Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Kuroi ~ Shiroi ❯ a new revelation ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: PikaChan 
Some of Calico's past is revealed, and she gets in touch with a family member...
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.6K | Visits: 227 | Status: Completed
Some of Calico's past is revealed, and she gets in touch with a family member...
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.6K | Visits: 227 | Status: Completed
- chapter 3 -
Manta had picked up Bombay by his throat, and had him pinned against the wall. He didn't notice Calico coming up behind him, Dolphin's nunchucks clenched in her fist.
"You're gonna pay for my suffering now, Bombay..." Manta narrowed his eyes and raised his fist, ready to strike.
Bombay opened one eye, looking past him. He smirked. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Manta..." he choked out.
Manta's face twisted in confusion. "What?!" He followed Bombay's gaze, just as the nunchucks came upon him.
Bombay felt Manta's hand leave his throat, and he gasped for air. Manta's body now rested on the ground. He looked up at Calico.
She threw the nunchucks down. "He's not dead. Only unconscious," she said. Her voice was distinctly female, and he could see a more feminine figure beneath the red t-shirt.
Calico fell to her knees. The numbness had gone away, and everything was starting to hurt.
"Shiro...?" Bombay put his hand on her shoulder, and she shrank away. She looked away from him.
"I'm not Kanzaki Shiro... I never was..." she squeezed her eyes shut, then completely gave out, falling unconscious again. Bombay looked around quickly, then grabbed the yellow-and-green letter jacket laying nearby, and wrapped it around Calico.
"Bombay!"
He looked up, seeing the three other Weiß members and Eiki run into the alley.
"What happened here? What the heck happened to Manta?" Balinese asked.
Bombay smiled. "She kicked his ass, that's what happened..." His expression suddenly turned serious. "But she's hurt really badly. We'd better get back to the Koneko, and FAST."
*********************************************************** ********
Akari's face was pale, and the contrast with her jet-black hair was great. Just like black and white.
Omi, Ken, and Youji were sitting in chairs around her bed. "Damn, I feel kinda sorry for her... that's what, the third time she's saved our asses?" Youji said, crossing his arms.
"I feel kinda sorry for A-yan too... he really trusted her, and now... I don't think he knows what to do," Ken said.
Omi was silent. *Aya-kun's not the only one who doesn't know what to do...*
"I still think it's cool, though," Youji said. "We haven't had a woman in the crew for a while now..."
Ken nodded. "Yeah..."
******************************************************** ***********
"Come on, Aya-kun. The girl's a natural fighter. So what if she's female? What do you think I am?" Eiki asked.
"You don't understand, Eiki. She pretended that she was a boy, so she could join us," Aya said. His arms were crossed across his chest, and he was staring out the window. It had started raining.
Eiki frowned. She didn't think Aya could be so stubborn. "I don't blame her," she said. "She was almost raped by that asshole Manta, of course she wouldn't want it to happen to her again! Hell, if that happened to me, I'd probably do the same thing!"
"But she lied to us..."
Eiki had heard enough. She grabbed Aya's shoulder, turned him around, and slapped him hard across the face. "You're so stubborn! I know you're upset about what happened to your sister, but you can't ignore what other people do! Think about how many times the poor girl's saved your ass! And admit it, you think that she is a good fighter. Can't you just let this one little thing slide?!" She pointed at the door to the room where Akari was asleep. "How would you feel if she died in there, and you were sitting here crying over the fact that she changed her identity and put her life on the line for you guys?!"
Aya stared blankly at Eiki. She was glaring at him angrily. "Okay, I admit it... she's saved us more than once, and she IS a great fighter. I've told her that before... but I don't know what to do now. I can't throw her out of the group, but..."
"Don't. It's for the best." Eiki turned around and walked into Akari's room.
Aya stood there, watching her shut the door. *Damnit, Eiki. We ARE stubborn, aren't we?*
************************************************************* *******
"Still hasn't waken up, huh?" Eiki asked the three guys as she sat down at the foot of the bed.
"Nope. I don't blame her..." Ken said. "I'm about ready to pass out, myself."
Akari suddenly raised her arm and rubbed her forehead. "Ow..."
"Uh? 'Bout time she came around," Youji said.
She opened her eyes, still rubbing her forehead. "I'm almost afraid to ask what happened..."
Omi sighed. "You beat the crap out of Manta with those nunchucks, then you just passed out," he said.
Akari sat up, everything coming back to her like a flood. "He..." She lay back down and squeezed her eyes shut. "It happened again..."
"What exactly... happened between you and Manta anyway?" Eiki asked.
Akari clenched her fist. "Well... it was a little over a month ago... I was just moving into the city. I had gone to the market to buy some things... and then, without warning, I was pulled into an alley. I don't know why, but the next thing I know, I've got this gash in my hip... and... my skirt was on the ground..." She shook her head, not wanting to remember it. "I... Manta... he..."
She could say no more for a few moments, as her throat had seemed to close up. "I don't know what happened after that... but... I woke up, and I was bleeding... my legs were bruised and cut... I couldn't move. I wanted to die... I lay there for a while, and I woke up again in the hospital... the doctor came in and told me that I had been... I was..."
"You were raped...?" Ken asked.
Akari nodded, wiping her eyes. "That's why I changed my identity... I didn't want it to happen again..."
"That's understandable," Youji said. "You sure fooled me. I still can't believe that I couldn't tell you were a girl. I usually can, ya know..."
"This just keeps getting more and more interesting," a sudden voice said from the doorway.
Everyone looked to see Aya standing at the door. Akari looked down at her lap.
"I admit, you did have a bunch of people fooled... and you did get Schabön off of our backs for a while. You have also been a good friend to us. Honestly, I didn't know what to do until Eiki 'smacked' some sense into me. So... when do you think you'll be ready to take missions again?"
