Illusion

Weiß Kreuz fanfiction. My standard disclaimers apply. For Jayse and Team Bonet’s Ran Fujimiya.

Illusion

by Lady Aria (bukiminatenshi@mailcity.com)

"Will you please stop aiming that hose in my direction?!"

Ken suppressed a smile as he moved on to another row of flowers. Yoji had been nursing a small grudge against him ever since the girl he’d been desperately trying to impress showed interest in him instead of Yoji. Today, Yoji was talking to a pretty blonde when Ken ‘just happened’ to spritz the row of carnations directly behind him. Ken made a mental note to watch out for possible pranks that Yoji could pull on him before the day was through.

Koneko Flower Shop had received a shipment of seedlings and all four members of Weiß were hard at work to make sure that they receive the care they needed to grow and bloom properly. While Yoji was shooting dark looks at Ken, Omi was busy concocting a mixture of soil and plant vitamins. The young boy looked up from his sea of bottles and packets in time to see Aya emerge from the back room carrying planters and wrapping for bouquets. One glance from Aya was all it took to make Ken and Yoji forget their earlier squabble. Deliberately making Aya angry was just not something a sane person would do.

"Omi-kun!"

Said boy dropped his small spade and desperately wanted to hide while suppressed laughter came from Ken and Yoji’s direction. He lifted his gaze in time to see Ouka walk up to him and once again present him with a bouquet -- bought from their store, of course.

"What do you say we go out for a walk, hmm?" Ouka said as she sat on an empty space on Omi’s worktable. "We could go watch a movie or eat out or...."

Ouka’s talking was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat. The boy’s eyes widened in relief when he saw Manx leaning on the side of the shop.

"I do believe that you four are supposed to do some trimming?" Manx said, tossing her red curls over her shoulder. "Please come with me."

The four nodded and proceeded to follow her out of the shop.

"Omi-kun!" Ouka called in protest as he rushed to catch up with the others. "You still haven’t given me an answer!"

"I’ll take a rain-check, Ouka-chan!" Omi shouted over his shoulder. "But thanks for asking!"

<Thanks for asking,> Ouka thought as stars brightened up her eyes. <He does care after all!> That thought done, she skipped happily out of the shop leaving granny staring once again after ‘that rather unusual girl.’

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"She really has it bad for you, Omi," Yoji said as he gave the boy a noogie. "Ouka is so spoiled that she’ll try to get you by any means necessary."

"Give it a rest, Yoji," Ken said as he sat beside him on the couch. "After all, Omi’s just a kid."

"Don’t think I’ve already forgotten...," Yoji started when Manx cut him off.

"This is not the time nor place for this," she said sternly as she activated the monitor. "Right now, you are members of Weiß, so act the part!"

Yoji shut up at that and they were greeted with the silhouette of their commander, Persia, on the screen. None of them knew his real identity, nor did they particularly care. To them, he was the one who gave the orders and they were the ones who followed them -- the judge and the executioners.

"Weiß, your current mission will require your ability to sniff out information." The image on the screen changed to a picture of a woman in her early twenties with wavy, shoulder-length black hair and deep blue eyes. High cheekbones and full lips completed the image in a perfect oval frame, making her look like a delicate porcelain doll. "This woman is known only by the name of Kirsche. She works as a computer programmer in one of Reiji Takatori’s companies. This month alone, there have been several ‘accidents’ all of which have nearly claimed her life. Our sources have confirmed that Takatori had a hand in all of them." The image switched back to Persia who had stood up. "Your mission is to find out what this woman knows that could make Takatori desperate enough to make such open attempts on her life." That said, the screen flickered and the image was gone.

"Looks like we’ll be baby sitting this girl for a while," Yoji said as he picked up a photograph that Manx had placed on the table. He smiled as he ran his fingers over it. "I guess this mission wouldn’t be half bad, maybe we’ll even end up hitting it off."

"Who said that you were going to be the one watching her?" Manx said as she snatched the photograph from Yoji. "You’re too much of a playboy, Yoji, and it just might jeopardize the mission." She turned to face Aya and smiled as she handed him the photograph. "You will watch over Kirsche. The rest of you," she said turning to face the others, "are back up. Omi, find out as much as you can about Kirsche’s past. It might give us some clue as to why Takatori would want her dead. Ken and Yoji, you two will keep watch over Kirsche when Aya isn’t available, but make sure that she doesn’t see you. We can’t have her getting any more spooked than she already is."

