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Coincidence	By : Kiba Category: +. to F > Ai no Kusabi Views: 9481 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Ai no Kusabi, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 36: crossroads

�Kris!� With just one word Raoul stopped the Feron dead in his tracks. Without further notice he walked away, the mongrel still in his arms and the Feron in tow.

�What a pity. Well, that leaves the two of us as potential candidates, Katze.�

The dealer's cigarette travelled from one corner of his mouth to the other before he heaved a sigh. With his left he produced a small item out of his pocket and threw it to Liam.

�Make that one.�

Up to that point the dealer never let show his engagement in any of this and as Kyle blankly answered, �Explain that, Katze.� the redhead shrugged his shoulders.

�As much as I understood, it's a port, very similar to the one in Raven's vertebrae. I can only assume, I was implanted at the same time, wasn't I Liam?�

The joung blond smiled warmly at him, �How'd you figure?�

Katze shrugged again, �Wasn't that hard after Ravens departure.� He got up and followed Raoul. Both Blondies looked at him intently, yet the dealer's loyalty still belonged to Raoul. Kyle would have liked to stop him, but as long as Katzes leash might appear, Raoul still regarded him as part of his household.

One thing was very clear, Kyle wasn't happy about the predicament they all were in, especially since he wasn't in the picture at all.

�So, Liam, what are we to do now?�

�We? We, I suppose, sit and wait but feel free to ask all the questions that surely trouble your mind.� Liam turned to face the Jupiter child, �Can we use your condo?� For some obscure reason the two young man felt drawn to each other. Maybe the ambitious expectations resting on both men's shoulders despite their age created a bond. Moreover they met on equal ground. Kyle became aware of Dorian's remarkable personality improvement with slight amazement. Perhaps he was wrong about the Jupiter child. What to make of Liam he did not know. The young man exuded confidence and authority. Sensing Kyle's eyes on him, he turned to him,

�Does it disturb you that much?�

Kyle's expression remained perfectly controlled. It wasn't that hard to figure how disturbed he was, how disturbed every single Blondie of the upper echelon would be upon his appearance.

�Well, you aren't exactly a Jupiter draft. And for some reason I'm sure you aren't a clone either. Thus the question remains, what are you?�

�How about a coincidence?�

�I don't believe in coincidences.�

�How very wise. I would have expected no less. Truth to be known, my creator never filled me in on that little secret of his. I know for a fact, he doesn't do anything without purpose. I can only guess.�

After a moment of silence Dorian gave way to his internal musings, �You are an almost perfect copy of Jupiter's prized creation. That in itself is a profound demonstration of ability plus your effect on the little mongrel of Am's...�

�Raven!�

�I am sorry... Raven. Your effect on him makes him at least a little more assessable in his actions.�

Kyle gave a snort of laughter, �Yes, he's quite the wildcard, isn't he?�

�That he is. I can assure you, he sidesteps every attempt of power over him. Therefor much more is needed than a simple copy of Raoul's appearance. Although you might be right on the other point.�
Liam stretched, �Come on, let's move this conversation to a more comfortable place.�

