Chapter 5 – Aya-tan multitasks

The next few days passed quickly. It was easy to fall into a routine now that Ayanami was back at Headquarters. There were many demands on his time and Colonel Katsuragi kept his little appointment book filled to the brim. Chairman Miroku continued to harass him daily on the whereabouts of Teito Klein, and Ayanami diplomatically repeated assurances that the search was ongoing and there should be no worry about it.

For Ayanami, Teito's escape generated a secondary annoyance. It had renewed interest among the command staff for tracking down escaped slaves. It normally wasn't a huge concern, since escaping slaves were few in number compared to the many people taken as slaves. And combat slaves trying to escape were even fewer. The special collars they wore made sure of that. It was death if they didn't see their masters every 48 hours. But there were a number of them resourceful enough to make contact with rebel groups with the technology to remove the collars. Unfortunately, for the empire at least, this proved to be a culling method that meant only the smartest and most skilled of the battle slaves ended up on the side of the rebels.

In general, whenever a rebel group surfaced to become a thorn in the empire's side, regular troops would be sent first. Field campaigns could potentially last for years, but command staff usually decided after some time that the cost of funding the exercise was too expensive and the Black Hawks would be mobilized. Why they didn't just send Ayanami's team right away he didn't know, although he supposed it might have something to do with the fear of having his gang of warsfeil out of their sight.

But this time, in light of Teito's escape, the empire's military leaders decided it was necessary to teach a lesson to anyone who decided to aid and abet runaway slaves.

"Chief of Staff Ayanami, you are hereby ordered to take your team and crush this group of rebels. Do not fail," was the uncompromising command.

Which explained why Ayanami was currently on his way to some rural boondocks in what was essentially a clean-up mission. It was a journey that would take almost a day, so there was little for him to do except sit in his chair, on the command deck of his ship, his violet eyes veiled under long lashes, appearing to all outward scrutiny as if he was snoozing.

"So who do you think will get to carry out the mission this time?" Konatsu asked, looking around at the team. They were gathered just a bit below Ayanami's position, passing time with tea and idle chit chat.

"Colonel Katsuragi got to go last time, didn't he? It was when he destroyed that guerrilla base," Haruse pointed out, his arms cradling the sleeping Kuroyuri with tender care. He smiled down devotedly at the child, not minding that his lieutenant-colonel was drooling on him.

"It was over so fast, it hardly made for a decent workout. I barely broke a sweat," said Katsuragi in a nonchalant manner while checking his appointment book. He was still performing the duties of Ayanami's secretary in the absence of a begleiter for the chief.

"Hopefully it will be more fun this time," said Konatsu, with optimistic cheer that he might get to see some action.

"But you know, I know of something even more interesting," said Hyuuga, a gleeful smirk on his lips as he sing-songed the teasing comment at his teammates.

The other members all perked up with interest to look at the major.

Hyuuga ignored them, his attention focused entirely on his chief. "I wonder what Aya-tan's up to right now."

Ayanami sensed his crew gazing at him, but said nothing, his head listing to the side as he sent his awareness out. Out of all of them, Hyuuga was probably the one who had the best inkling of where his mind was directed.

It had been a simple matter to conclude that Teito Klein was indeed in the sanctuary of the Church in the 7th District. But the process of extracting him was proving slightly more complicated. There was of course, no worldly diplomatic means of doing so, given the treaty between Church and Empire, which left Ayanami only one option.

So several days ago, he had begun the process of searching for competent minions in the vicinity.

It wasn't an easy task. Now the Kor, the personification of Verloren's curse, were present in large numbers throughout the empire except for one place. It was almost impossible for a Kor to infiltrate the heart of the Church's power and stay undetected for very long. There were too many sensitive bishops within the Church premises able to spot Kor victims – the curse mark being a dead giveaway. And for the Kor, getting exorcised defeated their purpose so they stayed away. However, Ayanami was able to detect four who had evolved enough to have taken over their hosts.

The first one entered the sanctuary with the task of tempting Teito Klein. The contact had been initially successful. Ayanami could sense the triumph of the Kor after it had granted a wish to the runaway and thereby infected him. But after marking the boy with a curse, the Kor was interrupted. Ayanami had not been in direct contact with the minion but he had sensed three bishops stepping in to protect the youth. The Kor only managed to convey great agitation about a weapon before it was abruptly eradicated.

His interest roused, Ayanami had tried again another day. That time, he kept a closer eye on the situation. His minion had possessed a gardener working in the sanctuary area. The opportunity came when Mikage and Teito strolled through the pathways of the greenhouse, enjoying the peaceful serenity of the place. Ayanami was pleased to see Mikage at Teito's side. He knew the blonde cadet would be unable to stay away from the person who meant so much to him, even though Mikage was fully aware that being with Teito was probably the worst thing he could do.

Ayanami observed the two for a moment, noticing how Teito Klein's brilliant green eyes shone as he gazed at Mikage. There was definitely something between them. Teito was munching on an edible flower and the duo were horsing around. However, the sounds of their laughter faded away as the conversation turned serious. There was a glimmer of suspicion in Teito's eyes as he began to question Mikage on how he'd escaped. But Mikage threw him a few glib answers and all was well.