"Understood," Omi said as he started up the stairs. "I’ll get started on it right away!"

"Why does Aya always get the good parts of the mission?" Yoji muttered after he was left alone in the room with Manx. "It’s not like I’ve ever messed up a mission before."

She shook her head sympathetically and placed a comforting hand on Yoji’s shoulder. "I’m sorry, but you have a history of becoming too involved in the mission. Aya’s more likely to be able to keep a level head, so I chose him." Manx turned to leave. "I know that you have a personal vendetta against those who killed your lover, and I can’t allow that to cloud your judgment."

<I know,> he thought as he watched her walk up the stairs. <But then again, all of us have reasons for wanting Reiji Takatori dead.>

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Yo, Kirsche! Catch!"

An expression of surprise crossed the woman’s face as a small package sailed over the partition of her cubicle. Pushing her feet on the floor, she managed to tilt her seat backwards and catch the package... only to fall down on the floor as her seat tilted the rest of the way backwards.

"Itai...," she hissed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Shiro, omae BAKA! You should know better than to throw stuff at me!"

"Gomen, Ki-chan," he said as he helped her to her feet. "It’s just that you’ve been on the edge these past weeks, I just thought that you could use a little lightening up."

"It’s true," she sighed as laid her head on her table. "I just can’t help thinking that there’s someone out to get me."

Another member of the office made her way to the two. Shiro flashed her his most winning, although sarcastic, smile but she ignored him and made a beeline for Kirsche. "Ki-chan, did you hear the news? There’s a new guy starting today. Rumor has it that he’s really good looking, although on the quiet side." She pushed several stray locks of long blonde hair out of her eyes before continuing. "And my sources tell me that you two will be working on the latest net advertising account we managed to land."

"Yuri," Kirsche sighed as she regarded her friend. "Haven’t you gotten tired of trying to set me up?"

"Nope!" Yuri said brightly. "Come on, Ki-chan! Are you just going to spend the rest of your life alone or hanging around with this gay?"

Shiro bristled at the comment. "Hey! Who’re you calling gay?"

"Well, it’s true isn’t it? I mean when was the last time you’ve been out on a real date?" Yuri said pointing an accusing finger in Shiro’s direction. "For all we know, you could be hiding some cute guy behind our backs."

Kirsche sighed and covered her head with her arms as the two continued their bickering. <Some things just never change,> she thought. All of a sudden, the two voices stopped and she looked up in time to see the ‘new guy,’ apparently, since she knows that she’s never seen him in the office before. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she nearly tipped over once more when she tried to straighten herself out.

"Anata wa Kirsche desu ka?" Aya asked her calmly.

"Hai desu," she answered weakly as she got up to shake his hand. Yuri and Shiro chose that moment to disappear saying that they’ll be seeing her later. She waved absently in their direction, her attention fully on the man before her. "So.... I understand that you’ll be helping me make the Providers account."

"Yes," Aya replied. "If you don’t mind, I’d like to see the plans for the company’s website."

Kirsche nodded as she gathered up several zip disks from her table and ushered him to the conference room.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Kirsche was starting to simmer as she saw him go through all of her designs and reject them all just as quickly. She couldn’t wait to get as far from him as possible.

Aya watched her from the corner of his eye. He knew that she was upset with him but Manx never mentioned anything about needing to get along with her. If anything, she was beyond perfect. A statue come to life. He commended Manx’s foresight. If Yoji’d been assigned to look after Kirsche, he’d have been all over her by now.

"Look, mister...?" Kirsche’s thoughts stopped in its tracks. She’d forgotten to ask him his name.

"Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi Yuso."

"Okay... Sakaguchi-san. It’s already after five and it looks like we’re not really going anywhere with this. Why don’t we call it a day and just start again tomorrow?" Kirsche bit the inside of her cheek. It was true to an extent since they really weren’t getting anywhere with the project, but she also agreed to meet Shiro and Yuri at the bar later that day. With her current situation, she guessed that it would take about a couple of hours before her good mood returns.

"Fine," Aya said as he closed his briefcase. "I’ll walk you out."

<Can’t he take a hint?!> Kirsche thought as they rode down the elevator together. She felt her entire body heave a sigh of relief as they walked out of the door, but a noise directed her attention upward and froze her in her tracks, much like a small animal paralyzed by a pair of bright headlights.

