The Black Cross

Farfarello moved to the far door, watching Aya and Ran, though he was listening for the other two kittens, whenever they decided to join the fun.

A smirk curled his lips slightly as he thought about the siberian kitten's response to seeing him earlier. He hoped he got to play with him again.. No killing him, unfortunately, but he was so fun to play with that he didn't really want to anyways. That would stop the fun prematurely after all.

He noted with amusement that Crawford didn't let on that Schuldig wasn't supposed to take the kitten; of course, that would always mean he'd have to admit that his precognative abilities weren't perfect..

From:

kuchren.livejournal.com

Balinese? Bombay? Weren't those... cats...? Aya's head was swimming with all this new information, and she couldn't make sense of any of it.

Omi and Ken hadn't appeared yet. They'd probably have heard her screams... part of her wanted them to appear and somehow save the day. Another part of her didn't... because... wasn't it better for a surprise attack than a frontal one? Especially while dealing with these two unpredictable characters...

She remained silent, but glanced around the room trying to find something to use that would get them out of the horrid situation.

From:

Ran narrowed his eyes at Crawford. The jab about Yohji's health struck exactly where the man had intended. The request for help was laughable, coming from who it was. Ran stopped himself just barely from uttering the snide comments he wanted to. "Information? Why should we trust you? Return Balinese alive and without further injury first."

From:

"Trust? Crawford gave a sardonic half chuckle at the thought. "What need do I have of your trust? I do not blame you really... Balinese isn't worth even that much, is he?" Crawford was focused on Abbysinian and his reactions. This was the answer he had promised to bring back to the waiting Yohji. Sometimes truth was all the weapon one needed to bring another to their knees. "Mastermind will be pleased..." Those words slowly fell from his lips with all the malice and menace Crawford had intended.

To his credit, the redhead didn't seem to be favoring a particular leg. And his instincts may have been sharper than Crawford initially surmised. His hand was tight and bent at an odd angle. Concealing a weapon of some sort, no doubt. Crawford smirked, resisting the urge to test the redhead's reflexes, refreshing his contact and hopefully his visions as well. That opportunity would come soon enough.

Abbysinian and his sister - both had unwittingly been a part of his life since he was fifteen years old. The vision that nearly stole his mind all those years ago featured both Fujimiyas. The fall of elders would not have been possible without them both. Crawford spent years waiting and planning for his first fateful meeting with the redhead. That was the only thing that made Schwarz's assignment to Takatori at all bearable. Knowing that the end of the elders was at hand and this man and his precious sister were to be the ones to deliver Schwarz's freedom.

Crawford let a small smile tug at his lips.

"You know... Ran... I believe I owe you my thanks."

From:

"Return our teammate!" Ran snarled. Balinese isn't even worth that much. Crawford was testing that statement, why? He would have no reason to believe that one of Weiss' four teammates was not needed, none that Ran could see.

Did he know something, then?

Or...was he parroting something Yohji had said?

His personal reaction, sharp guilt and anger at the threat, stayed walled off.

He said nothing to Crawford's latter comment, narrowing his eyes. He'd used his real name as well, and it felt wrong in context, and violating. A reminder of Aya, still behind him, and the disharmony of his character. He kept himself from flexing the hand he kept on the knife.

Edited Date: 2008-10-24 03:47 pm (UTC)

From:

Farfarello was almost getting bored with this; as fun as teasing the kittens was, nobody was breaking and there was no fighting. He wished the siberian kitten was up there, at least then he'd have some action.

Did the blood-kitten's yelling really make him feel any better? He was still helpless, there wasnt' a damned thing he could do to get Balinese back, so why bitch about it? What did he think that was going to do? He wasn't going to be able to intimidate Crawford into letting him go.

He'd really be better off not goading Crawford; he may have seemed outwardly the charming, professional businessman, but he had a sadistic streak at times that could likely rival Schuldig's.

From:

"Just as much the conversationalist as always... " Crawford almost sounded disappointed that the redhead was taking the stubborn approach. He was not suprised though.

"I'm feeling particularly gracious in light of the service you and your sister have done us. For that, you will get your teammate back. And, if you pay attention, you may just realize that the information I need is of interest to your team as well." Crawford crossed his arms loosly across his chest, hand resting comfortably on the grip of his Walther.

" Sato... what do you really know about him? And what do you really know about your last mission?" Crawford knew the swordsman was just the muscle. Bombay was the one with the answers. Bombay was the one with all the access and all the knowledge and, it seemed, he kept it all close if Balinese's reaction could be believed. Bombay... or should he say Takatori... was the one in tight with Kritiker. He was beginning to doubt that Weiss even had any suspicions at all about their enigmatic employers.