Akari blinked. "You're... you're not kicking me out of the group?"
Aya showed one of his rare smiles. "I think I would get too many objections if I did that."
Omi grinned. "Guess you're stuck with us now, uh..."
"Akari. Nagareboshi Akari." The ebony-haired girl smiled, in spite of what had happened that night.
"Ahh, so THAT's what the 'A' on your letter jacket stands for..." Youji said.
Eiki stood up. "Charmed. Well... I do think I should be going now," she said.
Ken blinked. "What for? You can stay if you want to..."
"Hey, I'm a thief. I'll ruin my reputation!" She tossed her braid over her shoulder, and took a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket. "Besides, I don't really work well in groups. I'm a loner, ya know." She put on the sunglasses. "So. See ya, space cowboys." With that, she opened the window and hopped out.
"... She could have just went through the door..." Youji said. "Ah well. A bishoujo like that can leave however she wants to."
"So..." Ken looked at Omi and Akari, grinning. "I guess we'll *cough* leave you two alone now, eh?" He nudged the younger boy with his elbow.
"Heh heh. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Omittchi!" Youji said, standing up.
"Heh. Don't do anything he WOULD do, either..." Ken said.
"Guuuuuyyyyys..." Omi said, blushing.
But the three others were already out of the room. Omi turned to Akari, whose face was also bright red. "So umm... hi."
"Uhh... hi." Akari suddenly became very interested in the sheet, as she had grabbed it and started twisting it around in her hands.
"Well, uh... are... you hungry? 'Cause we never did eat what we went to get..." Omi asked.
Akari shook her head. "Not really... kinda lost my appetite..."
"Heh. Uh... well, this is kinda weird... wonder how all of those crazy girls will react when they find out you're a... girl."
"They're probably all still mad at me for how I yelled at them. Not like I'm complaining or anything."
"So... is this what you meant when you said 'there's more to me than meets the eye'?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"I guess..." Omi suddenly clenched his fist. "I can't believe that ass could do something so nasty to someone so nice..." Omi clapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning crimson. Akari's face wasn't much lighter. She looked down at the sheet again.
"Well... that was nice of you to come after me like that. I was scared..." Akari gave a shy smile.
Omi blinked, and smiled back. Akari let out a yawn. "Heh... tired?"
"Understatement of the century..." She lay back down and cracked her knuckles. "Man, I'm gonna be sore like hell tomorrow..."
"Hn... heh, I'll let you sleep then. Okay?"
"'Kay... thanks."
"No problem..." Blushing slightly, he took her hand and gave it a light squeeze before standing up and walking out of the room, turning the light out on the way. He turned around and smiled at her before shutting the door.
Akari looked up at the ceiling. *Omi-kun's really sweet... I think... I could really like someone like him...* She finally fell asleep, lost in her thoughts.
******************************************************** ************
"Omittchi, you little playboy," Youji teased as Omi emerged from the other room, his face a bright red. He put his arm around the younger guy's neck and gave him a fierce noogie. "I didn't think you had it in there!"
Ken laughed. "You're rubbing off on him, Yo-tan. It's your high libido."
Omi's face was now bright scarlet. "Stoppit, guys..."
"So.. what exactly did you two DO in there?" Ken asked, nudging Omi with his elbow."
"NOTHING!" Omi barked. "Ijustaskedifshewashungryandshesaidnoandthat'sit!"
"You asked if she was hungry. Heh. I know you, kid. You've never been a very good liar," Youji said, smirking.
"Lay off the kid, guys. So what if he doesn't want to admit his feelings for her yet?" Aya said.
Omi looked at Aya in surprise. "Not you too..."
"Just don't be TOO rough with her. Poor thing's gone through a lot lately," Ken said, wagging a finger playfully.
Omi sighed, realizing that the older guys weren't gonna let up for a while. "Okay, okay..." He sat down on the couch, grabbing a Playstation controller.
"Ya know, if I had known that Akari was a girl all along..."
"Oh please. She's YEARS younger than you..."
"And it's pretty clear that Omi's got a little thing going here..."
Omi ignored the three other guys and began playing the game. It was a while before he realized that his mind wasn't on the game at all.
************************************************************* ******
(I [freaking] told you she was a woman. You NEVER listen to me.) Seishuku signed, after Arashi had finally pulled himself together.
"Damnit, if that little... a few more minutes with that wench, and she would have been sorry..." Arashi had a bandage wrapped around his head from where he was hit with Soui's nunchucks.
"Why are yeh so bent on yer revenge on th' girl anyway?" Soui asked.
Arashi clenched his fist. "Because she's the reason that my father is in prison..."
"Why?" Hata questioned.
"Well... several years ago, I guess it was maybe twelve years... I was still in high school. My father, Akai Houou, was doing missions every night. He had been a major enemy of Nagareboshi Takeshi for many years. He had heard that he now had a daughter, Akari, and he decided to just do away with the entire family. I don't know the whole story, but when he went to kill off Akari, her parents protected her, and were killed in the process. He would have gotten the little brat too, but he was interrupted by the sound of sirens."
"What does that have to do with the girl though?" Ryoku asked.
"The kid's brother heard her crying, and he went and called the cops. He knew it was my father, because he had seen him earlier."
"No wonder you want her dead," Mei said.
(Why didn't you just kill her the first time you raped her?) Seishuku signed.
"Because, I wanted her to know what it feels like to be alone at this age. My father was the only person I ever had. And I would have killed her last night too, but that little brat Bombay showed up and ruined my plans..."
"Speaking of which, what are we gonna do about Weiß?" Hata asked. "They're really strong now... and they have that thief on their side too..."
Arashi smacked Hata in the back of the head. "Hush up, boy. I have a plan... a plan that could be my best one yet..."
