Red Shaman

Farf tilted his head slightly, listening. “Incoming.”



Omi, Ghost and Nagi all nodded. Ghost was curled into Omi's lap with her legs thrown across Nagi's. The three of them looked quite cozy and very comfortable with each other.



“This has to be totally believable, guys,” Ghost said.



“It will be,” Nagi said, sliding his hand behind Omi's neck and pulling him toward him for a kiss just as the door opened to reveal their escort.



Ghost was avidly watching them kiss. She blinked for a moment speculating what had brought that on. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen them kiss a thousand times by this point. Maybe it was the tension of the mission that was making her notice things. Blaze always said everyone was usually hyper aware due to adrenaline rush during a mission. //Wonder if Blaze feels like this watching her husbands kiss each other?//



//Oh, yeah. Baby doll, you have no idea//, came Blaze's voice into her head.



Ghost grinned a little as their escort cleared his throat. The boys broke apart and stared like they'd never seen each other before for a minute.



Farf smirked a little. //Guess that answers the boys, girls or both question.//



//Nagi, was it really necessary to examine my back teeth for cavities with your tongue?//



Nagi shrugged. //Just getting into the role. If that little bit squicks you, we're so screwed in the bad way.//



//Oh, please. It isn't like you haven't done this a hundred times before when we were practicing//, Ghost said, exasperated.



“Please follow me,” their escort said hollowly. Ghost could have sworn he was a pale shade of green.



//Try not to make this poor bastard flip out any more than he's already inclined to, chibis.//



//Not our fault he has issues, Farf,// Nagi said.



Farf tapped into his and Nagi's private wavelength so the other two wouldn't hear them.



//Will you be okay after this mission finishes, Nagi?//



//I don't know, Farf. I don't want to leave Schwarz. But I don't want to leave them either.//



//I was afraid something like this would happen. We got laced in too tight too fast with everyone. Star has Ken and I wrapped around those pretty little fingers of hers. Then there are my ties to Edana. Crawford actually enjoys Edana's company. Weirdest thing in the world. She *does* tend to attract suits. Plus, we aren't getting Schuldig away from Skye with anything short of C-4 and a crowbar. Maybe not even then.//



//This is just a big mess.//



//Don't stress on it too much. I doubt Edana has any problems with you seeing Ghost. And I'd like to see Weiss try to keep you away from their youngest kitten//, Farf smirked.



//You're sort of creepy in a hyper aware kind of way sometimes, Farf.//



//Everyone has their talents.//



They were led into one of the smaller rooms that had been set up with a kind of gallery. Several large, comfortable looking chairs were occupied by several large, comfortable looking men. All eyes were on the three youngest as they came through the door, followed closely by Farf.



“I thought you said there were only three for this little show?” one of the men complained. “That one looks too old to be involved in this,” he said, pointing to Farf.



“Oh, don't trouble yourself,” Farf said, smiling slightly. “I'm only here for security reasons.”



“But we already have security.”



“It isn't *your* safety I'm concerned with,” Farf said casually.



Ghost swallowed hard then wrapped her arms around both boys. Kissing first Nagi then Omi.



//Do you guys feel unclean just being in the same room with these people?//



//Oh, yeah//, Nagi said.



//Ditto.//



//Star, we need your expertise on this now//, Ghost called.



//Let me roll through the minds of these sleazeballs for a second and see what kind of “show” they want. You need to get those kids out ASAP before the evening starts in earnest. Okay, got it. Gods, guys like this are so easy to read and so predictable. You can throw the glamour to cover you getting out of the room. Make sure to cover the auditory of the door closing as well.//



//Gotcha.//



//Okay, babies. On my mark. Go.//



It barely took a blink for Ghost to cover Nagi, Omi, Farf and herself, leaving them essentially invisible while the visually generated replicas of them stayed in their respective places. She decided that it was very odd to watch herself kiss both boys. It was even more odd to watch Nagi turn the color of Aya's hair while watching his other self slide one hand under her skirt.



