Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Mend my Heart ❯ The Meeting ( Chapter 7 )

Ran stopped in front of a little corner shop. (1) A rack of flowers sat along the front window. There was also a sign placed in the middle of the sidewalk with an image of a flower and a cat face in the bloom listing out today's specials. By the image alone he knew he was in the right place, but out of habit he still glanced at the number to verify. He stepped inside and a little chime announced his arrival.

 

The redhead glanced around the shop and found the person he was seeking watering some flowers. Omi turned to see who had entered and smiled when he caught sight of Ran. "Hey Aya, glad to see you could make it. I'm sure Yoji will be along shortly. If you want, I'll let you in the back room while you wait."

 

"No need. I will be fine here." He dismissed automatically.

 

Shrugging, Omi went back to work. "Suit yourself." He was finishing up with the last few pots as he glanced back over at the redhead. He tried to hide the smirk that arose, the stoic figure could probably pass for a statute with the way he just stood there. Clearing his throat, he decided to engage the quiet man while they waited for the last member of this meeting to arrive. "So, has there been any change?"

 

"No."

 

"Too bad." It seemed pretty obvious now to Omi that Aya wasn't much of a talker. Still, it was too awkward to remain in silence. The young blonde turned off the water and started coiling the hose. "Did you get a chance to finish the tape?"

 

"Yes."

 

Nodding knowingly, he put the hose away then headed over to a stool next to a worktable. He motioned for Ran to join him, as there were three other stools there. "I got the tape from Yoji the day after we met. Talking to you reminded me about the incident and I got curious. It only verified my suspicions as I'm sure it did for you too."

 

Scarlet bangs flopped momentarily now that it was Ran's turn to nod. "What was on the tape seems to contradict some of the reports following."

 

"Exactly!" Omi's eyes lit up in excitement. "I mean, Ken said he wasn't able to drive, right? So why was he out by himself? He said he was going to get a ride with Kase and then suddenly he turns up in an accident on his bike? What happened between that last interview and the accident? There must have been something." A welcome tinkle told them someone else had entered the shop stopping his rambling questions. Automatically, the youth glanced up to see who it was and scowled, "I told you, NO Smoking in the shop!"

 

"Calm down Omittchi, you're too young to have an aneurysm." A tall blonde standing in the doorway said. Ran glared over his shoulder at the arrival and prayed that this wasn't the person he had come to meet. The man looked like he was about to go out on a night on the town or had just come back from one. Sparkling jade eyes peeked over a pair of sunglasses barely clinging to the end of the man's nose. A cigarette hung loosely between thin smirking lips. "I'm guessing this is the guy you want me to meet?" Ran cringed involuntarily.

 

"Yes, now would you put that out?" Omi didn't even bother to hide his annoyance. Ran could only imagine that these two spoke on a regular basis, which is why their banter seemed so natural. Almost like when he and his imouto would mockingly argue with each other. His frown deepened at the memory. He still had to wait to live moments like these again. But right now they seemed oblivious to his presence and felt it best to just wait out the dispute.

 

Yoji seemed unfazed by the younger blonde's disapproval. "I'll be done in a minute. It's a nice day out. How about I just hang here with the door open so the air in the shop will stay fresh and clean?" The mocking twist to his words only irked the normally happy genki more.

 

Sparkling blue eyes turned sharp and cold. "Are you kidding? It's too cold, you'll spoil the flowers."

 

"What are you talking about? Aren't they in refrigeration units anyway?" The playboy continued to puff away at the cancerstick. He felt he was trying to be reasonable and this was just a lame excuse to deny him one of his favourite past times.

 

"Only to keep the cut ones fresh." A fist thudded lightly on the table. "But not everything in the shop is in threat of dying. Haven't you ever heard of greenhouses??"

 

Taking a final drag, Yoji glanced around, "You're worried about like five plants. You need to relax chibi." Omi was about to protest both the nickname and the man's observation when the older man cut him off. "Besides, I'm finished. But if you keep arguing with me, I'm going to light another and sit down at the table while I puff away."

 

Sighing, Omi closed his eyes and shook his head. Sometimes he really had to wonder about the PI and how the man could so easily rile him up. And how, somewhere deep inside him, he enjoyed it. He took one more calming breath before regarding his friend again. "Alright, since you're done you can come in. Now please, try to be on your best behaviour. I may be used to you but that doesn't mean everyone else in the world is."

