Ken's Weiß Underwear Drawer    |   home                                                    Ken's Weiß Underwear Drawer Disclaimer: I do not own Weiss Kreuz. Telepathic conversations thusly denoted: /.../ Telepathic images/flashbacks thusly denoted /*...*/ Notes: I know that I said this story was over, and on to the sequels, but I was mistaken. Here's the epilogue and my apologies for the false alarm. ** Omi stood with his back to the wall, watching the back of his `date' disappear into the crowd. He was vastly uncomfortable. He had not particularly wanted to attend this party, particularly with the recent mess that his entire life had become. And he was wearing another goddamned tuxedo. The teenager bit down on his lip, hard. He was not going to think about that. The last time he'd worn a tuxedo, he'd ended up.... `I'm NOT going to think about it.' /Yohji still trying to convince you two that the whole thing was just a twisted game?/ Omi suppressed a sigh and closed his eyes. Yohji just couldn't accept that he, Omi, had been a totally willing participant in what had followed that little boat trip. As a result, he had been making both of them miserable by trying to pretend that nothing had happened. Attempting to force the issue had ended up with Yohji wondering, worriedly, if Omi ought to seek therapy.... /I'm going to have _words_ with that asshole./ The cold anger in that thought suddenly alerted Omi to the fact that the quiet voice belonged to someone else. `Schuldich?' He knew better than to say the name aloud, not wanting to draw yet more attention to himself. Omi was one of only two teenagers present, and he knew that this was a dangerous place to be. Especially for him.... /Eh, more than you know, Taketori Mamoru./ `So you knew,' Omi thought bitterly, opening his eyes. He scanned the crowd, but saw no betraying flash of sunset color. /Not at the time. Do you trust me, Kitten?/ Omi didn't have to think about it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear a voice suspiciously like Yohji's yelling about implanted suggestions, but he ignored it. `Yes.' /Good. You have to get out of here before Ouka gets back. Now. There's a door about three feet to your left. Go through it. There will be a set of stairs at the end of the hall. Go down them. Do not stop for _any_ reason. Take the second door to the right and you'll find yourself in an alley. Go to the end of the alley. There will be a taxi waiting there for you. Get in the taxi and go back to the flower shop./ `But,' Omi began, flabbergasted. /There's death here tonight, yours, mine and that pretty little girl's if you fuck this up. I just changed the future by talking to you and even Crawford doesn't know what will happen next. Now get the hell out of here./ Omi went. He slipped through the door and down the stairs. He had not seen or heard Schuldich since the German had dropped them off at that dock. Nagi's sudden appearance had forestalled any attempt to ask questions, and it had been three months since that very strange nine days he and Yohji had shared with Schuldich. Sometimes he wondered if the entire thing hadn't been a manufactured dream. /That's Yohji talking./ Omi stepped into the alley and hurried through the shadows toward the street. `I know.' /He is going to pay for upsetting you, Kitten./ Shivering a little at the unforgiving note in that familiar voice, Omi shook his head. `It's really not his fault, Schuldich. You _are_ a manipulative bastard and he just can't force himself to take what happened at face value. He needs something to shake him up, snap him out of this and I just don't know what to do.' /I'll hold him down, and you kiss him into submission./ The teenager stepped into the waiting taxi, trying not to choke over the unexpected note of mischief that had appeared in the mental voice. `Do you honestly think that it would work?' /We can give it a try.... Fuck. Are you safely away, Kitten?/ Schuldich's `voice' lost all teasing and was near to...panic? The taxi pulled away from the curb and Omi peered back at the building as they drew away. `Yes.' /Fucking Taketori was going to have you beaten to within an inch of your goddamned life and he wanted me to fetch you for the experience. Another minute and a half and I wouldn't have had any choice in the matter. Watch your back, Kitten, and stay the hell away from Ouka./ Eyes wide, Omi turned and slumped down in his seat. `What has Ouka got to do with it?' /She's his daughter, that's what..../ "WHAT?!" The taxi driver flicked his eyes in the mirror, and Omi smiled weakly. `She's his WHAT?' /His daughter. And you're _not_ his son. He thinks that you're actually his nephew, and that opens up a whole new can of worms. On a related note, is `Shi-ne' boy giving you any problems over this?/ Omi leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes and trying to cling to something stable in the whirlwind that had become his mind. `I don't understand....' /Sorry to dump all that on you, but the Taketori family is far more messed up than you could ever possibly imagine. You need to stay away from _all_ of them. Especially Ouka. I'm very serious about this, Kitten./ `I...' /Crawford's visions are getting stronger. You were scheduled for a beating tonight, and it would have ended in Hasafumi's death. At your hands. As it is, Weiss won't need to worry about him. He'll be taken care of./ `You're going to kill him?' Omi swallowed. There was a note in the Schwartz assassin's voice that frightened him. /I'd do more than kill him, but I'd get caught. One thing would have led to another. Ouka would have died and I would have gotten myself into a world of trouble on more than one level. I'm not going to.... Never mind. Just stay _away_ from the Taketori family unless it's directly mission related, alright?/ `All right.' /It's going to be a little while before Crawford's visions stabilize again. Stay out of Taketori's way for as long as you can./ There was silence in Omi's head for the rest of the car ride. He stepped out in front of the flower shop and paused. "Schuldich?" he whispered. /Yes?/ "I'm sorry." /Don't be. I'm not going to get into trouble over this. By the time they got around to asking me to collect you, you were off the premises. The only ones who know what just really happened are Crawford and Nagi./ "I'm sorry for changing things for you." /What? I'm a nasty, sadistic, control freak! So I have a weak spot for small, fuzzy clawed animals.... So what? Crawford doesn't care and what Taketori doesn't know will hopefully kill him. Soon. Things changed tonight, Kitten. Permanently./ Omi smiled, despite himself. "Forgive me?" /Only if you let me do something suitably horrible to Kudou./ He unlocked the side door to the flower shop and stepped inside, locking it firmly behind him. "Deal."