//Star is too good at this kind of thing//, Nagi said.



Everyone else nodded in agreement.



//Get going. I'll spin this out as long as possible and try not to think about the fact that it's you three.//



//Star, you so rock!//



//Thanks. Get those kids out of this hell hole. We've already made arrangements for them to be taken somewhere safe until we're finished. Don't need them any more traumatized than they already will be. Though I don't think most of them would mind watching these scumbags die. I have to keep this blocked off from Sunny otherwise he'll be trying to kill the wrong people tonight. He's probably going to try and behead Schu anyway.//



//Why?//



//Hehehe. You should see the big whonkin' hickey on Skye's neck.//



//Yep. Sunny's going to kill him.//



The four of them hurried out the door. Ghost took special care to cover the door closing both in visual and sound. They were halfway down the hall when the door to the room they had just left opened and their “escort” came out and hurried toward them.



Ghost blinked. “He can see us.”



“Yes, he can,” Farf said, pulling one of the knives. “I don't want to hurt you,” he said warningly to the other man.



“You won't have to. Are you getting them out?”



“Bet your ass we are.”



“I already am. Follow me then. There are a few that are already locked in rooms by themselves. I have the keys. We'll need to get them out first because the pigs will be coming for them as soon as the “show” is over. The rest, as I'm sure you already know, are together.”



“You don't seem freaked out by what's going on in there,” Nagi said, sensing faint sparks of power in the man.



“I wouldn't be. I'm an empath. I felt the energy shift. I didn't see you leave but I felt it. Look, I know you don't trust me and you don't have to. You could probably kill me easily if I did turn on you.”



“That,” Farf said, “Is a certainty.”



The man smiled a little. “I thought as much from the moment I saw you.”



“Why now?” Farf asked as they hurried down the stairs to the next level. “Why not sooner?”



“With no back up and in a place where no one else really gives a shit? I'd have been dead in two seconds and that would have left my kids open to these bastards. I'll help you get them out because I think you're probably the only ones who can get them away from here.”



“That's probably true enough.”









*When I look at you these days

I think of all we've been through

You and I are one and the same

And I thank god for you.*





Tatsumi wound his way through the crowd, Blaze by his side and Watari following closely behind. His mind was spinning. Who could this woman be? Surely it wasn't a former lover. He'd had so few and those he had been with long term were already dead, he'd filed the paperwork himself.



The older woman looked up and locked eyes with him from several paces away. That stare nearly knocked him down. He knew her. Somewhere in time they had crossed paths on a daily basis. He could feel it but couldn't put a finger on who she was.



*I remember the youth and the days gone by

And it hurts me to see the age in your eyes

How I wish I could turn back the hands of time

And do it all over again.*



The small party stopped in front of her wheelchair. Tatsumi bowed deeply to her. What caught his attention was her eyes, slightly dulled by advanced age, but still a deep, sparkling blue.



“What is it you wish of me, madam?” he asked. Keeping his tone neutral and very formal until he found out exactly what was going on here.



She smiled up at him. “It really is you, isn't it, Seiichiro. At first I thought you might have had a woman we didn't know about and you were a grandson. But it is you. There's no mistake. I knew it when I saw you arguing with this young lady and that vein near you temple started throbbing like it always has.”



“How do you know me?”



She laughed. “I've known you all my life, Seiichiro. You're a shinigami now, aren't you?”



He nodded sharply, partially in shock. Not knowing what to make of this situation and still not having any clue as to who this woman might be.



*You were always here for me

And I'll be there for you

You taught me how to live my life

You're the strength that pulls me through.*



“I remember you used to always walk me home from school every day,” she said with a smile. “Even though it meant taking time off from work early.”



Blaze was looking from the old woman to Tatsumi and back again when something dawned on her. She and Watari came to the same conclusion at the same time. Watari stared at Blaze around Tatsumi's back, his amber eyes wide with the ensuing shock of realization.



Tatsumi's breath hitched and his chest tightened painfully. There was only one person in the world he had taken off work early for when he was alive.



