Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Mei no Okaeshi ❯ Hikari to Kage no Labyrinth [Labyrinth of Shadow and Light] ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 1



The blazing sun bore down on the area as if it were a rain of light. Not a cloud lined the azure sky; a light breeze just barely lifted tiny white crests from the shimmering field of blue that kissed the white sands of the beach.

This summer day was absolutely perfect. Nothing could spoil it.

... Yeah, right!

"Man, this really sucks!" Nusutto Eiki complained. "'The Perfect Summer Getaway', my ass!" She slammed the poster on the table in front of her. "Just when we finally get some time to ourselves for a change, it has to go and do this!" She looked out the window, where the 'cloudless azure sky' was replaced by dark clouds and flashes of lightning.

"Well, this just goes to show how gullible some people are," Hidaka Ken mused as he slurped on a would-be smoothie. "... This is horrible." He glared at the younger boy sitting in the booth next to him. "I can't believe we let you talk us into this, Omittchi."

Tsukiyono Omi shrugged apologetically. "It seemed like a good idea at the time, right Aka-chan?" He nudged the black-haired girl to his left to him with his elbow.

Nagareboshi Akari lifted her head from the table and looked at the other three people sitting at the table with her. "Yeah," she muttered. "The thing is, we didn't KNOW we'd get here right in the middle of a hurricane!"

Eiki flopped down in the booth, sighing. "Say, where are Ran-kun and Yo-tan?"

"A-yan went to go get our food, Ki-ki. And Kami-sama KNOWs where Yo-tan is..." Omi groaned, absently stirring his so-called smoothie.

"He's probably off picking up girls again, like he always does," Ken said matter-of-factly. "Not even a thunderstorm can stop him from ogling the bisho-"

Ken was cut off as Fujimiya Ran -- better known as Aya -- sat down in the booth next to Eiki, grumbling. "Can't even get any decent service around here..."

"Now what's the holdup?" Akari asked.

"Baka waitress doesn't seem to HAVE our orders ready; she claims to have lost the paper that everything was written on, so I had to re-order everything... then she was being all bitchy, the whole 'would you like fries with that' thing... honestly, who in their right mind would want fries with a salad?" Aya ranted. He crossed his arms and leaned back in the booth.

Eiki rolled her eyes, then turned her attention to the window. "This really REALLY stinks," she muttered. "This was supposed to be a fun little getaway for all of us, and here we are, being treated like gaijin... sigh. It HAD to be the redneck part of Japan, didn't it?"

It was at that time when Youji arrived at the table, a smug grin upon his face. "It may be the redneck part of Japan, but the girls here are chou kawaii!" (AN: "Chou kawaii", in this sense, would be "mega cute". Heh, that's our Yo-tan!) He nudged Aya over in the booth, then sat next to him. With three people on either side of the table, it was a bit crowded.

Ken looked out the window, boredly chewing on the end of his straw. "Doesn't look like the storm will let up..." he groaned.



It did. It was the last day of their short vacation, and the scene looked just as splendid as it had looked in the ad. After the storm that had plagued the beach for the majority of the week, the skies were clear, and the sun was shining brightly. The six florists were at peace with the world, and they spent their final day relaxing.

Well... Aya and Eiki did. Aya was perfectly comfortable with keeping his pale complexion, and Eiki felt the need to stay with him, 'so he wouldn't get lonely.'

Eiki lowered her sunglasses, peering at Ken and Omi, who were bouncing a beach ball around. God only knew where Youji had gotten off to; Eiki's guess was that he had gone off looking for "bikini-clad goddesses". Akari was nearby, building a sandcastle.

Eiki set down the book she had been reading, leaning over to rub some sunscreen on her legs. "Y'know, Ran-kun... this was a pretty good idea." She looked to the redhead and smiled.

Aya nodded as he sat in the shade of the large umbrella that they had brought along. "I admit, it is good to get away from the Koneko once-in-a-while... and since we haven't had many missions lately, it's been okay." He smiled back at her. He had been doing a lot more smiling lately.

Nearby, Akari shuffled through her basket of seashells and stones, to look for the perfect touches to her sandcastle. It wasn't very big or detailed; she thought it looked pretty crummy. She pressed a few seashells and small polished stones into the damp sand, smiling lightly. She didn't see the beach ball flying toward her.

"Heads up!" Ken's voice called.

Akari took notice of the flying ball, and quickly scooted back, just as it landed on top of her sandcastle. "... Aww, what'd ya go and do THAT for?" She pouted silently, glaring at Omi and Ken.

Omi rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging apologetically. "Gomen nasai, Aka-chan! Kenken kinda lost control."

"I lost control? You hit the ball all weird!" Ken shot at him. Omi stuck his tongue out at the older bishounen. "Eeeehhhhh... okay then, wise guy." He cracked his knuckles, then charged at him. "Prepare to die!" Instead of pouncing, like he would have appeared to do, he wrapped his arm around Omi's neck, initiating the legendary "sleeper hold".

Akari nearly doubled over laughing at the two of them, until Omi wrenched himself out of Ken's grasp. "You guys are nuts!" she said as Omi walked over and flopped down next to her in the sand.

"That just makes it more fun, Aka-chan." He flashed a wide grin at her, picking up the beach ball and throwing it back to Ken, who promptly began bouncing it off of his wrists.

The black-haired girl giggled and lay down, crossing her arms behind her head. She felt the warm sunshine play over her body like flames, and wiggled her toes in the sand. She closed her eyes, taking in the full heat of the sun. Her eyes opened again upon feeling a strange coolness hovering over her, and they locked with the deep blue eyes of Omi.

The difference in the shades of their eyes were like the sky and the sea. Akari smiled, running her fingers across Omi's cheek. "Daisuki, Omi-kun," she whispered.

Omi smiled back at her, then closed his eyes and leaned his head down, briefly brushing her lips with his. "Daisuki."

Akari flashed a cute grin at him, but her expression turned to surprise when she felt him lift her up out of the sand. "Nan desu ka?!"

"Muahahaha!" Omi laughed somewhat maniacally, as he ran down the beach with Akari in his arms, heading toward the water.

"Ack! Put me down, baka!" She kicked her legs repeatedly, giggling. She didn't notice that Omi was knee-deep in water.

Omi grinned smugly. "Okay then!" He took his arms out from under her, letting her splash down into the water.

Akari had no idea what had just happened as she sat up, drenched. She spit out a mouthful of water and glared at Omi. "What'd you do THAT for?" Her only response was a calm smile. Omi extended his hand down to her, placing the other on his knee. Akari smiled back at him and took it, pulling him down into the water. "Gotcha."

Omi coughed a few times as he poked his head up out of the water. "Ara... now you've done it!" He took her by the wrists, placing them behind his neck.



Back on the beach, Eiki watched the two of them as they played around in the water. She smiled peacefully. "Heh, kids these days... so energetic." She crossed her arms behind her head, turning to look at Aya, who was reading a thick book next to her. He was almost fully dressed, being careful to stay under the umbrella. "Isn't it awfully hot in that outfit?" she asked.

"I sunburn very easily," Aya replied, not taking his eyes from the book.

"That's what sunscreen is for," Eiki said, holding up the brown bottle. Her red-haired companion was unfazed. She scowled slightly, determined to get him out in the sun instead of sit on his bum like a potted plant. "... If you want, I'll rub it on your back for you."

Aya looked at her, a hint of surprise in his violet eyes. He sighed, seeing as there was probably no way out of it. "Whatever."

****************************************************** **************

Blazing hues of red and gold licked at the brilliant sea-green colour in the eyes of Retsukari Mei. She stared into the fire before her, her chin resting on her arms which were crossed and propped up on her bent knees. Not a sound escaped from her lips as she sat here, mesmerized by the flames.

Naoe Nagi sat across from her, equally silent.

They had been this way for a while now, not really saying anything, and an occasional thought thrown into the head every now and then. Mei finally broke the deafening silence. "... Nagi-kun, do you really think we'll be able to make it on our own?"

Nagi was a little surprised by this question. "Of course, Mei-chan... are you beginning to have doubts?"

The dark-blue-haired girl nodded. "I guess... We're still pretty young, and we're not all that powerful. Even with your psychic powers, it might not be enough to take care of Weiß. I can make up for your physical strength, but..." She closed her eyes. "I just have this nagging feeling that we're not strong enough."

Nagi looked at her for a few moments, then stood up and walked over to where she was sitting, and sat down next to her. "I don't know, Mei-chan... even I can't predict that."

Mei rested her head in her hands. *Someone, somewhere... anywhere... at least give us a sign.*

And then, their sign showed up.

A light breeze played across the area, blowing some stray leaves and scraps of paper toward the two teenagers. Mei reached out and caught a small flier that had been blown at them. She looked at it for a minute, then gasped. "N-Nagi... this is it..."

Confused, Nagi took the paper from her, reading it aloud. "Wanted: Four assassins by the names of Hyoukan Shou, Takenaga Mikiri, Suji Akuba, and Gekiretsu Yuuki. All are wanted for miscellaneous bombings in the Tokyo-Yokohama area. Mei-chan, what..." Then it hit him. "Yes..." He clenched the piece of paper in his hand, grinning sadistically.

**************************************************** ****************

Making a light 'whoosh'ing sound as it tore through the air, a freshly-sharpened throwing star embedded itself in the bulletin board.

Although it had come close to hitting her in the head, the emerald-haired woman disregarded the throwing star. She crossed her arms and propped her feet up on the desk in front of her. "Gekiretsu, you really need to control your anger," she said with a yawn.

The blonde teenager turned his head away from the older woman. He waltzed over to a chair and sat down in a huff. This young warrior was Gekiretsu Yuuki. At age nineteen, he was the youngest member of the assassin group Chaos.

The woman sitting across from him was the twenty-one-year-old Takenaga Mikiri, the only female in the infamous gang. She twirled a strand of her curly dark-green hair around her finger mindlessly. "This is boring. Someone tell me why we had to run out of dynamite NOW..."

"Quit yer bitchin', Takenaga," the black-haired man snapped at her. "It's probably your fault that there ain't anymore anyway! Oban." Twenty-three-year-old Suji Akuba boredly rested his chin on his fist. He already knew that he was going to get yelled at.

Mikiri angrily stood up and glared at Akuba. "Kisama!"

Akuba smirked, in spite of the death glare he was recieving. "What'sa matter? Can't take what I throw at ya?"

"Let her be, Suji," a new voice snapped. The three assassins turned their heads to look at the leader of their small gang, twenty-four-year-old Hyoukan Shou. He dumped the contents of the large burlap bag that had previously been hanging over his shoulder onto the floor. There were several bags of gunpowder, matches, and all kinds of explosives. "I think this will suffice for a while."

Yuuki knelt down near the pile of stuff. He pursed his lips and turned to look up at the older man. "This was all you could find? Where's the good stuff?"

Shou reached into one of his interior pockets and slowly took out a bottle wrapped in a towel. He gingerly unwrapped the towel from the bottle, as if it were a fragile vase. The bottle appeared to be a Florence flask, and it was filled with a white liquid. There was a cork in the top of it. "Nitro glycerin," Shou said, "is one of the most powerful explosives. If I threw this bottle at the wall, this entire building would explode. A little of this goes a VERY long way."

Mikiri, Akuba, and Yuuki all looked at each other with devilish smirks on their faces.

*********************************************************** **********

"Do you see what happens when you don't listen to us?" Aya asked, leaning against the counter. The six florists were back to work at the Koneko, albeit in pain from the redness on their shoulders and faces.

"Yeah yeah Aya, we heard you..." Ken groaned as he wrapped up a bouquet of flowers. He, like three of his fellow florists/assassins, was wearing a tank top.

"But at least we had fun, right?" Akari asked, looking up from her sweeping job. She had her hair up in a looped-under ponytail so it wouldn't brush her shoulders. "Even if we DID get sunburnt."

Omi nodded in agreement as he watered some bonsai trees. "It was worth it, but it does feel good to be back to the normal life."

Eiki smirked. "I wouldn't quite say 'normal'." She nodded at Youji, who was spraying the front windows of the Koneko. He wasn't even wearing a shirt. "It seems that the girls like Yo-tan's sunburn."

"I heard that!" Youji called from outside. "It makes my tattoo stand out more!"

Ken laughed. "Not even a sunburn's gonna stop him from ogling the bishoujo. Funny thing is, Youji thinks he's still in high school, going about all shirtless like that."

"Heh." Aya turned to look at Omi and Akari. "Speaking of high school, aren't you two due to start back soon?"

Akari nearly dropped her broom. "Shimatta! I forgot!"

Omi sweatdropped, grinning at her. "Daijoubu, we've still got a week and a half!" He gently reached up and ruffled her front bangs.

Ken smiled widely. "You'd better enjoy this last year why you can. Senior year went by really fast for me. Before long, you two will be graduating."

Youji walked through the door of the Koneko, whistling. "Yep. Then there's college, and we all know what happens in college..." Youji nudged Omi with his elbow, winking.

"Youji-kuuuuuuun!" Omi shouted, exasperated. His face had turned bright red.

Akari blinked, tilting her head to the side a little. "Nan da yo?"

Eiki turned around and looked at Akari, catching the drift of Youji's comment. "Akari, please tell me you know what he means."

The black-haired girl shook her head, obviously lost.

"Meh." Eiki walked over to Akari, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

The four guys watched as Akari's expression turned from confused, to surprised, to downright embarassed. "Yooo-taaaaaaan!"

************************************************ ********************

"Daaa, that place HAS to be around here somewhere!"

Their hands locked, Omi and Akari shouldered through the crowded school hallway. It was a lot more packed than they had thought it would be, with the hordes of freshman and whatnot.

"What room was it again, Aka-chan?" Omi asked above the noise in the hall.

Akari looked at the schedule in her left hand. "B204? We're in the right hallway..."

She felt someone grab her elbow. "Akari-chaaaan! Omi-san!"

"Uh?" Omi turned around and looked behind him.

"Haha! Been a while, ne?" The person who had grabbed Akari's arm was a girl with short, fluffy light brown hair. Her green eyes shone brightly as she grinned at them.

Akari smiled widely. "Kei-chan!"

Omi matched Akari's grin. "Aa, Kei-san!"

Niwa Kei brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Oi, what class are you going to?"

Akari looked at the schedule again. "Uhhh... Pre-Cal, B204. Aranami-sensei."

"Araaa, I have that class too! I passed by it on my way to Physics. I'll take you two there if you want!" Kei flipped a thumbs-up at them.

"Arigatou, Kei-san!" Omi said.

Kei tugged on Akari's elbow. "C'mon, the bell's gonna ring in a few minutes!"




Ninety exceedingly boring minutes later, the three of them nearly stumbled out of the Pre-Cal classroom.

Kei groaned. "I can already tell I'm going to HATE that class." She yawned, wiping a tear from her eye.

"You and me both..." Akari said, stifling a yawn of her own.

Omi sweatdropped. "At least we only have it every OTHER day, ne?" Leave it to Omi to look on the bright side of things.

"Oi, Kei-chan... what do you have next?" Akari asked, looking to her friend.

Kei groaned again. "Japanese... geez, I dunno why the heck we have to take it. We already know enough of our own language." She rubbed the back of her head.

"Sumi masen..." a new voice said, "...do any of you know where I could find the Government class?" It was a girl with long sky-blue hair that was tied back with a pink ribbon.

Akari grinned. "Ne, Omi-kun... you have that class next, don't you?" She nudged him with her elbow.

Omi blinked. "Hai... Aka-chan, you know my schedule better than I do." He smiled nervously.

"So why don't you be a dear and show this nice girl where it is?" Akari gave him the cutest smile she could muster.

"Aaa..." He knew that whenever she smiled like that, it was no use fighting back.. "...Okay..." He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Kei grinned at the girl. "Say, what's your name anyway?"

The girl turned a little bit pink, her pinkish-red eyes narrowing slightly. "Akegata Momiji..." she answered.

Still a little perplexed, Omi turned to Momiji. "Well, Akegata-san... I guess we should get going. Don't wanna be late, y'know."

Momiji looked up at him. "Hai..."

Omi turned back to Akari, lightly kissing the top of her head. "See you after school."

Akari giggled. "Ja. Nice meeting you, Akegata-san!"

Momiji smiled at the two other girls, then she and Omi left.

"Ne, Akari-chan..." Kei started skeptically. "Are you sure you're alright with Omi-san taking her to class?"

The black-haired girl turned to look at her friend, confused. "Um, why wouldn't I be? She's obviously new. And, Omi-kun probably would have offered to show her to class anyway. There's nothing wrong with that," she reassured Kei.

But, deep in the pit of her stomach, something didn't feel right. She just couldn't figure out what it was.

************************************************************* *******

"S-stop it! Get away!" Gekiretsu Yuuki shouted as he eyed the brown-haired boy advancing on him. He backed up against the wall, clucthing a throwing star in his hand.

"It's no use fighting against me," Naoe Nagi said, his eyes glowing with a bright red tone, "because we are not here to destroy you."

"Then why have you interrupted our meeting to discuss plans?" Hyoukan Shou asked calmly. There was a hint of boredness in his voice.

"We know what you've been doing around this city," Retsukari Mei said, fingering the handle of her knife. "You're not going about it the right way."

Suji Akuba gripped his chain in both of his hands. "Who're you to go and tell us that we ain't doing our jobs right, wench?"

Nagi faced the four stunned members of Chaos, his eyes returning to their normal colour. He took a deep breath. "Suji Akuba. Twenty-three years old; a stubborn jackass who is constantly using foul language in the prescence of people who shouldn't hear such things."

Akuba stared blankly at Nagi. He was right.

Mei turned and looked at the green-haired woman who was clutching her weapon tightly. "Takenaga Mikiri. Twenty-one years old; was practically worshipped as a child. You think of nobody but yourself and say that everyone else is nothing but the scum at the bottom of your shoes."

Mikiri narrowed her eyes, realizing that Mei was speaking the truth.

Nagi's eyes fell on the blonde-haired man who was still backed up against the wall, horrified. "Gekiretsu Yuuki. Nineteen years old; you have a very bad temper and swear to get revenge on those who stole your love from you. You have issues."

Yuuki screamed and held his head. "Nobody knows about that!! H-how... how can you know about Koe-chan?!"

Mei and Nagi looked at each other, then turned to the leader of the group, who had his katana drawn.

"Hyoukan Shou," Nagi announced.

"Twenty-four years old, the half-brother of Akai Arashi," Mei said crossly, remembering the man who had taken her in and trained her to be an assassin.

"You have vowed to avenge both your half-brother and your father, Akai Houou," Nagi said.

His mouth twisted into a snarl, Shou spoke. "Correct. Now, you have not answered my question. Who are you, and why are you here?"

Nagi crossed his arms, looking straight into Shou's eyes. "I am Naoe Nagi. You are probably wondering how Mei-chan and I know so much about all of you."

"He is not like any of you," Mei said. "Nagi has the ability to read minds and use his powers to trap his opponents... and I am Retsukari Mei." She looked at Shou, "I was taken in by your half-brother. Because of him, I am what I am today."

"We would like to join you on your mission to be rid of Weiß," Nagi continued, "because we have scores to settle with them as well."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Mikiri asked, a disgusted tone in her voice.

"No need to worry, Takenaga-san," Nagi said. His eyes began to glow again. "I have a plan that will not only prove to be dangerous to Weiß, but it will also shatter their hearts and make their lives a living hell..."

********************************************************* ***********

"Omi-kun! Come and dance with me!"

Omi looked up at the voice that called out to him, to see a very strange sight. He was sitting down in a chair in the school gymnasium, which was lit up by lots of multicolored lights. There was some light music playing, and the floor was filled with dancing students.

*Uh? It's Homecoming time already?* Omi thought as he looked around for the voice. He stood up.

"Omi-kuuuun!" He felt somebody grab his arm. He turned around to see Akari holding on to his elbow. She was wearing a powder-blue silk dress that matched the colour of her eyes perfectly, and her hair fell around her shoulders in jet-black waves. "Come on, dance with me!"

