Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Mei no Okaeshi ❯ The Minority ( Chapter 2 )

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

Chapter 2: The Minority



"... It is TOO early in the morning for all of this," Ken groaned as the six florists came upon 'the morning rush'.

"It's never too early for bishoujo, Hidaka!" Youji said, smirking at him. He ran a hand through his wavy hair, causing several of the girls around him to swoon. "My good looks are obviously better than coffee!" This brought on a burst of giggles from the girls.

Eiki snorted. "Oh, whatEVER." She rolled her eyes, spraying some roses with a squirt bottle. "You've got nothing on me. Right, boys?" She winked at the group of guys standing around her; a good percentage of them agreeing enthusiastically.

"I'll have to agree with her on that one, Youji, seeing as how I'm male," Aya said from behind the counter, as he rung up a purchase.

"Aww, don't be a spoilsport, A-yan," Youji said. "You know you want a piece of this." He turned his back to the redhead and stuck his rear end out, jokingly.

Aya turned away, repulsed. "NO."

"A-yan, the way you deny it makes you sound like you're agreeing," Akari said, chuckling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Omi emerge from the stairway that connected the flowershop to the upstairs living space. He was rubbing his eyes. "Ohayou, Omi-kun!" she said cheerfully.

Omi yawned, not all there. He finally took notice of the girl's greeting, and grinned, a bit embarassed. "Ohayou..."

"Say, Omi, did you not get much sleep last night? You look really tired," Ken asked, blinking a few times.

"Aaaaa... no, I'm fine," he lied. After waking up from his nightmare, he had been plagued with thoughts of how Akari would react when he told her about... he hadn't been able to sleep. He watched as Akari took a break from sweeping and sat down on a nearby chair for a few moments, and saw this as the perfect chance to get her somewhere where they would be alone.

Before he could approach her, she stood up and walked over to him. "Ne, Omi-kun... you said you had something to talk to me about?" she asked, smiling.

As soon as the brown-haired boy saw the smile on her face, he felt a pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. "... Hai," he said. "Um... come with me," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the back room of the Koneko.



Akari turned around to look at Omi as he shut the door behind them. "What is it, Omi-kun?" He was silent. Instead of saying anything, he walked up to her and took her in his arms, holding her tightly. Her face flushed a little as she felt his warm embrace. "Omi...?"

"Shh," he whispered in her ear, "don't say anything... this is something I really need right now..." He pulled away from her slightly, then lifted her chin up with his hand, pressing his lips to hers.

Akari stood there for a few seconds as he kissed her, confused. She then closed her eyes and returned the kiss, completely oblivious of what was coming. She smiled at him when he pulled away, but her expression changed to one of confusion when she saw his downcast eyes. "Omi-kun... is something wrong?"

Omi was silent for a moment. "Well..." he began, "there's... something that I need to tell you." He looked up at her puzzled face, then went on. "Now... I don't want you to feel bad or anything, because it's not you that's caused this." He took a deep breath. "Akari..." he looked right into her eyes, "I... I can't be with you... right now."

The ebony-haired girl blinked a couple of times, the statement not registering. "Omi...? I... I don't understand... What...?" She froze, finally realizing the impact of what he had said.

"I can't be with you, Akari. Please, just hear me out on this one..." He put his hands on her shoulders. "You're great, you really are. You're smart, you're sweet, pretty... and one of the strongest people that I know. I... I don't deserve someone as good as you." Omi felt his throat begin to tighten as he spoke. "You deserve better. You've managed to live through so many hardships, and I... I don't even know who I really am. I've killed so many people... including my own family, and your brother-"

Akari cut him off. "Omi, I've killed people too! We're both guilty of the same crime! And it's not your fault that Ryu died. It's not your fault, Omi!" She struggled to keep her tears back.

