Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Like Winter In July ❯ Coming Together ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Don't own them…guess I never will! *sniff* BUT I do own a cel of Ken!!! Does that count for anything? =^____^=

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` This is thoughts '

(( This is Schu ))

" This is spoken "

< This is someone writing something >

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Thank you to Kami-chan who beta-read this for me, and who (as always) did the closing comments on the fic! *glomps you*

Thanks to Rach-chan who read this before I put it up and listened to my crazy ideas! Also to Omi-chan who read this as well and said she wanted more! *giggles*

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Isa: Greetings! Welcome to my newest project. Believe it or not, this idea started out VERY different from the story you are about to read. I don't know how my first idea evolved into this story, but I'm not gonna complain! I hope you enjoy this; it is VERY A/U and won't even remotely follow the WK storyline. But, then again, everything I write is A/U so I guess this is just another adventure! There will be pairings later, but as for now I'm not going to put up any.

Schu: She knows one pairing for sure, but the others? She is still undecided on who she wants with who.

Isa: Very true! Anyway, enjoy, have fun, leave a review!

Schu: Are you done?

Isa: *nods*

Schu: Good! Now go read! I'm finally in a story again! *turns chibi and bounces* Remember, Isa-chan gave me a name!! I go by Callan now!!!

Isa: O_o My muse, gotta love him. *giggles*

Schu: ^___________________^

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You go there you're gone forever, I go there I'll lose my way
If we stay here we're not together...Anywhere is.
To leave the thread of all time, and let it make a dark line,
In hopes that I can still find, the way back to the moment.
I took the turn and turned to, begin a new beginning,
Still looking for the answer, I cannot find the finish.
It's either this or that way, it's one way or the other,
It should be one direction, it could be on reflection.
The turn I have just taken, the turn that I was making,
I might be just beginning, I might be near the end.

*

Kritiker was created for the sole purpose of protecting Japan from her enemies. Despite the fact that they work within the government, many of their organizations are anything but permissible. They gain power though the innocent, taking children at a young age to raise, to mold into their image. Politicians, police government officials…most have been fashioned by this organization for the good of Japan, supposedly. They do this in a attempt to overpower the corrupt presence that has slowly consumed this country.

They will use any means necessary to achieve their ultimate goal. Within their walls there is a way, the way is to destroy those who would stand in their path. This problem, in their eyes, could only be handed in a singular manner. Assassination. There are groups that have been scattered all over this country, hidden from the eyes of every day people. Disguised as a typical citizen with a nine to five job, some of Kritiker's agents even have families. But when the sun sets and the moon rises into the night sky, these people take on their true roles. They become the wolf, hunting the evil beasts of the night.

But there are others, smaller groups…unknown groups. People that show exemplary talents, gifts, intelligence and strength. These cases were brought together, forming elite assassination teams that Kritiker could control closely. They are taught that the mission and Kritiker come first; team members are expendable. But sometimes things happen, things that no one expected or considered. Sometimes…just sometimes you find that what you believed in was wrong. You find that the very person who made you what you are, is the person you can't trust. Then you are left with only one question…

Are the people who control you any better than the people they are trying to abolish?

Blue eyes looked upward, noting that the stars seemed to be shining even brighter in their heavenly sanctuary. He kept his gaze locked on those intense points of light, willing himself to not look down. Knowing if he did it would look as if he had descended into the very pits of hell. Deep crimson staining clothes, skin, hair…soaking into the very ground around him. So dark…so deadly. `Help me?' He begged, looking at one particularly bright star right above his head. `Why did any of this have to happen? Why did we have to go this far…all we wanted was one another! Why did they have to do this, why turn against us?' Blue eyes fell closed as a tear ran down his cheek, leaving a trail though the blood that stained his skin. `Please, let it be done? Tell me it is over, that we are free from this well crafted prison they have us trapped in?'

"Kitten?" He turned, eyes wide as the German's voice broke him from his thoughts.

-THE BEGINNING-

A yellow number 2 pencil tapped on the papers covering the desk, the hand that held said pencil copying the beat that blared from his headphones. Unaware of anything around him, he kept the beat up for the two songs that followed. As his hand unconsciously followed the music, his mind was on something completely different. `Hanae told me to keep a journal, that maybe it would help?' He thought, eyes following the white clouds that disrupted the bright blue beyond them. `But what am I supposed to write? I don't really want to write about my feelings, or what I think. What if Kritiker found it? What would they say?'

