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Part Three: Finsternis
By Saaye Kage no Ansatsusha
The drive back to Koneko No Sumu le was interesting, to say the least. Omi was in the backseats, sitting beside Ken and Akiko. He spent half the time blushing and the other half glaring at Youji from the rearview mirror. The latter was smirking as though there was no tomorrow. Aya kept his gaze firmly on the road ahead. Ken was memorizing every single crease of his boots; Akiko stared at the scenery outside the window.
After they reached the shop and went downstairs, Ken supported Akiko to the sofa, and made her sit down. He took out their first aid kit, then pulled off her boot and gently rolled up the legging. The bullet had shot clean through. It must have hurt like hell. And it would continue that way for a while. "This is going to be painful," he warned, unscrewing a bottle of ethanol.
"I know." Akiko's eyes were on his injured arm. "What about you? Your wound-"
"What wound?" Ken began applying the alcoholic liquid to her bloody leg. There was a sharp hiss of pain, then Akiko bit down hard on her lower lip, her hands gripping the sofa arms tightly. "Does it hurt too much?" he stopped, worried.
"No…" Akiko forced the word out between clenched teeth.
After he had treated her wound and rolled the legging down again, Ken rubbed his own sweating forehead wearily. It wasn't a hot night; had he been that tense about bandaging Akiko's injury? Perhaps-"Ouch!" It wasn't so much the pain. It was the surprise.
"What did I tell you?" Akiko remarked, pulling him up to sit beside her. "Let me see."
By the time the two of them had finished fussing over each other, Omi had excused himself in favor of the sanctuary of his own room. Aya and Youji stayed. The former approached the two. "I have a few questions."
"Aya, she doesn't have to-" Ken began.
"What do you want to know, Fujimiya-san?" Akiko asked simply.
Youji strode over as well and settled himself on the high back of a sofa. "What name do you go by? It's not appropriate for me to address a pretty girl as 'you'."
Akiko did not rise to the bait of him calling her 'pretty'. By right, Youji had no backing for his comment, since she was still wearing her mask. "I'm Akiko. Shirokami Akiko."
"A beautiful name," Youji smiled.
"Why did you help us?" Aya asked.
"I wanted to," Akiko replied briefly.
"Your group is called Schweigen? How many of you are there?"
"I belong to Schweigen, yes. I can't tell your our number," Akiko replied evenly. Nevertheless, Ken reached out to hold her hand in his own.
"The one who was with you back there is a member of Schweigen?"
"The leader."
"How did you know about our mission?"
"There are ways." Akiko almost smiled. She thought of Akira's slight of hand with the vases. Did Weiß know that even now, their every move could be heard by both Schweigen members? Though Akira wouldn't be listening now. She gave her friend privacy.
"I’m curious about something," Youji said casually. "How old are you? My senses tell me you can't be older than Omi is, but your skills and attitude don't match that."
Brown eyes flashed. "I'm sixteen."
Youji raised an eyebrow the way only he could. "You must have been through a lot." It was a genuine observation, not a question.
Akiko did not reply to that. How would any normal person wind up becoming a permanent resident of the underworld? They had all came to this by long, difficult paths; not just her. "What else do you wish to know?"
Youji glanced at Aya, who shook his head, turned, and went upstairs. He shrugged. "I guess I ought to sleep for what's remaining of the night. The two of you work out what you plan to do now. Good night, good morning, whatever." He left.
An awkward silence hung between them. She hadn't said anything, and probably wouldn't have even if she had been asked, but Akiko knew that Ken knew her feelings as well as she did-which was not much, actually. "You didn't ask any questions. Is there anything you'd specifically like to know about Schweigen?"
"Yes," Ken nodded slowly. "How's it like? How did you become a…a member of the underworld?"
"An assassin, you mean?" Akiko sounded…contemplative, sad. "Of course. No normal person from a normal background would become an assassin."
"How?" Ken asked softly.
"It…" There was a subtle change to her voice. Before, it had been firm, of a clear self-assured woman; now it was softer, gentler, a young girl's voice. "That was five years ago. I had spent one year on the streets by then, after my father divorced my mother and she committed suicide. I was a pickpocket. Not the most admirable occupation, I suppose, but it kept me alive."
Ken drew his breath sharply. "And you were eleven then?"
"Then I got into trouble with another gang, and this…person saved me He had one condition: become his subject. I agreed. There wasn't much choice, after all."
"I-I see."
"That's how I left the streets and went deeper under the surface world. I trained, very hard. I had a debt to the person who saved me, a debt of life. But personally-" her voice broke. "I don't kill. Guilty or innocent, I just don't."
"Is that why you don't use a weapon?" Ken recalled that he had never seen her under arms. There had been a flash of a blade back there, but it came from the other woman, not Akiko.
"I have a nunchak. I have a problem with blood." Akiko looked away. "Stupid for an assassin, I suppose."
"No, I don't think so," Ken said quickly. "I've killed, and I hate it. It's guilt, guilt that can never be washed away. Sometimes, when I look at my hands, they are stained with blood…"
"I'm sorry, Ken-san. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's all right. Ah, one last question?"