********************************************************** *********
Akari blinked her eyes open that morning, to find a mess of white. Experimentally, she stretched, groaning. *Yeeep, I was right... everything hurts.* Then, everything that had happened the night before came rushing back to her. The girl called Mei and her knife, being dragged through countless alleys, Manta, Omi coming to her aid... She rubbed the side of her face where Manta had hit her.
Moaning all the while, she dragged her legs to the side of the bed and sat up, seeing spots before her eyes. She sat there, on the side of the bed, and tried to get her bearings. Once she could see clearly, she stood up.
Big mistake!
She fell back onto the bed. She sighed, running her fingers through her bangs. *Okay, I'll know not to do THAT again for a while...* She pulled the covers back over her, and stared up at the ceiling.
There was a knock on the door. Akari groaned again. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to see her in this state. "Come in..."
Omi poked his head in. "Hi!" he chirped. "Um. Can I come in?"
Akari blushed. "I... guesso..."
He came in quickly, and shut the door behind him. In his hand was a small pot of snapdragons. "Um..." His face turned a little pink as he handed the pot to her. "Here. Ya know snapdragons mean strength, right?"
Akari took the snapdragons. They were pink-and-orange. "Yeah... um, thanks..."
Omi grinned. "Thought you needed a little pick-me-up. Besides, you really beat the crap out of Manta last night... if that doesn't show strength, then I dunno what does... in your state, too..." He sat down in the chair next to the bed. "When do you think you'll be able to help with the Koneko again?"
"Maybe tomorrow, I dunno... I can't stand too well right now, much less walk downstairs... everything hurts except my earlobes." She tried to sit up again, with little success.
"Don't try to stand yet..." Omi said.
*A little late for that...* Akari thought. "I'm NOT looking forward to putting up with those girls..."
"... Actually, only a few have been in here today. I don't think they want to come around you anymore, with how you yelled at them the other day. Not like I'm complaining or anything, I'm kinda glad now..."
Akari rubbed the back of her neck. "Really? Wow..." She looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know if I'll be able to face Manta again..."
"I still don't know how anyone could have the nerve to do that. I guess we're both kinda lucky... if I had shown up any later than I did, I don't want to think about what could have happened..."
"And if I hadn't woken up and clubbed him with those nunchucks..." Akari looked down at her lap.
Omi looked at her, concerned. "... What exactly is there between you and him, anyway?"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, nothing. Nothing but the fact that his dad killed my parents... and he's raped me nearly twice..." She clenched her fist tightly, feeling her eyes start to burn again. She quickly wiped them, as she didn't really want Omi to see her cry.
Omi, noticing this, hesitantly reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder in sympathy. "It's okay... I don't mind if you want to cry. Everybody needs to cry sometimes..."
Akari didn't bother to shrink back when he touched her shoulder. Instead, she buried her face in her hands and let out a sob.
Omi was a little confused. He didn't really know what to do in this situation. *The best thing I can do right now is...* He got up from the chair and sat down on the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. *Please don't let her be upset...* He was a bit surprised when Akari leaned against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
Akari's mind was leaping around, from place to place. It had been a very long time since she had been held. She cried for a few minutes, as Omi rubbed her back in comfort.
After a few moments, she looked up at Omi.
"You gonna be okay...?" he asked.
Akari nodded slowly. "I think so..."
Omi smiled. "Good." He then noticed what he was doing, then turned bright red. Apparently, Akari noticed too, because her face suddenly flushed crimson. He quickly took his arms from her and sat back down in the chair. "Sorry..."
Akari was a little disappointed. "It's... it's okay. I just... haven't been held like that in so long..."
The door opened again. "Ah, so here's where you've been hiding, Omittchi," Ken's voice said.
Omi turned around and glared at the begoggled guy, as if to say 'shut your mouth before I pull my darts on you'.
"Weeeeell... I'm not here to tease you, if that's what you're thinking," Ken said. he waved around an envelope. "I'm just here to deliver a letter to Akari-san. Wonder how he got the address." He grinned, handing it to the raven-headed girl.
"Wha? The only one I ever get letters from is-" She read the return address. It said 'Osaka Grand College'. "... Ryu!" She tore the letter open excitedly, and began reading it.
*Dear imoutochan,
Hey, I heard you finally got out of that little boy kick and joined an assassin group. That's cool, we actually have a fighter in the family. Anyway, the term's over and I'll be in town for the next few weeks.
I know I haven't sent anything lately. I haven't really been much of a big brother now, have I? So... while I'm in town, I was wondering if you'd like to meet me for a burger or something, so we can catch up on the brother-sister things that we never got to do when Otousan and Okaasan died... anyway, I bet you really wanted to be reminded of that right now. So, I guess I'll see you in a few days, then!
Your loving oniichan,
Ryu
PS: I'd also like to meet the guys you've been working with, and make sure they've been taking care of my favourite little sister.*
Akari's eyes shone brightly as she read the letter. "Oh wow, this is so great! It's been over a year since I've seen my brother..." She hugged the letter. "... Wait, I don't want him to see me like this. He'll get all protective in that big-brotherly way! Aaaaaugh..."
The two guys looked at each other and sweatdropped at the now-ranting girl.
************************************************************ ********
"I see... you must be damn weak then, if you need OUR help to defeat Weiß..."
Manta and the rest of Schabön had met in the back of an abandoned warehouse with the assassin group Schwarz. Brad Crawford, the American leader of the group, had crossed his arms and was looking at Manta, amused.
"It's not just Weiß that's giving us trouble. It's that new little brat in the group, Calico... and a skilled thief known as Nusutto Eiki also seems to be working with them too," Manta said. "Those women are strong. Too strong..."
Crawford's frown grew. "What would we get in return for helping you, pray tell?"
Manta smirked, snapping his fingers. Dolphin and Starfish emerged from the darkness of the warehouse, both scantily clad.