From:

Ran met the promise to return Yohji with visible surprise, tempered only by his strong distrust. It was not a side of Schwartz he had expected to see: mercy, even though it had not yet been delivered.

But the whole thing made no sense. Why take Yohji, just to return him? Information did not seem enough reason for the other team to kidnap, when no effort had been made to bargain in the first place. They had only been after the disk before, not information. So what had changed?

Ran's face stonewalled again at the mention of Sato. He disliked the agent, and knew little about him to justify it. It didn't seem anything he knew would help Schwartz, however, so there would be no point in not doing as the other man had asked. "We don't have the disk," he said, "that was what we were sent to retrieve. I don't know the contents, our orders were not to open it. How do you know about Sato?"

From:

By the time he retrieved his weapon and crept downstairs, he could hear the distinct tones of an angry Ran. He slid down the wall into a crouch, peeking just enough to see Aya, Ran, and Crawford facing off against each other. But there was no way he would come alone-

Ken swept the area until his eyes came to rest on *him*. The icy spike of fear that jolted him to his feet was chased swiftly by a deep resentment and self-loathing for allowing this man-

~And he is a man, in the end, a twisted human, not a nightmare~

-to terrorize him like this. He got to his feet and made his presence known, claws extended and jaw clenched shut tightly. Only the slightest tremor in his fists gave away any emotion other than restrained fury.

From:

Crawford's attention turned to Aya as her brother spoke. He brought her here, of all places, and told her next to nothing. She seemed genuinely confused. Abbysinian was going to have quite a bit of explaining to do. He stepped closer, still casual and relaxed, an ear still trained on the door behind them as Farfarello covered the other.

"How do you know about Sato?"

"We have Balinese." Crawford smirked as his dipped his head. It was all the explanation he needed to offer. Over active imaginations could fill in the details much more effectively than the truth.

Entirely apropriate that Siberian should make his presence known at that particular moment. Nothing but a glance was spared the assassin. Crawford wouldn't think to interrupt Farfarello's masterwork in progress.

His eyes lingered on Siberian as he spoke. "And I must say, his wounds are impressive. Judging by the pattern, I would chance a guess that you lost control of Siberian." His gaze snapped back to Abbysinian. "Does Sato know?"

It was an easy assumption to play. Sato worked with Weiss, relaying his field reports to Kritiker. Such a tangled web this was turning out to be. He was not yet convinced that Weiss were nothing but pawns in this game. He needed to be sure. A vision would be useful right about now. And provoking Abbysinian would be beyond simple.

From:

Farfarello was only half playing attention to Crawford and the kitten and that, his attention focused on the noises he could hear from the other two kittens, wherever they were.

His bored look turned into a feral grin when he saw Siberian walking toward him. He chuckled lowly then and pulled another knife, a long poinard in one hand, a curved dagger in the other.

"Well, well.. Ye've decided to join us, finally. Did ye miss me? How's yer head?"

From:

~He's baiting you, Hidaka, you know that.~

And it was working.

"Where. Is. He." Ken continued his advance, fire lighting in his eyes as he brought the bugnuks to chest level, ready to attack or defend at a moments notice.

~wipethatgrinoffhisfacemakehim*pay*foreveryscreamhestolefromyourlungs~

From:

"Siberian!" Ran barked. He couldn't get a sense of what their motives were, but it was clear that they were baiting them. It was working. Ran would have loved to attack, to wipe the implacable smirk off of Crawford's face, but his sister's presence was an effective collar on his temper. Ken engaging them in a fight would not bring Yohji back sooner, or accomplish anything but blood in their home. This was the part of his life he swore his sister would never be a part of, and he was going to do his best to not let her see it for all that it was.

"You said you needed information!" Ran snapped, cutting the white-haired man off from saying anything else to Ken. "What else."

From:

The bark of his code name jerked Ken into halting as effectively as a shock collar. The straining effort it took not to take those last few steps was crystal clear. A vein was pulsing in the middle of his forehead, and tension poured from every inch of his body.

He never took his eyes away from his opponent for a second. If looks were lethal, Farfarello would've been a pile of dismembered limbs.

From:

Farfarello growled almost in disappointment, glancing at the redheaded Weiss, glaring briefly before his attention returned to the brunette in front of him. especially this one, and thought it was...very unfortnate that the other one intervened.

He didn't start a fight between them though; he didn't know what Crawford had planned here, so he wasn't about to initiate anything that would lead to bloodshed. Not yet, anyways.. As much as he wanted to...

From:

celtic-kitsune.livejournal.com

Omi came into the room a few seconds after Ken. Frowning when he saw that Ken had been ready to start a fight, but Ran seemed to have stopped him, for now at least.

