Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Calico ❯ Chapter Three: Judgement ( Chapter 3 )

Calico

By: Banshee Puppet

Part Three: Judgment

**********

"So then, this is it. Is everybody ready?" Omi asked as he slipped his laptop into his backpack. "We have a few minutes, so let's go over the details one last time. Siberian?"

Ken yawned. They'd been over this more than a dozen times already. I'll be with Balinese. We'll follow the blueprints as planned from the first floor corridor, up the stairs in the east wing to the second story. There will be a door on the left. It'll probably be locked, so I keep my eyes peeled while he works his way inside. There might be guards. Take them out if we have to, but don't go out of the way looking for trouble. From there, we rescue the hostages. Get them out using the fire escape two rooms over. It's the quickest route. Rendezvous at the designated point at 03:27."

"Abysinnian?"

Aya was annoyed with the routine check too, as necessary as it was. "I'll be taking the back door in. Head up to the fourth floor and go straight for the target. Take out any guards that get in the way and be careful. There shouldn't be many because Calico will be setting off false alarms and doing some weird thing to the video equipment," he said Calico snidely, he still didn't like the idea of some rookie who he knew nothing about being the person who's supposed to be keeping him alive, but it was too late to turn back now. "Assassinate the target. Rendesvous at 03:27 at point 7-3-21."

"Right. I'll be taking down the security, but only so much of that can be done with the computer from my location. Calico will be doing the on-the-spot work, so he has to know the building better than any of us. But I'm not worried. With only the four of us, this would be a very difficult job, so an extra person will be very useful. We'll use these earpieces to keep in contact. Though radio silence is preferable, if you find yourself in a pinch, say so, and we'll back you up. Calico will also be setting a series of small bombs, so listen for ticking noises. Most of them are very simple time bombs, but they may be touch sensitive so be careful! Alright, that's everything then, let's get going."

~**~

The sizzle of the radio's static burned his ears. Though they'd been on many missions, they had never used something like this before. Though it was good, none of them were really certain about them. Occasionally, some little whisper would pass thorough the static. First, it was Omi. "First level clear," Bombay said. Nothing in reply.

"Redirecting cameras. Give me a five second loop, Bombay."

That was the first time he heard that voice. It sounded a little gravelly over the static, but the first impression that Yohji got of Calico, was that he must be a soft-spoken person. Still, even that didn't seem like quite the right word.

"Balinese. Stop playing around. We only have five minutes," Ken said.

"R-right. Alright everybody, don't worry, you're going to be just fine. Just don't panic and we'll get you out of here," he said.

~**~

"Third floor conference room secure," the voice came over again. Aya was trying to ignore it. But he heard Omi's replies each time. It seemed like the kid had found the perfect partner.

"Roger that. Delaying input on the camera across the hall. What's next, Calico?"

So Ken and Yohji, they'd always worked well together. And now this new kid and, but Aya was still alone. It had never bothered him before, so why now? And he was still haunted by those spider-web eyes. Now wasn't the time to think of it.

His eyes shot up. The clanking sound. Twelve minutes. But what was that. He had to move it. That much was obvious. To have to wait for the security to clear, take out guards, he wouldn't have long once he got upstairs.

"Alright, fourth floor is clear." Crackle. Thud. "I'll leave it in your hands, Abyssinian."

He didn't reply. Even if he was the person who was likely to, there was no time for chit-chat. Okay, so the guy had proven his worth. He knew that's what Omi would say anyway. But that didn't mean he had to like him.

There were all sorts of noises up ahead. He thought he'd have trouble, but the two guards he found were already down, not to mention the far end of the hallway…well, didn't exist anymore, apparently. 'Bomb,' his mind realized a little belatedly. He frowned slightly. This just wasn't the way they'd done things in the past, and he didn't like it. Bombs. They were, sometimes, very necessary, but to make use of them on a normal basis…it didn't sit right. Anyway, he had work to do, and not a lot of time to do it in.

~**~

Ken wiped his brow. "Alright, good. Bombay, we're done here. We're heading to the rendezvous."

"Understood. I'll be doing the same shortly," Omi replied.

