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Chapter 4
"Huh?" Heather sat up and rubbed at her eyes as someone bumped her sleeping bag. She looked blearily up to see Youji firmly attached to the bookshelves beyond her head with his less damaged arm as he tried to walk. "W-what the hell are you doing out of that bed?!"
"Going back to Weiss," Youji told her firmly. "Go back to sleep."
"No, you get back to sleep!" Heather wormed out of the bag and stood up. "You're going to reopen all your stitches and start bleeding to death all over again. Then where will you be?" She carefully slid his uninjured arm over her shoulder and forced him to walk back to the bed.
"Where am I?" Youji demanded as he let himself be sat down on the bed.
"You're at my house in Rossland where your friends brought you last night. You owe me a lot for helping you out with bandages and such so I'm going to call the favor and make you stay in bed for the next few days," Heather leaned him back onto the mattress and tucked the blanket around him again.
"Where have the others gone?" Youji winced slightly as he moved the wrong way and his wounds sent him warning twinges of pain.
"Back to your base. Now stay still," Heather checked under several bandages that hadn't been glued down with blood. "The bad news is that we have some other company staying here too, now."
"Ah, you've awakened," Crawford strode into the room fully dressed.
"Schwartz!" Youji hissed and only the pressure of Heather's hands on the uninjured parts of his chest kept Youji from trying to attack the tall American.
"Stay still!" Heather growled at him. "We're stuck in a hostage situation and killing yourself is not going to help."
"Heed her advice," Crawford moved aside to let Brittany enter the room with a medical kit and exited the room.
"Those are your guests?!" Youji was enraged. "And what kind of hostage situation is this, anyway?"
"We're the hostages and they're staying here until they find whatever they're after," Brittany set the medical kit down beside Youji.
"Great... Does the rest of Weiss know yet?" Youji let his head fall back onto the pillow in temporary defeat.
"No, so far we're the only ones who know and I, personally, am just fine with being alive to discuss this," Heather went to fetch some warm water and washcloths from the nearby bathroom.
"How are you feeling?" Brittany pulled the blanket down to Youji's waist to see his bandages.
"Pretty well besides that fact that I hurt like hell," Youji managed to smile up at Brittany. "And could one of you please tell me how I was graced with the presence of such beautiful nurses?"
"You were damn lucky and survived last night," Heather returned and set the bowl she was carrying on the bedside table.
"I don't think God was being fair when he let me have the both of you to take care of me," Youji said eloquently.
"Shut-up you, I'm not even legal yet," Brittany grinned as Heather dampened a washcloth and handed it to her.
"She's right, I'm the only one who's eighteen so far," Heather carefully dampened some of the bloodier bandages in an effort to loosen them.
"So cold," Youji raised a hand to gently take Heather's chin in his hand.
"Be good or I'll use some of the knockout medicine in this thing on you," Heather blushed as she handed Youji a pill. "For now could you just take this painkiller?"
"Not a problem my dear," Youji swallowed the pill with a grimace. "Would one of you fetch me some water, please?"
"I'll get it," Heather stood up and left the room as Brittany continued to flirt lightly with Youji. "I see you found the coffee already, Crawford," she walked into the kitchen.
"Yes," Crawford was typing away at a laptop he'd set on the roll-top desk in the sun room, empty coffee mug in attendance.
"Good morning Sunshine to you too," Heather grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with filtered water from the fridge. On her way back to the room she passed Nagi yawning as he walked out of his bedroom. "Good morning, Nagi."
"What did you say?" He stopped and gave her a weird look.
"Good morning? As in I hope you have a good morning and a nice day?" Heather gave him a quick hug as she walked by. "If you want it there's cereal in the cupboard by the fridge, one of them is that colored and puffed sugar crap my little brothers like so much." Nagi stayed frozen in shock for a moment after Heather had passed, had she just hugged him?
