Tears of Truth Part 10
Please pay attention to previous disclaimers and warnings. New Warning: Mentions of previous Male/Male sex in a conversation.
Summary: Hiriko finds out about a previous mission of Schuldig's which distracts her from their current work and leaves her confused on a personal front as well.
Hiriko was torn between rushing down to meet with Schuldig and forcing herself to take it slow so that she could prepare herself for whatever it was he wanted to talk about. At least even if it wasn't something she wanted to discuss it would be over quickly and then they wouldn't have to mention it again. At least she did her best to convince herself that would be the case. She really hadn't done much one on one talking to her brother since they had put her training on the back burner. He had told her that she was good enough to accomplish what Kritiker would ask of her and that he would give her time to consider where they would go next. Of course she had been thankful since she would rather not deal with it anyway, but she figured that he wouldn't let her slack off for too much longer. Perhaps after this joint mission he would demand to know what she intended to do.
She took a deep breath as she entered the small cafe. It was nice she had to admit, and there weren't too many people so it didn't feel crowded. She found him pretty quickly. It looked like he hadn't ordered yet sipping on a glass of water as he watched for her. She gave him a slight grin though he probably could tell, even without his ability, that she was nervous. She didn't figure she had to hide it so she took a sip of water before glancing at him. "Aya mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something."
"Yes, and how appropriate it was him. I didn't know who would give the message actually. I simply called the room earlier and told them the first one of the four to see you should send you down here. I needed time to sort out exactly how to explain." He didn't look like it was causing any trouble as he gave her a mischievous grin. "Before we have to face our father I should find out what you know about him. I'm sure Omi has given you some information, but there are things even he would have a hard time finding out. But first, there's something you should know about me, and it concerns Aya as well."
"Okay, what?" She knew their history of fighting each other so it had to be more than that, but then what could it be?
"One of my previous missions was to get inside the minds of each member of Weiss. I was to test them and see how strong their control was, plant codewords if necessary, things like that. I was also to see if they had any information useful to us, which wasn't likely but Brad is nothing if not thorough. Now, little sister, remember when I first starting training you?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Be more specific." He seemed to be hinting something was more important than she realized.
"Okay, ummmmm...wait a minute I was unconscious." That was really the only thing that was different than any other time they had worked on her telepathy.
"Exactly. It is always easier to get deep into someone's mind when they are unconscious. The deeper the sleep, the harder it is for them to awake, the deeper you can go." He took a sip of water waiting for her to say something.
"What...okay so you got into their minds while they were asleep?" Did Kritiker know that? She should warn them if she ever got the chance.
"I don't know if their bosses know." He shrugged. "And it doesn't matter. I've implanted all the necessary things in their minds so that I can control them at any time." He grinned.
"I'm still going to warn them." She said stubbornly.
"Do whatever. But you aren't seeing the whole picture. Think very carefully, Hiriko." His facial expression was more serious as he turned from watching her to glance out the window.
"What do you mean? So they were asleep at some point and you were near them. You could have been outside and still done whatever it was." She wasn't missing anything.
"That is true, but they are trained assassins. Do you honestly think they would sleep so deeply I could accomplish it all in one or two nights? I am the best, make no mistake about that, but something like that takes time, concentration. You must break down barriers people sometimes do not even know they have put up. And closeness, touch, often aids in accomplishing this." He watched for a few more seconds and then he must have seen something on her face because he gave a very familiar grin.
"You slept with them?" Her eyes were wide and she didn't even realize that she had dropped her water glass.
"Oh, not with Chibi. I'm not into children, but yes I've slept with Yoji, Aya and Ken. Aya of course took the most time." He grinned. "And when Nagi developed a little crush on Omi he helped me accomplish my work by bringing him home. It took longer because I couldn't actually touch him, but I managed anyway." He continued to drink his water acting as if nothing had changed.
"You.." She shook her head. "Wait, that is what you meant about Ken, right? You are going to use whatever you've done to him?"
