Title: Disguises
Author: Gayle
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Rating: PG for violence
Spoilers: NA
Disclaimer: I have never been to Japan, I can't draw, and I only wish I would have come up with this great and wonderful Anime. So it's not mine.
Summary: NA
Notes: This was written for the Sneezefic Halloween-themed challenge bunny #1: write a story using the words/phrases 'trick or treat', 'but he's so pale', 'haunted', 'raining', and 'but I'm afraid of the dark'
Feedback: Please send some

Disguises

"Trick or treat!" Aya found himself staring down at two children dressed up in costumes.

He quirked an eyebrow, trying to look menacing and failing miserably. There is a limit as to how threatening one can look with a red nose and tired expression. "Cad I... are you idterested in buyig ady..."

Ken came to his rescue grinning broadly. "It's Halloweed, Aya," he told him with a laugh. He gave the children more candy than is usually given to Trick or Treaters.

"You kids should wait udtil it's dark before you go, dot idterruptig a busidess duridg hours."

"Well, we would have waited for night but my little sister here..."

The boy was cut off by a little girl's voice, "but I'm afraid of the dark!" She sounded proud of the fact, and Aya wondered if she really was or if she just wanted to ruin her brother's fun. It seemed like something a little sister would do. "Hep-CCChhhiiii! Hep- CCChhhhiiiii! CCChhhiiiiuu!" Aya pulled a tissue out of the half empty box he and Ken were taking turns using. His annual autumn cold had shown up right on schedule, and had chosen to pay Ken a visit as well.

"We're closig early adyway Aya," Ken reminded him as the children left and the door swung shut. They couldn't leave it open the way they usually did because it would make their colds worse.

Omi joined them, passing Aya a cup of tea. Ken, who would have preferred coffee, took his cup as well, muttering something about stupid colds and their rules. Omi wouldn't let him have coffee; he said it wasn't any help. "Right, the mis..." One look from Aya shut him up right away. First rule of working in Weiss, never talk about missions where others can hear you.

Yoji walked up to the few girls who were remaining. "I'm sorry, ladies, we have to close now. If you'll come back tomorrow we'll be happy to help you." After ushering them out he locked the door. "Alright, let's get upstairs. We need to get ready for this."

"Right," agreed Omi, "we've only got one shot."

The mission was to assassinate a mad scientist who every year kidnapped children who are Trick or Treating and preformed experiments with electricity on them. He had finally been tracked down and Persia had informed them on his whereabouts. The only trouble was getting in. No one could unless invited.

As the team was gearing up, Aya wiped his nose with a tissue. He knew he was sick, but he shoved it to the back of his mind. The mission was much more important.

"Uh-HHEEESSShhhhuuu! Heh-Eesshhhhuuuuu! Eh-CCChhhhhhuuu!" Ken could be heard sneezing through the whole house. Yoji sighed. "Do you really think you and Ken are up for this? Maybe Omi and I could do it by ourselves."

Aya stopped lacing up his boots and glared at him. "The bission is bore ibportadt than our colds. You two could dot hadle it by yourselves." It was true, Yoji might be able to pull it off, just waiting in the shadows for the other's signal, but there was no way Omi could do his share alone. Going into the mansion of a mad scientist as bait was too dangerous to be a one-man job.

After they were dressed, Omi and Ken not in their usual assassin attire, but in children's Halloween costumes, they left to fulfill their task.

"Do you think he'll kill anyone before those two can get to him?" Yoji asked, trying to get a good view of the old house without being seen while he was sitting on a tree limb.

"I dod't doe." Aya whispered back, noiselessly blowing his nose. He never tried to hide when he was ill, unlike the others. He would downplay his symptoms, but illness was a fact of life, and like all other facts, it must be faced. "HEP-Chmph! He-Chmph!" He stifled his sneezes, not wanting to give away their vantage point.

"You alright? You look like you're getting worse." Yoji frowned at him, careful to keep his voice low.

"I ab gettidg worse, but I'll be fine until the bissoin's over. Ad I'll sleep for a year afterwards."

Yoji sighed, "I guess that's as close as you'll ever get to cracking a joke." Suddenly he sat up straight a spyglass held up to his sunglasses, "Aya, they're coming up the walkway."

Aya's hand instinctively rested on his sword, ready to pull it out. "Good."