Breathing out, he tried to move his unruly golden bangs with his breath alone. When that proved unsuccessful he shifted and brushed them away, only to have them fall once again moments later. Deciding that he would have to get another hair cut soon, the blond stopped the CD player, pulling out the disk. Popping in another one, his eyes finally fell to the open book that laid before him, the pages still blank. Sighing once again, he pressed the tip of the pencil to the book and began.

<Hanae told me that writing down what I thought may help me sort out my thoughts, I suppose I should prove that theory. But what if I prove it wrong? What if this doesn't help me, then where do I go from here?> He paused in his writing, looking up at the wall for a moment. `Maybe I shouldn't think that far ahead?' Nodding to himself, he went back to work on the entry. <I trust Hanae, I trust her words and I think that is the only reason I am trying this. Maybe if I started with whom I was, or who I believe I am, it would help me figure out things. I could analyze my past and try to figure out my present?> It sounded good to him, perhaps the redhead woman had been right. Maybe this would help?

< My name is Omi Tsukiyono, well for now it is.> He paused, looking down at those words. "For now…" He whispered, biting down on the pencil as he though over what he wanted to say. `For now I am Omi Tsukiyono, but who am I really? Will I ever know?' Omi sighed, thinking over those words as the pencil once again rested on the white paper. < I don't know if I will ever know my true identity. I was brought to Kritiker when I was a child, in a way this is the only family I have ever known. Hanae, Persia, Birman, they were my mother, father…everything I needed in my life. But no matter how hard I tried I could never remember anything before Kritiker. I suppose this is enough for me, but only for now. I want a family, people I can depend on and trust. I know something is coming, I can see it in the way Hanae looks at me. Will I soon be getting my own team? Will I be leaving this place and living out in the real world, a killer among innocents? Will this team be the family I have wanted, and through them regain my memories and my true name? Damn it, there are too many questions that I don't have any answers for.> A knock at his door made him look up, frowning. "Yes, it's open." The door opened as the redhead walked in. "Hanae, what can I do for you?"

"Persia would like to talk to you, Omi."

He nodded, smiling at the woman before him. "I'll be there in just a minute." Hanae nodded, walking back out of the bedroom. Blue eyes fell back down at the book, the tip of his pencil still resting on the paper. Smiling to himself, he wrote one last line before closing the book. <Looks like I am about to get some of those answers.>

~

-PLANNINGS-

Omi looked up from the documents that laid before him, Hanae had long since left the room and he was now alone. Blue eyes one again skimmed over to pictures that were spread out across the light colored wood of the table. `Fifteen people to choose from, I need to narrow it down to a group of five.' Standing up, the young assassin stretched as he made his way around the table. "Ran Fujimiya and Callan…no last name on the German's files, though he does go by Schuldich as well." Palms rested on the table as he leaned over the two files. `They come as a pair or not at all, which means if I want one then I get the other. A telepath and an empath, I would have a use for both gifts, so maybe it won't be that bad?' Deciding on the two redheads, Omi went over to the other files. On and on it went till the blond finally fell asleep at the table.

Hanae opened the door, walking into the room. `I told him not to stay in here all night, but I suppose he will never learn his limits.' Breathing out, the redhead walked over to the desk. On one side was a pile of folders, on the other, a list of names. `Ran Fujimiya, Callan, Yohji Kudoh, Nagi Naoe and Ken Hidaka…' She paused, looking at the last name on the list Omi had chosen. "Ken Hidaka…"

"You know him?" Green eyes looked up from the papers, meeting the intense blue of the blond's. "You know Ken Hidaka?" He asked once again, she could only nod as the paper was set back down on the table. Omi smiled, looking over the names once again. He had been very proud of that grouping. "He seemed good, the files said he is a great close range assassin. I figure I could use that, seeing that we could get into some tight spots." Looking back up at Hanae, he could tell something was wrong. "Tell me?" He whispered.

"Ken…" There was a pause as she pulled out the chair beside the young man. Hanae had raised him from the moment he had entered Kritiker, his intelligence astounding them all. "There are things that are not in his files, Omi. Sometimes…we hide information because the assassins are just too good. On occasion, it is even dangerous for some information about assassins to be released. Ken Hidaka has problems, I would have to talk to his doctor and see if him joining another team is a possibility."

Omi couldn't help but frown. "What do you mean, problems?"

She reached over, pulling down the brunette's folder from the pile and opened it. A handsome, tanned assassin smiled back, by all means looking like your typical everyday person. There was nothing in his features that would lead you to believe that he was a killer. According to the file, Ken had been an up and coming soccer player but something had happened which had made Kritiker take notice in him. "He is a Dream Seer." She finally said, that grabbed the blond's attention. "Ken can walk though others dreams, taking information from them. Sometimes he sees the past, sometimes the present…and then sometimes he can get glances at the future."