Dolphin sauntered up to Crawford, gripping his necktie in her hand. "We sure are bloody stubborn, aren't we?" She ran her finger along the older man's jawline. "Man, this is degradin'.. I'm gonna get that fool for this.." she muttered under her breath.
Starfish didn't feel very different about their assignment. Her eyes travelled from the orange-haired man, to the one with the scars on his face, to the young one.
The youngest member of Schwarz, Naoe Nagi, didn't seem to enjoy being there.
The blue-haired girl approached him. He looked up, feeling her brain waves. He was, after all, psychic. "I hate being here as much as you do..." he whispered.
Starfish stopped short. "Hmph," she said.
"I am Naoe Nagi. And you are Retsukari Mei, correct?"
Starfish glared at the brown-haired boy. "How do you know that?!"
Nagi smirked. "Oh, I have my sources..." His expression softened. "I don't think we're getting anywhere, hanging out with these guys. They're just going to use us to fight anyway. You wanna get out of here?"
She looked at Nagi, a bit confused. "Okay..."
******************************************************** ************
That night, Akari sat up in bed, holding pen and paper. She was writing back to her brother.
*Dear Ryu,
So much has happened since I last wrote you. I'd rather not talk about it right now, since I'm not feeling too well... I'm really looking forward to your visit!*
She looked at the moon through the open window. Seeing it's bright light reminded her of Omi somehow. She blushed, turning back to the letter.
*You'll really like the guys. Don't worry, they're really good to me. A-yan is kind of grumpy... sometimes he's a little scary. I've only seen him smile once. But he's a good guy. Kenken is really nice, he kind of reminds me of you. He's a soccer player, and is kind of like everyone's big brother. Yo-tan is really funny. He's a real womanizer, but don't worry. He hasn't tried anything on me... yet. And Omittchi... I could go on for days about him. He likes computers, and is really sweet. He's a really good friend. I think he kinda likes me... that's okay.*
Akari only then realized what she had wrote, and quickly marked through it, blushing a deep crimson.
*I've also got another friend, Nusutto Eiki... she's a bandit, and has the biggest collection of knives I've ever seen! She attacked me and Omi once but she's on our side now. Anyway... why don't you drop by and see me at the Koneko? You can buy some flowers to spiff up your dorm room while you're here.
Your imouto,
Akari*
Akari smiled, looking down at the letter. "I'm finally going to see my oniichan again... I can't wait!" She slid the letter under her pillow and rested her head on it. She soon drifted off into a deep sleep.
*********************************************************** *********
"So... you're a psychic, huh? That's freaky."
Mei and Nagi sat on a swing set, in the nearby park.
"Yeah. Sometimes I lose control of my powers... one time I made a whole building collapse when somebody hurt a friend of mine..." Nagi said.
"Well.. I don't have any special powers or anything, but I have this..." She took out her knife. "It's been passed down to me from my great-grandfather. The handle's made from obsidian..." She traced her finger over the elaborate dragon design carved into the blade.
Nagi smiled at his new friend. "You know... it's been a while since I've had a new friend. Everyone's seemed to stay away from me. I guess I'm just a mayfly..."
"Small but deadly..." Mei looked down at the ground. "You're probably the first person who has tried to understand me... nobody in my group understands me... I'm just there to do what they can't." She looked at Nagi. "It must be impossible to live without hurting anyone, huh?"
Nagi nodded. The two of them continued their discussions well into the night.
*********************************************************** *********
"What?! Kanzaki Shiro is a girl?!"
"Yeah, I hear that she was raped a few days ago..."
"Wow, that's sad. Oh well, she makes a rather sexy bishounen..."
"You should hear what you're saying right now!"
"We should go there..."
"... And they're back!" Aya groaned, noting that the Koneko was once again full of teenage girls. It had been four days since Akari's abduction, and she was once again fulfilling her sweeper duties.
"Guess they don't hold grudges..." Youji said, spraying a bouquet of daisies. He blinked and sweatdropped as the girls gathered around Akari.
"Wow, she's so cool!"
"I still can't believe I thought she was a guy!"
Akari stared at the group of girls, apparently shocked. "Whoa, hold on. TIME OUT," she said, doing the little 'time out' motion with her hands. She was wearing her baseball cap, but hadn't bothered to mess around with the cloth strip that flattened her chest.
Ken and Omi looked at each other and blinked. "Do you have any idea what's happening here?" Ken asked.
"Not. A. Clue," Omi said.
"It's too bad really, now I can't flirt with Shiro anymore..."
"Why don't you just turn bi?"
Akari ignored the random comments coming from the girls, and continued her sweeping. She looked at the trail of mud that had been left near the entrance (it was quite a rainy day) and groaned. The group of girls had lost interest, and were now randomly flitting between the four guys. Akari sighed, walking into the back room and filling a bucket with water.
The Koneko had become quiet. All of the heads had turned to the tall blonde man who had entered. His hair fell over his deep green eyes, and he was wearing a simple white button-down shirt and blue jeans. Several of the girls swooned as he walked up to the counter.
"Yo. Nagareboshi Akari wouldn't be around, by any chance?" he asked.
Ken blinked, realizing that this must be a friend of hers. He grinned. "Sure, she's in the back room. I'll go get her for you!"
Akari sighed, squeezing some liquid soap into the bucket of water and grabbing a mop. She looked at her reflection in the soapy water. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the ground.
"Hey, Akari."
She turned around to see Ken standing in the doorway. He had a big grin plastered on his face. "There's someone out here to see you."
Akari set down the mop, a puzzled expression on her face. *Who could that be...?*
She walked out into the front room of the Koneko, seeing a tall blonde man.
He looked at her and smiled. "Aka-chan..."
Akari stopped short, staring at him. The way the blonde hair fell across his eyes... the baggy shirt... it had to be...
