Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Fluesternd ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Crimson 
It begins...
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.08.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 500 | Status: Completed
It begins...
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Psychological | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.08.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 500 | Status: Completed
FLUESTERND - by Crimson
*****1*****
Wake up.
In one way or another Fate is destined to royally screw you over. If you're not prepared to fight back, you'll get driven right into the ground. After all, even a golden shovel falters when digging a fallen angel out of Hell.
Nevertheless, there is still one, universal, all saving truth:
Hope.
Hope never dies. It lies in waiting to make its move, suffocating the disbeliever, the persistent pessimist, and it always gains the upper hand if allowed enough room to breathe.
Form, however, is never universal. Hope has more configurations than the world has false deities.
Open your eyes.
There are only so many opportunities for hope to hold you captive, and if you miss yours there is no second chance, no continue, nothing......but game over.
Watch out.
Hope will arise, whether it strikes you as a song, a scream, a trembling thunder, or the soft, sweet call......of......whispering......
*****
Delica te and nimble fingers ache across the keyboard, droning out an endless song that will haunt the dreams of the young boy who owns those digits......once again.
Click. Pound. Click, click, click. How he wishes to be rid of the dreadful, empty echo.
No such luck, unfortunately; he has a job to do.
(What will be the end of this......) Young Naoe Nagi wonders, (He keeps giving me orders - do this, do that - but never tells me why. What will be the end of this, Crawford.....?)
"You're not supposed to care, kid. Remember?"
Nagi grimaces, his marred reflection bouncing back at him from the computer screen.
"Stop looking inside my head, Schuldrich." he replies dryly. "Don't you have a job of your own you should be doing?"
A tall red-head steps from the shadows of the far wall, grinning like the Cheshire Cat; a sly creature who slinks about, tormenting the innocent. Jade eyes glow with an inhuman radiance, dancing to the click, clack rhythm of the keys still typing away, though Nagi has taken his hands from the keyboard.
"Why do you even bother doing it manually at all?" Schuldrich asks, humored by the thought, "You're just another freak like the rest of us. Trying to forget that won't take it away." he pauses to laugh, and Nagi shudders inwardly, feeling much like the student who cringes at their teacher's nails raking across the chalkboard. "You'd like it to go away, wouldn't you.....? Huh, kid?"
(Kid, kid, kid! I have a name!)
"You ask me the same question everyday." large eyes flick up as Nagi speaks, though he refuses to turn towards his companion. "Aren't you tired of the same answer? I want *you* to go away. Leave me alone. Walk around in someone else's mind for a change."
Another scratch on the blackboard. "I'd rather stick with yours. There's always something new inside to surprise me." Schuldrich has been advancing on the boy by the computer screen, and stands just behind him now. Lips curl back to grin again, widely, as long arms wrap in a false, motherly way around Nagi's narrow shoulders. The red-head bends down, those twisted lips whispering into the boy's ear. "Any juicy details on your idiot aijin to share, or haven't you taken a go at it yet?"
Schuldrich immediately begins to feel a throbbing in his arms, as if someone is physically trying to pry them away, and suddenly he's tossed back, nearly toppling over, though Nagi hasn't moved an inch.
"Toto is not an idiot........and I will NEVER share any part of her with you......." Nagi's words shake despite their severity and tone. Control is a distant memory. "If you even *think* of speaking about her that way again- "
"You'll what?" Schuldrich asks smugly, steadying his footing. "You'll throw me into a wall? Rip my limbs from my body without lifting a finger, the way you're just sitting in that chair now? What, Nagi? Tell me what you'll do?"
The air is stale, thick, and impossible to breathe. A world cut off from time and space instantly becomes far too small. Nagi has turned in his chair, watching the red-head hatefully. Schuldrich can feel the energy surging through the room now, bouncing off the constellations on the walls. He smiles. A thousand nails on a hundred chalkboards could not replicate the shuddering impact of laughter filling the room.
(Stop it........stop.......) Nagi screams silently, petrified in place as his mind continues to fight off the growing grip of both unsteady powers struggling for the upper hand.
"Enough!"
Like a cord cut, a new voice shatters the building tension, and Nagi can almost see the shards of cosmic glass hitting the floor as his mind breathes relief.
A rigid figure steps into the room from the doorway, blinding them with the light which emanates from beyond it. He's taller than Schuldrich, taller by just enough to make him appear that much more threatening. His hair is dark - perfect - and his bronzed eyes glare with authority from behind a pair of black frames.
"Schuldrich, I've warned you before about -"
"Yeah, yeah. 'Don't mess around with something you can't completely control'." the red-head interrupts, mocking the newcomer's tone with the familiar saying. "I know the lecture, Bradley. Can't I ever have a little fun?"
Brad Crawford folds his arms across his chest, looking down his nose at Schuldrich as if preparing to punish a small child.
"It's just as much my fault, Crawford." Nagi begins, before Brad can reply to the red-head's impudence. "I don't know enough about my abilities to try and use them so forcefully. I'm sorry."
(There's that youth talking again, kid. We never signed any contract ordering compassion, you know?)
Nagi flinches at Schuldrich's message, but ignores it. He could never lie to Brad. Compassion has nothing to do with it.
"You should both know better." their leader states firmly, dropping his arms to his sides. "Or would you prefer to destroy each other before we reach our goal?"
Nagi hangs his head in thought at those brutal words. (Maybe if we knew fully what that goal is......)
(Don't forget I can hear you, Naoe.)
The young boy pushes his thoughts of doubt away in a heartbeat. What Schu hears, Schu tells.
"Are you listening to me?!"
Schuldrich and Nagi's heads jerk up at Brad's harsh voice.
"I will not have either of you damaging our work when we are so close," he continues. "With the last pieces now in place, we're nearly ready to...uh..." a sudden jolt causes him to trail off, his gaze going dead and blank.
Nagi and Schuldrich look to each other without saying a word, and Schu nods knowingly. They wait in silence for Brad to find his way back, signaled by another slight convulsion which throws him off balance.
"What did you see?" Schuldrich asks flatly, once Brad has regained himself.
Eager with curiosity, Nagi's eyes widen a bit in wait for the answer. A reflexed prayer flutters through the boys mind, begging for the premonition of an end.......some end.......any end.......to their plight.
"Get Farfarello." Brad commands in reply to Schu's question. "There is a new threat."
*****
There is a new beginning. Spring flourishes through the land; pastel flowers, warmer weather, and the constant tweet and buzz of revived life. Shadows and clouds of thickening grey rage and grow in the distance, but that can be forgotten, for sunlight glitters down on a humble flower shop defiantly against the approaching storm.
Light can be so terribly stubborn.
A weathered mobile home is parked in the alley just behind the shop, and all its doors stand ajar as it waits to be fully unloaded after a long, ceaseless journey.
"I hate getting the last batch! The biggest boxes are always on the bottom."
The annoyed and slightly high-pitched voice has come from a diminutive, teenage boy. Golden strands of hair wisp into his brilliant, cobalt eyes as he stomps his foot in defeat.