 

Slowly, he sauntered into the shop, playfully adding, "The lady's don't seem to mind."

 

"Well, they're not here. So please try." He snapped back.

 

"I won't promise you anything." The lanky blonde flopped onto one of the stools next to Ran and across from Omi. If it's even possible to lounge on a stool, only Yoji Kudo could do it. And that was the only way one could describe his posture. "So," he glanced sideways at the redhead, "you the one hooked on this Hidaka kid, right?"

 

The underlying tone of the question instantly put Ran on edge. Sharp violet eyes narrowed dangerously at the blonde and the air around them went frigid. He ground out, "I'm not hooked on anyone."

 

"Huh," Yoji huffed lightly. He nudged his sunnies even lower and looked the redhead over. "You're rather good looking, you could probably have a bunch of girls hanging all over you. Or guys if you prefer. You have some kind of fetish for sleeping beauties or something?"

 

At this Ran stood up nearly topping the stool and faced the blonde making eye contact. "Listen, I don't have any fetishes. I'm not hooked on anyone or anything. All I know is that Hidaka-san needs help and since no one else seems willing to, I will do what I can to see that he wakes from this coma. No one deserves a living death, least of all those who were full of life. It's unfair. I refuse to condemn them. Is that enough for you?"

 

Yoji automatically threw his arms up in surrender the moment Ran began his rant, but remained silent until the redhead finished. There was one thing that he did file away to ponder later. The redhead had said, 'condemn them.' So this is personal. There's someone else. We'll just have to get to that later. He gave one quick nod, "Yeah, that's enough for me. It's just in my line of work you see all kinds of people wanting information for all kinds of reasons. And amazingly enough, I do have my own standards that I go by before I decide to take on a client."

 

Ran glanced at the youth who quietly watched them from the other side of the table before leveling his gaze on Yoji again. "I wasn't intending to become a client. I just wanted to find out if you could get me more footage." Slowly, he sank back down to the stool, not exactly at ease but no longer feeling threatened.

 

The tall blonde shrugged, "I may have a few more clips that would be worthwhile to you, but not much else. Everything seemed perfect until a few weeks before the accident. I gave Omittchi here the best stuff." He motioned toward the florist.

 

"Did you already go through all of it Yoji-kun?" Omi asked.

 

"Nope," he answered, shaking his head, cornsilk locks swaying from the motion. "But the person who originally contacted me is the one who gave me the dailies. He went through most of it himself and gave me the highlights, so to speak."

 

Omi and Ran exchanged startled glances. Blue eyes met jade once more as Omi voiced the question on both their lips, "You mean someone else wanted you to look into this?"

 

Responding as if this was a normal occurrence, he said, "Yeah, this guy came to me about a month ago and wanted me to start looking around. He had some suspicions that someone was hiding something but just didn't know what. Then you guys came along with the same inquiry. Looks like I'm going to have to bump this case up in my list." Leaning back, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes.

 

"And who is he?" The deep voice of the redhead demanded.

 

Yoji just tsked and wagged his finger at the man. "Now, I'm not about to reveal that to you after only one meeting. And I may not even tell you after you become a client. There is something called 'client confidentiality,' ya know."

 

Ran looked pointedly at Omi. "This is rapidly getting us no where." Obviously, he was getting rather frustrated. Thus far, this man had insulted him, mocked his credibility, told him there wasn't really any more footage and now denied him the opportunity to work with someone else toward the same goal. This whole conversation was proving to be a huge waste of time and only managed to keep him from his vigil.

 

Some of the playful edge melted into a semblance of seriousness. "Hey, I didn't say that I wouldn't help, just that you should not expect full disclosure right away. I told you I have standards. Give me a little time to determine how much I can trust you then we'll talk disclosure options."

 

Omi frowned up at the older blonde. "What about me, Yoji-kun? Do you trust me?"

 

"Course I do, chibi. You should never doubt that." The playboy's tone softened significantly when he addressed the young florist. Ran even detected a hint of hurt in his voice.

 

"I've seen Aya at the hospital. I've seen how much this means to him. He only wants to help Ken. I'm certain of that. If he did intend to harm him, he wouldn't have been so diligent in his watch, or concerned. If he weren't, he wouldn't have called me. He's pretty determined about this. Is there anything more you can give us now?" Ran was surprised by Omi's thoughtful words. He would admit that he underestimated Omi before because of his youth, but he would never do so again. It was apparent that the kid knew more about life and the world than he thought. He also noted how Omi's plaintive comments gave the older man pause.