"Nagi, hurry up and eat your breakfast," Crawford prompted and the young teen quickly headed into the kitchen to find his breakfast.
"Here you go Youji," Heather handed the cup to him and sat cross-legged beside his torso to start gently dampening the dried blood holding his bandages down with a liquid painkiller. "Tell me if this starts to hurt you too much, kay?"
"Don't worry, I will," Youji sipped at the water as Heather started removing old bandages and cleaning the wounds before Brittany attached more gauze to them.
"What on earth did you do to get this beaten up?" Brittany asked as she gauzed the fifth minor wound.
"Got in a small fight," Youji brushed away the question. "The pain is starting to dull now, you can probably take that off."
"Alright then," Heather started to gently pry at the large bandage around Youji's chest.
"Not that much though!" Youji sucked in a breath of air with a hiss.
"Sorry, I'll finish this last little one first then," Heather moved to another bandage after dripping more painkiller on the stubborn one.
"What kind of fight? Wounds like this just don't happen in Rossland unless you get on the wrong side of a bear or cougar," Brittany pulled out some more gauze.
"Nothing much," Youji poked at his chest. "I think it should be okay now."
*****
Twenty minutes and a partially Youji-whining/flirting induced headache later Heather carried the bloody cloths downstairs and found a large fuzzy towel and some new clothes for the day. She wandered back upstairs and walked over to check on Nagi who was flipping through the computer games.
"Myst and its sequel are already completely installed on the computer if you want to play those," She suggested with a smile.
"Thank you," The words left Nagi's lips a little stiffly and with an accent.
"You're welcome," Heather grinned and turned to head for the bathroom. "I'm gonna have a shower so all of you stay out of the bathroom, kay?"
::No, I was about to have a shower...:: Schuldig's voice whined in her head as he slowly wandered out of his and Nagi's room in boxers and leered at her. "Did you want to have one with me?"
"No. I want to shower all by myself," Heather slammed the bathroom door in his face. "I'll be out in ten minutes, go away until then."
::Spoilsport,:: She waited until she couldn't feel Schuldig in her head anymore before undressing and turning on the water. "I need to phone Nicole when I get out..."
*****
"So what really happened, liar?" Brittany sat on the edge of Youji's bed and stared at him with large puppy-dog eyes.
"Like I told you, I got in a fight," Youji prodded at his bandages.
"Don't poke those, you'll make them reopen and I'm not bandaging you up again," Brittany shoved Youji's hand away with a frown.
"Isn't there something I could do?" Youji sulked as he leaned back into his pillows.
"You could tell me how you were injured," Brittany prompted. "Did it have anything to do with Schwartz?"
"No..." Youji looked away. "Am I allowed to move from this room?"
"Schuldig told us that you had a disk they want, and that's why they came after you," Brittany rolled her eyes as Youji tried to get up and she pushed him back into the bed. "You're not allowed to move until Heather says."
"Why won't she hurry up?" Youji whined.
"Why won't you answer me?" Brittany poked at Youji's uninjured shoulder.
"I can't," Youji took her hand. "I don't want to endanger a creature as pretty as you before she's even reached her full potential."
"Then you have to stay here," Brittany got up and began to walk towards the door.
"No! Don't leave me alone!" Youji sat up again and winced. "I'll die of boredom if you leave!"
"If you tell me I'll take you out to the living room..." Brittany turned and smiled evilly.
"Alright... I ran into Schwartz trying to get that disk, happy now?" Youji glared at his blanket.
"Kay!" Brittany bounced back and helped Youji get to his feet and start walking. "You get to leave the room!"
"Damn this entire situation..." Youji muttered bitterly.
"Aw, it's not so bad, Nagi's a nice kid!" Brittany put one of Youji's arms around her neck to try to keep him from falling.
"There's still the three others and I'm still a hostage..." Youji grumbled.