"Omi, with spaghetti noodle arms like that, you might as well give up while you're ahead." An older young man says jokingly, towering nearly half a foot taller than the boy. "Leave this grunt work to the real men, bishounen. Wouldn't want to roughen up that soft skin."
He laughs heartily at his own joke, but frustrated, young Tsukiyono Omi most definitely doesn't find the humor.
"Baka! I'd like to see you do some actual manual labor for a change, Youji-kun!" he snaps, yelling over his shoulder at his supposed friend.
Kudo Youji, his wild, sandy hair pulled back loosly from his face, gives no hint of leaving his perch against the back door to the shop. He only smirks, taking a long drag from his ever-present cigarette.
"Already unpacked." he replies, emerald eyes shimmering, "I think I deserve a little R 'n' R."
Omi grunts with disapproval, turning to face his companion sharply. "You've had nothing *but* R 'n' R since you first learned how to spell it!"
Another puff of smoke escapes smiling lips. "Never cared much for spelling really. School, the three R's; all rubbish. I prefer the three S's myself: Sex - sex -....." Puff, puff. "......and cigarettes."
The younger boy groans audibly while rolling his eyes, returning his attention to the white, cardboard case that is giving him such a headache. It is filled with sweet-smelling, violet flowers, the last bunch left to be stored inside the shop, and it is nearly half the size of the boy himself.
(I can do this......I *can* do this.......) Omi chants to himself, stretching his arms around the box's base.
"All the money in the world says you fall flat on your cute, little behind after one step." Youji kids, watching as Omi prepares to hoist the case from the RV.
Omi pays no mind, however, determined to get that last batch of flowers inside......one way or another. He steadies himself, takes a deep breath, and lifts the case fully into his arms. Youji nods in slight admiration, surprised Omi managed to lift the box at all, but he won't get much time to savor the thought. As Omi attempts to turn around, he quickly looses his footing and begins backpedaling away from the vehicle.......right towards a certain blonde-haired ladies' man.
Luckily for the older boy, Omi loses balance completely just *before* ramming him into the building. Youji then steps forward to catch his stumbling friend, and though he drops his cigarette in the process, Omi lands safely in his outstretched arms.
Youji can't help but grin. "Told you so." he declares merrily.
"Hey, do you guys need any help out here?" a new voice calls unexpectedly, coming from just behind the door.
"Ken, no!"
Too late.
Youji is still standing quite close to the door as it swings open, sending the poor young man brutally forward. The impact not only knocks Omi down to land roughly atop the now crushed delphiniums, but it also lands Youji right on top of both.
"Guys? Are you out he-" Ken stops mid-sentence, finally noticing his friends' predicament as he steps fully through the door. His dark hair glistens with sweat from hauling so many supplies and cases of flowers inside, but ocean eyes beam past his slight fatigue at the humorous situation in front of him.
"Did I....ah heh......interrupt something......?" the question comes out littered with laughter as Ken struggles to contain himself. His friends, after all, are in a rather compromising position.
Omi and Youji look at each other; up at Ken; at each other once more.......and Youji suddenly bursts out laughing, not bothering to let Omi up.
"Urrg! Get off! It's NOT funny!" the poor boy shrieks, at last finding his voice as he labors to crawl out from under the figure on top of him. "That really hurt, Youji-kun! Do you have any idea how much you weigh?!"
Carefully, and rather slowly, Youji pulls himself up, filled with slight indignation from that last remark. Nonetheless, both Ken and Youji can't seem to stop snickering, an angered Omi glaring daggers in their direction.
"Go ahead, laugh away! But *you* can be the ones to tell Aya-kun what happened to the flowers!"
They stop laughing.
"Come on, Omi. It *was* kinda funny." Ken tries.
"Besides....." Youji jumps in, dawning a sly smile. "You're just angry 'cause you wanted to be on top."
A shadow spreads across the younger boy's face, and Youji knows he's gone too far.
"Just joking, bishounen. You know I don't walk on *that* side of the street." he mends, attempting to break the swelling tension. "I only go for women. As long as they're over 18."
Omi seems a bit less frazzled after that, but his resolve hasn't changed. "You're still telling Aya-kun."
Youji makes a face, seeming about to retaliate, but Ken speaks first, "Where did Aya go, anyway?" he questions, his nose crinkling in thought. "I haven't seen him since we got back."
"Probably in the storage room." Youji offers, giving Omi a slight glare as he realizes he's been beat. "I'll go get him."
*****
Nothing could get to him. Nothing like *her*. Amethyst-tinted navy hues the braided hair, and child-like eyes are forever questioning......naive......innocence lost. The memory of a name he took and tainted for the money to spare a young life reminds him of the lives he brought to an end. She woke up - but to what? Her brother is long dead, buried in tears shed for her ageless beauty, and the man left behind is a hallow husk of regret and bitter heartache.
What can be taken back that was so willingly given away?
Fujimiya Ran stands before a towering shelf of potted plants, bags of dirt and fertilizer, and the remnants of lives that ended long before they began. Scarlett tendrils fall against skin so pale and lifeless only the spark in his violet eyes prove him more than a ghost. There are no more supplies to be packed away, no more flowers to label and store, nothing left at all, but the simple act of leaving the room.
Why, then, could Ran not take a single step?
(If I leave here......she'll find me......) Ran supposes, his mind paralyzed with thought. (......she'll smile and hug my arm......believing me to be the same man. She'll think it's all as it was before......before she fell asleep for so long......before I stained her name with blood......and lost all rights to mine. Before I......became the very black beast I was contracted to destroy. How can I face her loving eyes again...? How......?)
"Oniichan......?" a timid voice beckons.
(No......not now......)
"Oniichan, what are you doing in here?"
(If I don't turn around......she'll go away......please, Aya......stay away......)
"Ran, what's wrong with you?" she persists.
He can feel her presence closing in on him. So close......
(I can't pretend anymore, Aya......but......I couldn't bare it if you knew the truth......if you knew what I was......)
A gentle hand is placed on his shoulder, urging him silently to answer her anxious heart. Oh, how she has missed him.
"Oniichan......Ran......why won't you answer me? You barely stayed a day after I woke up, and now that you're back......you still......" he can hear the pain in her voice, feeling her tears as if they were falling from his eyes alone. "......don't push me away, I can't stand to be without you anymore......"
Feeling desperate arms encircle his waste, Ran knows his cherished imoto is clinging to a shadow, to a wretched darkness that veils the light she seeks.
(......I'm lost......in a world you can't be apart of......) he thinks to himself, remaining rigid and unmoving. (......damn you......let go......let go before I destroy you, too.........)
Aya cannot let go, but only holds him tighter, sobbing so wretchedly, he can feel the dampness of her tears soaking through the back of his shirt.
How long can someone bear to turn away when with all their heart they want to turn around?
".........Aya..........I......" he speaks at last, a trembling hand reaching to cover hers around his waist. ".......forgive me.......I'm not........I'm not who I once was........."