This was strange. School had only started three days ago. However, Omi felt his feet carry him to the dance floor, almost as if someone was controlling him. This was VERY strange.

He found himself unable to say anything as he danced with Akari, being controlled like a puppet. Then, another thought hit him.

Since when was Akari able to dance? The last time they had danced, she was very clumsy and stepped on his toes a lot. This was different, and still very strange. *This is a dream...* he thought. *No way can Aka-chan dance this well... unless she's been taking lessons and I just didn't know...*

But she looked so happy. Her eyes shone as they looked into his; orbs of the purest sky blue.

Akari pulled herself closer to him, resting her head on his chest. "Omi-kun... this is so great... just being here with you is enough, but... I feel like I'm floating."

All Omi could do was nod at her, as he felt his hand reaching up to touch her cheek. Akari looked up at him again, smiling. *That smile... maybe this isn't a dream...* Omi smiled back at her, leaning down slightly. *Only one way to find out...*

Akari closed her eyes. Just a little closer...

All of a sudden, the multicoloured lights turned off, the music stopped playing, and the other people around them disappeared in wisps of smoke. Omi looked up in surprise, as Akari clutched his shirt in fright.

Omi protectively wrapped his arms around her, looking around at the darkness surrounding them. A single spotlight appeared over them. *What... what's going on?!*

"Aaaa!" Omi looked down at Akari, who had pulled herself away from his grasp. She was looking at her hands, which were blowing away like dust in the wind. Her feet started to disappear too, just like her hands were. She was dissolving!

*A-Akari!!* Omi thought, reaching out to her. But his feet were firmly rooted to the ground, so his struggles were useless.

Akari looked up at him in horror as the rest of her body blew away just like the other people had.

Tears were streaming down Omi's face as he desperately tried to pry his feet away from the floor. *Akari! N-no... this can't be real! This is a dream! It has to be!!*

All of a sudden, a familiar voice spoke up. "Listen up, Tsukiyono. We have Akari now. And we are only going to tell you this once."

Omi looked ahead of him to see the silhouettes of six people standing before him. The one in the center had two bright red eyes that were glaring at him.

"Stay away from Nagareboshi. Do not attempt to hold her, or kiss her, or even think about her. Because if you make any sort of emotional contact with her, she will be severely hurt."

*Wh-what is this?! Who are you?! Wh... why is this happening?!* The words formed at his lips, but when he tried to shout them out, nothing was heard.

"Consider this your warning, Tsukiyono. Deny your love for her, or else she will not live to see your 'Homecoming' take place." The six silhouettes disappeared, and another voice was heard.

"Omi-kuuuuuun!!" It was Akari's voice, coming out of nowhere. Omi looked around frantically for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

*Wh... why?! Why is this happening to me?! A... Akariiii!!*




"Akariiii!!" Omi shot up in bed, breathing heavily after his outburst. His skin had paled, and his hands were shaking. When he got a hold of himself, he reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "A dream... it was only a dream..."

*Deny your love for her, or else she will not live to see you 'Homecoming' take place.*

"Wh... what does this mean...?" Omi whispered to himself. "I... I can't love Akari...?" He suddenly remembered how she seemed to dissolve into the wind in his dream, and he sprang out of the bed and out of his room. He ran down the hallway to Akari's room as fast as his feet would take him, and he threw open the door. "Akari..."

She was peacefully asleep, the light from the moon shining through the window onto her face.

*She... she's safe...* He let out a sigh of relief. But then that same phrase came back to him.

*Deny your love for her, or else she will not live to see you 'Homecoming' take place.*

*... Akari ... I'd give anything to make sure that she was safe...* He stepped into the room, so that he was standing over her. *... I don't want to do this... but if it means that Akari will stay safe, then...* He reached over to her night table and quickly wrote out a short note using the notepad and pen on the table.

-Akari ... I need to talk to you tomorrow. It's really important. ... Omi-

He looked at the note, swallowing the lump in his throat. *I'm sorry... but I have to do this. It's for your own good...* He took one last look at her, then slowly walked out of her room, shutting the door behind him.