~**~

'Not a lot of…not a lot of time!!!!'

I cut my hair. I bound my breasts. I… but am I really still…just the same as I've always been? No. NO!

I'm not that impotent. My calculations are right. He shouldn't be taking this long! If he doesn't hurry. Damnit!

"Abyssinian, what are you doing?!? Get the hell out of there!"

The radio crackled. There was silence. Bad, very bad. She had to hurry. 'I can't…I can't let anyone else die! I wish…to protect….'

"Abyssinian!"

Ah, now she heard a voice. It was a soft voice, but definitively masculine. She wondered if she sounded even a little bit like a man, or if her impersonation was as fake-sounding to others as it was to her.

"The target isn't here."

"Idiot! Don't worry about that now! You've got to get out of there!"

That's true, the clanking was much louder in this room. He hadn't even heard Calico's voice right away.

'Damnit damnit damnit! Am I…going to make it on time?'

"Calico…"

"What is it Abyssinian?"

"Do you know how to pick locks?"

"Huh? Yeah. Why?"

"Because this door is sealed shut. I'm stuck in here."

'Damnit!' "Just hang tight. I'm almost there. And whatever you do… for god's sake, DON'T TOUCH THAT BOOKSHELF."

Aya looked skeptically at the bookshelf, which he now realized was the source of that clanking noise. He wasn't sure of many things in life, but he knew, this was bad.

'Not a lot of time. Not a lot of. Not a lot…I need more time than this!' Calico's mind hissed at her.

"Ah shit. Hell with it. Abyssinian! Get away from the door!"

"Away…from the…what the hell are you planning to do!?!!"

"Just shut up and get away from the door! We don't have time to be arguing right now."

Not that he really wanted to listen to some rookie, but…he wasn't stupid either. He did as he was told, sheathing his katana on the way, and a small explosion took out the door. Next thing he know he's being tackled by something blonde and he feels a surge of heat swell over his face.

"Too close," the voice mumbled, looking back and away from him briefly before getting up. "It should be safe now. There's only one bomb left, and I have the trigger for that," he said.

Aya's eyes widened. That profile. That face.

'Wh--at? What is this?' Calico wondered. "A secret room. Heh. I should have known. Those blueprints looked kinda funny."

"Bombay. Change of plans," she said into her earpiece. "Get the car at point 7-7-24. We'll meet you at intercept point 5-0-30 in five minutes."

"Roger that. We're on our way. Is everything alright up there Calico?"

"Yeah. It'll be fine now. We just found a secret room. There's a computer in here. It looks like there's something interesting here after all. This shouldn't take long."

Aya couldn't do much. He stood impotently behind the blonde man, watching the light from the computer screen reflect off of his glasses.

"Kodomo," the newbie grumbled. "I should've known."

At that moment, her head jerked up. "Shit," she whispered under her breath. "Bastards. Time to go, Abyssinian."

"What about the…" he was about to ask about the computer, the information.

"Don't ask about stupid stuff now!" Calico protested. "Do you want to die that badly!? Well, I won't let you!" she snapped at him. 'The person most like myself…I won't allow it!'

Before Aya knew what was going on, Calico had him by the wrist and was dragging him down the hall. Even with his long legs, he was running to keep up. 'The profile though, the face. It has to be…her twin. He's changed his hair, and put on glasses, but…the eyes. He has exactly the same eyes she does. Why the hell did it have to be him? Why…am I going to have to look at this face every day from now on…remembering her, but never…why do I care, that this guy…he lost too, but…even so…' Aya couldn't even keep hold of one clear thought. He was only sure of one thing…

"We're taking the express," Calico said. 'Not a lot of time, not a lot of time…!' "Oh, hell with it!" he mumbled, slamming a rather large dagger into the elevator's control panel. It sizzled and popped, and the door opened. Before Aya could protest, his feet were no longer on solid ground and a large burst of heat brushed past them, the large banging noise signifying this was no small explosion. He opened his eyes to find himself hanging onto Calico by the waist, the other holding him around the shoulders with one arm, the other holding tightly to the elevator cable, which was shaking from the force of the blow. The dagger was held by the hilt between the young man's teeth. It was like something out of a B-rated action movie.