�You are such a Blondie.�

�And you aren't?�

A joke? It seemed the Jupiter child wasn't done surprising Kyle.

~~~

When Katze reached the infirmary an invisible tension filled every corner of the room. Raoul stood in front of a doctor, Katze knew to be exceptionally good despite of his Midas inheritence. He still had Raven in his arms. The way he held him, every look he granted him with, made abundantly clear how close they were, inadvertently scaring the stuff into stagnancy.

Beside him Kris heaved a sigh. The last years had changed the ex-pet, as Katze noticed, but he didn't look as scrawny nor gaunt as Raven. He seized a gurney and rolled it over to where the trio stood.

�Raoul.�

The Blondie set the body down but the staff wouldn't move. He gritted his jaw, his pupils dilating into small slits as he willed the medics into action.

About twenty minutes later Raven was settled into a hospital room, attached to a bedside monitor and several infusions. He looked like a ghost of himself.

�He won't wake anytime soon, if at all,� the medic explained, �The damage is severe. In all honesty, if he had come earlier, the process would have been reversible. As it is now, I'm not even sure whether I'm able to fix the cellular damage.�

�Failure is not an option.�

�That, Lord Am, doesn't lie within even your control. Why haven't you come earlier? He must have been in lots of pain for quite some time.�

The doctor attached Raven's file to the bed railing when he got no answer and left the room. Immediately Raoul took seat next to his beloved pet, brushing the sweat damp strands out of his face. The Feron stood right beside him,

�Why didn't you tell, me Raven?�

Katze strolled over to them, took the file and searched into Raven's condition. After seeing the encephalogram, he highly doubted Raven would wake anytime soon � would wake at all.

�You would have forced him to return.�

Two pairs of eyes settled on the dealer at his remark.

�Wouldn't you?�

�Of course I would.�

�You think he would have been able to deal with you and Raoul?�

The Feron fell silent, anger flared within him when he muttered, �Such an idiot.�

Despite the time gap, Katze knew Raven very well. He knew his internal musings. One could say he knew him down to his very core. Of course Raven would not leave Kris in order to save his live. It wasn't as if he didn't value it, but otherwise than Katze, he wasn't able to simply do what was necessary. Moreover he wasn't able to cast a beloved being aside or hurt it � not even in the face of his own ruin, if he even allowed himself to realize the severity of his own condition. Katze could only assume it to be a consequence of Danae's death.

There he was, the little mongrel. Not so little anymore, grown into an adult and yet still a child on so many levels. He simply could have Katze open the negotiations but that stupid pride of his - remarkably equal to the stubborn pride of his father - forbade to adopt the right measures. Well, the sentence still hung like a dark cloud above his head. 'Don't rely on me.' How he wished, he'd never said those words. He put the file back and left the room in dire need of a cigarette. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught sight of Kris sitting down behind Raoul and leaning against the Blondie.

~~~

Arian had known empaths to be reserved, but for a Karinese Elaran was surprisingly open if not pushy. Yet the expected feeling of unease didn't settle in with the elite when Elaran bombarded him with questions. To his surprise he couldn't answer half of them. And there were questions he seeked answeres to.

�Why did you withdraw from the case?�

Hazall shrugged his shoulders, �For several reasons. The pet is beautiful, isn't he?� He poured himself a glass of wine and leaned back, crossing his legs. �Have you ever seen the original one?�

Arian cocked his eyebrows, �I wasn't aware there was an original one.�

�Ah.� The chairman smiled, �I have never seen him in person, but I know for a fact, he existed. A pure blooded Ceres mongrel by the name of Riki.� Whatever memories the chairman dwelled on, he didn't tell much more, �Whatever Mink saw in the first dark one, Am brought it out in this.�

Well, the mongrel was registered to Am, labeled as an experimental type. When Hazall fell silent, Elaran meddled in, �A pity, I would have liked to come to know the dark one. He has quite a reputation. Unfortunately I received direct order from the owner �� He stood up and stretched. With a lopsided grin towards the puzzled elite he declared, �To cut a long story short - the carrier hadn't delivered yet.�

�You are in contact with Lord Am?�

�Not at all.� Elaran pointed to his head, �Lord Am orders. I just listen. It's pretty much a one way conversation.�

�Why, Arian, chooses a Tanagura Blondie to join forces with the dissidents?�

Utterly unabashed Elaran leaned over, ghosting the knuckeles of his right over Arian's cheekbone. The Karinese knew. Arian cupped Elaran's chin, lifting it to meet eyes with the other man. The Karinese prayed in on his feelings, but where other men might have been offended the Elite welcomed the intrusion for it testified emotions being there.

A young domestic servant interrupted the trio by announcing a call from Eos tower.

~~~

It was Raoul who left the hospital first, his shoulders rigid with tension when he recognized Kyle's footfall behind him. He wanted to move away into the privacy of his apartment. He wanted to grieve but bid him welcome instead, knowing perfectly well that Jupiter had summoned him, as it had Raoul.

They wandered towards Eos tower, neither speaking a word. There was nothing to say. The system still malfuncioned. At one point the data traffic got heavily disturbed until Daars was totally incommunicado. Programer tried to repair the corrupted clusters in all main systems while Jupiter remained analyzing. But the AI was present again.

After a sheer endless ride in the elevator, both Blondies entered the inner sanctum. Perceptive little cameras followed every move of the elites as Raoul's own jade orbs followed the subtle shift of muscles beneath Kyle's skin. An icy shiver travelled down Raoul's back when the AI tried to contact him. He crossed over to the armchair in the middle of the room and yielded.

His mind opened up, trembling, waiting for the question, the AI couldn't sort out on its own:

'What is my nature?'
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Coincidence