"Well, we're hostages too, and we're making the best of it!" Nearly dragging Youji through the house Brittany glared at Crawford when he looked like he was going to protest at the invalid's appearance and the tall assassin sighed in acceptance as he started typing at his laptop again.
"Yeah, I guess," Youji winced again as he stretched his shoulder a little too far.
"That's right. Now sit down on the couch here and revel in the glory that is outside of your room," Brittany helped Youji lower himself onto the couch and perched on the armrest.
"Thanks," Youji looked slightly amused. "At least I can see some sunlight from here."
"Oh, you've moved," Heather peered around the corner with a towel wrapped around her hair. "You can stay there until you get tired, then it's back to bed for you," She turned and headed down the stairs. "I'll be back after I dry my hair, don't let him move anymore, Britz!"
"There you go," Brittany grinned. "Just don't act tired and you can stay out here all day!"
"I don't suppose I could get something to eat, could I, lovely?" Youji's stomach loudly agreed with him.
"No problem," Brittany hopped up and walked back into the kitchen. "Do you want cereal or toast or what?"
"Cereal would be great, what kinds do you have?" Youji sat up to look over the small counter separating the kitchen and sun room.
"Um, Honey Nut Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Corn Bran, Life, Rice Krispies, Lucky Charms, and Shredded Wheat," Brittany listed off the boxes she found in the cupboards while she grabbed a bowl and spoon.
"Lucky Charms, sweet things are always good in the morning," Youji smirked as Brittany rolled her eyes.
"I already told you, I'm underage," Brittany spilled some Lucky Charms into the bowl and covered them with milk. "Behave yourself!"
"Aw, but behaving is no fun!" Youji took the bowl with a leer and a wink in her direction.
"Having us pull your bandages off with no painkillers is no fun," Brittany smiled sweetly.
"Alright, alright, I get the point!" Youji laughed and dug his spoon into the bowl.
"Good, then you get your pain killers," walking back to the kitchen Brittany began to find food for herself.
"Then we're all happy," Youji stopped talking to eat for a moment. "Except for the fact that Schwartz is here."
"Yeah, and what are you going to do about that?" Brittany walked back into the sun room with some toast.
"I don't know yet," Youji kept eating. "I'll have to think about it."
"Don't think too loud Balinese," Schuldig wandered towards the stairs with his ever-present smirk. "You'll give me a headache."
"Leave him alone, Schuldig," Brittany glared at the redhead's back as he disappeared down the stairs. "Don't bug Heather, either!"
"I won't," Schuldig tossed cheerily over his shoulder as he bounded down the stairs.
"By the way Youji, who are your buddies?" Brittany munched on her toast and innocently tried to bring Ken into the conversation.
"Oh, the guys?" A small spark of interest flashed in Youji's eyes. "They're just my teammates, why do you want to know?"
"I dunno, Heather just mentioned three other guys," Brittany chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. "She said that they're all really nice but I think the one she told me about who has brown hair seems to be the nicest."
"Yeah, Ken's a sweet kid," Youji finished the leftover milk in his bowl and set it aside. "So what kinda stuff do you like doing?"
"Hm, I like soccer a lot!" Brittany finished her toast and went to get a glass of milk.
"Soccer is a nice sport. What else do you do?" Youji leaned back with a grimace of pain.
"I ski, bike, hike, read, draw... Um... Lots of stuff," Brittany came back to grab Youji's bowl and put it away.
"Interesting..." Youji smirked.
"Did you say something, Youji?" Brittany peered over the counter.
"Not really, just thinking that this place is really outdoor oriented," Youji smiled up at her. "You know, Ken likes soccer too..."
*****
"Go away," Heather looked up as her door opened.
"Good morning to you too," Schuldig walked in despite her protest and looked around. "Interesting room you have."
"Get out, I was enjoying the quiet," Heather snapped.
"Nice pictures," Schuldig continued ignoring her and wandered around looking at the fantasy posters, wildlife pictures and anime printouts that adorned the walls. "Don't normally see tigers standing over dead things in a girl's room," He pointed at one large picture over her dresser.