Omi saw the pain in her eyes, and was nearly at the brink of tears himself. "I... I'm sorry, Akari." He walked to the door, putting his hand on the knob. He then spoke those words that he had said months before, during their fight with Schabön. "Be strong. I know you can." With that, he left the room, not bothering to shut the door.

Behind him, a teenage girl silently fell to her knees, heartbroken.




"Ne, Kenken, have you seen Akari or Omi?" A confused Eiki asked the former soccer player as he wrapped up a bouquet of flowers.

"Not in a while, Ki-ki..." Ken had also noticed the absence of their two youngest friends.

A boy in the shop spoke up. "Say, I saw Akari-sama walk into that back room about six minutes ago, but I dunno about Omi," he said, pointing to the door to the back room of the Koneko, where the shop's supplies were held.

"They can't just leave the shop in the middle of their shift..." Aya began.

"They could have just gone to get some fertilizer for the bamboo trees outside," Ken said. "Although it really wouldn't take both of them, since the bags aren't that heavy..."

"Ah, you know those two. One never goes anywhere without the other," Youji said, smirking. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were back there gettin' their groove--"

Youji didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because of two things: Eiki slapping her hand over his mouth, and Omi emerging from the back room, his eyes cast to the floor.

Eiki blinked, taking her hand from Youji's face. "Omittchi? Something wrong?"

Aya looked from Omi to the open door, and back again. The entire Koneko became silent. "... Where's Akari?"

Omi said nothing. Instead, he slowly walked out of the flower shop, several heads turning as he went.

As soon as the glass door closed, a buzz started throughout the room. The buzz grew louder as the people in the shop resumed their normal activities.

The four other florists, however, were greatly confused. "You don't suppose they had a fight, do you?" Ken asked.

"No, we would have heard that. And Omittchi woulda walked outta here pissed off, not all... sad," Youji said.

Eiki thought for a few moments. "Akari hasn't come back out yet... maybe we should go and ask her what happened."

Ken nodded, then the two of them quickly went to the back room, where Akari was. Youji stayed behind. "I'll go and see about Omi, alright?" He then went out the front door after the younger florist.

Aya looked at the chaos around him, then cleared his throat, getting the attention of the would-be customers. "If you're not buying anything, then GET OUT."



"Akari? Are you alright?" Eiki's voice said.

After Omi had left, Akari had been reduced to a mere vegetable. She remained silent as the two older assassins appeared at her sides. "Akari?" Ken said, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to get her attention.

She looked up, her face streaked with tears. "He... he doesn't want to be with me..." She spoke so quietly that Eiki and Ken barely heard her.

"... What do you mean, Akari?" Eiki asked.

"He said that he can't be with me..." Her fists formed balls. "I... I don't know what went wrong! We were so happy... this... this isn't right... Omi... I... I love him so much, and... he..." She finally broke down and buried her face in her hands.

Ken put his arm around her sympathetically. He and Eiki looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

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

"Omittchi! Wait up, will ya?!"

Omi stopped walking away from the Koneko and looked over his shoulder to see Youji running up behind him, still wearing his florist apron. "Nani?"

Youji stopped running, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He stood up straight, glaring at the youth. "Alright kid, fess up. What did you do to Akari?"

Omi narrowed his eyes and continued walking. "Nothing."

Youji followed closely behind. "Don't lie to me, kid. I heard you two back there when I started to go and get a bucket of water. You told her that you couldn't be with her, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?!" Omi exclaimed, whirling around. "Why do you care what goes on between us?"

Youji grabbed the younger assassin by the shirt, lifting him off the ground. "Because you can't just tell a woman that! Omi, what is wrong with you? What are you thinking?! You love Akari! You've probably broken her heart just now!!" He set Omi down. "There hasn't been a day that I haven't seen you two laughing with each other, or holding each other, or sharing a kiss. What happened?"

"... You wouldn't understand." Omi turned around and started walking yet again. "You don't know anything about love. All you care about is getting laid."