Yeah, Aya was only sure of one thing right now….

"Are you completely insane!!!! You could have killed us both!!" he screamed. He didn't realize he had that sort of tone in him, but now that it was out, it felt good, relieved some of the tension, and this guy…grr!

"Would you rather take the chance of not dying, or be back there on the now non-existent fourth floor. For me, it was any easy call to make. If you want to die that badly, Abyssinian, next time, make sure you're somewhere that I can't reach you. Now hold on tight. We're going down."

"I'm not an idealist, and I can't allow him to hurt anyone else. That's all. People like this…can't be allowed to continue down such dark paths. That's all."

'That's all. Nothing more to it. I'm not an idealist either. That's all. Why? I only met you once, for such a short time…the candle that burns brightest…so why do I miss you so much?'

"Calico! Abyssinian!" It was Yohji's panicked voice over the radio. Aya heard it. He didn't intend to reply, but as he looked up at the boy who was sliding down the wire, bearing his weight, he saw the dagger still in his mouth, and his eyes widened to see that blood was dripping out from under the brown leather gloves he wore.

'The only place for someone like that, is Weiss.' He understood now. Now, he understood. 'I'm sorry. It's not your fault. She was…your sister. I'm sorry…' It still didn't sit right, but he couldn't deny the facts. This small, slender young man had saved his life today. Twice. 'Calico. What's your name? I want to know it.'

"We're here," Aya said finally. "Both of us."

"Mmnph," Calico said, looking down at Aya. Spider-web eyes. Just the same…

And the message seemed to be clear. 'Get this dagger out of my mouth so I can speak.'

Aya reached up and did so. He felt a little useless right now. He'd be helping, if he knew where they were going…and shimmying down elevator cords wasn't really something he'd ever figured he needed to be any good at… He knew he'd just end up sliding down until he hit the bottom, and his guess was then he'd have to find a way back up to ground level.

"Are you at the intercept point?" Calico asked as he stopped down the wire.

"Yeah, we're all right here. But we can't just hang around like this much longer," Ken replied.

"You're not standing by the wall, are you?"

"No, why?" Yohji asked.

"Good," Calico said.

'I wonder what he means by that?' Aya wondered an instant before he found out as a small exploding pellet hit the plaster and smashed it outwards.

"Time to jump, Abyssinian. You can make it, right?"

Aya blinked. The lights in the parking garage blinded him a bit. They'd been in the dark only for a short while, but it felt like much longer.

"Yeah," he replied. "Not a problem." He adjusted to get a grip on the wire above Calico's head. So close, at that moment, close enough to kiss, really.

"Unh," he grunted swinging himself out of the hole in the wall onto the pavement.

Only then, did he take the time to look over his shoulder as Calico shifted his body weight to swing the wire a bit closer and swung.

Aya's eyes widened. 'He's not gonna make it!' he thought. The jump was too short, there was no way he would clear this…

But again, the fifth Weiss member surprised him, as his left hand caught onto the edge of the hole and he pulled himself up and over with an "oof."

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his middle finger. "Okay, so, maybe not as smooth as I'd have liked, but not too bad!" he said with a slight laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Let's get going then."

"Ah, I'm…"

Calico waved off Omi's attemt at an introduction. "Later. No time to waste on silly things like that right now. With all the noise, the police will probably come soon, and there's still one more bomb…well, that I set anyway. Who knows what else those Kodomo bastards have in there. Did all the hostages get out safely?" he asked, telling Yohji, "move over, I'm driving."

"Excuse me?" Yohji protested at the same time as Ken agreed. "Yeah, twelve girls between the ages of 11 and 26, all clear."

Calico's head shot around to stare at Ken. "Did you just say twelve?"

"Yes?" Ken asked. "Is something…?"

"There were only supposed to be eleven."

A moment of silence passed. So, we saved an extra kid, what's wrong with that?" Omi asked. He didn't understand for once.

Aya grumbled something under his breath and Yohji noted the look in Calico's eyes. He understood perfectly. Shoving his sunglasses on top of his head he said. "It means one of them was probably a spy."