"So he is an Oracle?"

She shook her head, looking back up at Omi. "No, an Oracle is someone who has visions of the future. Ken is a Dream Seer, he…basically he steals information from what others see in their dreams. But, things went very wrong. He was with his first team and one night while he was wandering from dream to dream, something called to him."

"What?" He asked.

"Ken saw a dream, he saw what would become of his team." Standing, Hanae walked over to a window. "He had been injured and couldn't go with his team on this particular mission. I remember him coming to Kritiker, begging us to get a hold of them, tell them to turn back. In the end his team was killed and he was left alone. Ken Hidaka blamed himself for this, for not stumbling over this dream sooner. No matter how much I told him that he was a Seer and not an Oracle he wouldn't listen. Ever since then he's been walking a line, always on a fine balance between madness and salvation. He sees his talent as a curse, not a gift."

The young man stood, walking up to the one person he knew would never betray him. "You knew Ken Hidaka, didn't you?"

"Knew?" She whispered, a slight laugh escaping her lips. "More along the lines of know, I was the one who brought him into Kritiker. I was also the reason he was put into his first team, even though I knew what he was." Neither said anything for a moment, then Hanae smiled at the blond. "So why did you pick Yohji Kudoh?"

"He looked fun." He responded. "Plus his file shows that he's a great assassin."

Hanae nodded, stepping away from the blond. "I know where he is, I'll send him over today so you can meet."

"Thank you." She turned, walking for the door. "Hanae? I would like Ken on my team, you will see if it is possible?"

"Of course."

~

-MEETINGS-

"Out of every undercover job you could have given us, you decided to set up a flower shop?"

Omi couldn't help but smile over at the disgruntled brunette as he pulling his hair back from his face. It really was entertaining to watch the man sometimes. "Look at it this way Yohji, mostly women come into buy flowers and you are the biggest playboy on this side of Tokyo!" That comment didn't seem to make the man any happier as he made his way upstairs into the living area. "How about I let you pick what room you want first?"

"That would make me feel a bit better." He answered, grinning down at the blond before he ruffled his hair. Omi growled, brushing it back into place while trying to give the man his best glare. Unfortunately that only made him look cuter, not angry. "I am going to run upstairs and claim my abode, you should do the same."

The leader of the new group couldn't help but smile as the longhaired brunette made his way up the stairs, whistling. `I'm glad I picked Yohji to be on this team, he's defiantly going to be fun.' The two had already been together for a week, Hanae had brought the ex-detective over to meet Omi after he had made his final decision in regards to his new team. Yohji happened to already be residing in Tokyo, so getting to the man had been easier that the rest of the men who seemed to be spread all over Japan. `But then again, Kritiker is everywhere so why am I surprised?' A light knocking on the door pulling the young man from his thoughts as he turned. A boy about his age stood there, dark eyes looking around the room. "Hi!"

"Hello." He whispered, taking another step into the room. "Are you Omi Tsukiyono?" The blond nodded, walking up to the dark haired boy. "I am Nagi Naoe…"

Omi nodded. "I know, how are you? Was your trip here ok? Do you need any help with your stuff?" The younger man took a step back from the hyperactive blond. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot…you are kinda quiet, aren't you?" He didn't respond. "Do you need any help?"

After a moment he nodded. "I do have a few bags down stairs, if you could…"

"Yes!" The two boys made their way back down into the storage room behind the flower shop. "Do you know much about flowers?" He asked, helping the boy pick up his cases.

"A little."

Smiling, they made their way back upstairs. "Good, I know a little too. Hopefully we can make shop work! Hanae said that Ran knew about flowers, Callan too…maybe they could teach us?"

Nagi frowned. "Why a flower shop?"

"Huh?"

He looked back down the stairs for a moment, before making eye contact with the blond once again. "Why did you choose a flower shop for our team's cover?"

"Because flowers make people happy." He said simply, making his way up to the rooms. "Come on, let's choose a room for you so we can get your stuff in there." Nagi nodded, following after the young assassin.

~

-CALLAN-

Yohji leaned back against the table that stood out in the back yard. He had to admit that the house Kritiker had set them up with was really nice, good location and big. `Big is always good, six of us in one household? I have a feeling that we would get into fights over space.' Pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, Yohji blew the smoke into the cooling air as his eyes strayed to the light on in the kitchen. He could see the outlines of the two boys who where making dinner, the last three men hadn't arrived yet. `Manx said everyone would be here today, wonder where our three little lost lambs could be?'

(( Could we really be considered lambs? )) A voice said, entering his mind. (( Or maybe wolves would be better? ))

Yohji looked towards the gates, a redhead stood there looking over at him as him smiled. The man was slightly tanned, well built with bight blue eyes and hair the color of fire. He was pretty but not to the point of being feminine, his looks gentle on the eyes. `Very nice…'

(( Thank you. ))

The brunette couldn`t help but blush slightly. `Looks like I`m gonna have to watch what I think from now on.' He told himself, seeing a smile break out across the stranger's mouth. "You must be one of our lost boys?" He asked, pushing himself up from the position he had be in. "Are you Callan?"

"In the flesh." He responded, walking over to the lanky brunette. "You would be?"

Putting the cigarette back in his mouth, he held out his hand as the German took it a moment later. "Yohji, Kudoh Yohji."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"At least you have a smoking buddy now," Said a deep, melodic voice.

Both men turned to look towards the other redhead who now stood in the gateway. Pale skin, blood red hair pulled back into a long braid, bright violet eyes that didn't show any emotion…well none that he could see. Yohji couldn't help but think how easy it would be for this man to pass as a woman. `He just needs to keep his mouth shut, I might even think he's a woman.'

(( You have no idea how many people have hit on him. )) The German replied, looking at Yohji. (( Then after they found out he was a man, half didn't care. )) He could almost swear that the telepath laughed in his mind at those words.

"Hello, I'm Yohji."

"I know." He replied, looking from the brunette to the man beside him. "I am going inside, we can get our luggage later."

"Ok princess." The redhead glared at the man and Yohji swore it could have melted snow. "See you inside." The redhead said nothing as he made his way into the building. "You have to forgive Ran, his social skills are very much lacking." Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he put one in his mouth and lit it. "But you get used to it, he's a good man, just really repressed."

"And you?" He asked as sky blue eyes met his own deep green.

Callan shrugged. "I like to have fun, but Ran…he's all I have." Yohji nodded in understanding, the man beside him laughing a moment later. "Oh no my friend, you have it all wrong!" This time the German blushed at the thoughts coming from the brunette. "Ran and I are in no way lovers. We were both brought into Kritiker around the same time, my family was dead and he had been taken from his. We were two people with similar gifts who needed someone, we became inseparable."

"So, you two are like brothers?" Callan nodded. "I see now, well that's good to know!" Both men just stood there in silence as the smoked, looking up at the sky. After a moment the back door opened, all three men coming outside.

"Oie, Yohji come help with Ran and Callan's things!" The blond yelled, making his way towards the gate.

Callan smirked, watching as the three men went out the gateway to Ran's car in the alley. "Shall we go help the young ones?" He inquired, arching a brow.

"Sure." With that, the two men put out their cigarettes, making their way towards their new team members.

~

-MUCH TO DO ABOUT DREAMS-

Golden-brown eyes fell on the sleeping figure that was beside him in the front seat of the car. The tanned features were tight, his brow furrowed in pain as he slept. For the moment he allowed the younger boy to be, knowing that it was his gift that was causing him to react in such a way. `What am I supposed to do with you, Ken?' He thought, watching the road as he made his way closer into Tokyo. `I would be more than happy to let you hide away with me, far from civilization. You are like a brother to me; I don't want you in harm's away. But if I did that…if I allowed that then I would be helping you run away from what you are.' A pained cry drove him from his thoughts as he looked at the younger man beside him. Dark eyes were now wide as the boy looked out the front window, his chest heaving with uneven breaths. "What did you see?"

"Brad?"

He nodded, glancing over at the boy. "I'm here Ken."

The brunette could help but let our a sardonic laugh as he brushed chocolate bangs from his equally dark eyes. "I was walking though dreams and stumbled onto someone's nightmare." He whispered, leaning back into the seat as his body relaxed once again. "I guess that is one of the hazards of being a Dream Seer." He stated, more than asked.

Brad's eyes narrowed, pulling off to the side of the road a moment later. "When you go tripping around them like you seem to, yes. I know you can control whose dreams you go into, sometimes I think you do that more to punish yourself."

"I can't help it, when I am there I can feel the dreamer relax." He responded, turning to face the dark haired American. "You even told me, most Dream Seers can't effect or even touch the dreamer. I can, and when I'm in their dreams I can take away the bad things and help the dreamer!"

The man nodded. "But it causes you pain, then you end up having panic attacks."

