long immobilised muscles. "Ooww."

"Come here, Kitten." I have to grin as Schuldich picks him up in his arms. With the German in black and Ran-kun having been dressed in a white suit, the scene would remind one of a husband carrying his wife over a threshold. "Your injuries still haven't had time to heal yet."

Ran-kun tries to scowl at Schuldich's presumption, but seeing how his two lovers are fussing over him, his frown doesn't stay for very long. "Chris, I can stand."

"For about two seconds before you fall flat on your face again." Youji-kun snorts as he takes Ran-kun's hand in his and brushes his bangs out of his eyes.

"Besides-- this is more fun." As usual, Schuldich appears to converse silently with Ran-kun and Youji-kun. Even in this darkness, we can see that he's just made Ran-kun blush.

"Are you all set?" I step forward to reach for Ran-kun's hand. Unlike the charade we had this morning, I know this is the real good-bye. "If you need anything..."

"We have everything we need, Omi. Thank you." Youji-kun nods to me reassuringly.

"Maybe even a true freedom now." Schuldich adds as he looks towards Crawford. "Did you know that these two little boys have *never* been outside this country?"

"I took a peek." Crawford gives them a wry grin. "It's-- peaceful... or as calm as we can trust *you* lot to stay out of trouble." In spite of the darkness, we can all see that he's blushing even redder than Ran-kun. From the wicked grins Schuldich and Youji-kun are giving him, they are guessing the significance. As impossible as the idea seems, it makes Crawford blush harder.

"It's over." Ran-kun's eyes are on the coffin as Nagi reburies it. "Aya-chan--"

"I'll take care of her, Ran." Ken-kun rests his hand on Ran-kun's arm. "We're naming our first boy 'Ran' too. Aya's insisted. Ran-- are you sure--?"

"No taint, Ken. It-- it's best this way." We can see Ran-kun tiring very quickly. We know that we have to let them go soon. "It's too 'hot' for me in Tokyo and even if I wanted to retire it will always be dangerous for me, and anyone who knows me. This way, you will be safe."

"An _you_ will finally be *retired*, mein libechen." Tot pokes me at my side and I catch her grin. She's not the only one who notices Schuldich's protective grip on Ran-kun grow a little bit tighter. It had been a close thing. Ran-kun nearly bled to death before my Weiß team got them to the hospital. Youji-kun had complained that it was Ran-kun's obsessive need for order and symmetry, which made him look for matching bullet wounds for the ones he had received previously.

"Mate? Are you sure about--" I can guess why Jei's so hesitant to speak. He loves the gift Ran gave him, but...

Youji-kun answers, looking at Ran-kun rather firmly as he says it, "We're sure, Jei. Our Kitten doesn't have any more use for a knife collection."

Ran-kun's sigh at Youji-kun's protectiveness is well founded. Still we can't fault his lovers for their jitteriness. We almost lost Ran-kun. And to have the mock funeral... It had felt so real to all of us... "I really don't, Jei. I thought you'd best appreciate it. Take care of it."

"I will, mate. Thank you."

"Omi, Nagi..." Ran-kun looks up at us as Nagi comes to stand beside me. "Thank you."

"Be safe, Ran-kun." I find myself unable to say anymore than this as my hand tightens over his. I can't help but reflect that I was the first to be with Weiß III. And though I had tried to be the first to leave the 'game', I've ended up as the one remaining-- permanently.

"Don't let Persia swallow you completely, Omi. You have your lovers too." Ran-kun gives me a comforting smile, which makes me wonder if Schuldich had passed my melancholy thoughts to him.

"You have to admit, Ran-kun, it's hard studying for my Masters, running a 'Ruling Empire' and keeping a reasonable social life."

"Don't let your grandfather run your life for you, Omi." Ran-kun pats me on the shoulder. "And don't let Namiko get you down. It's not something that the Police Commissioner can afford to be let known, but unofficially-- she does recognise that we're-- necessary."

"Oh, really?" From the corner of my eye, I can see Nagi roll his eyes at the sound of interest in my voice. Tot is also giggling with him when I turn around to give them a mock glare. I can't help it. It must be the Takatori blood in me that makes me enjoy the cutthroat world of politics and underworld business. Ran-kun grins at me slyly. He's seen me at my scheming best, and at my fledgling start when I first directed Weiß missions. For all my griping, he knows I love it.

The smile doesn't stay though. We observe it fade as his eyes turn back to look at his gravestone. This country holds too many depressing memories for him. I find my eyes looking up to meet Schuldich's over Ran-kun's head.

#I will take care of them, Takatori.#

/See that you do-- Chris./ I have the satisfaction of seeing the German's eyes widen in surprise at my use of his real name. Like Youji-kun told Jei when they gave him Ran-kun's knife collection, one must let go at some time. I know that I do trust Chris to take care of them, and that should be enough for me to accept him.

We will miss them. But we know that there should be no sadness or despondency attached to this parting. We've laid an assassin to rest to let the man Ran-kun would have become, had my uncle not interfered in his life, live again. They are happy together. It is so very clear to us as we see Sch-- Chris cuddle Ran-kun on his lap, in the passenger seat of Youji-kun's Super-7. And see the love in Youji-kun's eyes as he glances over at them before he starts the drive to the airport. We weren't too happy to hear about Ran-kun taking the flight so soon, but since it's a private jet... Chris did tell us that he would be taking them on a tour of the world before they decide where they want to settle down. I understand that their first stop will be at the Gold Coast in Australia. It's a good place as any for Ran-kun to relax and recover from his injuries.

"Decadent bunch. You could at least wait until you lan--" All our eyes focus on Crawford as he stands there with a hand slapped over his mouth looking extremely embarrassed. He probably didn't expect us to pick up his sotto voce muttered words over the sound of the falling rain.

"They're joining the Mile-high club, heh?" Jei is snickering into his hand as we regard him. Crawford is blushing so hard, Jei and Ken-kun cannot resist teasing him for the whole time it takes us to watch the lights of Youji-kun's Super-7 fade into the distance.

My lovers are giving me a mischievous look as they regard the red-faced American. Who needs to be a telepath? I can catch their train of thoughts perfectly. I wonder if I _could_ 'order' Crawford to give me a report on what he 'saw' our friends doing? Knowing Youji-kun and Chris, I'd bet anything it would make a superbly erotic image.