The Black Cross

Nagi briskly walked to the nearest shopping centre, not quite in a hurry but obviously intent on getting there quite soon. The early evening public swarmed around him asNagi eyed them all without much interest, instinctually keeping an eye out for threats.

Businessmen on their way home, salary men intend on a drink before going to their families, mothers with small kids hurrying to get the last ingredients for dinner and teenagers who weren't quite expected home yet and took the time to hang out with friends.

Without concious thought or effort Nagi kept a slight free space around him, not letting any of them touch him directly.

Suddenly, a flash of bright blue caught his eye. He stood stock still, causing an unsuspecting man in suit to bump into a wall of nothing and quickly scramble around him.

blue pigtails held together by cheerful yellow ribbons, a cute pink dress with blue ruffles. She was talking to some friends as she walked along the street, but Nagi didn't see them. All he saw was the one girl.

Tot.

It was Tot.

It had to be Tot.

Without a second thought Nagi gave chase.

Around him people jumped aside or where pushed but Nagi didn't hear the curses or insults, the surprised or scared exclamations. All he saw was bright blue pigtails, swinging gently as she walked along.

"Tot! Tot! It's me, Nagi! Please! Tot!"

Nagi had almost caught up to them when the girl turned to see him running right at her. She looked him in the eyes - blue, grayish blue. It HAD to be her - and than ran.

Her friends were calling out, calling a name Nagi didn't hear as he tried desperately to keep up with her, not wanting to use his power for fear of scaring her, and because using his power in such an obvious way and in such a busy place was akin to suiside and he'd learned that early.

"Tot! Wait! Please!"

She didn't wait, she just ran, zigzagged through the crowd almost too fast for Nagi to keep up even with the aid of his power.

He had to catch her. Had to make her stay. Tot! Why wasn't she waiting? She had to know he wouldn't hurt her right? Why was she running from him?
He zipped after her, pushing aside people as he went.

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Yohji wasn’t even watching where he was going, let alone bothering to be aware of the people moving about him. A reckless move for an assassin (let alone someone just returned from a kidnapping,) but he was too preoccupied to care much. An awful lot of things seemed to be teetering on precarious edges at the moment, and he had very little clue onto which sides they would fall. His current standing with Ran seemed nearly as fragile as Ken’s questionable sanity. Either thing could literally implode with very little provocation, and in such a case Yohji didn’t trust himself not to be the cause.

He was busy reading the backs of the movie boxes he’d just rented as he wandered back towards the Koneko, utterly oblivious to everyone around him. He’d picked out three; one he knew that Ran would probably tolerate, but Ken would hate, one that Ken would love but stood little chance in Hell for Ran sitting through, and finally one that he knew absolutely no one would find watchable except for him to serve as a back-up plan once both Ran and Ken got fed up and ditched him (which seemed the most likely outcome, given all their enthusiasm to watch movies with him in the first place.)

Before he even knew what had hit him, Yohji found himself keeling backwards and becoming abruptly acquainted with the sidewalk. The fall wasn’t especially bad, and on a normal day probably would have only warranted some indignant muttering. However, his current physical condition wasn’t healed nearly enough yet to tolerate even a moderate degree of rough housing. The impact rocked through him, jarring his stitches and literally knocking out his breath with the sudden unanticipated pain.

The resulting outburst of obscene and voluminous expletives was a bit excessive even by Yohji’s standards, but he felt righteously justified considering that he hurt like a motherfucker and felt that he had already filled his quota of bad shit happening to him that week ten times over.

…Until he looked up and noticed just who had been responsible for inconsiderately knocking into him. Whereas all the color promptly drained out of Yohji’s face.

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Nagi didn't even see the trail of people he left, many of them keeling over or falling outright, all of them yelling profanities after him.

He didn't hear it.

He didn't see it.

He just saw that she was getting a head of him.

How could she be so fast? Tot had always been a good runner, even back than, but... She didn't have thelepatic powers on her side did she? Why? Why couldn't he catch her?

Before his eyes, he saw her again and again, crumbled and dead, no spark of life left in her. He'd never known anything to hurt him so much, not even back before Rosenkreuz. Not even in Rosenkreuz. Just that. That moment. That girl.

And Crawford had been right. So right in trying to protect him, trying to stop him from loving her. He was right. Crawford was always right.

So why was he chasing her?

Crawford was always right.

TOT!

He ran on, eyes trained on those two big tails, that bit of bright blue in a grey, grey world.