"I might have to, but really the fact he is the most open in some ways is useful for a different reason." He put his glass down and leaned forward slightly. "Now, you see the real reason I told you all of this is because getting close to Aya was indeed a challenge, very fun really, and since we are working together I find myself reminded of our old times. If you don't make a move, little sister, I am beginning to think I might. I mean he isn't attached to anyone what harm would there be?" And the glint was back in his eyes almost as if they hadn't had their previous serious conversation.
She opened her mouth a few times, finally giving up when no words found their way out. She hoped she looked angry as she attempted to glare at him.
"I think I will give you until the end of our little mission here to make a move. If you don't I will consider him fair game." Their conversation couldn't have taken as long as it felt because the waiter just at that moment arrived to take their order.
"I'm not very hungry." She hoped it didn't seem rude as she stood and left. She didn't stop until she reached her hotel room. It took all of her effort not to slam the door as she shut it. She leaned against it trying to sort out her thoughts. She wished they had never had their talk because now it was going to be impossible not to think of it over and over again for the whole day. She still hadn't eaten and they had rounds to make so she'd have to deal with him for the rest of the day. She had to calm down before the rain stopped. She had to concentrate on the mission and hopefully she would be distracted enough that she could forget it. Well, no she'd never forget it but at least she wouldn't focus on hopefully.
She finally calmed down enough to order some food and by the time she was done eating the knock she had been partially dreading came. She wasn't ready, but at least she could handle it for a short time. It was just another perk of having privacy here. Once this evening was over at least she would have alone time to begin to sort it out.
They didn't talk much as he pretended to show her some of the sights. They finally came to a small bridge that didn't look like somewhere many out of town travelers would know to come. "I can tell you that our father is definitely involved in whatever this whole business is."
"How do you know?" Good, she had to concentrate on this and not on anything else.
"I've seen trucks marked with the logo of a company that he always uses when he attempts to be legitimate. Most of the time he doesn't care, but seeming like a normal business man does have its uses."
"Okay, so we need to tell the others. Have you noticed anything else we should tell them?"
"No. He is never obvious when he makes his moves, and he's had a lot of practice in blocking people with Talents."
"Does he have...I mean is he a telepath?"
"Yes. He doesn't use it often, but he is quite clever with it, and there are always others around him with Talents." He sounded displeased, almost upset for just a moment, but then it seemed to pass and he glanced to the other side of the bridge. "We've accomplished what we set out too. He saw me, and you, and he's aware that there are strangers in town. It's likely he will send someone to intercept us, or we will be invited to wherever it is he has set up operations."
"Wait, how do you know he saw us?"
"I made sure someone who knew my face saw us. They won't know who you are, but you can be sure that he will fix that by the time we actually have to face him."
"Okay, okay." It would be easy if she could just not trust him, but it was just too complicated. She wanted her life to be simple, but she knew that just wasn't ever going to happen again. Too much had happened and maybe looking back she wasn't sure she would change any of it. That was the price that must be paid for knowing all those things she knew now, and any future answers she might find about her past.
"Tomorrow you are going to go with Aya to a park I'll give you directions to when we get back. Whatever is likely to happen will happen when we are separated. You will have to just let it happen, but Aya will have to put up a convincing fight just for show. Our father will be suspicious if he thinks we expect to see him at the end of all this." Schuldig seemed to like giving orders a bit too much, or was this what Brad directed him to say? She needed to know more about the American before things went much further. She wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen with her work with Kritiker, but she knew that Schwarz would be involved one way or another.
Now it was up to her to figure out what to do about Aya. Everything was happening so fast, well at least for her it was. He needed to know what Schuldig had revealed, but she still didn't know where she stood. If she didn't give them a chance she would never know and she forced herself to consider how she felt about that. Whatever her decision she had very little time to act and the mission would only complicate anything. She sighed as she and Schuldig made their way back to the hotel. Maybe Aya would be up for a talk when they all got back? If so would she actually have the courage to say what she needed to? And was she even sure of show she felt?