"A spy….hey, what about that secret room, did you get anything?" Omi remembered suddenly.

Aya started to shake his head, "there wasn't any time to…"

"Of course!" Calico said, tapping her temple. "You shouldn't worry so much Abyssinian. It's better to not have a hard copy of these things."

"You think you'll remember all that? You're crazy," Aya scoffed.

"No sweat. I have a photographic memory. Don't worry about a thing. It'll stay in my brain for the rest of my natural life. I used to think, why couldn't it be something cool, like being double-jointed or something. Couldn't figure how a photographic memory was good for anything but homework back then, but it's been pretty useful to me so far."

Yohji kept looking at him strangely. Aya couldn't help but notice. He wasn't even trying to hide it. But Calico…well, he was either totally oblivious, or pretending to be. If Aya had to guess, from what he'd seen so far, it was the latter.

~**~

"You've been staring at me since we first met. Is there something on your mind?" Calico asked.

Yohji said nothing at first. He wasn't a subtle man, but he knew better than to jump into a conversation that started with the sentence, 'I know you're really a woman.' And her disguise, as it were, was actually really good. But she didn't smell like a man.

"Not really. I was just wondering who you are."

"Nobody important," she answered curtly, thoughtlessly.

"But you still haven't told us your name, Calico," Ken said as he joined the others downstairs. "Sorry, those damn girls upstairs just refuse to go away," he rolled his eyes.

"My name…" she trailed off slightly. "I don't have one anymore."

Aya's eyes softened a bit. Even if this guy did have the same face as the girl he knew, the gentle expressions she had, none of them were there. But right now, for a moment, he could almost swear it was her. They were twins, after all. Identical. But that's only icing. It's all on the surface. Underneath they probably weren't that way at all.

"What kind of crap is that? You must have been someone before…" Yohji was getting frustrated. Calico was frustrated too. She knew these questions would come, she'd prepared answers, but her photographic memory decided to conveniently forget the script.

"It's because of who you used to be, right?" Aya said finally. "Your name would be easily recognized. Your face too, so you dyed your hair and started wearing glasses. I'm right, aren't I? You're a musician."

"That…was three weeks and a lifetime ago…Aya."

They'd given her their names. She owed them one, finally, she nodded. "My name was Taro Takane, but that's not a name that I can go around giving to people. So, I don't have a name right now. I guess, I'll have to make something up then." She was silent for a long time. Names…she wasn't any good with them, anything she ever thought of sounded too contrived. She listened to the clock tick on the wall. Her mind was a total blank on this one.

Finally, Aya sighed. "We'll call you Ran, alright?" he grumbled. He wasn't much good with names either, in truth. "You can think of a last name, can't you?"

She was relieved for the save. She didn't realize what the others knew, that they were all looking at him in surprise. But it's not as if they called him Ran anyway, might as well get some use out of the name his parents gave him. "Toshinaru," she said quickly. It was actually the name of one of the other band members, but no one knew that, since he always used a nickname. It would be fine that way. Anyway, it was the first thing that came to mind. "Thanks. I suck at naming things."

"Ran Toshinaru. Alright then," Ken said. "Do you know anything about flowers, Ran?"

"Uh," he scratched behind his ear. "Not in the slightest, actually."

Ken laughed. Omi laughed. This was a person who was like Aya? That's what Birman and Manx said, but he didn't seem to act like Aya at all. Although, the eyes--cold, expressive eyes--they were similar. Yeah, that much was true at least. Even when he smiled "Ran" had very lonely eyes. And Aya did seem to take a liking to him, or a disliking. It was so hard to tell. He watched him. When he thought nobody was looking, he would watch the man he'd given his name to.

~**~

"Ah look! They're all here! Today will be very good!" one of the girls squealed. Aya was busy ignoring that they were there at all, while, as usual, the others worked while trying to fend them off.

'I cut my hair because it was no longer forbidden. I bound my breasts…'

"Well, Ran, first day of a new life. Better not keep this crazy world waiting."