Omi glanced at Ran and then looked back at Crawford, so Schwartz was here for information. Was that why the had kidnapped Yohji? But if that were true then they wouldn't be here again. Omi moved over so he was standing next to Ken, Schwartz, well, Crawford at least, didn't seem like he was ready to start a fight. So Omi thought it best right now if he staid close to Ken in case he tried to start a fight.

From:

Odd. Very, very odd. Siberian was, predictably, the wild card, the one most likely to come out swinging, damning the consequences. He actually seemed blessedly ignorant of consequences in most of their encounters so his restraint was unexpected. Crawford passed Farfarello a sly smirk.

Apparently, Balinese was fairly important to them after all.

"Glad you could join us... Mamoru. I am having a difficult time believing Abbysinian's assertions that Kritiker keeps your team so thoroughly in the dark... that you all would kill on nothing but some strangers word. Talk to me about Sato... he's a new addition, yes? And your latest mission... why did it go so wrong?" Oracle's tone was all business, these answers only necessary to fill in where his visions were lacking. Balinese was turning out to be a fortunate accident, the leverage Crawford needed to pry some details loose.

His gaze snapped to the still tense Siberian unable to resist the urge to prod at the proverbial wound. "Have you even cleaned Balinese's blood off those blades yet, Siberian? Put them away and pay attention. You may learn something."

From:

((Totally just realized that LJ cut out a chunk of one of my sentances!! Damnit! Oh well, internal rambling, not terribly important to the rp XP))

Farfarello growled almost in disappointment, glancing at the redheaded Weiss, glaring briefly before his attention returned to the brunette in front of him. He wanted to fight the kittens, especially this one, and thought it was...very unfortnate that the other one intervened.

He didn't start a fight between them though; he didn't know what Crawford had planned here, so he wasn't about to initiate anything that would lead to bloodshed. Not yet, anyways.. As much as he wanted to...

From:

celtic-kitsune.livejournal.com

Omi tensed slightly when Crawford called him Mamoru. He didn't outright hate the name, just the man that had given it to him. But he wasn't going to stand here and correct Crawford about his name.

"Why do you want to know about Sato-san?" Omi asked. "And why should we tell you anything after you took one of our team mates?" Omi's eyes flickered towards Ken after Crawford addressed him.

From:

Farfarello almost pouted at the fact that he wasn't getting to fight Siberian as easily as he'd have liked. But, from the way Crawford was talking, who knew how soon he'd actually end up fighting? Crawfrod was definitely good at baiting the kittens, that was for sure.

He was listening attentively, even though his attention appeared to be almost anywhere else but the conversation, with the way his single eye was locked on Siberian, taunting him without a word, wanting to fight him. He really did have too much fun with the poor kitten..

From:

Ran looked briefly over his shoulder at Omi. "He said Balinese will be returned." Ran explained shortly.

His gaze intensified before turning back to Crawford. Omi didn't have more information on their new contact, or on Kritiker's new leadership, did he? Ran had never cared enough to ask. His employer hadn't changed, the work hadn't changed, the team hadn't changed and he had never given it much thought. There had been no reason to.

But if Omi had information...

From:

(continued in response to Farf's post below, to keep things close to in sequence)

From:

"Have you even cleaned Balinese's blood off those blades yet, Siberian?"

The blood rushed out of Ken's face, leaving him a washed out pale. His attention was unwillingly latched onto Crawford now. It took a few heartbeats to realize he'd held his breath.

When he finally felt heat in his face again, he coule tell it was probably an apoplectic crimson. There was a slight sense of vertigo, the room seemed to be tilting just a little.

Rage beyond what words could possibly express made his eyes darken, glazed over his expression and hardened into a mask. The fraying restraint that anchored him whimpered at him to wait, just wait a little longer.

~Trades are being made, pay attention, Hidaka. Falter now and it'll be like *you* killed Yohji.~

He slowly turned to look at Omi, making it clear through body language that one word, one subtle signal was all he needed, and he would go off on those arrogant bastards like a grenade.

From:

celtic-kitsune.livejournal.com

Omi looked at Ran frowning slightly but looked back at Crawford. Omi didn't really care that Schwartz knew about Sato, though he couldn't hide his confusion as to why they wanted to know about him. That got him thinking about what could he actually tell the man standing in front of them that would be good enough information to possibly get Yohji back?

Omi decided to answer Crawford's questions for starters.

that you all would kill on nothing but some strangers word. Talk to me about Sato... he's a new addition, yes? And your latest mission... why did it go so wrong?"

"Sato-san works for Kritiker, we have no reason not to trust him." Omi said. "And nothing went wrong during our last mission. We're just..." Omi thought for a moment trying to choose his next words carefully. "Out of practice."

From: