Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Meant to Be? ❯ Flowers and Bullets ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Flowers and Bullets

*******

Disclaimer: Id. at Chapter 1.

Warnings: Cursing, angst, a little out-of-character-ness, but nothing too bad.

~*~*~*~*~ = Dream Sequence

********

He was wrong earlier when he thought it couldn't get any worse . . . dead wrong. There he stood, feeling like an idiot. It had to be a bad dream, and he was going to wake up any minute. Either that, or this was Kritiker's idea of a joke . . . a really bad one. So, there he was, standing in the middle of what could only be . . . a flower shop. He felt like laughing hysterically, only to keep from crying. Was this his destiny . . . to be a murderer by night and selling (of all things) flowers!?! by day? He was definitely as low as he could go.

"How do I do this again, Mamoe-san?" He was trying, really he was. He may not have liked the fact that he was going to be (dare he say it?) a florist, but when he did something, he put his all into it. And, right now, he was trying to put his all into transferring a blooming catus into a larger pot without killing it, or stabbing himself with the catus' spikes.

His concentration caused him to be oblivious to his new teammates watching him intently. They were amused to say the least. There was no possible way that they could pass him off as a florist . . . an undertaker maybe, but not a florist. They had two days before the shop opened again. Two days to turn him into part of the Kitty in the House team, and so far it looked rather hopeless. The stitches in his hand did hinder his movements slightly, but that didn't mean that the other three were not enjoying his distress. They just hoped that the bruises on his face would fade dramatically before they opened. It was going to be hard enough to explain him to the fangirls without the bruises. Damn Ken for not being more careful.

"What do you think guys? I think it will be nice to have Aya-kun around." Omi was excited about their new leader/teammate.

"I don't know. R-Aya is different than I last remember him." Ken studied the redhead for a moment. "He's just not the same."

"Ken's right. Little Mr. Ayan has an attitude problem." Yohji stated bitterly.

"Yohji! How can you say that? He lost his whole family. I think he is entitled to some anger and resentment," the blue-eyed teen reprimanded.

"Anger and resentment is fine, but we are talking about the ice prince."

"I heard that, Kudoh," came Aya's growled response. "And the way I see it, I would rather be the `ice prince,' as you so eloquently put it, than a two-faced, lying, manipulating, mother-fucking bastard."

"Wow, that's harsh, Yo-tan. You should watch what you say." Ken grimaced as the redhead returned to the job at hand. "I'm hungry. Hey, Chibi, want to grab a burger, my treat?"

"Can we get some ice cream too?" Omi turned his cherubic face to Ken, big blue eyes sparkling.

"Sure thing." As if Ken could actually say no to that face, which Omi was well aware of, and utilized it to his advantage every chance he got.

"That's just cruel Omi-itchi. You know Ken's a sap for cute little kids. He's a pedophile, you know." Yohji nudged the teen and winked. Then, in unison:

"I'm not a kid!"

"I'm not a pedophile!"

"Just ignore Yohji, he's just assuming that everyone thinks like him," Aya stated so softly, that they barely heard him.

"Ouch. Aya two, Yohji zilch. I think you better quit while your behind Yohji." Aya may not be as nice as Ran, but Ken found himself liking the transformed redhead none-the-less.

"Yeah, well, we'll just see who has the last laugh tomorrow when all the fangirls show up." Yohji tried to save face, but Omi and Ken just laughed harder.

********

"Oh my God, have you seen the new guy at the flower shop?" One girl squealed to her friend as they both rushed down the street and into the Koneko no Sumi Ie.

"Oh, isn't he dreamy!"

To say that he felt overwhelmed was an understatement. Teenage girls were stuffed into every spare inch of space in the shop, all of them squealing about the four `cute' florists, and none of them buying flowers. Omi blushed and stammered every time a girl would show him some attention, Ken was tripping all over the place, and Yohji was too busy flirting to actually do some work.

"Girls, girls, there is only one of me. Why don't some of you go over and make Aya feel welcome, ne?" Yohji almost laughed at the `shi-ne' glare he received from the redhead. The girls flocked around Aya, all fighting for his attention while he quietly ignored them.

Finally, a soft voice broke through all the noise, "If you're not going to buy anything, get out. This is a place of business." The girls gasped in shock as Ken sighed in relief.

"He didn't mean it, did he?" One girl questioned no one particular.

"I don't know. Maybe we should leave," another one stated. Within moments, a slew of disappointed teenage girls poured out of the flower shop.

"That was uncalled for, Ayan." Yohji approached the redhead and stood in front of him. Aya met the angry emerald gaze with a glare that would freeze half the Caribbean.

"I'll tell you what was uncalled for, twenty-some girls crowding in here, keeping out the paying customers. We have to at least pretend that this is a valid business." Of course the redhead would see every angle. "You're just upset because you no longer have an excuse to slack."

"Listen here, Fujimiya . . ."

"Guys," Ken interrupted.

"Last name basis, Kudoh? I'm in trouble now."

"Hey, guys," Ken attempted again.

"You're just jealous."

"Hey you two." Ken was starting to get a little flustered.

"Of the fact that you're a lazy, good for nothing, incorrigible flirt? I hardly think so."

"That's quite enough you two." Both young men turned to see a familiar redhead standing in the shop.

"Hello, Manx, you are looking fabulous today. Did you do something with your hair?" Yohji put an arm around her shoulders, just to have it shrugged off.

"Do you have a problem with Abyssinian, Balinese?" Yohji was getting quite familiar with that look . . . it had to be a redhead thing . . . an innate ability to glare in such a way that made you glad looks couldn't kill.

"Abyssinian? As in the cat?" Manx rolled her eyes at Aya's question, angered by the fact that his new teammates had failed to tell him anything about Weiß. The other three in the room looked down at their feet guiltily. "What? Am I changing my code name or not?"

"I think we all need to have a long discussion." The three original Weiß groaned in apprehension at Manx's harshly stated promise. "You have a mission, so get downstairs so we can get started. By the way, one silver Porsche Boxter as agreed." Manx handed Aya a set of keys as the others just stared in awe before following the two redheads downstairs.

**********

There was something in the blonde's green eyes that prevented Aya from forbidding Yohji heading up this mission. The blonde was determined to do it . . . alone. Granted the first step of the mission was just a basic gathering of information, but the redhead couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen to his ex-boyfriend, and he was almost positive it was going to have a strong emotional impact. It could have been the haunted, wounded look in those big green eyes at the mention of Liotte that disturbed the redhead.

They had yet to hear something from Yohji. He had more than enough time to get the information and get out. It had been an argument on whether Omi should do any preliminary work or not. Aya won that argument. Yohji was more than willing to go into this project blind, but that didn't mean that the redhead had to allow it. Now, here he was . . . waiting. He hated waiting. In this line of work, the more you waited the lesser the chances were of saving a teammate.

Aya sighed and flopped down ungracefully on his hard bed. He wondered why he cared. After the way the blonde has treated him since waking up in his room, he really shouldn't. Yohji had treated him like a complete stranger when all Aya wanted to do was hold the blonde just to have one thing that reminded him what it was like to be Ran. Yohji was the only living person, besides his comatose sister, that truly knew him as he used to be. It stung to think that Yohji had forgotten his existence and probably never cared about it to begin with. Aya hugged a pillow close to his body as he unwillingly slipped into the world of dreams.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Koban wa," Ran shouted as he walked through the front door of his family's home. He removed his shoes and entered the den to find his father reading a newspaper in his favorite chair.

"Koban wa my son, how are you this evening?" Anzai put away the paper and stood to properly greet his son. Ran settled on the couch and stretched out his long legs.

"I'm fine. Is Aya ready yet?"

"Probably not even close. You know how teenage girls are." The two Fujimiya men chuckled at the joke.

"Don't I though?" Ran yawned and turned to look up the stairs for any sign of his sister.

"Ran?" The redhead turned his twinkling violet gaze to his father. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course, `Tousan."

"Who is it?" The joking atmosphere that was present in the room just moments before evaporated.

"Nani?" Ran's smiling feature melted into a look of confusion.

"Who is the one who brought the smile to your eyes? It has been a long time since you have looked so happy." Ran felt his blood run cold. He couldn't tell his father . . . it would crush him.

"There is no one. I've just been in an incredibly good mood lately. It was probably brought on by Aya getting into art school." He hated lying to his father, but the thought of being disowned was the most hated outcome.

"Why are you lying to me?" Ran opened his mouth to deny the accusation, but his father cut him off. "Is it because it is a man?"

"Wh-at?" He couldn't breathe. His heart started pounding and his head was spinning. He wanted to deny it. He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. He wanted to be anywhere but around his father at this moment. "I - I . . . that is to say . . ."

"Ran, I know my own son. I have studied you from the very moment that you were laid in my arms, looking so small and fragile. I watch you whenever I can, and I think I would be able to realize where my son's sexual preferences lie." Silence descended on the room. Ran swallowed the large lump in his throat and waited for his father to disown him.

"Father, I . . ." He couldn't stand the silence. He wanted to deny it.

"Are your mother and I going to meet him? I want to make sure that he's not going to hurt my only son." Ran looked at his father in shock. He was going to faint any moment now.

"S-sure," the redhead murmured softly.

"Does he have a name?" Anzai chuckled at the baffled expression on his son's face.

"His name is Yohji, `Tousan, and he just adores Ran." Aya was suddenly standing in the room. "He just fawns all over Ran every chance he gets."

"Aya!" The girl giggled at the exasperated look on her brother's face, of course the blush was quite amusing as well.

"I see. Your sister has met him, but I haven't?" Anzai grinned at his son's distress.

"What? Are you two teaming up on me?" The more the redhead spoke, the redder his face got.

"That's enough you two. Poor Ran is as red as his hair. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves." An attractive Japanese woman walked into the room, carrying a glass of milk.

"Arigato, `Kaasan. It's good to know that someone is on my side." Ran sent a playful glare to his sister and father only to have them smile in response.

"Come on Ran. I have to go spend your money for my birthday." Aya grabbed her brother by the arm and drug him from the house. He turned back to wave goodbye to his parents, not knowing that would be the last time he would see either of them alive.

*~*~*~*~*

*BANG*BANG*BANG*

Aya jerked awake at the sound of someone pounding on his bedroom door. He looked around wildly for a moment, not quite recognizing where he was. When his sleep muddled brain finally registered that he was in his room above a flower shop, he calmed. The pounding continued, promising to give him a headache if he didn't acknowledge whoever was on the opposite side.

"Yeah." He could barely recognize his own voice, thick with sleep.

"We have to hurry, Aya-kun. Yohji's wounded. We have -" Omi didn't a chance to finish as Aya opened the door in a hurry, grabbed the teen by the arm and dragged him downstairs to the garage where Ken was already waiting.

"I guess we're going to find out just how fast this puppy will go, ne?" Ken muttered as he climbed into the modified Porsche. Aya just grunted in response. He knew that he shouldn't have let Yohji go it alone.

"Where are we going, Omi?" Aya asked as he backed out of the garage.

"Fourth and Harbour," the boy squeaked out as the redhead pulled onto the road, tires squealing.

"Yup, this baby can move...let's just hope it has good brakes," Ken murmured as held on for dear life. It was becoming increasingly apparent that the redhead had yet to meet a speed limit that he didn't break. Ken found it hard to complain when they made it across town in record time.

They found Yohji laying in a dirty alley, covered in blood, like a wounded stray cat. His breathing was erratic and he was murmuring nonsense. Ken and Omi scouted the area for any enemies as Aya slowly approached the fallen blonde. Aya dropped down and placed a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder, only to have Yohji jerk away, causing himself more pain.

"Leave me. It's all my fault . . . I never learn." Aya rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. The blonde was such a pain in the ass.

"Come on Kudoh." The redhead pulled Yohji into his arms and struggled to his feet, trying not to jar his teammate any more than possible. "Fuck, you're heavy."

"They died . . . it's all my fault. Everyone I touch dies. First Asuka, then Ran, now Maki." Green eyes were unfocused with fever as the whispered words slurred out of dry, clammy lips that were pale from blood loss.

"I'm still alive, Yohji. You had nothing to do with my `death'. Now snap out of it dammit! Do you want them to get away with what they did? Come on you stubborn, son of a bitch, quit your prissy-ass whining and focus on the mission." Aya managed to get the taller man to the car without dropping him or falling over.

"You know what? You are a cold bastard, Fujimiya. I liked you much better when you were dead." Emerald eyes were starting to focus again as he glared at his former boyfriend.

"Fuck you." Aya practically threw the injured assassin into the car and the blonde barely had time to move his legs out of the way before the door slammed shut. "Ken, you need to get his car and take it back to the Koneko. We'll meet you there." Ken nodded and Omi followed the young athlete to the Jag, not wanting to ride with an irate redhead or a wounded Yohji. The blonde had a nasty habit of being quite rude while he was in pain. Omi surmised that Aya didn't take too well to rudeness, at least not where Yohji was concerned anyway, and the teen would rather not be in the middle of it when it all came down. Yet, it could prove to be quite entertaining, messy and violent for sure, but entertaining none-the-less.