"Of course."
"Can I see your face? Without your mask?"
A slender white hand, contrasting sharply with the stark black fabric of her sleeve, went up to the black mask which covered every inch of her head and neck. With the other hand, she pulled off her scarf, releasing a jet-black waterfall that cascaded down her shoulders. Then she took off the mask. Large hazel eyes that were framed by long sooty eyelashes, set under delicate brows; perfectly formed lips on a face with lines so graceful that it transcended beauty; skin that was a pale cream, against shiny black hair.
"You are beautiful," Ken breathed.
Akiko smiled. "Thank you."
She came back to an empty apartment. Akiko would be at Koneko No Sumu le by now; with the Weiß young man, Hidaka Ken. She made herself a cup of tea, and went to the living room. There might be something interesting on TV-but no luck. Late night thrillers weren't her thing. Her life was more exiting than those stupid movies, anyway.
Akira switched off the television and settled for just lounging on the sofa. The apartment felt lonely, cold, without the presence of her friend. It was not the first time she had returned to an empty apartment-they often took missions alone, after all-but it was the first time she returned alone after a duo mission. Because of the man her teammate loved. She had been standing behind the debris of the fallen walls, waiting. She knew if the young man saw Akiko in need of aid without Akira in sight, he would offer her that. And Akiko was definitely in love with Hidaka Ken. She ought to feel happy for Akiko, she supposed, but all she could summon was a bone-deep weariness. Even Akiko, her training mate for the last five years and full working partner for the last two, had found someone to care for. What about her? She was only seventeen, but in heart she was far more advanced than that. A childhood in the orphanage was partially responsible, of course, but she herself had taken care of the rest. She had mastered the skills of survival, certainly; she knew how to be ruthless and to show no mercy, to be clear-headed and to weigh all factors. The skills she lacked were of life, of finding peace.
The hands of the clock continued moving. Finally, towards dawn, Akiko returned. "You waited the whole night, Akira?" she exclaimed.
She merely nodded. "There's food warming in the oven, if you want to eat before going to bed."
"I…thanks, Akira."
"You are welcome." She rinsed her teacup, dried it, and went back to her own room. "Have a good sleep. The shop is closed today."
Don't mistake my words, Akiko-chan. I am glad for you.
A lone figure was waiting for them at the car.
"You again, Akiko-san?" Youji asked, adjusting his dark glasses. "I'm starting to have severe doubts regarding the security level of Weiß at large."
"Are you stopping me?" She was all business now, hardly any trace left of the soft-spoken girl whom Ken had held in his arms in the basement one late night.
"No," Aya replied after a quick look at Youji and Ken. They were pressed for time, for one thing; for another, Shirokami Akiko was a good fighter. Besides, he had to be blind not to know why she kept offering them assistance. Silently, he opened the car door and got into the driver's seat. Youji seemed to be debating with himself, but a glare from Aya decided him, and he sat down in front, leaving the back seats to the two lovers. The car zoomed off. Their mission tonight would decide the coming and going of one of them, Tsukiyono Omi, otherwise known as Takatori Mamoru.
"Thanks for coming," Ken said in a barely audible voice as they sped though the night. He didn't want either Aya or Youji to be privy to their conversation.
"You are welcome," Akiko replied as softly.
Too soon, they reached it. A large building in the middle of nowhere. The summer mansion of Takatori Hirofumi, son of Takatori Reiji and brother to Omi.
The four of them approached the building silently. A few quick jumps landed everyone outside the brightly-lit room where Weiß's target was torturing his brother for information. There were sounds coming from the room. Sounds that were human, and sounds that weren't.
"Speak, Mamoru!"
Ken stole a glance at Akiko. He couldn't see her expression beneath the mask, but her fists were tightly clenched, her weapon out and ready. "You are not my brother!"
It was time for action, now.
They crashed through assorted windows, and made for Hirofumi. But there was somebody with him, somebody with orange hair and a speed to equal Akiko's. Youji's wires shot out, even as Ken and Aya brought their weapons down. The stranger dodged them, with equal grace as Akiko had in their first meeting. "Schwarz!" Akiko hissed, her nunchak drawn for defense, not attack. "How right you are," the orange-haired young man smirked, flashing between the lethal weapons of Weiß. "But watch yourself, girl."
Another figure came up to her from behind. Akiko twisted around, narrowly missing the sharp glint of needlepoint daggers. Her wrist flicked, and the other end of the nunchak cut through the air, striking her attacker on the wrist.
Ken saw what was happening next, but he was standing on the other side of the room. Nevertheless, he leapt in her direction. "Watch out, Akiko!" She heard his warning, and twisted back, only to see the fist of the orange-haired man filling her entire vision. She veered to the right, but not enough. The fist connected with the side of her head.
The orange-haired stranger caught Akiko as she passed out, and handed her to the dagger-wielding young man before turning back to smirk at Weiß. "Ah, ah, don't shoot things at me again. I don't like it."