"ONIICHAN!!"
"Imouto..." The two were now tangled in a brother-sister embrace. Several people in the Koneko smiled and 'aww'ed at the heartwarming reunion.
Manta had picked up Bombay by his throat, and had him pinned against the wall. He didn't notice Calico coming up behind him, Dolphin's nunchucks clenched in her fist.
"You're gonna pay for my suffering now, Bombay..." Manta narrowed his eyes and raised his fist, ready to strike.
Bombay opened one eye, looking past him. He smirked. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Manta..." he choked out.
Manta's face twisted in confusion. "What?!" He followed Bombay's gaze, just as the nunchucks came upon him.
Bombay felt Manta's hand leave his throat, and he gasped for air. Manta's body now rested on the ground. He looked up at Calico.
She threw the nunchucks down. "He's not dead. Only unconscious," she said. Her voice was distinctly female, and he could see a more feminine figure beneath the red t-shirt.
Calico fell to her knees. The numbness had gone away, and everything was starting to hurt.
"Shiro...?" Bombay put his hand on her shoulder, and she shrank away. She looked away from him.
"I'm not Kanzaki Shiro... I never was..." she squeezed her eyes shut, then completely gave out, falling unconscious again. Bombay looked around quickly, then grabbed the yellow-and-green letter jacket laying nearby, and wrapped it around Calico.
"Bombay!"
He looked up, seeing the three other Weiß members and Eiki run into the alley.
"What happened here? What the heck happened to Manta?" Balinese asked.
Bombay smiled. "She kicked his ass, that's what happened..." His expression suddenly turned serious. "But she's hurt really badly. We'd better get back to the Koneko, and FAST."
*********************************************************** ********
Akari's face was pale, and the contrast with her jet-black hair was great. Just like black and white.
Omi, Ken, and Youji were sitting in chairs around her bed. "Damn, I feel kinda sorry for her... that's what, the third time she's saved our asses?" Youji said, crossing his arms.
"I feel kinda sorry for A-yan too... he really trusted her, and now... I don't think he knows what to do," Ken said.
Omi was silent. *Aya-kun's not the only one who doesn't know what to do...*
"I still think it's cool, though," Youji said. "We haven't had a woman in the crew for a while now..."
Ken nodded. "Yeah..."
******************************************************** ***********
"Come on, Aya-kun. The girl's a natural fighter. So what if she's female? What do you think I am?" Eiki asked.
"You don't understand, Eiki. She pretended that she was a boy, so she could join us," Aya said. His arms were crossed across his chest, and he was staring out the window. It had started raining.
Eiki frowned. She didn't think Aya could be so stubborn. "I don't blame her," she said. "She was almost raped by that asshole Manta, of course she wouldn't want it to happen to her again! Hell, if that happened to me, I'd probably do the same thing!"
"But she lied to us..."
Eiki had heard enough. She grabbed Aya's shoulder, turned him around, and slapped him hard across the face. "You're so stubborn! I know you're upset about what happened to your sister, but you can't ignore what other people do! Think about how many times the poor girl's saved your ass! And admit it, you think that she is a good fighter. Can't you just let this one little thing slide?!" She pointed at the door to the room where Akari was asleep. "How would you feel if she died in there, and you were sitting here crying over the fact that she changed her identity and put her life on the line for you guys?!"
Aya stared blankly at Eiki. She was glaring at him angrily. "Okay, I admit it... she's saved us more than once, and she IS a great fighter. I've told her that before... but I don't know what to do now. I can't throw her out of the group, but..."
"Don't. It's for the best." Eiki turned around and walked into Akari's room.
Aya stood there, watching her shut the door. *Damnit, Eiki. We ARE stubborn, aren't we?*
************************************************************* *******
"Still hasn't waken up, huh?" Eiki asked the three guys as she sat down at the foot of the bed.
"Nope. I don't blame her..." Ken said. "I'm about ready to pass out, myself."
Akari suddenly raised her arm and rubbed her forehead. "Ow..."
"Uh? 'Bout time she came around," Youji said.
She opened her eyes, still rubbing her forehead. "I'm almost afraid to ask what happened..."
Omi sighed. "You beat the crap out of Manta with those nunchucks, then you just passed out," he said.
Akari sat up, everything coming back to her like a flood. "He..." She lay back down and squeezed her eyes shut. "It happened again..."
"What exactly... happened between you and Manta anyway?" Eiki asked.
Akari clenched her fist. "Well... it was a little over a month ago... I was just moving into the city. I had gone to the market to buy some things... and then, without warning, I was pulled into an alley. I don't know why, but the next thing I know, I've got this gash in my hip... and... my skirt was on the ground..." She shook her head, not wanting to remember it. "I... Manta... he..."
She could say no more for a few moments, as her throat had seemed to close up. "I don't know what happened after that... but... I woke up, and I was bleeding... my legs were bruised and cut... I couldn't move. I wanted to die... I lay there for a while, and I woke up again in the hospital... the doctor came in and told me that I had been... I was..."
"You were raped...?" Ken asked.
Akari nodded, wiping her eyes. "That's why I changed my identity... I didn't want it to happen again..."
"That's understandable," Youji said. "You sure fooled me. I still can't believe that I couldn't tell you were a girl. I usually can, ya know..."
"This just keeps getting more and more interesting," a sudden voice said from the doorway.
Everyone looked to see Aya standing at the door. Akari looked down at her lap.
"I admit, you did have a bunch of people fooled... and you did get Schabön off of our backs for a while. You have also been a good friend to us. Honestly, I didn't know what to do until Eiki 'smacked' some sense into me. So... when do you think you'll be ready to take missions again?"
Akari blinked. "You're... you're not kicking me out of the group?"
Aya showed one of his rare smiles. "I think I would get too many objections if I did that."
Omi grinned. "Guess you're stuck with us now, uh..."
