Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Calico ❯ Chapter Eight: Scars ( Chapter 8 )

Calico

By: Banshee Puppet

Part Eight: Scars

**********

She bit through her lip. She could taste the salty flavor of blood on her tongue. She ignored the bite of the knife as best she could.

"You'll have to do better than that," she spat in Farfarello's face. Ooo. She was amusing.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Crawford asked blandly. From her reactions, or lack thereof, he was starting to wonder if she wasn't like Farfarello, unable to really feel pain. He hadn't anticipated this.

"Of course it hurts, idiot. I'm being stabbed, aren't I? But I'm not some weakling who's going to let you push me around just because of something stupid like that."

Farfarello seemed to have become rather enamored with a scar on her thigh.

"I have a lot of scars, don't you think," she said blandly, smirking through the pain. Farfarello looked up at her and grinned. She turned her eyes to Crawford now and the smirk grew dark. "I'm sure if you cut enough of them open, you'll find it eventually."

His eyes widened marginally. 'Hidden…inside of her body! No…no way! This woman…what kind of a beast is she?' No, he hadn't anticipated this at all. "Which one?" he said calmly, but there was a tightness around his lips that gave him away.

"Start looking, four eyes. I think you'll be surprised at what you find."

Farfarello looked at Crawford expectantly. Brad gave him a curt nod and reminded him, "try not to kill her."

~**~

"Did you have a plan, Abysinnian?" Schuldich asked vaguely as he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the building.

Aya just gave him a look that said, 'get Ran back, of course.'

"Ah, thought so, just curious. So it's save the misfit Weiss and kill anything that gets in the way then. Weeelll…I'll leave you to it, in that case. See ya!" Schuldich gave the Weiss boys a two-fingered wave calling behind him. "Third floor. Smile pretty for the cameras."

~**~

"Just get Ran, Aya. We'll take care of Schwarz and whatever else comes our way," Ken said.

Aya gave him a look that said, 'are you sure?'

Yohji smirked slightly. "Go rescue your boyfriend, you idiot."

Aya said the only thing he could, and something his teammates--no, his friends--had never heard out of his mouth in all the years they'd known him. "Thanks," he said awkwardly before bolting up the hallway.

~**~

Ran groaned, and sang. Every scar on his body had been sliced open and dug through, and he had a few new wounds that he was sure would scar as well. His clothes were all but shredded, and if that wasn't bad enough, someone was poking around in his brain again.

'Sorry, but I'm not going to go head to head with Crawford AND Kodomo. Even so…I want to know more.'

Schuldich was honestly apologetic, though he couldn't really fathom why. It had something to do with the strong emotions inside of Abyssinian regarding the young woman. To Aya, it didn't matter the least little bit if Ran was male or female, he just wanted to be with that person, with those eyes, and that heart, to make that person happy. Granted, the Weiss leader was totally clueless, and getting everything wrong, but he wouldn't forgive anyone who hurt Ran. And the girl figured that the person he loved was a lie, that he didn't know her. She was the person who didn't know herself.

Even though the reasoning was different, even though he didn't want to find out to cause trouble (for once), his mind was shoved back and consumed once more by a lilting song, vague and starting off soft as she tried to grab onto what was left of her energy to give her voice it's usual resonance and strength. She was singing again:

++It's a cold, cold world,

Outside of your arms.

And I'm living there,

Dreaming of you.

In this world with you in it,

I've been all alone,

Wrapped up in your arms,

Alone,

My tears for your eyes only

And my secrets, mine alone,

In your arms.

Safe in your loving arms…

And if you save me tonight,

I'll have no fear.

If you turn out the light

I'll be waiting here.

If you …

Only you.

No one else but you…

And this is your song,

In your arms,

I miss your arms.

In this world with you in it,

Where I've been all alone.

There was a pause, and her mind commented. 'Heh, that's terrible.'

++In my house, we never talked

We learned to communicate the hard way

With fists and chairs

And flying silverware

And broken glass

And sorted pasts…

And in your arms,

I forgot all of that.