Ken gritted his teeth, seeing the unconscious form of Akiko lying limply in the scarred young man's grasp. "You bastard," he muttered, taking a slight step forward.
Something sharp pressed against the small of his back silently. "You take another step, and Akiko's dead," the voice said flatly. Ken froze.
The orange-haired man smirked again as he looked at each of them, frozen to the spot. "Now that I've seen your faces, I have your lives." With that, the two of them left.
"Akiko!" Ken shouted to no one in particular.
She kept the dagger against Hidaka Ken's back until the Schwarz members were out of sight. The young man was still frozen to the spot, even after she had sheathed her blades.
"You are Schweigen too?" Youji asked.
She nodded. "Akiko's teammate."
"Why…?" Ken asked. "Why did you stop me?"
"Schwarz is absolutely ruthless, and Farfarello the most insane of them all. He would kill Akiko if it so amuses him."
Aya and Omi came over. The latter supported on the swordsman's shoulder. Aya's face was expressionless. "We have to finish the mission."
Ken nodded, dragging his mind away from the question of Aya's safety, and nodded. Youji did likewise.
"Good luck," she said as she went to a window, now without all its glass panes. The jump was going to be quite hard. She was not as gifted as Akiko in this kind of thing.
"Wait," Omi asked. "You…where are you going?"
"To get Akiko."
"alone?" Ken demanded. "I’m in."
"Do you know the identity of the two of them? Do you know who they are? What their organization is? Where they are taking her? Do you know anything about Schwarz?"
"You can tell me."
"How much help would you be against an enemy you don't know of?"
Ken took a deep breath. "Not much," he admitted.
"Settled, then."
"May I know your name?" Ken asked.
"Kanamiya Akira."
She came to in a dark chamber, bound hand and foot, with her arms tightly secured behind her. Her head still hurt, but not too much. She felt thirsty, her throat was completely dry, and she seemed to have gotten no few bruises. Damn it all, that white-haired lunatic was good.
It was a long while before anybody came in. Time crawled by at an extremely slow rate. Every moment only increased her discomfort, and aches did not go away by themselves.
Suddenly the door opened a crack. She blinked at the seemingly blinding bright light. Then the door opened fully, and she made out a tall man. With the light shining directly into her eyes, she couldn't make out his features.
"You are awake now?" the man asked. He had a brisk, businesslike tone. "Good."
She glared at him without saying anything. She had been captured, there wasn't anything to say.
"Why did you attempt to go after us?" the man asked.
She continued glaring, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"If you don't speak, I'll get Schuldig to take the information from you."
The man waited a while longer, then turned, and left, taking the last shred of light with him.
More time passed. She willed the headache that was growing worse by the moment to go away. In this lightless, soundless void, all she had left was her sense of feel, without anything to distract her except herself. It was almost with relief that she heard approaching footsteps again, even though it meant another round of questioning.
"You didn't get anything out of her?" a smooth, urbane voice asked. "I'm astonished, Crawford. I would have sold my secrets if I'm staring at Farfarello's dagger, and I'm under the impression that she's pretty. Pretty girls mind their looks."
"This one doesn't. And I wanted her to survive the questioning."
"That excited, is he?"
"You know Farfarello."
A rich laughter. "Indeed I do. What do you say to me taking him off your hands for a while? I'm going out. I don't feel like questioning anyone right now."
"If that's the way you want it."
The door opened. Again, she was momentarily blinded by the light outside. She had barely made out the two people silhouetted against the door before a body was tossed in, and the door closed again.
Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness once more. There was a dark shape on the ground. She had a cell mate now, whoever this was.
She would wait.
Akiko groaned. She felt as if Ken had played soccer with her head. Where was she? The last thing she recalled was that Schwarz member, Schuldig, striking her down.
It followed that she had been captured.
Training took over automatically. She had no idea where she was, or how long it would be before Akira rescued her. She might very well have to go without food or water here.
Akiko calmed her breathing, slowing her heartbeat to her normal rate. It was then that she heard someone else's breathing. Relatively calm breathing.
"Who are you?"
"You know I'm here." It was a statement, not a question.
"Schwarz captured you too? How long have you been here?"
"I don't know." The voice was a clear, firm soprano, managing to sound detached and cold even under such circumstances. "They are called Schwarz?" That surprised Akiko, but she did not voice it. This girl, her fellow prisoner, had been captured by Schwarz without even knowing who they were. Yet the fact that they were thrown into the same chamber indicated a certain status. "Yes. I'm not trying to pry, but are you good in a fight?" There was a very slight pause. "I've taken down four black belts down in one go."
That brought her to be the same standard as Akiko herself. "How did they get you?"
"That white-haired one-eyed dog."
"Farfarello," Akiko translated. "He is supposed to be insane. He can't feel pain."
"I see." A long pause this time. "What's your name?"
"I'm Shirokami Akiko. I'm sixteen."
"I'm Kasumi." There was another long pause. "Itsuki Kasumi. I'm seventeen."