"Akari. Nagareboshi Akari." The ebony-haired girl smiled, in spite of what had happened that night.
"Ahh, so THAT's what the 'A' on your letter jacket stands for..." Youji said.
Eiki stood up. "Charmed. Well... I do think I should be going now," she said.
Ken blinked. "What for? You can stay if you want to..."
"Hey, I'm a thief. I'll ruin my reputation!" She tossed her braid over her shoulder, and took a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket. "Besides, I don't really work well in groups. I'm a loner, ya know." She put on the sunglasses. "So. See ya, space cowboys." With that, she opened the window and hopped out.
"... She could have just went through the door..." Youji said. "Ah well. A bishoujo like that can leave however she wants to."
"So..." Ken looked at Omi and Akari, grinning. "I guess we'll *cough* leave you two alone now, eh?" He nudged the younger boy with his elbow.
"Heh heh. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Omittchi!" Youji said, standing up.
"Heh. Don't do anything he WOULD do, either..." Ken said.
"Guuuuuyyyyys..." Omi said, blushing.
But the three others were already out of the room. Omi turned to Akari, whose face was also bright red. "So umm... hi."
"Uhh... hi." Akari suddenly became very interested in the sheet, as she had grabbed it and started twisting it around in her hands.
"Well, uh... are... you hungry? 'Cause we never did eat what we went to get..." Omi asked.
Akari shook her head. "Not really... kinda lost my appetite..."
"Heh. Uh... well, this is kinda weird... wonder how all of those crazy girls will react when they find out you're a... girl."
"They're probably all still mad at me for how I yelled at them. Not like I'm complaining or anything."
"So... is this what you meant when you said 'there's more to me than meets the eye'?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"I guess..." Omi suddenly clenched his fist. "I can't believe that ass could do something so nasty to someone so nice..." Omi clapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning crimson. Akari's face wasn't much lighter. She looked down at the sheet again.
"Well... that was nice of you to come after me like that. I was scared..." Akari gave a shy smile.
Omi blinked, and smiled back. Akari let out a yawn. "Heh... tired?"
"Understatement of the century..." She lay back down and cracked her knuckles. "Man, I'm gonna be sore like hell tomorrow..."
"Hn... heh, I'll let you sleep then. Okay?"
"'Kay... thanks."
"No problem..." Blushing slightly, he took her hand and gave it a light squeeze before standing up and walking out of the room, turning the light out on the way. He turned around and smiled at her before shutting the door.
Akari looked up at the ceiling. *Omi-kun's really sweet... I think... I could really like someone like him...* She finally fell asleep, lost in her thoughts.
******************************************************** ************
"Omittchi, you little playboy," Youji teased as Omi emerged from the other room, his face a bright red. He put his arm around the younger guy's neck and gave him a fierce noogie. "I didn't think you had it in there!"
Ken laughed. "You're rubbing off on him, Yo-tan. It's your high libido."
Omi's face was now bright scarlet. "Stoppit, guys..."
"So.. what exactly did you two DO in there?" Ken asked, nudging Omi with his elbow."
"NOTHING!" Omi barked. "Ijustaskedifshewashungryandshesaidnoandthat'sit!"
"You asked if she was hungry. Heh. I know you, kid. You've never been a very good liar," Youji said, smirking.
"Lay off the kid, guys. So what if he doesn't want to admit his feelings for her yet?" Aya said.
Omi looked at Aya in surprise. "Not you too..."
"Just don't be TOO rough with her. Poor thing's gone through a lot lately," Ken said, wagging a finger playfully.
Omi sighed, realizing that the older guys weren't gonna let up for a while. "Okay, okay..." He sat down on the couch, grabbing a Playstation controller.
"Ya know, if I had known that Akari was a girl all along..."
"Oh please. She's YEARS younger than you..."
"And it's pretty clear that Omi's got a little thing going here..."
Omi ignored the three other guys and began playing the game. It was a while before he realized that his mind wasn't on the game at all.
************************************************************* ******
(I [freaking] told you she was a woman. You NEVER listen to me.) Seishuku signed, after Arashi had finally pulled himself together.
"Damnit, if that little... a few more minutes with that wench, and she would have been sorry..." Arashi had a bandage wrapped around his head from where he was hit with Soui's nunchucks.
"Why are yeh so bent on yer revenge on th' girl anyway?" Soui asked.
Arashi clenched his fist. "Because she's the reason that my father is in prison..."
"Why?" Hata questioned.
"Well... several years ago, I guess it was maybe twelve years... I was still in high school. My father, Akai Houou, was doing missions every night. He had been a major enemy of Nagareboshi Takeshi for many years. He had heard that he now had a daughter, Akari, and he decided to just do away with the entire family. I don't know the whole story, but when he went to kill off Akari, her parents protected her, and were killed in the process. He would have gotten the little brat too, but he was interrupted by the sound of sirens."
"What does that have to do with the girl though?" Ryoku asked.
"The kid's brother heard her crying, and he went and called the cops. He knew it was my father, because he had seen him earlier."
"No wonder you want her dead," Mei said.
(Why didn't you just kill her the first time you raped her?) Seishuku signed.
"Because, I wanted her to know what it feels like to be alone at this age. My father was the only person I ever had. And I would have killed her last night too, but that little brat Bombay showed up and ruined my plans..."
"Speaking of which, what are we gonna do about Weiß?" Hata asked. "They're really strong now... and they have that thief on their side too..."
Arashi smacked Hata in the back of the head. "Hush up, boy. I have a plan... a plan that could be my best one yet..."
********************************************************** *********
Akari blinked her eyes open that morning, to find a mess of white. Experimentally, she stretched, groaning. *Yeeep, I was right... everything hurts.* Then, everything that had happened the night before came rushing back to her. The girl called Mei and her knife, being dragged through countless alleys, Manta, Omi coming to her aid... She rubbed the side of her face where Manta had hit her.