The window washer’s scaffold was crashing down directly over her.

She hardly felt Aya as he tackled her out of the way a few seconds before the metal and wood scaffolding hit the ground. In a half daze, she heard him ask her if she was alright and all she could do was nod slightly before passing out.

Aya picked her up and put her on a nearby bench before turning to inspect the mess. One look at the wires and he knew that it was no accident. The clean cut of the metal screamed murder and he knew just who it had been aimed at.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"You’re kidding, right?" Yoji said as Aya rubbed his hair dry coming out of the shower. "Who could have known that she’d be coming out that exact moment?"

"Anyone could have easily seen us, Yoji," he replied dryly.

"Oh good, you’re back!"

Both men turned to see Omi come into the living room with a sheaf of papers at hand. "What’s that?" Yoji asked gesturing to the papers. "More info?"

"Huh?" Omi replied with raised eyebrows and noticed the papers he was holding. "Oh, no, that’s my homework. Going back to the mission, I have learned some rather interesting things about our lady friend, Kirsche." He plopped down beside Aya and continued. "Someone is going to great lengths to conceal this girl. I tried running every scan for any link to her, but nothing turned up. It’s like she doesn’t even exist."

"Hmm...," Yoji said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "A beautiful yet mysterious woman with a past that she needs to hide and Reiji Takatori wants her dead. I must say that this mission is getting more and more interesting by the minute."

"Yes, but what’s irritating is that we still have no idea why he wants her dead," Omi said throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "I sure hope that you guys are getting more information, because my end’s about as dry as it could get."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

<This is so boring!> Ken thought as he watched Kirsche enter a small deli. It was already nine in the evening and, so far, all Ken had seen were the places she goes for her groceries. From the shop’s window, he could see Kirsche and the manager of the store laughing as he wrapped her purchase and handed it to her. It seemed as though she’d recovered from her shock earlier that day. <I guess after having a bad month with accidents, one would learn to bounce back faster than most people. I wonder if....> Ken sidestepped into an alley as he caught a suspicious movement out the corner of his eye. He felt his blood run cold when he saw a familiar face leaning against a lamppost.

Schuldich.

<This is starting to get serious!> Ken pulled out his cell phone and dialed the base number. <If Takatori’s desperate enough to deploy Schwarz, I’ll need the guys’ help!>

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Excuse me, miss, but you dropped this."

"Oh, I didn’t notice...," Kirsche turned around to see what the man held and felt herself freeze when she saw that the man was Crawford. "What...?"

Crawford grabbed her arm and smiled when she winced. "Your nectar seems to have attracted a number of flies, my dear. What do you say we take a little walk to...," his cordial smile changed into something more sinister, "flush them out."

Kirsche tried not to struggle in his grasp as he guided her out of the store. On the street, she scanned the crowd as she tried to keep up with Crawford’s pace. An expression of helplessness and resignation came to her face.

Schuldich was smoking a cigarette across the street.

Nagi was looking at a bookstore’s window display.

Farfarello was leaning on a wall at the street corner.

<Everyone’s here.> A jumble of thoughts came crashing into her head as Crawford guided her into a nearby park. The sky had started growing overcast just before sunset and they encountered no one. When they reached the fountain at the center of the park, Crawford sent her sprawling on the ground with a flick of his wrist. Looking up, she saw that the other three had gathered there as well.

"Well if it isn’t pretty little Kirsche," Schuldich said as he knelt before her. "How are you doing?"

"What the hell is going on?" Kirsche muttered angrily as she slapped Schuldich’s hand away from her face. "What do you want from me?"

"Mr. Takatori has decided that you’ve finally outlived your usefulness," Nagi said calmly as he approached her. "He sent us to... take care of things."

Kirsche’s eyes widened when she saw Farfarello whip out his knife. She tried to run but immediately felt her entire body freeze, caught in Nagi’s psychokinetic web. A single tear rolled down her cheek as Schuldich kissed her in farewell taking the opportunity given him by Nagi’s power. A silent scream thundered through her mind as she saw Crawford pull out a gun from his jacket.

"Good-bye," he whispered as he cocked the gun in her direction.

Kirsche closed her eyes and began to pray.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Damn it, we’re too late!" Yoji said as he saw Crawford aim his gun. He felt a small breeze go by his ear a second before he heard a gunshot. Looking back, he saw Omi reloading his crossbow.