".....I know." comes her muffled reply. "Did you really think I didn't? I knew......I knew something strange was going on, especially after you left so suddenly......"
Slowly, gently, Ran turns around, slipping from his sister's embrace. His eyes are indeed as stained and damp as hers, with the same unbearable streaks against pale skin.
He had only wanted to protect her, to keep her safe. All those years of undue justice dealt. All those endless nights - he could never take back. One question shamed it all so much more:
Did she know what he had become?
"You........you can't possibly know......" he insists, speaking in a frantic whisper.
Aya looks up into her brothers urgent, anguished eyes, resolve settling within her. She must tell him of her suspicions, not only for his sake, but for her own.
"A cozy, private room in a hospital, all mine for two years. That can add up pretty quickly, ne?" She states it plainly, pushing her sorrows aside. "I know the flower shop does well, Oniichan, but not *that* well. You.........you....."
She finds it difficult to press on, her brother's features becoming more stricken by the syllable, but she knows she must if she's to ever have him back again.
"......I know you've done some unthinkable things for my sake....." she continues, her eyes never once turning away from Ran's. ".....When you left....I knew something had to be wrong. I had only just woken up, and......you could barely look at me. Sakura and I became friends so quickly, and I.........I could see it in her eyes......she knew......she knew why you had been so cold to me......."
"Sakura told you?!" Ran snaps harshly, cutting his sister off. "She told you -"
"Nothing......nothing I didn't already suspect." Aya finishes, reaching out to grasp her brother's hand swiftly and firmly with her own.
At first, Ran desperately wants to pull away; run away; fly away - where his white soul tainted grey can finally turn black. He would have.........had he been able to move.
"Oniichan.....I don't care what you've done....I just want you to be my oniichan again....."
The echo of fluttering angel wings......and she is suddenly in his arms, being held *by* him as much as she is holding on.
Life and death are so nearly one in the same. They *are* one in the same, for the moment we begin to live we begin to die. It never ends. The ceaseless cycle of pain and suffering, a momentary lapse for us to collect ourselves in relief, and then back into the pits of Hell on Earth where all the world lives. Such truth can tear and shatter, but only in one another can we be put back together.
".....Aya.....I'm so sorry I left you......"
"No, Oniichan. No....." comes the all too eager reply. ".......I'm sorry I left *you*......"
Footsteps. Rushed and carefree footsteps sound down the hallway, approaching the storeroom far too quickly. Their tender moment is destined for interruption.
"Ran, for the record, it was not my fault." comes a voice, even before the familiar figure steps through the door. ".........Oh. Sorry."
Youji has entered the confined space of the shop's back room, walking in abruptly without a thought at what he might find. Emerald eyes widen slightly now in utter disbelief.
(Since when does Ran have a heart......?)
"Youji......" the red-head begins, faltering in his speech as he quickly slips from his sister's eager arms. Suddenly, some unseen force begins to gnaw away at him, numbing his senses.
(This is wrong......) he thinks bitterly. (......how could I be so foolish......? We're killers......I....I can't.....go back to her......)
"What do you want, Youji?" Ran asks at last, his accustomed, icy edge infiltrating his tone once again.
He has abandoned his sister's willingness to understand, leaving Aya hurt and uneasy. The young imoto cannot comprehend her brother's instant change. With a single look from Youji he has become stiff and distant again, his voice devoid of the overwhelming emotion it had held only moments before.
(I guess it has to beat to be considered a heart........)
"We're ready to open the shop." Youji states matter-of-factly. "Wouldn't want to keep our adoring fans waiting. Especially considering our usual clientele."
Aya eyes both boys oddly as they speak to one another, sensing their evasiveness; curious at how each one seems to switch gears, accommodating the other's expectations. Her stubborn, Fujimiya mind reprimands her for staying silent, when she so desperately wants to scream. Was the tender moment between herself and her lost oniichan nothing but a flicker of a dream?
"We'll be right there." comes Ran's chilling voice. "And don't spend all day flirting, Kudo. This is a business. Sell something."
Youji smirks. Aya cringes. The scene before her is flawed. Surreal.
"Be sure you mean that, *Ran*." Youji replies, stressing the often forgotten name. "I'll take you seriously."
It's funny how, in the right tone of voice, a joke can sound like a threat.
A sharp glare from Ran silences the blonde, and Youji steps back through the door obediently, tossing a wink over his shoulder at Aya-chan as he heads for the front.
They are alone again.
If she hadn't consciously noticed the change in atmosphere, Aya would've forgotten to breathe. Such a presence cannot feasibly exist to cause such anxiety in a single breath.
"Oniichan, what is the matter with you?" Aya begins forcefully. "I thought....just now.....urrhh. Have you forgotten me? Have you forgotten how to smile? How to love? How to live? Look at me!"
Ran flinches miserably. (I can't bear this!) he screams from inside, unable to do as she asks.
Some tiny remnant of his former self had clawed and scratched its way back into his heart for that one moment while he had held her. One moment. The image of Youji standing there in the doorway, truly aghast at seeing any sign of compassion or tenderness from their leader, cut the strings. A limp and lifeless puppet left to drag itself back into place.
(I have no right to give her hope.) Ran's thoughts continue, despite his sister's urgent presence. (Fujimiya Ran is dead! You should forget me, Aya. I can only bring you pain.........)
"Ran, answer me!"
Wrenched from his brooding reverie, Ran turns, looking down at his sister, expressionless.
"You do not belong here, Aya."
His words hold no emotion, merely plain, cold fact, despite the stinging fury within.
"And where am I to go?" she replies, tears filling her eyes once again. "How can I leave you? You are not this robot of a man! Forget the life that has changed you and come back to me!"
"I can't! Don't you understand that!?!" Ran booms, control lost as his voice fills the room with sudden malice and blind rage. "Your brother died with your parents that night! He died by your bedside every night for two years! His unshed blood gave birth to me, paying your hospital bills with the blood of countless others! My hands our stained to the bone with that blood! Damn, can't you see?!"
He speaks without thinking, slowly backing his sister against the wall as his vicious words fly from tongues of fire.
Aya's eyes are wide and flooded with tears. She cannot raise her voice to stop him, but worse, he cannot stop himself, even as he grabs his sister's delicate wrists, forcing her roughly into the wall.
"I have no right to hold you in my arms the way I did! I have no right to smile! To hell with forgetting! I have no right to love, or live, or breathe, or even feel anymore! You want your brother back?! Then look at what he's become! I am a walking corpse! I am this wretched beast because of you!!"
Unrivaled horror. The boundaries of fear have faded; a barren valley of shadows leaving visions of undistorted terror to claw at the skin of innocence. Truth is an undesired lover.
Aya and Ran have become stone, neither capable of movement. The distant, fading call of Ran's rage deafens him, and he cannot even bring himself to loosen his grip on his sister's wrists. Surely they are pulsing with pain.
(What am I saying...? How could I.......)