Moaning all the while, she dragged her legs to the side of the bed and sat up, seeing spots before her eyes. She sat there, on the side of the bed, and tried to get her bearings. Once she could see clearly, she stood up.
Big mistake!
She fell back onto the bed. She sighed, running her fingers through her bangs. *Okay, I'll know not to do THAT again for a while...* She pulled the covers back over her, and stared up at the ceiling.
There was a knock on the door. Akari groaned again. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to see her in this state. "Come in..."
Omi poked his head in. "Hi!" he chirped. "Um. Can I come in?"
Akari blushed. "I... guesso..."
He came in quickly, and shut the door behind him. In his hand was a small pot of snapdragons. "Um..." His face turned a little pink as he handed the pot to her. "Here. Ya know snapdragons mean strength, right?"
Akari took the snapdragons. They were pink-and-orange. "Yeah... um, thanks..."
Omi grinned. "Thought you needed a little pick-me-up. Besides, you really beat the crap out of Manta last night... if that doesn't show strength, then I dunno what does... in your state, too..." He sat down in the chair next to the bed. "When do you think you'll be able to help with the Koneko again?"
"Maybe tomorrow, I dunno... I can't stand too well right now, much less walk downstairs... everything hurts except my earlobes." She tried to sit up again, with little success.
"Don't try to stand yet..." Omi said.
*A little late for that...* Akari thought. "I'm NOT looking forward to putting up with those girls..."
"... Actually, only a few have been in here today. I don't think they want to come around you anymore, with how you yelled at them the other day. Not like I'm complaining or anything, I'm kinda glad now..."
Akari rubbed the back of her neck. "Really? Wow..." She looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know if I'll be able to face Manta again..."
"I still don't know how anyone could have the nerve to do that. I guess we're both kinda lucky... if I had shown up any later than I did, I don't want to think about what could have happened..."
"And if I hadn't woken up and clubbed him with those nunchucks..." Akari looked down at her lap.
Omi looked at her, concerned. "... What exactly is there between you and him, anyway?"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, nothing. Nothing but the fact that his dad killed my parents... and he's raped me nearly twice..." She clenched her fist tightly, feeling her eyes start to burn again. She quickly wiped them, as she didn't really want Omi to see her cry.
Omi, noticing this, hesitantly reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder in sympathy. "It's okay... I don't mind if you want to cry. Everybody needs to cry sometimes..."
Akari didn't bother to shrink back when he touched her shoulder. Instead, she buried her face in her hands and let out a sob.
Omi was a little confused. He didn't really know what to do in this situation. *The best thing I can do right now is...* He got up from the chair and sat down on the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. *Please don't let her be upset...* He was a bit surprised when Akari leaned against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
Akari's mind was leaping around, from place to place. It had been a very long time since she had been held. She cried for a few minutes, as Omi rubbed her back in comfort.
After a few moments, she looked up at Omi.
"You gonna be okay...?" he asked.
Akari nodded slowly. "I think so..."
Omi smiled. "Good." He then noticed what he was doing, then turned bright red. Apparently, Akari noticed too, because her face suddenly flushed crimson. He quickly took his arms from her and sat back down in the chair. "Sorry..."
Akari was a little disappointed. "It's... it's okay. I just... haven't been held like that in so long..."
The door opened again. "Ah, so here's where you've been hiding, Omittchi," Ken's voice said.
Omi turned around and glared at the begoggled guy, as if to say 'shut your mouth before I pull my darts on you'.
"Weeeeell... I'm not here to tease you, if that's what you're thinking," Ken said. he waved around an envelope. "I'm just here to deliver a letter to Akari-san. Wonder how he got the address." He grinned, handing it to the raven-headed girl.
"Wha? The only one I ever get letters from is-" She read the return address. It said 'Osaka Grand College'. "... Ryu!" She tore the letter open excitedly, and began reading it.
*Dear imoutochan,
Hey, I heard you finally got out of that little boy kick and joined an assassin group. That's cool, we actually have a fighter in the family. Anyway, the term's over and I'll be in town for the next few weeks.
I know I haven't sent anything lately. I haven't really been much of a big brother now, have I? So... while I'm in town, I was wondering if you'd like to meet me for a burger or something, so we can catch up on the brother-sister things that we never got to do when Otousan and Okaasan died... anyway, I bet you really wanted to be reminded of that right now. So, I guess I'll see you in a few days, then!
Your loving oniichan,
Ryu
PS: I'd also like to meet the guys you've been working with, and make sure they've been taking care of my favourite little sister.*
Akari's eyes shone brightly as she read the letter. "Oh wow, this is so great! It's been over a year since I've seen my brother..." She hugged the letter. "... Wait, I don't want him to see me like this. He'll get all protective in that big-brotherly way! Aaaaaugh..."
The two guys looked at each other and sweatdropped at the now-ranting girl.
************************************************************ ********
"I see... you must be damn weak then, if you need OUR help to defeat Weiß..."
Manta and the rest of Schabön had met in the back of an abandoned warehouse with the assassin group Schwarz. Brad Crawford, the American leader of the group, had crossed his arms and was looking at Manta, amused.
"It's not just Weiß that's giving us trouble. It's that new little brat in the group, Calico... and a skilled thief known as Nusutto Eiki also seems to be working with them too," Manta said. "Those women are strong. Too strong..."
Crawford's frown grew. "What would we get in return for helping you, pray tell?"
Manta smirked, snapping his fingers. Dolphin and Starfish emerged from the darkness of the warehouse, both scantily clad.
Dolphin sauntered up to Crawford, gripping his necktie in her hand. "We sure are bloody stubborn, aren't we?" She ran her finger along the older man's jawline. "Man, this is degradin'.. I'm gonna get that fool for this.." she muttered under her breath.