"Come on!" Ken shouted as he broke into a dead run. "If we’re going to save Kirsche, we have to move now!"

Ken ran directly in Farfarello’s direction and managed to trap his knife with his claws. He saw Kirsche drop to the ground as Nagi’s concentration was shattered by one of Omi’s darts hitting him on the arm. Yoji and Schuldich faced off to his right.

"Put the gun down."

Crawford looked in the direction of the voice and smiled. "So we meet again," he said calmly as he looked at Aya. "Are you her protector now?"

"Shut up," Aya drew his katana from its sheath and rushed towards Crawford, the man that had robbed him of his chance for revenge (see episode 2 of WK for details).

"Yuso?" Kirsche whispered hoarsely as she recognized Aya in the dim lighting. <What is he doing here?>

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Hold still, will you!" Yoji screamed as he rushed after Schuldich. It frustrated him to think that this man was a lot faster than his wire, in fact, a lot faster than most humans. They haven’t even gotten to blows yet. All they’ve done is bait each other waiting for the other to come within striking distance.

Schuldich’s laughter infuriated Yoji even more. "You are just too slow!" He drove in and managed to deliver a blow to Yoji’s gut and move out again before he had a chance to react. His smile widened as his opponent’s movement were further slowed by the pain. "You are no match for me, pretty boy, so just give up."

"Damn you!" Yoji shot his wire downward in the direction of Schuldich’s feet and the latter jumped aside. He’d anticipated the move and used the length as a whip and managed to catch the unwitting man in mid-jump scoring a small wound on his leg. Although not too serious, it was deep enough to decrease his speed to a level with which Yoji could keep up. The anger in his eyes showed. "Looks like we’ll be on more even ground from now on." Yoji’s expression of self-satisfaction changed into fury when Schuldich laughed.

"We’ve only just begun to fight." Schuldich locked gazes with Yoji and the latter immediately felt a stiffness coming into his limbs. His smile widened further as an expression of horror came to Yoji’s face when he felt his own hands start to wind his weapon around his throat.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Yoji!" Ken saw his comrade’s dilemma giving Farfarello the perfect opportunity to move in. He jumped back, clutching his arm, a deep diagonal gash started to stain his left sleeve with blood.

Farfarello’s lips curved into a smile as he licked the blood from his blade, its coppery taste giving his eyes a maniacal gleam. He watched his chosen prey like a cat waiting to spring. When Ken’s breathing started becoming less regular, he rushed in, leading with the knife. His eyes widened in delight as it once again sank into the injured arm. His expression changed into one of annoyance and then shock as Ken forced the blade out of his arm with his claw and snapped it with a twist of his glove.

<This isn’t good,> Ken thought as he watched Farfarello toss his ruined blade aside. He’d managed to rid his opponent of his weapon, but it would be a hollow victory if he died from blood loss. He was already breathing heavily and spots were dancing in his eyes. A cry to his right made him turn his head in time to see Omi slam into a large tree, caught in Nagi’s power.

<K’so!> Omi thought as he started to cough up blood. He had underestimated his opponent. Nagi proved to be extremely dangerous with his mental abilities and his apparent bloodlust. He gripped several bolts in his hand only to feel Nagi’s power slowly crushing his hand, making him drop his weapons. Almost immediately, the force was released and he was left curled into a ball on the concrete.

"Why don’t you just give up?" Nagi asked as he stood over his opponent. "You know you can’t win. Just say the word and I’ll make your death as painless as I can."

"Never," Omi whispered and his hand shot out and pulled Nagi’s legs out from under him. Nagi hadn’t been able to break his fall and Omi was given enough time to gather his weapons as the other boy tried to regain his wits. <I can’t die, not now!> He was about to put a bolt through Nagi’s skull when the other boy’s eyes opened and a desperate mental command managed to toss Omi aside, giving Nagi the opportunity to stand and clear his head.

Schuldich watched all of this passively as he made Yoji’s hands loop some more wire around his neck. At the edge of his vision, he could see a shocked Kirsche watching everything with wide, fearful eyes. Smirking, he whipped out his gun and pointed it in the direction of the young woman. "This is where it ends, witch," he said as he pointed it in her direction. "Auf Weidersehen."

Like a paralyzed animal, Kirsche looked dumbly as Schuldich fired his weapon. She felt herself being shoved aside and heard a sickening thunk as the bullet lodged itself into Aya’s thigh.