 

"I don't know….."

 

Omi could see Yoji weakening and further pressed his point. "Come on, there's got to be something. The newspapers are all dead ends and I'm still trying - uh, to get my hands on a copy of the police report of the accident." At the sudden pause, Omi scratched the back of his head sheepishly and blushed. By the two blondes' mannerisms Ran knew that there was an unspoken conversation going on right in front of him, and he could only guess that it was something they weren't ready to reveal yet.

 

Fortunately, he didn't really care as long as they got the means to an end. He wanted the mystery solved. He wanted Ken awake. He wanted Aya awake, and he couldn't help her until he helped Ken. Not that that was his only reason to help the brunette. In a way he cared for the goalie in a manner he couldn't even name. His thoughts were interrupted as he returned to the conversation going on around him.

 

"Please, Yoji-kun. Anything, anything at all to give us a starting point." Omi pleaded though Yoji still hesitated.

 

Suddenly, an idea popped into Ran's head and the words left his mouth before he could stop them, "What about that Fujikawa reporter? He seemed to be a friend of Ken's maybe he can help us." Why he hadn't thought of it before, he didn't know. But it looked as if Omi liked the suggestion, a big smile on his face as he looked hopefully between the two.

 

The older man's constant smirk abruptly vanished. "I don't think that will be possible at the moment."

 

"And why is that?" Ran demanded, annoyed that the man was blocking him again. But Yoji's next words dispelled all that.

 

"Because, he's missing."

 

***

 

The roar of the crowd was deafening. The excitement was electric. Bodies were tired and everything was coming down to the wire. These were the moments he lived for. It was all up to him now.

 

The time on the board was slowly ticking down to zero and they were up by one point. The other team had the ball and were driving it into their zone. If the ball passed him, they would tie and go into overtime. But that was something he wasn't about to let happen.

 

He could hear the crowds cheers grow even louder. The pounding of his heart and the adrenaline were feeding his weary muscles giving them the strength he needed. He watched as the opposition quickly drew closer. Sharp topaz eyes drank in every motion, searching for anything that would give him an idea of where the ball was going. They were almost on top of him now. Poised for action he waited until the last possible moment.

 

And that was when he saw it. They had been driving hard toward him right up the center. At first glance it looked as if the kick would go right, but he saw that the angle of the athlete's foot was not quite right for it. And he dove left instead. He heard the audible gasp of shock from the audience and then silence. He was almost afraid he had guessed wrong when he felt a familiar impact on his arms. The whistle sounded the end of the game in the same instant.

 

Suddenly, the crowd was on its feet stomping and hollering at the top of their lungs. The game was over. They WON!! The world went wild. Teammates rushed him and he was the center of a huge group hug. How he loved this feeling. This was all he wanted. This was all he lived for. To play the game.

 

He didn't want fame or money like the others. He loved the thrill and rush of the sport. All he ever wanted to do was play, and if he got paid for it that was cool too. They offered him money, a fortune they said if he did what he was told. He refused.

 

Suddenly, the bright and joyous world he was in went dark. The comforting hands that embraced him quickly turned cold and biting. The friendly faces melted away into dark shadows. Panic filled him. Blackness blinded him. But the worst part was the pain that tormented him.

 

He struggled and fought to free himself but he couldn't see who it was that attacked him. Blow upon blow came down. Forcing him into oblivion. A flicker of flame that scorched his mind and soul. He could hear mocking laughter echoing in his ears while he slipped away. Sometimes above the din, a voice would cry out for him. He wanted to answer, wanted to reach out and grasp something real. But all was lost when his mind could no longer function and fell back to the quiet recesses, safe from harm.

 

Cocooned in a void, he would wait. Until the nightmare began anew.

 

 

 

-----------

 

1. I'm going with the Anime here. I like the shop on the corner. The one in the Manga just looks too blah! Also, I'm going with Yoji's Anime look too. Actually, I've been going with Ken's Anime look too. So I guess you could say this is AU from the Anime! Hahahahaha. Sorry, I think I'm going slightly mad. Or it could just be that I'm tired at the moment. Probably both. -sigh-

 

Please, let me know how I'm doing. Drop me a quick review. It doesn't have to be much, just enough to let me know people are still enjoying this, please! Thank you for reading!! :D