She'd been so bright, so lovely. She'd been anything he was not, could not be. Anything he might have wanted to be. In another life, another place.
She was sweet, open, beautiful. She was so lovely. She laughed and enjoyed life, was open about anything and everything, and god when she laughed... When she laughed she was the most beautiful and bright thing in the world, brighter than the sun. She turned his whole grey world into bright, sparkling colours.

How could he have resisted that? How could Crawford have asked him to resist that than? How could he hope to resist that now, on his own, without his team to hold him back?

She was so... So... Tot was life itself and after she was gone... Crawford had only been trying to protect him. Knew what had been coming. Knew Nagi wouldn't have listened even if he'd told him what exactly was coming. Nagi was sure of it.

When she was gone... Everything had been dark. Toppling the tower had been so, so easy, the power of his desperation doing things noone could've imagined.

Nagi didn't even notice the tears tracking down his cheeks as the image of her death and broken body assaulted him once again.

Suddenly, the patch of blue, the blue he'd been following, was gone. It took Nagi a few seconds to spot the allyway she was in. Had to be in. No other option. He couldn't have lost her. No way.

The alleyway was empty.

Nagi stood there, panting, staring at the empty alleyway. Noone there. No way out but the one where he was standing. not even any doors.

Without even noticing, he slid down until he sat on the ground, in the middle of a dirty, deserted alleyway.

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Luckily Prodigy’s haphazard pace was already slowing down, otherwise Yohji wouldn’t have stood a chance of catching up.

What the fuck are you doing man, why would you want to catch up? Turn around and walk the other way. He didn’t even see you. Get the hell outta Dodge.

His hand blindly reached out and retrieved the scattered plastic boxes without requiring much thought. He was back on his feet and moving on autopilot through the trail of disgruntled pedestrians left in the boy’s wake.

Seriously, what the fuck ARE you doing?

He picked up his step a little as Nagi disappeared around a bend in a building. If the alley didn’t dead end he’d almost definitely have lost him.

You better hope you lost him.

Don’t mess with Schwarz alone. Period.

And you’re not even in shape to fight yet.

Do you want to get kidnapped again?

…Or worse?

Yohji’s irritation for getting shoved had immediately dissipated in the shock of realizing that he’d just witnessed a member of Schwarz…well, maybe it was just his imagination, but the kid had seemed upset.

It shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, he had seen enough to catch a few glimpses already disproving the theory he’d once held that Nagi was actually an emotionless android. But it was disconcerting all the same.

An anomaly in a member of Schwarz could forewarn of something that might prove vital to Weiss’s intelligence. It was his JOB to follow Prodigy.

Who are you kidding, you’re just a goddamn cat with a fatal case of curiosity.

Ran would kick your stupid ass if he saw you taking such a pointless risk right now.

Nagi might have lent a shred of sympathy to him at Schwarz’s headquarters, but Yohji knew he was an idiot if he extrapolated any additional meaning out of that. The kid was possibly the most dangerous of all his adversaries. Certainly the most volatile.

…And he was about to corner him in a deserted alleyway while he was clearly upset.

Fucking brilliant.

He turned the corner to find that not only hadn’t he lost his target, but that Prodigy had given up the chase entirely. He sat on the ground, utterly despondent.

This kid is actually younger than Aya-chan, come to think of it.

He felt a strange tug as his eyes met the tear tracks streaking down Nagi’s face.

You’ve seen him kill people. Lots of people.

Yohji fumbled in his pocket for his cigarettes, and tapped one halfway out of the box.

He’s seen you kill people too.

For lack of a better idea of how to be…comforting? Yohji offered the boy a cigarette.

“It looks like I’m not the only one around here having a shitty week,” he said conversationally.

Jesus Christ, you really DON’T ever fucking learn.

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Nagi whipped around, eyes brimming with tears staring at the blonde towering over him. Suddenly, Yohji was up against the wall, feet not reaching the ground and utterly unable to move. Against all expectations it hadn't hurt at all though.

Nagi still sat crumbled on the ground, staring at Yohji. He hadn't even thought over what he'd just done. It was basic defence mechanism. As a matter of fact, Yohji should be intensely relieved that he was even still alive.

He sat there for a moment longer, it could've been a second or an age, before he spoke. His voice came out raspy and desperate. "She's gone. Again. Gone again."

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The cigarettes dropped lightly to the ground, and Yohji forced himself to focus entirely on that inconsequential lost sensation in order to staunch the building panic attack.

He’d known what an idiotic thing he was walking into, he reminded himself, knew the probability that he’d end up similarly compromised (if not dead.) What he’d just done bordered on suicidal, he really had no right getting upset now.

He didn’t hold even a sliver of a chance at self defense here though, so he trained his eyes on the discarded cancer sticks and tried to remember to keep breathing. Hopefully once he’d calmed down the kid would decide that his merciful side extended beyond the walls of Schwarz’s home base.

So preoccupied he was with not panicking, Yohji experienced a lag in processing Nagi’s words. And an even greater lag in deciphering them.

She? There was no ‘She’ in Schwarz….

He risked shooting the boy a quizzical look before the pieces finally clicked into place.

Oh.

A memory of a conversation he hadn’t been meant to overhear solidified, making the rambling almost sensical.

He was talking about that little Schrient girl. The one Yohji personally found disconcertedly creepy. (Probably just the age thing.)

He couldn’t remember her name. He couldn’t remember any of Schrient’s names, save one. He’d suffered from a rather severe case of tunnel vision whenever the teams had clashed.

He paused for a moment, a little bit afraid of the consequences he might bring upon himself by further rattling the boy. But Nagi seemed to be talking to him, so he finally decided to chance it. Perhaps he would even be able to talk himself back down to the ground.

“She’s…been gone for a while, though, hasn’t she?” Yohji ventured, voice low.

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Around them, the air pressure heightened as Nagi fought to control his powers. It was bad enough that most people hurrying by outside the alley were stuck with sudden head aches.

Nagi was still staring up at Yohji, keeping him against the wall but keeping him away from any bodily harm at the same time.

“She’s…been gone for a while, though, hasn’t she?”

Suddenly, Nagi's face was wiped of any emotion, except for the deep agony in his eyes.

"She was there. I saw her. She was there."

A flash of blue, two pigtails, a lacy dress. Blue. Always blue. Bright, beautiful blue.

"I saw her!" He was yelling now, and suddenly Yohji could feel the air pressure. Could feel it pressing against him as if it was trying to push him through the wall rather than against it.

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The sudden blast of pressure caused a nauseating drop in Yohji's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to struggle for a moment to regain his breath. He briefly closed his eyes, trying to keep himself centered and resist getting sick.

After getting his bearings back (as much as it was possible, still suspended helplessly in the air,) Yohji opened his mouth to state the obvious you couldn't have, she's dead... but hesitated. He had first hand experience of 'dead' people resurfacing. For someone who had already been a trained assassin before their alleged death to...not stay dead...seemed even more plausible than Asuka's resurrection. Not to mention that they had been employed by people obsessed with immortality, hadn't they? Not surprising in the least, actually.

"I believe you," he said, calmly connecting with the boy's eyes.

He couldn't hold the gaze for long though. The emotion there hit a little too close to home.

"How about putting me down, though," he ventured hopefully. "Then I'll listen to you if you want to talk about it."

He didn't actually expect Nagi to agree to that, but he didn't know what else to do.

Edited Date: 2009-04-11 10:48 pm (UTC)

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Nagi couldn't read minds like Schu was capable off. He didn't see the future or read people's body language very well at all. However, when he looked into Kudou's eyes, all he saw was recognition.

He hadn't been paying attention much at the time except for strategical reasons but he seemed to remember some plan involving Kudou and Nue. He hadn't much cared at the time. Now...

He slowly lowered the man down the wall, letting him down to the ground gently and, just for a moment, was very proud of his restraint. He was no fool though, and kept Yohji in place there as he himself slowly got up and than let himself slide down to sit next to Kudou.

"You... Really believe me, don't you?" he asked, voice small even though his face was still completely blank.

Suddenly, and without waiting for an answer, his body stiffened.

/Nagi. Where are you? Are you all right? You haven't killed Kudou, have you?/

/No. Fuck off Schuldig./

His mental voice was laden with so much tension it could've knocked down a lesser telepath. Nagi was not worried about Schuldig just than though, and he didn't want the other man to interfere... To let Schuldig see him like this.

Determinedly, he pulled up his shields as strong as he could to hide every bit of distress trying to leak out.

When he was completely sure Schu wouldn't be getting into his head without causing significant damage he turned to Kudou. "Think of other stuff. Whatever is fine. I don't care. Now." he hissed, very much aware which the next mind was that Schu would be digging in for answers.

(OOC: I figure Nagi and Yohji have a few minutes before Schu and Farf come barging in. They are in the middle of a busy shopping district after all)

Edited Date: 2009-04-18 08:10 am (UTC)

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Yohji was in the process of nodding in conformation when Nagi’s demeanor drastically altered. He watched, perplexed, as the boy stiffened and his attention apparently turned inward.

