Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ New Rules, New Ruler ❯ Chapter 20 ( Chapter 20 )

Part Twenty

It was a true Hidaka Ken moment. Upon seeing Schwarz force their way into the shop shortly after closing, the shocked ex-J-leaguer promptly tripped over a flowerpot, lost his grip on the open compost bag he was carrying, fell face first into a flower display, knocked over a watering can and tumbled to a halt at Oracle's feet. Which were covered in compost. As was the rest of the white suit.

"And this is the material they expect us to work with," Mastermind growled in English. Schuldig caught the offended stain in Ken's mind and was mildly surprised. Huh, he actually speaks it. Ken scrambled to his feet, blushing and growling simultaneously.

"Your cat?" Oracle held a cat basket out at arms length. The feline inside mewed pitifully. The look of disgust on Oracle's face enraged Ken, who snatched the basket from him but didn't release the cat.

"Kenken, what's-" Yohji froze in midsentence. Schwarz? Damn. They'd thought Schwarz were dead until the other night, and now, all four? Schuldig, yes, Yohji had known, but all four? Ohshit.

"Your cat." Oracle said again.

"It got in our car," Schuldig offered, "when it was raining."

"I bet they've planted some sort of bug on it," Ken hissed to Yohji. "We can't let it out!"

"It's almost certainly got fleas, if that's what you mean," Oracle interrupted in a drawled monotone.

"If you are just returning the cat," Yohji asked slowly, not taking his eyes from Schuldig, "why are all of you here?"

"Because we're not just returning the cat," Nagi gave him a withering stare.

"Oh."

*Hello, Kitty. * Schuldig leered mentally at Yohji. *Miss me? *

*Fuck off. * Yohji glowered at him.

*Didn't we already do that? You do, don't you? Miss me. What, the ice-queen not putting out? *

*Huh? Manx? * Yohji looked bewildered. Even Ken had picked up on the fact there was some unheard conversation going on. Crawford just looked contemptuous.

*Schuldig… * he warned.

*We'll play later, okay? I'll make you purr, pussy kitten. * Schuldig smirked at the obviously unnerved assassin. Suddenly, a snippet of information reached him that was too good to pass over.

"What do you mean, your teammates don't know you sleep with men?" Schuldig crowed.

"He's lying!" Yohji spluttered. "He's just trying to unnerve us. Ignore him, Ken!"

Ken nodded fervently. The nodding slowed and Ken gave Yohji a suddenly speculative look. "You do that, Balinese, if you did, it wouldn't matter? No one's going to judge you for it."

"I'M STRAIGHT!" Yohji wailed.

"I'm glad to hear it," Aya spoke suddenly. He'd been standing behind a display, unnoticed by the room's other occupants.

Schuldig couldn't help it. He didn't give a damn if the red head knew he was poking around in his head, he had to know.

Well. Nothing I didn't know already. Well.

Schuldig frowned, and dive a little deeper. Aya's subconscious unfolded before him. Aya had noticed his presence now, and colours of alarm swirled through the maelstrom that was the subconscious, layer after layer of secrets and desires, fears and furies, loves and hates.

He's penetrating my mind! Aya's panicked thoughts reached him as he delved deeper. And I'm just opening up for him. Opening up as he pushes further in… Schuldig smirked. What, the guy couldn't see the sexual metaphor in his talent? No, he really couldn't. Even as words like `penetrates' flitted through the increasingly splintered consciousness, he had no idea. Damn, he was repressed.

"Yohji's not straight," Schuldig murmured.

Not straight? Not… Would he? Does he? Could I? No. Not for me. Don't, can't, won't. Don't deserve it. Can't have it. Him. Hate. Just hate. No love. Can't. Not now. Too bad.

Schuldig frowned. Could he insert…?

* Won't. Not can't, not don't. Won't. * Won't? Won't have him? Won't deserve him? *Won't believe you can have him. Won't believe you deserve him. Not don't. * Not too bad? I…

Orchid eyes fluttered under the weight of Schuldig's mind.

*Enough. * Schuldig blinked. Crawford? What was he…? Oh, yes. Schuldig obediently withdrew. Aya's own mental shields snapped down. Not to keep Schuldig out, but to keep Ran in. He didn't want to know. Schuldig felt a brief pang of sympathy for both Aya and Yohji. Well, maybe one day…

Finally, the fourth and final member of Weiss appeared in the shop. Omi leant against the door. Nagi turned slowly to look at him. The unspoken question: `what do we say, what do we tell?' lay between them. The unspoken answer: `nothing,' satisfied neither of them.

"We're to go to the mission room. Birman told me earlier to expect this."

"But…"

"All of us, Schwarz included. There's been a proposal."

"Just to make it absolutely clear," Schuldig butted in, "I don't want to do this. I just don't have a choice."

Brad frowned as he followed Weiss into the basement, unseen by Schuldig. There had been a choice. Schuldig had just made the wrong decision.

They all sat stiffly. There weren't quite enough seats, so Farfarello stood, as did Ken. Schuldig shared a small coach, well, a `loveseat', with Crawford. Aya, Yohji and Omi shared the larger sofa. Nagi was sitting where he was, by habit, most comfortable: the computer chair.

"We're going to team up? Why?" The horror in Ken's tone was obvious.

"Tanya says jump…" Schuldig grumbled.

"Who?"

"Our boss," a female voice supplied. All heads turned to stare at the telempath at the top of the stairs. "-will be a little late," she finished.

"Oh?"

"There has been a… development. Manx and Birman have been similarly detained."

Alarm bells began to ring in Aya's head. They weren't the sort of women to be `detained', the women who had brought him to Weiss and made him part of the group. Schuldig noted this with interest.

"So, no Tanya breathing over your shoulder?" Schuldig asked.

"I guess not," Tash gave him a worried look. "What do you have in mind, Schuldig?"

"Dinner, a movie, then back to mine for coffee?" Schuldig smirked. "I mean, if your lesbian lover's let you off the leash."

Tash looked blank. Then it dawned. She blushed. "Tanya and I… we don't… We haven't…"

"Oh, come on," Schuldig leered.

Tash composed herself. "No, you. Surely you must see how ridiculous the idea is? A telempath and a clairvoyant? Neither able to bear being in physical contact with others? You are kidding me, right?"

"Hey, I didn't say it was happening. I just like to think it is."

"Oh. Ri-ight." Tash rolled her eyes. "Male."

"Let me check," Schuldig made a show of pulling his waistband from his hips and staring into the shadow. "Very much so, I'm afraid. No, wait, you should be the one afraid." He leered again.

Yohji felt odd. Was this how the others felt, when he flirted with Manx? Uncomfortable, excluded, embarrassed to witness such a predestined failure? And why the hell wasn't he flirting with this hot girl? He was straight!

"You know," Schuldig added in aside, "the harder you try to prove it the more obvious it is you're not." Yohji glowered at him.

"I think Tanya has arrived," Tash announced. "I don't think she's happy. She doesn't like the Tokyo traffic."

"No one does, darhlink," Schuldig drawled. "So, go project. Give her a happy. Gott knows I don't want to talk to a pissed off Tanya."

Tash's brows puckered. Only Farfarello noticed.