For the first time that he could remember, Omi was glad he was short. No one looked twice at him for going Trick or treating, the way they did to Ken. The only thing saving him from complete ridicule was that it almost looked as if he was a big brother taking his little brother out for the night.

Ken lifted his plastic mask so that it exposed his mouth and nose and coughed into his hand. After wiping his nose with a tissue from the pack he carried with him he arranged his mask again and tried to look like a candy-starved child.

"You alright?" Omi looked at him with concern.

Ken sniffled deeply, "I'b fide. It's just a cold after all."

"You don't sound very 'fide' to me." He flashed a grin and rang the doorbell. "Showtime."

An old, wild looking man answered the door, "Ah, the first ones of the evening." He muttered to himself.

Omi, having sharp ears, heard. He and Ken held open their bags. "Trick or treat!" Ken thought about how long it had been since he had really gone Trick or Treating.

The old man smiled sweetly, "Won't you come in? I'm afraid I haven't had time to fill my bowl or anything this evening." He held up an empty pumpkin-shaped bowl as proof. "It's too cold for you to wait outside while I try to find something to give you." His voice was smooth, convincing.

Inwardly, Ken agreed with the man on one thing. It WAS too cold to wait outside. He shivered, "Huh-EECCHHhhuuu! Heh-ECCHHHhhhuuuu! Eccchhhuuuu!" He fumbled for his tissues, got one out of the pack, and then remembered that he couldn't use it without lifting his mask. If he did that, the mission might have to be scrubbed. Anyone would be able to tell that he wasn't twelve or thirteen. Ken pushed the tissue back into his pocket, sniffing resignedly.

The man seemed to see the problem. "Oh, and you're ill. That won't do at all. You must come in and get yourselves warm by my fire." He pushed the door open all the way, allowing them to step inside. Ken and Omi followed him into the living room, thinking that this was how he lured all his experiments in. By seeming friendly and nice. The man gestured at the couch, "Have a seat. I'll bring you out something soon, then you can be on you way."

Before stepping inside of the house, Ken caught his foot between the door and the door jam, leaving it open just a sliver so that Aya and Yoji could get in when the time came. He sat down beside Omi and risked taking off his mask. He had to blow his nose and besides which, it was SO hard to breath under it, not to mention unbearably warm. He began to look around the room and his gaze fell on a small candy dish that was filled with peppermints. Without thinking, Ken leaned forward and helped himself to one to try to sooth his sore throat. Omi grabbed his wrist just in time to stop him. They exchanged looks, paling at the thought of what Ken had almost done. "Thank you" Ken mouthed silently to his teammate. Omi just nodded, his eyes larger than usual. Who knew what a mad man might put in his candy dish?

Ken leaned back on sofa. "You doe," he began, trying to sound casual and as if he were making light conversation while waiting, "They say this place is haudted."

"Haunted? What are you talking about? You don't believe in ghosts, do you?" Omi looked at him as if he had gone crazy. There was already enough to worry about, what with a real threat in the house, he certainly didn't want Ken making up fake ones.

Ken laughed, "Of course dot, just thought it'd bake for a fud thig to talk about, that's all."

Omi frowned at him. How was that a fun thing to talk about? "I sure hope that guy gets back soon."

Meanwhile, Aya and Yoji were having a more miserable time. "It's raining." Yoji stated unnecessarily.

"Yes, I see that. Thadks for tellidg be." Aya's voice was sharp and uncharacteristically full of sarcasm.

"Hey man, just trying to make conversation."

Aya was no longer listening, however. "Hep-Cchhhiii! Hep-Chumph! Heh- Chmf!" He wiped his very sore nose and winced. His sinuses were hurting him something awful, stifling his sneezes wasn't helping that any, and he just wanted to get the mission done so that he could go to bed.

Yoji jabbed Aya in the ribs, "There's Ken's signal! Come on!" He leaped down from the tree with catlike ease. Aya followed, a bit more slowly but still faster than an average person could have. Normally he could easily keep up with Yoji, if not outrun him. He hated what this cold was doing to his body.

Yoji looked back at him, noticing that his breath was coming faster than it usually did, and his cheeks were redder than they had been that morning. When he joined him at the window, Yoji saw him shiver violently, but chose not to remark on it.

Aya sneezed perfectly silent into his hand, dabbing at his nose with the back of it. If Yoji hadn't have seen it, he wouldn't have known that he had sneezed at all. He frowned, "Why didn't you do that while we were up in the tree?"