"Let’s go."

Kirsche looked up to see the distant figure of Crawford as he called back the members of Schwarz. "We’ve been at this for too long. Remember, we have other appointments to keep." Within seconds, they were gone.

Almost immediately, the other members of Weiß were surrounding Aya and Kirsche.

"Yuso," Kirsche whispered as Omi tied a handkerchief around the wound to try and stop the bleeding. "How did you know where to find me?"

"You’d better come with us," Yoji said as Omi helped Aya up. "For some reason, those guys wanted you dead. We’ve been trying to find that out so we could protect you better."

She blinked curiously up at him. "So you guys are undercover cops, then?"

"Wee~eell, sorta," Yoji replied. "Anyway, we’ll have more time to chat once we’re someplace safe, now let’s go, before my ‘partners’ bleed to death."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Are you sure it was alright to let them have her?" Schuldich asked Crawford. They’d gotten back to their base and Farfarello was using his skill with knives to patch Nagi up, much to the latter’s chagrin. "What if Kirsche says something?"

"I don’t think she will... OUCH!" Nagi gave Farfarello a dark look as he pulled out the dart head from his arm. "She knows that if she talks, she’ll go down as well."

"Yeah, but what if...."

"Stop it, Schuldich," Crawford said as he took a seat near the window. "Kirsche will keep her mouth shut, she’s not stupid. You’re just too blinded by her weak and frail facade to see her real self."

Schuldich huffed as he plopped down on the sofa. "I still don’t like the idea of her being in the hands of Weiß."

"Relax." The three were surprised when they realized that the comment had come from Farfarello. "Kirsche is walking on a razor blade. On one side rests Weiß who will finish her off when they realize why she is so important and on the other side rests us.... Either way, we win."

A cold shudder ran through them as Farfarello started to laugh maniacally. But they all knew he was right. Either way, they win.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Here."

Kirsche nodded thanks as she accepted the cup of tea and the towel that Yoji offered. It had started to rain just after they left the park and, even though their cars were parked close by, they still managed to get soaked. She rubbed the warm cloth on her head, thankful to be relieved somewhat of the cold and scanned the room. Aya was being tended to by Omi and his face remained emotionless throughout the entire procedure. <It’s like he doesn’t even feel the pain,> she thought, taking a sip of the tea.

"Would you like to tell us why Mr. Takatori wants you dead?" Ken asked as he dried his hair. Omi had patched him up immediately given the severity of his wounds. "He never calls on the entire group of Schwarz for a single hit. What do you know that could make him this nervous?"

She bit her lip and set down the cup, all the while unwilling to meet any of their gazes. It more than surprised the four when she dropped her head into her hands and began to weep quietly. "I’m... I’m so... sorry...," she said between sobs. "I... I...."

"Daijobu," Yoji walked over to her and held her loosely in his arms, eliciting incredulous gazes from his companions. "No one’s going to force you to say anything. You’ve already been through enough for one night." He gave Ken a sly wink. It was taking all the self-control the brunette had to keep himself from decking the him.

Omi stood up and moved to sit beside Aya on one of the beds. "Yoji has a point," he whispered to their leader. "We aren’t likely to get anything out of Kirsche in the state she’s currently in. I’d suggest that we postpone our questions for later."

"I agree," he replied, standing up. "Yoji, Ken, Omi, you three return to base. I’ll stay here with Kirsche for the night... and no arguing!" He added the latter statement before Yoji could utter his protest. "Schwarz could find her here and go after her."

"Okay," Yoji grumbled while the other two tried to hide their smiles. "But you’re taking a rest come morning, ‘you hear? You’re hardly in top condition with that wound on your leg."

"I’ll be just fine," Aya retorted coldly as he closed the door behind them.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Kirsche tossed and turned in her bed, her fleeting sleep seemed to be haunted by images of her earlier ordeal. Aya watched her through half-closed eyes as she rose and wrapped her arms around her knees, shivering. If he’d been Yoji, he would have gotten up and comforted her... in more ways than one. But he was not Yoji. He didn’t even really know how to react properly to a situation like this. Any empathy that he’d had was gone. Gone like his family was gone the night they’d been brutally murdered.

He saw her rise and make her unsteady way to the bathroom and rose as soon as he saw the door close behind her. Making his way towards the room’s balcony, thoughts of the mission started to make their way into his mind. She was without a doubt more beautiful than in the stolen photograph that Manx had shown them and he felt an affinity with her that he couldn’t describe the moment that they’d met.