"I know."

Pulling off his glasses, he leaned back in his own chair for a moment. "I haven't seen anything Ken, I don't know where this path is going to take you. It scares me that I am allowing you to walk into this future totally blind." Growling, Brad put back on his glasses and stared out the window. "I am an Oracle, I should be able to see this future, but your life is a void to me."

"Maybe that is the way it's supposed to be, Brad." The tanned assassin whispered. "Did you ever think that perhaps fate has given up on me?"

"No."

Ken couldn't help but laugh at that. "You are always so serious, my friend." There was nothing said between them for a few moment, and then he broke the silence. "I'm scared, Brad. What if I'm not ready, what if I don't know how to act around these people? You know how I am…"

"Hotheaded? Rash? Badly tempered when you don't get things your way?" The brunette grinned at the American. "But under it all…you are in a lot of pain. You believe no one can love you, that no one wants you. A lot of that comes from your past, your first team and the fact that you lock yourself away from people."

"I know." He answered, breathing out. "But if I stay away from people then they can't hurt me. If the people are farther away it's harder to reach their dreams."

Brad nodded; understand how the younger man felt. He remembered back when Kritiker had first brought the Dream Seer to him, how broken he had seemed. Though he seemed like he had been destroyed, there was a fire deeply burning that wouldn't let him be dragged under. `I had wanted to know how he had achieved that fire. How he had become so strong under what seemed, a ruined man. I discovered it was his defense, the wall he had build around his mind to protect himself.' The American knew that to everyone else, Ken seemed a very brash man who didn't care about others. `I know the truth, oh Hanae, do you really think he is ready for this?' He sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Ken, are you sure you are ready for this?"

The brunette didn't answer, his eyes closed as he though over the question. He knew all he had to do was say the word and the man would take him home, telling Kritiker to shove the job up their ass. He knew that the Oracle would protect him, cared for him. `But the dream I saw, the one I never told him about.'

He remembered it clearly, though he couldn't recollect how he had found it. The Siberian tiger was hid deep in the hot jungle, pacing along the riverbank. He watched as the tiger would go into the water, trying to sway the heat that seemed to only annoy the great beast. Ken stood there atop a great bolder, watching the cat as it paced, taking his fill of water. Trying in vain to escape as the humidity only got thicker, heavier around them. Ken himself, started to feel the physical sensations of this dream world he found himself trapped in. The Siberian cried out, collapsing into the shallow waters. At the same time Ken could feel himself becoming ill as the heat became more than he could stand.

Then the clouds came, rushing overhead as the rain fell down in a frenzy. It relaxed him, calming the nerves that had been frayed from this dream. But even as the water that fell from the sky washed over him, he could feel a change in the dream. The temperature dropped dramatically as everything around him began to freeze, the rain turning into snow. The brunette kneeled down onto the bolder, his eyes falling to the Siberian tiger that now lay trapped in the water that had frozen around his body. Though Ken was sure the beast would die, he saw that the cat didn't struggle in the ice that now served as its prison. Quite the opposite, the tiger purred as it relaxed into the freezing hold. Confused, he had pushed himself away from the edge as he stood. Determined to find a way out of this strange dream that now held him, Ken turned and for a moment saw a flash of purple.

`I heard that ice, that freezing cold calling to me…but that voice took away the chill making the dream world bearable.' Dark eyes opened, realizing that the American was looking at him with concern. "I'm sorry."

"Did you see something?" The brunette shook his head, though he knew Brad didn't believe him. "Very well then, have you decided?"

Ken looked up, meeting his friend's eyes. "I want to go where they are." He answered, watching as the man nodded and started the car. `Though my dream doesn't make sense…though you have not seen any future for me…' He looked out the passenger window as the scenery once again pasted by. `Despite the fact that all of this may end before it begins…something, or someone is waiting for me in Tokyo. I heard its call that night, just as the Siberian heard the call of the ice.'

~

kami: And yet another wonderful ficcy from Isa-chan!! *bounces* These

are

getting better and better! ^______^

Schu: I am doing a great job as a muse!!

kami: O_o I've also noticed your inspiration at work when reading that

part

named for you.

Schu: ^_____^

kami: Aiya, you greedy, hot, gorgeous bishie, you. *sigh* What are we

gonna

do with you?

Schu: Love me more?

kami: No, we're gonna leave reviews for Isa-chan.

Schu: Can't we do my suggestion? ;_;

kami: Review first.

Schu: *pouts* FINE!! Review Isa-chan then love me more! ^__^