And I lied

And I'm sorry for all the tears

I've cried

On your shoulder

So I won't ask you to save me to night

And I'll never call your name,

And…I'll never…be…the same…++

"Oh, Aya…please forgive me…but…I'm really…tired now. I think I've lost too much blood…"

And in the instant before she passed out, Schuldich saw it in her mind, her defenses down, 'th-the data! Is…it's in her memory!?!!' Granted, he only got a glimpse, and what he saw made no sense at all, but…

Well, sure, he didn't really care much, even if all the normal people died, but if everyone could read minds, he wouldn't have much of an edge, and he was kind of starting to like that stubborn, annoying girl that Abysinnian called his boyfriend. Schuldich laughed out loud at that bit. Boyfriend. It really was quite funny.

He sought out the thoughts of the leader of Weiss. Ah, there he was. He didn't know why he was helping but…

'Trouble around the next corner, Abysinnian. Three of them. And a camera in the water sprinkler,' he informed him as if he was bored.

"What the???" Aya grumbled.

'Shut up. I've decided to help you out. I'm going to lead you to the cell. If your "boyfriend" isn't there, then you're on your own.'

'Fine.'

'Hey, Abysinnian?'

'What now?'

'Calico doesn't happen to have a photographic memory, by any chance?'

'…'

'Thought so. Turn right here.'

~**~

++You were holding out your hands

But I'm still sleeping

And I'm still dreaming

And I'm still building up the walls

And I'm still tearing down the walls

And I'm still hearing

I'm still hearing

I'm still here…

And I'm burning up

And you're all I have

And all I need

And all I am is all I am is all I am

Is all there is of me

Can you hear me screaming

Out your name

In my mind?

I'll be fine++

'That…voice…' It was that girl's voice. He was sure of it. He'd know it anywhere, but this wasn't her song, was she…still alive? Was Ran's sister still alive? 'Ah, he'll be thrilled! He thought she was dead, I have to find him but, I can't abandon her either.' He decided to follow the voice. Such a beautiful voice.

'Well, guess he doesn't need my help anymore. That's right, Takane Rie, keep singing. You'll be all out of secrets soon. Heh. Should be interesting to watch,' Schuldich thought.

~**~

++ …and now I…

Can finally,

Say goodbye

To who I thought I'd be

And all that used to be…

And you're, still standing in front of me…

She was leaning against the wall, and squinted at the bright light from the open doorway. At first, she flinched. She was way to tired to deal with Farfarello again already. Didn't he already cut open all her scars once? Granted, he hadn't found anything. Of course he hadn't, she'd burned that data disk up years ago.

Red. She blinked, and blinked again.

"Aya?" she asked like she was confused. "Or is it just that guy fuckin' with my head again?"

She shook her head, but it only made the room spin. "Ugh. I think I'm gonna puke."

It was…Ran. That girl's voice, coming out of a very very battered and broken Ran. And his eyes widened further when he saw her shredded shirt and the strap that bound her breasts beneath it. 'He's…ah…she's…uh…No time to think about that now!'

Now he noticed all the wounds, all the blood. She was trying to push herself to her feet when she noticed where he was looking and brought one arm up in an attempt to cover her chest, the evidence that she's totally deceived him. "A-aya…I…"

He took a few steps, devouring the space between him and carefully lifted her into his arms. "Idiot. Don't talk now. You're hurt." He sighed. "Honestly. What am I going to do with you?"

~**~

"Did you think I didn't know?" Crawford asked dryly. "You did exactly what I hoped you would. Now tell me what you've pulled out of that brain of hers. Where's the disk?"

Schuldich smirked. "There is no disk, Brad. You've been duped."

Brad's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't think I'll let you get away with betraying me."

"Hah. It's got nothing to do with that," Schuldich sounded amused. "The data is in that girl's brain. You'll never get your hands on it. Just give up. She's found the perfect way of protecting it, since she's incapable of forgetting it. She won't forget your face either, so I'd be careful if I were you. That girl isn't the type to just back off if you get her angry enough."

Crawford looked like he was about to say something when he got suddenly rather quiet. "Nevermind. We'll let them dig their own graves. You're lucky you didn't do much damgage, Schuldich. Think about that."