She loosely tied the smock on, adjusting her glasses again. They were totally fake, just plain glass lenses, but no one needed to know that. Anyway, they were kind of cute, and it didn't matter. She was an assassin now, but a cover was necessary too. She couldn't let on that she remembered Aya from that night, that her brother died, that she recognized him as the person who was most like herself. So instead, she took to behaving as her brother would, tried to adopt his sunny disposition, his entire personality.

"Okay, ready to work!" she said cheerfully as she pushed open the door. She blinked when she saw all the girls. Geez, it was hard to move around with all these people in such a small shop.

Everything seemed to stop. "Oh! You got a new employee! He's so cute!" one of the girl's squealed. Before he knew it, Toshinaru Ran was backed into a corner, ringing out his ear from one who'd just squealed right at him. He wasn't much taller than she was, and as a result, his eardrum felt like it was bleeding.

"What's your name? Where are you from? Do you have a girlfriend?" The endless stream of questions was…relentless.

"T-Toshinaru Ran. Kyoto. Uh…no?"

Ken winced. Ooo. That last one was the wrong answer. Aya moved to step in and "save the newbie", causing Ken and Omi to look rather surprised, even if he looked like he was irritated at having to do it. "Uhm, I have work to do, okay. So, we'll talk sometime later?" she offered with a winning smile.

"Ah so cute! He smiles like Takane-kun! Did you know, you resemble Takane-kun from Black Friday?"

She waved it off. "Aa. People tell me that all the time. But I think I'm a little older, so maybe it's he that looks like me, or…looked, actually," he put on a pout. Good acting there. And a good save. "But since he's the famous one, people always say I look like him. Seriously though, I have to work now, and you cute girls are all too distracting! Isn't school going to start soon?"

"Ah! He's right! We'll see you later Aya-kun, Yohji-kun, Ken-kun, Omi-kun, Ran-chan!" the girl giggled and pinched the new boy's cheek.

"…chan?" he frowned slightly.

"It's because you're so cute!" the girl giggled as she ran off.

Ran leaned against the wall with a sigh and pushed his fingers thorough his hair. "Is it always like this?"

"Pretty much, except during breaks. It'll be busy again when school lets out, but now that they're gone it should be slow and we can teach you what to do."

"Okay. Ready and willing to learn! What's first?"

~**~

In the end, I couldn't name many of the flowers, and didn't know how to treat them, so I ended up doing deliveries. It was easy to find places, since I know my way around Tokyo very well, and I was always cheerful and kind with the customers…

"But it's so tiring," she sighed as she flopped back into bed, lacing her fingers behind her head. "Acting so cheerful all the time is very tiring. And speaking with his voice. I have to be careful not to slip. Since my natural voice is much more feminine…" She sighed. 'Well, I'm sure I'll get used to it as time goes by.

She tossed herself out of bed and leaned on the window sill, letting the breeze toss her short hair about. "My name, is Takane Rie," she whispered. "And I will never forgive you…Kodomo."

She turned back into the room and removed her glasses, pulled the notebook and pen out of the top drawer. 'And even now, I can't stop these songs from spilling out of my broken heart.'

When you left me standing

I thought I'd planned it

All alone

And wanting for nothing

A child that wanted nothing

And was not wanted

This, I thought, was a perfect dream…

She crinkled the paper and threw it towards the trash can, but missed, and started again.

If my dream was to love,

And be loved in return,

Then I have failed.

Again, she threw the paper away. Again, she tried to write. It was too difficult without her voice to guide her. Her voice, which had been traded for her hair and her breasts. Her voice, which was now forbidden. But, her voice was something that she simply couldn't bind any longer. Again, she moved to the window. Even a hollow whisper would be enough. It would have to be, because it's all that she had left to give. Her music--that had been another life.

++Is it too much to ask?

This dream

This life.

My death.

I have no promises left to keep

No more dreams to beckon sleep

No more life to call my own

And without you here…

No home.

Once again I'm all alone….

And if you save me tonight,

I'll have no fear.

If you turn out the light

I'll be waiting here.

If you …

Only you.

No one else but you…

She stopped--that sound. She knew it better than anyone else. That song. That voice. Hers. No one else's but hers. Who was listening to her song?