"You have no idea... how happy I am to see you're safe," Teito was saying.

While it was highly amusing playing voyeur to the teen lovers, it was time for Ayanami to act. He

nudged his minion in to attack, wanting to see if Chairman Miroku was right about Teito Klein's strength. The wars, basically a Kor-possessed human shell, approached but Teito's senses seemed to pick him up.

"Run for it, Mikage!" he yelled at his friend and dashed forward, a zaiphon already forming around his hand. He had seen the curse mark on the gardener's chest.

Ayanami's minion met the challenge. The explosive clash of zaiphons resounded, breaking the peace of the quiet garden. Both boys were attacking but Teito continued to cry at Mikage to escape to safety.

The wars manifested its wings and flew up. It laughed and launched more spells at Teito, one after another in rapid succession. The former combat slave yelled in fury and followed, sending blasts at the dark creature and leaving Mikage far behind. The attacks forced the wars to desperately dodge, and Ayanami smiled, pleased that Teito Klein was finally getting serious.

But before Ayanami could redirect his minion to attack, a burst of power from the back abruptly cut his connection with the wars. He stifled a cry as his consciousness was thrown back to his body. The shock of the severing had stung. Fortunately, Hyuuga was there that night to soothe all his aches and pains.

At any rate, Ayanami was ready now to try a third time. There had been a Kor, positioned on the outskirts of the 7th district that Ayanami had contacted. The creature had already granted two wishes to its host and was in enough control of her to serve Ayanami's purpose.

It had convinced the girl, a young woman from a noble family, to steal a carriage and travel to the gates of the cathedral. There, it staged a dramatic crash right into the gates. It was no coincidence that Mikage was right there. Ayanami had with a deft touch, manipulated Mikage into position, making the young man think he was there of his own volition. It amused Ayanami that his puppet was harboring thoughts of his autonomy, as if resisting was even possible.

From there, it was easy to maneuver Mikage into bringing her into the church grounds. As the youth rushed the injured girl towards help, Ayanami decided to attract some attention.

"It's time," he said to the Kor influencing the girl.

On cue, his minion spread its wings. The host was now fully under the illusion that Mikage was her precious brother, who in reality probably didn't even care enough about his sister to know she had sold her soul away. But twisting her love into an ugly possessive desire proved easy enough for the demon.

Alarmed by the turn of events, Mikage began to run, leading the possessed girl up and away from the crowded marketplace area of the church grounds. With an odd sort of double vision, Ayanami followed their progress from both viewpoints, though he did nothing to alert Mikage of his presence. Given the intensity of feeling between Teito and Mikage, he fully expected the escaped slave to rush to the rescue soon enough.

Ayanami was interested to observe that Mikage had found a restricted area within the sanctuary where he and the Kor-possessed girl began exchanging attacks. Neither was really doing much to hurt the other. Mikage's foremost thought was about saving her, and the Kor was keeping a tight rein on his host not to damage the blonde.

The Kor suddenly slashed at Mikage with a bony wing and for a moment, Ayanami thought it had struck home. But no, a barrier had sprung into being around him and the wingtip was repelled.

"I made a promise. I swore that I would never abandon you, no matter what!" Teito said, when Mikage turned around in surprise.

He's finally arrived, Ayanami thought to himself and settled back to watch the fireworks.

The fight grew serious as the Kor unleashed the limits on the girl's obsession, feeding on her feelings of loneliness. The young woman was now convinced that Mikage was her beloved brother and she also had to kill him if she wished him to stay with her forever. She clung tightly to Mikage, flying a few feet off the ground while beating Teito back as he tried to save his friend.

So far, there had been nothing to impress Ayanami. The fight appeared to be over, with the possessed girl preparing to plunge the sharp point of her wing into Mikage. But then, Teito uttered a desperate cry and he began to glow. Ayanami's attention was riveted by a red orb that rose from within the back of the youth's hand, as the power slowly built.

Is that...? he thought, just before the connection with his Kor was suddenly severed. He switched quickly to Mikage and saw a dark clothed bishop standing in the light of the doorway. Who is this man? He killed my Kor with one blow, Ayanami thought, impressed. He withdrew quickly when he sensed the bishop looking right at him. Can he really see me? Ayanami wondered.

"Is everything all right, Aya-tan?" Hyuuga asked, interrupting Ayanami's musings. The major was staring intently at his superior, perceptively aware that something significant had occurred.

"Yes, quite all right," Ayanami said. If that red orb was indeed what he suspected, then he now understood why Chairman Miroku was so insistent about Teito Klein's return.

Ayanami began to laugh softly. He knew what he was going to have to do now. It was time to break Teito Klein's heart.

Notes:

Hyuuga: So I soothed all your aches and pains, Aya-tan?

Ayanami: You added more. *growl*

Hyuuga: I'm sorry! I'll be more gentle... next time?

Anyway, I leave you guys to draw your own conclusions. XD