He was a little slow in processing Nagi’s command. Without the telepath present, the request seemed a confusing non sequitor. Having the pieces logically snap into place didn’t help much however. Once he realized why he needed to think of something else, he could not for the life of him think of anything except for the threat of Schuldig, and just why the fuck wasn't Nagi letting him move, so he might hold at least a shred of a chance at defending himself…. Well, at the very least he no longer had to worry about the threat of accidently (or not so accidently) being allowed to crash to the ground....

After a few moments Yohji finally managed to reign in the panicky thought-loop. He closed his eyes to shut out the view of Nagi and the reminder that he was frozen against a wall.

The next thought came easily enough. Ran is going to kill you and no one will be able to blame him for it.

Maybe he’d grant him a last request and kill him naked.

…anyway, if he’d known that his excursion was going to take such a turn for the dramatic he might have at least picked out some better quality movies.

Edited Date: 2009-04-20 01:58 pm (UTC)

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Nagi took a moment longer to make sure his shields had no holes or Schuldig wasn't about to try and get through after all. When he was assured of that, he looked back at Kudou, reassured by the fact that the man seemed to be thinking really hard about... Something, at least.

He just hoped it'd be enough. He had no desire whatsoever to have Schuldig barging in and busting Kudou's head or... Whatever other irrational action he might take when he found Nagi in Kudou's vicinity.

He also wasn't done with the man yet though.

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Yohji opened his eyes again and fixed them on Nagi. The boy still looked darkly intense.

"Is he coming?" he asked suspiciously.

What he really wanted to say was let me the fuck go, I'm not going to do anything to you, but his impression so far of the boy wasn't one that was likely to heed requests. Nagi's more merciful moments seemed sporadic and entirely self-motivated. If anything Yohji was wary of irritating the kid and giving him a reason to throw him back up in the air.

He did his best to maintain neutral thoughts by refocusing his attention on a swoosh of graffiti a few meters behind Nagi's head. It was a hideous shade of electric yellow. Yohji decided he was more offended by the artist's color palette than by the principle of the vandalism.

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Schuldig drove slowly as he scanned Yohji's mind, picking up on the detailed graffiti he was examining. That, combined with the people he'd seen, and the people that had seen him, it wasn't difficult to find where he, and therefore Nagi, was.

He pulled into the entrance of the alley and shut off the car. Further down, he spotted the two of them, Yohji against the wall, and Nagi looking.. frazzled was the best word for it. As frazzled as Nagi ever allowed himself to look without blowing things up.

"Well well. You seem to be in a bit of a predicament, Kudou." Schuldig said with a lazy grin as he pulled his pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shaking one out and lighting it. "With how much you've been hanging out with us lately, you might as well join up. We could use a token Mundane."

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Farfarello snorted as he walked up behind Schuldig, "Aye, that's true. But from the looks of things, 'e might have a heart attack, stickin' around us this long." He spent a moment, looking Yohji over before turning to Nagi. Seeing how..upset the youth was, he shot Yohji a dark, dangerous look. He wasn't going to put up with the blond if he upset Nagi.

The Irishman moved next to Nagi, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking somewhat concerned. He turned to face Nagi so Yohji wouldn't see, and asked very softly, "Are ye alright? What happened?" He'd kill Kudou if the blond did something to Nagi, Crawford's visions be damned.

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Every swear word Yohji knew rapidly cycled through his head. He ran out far too quickly and improvised by inventing a couple of new ones.

The phrase he’d chosen to brand himself with didn’t even do him justice, he decided. He didn’t have a problem with learning. He apparently had some sort of innate suicide wish. Perhaps if he walked out of this he’d have to have ‘you big fucking idiot’ tacked on to his tattoo.

Probably wouldn’t prove too big of a hit with the ladies, though.

Oh, goddamn was Ran ever going to kill him.

He glared at Schuldig because it was more or less the only thing he could do.

“Maybe I should,” he snapped back insincerely. “It seems like you could use some help in looking out for each other.”

He didn’t even look at Farfarello. It was more than he could deal with.

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Nagi glared at Schuldig with an intensity that would've done Fujimiya justice. The fact that his face was still streaked with tears took away from it though.

"I told you to fuck off Schuldig," he said coldly. Matter of fact.

It was suddenly easy. With something to focus on other than his own distress, he slipped back in the comforting coldness, the numbness he'd learned to perfect in Rosenkreuz. It happened almost without a thought on his part.
The world was a simple place when you simply did not care.