~**~

He'd decided to stop by to see his sister and Sakura a little earlier than he'd intended. In truth, he just really needed the distraction. He had forgotten about the cd that Aya-chan had said she'd copy for him. But it was different now. He just wanted to hear that girl's voice again. He wondered if he would be able to listen to it without thinking about Taro now, no, Calico, no…Ran. Yeah, that's right. He'd given that guy his own name. He wasn't sure why. He'd just looked so lost and, he really did have his sister's eyes.

"So, is there anything new Ran?" Aya-chan asked. It was really difficult for Sakura to get used to calling him that, but his sister couldn't call him anything else. As a result, he was a man with two names.

Aya said nothing right away. He hadn't called ahead, but they still insisted he stay for dinner. "A new person came to work at the Koneko," he said vaguely.

"Really? Oh, who is it? Boy or girl? Are they nice?" Aya-chan tackled him with questions.

'His name is…Ran."

"Ran? Really? Another Ran, that's got to be confusing!"

Sakura shook her head as she put the tea kettle down.

"Probably not, you're the only one who still calls him Ran, Aya-chan. Nobody else could get used to calling him that after using Aya for so long."

"Hn," Aya agreed. "His name is…Toshinaru Ran."

"Ah, I think when I meet him, I'll have to call him Toshinaru-san," Aya-chan said. "So we won't get confused when you're together."

A moment passed quickly through his mind of Ran's first day on the job, at the shop, with all those girls after Aya-chan said that and he was surprised as a bubbly feeling burst from his chest. It started as a small niggle, then it was a chuckle, and suddenly he was acutally laughing. It was a small laugh, but his lips had peeled back and he looked happy for once. Sakura was really very surprised.

"Aya?" she asked. "Oh no, no, it's nothing, really. Haha." 'So then, why can't I stop laughing?"

"Nothing, but you're laughing Aya! I've never seen you do that before."

"No, it's just…Toshinaru-san. Haha. His first day, all those girls where there, and they called him Ran-chan. He looked so discouraged. "chan?" he asked. You just reminded me of that, that's all."

"They called him "chan?" They don't even call Omi "chan"!" Sakura protested.

"Yeah, that's why it's funny. He's older than Omi, but shorter than Ken. They said because he was cute. Ken teased him about it for hours."

"It sounds like things are much more lively there now!" Aya-chan giggled. "I want to meet him! The person who makes my big brother laugh."

"You make it sound like he's my girlfriend or something. Geez, Aya."

"Oh! I have that CD for you!"

"Aa. I'd forgotten about it."

~**~

++We walked this broken road hand in hand

Carried our tattered crosses

Burned the bridges that we left behind…

And I held you,

All the times you cried

'cause no one's there

You were scared

And needed a shoulder to lean on.

And if this is all I am to you,

Than take what you need,

Take all of me

Nothing else matters to me.

I'm the queen of nothing.

I will follow you down

Bear our broken dreams

I'll write these songs for you (only you)

I'm the queen of nothing.

No more tears,

Don't be afraid.

If you're kneeling down,

I'll kneel with you,

And pretend to pray

To the queen of nothing.

Unwanted children drown

Without a word

We carried our cumbersome crosses

And our cries were never heard

Even in the bed we've made,

Laying flowers on the grave

And you smiled like you knew what happiness was…

And I'm still the queen of nothing (queen of nothing, queen nothing…)

I'm still nothing.

Aya opened his eyes and sighed. "The Queen of Nothing, huh?" he whispered. "I guess that's true, now. But even so…I wanted to know you, Takane-san. But instead of you, I've found your brother at my side. What an unpleasant twist of fate. I'm turning out to be, a really pathetic guy after all."

~**~

"and you smiled like you knew what happiness was…" she sang softly, biting her lip so that she wouldn't cry. "and I'm still the queen of nothing…still…nothing…Rie. I'm…" She sunk down the floor, resting her head on her knees. Maybe she really was turning into Taro. It wasn't like her to cry, but she missed her 'baby brother'. He was the only one who ever mattered, or ever treated her like he wanted her around. In the end, he'd even gone into music for her sake, because he knew she'd never do it if she didn't have him by her side. And even then, she wouldn't sing, because Taro didn't play guitar as well, and his voice was nice, but not as good as hers. As a result, it was just as Taro always said. She'd settled for a mediocre life for his benefit. Black Friday was a somewhat popular band at that time, but they weren't anything special, not really.