"Yuso?"

Aya turned to look at Kirsche who was standing in the small pool of light provided by the open bathroom door. The shadows cast on her face by her sleep-tousled hair softened her ethereal features, making her seem more real than the porcelain doll that he’d met that morning. She pulled the white cotton bathrobe tighter around herself to keep herself warm as she made her way closer to him. One look from him made her freeze in her tracks, several feet away. For a while they just stared at each other, both unwilling to make the next move, the nervous energy gathering between them becoming thick enough to slice through. Still, Aya stood his ground. A mild satisfaction coursed through him as he saw Kirsche sigh in defeat and turn her back on him..., yet....

Two quick steps brought him to her and the shock on her face was apparent as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Daijobu," he whispered somewhat awkwardly. "I’m here and I will protect you."

"This is just so touching."

Aya whirled in time to catch Schuldich’s fist in his face. Before he could react, he hit him once again in the midsection, knocking the wind out of him. The last image he saw before he lost consciousness was Kirsche struggling in the grip of Nagi’s psychic hold.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Yoji signaled to Ken and Omi to get into position as they made their way to their posts.

The remaining three members of Weiß gathered earlier to listen to the new orders from Persia. Yoji’d gone to the hotel that morning to relieve Aya and found the room trashed. It didn’t take him long to realize what had happened -- Schwarz. After listening to Manx’s lecture about being more careful, they’d discovered that the group had taken Aya and Kirsche to Reiji Takatori’s computerworks building and were being held somewhere within. Manx had gotten the security codes for the building and all they had to do was to find Aya and Kirsche and get out. Simple enough.

<Damn, this place is huge!> Ken thought as he entered the building. He tapped his earpiece to open a channel to the other two. "I’m in, but where do you guys think they’re being held?"

"From the plans I got of this building, the best places would be somewhere between the twentieth and top floors," Omi responded over the link. "That gives us thirteen floors to search."

"Better get started, boys," Yoji interjected as he closed off his end of the link. <Aya, you’re going to owe us big for this.>

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"It’s about time."

Aya opened his eyes, thankful for the dim lighting of the room. His entire body ached from being tied standing spread-eagle for so long and from the punches that he’d received from Schuldich. He looked vehemently at the redhead standing near the window as the latter smiled maliciously in his direction. Scanning the room, he could make out only three members of Schwarz. There was no sign of the youngest one.

"What have you done with Kirsche?" he said through gritted teeth.

"You mean your little lady friend?" Crawford asked with a smile. "She’s right outside being attended to by young Nagi. I take it you’d like to see her?"

Aya only gave him a cold look in return.

"I thought as much," the American replied. "Bring her in."

He braced himself for the only sight that Schwarz was likely to give him, but the shock on his face was evident when he saw Nagi walk into the room....

.... with an apparently unharmed Kirsche.

Kirsche, in fact, looked different. She was dressed in a tight black skirt and vest that looked more like a second skin. Her black stiletto-heeled boots reached up to mid-thigh and made her look like a dominatrix in some bizarre sado-masochistic ritual. He watched in weird fascination as she walked his way, like a cat stalking a wounded bird. Her laughter rang coldly in his ears as she lifted his chin with her finger.

"My hero, my protector," she said sarcastically before she slapped Aya in the face. She ran her hand over the mark it left on his pale cheek and kissed it almost lovingly. A smile came to her lips when he refused to meet her gaze. "Who’s going to protect you now, Yuso... or would you prefer to be called... Ran Fujimiya?"

The mention of his name made him jerk his head up violently. How did...?

"I think that it’s about time I explained some things to you," Crawford said as he walked over to them. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close. "The woman for whom you nearly died for is the fifth and sole female member of Schwarz."

"You know me as Kirsche," she added as she snuggled closer to Crawford. "That’s only one side of me. My true name is Tollkirsche."

"Nightshade," Aya said with barely controlled anger in his voice.

"The name suits her doesn’t it?" Schuldich said as he strolled towards them. "Indescribably beautiful, yet undeniably deadly... a fitting member of Schwarz."

"Danke, Schuldich," Tollkirsche purred into his ear. "But don’t you think it’s about time you boys made your way back to the base? Mr. Takatori would no doubt need you around especially with all the fuss the coming elections are causing." She grinned slyly at Aya. "I can take care of this little unfinished business myself."