Summary: Hiriko finds out about a previous mission of Schuldig's which distracts her from their current work and leaves her confused on a personal front as well.
Hiriko was torn between rushing down to meet with Schuldig and forcing herself to take it slow so that she could prepare herself for whatever it was he wanted to talk about. At least even if it wasn't something she wanted to discuss it would be over quickly and then they wouldn't have to mention it again. At least she did her best to convince herself that would be the case. She really hadn't done much one on one talking to her brother since they had put her training on the back burner. He had told her that she was good enough to accomplish what Kritiker would ask of her and that he would give her time to consider where they would go next. Of course she had been thankful since she would rather not deal with it anyway, but she figured that he wouldn't let her slack off for too much longer. Perhaps after this joint mission he would demand to know what she intended to do.
She took a deep breath as she entered the small cafe. It was nice she had to admit, and there weren't too many people so it didn't feel crowded. She found him pretty quickly. It looked like he hadn't ordered yet sipping on a glass of water as he watched for her. She gave him a slight grin though he probably could tell, even without his ability, that she was nervous. She didn't figure she had to hide it so she took a sip of water before glancing at him. "Aya mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something."
"Yes, and how appropriate it was him. I didn't know who would give the message actually. I simply called the room earlier and told them the first one of the four to see you should send you down here. I needed time to sort out exactly how to explain." He didn't look like it was causing any trouble as he gave her a mischievous grin. "Before we have to face our father I should find out what you know about him. I'm sure Omi has given you some information, but there are things even he would have a hard time finding out. But first, there's something you should know about me, and it concerns Aya as well."
"Okay, what?" She knew their history of fighting each other so it had to be more than that, but then what could it be?
"One of my previous missions was to get inside the minds of each member of Weiss. I was to test them and see how strong their control was, plant codewords if necessary, things like that. I was also to see if they had any information useful to us, which wasn't likely but Brad is nothing if not thorough. Now, little sister, remember when I first starting training you?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Be more specific." He seemed to be hinting something was more important than she realized.
"Okay, ummmmm...wait a minute I was unconscious." That was really the only thing that was different than any other time they had worked on her telepathy.
"Exactly. It is always easier to get deep into someone's mind when they are unconscious. The deeper the sleep, the harder it is for them to awake, the deeper you can go." He took a sip of water waiting for her to say something.
"What...okay so you got into their minds while they were asleep?" Did Kritiker know that? She should warn them if she ever got the chance.
"I don't know if their bosses know." He shrugged. "And it doesn't matter. I've implanted all the necessary things in their minds so that I can control them at any time." He grinned.
"I'm still going to warn them." She said stubbornly.
"Do whatever. But you aren't seeing the whole picture. Think very carefully, Hiriko." His facial expression was more serious as he turned from watching her to glance out the window.
"What do you mean? So they were asleep at some point and you were near them. You could have been outside and still done whatever it was." She wasn't missing anything.
"That is true, but they are trained assassins. Do you honestly think they would sleep so deeply I could accomplish it all in one or two nights? I am the best, make no mistake about that, but something like that takes time, concentration. You must break down barriers people sometimes do not even know they have put up. And closeness, touch, often aids in accomplishing this." He watched for a few more seconds and then he must have seen something on her face because he gave a very familiar grin.
"You slept with them?" Her eyes were wide and she didn't even realize that she had dropped her water glass.
"Oh, not with Chibi. I'm not into children, but yes I've slept with Yoji, Aya and Ken. Aya of course took the most time." He grinned. "And when Nagi developed a little crush on Omi he helped me accomplish my work by bringing him home. It took longer because I couldn't actually touch him, but I managed anyway." He continued to drink his water acting as if nothing had changed.
"You.." She shook her head. "Wait, that is what you meant about Ken, right? You are going to use whatever you've done to him?"