"What the hell is going on in here?! Ran......what are you doing......?"
Ran remains a sculpture, watching his sister's eyes look sharply towards the door at the owner of that urgent voice. He can see the reflection of a startled young man shaming him from within those orbs of undue fear.
Ken.
"Ran, what are you doing?" the brunette repeats sternly, cautiously entering the room. "Let her go. Can't you see you're hurting her....?"
Aya still has not spoken, mute from disbelief. All Ran had said was the truth; all that was left was a false fantasy she could never reclaim. Ran was gone - buried in frozen ashes and metal tears - because she had fallen asleep......and dreamed him away.
Abruptly, Ran frees Aya from his crushing hold on her, stepping back with eerily blank features his sister cannot stand to look at.
(I can't let her know......I can never let her know......) Ran resolves painfully. (The man I am now can never again be the man she wants back. If I let her know how much I wish I could.....wipe away those tears.....drive away her suffering......no! If she knew, she would never stop trying to get me back........)
"Oniichan......" Aya's broken voice whispers, but Ran will not allow her to change his mind. Not now. Not ever. In his own misguided view of the man he has become, nothing of his humanity is left to be worth saving anymore.
"There is work to do." the red-head declares in a dead, unnerving tone. It is all he can bring himself to say.
Watching him achingly as Ran sweeps past Ken and out of the room, Aya's heart tears in a million places, into a million broken shards, collapsing her to the ground from sheer grief.
"Aya!" Ken calls, rushing to her side. He is used to Ran's cold demeaner, but *this*, this he cannot understand. "Aya, what happened? What did he say to you?"
Angel tears of bitter crystal pour down her face, and her voice is difficult to find. "Only.....only the truth, Ken-niisan......" she whimpers out pitifully. "....I've lost him....."
*****
It was lost to him. The youth and laughter of days long past, all lost in a horrid screech of tires and the rancid smell of rubber. The memory would never desert him.
Swept up in the pull of routine, Ran vaguely dusts a pot of orchids with his spray bottle, treating them with tender care. He knows the others are following his movements, whispering in curious voices about the incident with Aya.
Ken had spent only a few moments in consolation with the grief-stricken girl, before her countenance unexpectedly changed.
(I can't give up......not after everything that's happened......) she had thought with increasing determination. (If Ran chooses to act the part of the cruel, malicious sinner, then I'll play my part, too. I will get my oniichan back, even if I have to strive from behind a masked smile forever......)
Determined, she had stood from the floor of the storeroom, and walked to the front of the shop with dried and fading tears on her cheeks. Somehow, Ken had understood, and followed suit, struggling to overcome his hot-headed tendencies and leave the matter where it stood:
Aya and Ran had to get through this on their own, however Fate chose to lead them.
Now, the shop welcomed customers with doors wide open, while a crew of uneasy florists cloaked their true feelings with what everyone else expected to find.
A cheerful boy, a fiery youth, a ladies man, a loner, and a young girl. Nothing out of the ordinary......
"Ohaiyo, minna-san! You're back!"
Tomoe Sakura bounds through the shop doors, a bright smile stretching the length of her face. Light brown hair still kept short since she had cut it after Aya's awakening, Sakura is so much more her old self again. Carefree and genuine; the only one for miles.
"How was your trip?" she continues, leaning against the main counter as everyone save Ran comes over to say hello. "You were gone for months, ne? Anything exciting happen?"
(Just faced off against the American Army......) Youji thinks slyly, but figures he shouldn't say so out loud.
"Being away from such a beautiful, young woman for so long, how could anything be exciting?" the blonde grins, wrapping his arm loosely around Sakura's shoulders.
"Careful, Yotan, Sakura-chan's not 18 *yet*." Aya states gleefully, conveniently her merry self as well.
Sweeping the floor far away from the group, Ran takes comfort in his sister's tone. As long as she is happy, he can be at peace......in some form. Ironically, her thoughts mirror his own, and she wears her mask well in hopes of defying the fate he has chosen for himself.
An imoto can be so terribly stubborn sometimes.
"Ran-niisan, aren't you going to say hello?"
It is the imoto in question who interrupts the red-head's thoughts, as he looks up from his sweeping with a dead-panned expression. "Ohaiyo, Sakura." he replies plainly, not bothering to pause in his work. There is an instant chill as crystals of ice form in the air.
(What's with him today......?) Sakura thinks curiously. (I thought Aya-kun was becoming more open with everyone. Hmmm, they all seem strange today, like they're hiding something, Well, I know how to cheer them up......)
"So, aren't you all excited about the new shop?" she asks, cleverly changing the subject.
"What new shop, Sakura-chan?" Omi inquires, placing a pot of tulips in the front window.
"The one right across the street, of course." she answers matter-of-factly. "Didn't you notice?"
Ken steps over to the window, peering out. "But that building's been empty for years."
His gaze passes over the newly painted walls and freshly trimmed windows of an old, two story shop, very similar to theirs. None of them had noticed the change, but grey siding was now a pale yellow; welcoming and beautiful.
"I think whoever's opening that shop is playing a joke on you." Sakura adds.
"What do you mean?" Aya questions, walking up to the window beside Ken.
Sakura smiles warmly. "Just look at the sign in front. It's quite a coincidence."
By now, everyone, including stoic Fujimiya Ran, stands in front of the large shop window to get a clear look at the building across the street. In front of it is a brightly painted sign.
"Coffee and gift shop opening tomorrow," Ken reads aloud. "Kitten's Cafe?"
"How cute!" Aya exclaims. "I wonder if it's on purpose......?"
"Wouldn't that be fun?" an excited Youji comments. "Could it be our evil twins?"
Sweet, unfazed laughter. Strange - something new and surprising can provoke so much good feeling - caused by the bitter, honey taste of having your thoughts focused on anything *but* your own painful, daily routine.
"Doubtful, Youji-kun." Omi states simply, nudging the blonde in the side. "We're not interesting enough to clone."
"Speak for yourself, little boy." Youji replies with a look. "But I wonder who *is* opening that shop."
Ran's thoughts stir as he steps away from the window, leaving the others to their conversation. (Who indeed......? I have a strange feeling about this......)
*****
"There is an odd feeling in the air about this......"
"We can't wait any longer. Weiss has returned, and Schwartz is on the move."
"It's about time anyway! I'll turn into a fossil if we don't do something soon!"
"And I can't wait to meet them all. It'll be so much fun!"
"Fun? Don't you two ever think about these things logically? We have a mission to complete, if you recall?"
"We certainly do, but don't give them such a hard time. I'm just as anxious to begin myself."
"Do you really think we'll be able to pull this off?"
"Of course we will, silly! It's our destiny......right?"
"Destiny has nothing to do with it. It is simply something we must do."
"Well said, my friend, and we are finally ready to fulfill it. It is time for Weiss and Schwartz to meet their end - through the calling of the wind - Fluesternd."