"I'm not normal," Heather turned the music on her computer on and picked up a book. "And you can go back upstairs now."
"Nope, sorry. Crawford wouldn't appreciate it if I left you alone in a room with one very usable exit to the backyard," Schuldig sat down on her bed and looked at the computer screen.
"I don't have any shoes down here and it's rainy out today, do you really think I'd leave? Not to mention that my best friend and an injured man I'm taking care of are still here and I wouldn't really help their cause by trying to escape," Heather flipped to a bookmark and began to read.
"That's a boring book," Taking the book Schuldig tossed it to the floor. "Find something more interesting to do."
"Fuck off and leave me alone," Heather glared at Schuldig. "I've been trying to find time to read that for ages."
"Call that friend you were thinking of earlier and invite her over," Schuldig grinned as Heather looked confused. "You still want to, and then you could work on that term project you're going to have to do for your Biology course."
"Like Crawford will let me," Heather turned her chair away from Schuldig.
"Like you really care," Schuldig turned her back to face him.
"Good point. He'll probably kill me though," Heather stood up and began to leave the room.
"Probably," Schuldig followed her smiling to himself. This mission was a lot more fun than he'd thought it would be.
*****
"Crawford," Heather walked past the table and picked up the phone. "I'm calling a friend and inviting her over."
"You most certainly are not," Crawford glared at her again.
"Yes I am, we need to work on a school assignment together," Heather began to dial until the phone was taken from her hand. "Give that back."
"No, you are a hostage and we already went over your lack of rights," Crawford glared down at her and turned the phone off.
"Big deal, even if you're staying here I'm going to need to attend my lectures," Heather grabbed for the phone but Brad held it out of her reach. "Give me that phone, you jerk!"
"We don't need any more hostages than we have already," Crawford turned and headed back towards his computer.
"Then I'm going to go visit her," Heather began walking towards the door. "And she's not going to be a hostage!"
"Sorry, can't let you do that," Schuldig was suddenly standing in Heather's way.
"Then I need to invite her over," Heather growled and stomped over to smack her hands down on the desk by Crawford.
"You can't. Don't make me have Schuldig restrain you," Brad didn't even look up from the computer and Schuldig smirked.
"Dammit, either she has to come over or I have to go," Heather slammed the laptop shut, narrowly missing Crawford's fingers.
"No," Crawford pushed his glasses back up his nose and gave her a particularly nasty look, "you can't invite her over."
"Why? I'm going to be more trouble for you if she doesn't come over than the both of us could possibly be if she does," Heather returned Crawford's glare.
"Schuldig, find me some sort of restraints," Crawford stood up and grabbed Heather by the wrists. "You won't be bothering anyone if you don't stop now."
"I won't be treating anyone's wounds or helping around the house either," Heather struggled against his hold.
"You know, Crawford, from what I can see in her mind this friend really won't be a bother," Schuldig walked over without any restraints. "She'll have to go to her lectures or people will worry and come over to check on her anyway."
"I didn't think I'd ever see the day you would give up the chance to forcefully restrain a girl, Schuldig," Crawford released Heather. "That is the only prerogative you will have. I will tolerate no more disobedience," he snapped as he stormed back to his computer and flipped it open angrily.
"Thank you," Heather took the phone from the table and carried it into the living room. "I think I just narrowly avoided getting my brains blown out."
"You probably shouldn't fight with the one keeping us hostage..." Brittany looked a little scared. "I don't think he'll be so tolerant next time."
"Neither do I. Actually, I'm surprised he's let us all live this long. Who are you calling?" Youji gestured to the phone.
"Nicole, I don't think you've met her yet but Omi and Ken have," Heather turned on the phone and dialed the number again. "Hi, is Nicole there? Hey Nicole, you wanna come over and work on setting up the term project with me today?"