Aya got into the car and slammed the door, jarring the whole car. His passenger moaned in pain as he, too, was jarred. Amethyst eyes narrowed in agitation at the assassin beside him in the car. The blonde was muttering nonsense as he slipped in and out of consciousness. It was obvious he had a fever and had over-exerted himself in his condition by traveling almost eight blocks from the Riot building. It was obvious that Yohji could not have made it that far on his own, and it was equally obvious by his scent and murmuring that his assistant was a female. The part of the redhead that was still Ran, the part buried deep inside, felt jealously rear its ugly head and hated himself for allowing even that small part of him to feel that useless emotion. He put the car in gear and headed toward his new home.

********

"We have to complete this mission tonight. The targets will be gone by tomorrow." Aya had spent the past two hours going through the computer files that Yohji downloaded to find the whereabouts of their targets. They really had no choice but to act tonight. He knew that this was the first time he would be leading this team (or any team for that matter), and, being the new guy in a group as closely knit as Weiß, it was going to be difficult. He wondered briefly if they trusted him. He was pretty certain that Yohji didn't, but what about the two young ones that were standing in front of him now?

"What about Yohji?" Ken looked uncertain about trusting the redhead. Granted, Aya had yet to give him a reason not to trust him, but, being an assassin, he was suspicious by nature.

"He is no condition to assist with this mission. We leave him here. He needs to heal." Aya left no room for argument before handing the two young men mission plans and retreating upstairs to prepare for the mission. He had intended on bypassing Yohji's room without a second glance, but the unconscious pleads and soft sobbing lured him into the playboy's room against his better judgment.

Yohji's room was an outward expression of the blonde's personality. Creature comforts of every kind were, surprisingly, neatly placed from one corner of the room to the other. From the gargantuan antique wrought-iron bed with an overabundance of pillows, satin sheets, and massive featherbed to the designer clothes hanging in the eighteenth century armoire to the various imported toiletries . . . Yohji was big into self indulgence to say the least. The room was a warming shade of deep crimson that expressed the blonde's underlying passion. Yet, despite the various forms of excess found in the room, Aya found it cozy and comforting . . . a place where you could come and heal your soul after the slaughter of numerous `dark beasts.' Where Aya's room was cold and clinical (and strongly resembled something from a refugee camp), Yohji's was warm and welcoming.

"I'm sorry . . . my fault . . . Maki," the blonde whispered in his unconscious state as he tossed an turned on the bed. Well, on was not an accurate term . . . more like in the bed. Between the featherbed and the pillows, Yohji was almost swallowed by his bed. Aya briefly wondered what such comfort would feel like. Before he could start feeling sorry for himself and his situation, he walked over to the bed and checked his teammate's temperature. He was shocked to say the least when Yohji nuzzled into his hand like a kitten.

"Rest . . . get better, Yohji. Omi and Ken need you . . . they won't let themselves depend on me. You have to be there for them," Aya stated as he looked down at the blonde before adding in an almost silent whisper, "You have to be here for me, too." The redhead briefly and gently caressed Yohji's cheek with his thumb before snatching his hand back and leaving the room.

Yohji slowly opened his eyes and looked at the closed door. "So, there is still a part of you that is Ran," he whispered to himself. "Don't worry, hellcat, I'm not going anywhere." The blonde grimaced in pain as he sat up in his bed and lit a cigarette. A few moments later, he heard Ken thumping down the stairs, followed by the lighter steps of Omi, and the muted, even steps of Aya. He heard the jeep leave the garage and waited until he was sure his teammates were far enough from the Koneko, so that they couldn't glance back to see, and climbed out of bed and dressed in his mission gear. If they thought that they were going to finish this mission without him, they were sadly mistaken.

********

Sorry this chapter took so long, but it was a hard one to write for some reason. I tried not to make anyone out of character, but still failed miserably. I hope that you guys enjoy it anyway. Let me know.

Chapter's Dose of MST Silliness:

Crawford: I foresee that Balinese will assist his team with this mission.

Schu: No shit Sherlock.

Nagi: That was a major break through. *Note the sarcasm.*

Farfie: God even ignored that. Crawford is siding with God.

Schu: Damn it Bradley! Now we're going to have to medicate him again. Next time, keep your mouth shut. Damn Americans. Come on Nagi, get the harness.

Nagi: Why do I always have to get the harness? Why can't you?

Farfie: That's going to hurt God.

Nagi & Schu: Shut up!

Crawford: Poor kitties.

Laters,

sirencirce