*****A/N*****
I hope you like this so far, because it's only the beginning. There are 20 total chapters, and I plan to post one every day, or every other day. Please, continue reading this. Also, reviews are always welcome. :-)
*****1*****
Wake up.
In one way or another Fate is destined to royally screw you over. If you're not prepared to fight back, you'll get driven right into the ground. After all, even a golden shovel falters when digging a fallen angel out of Hell.
Nevertheless, there is still one, universal, all saving truth:
Hope.
Hope never dies. It lies in waiting to make its move, suffocating the disbeliever, the persistent pessimist, and it always gains the upper hand if allowed enough room to breathe.
Form, however, is never universal. Hope has more configurations than the world has false deities.
Open your eyes.
There are only so many opportunities for hope to hold you captive, and if you miss yours there is no second chance, no continue, nothing......but game over.
Watch out.
Hope will arise, whether it strikes you as a song, a scream, a trembling thunder, or the soft, sweet call......of......whispering......
*****
Delica te and nimble fingers ache across the keyboard, droning out an endless song that will haunt the dreams of the young boy who owns those digits......once again.
Click. Pound. Click, click, click. How he wishes to be rid of the dreadful, empty echo.
No such luck, unfortunately; he has a job to do.
(What will be the end of this......) Young Naoe Nagi wonders, (He keeps giving me orders - do this, do that - but never tells me why. What will be the end of this, Crawford.....?)
"You're not supposed to care, kid. Remember?"
Nagi grimaces, his marred reflection bouncing back at him from the computer screen.
"Stop looking inside my head, Schuldrich." he replies dryly. "Don't you have a job of your own you should be doing?"
A tall red-head steps from the shadows of the far wall, grinning like the Cheshire Cat; a sly creature who slinks about, tormenting the innocent. Jade eyes glow with an inhuman radiance, dancing to the click, clack rhythm of the keys still typing away, though Nagi has taken his hands from the keyboard.
"Why do you even bother doing it manually at all?" Schuldrich asks, humored by the thought, "You're just another freak like the rest of us. Trying to forget that won't take it away." he pauses to laugh, and Nagi shudders inwardly, feeling much like the student who cringes at their teacher's nails raking across the chalkboard. "You'd like it to go away, wouldn't you.....? Huh, kid?"
(Kid, kid, kid! I have a name!)
"You ask me the same question everyday." large eyes flick up as Nagi speaks, though he refuses to turn towards his companion. "Aren't you tired of the same answer? I want *you* to go away. Leave me alone. Walk around in someone else's mind for a change."
Another scratch on the blackboard. "I'd rather stick with yours. There's always something new inside to surprise me." Schuldrich has been advancing on the boy by the computer screen, and stands just behind him now. Lips curl back to grin again, widely, as long arms wrap in a false, motherly way around Nagi's narrow shoulders. The red-head bends down, those twisted lips whispering into the boy's ear. "Any juicy details on your idiot aijin to share, or haven't you taken a go at it yet?"
Schuldrich immediately begins to feel a throbbing in his arms, as if someone is physically trying to pry them away, and suddenly he's tossed back, nearly toppling over, though Nagi hasn't moved an inch.
"Toto is not an idiot........and I will NEVER share any part of her with you......." Nagi's words shake despite their severity and tone. Control is a distant memory. "If you even *think* of speaking about her that way again- "
"You'll what?" Schuldrich asks smugly, steadying his footing. "You'll throw me into a wall? Rip my limbs from my body without lifting a finger, the way you're just sitting in that chair now? What, Nagi? Tell me what you'll do?"
The air is stale, thick, and impossible to breathe. A world cut off from time and space instantly becomes far too small. Nagi has turned in his chair, watching the red-head hatefully. Schuldrich can feel the energy surging through the room now, bouncing off the constellations on the walls. He smiles. A thousand nails on a hundred chalkboards could not replicate the shuddering impact of laughter filling the room.
(Stop it........stop.......) Nagi screams silently, petrified in place as his mind continues to fight off the growing grip of both unsteady powers struggling for the upper hand.
"Enough!"
Like a cord cut, a new voice shatters the building tension, and Nagi can almost see the shards of cosmic glass hitting the floor as his mind breathes relief.
A rigid figure steps into the room from the doorway, blinding them with the light which emanates from beyond it. He's taller than Schuldrich, taller by just enough to make him appear that much more threatening. His hair is dark - perfect - and his bronzed eyes glare with authority from behind a pair of black frames.
"Schuldrich, I've warned you before about -"
"Yeah, yeah. 'Don't mess around with something you can't completely control'." the red-head interrupts, mocking the newcomer's tone with the familiar saying. "I know the lecture, Bradley. Can't I ever have a little fun?"
Brad Crawford folds his arms across his chest, looking down his nose at Schuldrich as if preparing to punish a small child.
"It's just as much my fault, Crawford." Nagi begins, before Brad can reply to the red-head's impudence. "I don't know enough about my abilities to try and use them so forcefully. I'm sorry."
(There's that youth talking again, kid. We never signed any contract ordering compassion, you know?)
Nagi flinches at Schuldrich's message, but ignores it. He could never lie to Brad. Compassion has nothing to do with it.
"You should both know better." their leader states firmly, dropping his arms to his sides. "Or would you prefer to destroy each other before we reach our goal?"
Nagi hangs his head in thought at those brutal words. (Maybe if we knew fully what that goal is......)
(Don't forget I can hear you, Naoe.)
The young boy pushes his thoughts of doubt away in a heartbeat. What Schu hears, Schu tells.
"Are you listening to me?!"
Schuldrich and Nagi's heads jerk up at Brad's harsh voice.
"I will not have either of you damaging our work when we are so close," he continues. "With the last pieces now in place, we're nearly ready to...uh..." a sudden jolt causes him to trail off, his gaze going dead and blank.
Nagi and Schuldrich look to each other without saying a word, and Schu nods knowingly. They wait in silence for Brad to find his way back, signaled by another slight convulsion which throws him off balance.
"What did you see?" Schuldrich asks flatly, once Brad has regained himself.
Eager with curiosity, Nagi's eyes widen a bit in wait for the answer. A reflexed prayer flutters through the boys mind, begging for the premonition of an end.......some end.......any end.......to their plight.
"Get Farfarello." Brad commands in reply to Schu's question. "There is a new threat."
*****
There is a new beginning. Spring flourishes through the land; pastel flowers, warmer weather, and the constant tweet and buzz of revived life. Shadows and clouds of thickening grey rage and grow in the distance, but that can be forgotten, for sunlight glitters down on a humble flower shop defiantly against the approaching storm.
Light can be so terribly stubborn.
A weathered mobile home is parked in the alley just behind the shop, and all its doors stand ajar as it waits to be fully unloaded after a long, ceaseless journey.
"I hate getting the last batch! The biggest boxes are always on the bottom."
The annoyed and slightly high-pitched voice has come from a diminutive, teenage boy. Golden strands of hair wisp into his brilliant, cobalt eyes as he stomps his foot in defeat.