"Rie…" all she could do was say her name. If she said it sometimes, then she wouldn't forget, that deep down, she was Rie, Taro's sister. She wasn't him. He was dead, and she still had this strong will to live. 'Why? By all rights, when you lose everything, you should want to die, so…why…do I still want to live? I don't understand.'

There was a gentle rapping on her door, almost as if in answer. "Ran. Dinner will be ready soon."

Aya. Aya was really going out of his way to help him out. He figured it was normal, but, the others said the red-head was normally a pretty cold fish.

"Thanks. I'll be right down, alright?" he said, and even with his "boy voice", it sounded unsteady. Damn. Stupid tears.

Aya started slightly. That voice, was he really? 'Are you alright?' he wondered. His body made his decision before his mind opened the question and he eased open the door a bit. "Ran?" he asked softly.

He had gotten up and was sitting on the edge of the bed when Aya entered. He instinctively threw the pillow at the red-head, who looked surprised, but caught it.

"What the hell're you doing!!? Get out of here!!" he demanded, trying to hide his face and wipe his eyes. In the end, the gesture was something like turning to the wall and burying his head against his knees.

Aya, strangely, was not dissuaded. He placed the pillow on the bed and sad down beside the new recruit. "But, you're crying."

"That's why I want you to go away, idiot!" He gasped. Before he knew it, Aya's arms were wrapped around his waist, and he could feel the heat of his body pressed against his back, his forehead resting against the nape of his neck.

Aya didn't know what he was doing either. It wasn't like him to try and comfort someone, but he just couldn't stand that this guy was crying, for some reason. Even though his cheerful disposition and lightheartedness, and even his face, annoyed Aya, tears were something that he couldn't help but hate on Ran.

"Shhhhh," Aya soothed. Ignoring the way his skin burned at the points of contact with the blonde man. It was irrational and not the point right now anyway. "I understand. My sister was in a coma for two years. After that long…I thought she'd never wake up. I missed her so much."

"Did she…wake up?" Ran asked slowly.

Aya nodded. Ran could feel his breath against the back of his neck. So warm. So soft. "Yeah, a few months ago."

"Well that's the difference between us, isn't it, Aya? Your sister woke up, and mine never will. Never…" he didn't mean to start crying again, but the tears began falling before he could stop them.

"You were really close, weren't you? You and your sister."

"Of course we were close, dummy, we were twins."

"That's not what I meant."

"…I know. In truth, we were children that no one wanted, but we had each other, at least, and that was something. That was enough of a reason to go on. I don't know why I still want to live now, but…" he sighed. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm fine. Let go, huh? This feels stupid."

"I…met her once, you know, you're sister," Aya said, letting go as requested and standing. "I really liked her. She was…the person most like myself."

Ran's eyes widened. Aya…remembered. Oh. Well, shit.

"Get cleaned up and come down for dinner, alright? If you stay so skinny like that, your bones will break too easily."

There, now Aya was leaving finally. But there was one more question that demanded to spill out before the conversation was over. "Aya. Your sister. What's her name?"

Aya wasn't facing him when he said, "It's…Aya."

Ran's eyes widened slightly. He was starting to understand a little. "Then, what's your name? Your real name."

Now, Aya turned, he smiled softly, nostalgically, and said, "it's Ran."

Aya could see the stunned expression in the young man's eyes. Those eyes. "I'll see you at dinner," he said and closed the door between him, heaving a deep sigh.

'This is very bad,' he thought. 'I went out of my way to comfort him there. And…I held him. I liked it too, holding him like that. It felt natural and he always smells really good. Shit. Not gonna think about it.'

Yohji flicked his cigarette over the banister and frowned at Calico's door. He took to thinking of her as "Calico" all of the time, because he didn't have a woman's name to put to her.

He hadn't been spying, not really, but he saw the expression on Aya's face when he left that room, and it wasn't good. "She's got him so edgy and confused," he sighed balefully. "Knowing Aya, he probably thinks he's turning gay suddenly. Even so…there's definitely something more going on here."