The others nodded and made their way out the door, leaving Aya and Tollkirsche alone. Aya cursed himself for not seeing through her charade. For the first time in his life, he wished that the other members of Weiß were with him. Light coming through the glass walls of the room showed Tollkirsche picking up something from a side table. It flashed a dull gold as she turned it over in her hands.

Farfarello’s knife.

"Let’s see...." She walked in a lazy circle around Aya, flipping the knife in her hands. A laugh escaped her lips as she plunged the knife deep into Aya’s right shoulder. Putting up with Farfarello’s insanity taught her a lot of things... like the right places to slice people up. Just the right places where they could cause the most pain while you tortured them. She pulled out the knife and squeezed his shoulder, loving the way his muscles had tensed. She knew the tremendous amount self-control it was taking Aya to keep from screaming in pain and she honestly wanted to know how far she could go before he started begging to die. In a frenzy, she delivered lightning-quick slashes down his back. All the wounds were deep enough to draw blood, but not deep enough to put him out of his misery. As it was, Aya’s muscles were so tense that each slash was etched perfectly in his blood.

Aya felt, more than saw, her walk in front of him. His mind was too clouded over by pain to register much of anything around him. He shut his eyes tightly as she grabbed a clump of his hair with her right hand and forced him to meet her lips in a kiss. He felt her press herself against him, molding her body to his the way lovers would as her left hand traced the lines of blood on his back. Using what strength was left in him, he struggled to push her back. A small smile of victory came in his mind as he felt her lose her balance and take a few steps away from him.

"You’re a better kisser than I thought," she said as she brought her bloody left hand to her lips. "Maybe I should’ve gotten you into bed first... that way this wouldn’t seem like too much of a waste." A wicked expression crossed her face as she licked the blood off her hand delicately. The disgust on Aya’s face was priceless. "I’ll tell you something that you can take to your grave, Ran Fujimiya." She walked over to him and brought the knife perpendicular to his heart. Aya had chosen her face as a focus and didn’t even flinch. She proceeded to trace a shallow wound the shape of an inverted cross on his chest as she whispered the words that killed him more than any wound ever could.

"I murdered your parents."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"My feet are killing me!" Yoji whined as they reached the thirty-first floor. They’d gone through ten floors already and time was working against them. The police had already gathered at the ground floor and would likely find them unless they could find Aya first. Omi was almost out of crossbow bolts and he and Ken had received more than their fair share of wounds and the bandage covering Ken’s arm was almost soaked through with blood.

"Quit complaining, Yoji," Omi said as they ran through the halls. "I know you and Aya aren’t the best of friends, but he’s still a member of Weiß and we are a team." Omi ducked as Ken sliced up the guard that had the misfortune of turning the same corner. "Besides, the end of this hallway has a small conference room. I think that’s where they would likely keep Aya if he was on this floor."

"You’d better pray that your right," Yoji muttered back. <I mean it, Aya, you’re going to owe me BIG for this one!>

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I murdered your parents.

I MURDERED YOUR PARENTS!

Those words looped in Aya’s mind in a macabre dance. Taunting him.

"How does it feel, Ran," Tollkirsche asked as she paced lazily before him, "to have your parents’ killer so close? Close enough for you to talk to, close enough for you to touch? And to know that you’d been willing to hold me, to comfort me, to be willing to die protecting me?! But it doesn’t matter now. After I kill you...," she stopped pacing and looked him in the eye. "I’ll kill that vegetable you have for a sister."

A new light came to his eyes at her words. Hate. It filled him now, just like the time Reiji Takatori ran Aya down in the street like a dog. Hate for this woman.

"Oh, well, it’s been fun," she said as she flipped the knife over her head and caught it by the blade. "Auf Weidersehen." She pulled her hand back to throw the knife.

"Stop!"

That moment of distraction was enough for Omi to knock the knife out of her hand with a crossbow bolt. The other two members of Weiß looked in horror at the scene before them. One thing was certain: they had been duped. Before they could react, smoke began billowing out of a pellet that Tollkirsche had thrown to the ground and when it cleared, she was gone.

"Ken, Yoji," Aya gasped hoarsely, "find her!"

"But Aya...," Ken began in protest.

"Find her, damn it! Don’t worry about me! Just go!" Aya wheezed as Omi began to cut the ropes tying him in place.