"Omi, with spaghetti noodle arms like that, you might as well give up while you're ahead." An older young man says jokingly, towering nearly half a foot taller than the boy. "Leave this grunt work to the real men, bishounen. Wouldn't want to roughen up that soft skin."
He laughs heartily at his own joke, but frustrated, young Tsukiyono Omi most definitely doesn't find the humor.
"Baka! I'd like to see you do some actual manual labor for a change, Youji-kun!" he snaps, yelling over his shoulder at his supposed friend.
Kudo Youji, his wild, sandy hair pulled back loosly from his face, gives no hint of leaving his perch against the back door to the shop. He only smirks, taking a long drag from his ever-present cigarette.
"Already unpacked." he replies, emerald eyes shimmering, "I think I deserve a little R 'n' R."
Omi grunts with disapproval, turning to face his companion sharply. "You've had nothing *but* R 'n' R since you first learned how to spell it!"
Another puff of smoke escapes smiling lips. "Never cared much for spelling really. School, the three R's; all rubbish. I prefer the three S's myself: Sex - sex -....." Puff, puff. "......and cigarettes."
The younger boy groans audibly while rolling his eyes, returning his attention to the white, cardboard case that is giving him such a headache. It is filled with sweet-smelling, violet flowers, the last bunch left to be stored inside the shop, and it is nearly half the size of the boy himself.
(I can do this......I *can* do this.......) Omi chants to himself, stretching his arms around the box's base.
"All the money in the world says you fall flat on your cute, little behind after one step." Youji kids, watching as Omi prepares to hoist the case from the RV.
Omi pays no mind, however, determined to get that last batch of flowers inside......one way or another. He steadies himself, takes a deep breath, and lifts the case fully into his arms. Youji nods in slight admiration, surprised Omi managed to lift the box at all, but he won't get much time to savor the thought. As Omi attempts to turn around, he quickly looses his footing and begins backpedaling away from the vehicle.......right towards a certain blonde-haired ladies' man.
Luckily for the older boy, Omi loses balance completely just *before* ramming him into the building. Youji then steps forward to catch his stumbling friend, and though he drops his cigarette in the process, Omi lands safely in his outstretched arms.
Youji can't help but grin. "Told you so." he declares merrily.
"Hey, do you guys need any help out here?" a new voice calls unexpectedly, coming from just behind the door.
"Ken, no!"
Too late.
Youji is still standing quite close to the door as it swings open, sending the poor young man brutally forward. The impact not only knocks Omi down to land roughly atop the now crushed delphiniums, but it also lands Youji right on top of both.
"Guys? Are you out he-" Ken stops mid-sentence, finally noticing his friends' predicament as he steps fully through the door. His dark hair glistens with sweat from hauling so many supplies and cases of flowers inside, but ocean eyes beam past his slight fatigue at the humorous situation in front of him.
"Did I....ah heh......interrupt something......?" the question comes out littered with laughter as Ken struggles to contain himself. His friends, after all, are in a rather compromising position.
Omi and Youji look at each other; up at Ken; at each other once more.......and Youji suddenly bursts out laughing, not bothering to let Omi up.
"Urrg! Get off! It's NOT funny!" the poor boy shrieks, at last finding his voice as he labors to crawl out from under the figure on top of him. "That really hurt, Youji-kun! Do you have any idea how much you weigh?!"
Carefully, and rather slowly, Youji pulls himself up, filled with slight indignation from that last remark. Nonetheless, both Ken and Youji can't seem to stop snickering, an angered Omi glaring daggers in their direction.
"Go ahead, laugh away! But *you* can be the ones to tell Aya-kun what happened to the flowers!"
They stop laughing.
"Come on, Omi. It *was* kinda funny." Ken tries.
"Besides....." Youji jumps in, dawning a sly smile. "You're just angry 'cause you wanted to be on top."
A shadow spreads across the younger boy's face, and Youji knows he's gone too far.
"Just joking, bishounen. You know I don't walk on *that* side of the street." he mends, attempting to break the swelling tension. "I only go for women. As long as they're over 18."
Omi seems a bit less frazzled after that, but his resolve hasn't changed. "You're still telling Aya-kun."
Youji makes a face, seeming about to retaliate, but Ken speaks first, "Where did Aya go, anyway?" he questions, his nose crinkling in thought. "I haven't seen him since we got back."
"Probably in the storage room." Youji offers, giving Omi a slight glare as he realizes he's been beat. "I'll go get him."
*****
Nothing could get to him. Nothing like *her*. Amethyst-tinted navy hues the braided hair, and child-like eyes are forever questioning......naive......innocence lost. The memory of a name he took and tainted for the money to spare a young life reminds him of the lives he brought to an end. She woke up - but to what? Her brother is long dead, buried in tears shed for her ageless beauty, and the man left behind is a hallow husk of regret and bitter heartache.
What can be taken back that was so willingly given away?
Fujimiya Ran stands before a towering shelf of potted plants, bags of dirt and fertilizer, and the remnants of lives that ended long before they began. Scarlett tendrils fall against skin so pale and lifeless only the spark in his violet eyes prove him more than a ghost. There are no more supplies to be packed away, no more flowers to label and store, nothing left at all, but the simple act of leaving the room.
Why, then, could Ran not take a single step?
(If I leave here......she'll find me......) Ran supposes, his mind paralyzed with thought. (......she'll smile and hug my arm......believing me to be the same man. She'll think it's all as it was before......before she fell asleep for so long......before I stained her name with blood......and lost all rights to mine. Before I......became the very black beast I was contracted to destroy. How can I face her loving eyes again...? How......?)
"Oniichan......?" a timid voice beckons.
(No......not now......)
"Oniichan, what are you doing in here?"
(If I don't turn around......she'll go away......please, Aya......stay away......)
"Ran, what's wrong with you?" she persists.
He can feel her presence closing in on him. So close......
(I can't pretend anymore, Aya......but......I couldn't bare it if you knew the truth......if you knew what I was......)
A gentle hand is placed on his shoulder, urging him silently to answer her anxious heart. Oh, how she has missed him.
"Oniichan......Ran......why won't you answer me? You barely stayed a day after I woke up, and now that you're back......you still......" he can hear the pain in her voice, feeling her tears as if they were falling from his eyes alone. "......don't push me away, I can't stand to be without you anymore......"
Feeling desperate arms encircle his waste, Ran knows his cherished imoto is clinging to a shadow, to a wretched darkness that veils the light she seeks.
(......I'm lost......in a world you can't be apart of......) he thinks to himself, remaining rigid and unmoving. (......damn you......let go......let go before I destroy you, too.........)
Aya cannot let go, but only holds him tighter, sobbing so wretchedly, he can feel the dampness of her tears soaking through the back of his shirt.
How long can someone bear to turn away when with all their heart they want to turn around?
".........Aya..........I......" he speaks at last, a trembling hand reaching to cover hers around his waist. ".......forgive me.......I'm not........I'm not who I once was........."