"I am no child and I am by no means defenseless. I do not need your aid. Leave me alone."

He got up from the ground and dusted himself off, his movements deliberate and small, no movement out of place or excess.

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Farfarello narrowed his eyes, not liking that Nagi was bottling everything up inside. It was exactly like he'd been when Farf had first seen the kid.

He stepped in front of the young brunette and made him look Farf in the eye, every inch of the madman showing his concern.

"No, ye're not defenseless, ye're hurtin' though. An' ye know that 'mother Schu' doesn't like when ye hurt." Neither did Farf, but that didn't need to be said. And, he was hoping that he could at least get a smile out of the young man, the hand resting on Nagi's shoulder squeezing gently.

He looked over his shoulder at Schu, lifting an eyebrow slightly. /Can we get this done with an' take Nagi home quickly, please?/ His mental voice was laced with irritation - directed more at Yohji and the whole situation more than Schu.

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"Don't I at least rate the proper gender title?" Schuldig rolled his eyes. "And we all know you're probably the least defenseless of all of us, Nags. Let's go home, you can get some sleep because I know you haven't had enough, and you can tell us what the fuck is going on later."

Suddenly he swung his head to pin his gaze on Yohji. "And if I find out that any of this is even partially your fault, I will personally come to your apartment and gut you like a fish." He growled.

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Despite the tangle of irritation and panic competing for Yohji’s attention, Schwarz’s behavior was incongruous enough to spur a raised eyebrow.

Mother Schu?

What. The. Fuck?

He would have laughed if he wasn’t frozen in place and seriously pissed off.

And, you know, a very significant distance away from the freakazoids.

“Oh I’m sure you will,” Yohji muttered, his voice laced with cynicism, “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but whenever there’s a girl involved everyone manages to find some way to blame me anyway.”

His eyes darted back to the boy and his face softened a degree.

Please. Let me the fuck go.

Shame it wasn’t the kid who was telepathic.

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Nagi stared Farf in the eye for a while, his face slowly growing from completely blank to the slightest bit defiant.

"Will you stop telling me to go to sleep? Both of you. If it's up to you, I'd go to bed at 7 like a pre-schooler."

He didn't deny he was hurt. He knew that Schu and especially Farf knew him too well to believe that for even a moment.

He sighed and withdrew the power still keeping Kudou in place. /Let him go. He had nothing to do with it./ he send to his teammates, before turning to the car. "Let's go."

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Farfarello didn't take that personally; it was Nagi trying to save face, more than anything else, in his opinion. He smiled a little bit and squeezed his shoulder again gently, then looked impassively at the blond. At least he was sure then that Yohji hadn't done anything, so honestly.. He didn't give a damn about the blond anymore.

Except that, they had been looking for the blond for a reason. He cursed inwardly. /I wanna get the kid home, but we need to do what we're here to do.. Crawford'll be pissed if we found Kudou an' just left cause Nagi's upset./

To be honest, Farfarello could barely remember why they were looking for Kudou; he wanted to mother-hen Nagi, not interrogate the blond, and it was distracting.

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A girl. There was only one girl that could make Nagi this upset, and the idea that she might still be alive somewhere, talking vapidly about her day to her stupid stuffed bunny made his blood boil.

"Go." Schuldig scowled at the blond, jerking his head toward the opening of the alley. He wanted Yohji to walk byt his car and see the pretty arrangement sitting inside. He'd picked it not only because it was pretty, but because it was one that Yohji had put together. The man would recognize his own work.

*Why is Schwarz so fucking interested in us? Ever since that damn mission...* He planted the thought in Yohji's mind, knowing he would collaborate with Ran when he returned home, telling the redhead all about his little encounter.

He was positive that Omi would be in Kritiker's files before dinner.

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Yohji froze, not quite believing that he was actually being let go. Now that he actually had the ability to move, the pressing compulsion to do so faded, his curiosity began stepping back up to the plate.

He casually brought up hs arms to cross in front of his chest, his forearm subconsciously drifting to brush against his watch, reassuring himself that this time he was not as defenseless as their previous encounter. The cold plastic contact restored a good degree of his composure.

This was...very weird. All of it. His chance running into Nagi was weird. The alleged Tot-sighting was weird. Schuldig and Farfarello's convenient appearance (how long had it taken them, all of five minutes?) was weird. But not as weird as their behavior. They were fussing and treating Nagi just like that ridiculous kitten. And Nagi was acting like it was normal. Like his psychotic teammates were actually people, instead of sadists. It was incomprehensible.