"I might have to, but really the fact he is the most open in some ways is useful for a different reason." He put his glass down and leaned forward slightly. "Now, you see the real reason I told you all of this is because getting close to Aya was indeed a challenge, very fun really, and since we are working together I find myself reminded of our old times. If you don't make a move, little sister, I am beginning to think I might. I mean he isn't attached to anyone what harm would there be?" And the glint was back in his eyes almost as if they hadn't had their previous serious conversation.
She opened her mouth a few times, finally giving up when no words found their way out. She hoped she looked angry as she attempted to glare at him.
"I think I will give you until the end of our little mission here to make a move. If you don't I will consider him fair game." Their conversation couldn't have taken as long as it felt because the waiter just at that moment arrived to take their order.
"I'm not very hungry." She hoped it didn't seem rude as she stood and left. She didn't stop until she reached her hotel room. It took all of her effort not to slam the door as she shut it. She leaned against it trying to sort out her thoughts. She wished they had never had their talk because now it was going to be impossible not to think of it over and over again for the whole day. She still hadn't eaten and they had rounds to make so she'd have to deal with him for the rest of the day. She had to calm down before the rain stopped. She had to concentrate on the mission and hopefully she would be distracted enough that she could forget it. Well, no she'd never forget it but at least she wouldn't focus on hopefully.
She finally calmed down enough to order some food and by the time she was done eating the knock she had been partially dreading came. She wasn't ready, but at least she could handle it for a short time. It was just another perk of having privacy here. Once this evening was over at least she would have alone time to begin to sort it out.
They didn't talk much as he pretended to show her some of the sights. They finally came to a small bridge that didn't look like somewhere many out of town travelers would know to come. "I can tell you that our father is definitely involved in whatever this whole business is."
"How do you know?" Good, she had to concentrate on this and not on anything else.
"I've seen trucks marked with the logo of a company that he always uses when he attempts to be legitimate. Most of the time he doesn't care, but seeming like a normal business man does have its uses."
"Okay, so we need to tell the others. Have you noticed anything else we should tell them?"
"No. He is never obvious when he makes his moves, and he's had a lot of practice in blocking people with Talents."
"Does he have...I mean is he a telepath?"
"Yes. He doesn't use it often, but he is quite clever with it, and there are always others around him with Talents." He sounded displeased, almost upset for just a moment, but then it seemed to pass and he glanced to the other side of the bridge. "We've accomplished what we set out too. He saw me, and you, and he's aware that there are strangers in town. It's likely he will send someone to intercept us, or we will be invited to wherever it is he has set up operations."
"Wait, how do you know he saw us?"
"I made sure someone who knew my face saw us. They won't know who you are, but you can be sure that he will fix that by the time we actually have to face him."
"Okay, okay." It would be easy if she could just not trust him, but it was just too complicated. She wanted her life to be simple, but she knew that just wasn't ever going to happen again. Too much had happened and maybe looking back she wasn't sure she would change any of it. That was the price that must be paid for knowing all those things she knew now, and any future answers she might find about her past.
"Tomorrow you are going to go with Aya to a park I'll give you directions to when we get back. Whatever is likely to happen will happen when we are separated. You will have to just let it happen, but Aya will have to put up a convincing fight just for show. Our father will be suspicious if he thinks we expect to see him at the end of all this." Schuldig seemed to like giving orders a bit too much, or was this what Brad directed him to say? She needed to know more about the American before things went much further. She wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen with her work with Kritiker, but she knew that Schwarz would be involved one way or another.
Now it was up to her to figure out what to do about Aya. Everything was happening so fast, well at least for her it was. He needed to know what Schuldig had revealed, but she still didn't know where she stood. If she didn't give them a chance she would never know and she forced herself to consider how she felt about that. Whatever her decision she had very little time to act and the mission would only complicate anything. She sighed as she and Schuldig made their way back to the hotel. Maybe Aya would be up for a talk when they all got back? If so would she actually have the courage to say what she needed to? And was she even sure of show she felt?