".....I know." comes her muffled reply. "Did you really think I didn't? I knew......I knew something strange was going on, especially after you left so suddenly......"
Slowly, gently, Ran turns around, slipping from his sister's embrace. His eyes are indeed as stained and damp as hers, with the same unbearable streaks against pale skin.
He had only wanted to protect her, to keep her safe. All those years of undue justice dealt. All those endless nights - he could never take back. One question shamed it all so much more:
Did she know what he had become?
"You........you can't possibly know......" he insists, speaking in a frantic whisper.
Aya looks up into her brothers urgent, anguished eyes, resolve settling within her. She must tell him of her suspicions, not only for his sake, but for her own.
"A cozy, private room in a hospital, all mine for two years. That can add up pretty quickly, ne?" She states it plainly, pushing her sorrows aside. "I know the flower shop does well, Oniichan, but not *that* well. You.........you....."
She finds it difficult to press on, her brother's features becoming more stricken by the syllable, but she knows she must if she's to ever have him back again.
"......I know you've done some unthinkable things for my sake....." she continues, her eyes never once turning away from Ran's. ".....When you left....I knew something had to be wrong. I had only just woken up, and......you could barely look at me. Sakura and I became friends so quickly, and I.........I could see it in her eyes......she knew......she knew why you had been so cold to me......."
"Sakura told you?!" Ran snaps harshly, cutting his sister off. "She told you -"
"Nothing......nothing I didn't already suspect." Aya finishes, reaching out to grasp her brother's hand swiftly and firmly with her own.
At first, Ran desperately wants to pull away; run away; fly away - where his white soul tainted grey can finally turn black. He would have.........had he been able to move.
"Oniichan.....I don't care what you've done....I just want you to be my oniichan again....."
The echo of fluttering angel wings......and she is suddenly in his arms, being held *by* him as much as she is holding on.
Life and death are so nearly one in the same. They *are* one in the same, for the moment we begin to live we begin to die. It never ends. The ceaseless cycle of pain and suffering, a momentary lapse for us to collect ourselves in relief, and then back into the pits of Hell on Earth where all the world lives. Such truth can tear and shatter, but only in one another can we be put back together.
".....Aya.....I'm so sorry I left you......"
"No, Oniichan. No....." comes the all too eager reply. ".......I'm sorry I left *you*......"
Footsteps. Rushed and carefree footsteps sound down the hallway, approaching the storeroom far too quickly. Their tender moment is destined for interruption.
"Ran, for the record, it was not my fault." comes a voice, even before the familiar figure steps through the door. ".........Oh. Sorry."
Youji has entered the confined space of the shop's back room, walking in abruptly without a thought at what he might find. Emerald eyes widen slightly now in utter disbelief.
(Since when does Ran have a heart......?)
"Youji......" the red-head begins, faltering in his speech as he quickly slips from his sister's eager arms. Suddenly, some unseen force begins to gnaw away at him, numbing his senses.
(This is wrong......) he thinks bitterly. (......how could I be so foolish......? We're killers......I....I can't.....go back to her......)
"What do you want, Youji?" Ran asks at last, his accustomed, icy edge infiltrating his tone once again.
He has abandoned his sister's willingness to understand, leaving Aya hurt and uneasy. The young imoto cannot comprehend her brother's instant change. With a single look from Youji he has become stiff and distant again, his voice devoid of the overwhelming emotion it had held only moments before.
(I guess it has to beat to be considered a heart........)
"We're ready to open the shop." Youji states matter-of-factly. "Wouldn't want to keep our adoring fans waiting. Especially considering our usual clientele."
Aya eyes both boys oddly as they speak to one another, sensing their evasiveness; curious at how each one seems to switch gears, accommodating the other's expectations. Her stubborn, Fujimiya mind reprimands her for staying silent, when she so desperately wants to scream. Was the tender moment between herself and her lost oniichan nothing but a flicker of a dream?
"We'll be right there." comes Ran's chilling voice. "And don't spend all day flirting, Kudo. This is a business. Sell something."
Youji smirks. Aya cringes. The scene before her is flawed. Surreal.
"Be sure you mean that, *Ran*." Youji replies, stressing the often forgotten name. "I'll take you seriously."
It's funny how, in the right tone of voice, a joke can sound like a threat.
A sharp glare from Ran silences the blonde, and Youji steps back through the door obediently, tossing a wink over his shoulder at Aya-chan as he heads for the front.
They are alone again.
If she hadn't consciously noticed the change in atmosphere, Aya would've forgotten to breathe. Such a presence cannot feasibly exist to cause such anxiety in a single breath.
"Oniichan, what is the matter with you?" Aya begins forcefully. "I thought....just now.....urrhh. Have you forgotten me? Have you forgotten how to smile? How to love? How to live? Look at me!"
Ran flinches miserably. (I can't bear this!) he screams from inside, unable to do as she asks.
Some tiny remnant of his former self had clawed and scratched its way back into his heart for that one moment while he had held her. One moment. The image of Youji standing there in the doorway, truly aghast at seeing any sign of compassion or tenderness from their leader, cut the strings. A limp and lifeless puppet left to drag itself back into place.
(I have no right to give her hope.) Ran's thoughts continue, despite his sister's urgent presence. (Fujimiya Ran is dead! You should forget me, Aya. I can only bring you pain.........)
"Ran, answer me!"
Wrenched from his brooding reverie, Ran turns, looking down at his sister, expressionless.
"You do not belong here, Aya."
His words hold no emotion, merely plain, cold fact, despite the stinging fury within.
"And where am I to go?" she replies, tears filling her eyes once again. "How can I leave you? You are not this robot of a man! Forget the life that has changed you and come back to me!"
"I can't! Don't you understand that!?!" Ran booms, control lost as his voice fills the room with sudden malice and blind rage. "Your brother died with your parents that night! He died by your bedside every night for two years! His unshed blood gave birth to me, paying your hospital bills with the blood of countless others! My hands our stained to the bone with that blood! Damn, can't you see?!"
He speaks without thinking, slowly backing his sister against the wall as his vicious words fly from tongues of fire.
Aya's eyes are wide and flooded with tears. She cannot raise her voice to stop him, but worse, he cannot stop himself, even as he grabs his sister's delicate wrists, forcing her roughly into the wall.
"I have no right to hold you in my arms the way I did! I have no right to smile! To hell with forgetting! I have no right to love, or live, or breathe, or even feel anymore! You want your brother back?! Then look at what he's become! I am a walking corpse! I am this wretched beast because of you!!"
Unrivaled horror. The boundaries of fear have faded; a barren valley of shadows leaving visions of undistorted terror to claw at the skin of innocence. Truth is an undesired lover.
Aya and Ran have become stone, neither capable of movement. The distant, fading call of Ran's rage deafens him, and he cannot even bring himself to loosen his grip on his sister's wrists. Surely they are pulsing with pain.
(What am I saying...? How could I.......)
"What the hell is going on in here?! Ran......what are you doing......?"