Starfish didn't feel very different about their assignment. Her eyes travelled from the orange-haired man, to the one with the scars on his face, to the young one.
The youngest member of Schwarz, Naoe Nagi, didn't seem to enjoy being there.
The blue-haired girl approached him. He looked up, feeling her brain waves. He was, after all, psychic. "I hate being here as much as you do..." he whispered.
Starfish stopped short. "Hmph," she said.
"I am Naoe Nagi. And you are Retsukari Mei, correct?"
Starfish glared at the brown-haired boy. "How do you know that?!"
Nagi smirked. "Oh, I have my sources..." His expression softened. "I don't think we're getting anywhere, hanging out with these guys. They're just going to use us to fight anyway. You wanna get out of here?"
She looked at Nagi, a bit confused. "Okay..."
******************************************************** ************
That night, Akari sat up in bed, holding pen and paper. She was writing back to her brother.
*Dear Ryu,
So much has happened since I last wrote you. I'd rather not talk about it right now, since I'm not feeling too well... I'm really looking forward to your visit!*
She looked at the moon through the open window. Seeing it's bright light reminded her of Omi somehow. She blushed, turning back to the letter.
*You'll really like the guys. Don't worry, they're really good to me. A-yan is kind of grumpy... sometimes he's a little scary. I've only seen him smile once. But he's a good guy. Kenken is really nice, he kind of reminds me of you. He's a soccer player, and is kind of like everyone's big brother. Yo-tan is really funny. He's a real womanizer, but don't worry. He hasn't tried anything on me... yet. And Omittchi... I could go on for days about him. He likes computers, and is really sweet. He's a really good friend. I think he kinda likes me... that's okay.*
Akari only then realized what she had wrote, and quickly marked through it, blushing a deep crimson.
*I've also got another friend, Nusutto Eiki... she's a bandit, and has the biggest collection of knives I've ever seen! She attacked me and Omi once but she's on our side now. Anyway... why don't you drop by and see me at the Koneko? You can buy some flowers to spiff up your dorm room while you're here.
Your imouto,
Akari*
Akari smiled, looking down at the letter. "I'm finally going to see my oniichan again... I can't wait!" She slid the letter under her pillow and rested her head on it. She soon drifted off into a deep sleep.
*********************************************************** *********
"So... you're a psychic, huh? That's freaky."
Mei and Nagi sat on a swing set, in the nearby park.
"Yeah. Sometimes I lose control of my powers... one time I made a whole building collapse when somebody hurt a friend of mine..." Nagi said.
"Well.. I don't have any special powers or anything, but I have this..." She took out her knife. "It's been passed down to me from my great-grandfather. The handle's made from obsidian..." She traced her finger over the elaborate dragon design carved into the blade.
Nagi smiled at his new friend. "You know... it's been a while since I've had a new friend. Everyone's seemed to stay away from me. I guess I'm just a mayfly..."
"Small but deadly..." Mei looked down at the ground. "You're probably the first person who has tried to understand me... nobody in my group understands me... I'm just there to do what they can't." She looked at Nagi. "It must be impossible to live without hurting anyone, huh?"
Nagi nodded. The two of them continued their discussions well into the night.
*********************************************************** *********
"What?! Kanzaki Shiro is a girl?!"
"Yeah, I hear that she was raped a few days ago..."
"Wow, that's sad. Oh well, she makes a rather sexy bishounen..."
"You should hear what you're saying right now!"
"We should go there..."
"... And they're back!" Aya groaned, noting that the Koneko was once again full of teenage girls. It had been four days since Akari's abduction, and she was once again fulfilling her sweeper duties.
"Guess they don't hold grudges..." Youji said, spraying a bouquet of daisies. He blinked and sweatdropped as the girls gathered around Akari.
"Wow, she's so cool!"
"I still can't believe I thought she was a guy!"
Akari stared at the group of girls, apparently shocked. "Whoa, hold on. TIME OUT," she said, doing the little 'time out' motion with her hands. She was wearing her baseball cap, but hadn't bothered to mess around with the cloth strip that flattened her chest.
Ken and Omi looked at each other and blinked. "Do you have any idea what's happening here?" Ken asked.
"Not. A. Clue," Omi said.
"It's too bad really, now I can't flirt with Shiro anymore..."
"Why don't you just turn bi?"
Akari ignored the random comments coming from the girls, and continued her sweeping. She looked at the trail of mud that had been left near the entrance (it was quite a rainy day) and groaned. The group of girls had lost interest, and were now randomly flitting between the four guys. Akari sighed, walking into the back room and filling a bucket with water.
The Koneko had become quiet. All of the heads had turned to the tall blonde man who had entered. His hair fell over his deep green eyes, and he was wearing a simple white button-down shirt and blue jeans. Several of the girls swooned as he walked up to the counter.
"Yo. Nagareboshi Akari wouldn't be around, by any chance?" he asked.
Ken blinked, realizing that this must be a friend of hers. He grinned. "Sure, she's in the back room. I'll go get her for you!"
Akari sighed, squeezing some liquid soap into the bucket of water and grabbing a mop. She looked at her reflection in the soapy water. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the ground.
"Hey, Akari."
She turned around to see Ken standing in the doorway. He had a big grin plastered on his face. "There's someone out here to see you."
Akari set down the mop, a puzzled expression on her face. *Who could that be...?*
She walked out into the front room of the Koneko, seeing a tall blonde man.
He looked at her and smiled. "Aka-chan..."
Akari stopped short, staring at him. The way the blonde hair fell across his eyes... the baggy shirt... it had to be...
"ONIICHAN!!"
"Imouto..." The two were now tangled in a brother-sister embrace. Several people in the Koneko smiled and 'aww'ed at the heartwarming reunion.