"Because it hurts, that's why." He wiped his nose again looking absolutely miserable.

Yoji was sympathetic, if it had been Omi or even Ken, he would have patted him on the head. As it was he awkwardly placed a hand briefly on his shoulder, then looked in the window again. "I see Omi, but not Ken. Let's get in there before..." His voice trailed off when he saw that Aya was one step ahead of him. Not necessarily a good thing when the mission was calling for stealth.

Aya pushed open the door, thankful that the hinges weren't rusted so they didn't squeak. It was an eerily quiet house, perfect for the horror films that Ken was fond of watching late at night. He sneezed silently again, twice, but he knew that he was going to have to stop soon; otherwise he might end up yelping in pain. He felt a cold, heavy hand rest on his shoulder and jumped.

"Don't you believe in the element of surprise?" Came Yoji's drawl, flat even when whispered.

"I thought you were right behide be." He hissed back. "Look," he pointed at something lying at the top of a stairway, "That's part of Obi's costube."

"Then we aren't far off. He left it there on purpose." Yoji raced toward the door, his feet as soft and quiet as if they were made of velvet. He realized that it was taking Aya longer to catch up to him this time; the run for the front entrance must have worn him out more. When the two men got down to the basement, they witnessed the middle of a fight scene. The old man was defending himself quite well against Omi and Ken. Aya drew his sword, determined to end the battle quickly.

Before Aya could hit him, the scientist pulled a gun, shooting him in the shoulder. As he was watching Aya go down, Ken took the opportunity and finished the job that they had set out to do.

"Aya!" Omi ran over to where Yoji was helping him sit up and looked at his wound. "Are you alright?"

He started to nod, but stopped, wincing in pain. "Is it serious, Omi? Will he be alright?" Yoji was looking intently at him; worry barely concealed behind his dark glasses.

"He should be, but he's so pale! He's loosing a lot of blood, it looks like, and the fact that's he's sick..."

"Doesn't help matters any." Yoji finished as Aya's head lulled weakly back onto his shoulder.

Omi pressed a hand, well trained due to his being the "medic" of Weiss, against Aya's forehead. "He's burning up. We need to get him home." He turned to Ken, who was looking rather the worse for wear himself. "I think they should both be in bed right now. They've been working hard." Omi went over to Aya's other side and pulled his (Aya's) arm around his neck, put his own arm around his waist and helped Yoji get the injured man to his somewhat shaky feet.

Aya groaned. "Hep-ccchhhiiii! Hep-ccchhhiii! Chhhiii!" He was unable to cover his nose and mouth and just looked awful. Yoji pulled out a wrinkled, balled up handkerchief and wiped his nose for him. Aya was too hurt and sick to care, otherwise he would have said something rude, or at the very least pulled away from the offending cloth. Instead he leaned his head on Yoji's shoulder as if he was just too tired to hold it up anymore and allowed himself to be guided out of the mansion.

Ken dragged himself, run down but otherwise fine, away from the dead body. He followed his teammates out of the house and back to the apartment over the flower shop, sniffling. He had used up the last of his tissues and was getting a bit desperate when Omi dug in his pocket with his free hand, "Here," he passed a clean handkerchief to Ken, "Keep it, alright. I really don't want it back after you've blown your nose in it."

Ken smiled tiredly, "I wasd't pladding on gividg it back. I thidk I deed it."

Omi quirked a grin at him and helped Yoji get Aya into bed. When that was done Yoji contacted Manx to tell her about Aya while Omi bandaged the wound good enough until she could send a doctor over. Omi finished his task and joined Ken on the couch where he was watching the Halloween horror flick that he had taped that night.

"Crazy mission, wasn't it?"

Ken sniffled into a tissue, "Yeah, pretty weird. How's Aya?"

"Manx is going to send a doctor over to have a look at him. Maybe he should look at you too, while he's already here?" Omi looked uncertain.

"Doe, I'b fide, just a cold. Huh-EEEEChhuuu! Echhhuuu! EECChhhhuuu! 'Scuse be. I really ab, thadks for worrying about it, though." Ken made to stretch out on the couch, his favorite position when he was sick, so Omi had to move over to the chair. He sighed, he really didn't mind, though. The mission was a success, no one from Weiss was dead, and tomorrow was Sunday, so he was looking forward opening the shop late and closing early.