Ran remains a sculpture, watching his sister's eyes look sharply towards the door at the owner of that urgent voice. He can see the reflection of a startled young man shaming him from within those orbs of undue fear.
Ken.
"Ran, what are you doing?" the brunette repeats sternly, cautiously entering the room. "Let her go. Can't you see you're hurting her....?"
Aya still has not spoken, mute from disbelief. All Ran had said was the truth; all that was left was a false fantasy she could never reclaim. Ran was gone - buried in frozen ashes and metal tears - because she had fallen asleep......and dreamed him away.
Abruptly, Ran frees Aya from his crushing hold on her, stepping back with eerily blank features his sister cannot stand to look at.
(I can't let her know......I can never let her know......) Ran resolves painfully. (The man I am now can never again be the man she wants back. If I let her know how much I wish I could.....wipe away those tears.....drive away her suffering......no! If she knew, she would never stop trying to get me back........)
"Oniichan......" Aya's broken voice whispers, but Ran will not allow her to change his mind. Not now. Not ever. In his own misguided view of the man he has become, nothing of his humanity is left to be worth saving anymore.
"There is work to do." the red-head declares in a dead, unnerving tone. It is all he can bring himself to say.
Watching him achingly as Ran sweeps past Ken and out of the room, Aya's heart tears in a million places, into a million broken shards, collapsing her to the ground from sheer grief.
"Aya!" Ken calls, rushing to her side. He is used to Ran's cold demeaner, but *this*, this he cannot understand. "Aya, what happened? What did he say to you?"
Angel tears of bitter crystal pour down her face, and her voice is difficult to find. "Only.....only the truth, Ken-niisan......" she whimpers out pitifully. "....I've lost him....."
*****
It was lost to him. The youth and laughter of days long past, all lost in a horrid screech of tires and the rancid smell of rubber. The memory would never desert him.
Swept up in the pull of routine, Ran vaguely dusts a pot of orchids with his spray bottle, treating them with tender care. He knows the others are following his movements, whispering in curious voices about the incident with Aya.
Ken had spent only a few moments in consolation with the grief-stricken girl, before her countenance unexpectedly changed.
(I can't give up......not after everything that's happened......) she had thought with increasing determination. (If Ran chooses to act the part of the cruel, malicious sinner, then I'll play my part, too. I will get my oniichan back, even if I have to strive from behind a masked smile forever......)
Determined, she had stood from the floor of the storeroom, and walked to the front of the shop with dried and fading tears on her cheeks. Somehow, Ken had understood, and followed suit, struggling to overcome his hot-headed tendencies and leave the matter where it stood:
Aya and Ran had to get through this on their own, however Fate chose to lead them.
Now, the shop welcomed customers with doors wide open, while a crew of uneasy florists cloaked their true feelings with what everyone else expected to find.
A cheerful boy, a fiery youth, a ladies man, a loner, and a young girl. Nothing out of the ordinary......
"Ohaiyo, minna-san! You're back!"
Tomoe Sakura bounds through the shop doors, a bright smile stretching the length of her face. Light brown hair still kept short since she had cut it after Aya's awakening, Sakura is so much more her old self again. Carefree and genuine; the only one for miles.
"How was your trip?" she continues, leaning against the main counter as everyone save Ran comes over to say hello. "You were gone for months, ne? Anything exciting happen?"
(Just faced off against the American Army......) Youji thinks slyly, but figures he shouldn't say so out loud.
"Being away from such a beautiful, young woman for so long, how could anything be exciting?" the blonde grins, wrapping his arm loosely around Sakura's shoulders.
"Careful, Yotan, Sakura-chan's not 18 *yet*." Aya states gleefully, conveniently her merry self as well.
Sweeping the floor far away from the group, Ran takes comfort in his sister's tone. As long as she is happy, he can be at peace......in some form. Ironically, her thoughts mirror his own, and she wears her mask well in hopes of defying the fate he has chosen for himself.
An imoto can be so terribly stubborn sometimes.
"Ran-niisan, aren't you going to say hello?"
It is the imoto in question who interrupts the red-head's thoughts, as he looks up from his sweeping with a dead-panned expression. "Ohaiyo, Sakura." he replies plainly, not bothering to pause in his work. There is an instant chill as crystals of ice form in the air.
(What's with him today......?) Sakura thinks curiously. (I thought Aya-kun was becoming more open with everyone. Hmmm, they all seem strange today, like they're hiding something, Well, I know how to cheer them up......)
"So, aren't you all excited about the new shop?" she asks, cleverly changing the subject.
"What new shop, Sakura-chan?" Omi inquires, placing a pot of tulips in the front window.
"The one right across the street, of course." she answers matter-of-factly. "Didn't you notice?"
Ken steps over to the window, peering out. "But that building's been empty for years."
His gaze passes over the newly painted walls and freshly trimmed windows of an old, two story shop, very similar to theirs. None of them had noticed the change, but grey siding was now a pale yellow; welcoming and beautiful.
"I think whoever's opening that shop is playing a joke on you." Sakura adds.
"What do you mean?" Aya questions, walking up to the window beside Ken.
Sakura smiles warmly. "Just look at the sign in front. It's quite a coincidence."
By now, everyone, including stoic Fujimiya Ran, stands in front of the large shop window to get a clear look at the building across the street. In front of it is a brightly painted sign.
"Coffee and gift shop opening tomorrow," Ken reads aloud. "Kitten's Cafe?"
"How cute!" Aya exclaims. "I wonder if it's on purpose......?"
"Wouldn't that be fun?" an excited Youji comments. "Could it be our evil twins?"
Sweet, unfazed laughter. Strange - something new and surprising can provoke so much good feeling - caused by the bitter, honey taste of having your thoughts focused on anything *but* your own painful, daily routine.
"Doubtful, Youji-kun." Omi states simply, nudging the blonde in the side. "We're not interesting enough to clone."
"Speak for yourself, little boy." Youji replies with a look. "But I wonder who *is* opening that shop."
Ran's thoughts stir as he steps away from the window, leaving the others to their conversation. (Who indeed......? I have a strange feeling about this......)
*****
"There is an odd feeling in the air about this......"
"We can't wait any longer. Weiss has returned, and Schwartz is on the move."
"It's about time anyway! I'll turn into a fossil if we don't do something soon!"
"And I can't wait to meet them all. It'll be so much fun!"
"Fun? Don't you two ever think about these things logically? We have a mission to complete, if you recall?"
"We certainly do, but don't give them such a hard time. I'm just as anxious to begin myself."
"Do you really think we'll be able to pull this off?"
"Of course we will, silly! It's our destiny......right?"
"Destiny has nothing to do with it. It is simply something we must do."
"Well said, my friend, and we are finally ready to fulfill it. It is time for Weiss and Schwartz to meet their end - through the calling of the wind - Fluesternd."
*****A/N*****
I hope you like this so far, because it's only the beginning. There are 20 total chapters, and I plan to post one every day, or every other day. Please, continue reading this. Also, reviews are always welcome. :-)