~**~

"Toshi-kun!" Aya-chan waved happily from the doorway before entering. "Are you here all by yourself today? Leaving the new guy all alone, that's not very nice. You seem to be learning quickly."

"Aa. I'm trying. Aya went out to do deliveries. I just hope he's back by the time school lets out. I don't like dealing with all those girls." Ran made a face at the thought. "I really should have just told them I have a girlfriend, or something. They're always asking me to go out and do stuff with them. Maybe I should pretend to be gay," he mused, seeming to seriously consider it.

Aya-chan slapped his arm. "Don't be silly! If you're ever in a pickle like that, you can just pretend that I'm your girlfriend."

"Huh?"

"Well, we're friends right?"

"Yeah…"

"And I'm a girl, so it's technically not lying!" she teased. "Anyway, it's just pretend, so if those girls give you too hard a time, you can just say you're going out with me."

"Haha. I see. Alright then. Even so, it might be fun to pretend I like boys," Ran joked. "If for no other reason than to see the look on Ken's face. Haha. I can see it now. Totally dumbfounded."

"You're terrible!"

"Yeah, but that's why I'm so fun, right?" he winked playfully.

"So Ran is doing deliveries? That's unusual."

"Aa. I was going to do them, but he said something about it not being fair to me that I have to do them all the time, and besides, I have to learn more about flowers, and I won't learn by wandering around town. So I'm trying to do arrangements like Omi taught me to, but I don't think they're very nice-looking. Well, I'll just have to work harder then!" he said.

"That's the spirit!" Sakura said as she entered. "Look who I found wandering around outside!" she said, dragging Aya in behind her.

"I was not wandering around," he protested.

"Oh! Back already? That was quick."

"All the deliveries were in the same area."

"Aa. Well good, you can help me then!" Ran said. He held the arrangement he was working on up and brought it over, depositing in Aya's hands. "Fix this please!" he said cheerfully. "And tell me what I'm doing wrong."

Aya looked down at the arrangement and sighed. How did you say "everything" without sounding mean. Well, at least the flowers were right. He'd learned to tell which one was which, that was something.

~**~

"It's late. Don't you have the early shift with Ken tomorrow?" Aya asked when he found Ran leaning on the balcony that passed by their doors.

"Aa. Yeah, I guess so, but it's such a nice night. Perfect weather for thinking."

"You're thinking about Kodomo again, aren't you?"

"Oh, always a little bit, I guess. I was just wondering…why did you give me your name, back then. Ran is your name, so… I'll admit, you really confuse me sometimes."

Aya shrugged blandly. "I tried going back to it after my sister woke up, but everyone had been calling me Aya for so long that they just couldn't get used to it. I just told them to give up. It was annoying. If I'm not going to use it, someone might as well. Besides, you looked so confused. I figured we'd be there all afternoon if I left you to your own devices."

"Oh. Hey! That was mean!" Ran protested. It had taken him a moment to register the insult.

Aya couldn't help a small smile, which left the blonde boy looking a little stunned.

"What?" Aya asked defensively.

"You should do that more. Smile, I mean."

"I could say the same to you," Aya said, leaning against the railing. It was so hard, to look at this guy and not think of his sister. In his mind, they'd half-melded into one entity, though he knew they were very separate from one another.

"Aa. You could. But you won't, right? Because in truth, I smile a lot more than you do."

"If you call those smiles," Aya retorted.

Ran looked up at him, rather stunned. He knew. Was it really, so obvious?

"Relax, Ran. You've been thorough a lot. No one's judging you."

Ran turned away, looked down at his fists, clenched together on the banister. "I'm just trying to be…myself," he said softly, and Aya's chest clenched. "Is that so wrong?"

Aya turned to face him, and the blonde looked up at him. He didn't mean to be crying, but the tears fell whether he cried or not. Silent tears. Aya's heart felt like it would burst. The impulse to lean down and kiss them away was almost too much to bear.

"It's not wrong," he whispered finally, turning away to return to his room. "Get some sleep Ran."