Yohji eyed both Schuldig and Farfarello warily before fixing his sight back on Nagi. He wished the kid hadn't had the knee-jerk reaction of slamming him with his powers. If he hadn't been thrown immediately on the defensive and into panic mode he might have actually coaxed some insight out of the boy. Now the innate detective in him was stirring and not doing his survival instincts any favors.

He took a slow step backwards in the direction Mastermind had indicated, but made no hurry to depart. There was no chance in hell he was going to turn his back on them for even a second so long as they remained in any sort of weapon range. No amount of kittens or empathy would ever erase the memory of Ouka.

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Farfarello sneered at the sight of Yohji not daring to turn his back to them, and rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything though, simply holding Nagi by the shoulder, nudging him toward the car. When he turned his attention to Nagi, his attitude changed to almost brotherly concern, a frown on his lips.

"Let's go home, Nags. I promise, I won't make ye go to bed right away." He smiled a little, hoping to get a reaction from that. Like Schuldig, he had a good feeling who the girl was, but he didnt' do anything to indicate he'd even heard that. He didn't like Tot, but that didn't matter; he was only concerned about Nagi.

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Nagi rolled his eyes. "I'm no kid! And you try to do that and I'll hang you off the ceiling again!"

He pouted.

"That goes for you too, Schu."

Besides, he had enough to do still. Crawford needed him to find information and he would. He was not about to let his team down simply because of his own emotional turmoil.

His mind was already starting to go over the different strategies to come by said information when the reason he was out and about in the first place occurred to him.

"Besides, I can't come home yet. Still need to get replacements for the cables Miles chewed up. You two can go without me. What were you doing out in the first place?"

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"Unlike some people, I like to leave my cave occasionally. Plus I thought the sicky at home might like some flowers." Schuldig gave Nagi a crooked grin, though inside he wanted to slap the boy for asking something like that in front of Yohji.

//Brad wanted some recon done on Johnson, figured the easiest way was to get Weiss to do it and get the information from them later. Kritiker won't think twice about Omi being in their database. I'm just trying to nudge them in the right direction.//

The smile stayed on his face. "Hop in the car and we'll drive to go get you those cables."

He didn't trust leaving Nagi alone right now. Not after a Tot sighting.

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Schuldig’s carefully chosen words effectively made Yohji’s blood run cold. His caution was instantly forgotten and he whipped his head around to stare at Schwarz’s vacant car.

He didn’t need to look, the second the word ‘flowers’ was dropped, Yohji knew without any question where they had come from.

He’d never been so disquieted by the sight of cattleyas before.

He felt his hand twitch and just barely managed to refrain from grabbing his wire.

Calm the fuck down, moron. They haven’t hurt you. There’s no reason they would have hurt anyone at the shop either.

…maybe.

When do ‘reasons’ ever have anything to do with anything….

“Sonnuva bitch,” he muttered, before turning back to glance over the still loitering Schwarz.

“You have great taste,” he snapped, eyeing Schuldig. “Never would have guessed.” His words dropped more to a mumble as he trailed off.

He hesitated another moment and then concluded that if Schwarz was going to shoot him, they would hardly have any qualms with doing it in his face. He turned but his steps were not hurried as he moved to leave.

“I can’t believe I was actually fucking concerned,” he griped as he shuffled toward the ominous car. “Fuckin’ idiot.”

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Farfarello nudged Nagi to get into the car, smirking a little as he listened to Schuldig baiting the Weiss kitten like he was, chuckling as Yohji responded as expected. Really, the kittens needed to be a lot less...predictable like that.

He focused his attention on Nagi again, smiling a little bit, "C'mon, Nagi; we'll replace those cables, then get home." Crawford needed Nagi working, and he was sure the precog would prefer that Schuldig be somewhere where he could keep an eye on him.

He shuddered as he unconsciously thought of what exactly Crawford might do, to keep 'an eye' on Schu. Really, he didn't need that mental image, and he glared at Schuldig just on principle for it.

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Nagi let out a resigned sigh as he allowed Farf to push him into the car. He suddenly felt too drained to fight much. Besides, the quicker they got out of here, the more chance that Kudou didn't manage to goad Schu into frying the man's brain or making him be arrested for public indecency by having him do the makarena but-naked or something equally traumatizing. He'd had enough trauma for the day.

/You're right. Let's get the cables and get home. I have work to do. Will you take care of Miles for a bit tonight?/ he asked Farfarello.

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