"What happened?" Omi asked as Aya put on his shirt and trench coat. He’d seen the wounds that had been inflicted on him and it was a wonder in itself that he still hasn’t passed out from the blood loss.

"She killed them," he replied grimly as he unsheathed his katana.

"What are you talking about?" Omi called as he ran after him. The rage on Aya’s face was indescribable. The only time he’d seen Aya this mad was when Reiji Takatori escaped during one of their earlier missions.

"Aya! Omi!"

They skidded to a stop at the sound of Ken’s voice. He was standing at the stairwell.

"She ran up to the roof," Ken said as they ran up to him. "Yoji’s trying to keep her busy. I don’t know why she headed up there. There’s no way she could get past all of us!"

"How fortunate," Aya muttered, slamming the door to the roof open.

Yoji was a good distance away from Tollkirsche. He’d managed to assess her abilities and was maximizing the use of his wire in combat so as not to give her the opportunity to get close to him. A smile lit up her face when she saw Aya.

"I see you made it!" She chirped happily, sounding obscenely like an innocent schoolgirl. "It wouldn’t have been as much fun if you weren’t here!" She grabbed Yoji’s wire on its next slap and let it coil around her hand, feeling the material dig into her flesh -- deep enough to draw blood. With the strength uncharacteristic of her build, she yanked at the wire, sending Yoji sprawling onto the cement. She used the opportunity to run to the low wall surrounding the roof and stood atop it.

"There’s no way out of here, Kirsche," Yoji said as he stood up. "You can’t beat all four of us at the same time."

Aya leveled his katana in her direction. "You die by my hands."

A look of confusion came to their faces as she began to laugh. It sounded strange to them after the way she had acted. It was... pure. Innocent. Like a crystal bell disturbed by a passing breeze.

"It doesn’t matter," she said in a sweet, lost-sounding voice. "You see, my mission was to draw you out. To prove that the Criticers aren’t as reliable as you hoped they’d be." She skipped lightly and landed back on the wall perfectly. "You are no match for me, Fujimiya," she said as the city lights made her sapphire eyes shine with an unholy glow. "Now, I shall rob you of the revenge that you seek."

Weiß looked in shocked silence as she did a backflip from the thirty-third floor down towards the street below.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Aya watched as Omi once again bandaged his wounds. They had reached the ground floor in time to see the paramedics pulling a cloth over what remained of Tollkirsche’s face. The fact that she still had a smile on her lips in death unnerved them more than the fact that most of what she had been was little more than a gigantic puddle on the steps of the Takatori offices.

"Why do you suppose she did it?" Omi asked as he applied iodine on the cross on Aya’s chest. The boy had been relieved that that particular wound hadn’t been deep enough to cut through muscle.

"She would have been dead either way," Ken replied as he leaned against the wall of Aya’s bedroom. "There was no way that she’d have been able to leave alive."

"True," Omi sighed, closing the med kit he’d brought with him. "But it’s still a pretty gruesome way to die."

Yoji walked over to the two and motioned for them to huddle up. "I think that it’s about time we got out of here. Aya still has a lot to think about, especially after tonight."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Sleep was something that eluded Aya as he continued to look outside his window. Omi had done a good job patching him up and the pain caused by the wounds on his back and shoulder had receded to little more than a dull throb. Light from the full moon lit up the surroundings. It was something that he rarely had the chance to enjoy.

"Okaasan, outosan, Aya...," he whispered to the quiet room, "what would you think of what I have become for the sake of revenge? Would you have wanted it this way?"

The rustling of the leaves outside his window caught his attention. As if on cue, a cloud moved to cover the moon and Aya’s eyes widened in horror and disbelief before the image was dispelled by the return of moonlight.

He could have sworn that he’d seen Tollkirsche sitting on one of the bigger branches of the tree. She had been wearing the white cotton robe she’d worn that night in the hotel. The smile that she’d had on her lips mocked him.

Aya rushed to the window and peered into the darkness. The wind had begun to pick up, and there was nothing on the branch except the red and yellow leaves of early autumn. As he continued to stare out of the window, his mind picked up the sound of clear girlish laughter and he began to wonder whether the vision had been real or just a figment of his imagination.

***************** The End *****************

[1] Kirsche -- cherry. Cute, ne?

[2] Auf Weidersehen -- good-bye

[3] Danke -- thanks