“S-Setsuhen?” he said, eyes wide in amazement.



She nodded, beaming up at him.



He dropped to his knees in front of her and put his head in her lap. “I can't believe it.”





*So many times you were tough on me

I just didn't understand

Looking back I realize

That you made me a better man.*





“I didn't think you were quite so dense, Seiichiro,” she said, stroking his hair. “My niisan.”



“Imotuo.”



//Gran, much as this is really sweet and I hate to break up the happy reunion, you need to have the shadow boy get his sister and who I'm guessing is his niece out of here. Pronto. They're starting to move downstairs.//



//I'll be there shortly, Star. Thank you.//



Blaze leaned forward and brought Tatsumi up by the shoulders then wrapped both arms around him. Trusting that Star would keep the whole scene blocked from prying eyes, she reached for Watari too. She held on to the men she loved briefly before stepping back and kissing each of them in turn.



“You have to get them out of here, Chiro,” she said, nodding to his sister and niece. “Certain things are already in play and …”



“I understand,” came Setsuhen's voice from the wheelchair. “This is your wife, Seiichiro,” she said, looking at Blaze then turning her eyes to Watari. “And your husband.”



“How did you . . .” Tatsumi began, sounding startled.



“No great magick on my part, niisan. Your rings all match. Something dangerous is about to happen and you need to keep me safe from it. Correct?”



“Hai.”



“Let's be on our way then,” she said. “It was a pleasure to meet you, young lady. I hope to see you again soon in better circumstances.”



Blaze bowed deeply to her. “It is an honor to meet the family of one of my husbands.”



“I think that you and this young man here,” she said, nodding toward Watari, “are his family now.”



Blaze smiled at her and hugged both men again. “I love you two. Take her out of here. And keep yourselves away as well. I want you safe,” she said pointedly, turning and walking away.



“Not happening, koiishi,” Watari called after her.



Setsuhen chuckled. “You have quite an interesting afterlife, niisan.”



“Sometimes it's more *interesting* than I want to handle,” Tatsumi said, watching his wife walk across the room to where Crawford stood waiting for her.





While walking across the room, Blaze regained her composure somewhat, snapping back almost instantly into the rhythm of the mission.



//All team members report.//



//Abyssinian and Balinese: One target eliminated, zeroing in on the next as of now, Aya said. The body was pushed through the bathroom window and glamoured by Star to look like a shrub.//



//Not, sadly, the George Bush variety, Star said. Target eliminated by us too, Gran. Siberian took him out. He's in the bathroom.//



//Glamoured?//



Star laughed. //Yeah, Sunny glamoured him to look like a urinal.//



//I find that oddly appropriate//, Blaze said.



//So did I.//



//Sunny?//



//One down. Nudging the other one in Balinese and Abyssinian's direction.//



//We're on target, Mistress. Should have him down within the next few minutes//, Schuldig said.



//We're good down here, Edana. We have unexpected help//, Farf said, sounding amused.



//What kind of unexpected help?// Blaze asked her eyes narrowing shrewdly as she took Crawford's arm.



//Our “escort” for the evening hates this setup more than we do.//



Blaze blinked in startled surprise. //Why?//



//They threatened the safety of his children.//



//Ah. Think you can trust him?//



//Don't see why not. If he proves me wrong, I can always kill him just as easily as I can anyone else.//



//Go with it for now. Let me know if anything drastic happens. Babies?//



//We're here.//



//We're fine.//



//Stop worrying so much, Blaze.//



//I won't stop worrying until everyone gets out of here safe.//



Blaze barely heard the little mental whimper from Schuldig before he clamped down on it hard.





“Sorry, Mistress. You may not get your wish for that tonight,” Schuldig said quietly, so only Skye was able to hear him.



//Yes, she will, Schu. I will not let them take you.//



//You may not be able to stop it, lieb.//



Skye smiled up at him. //Watch me.//







********Author's Notes*******

The song used in this chapter is My Friend by VanZandt.