Youji flinched as Omi's words struck him. He looked down at the ground and pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. "... Heh heh heh. I don't know about love, eh? I only care about getting laid, eh? Well..." He quickly strode up to the boy, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, then delivered a quick punch to his face, sending him to the sidewalk below. "By the way you're acting right now, it seems like you don't even care about how much you could have hurt Akari!"

Omi held a hand to the spot where Youji hit him. He sighed in defeat. "... I do care, Youji-kun. It hurts me just as much as it hurts her." He sat up, resting his arm on his knee.

The older man kneeled down beside him. "Then why did you do that if you knew that it would hurt the both of you?"

"Because I love Akari, Youji-kun. I love her with everything I have. And I would do anything within my power to make sure that she is safe..." He looked down at the ground, feeling his throat begin to tighten up again. It was then that he realized that Youji didn't know about the dream he had had.

Youji blinked, confused. "... I don't get it, Omittchi. If you love her so much, then why not be with her, and show it?"

Omi took a deep breath. "Well... you see, I had a dream last night. Me and Aka-chan were at the Homecoming dance that's coming up at our school... we were having so much fun together. Then, just as I go to kiss her... she disappears before my eyes, and this voice speaks up: 'Deny your love for her, or else she will not live to see you 'Homecoming' take place.' I recognized the voice... but I can't think of who it could possibly have been at the time..."

"... That's it?" Youji asked, unbelieving. He lightly whacked Omi on the top of the head. "That's stupid, Omi. I can see where you're coming from with this thing -- hell, if it were me, I'd probably do the same thing -- but it was just a dream. Don't tell me you actually believe it."

"But it felt so real..." Omi said quietly. "Besides, I don't want to take any chances... if Akari were to die... if I couldn't save her, then... I don't know what I would do..."

Youji sighed, realizing that he couldn't change the younger boy's mind. He stood up. "Look, Omi. Believe what you want to. But I'm telling you right now, you should just apologize to her and patch things up. She loves you, kid. Even I can see that." With that, Youji turned around and started walking back to the Koneko.

Omi watched his retreating back, taking his words into consideration. He wanted to be with Akari. He couldn't stand knowing that he had broken her heart. But something deep down inside of him kept nagging at him, telling him the same thing that was said to him in his dream.

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

He just didn't know who it was.

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

"Dammit, Gekiretsu, baka yaro! Pay attention when I'm giving you an assignment!" Shou said loudly to the former youngest member of their assassin team. "I'll go over the plans one more time. If you don't know by then, you're on your own for the rest of the mission."

The now six-member assassin team, Chaos, were presently sitting at a small round table in the back of the abandoned warehouse where their meeting place was -- and also where a relative of the group's leader had attempted to make a deal with an American man only months before.

For Nagi and Mei, this place brought back a few memories. This warehouse had been the place where they had first set eyes on each other, even if it was against their wills. Nagi was the first of the two to realize this; he squeezed his companion's hand under the table and reminded her of this revelation via telekinesis.

Mei looked at him from the corner of her eye and smiled ever so slightly.

"Takenaga. You take the south end of the place, and stick a bomb in the heat vents of Tenmaya. If anyone questions you, what do you say?"

"I'm simply repairing the vent because of dust clog-up."

"Good. Suji. I am assuming you have your assignment?"

"Hai. Take the northeast end and plant a bomb in the kitchen of the Mos Burger. My coverup is 'I am an employee, dammit.' Gotcha."

"... Please, try and keep yourself from swearing so much, it'll give us away."

"Ooops."

"Okay. Gekiretsu. You are to go to the west end -- goddamnit, boy, pay attention! -- and place a bomb in the children's playpen. Then get yourself the hell out of there, I know I wouldn't be caught dead on a children't playpen."

"Ok, I got it this time!"

"You damn well better. Naoe and Retsukari. Since you two are new, you'll just cover for us for now, and notify me if anyone begins suspecting us. However, your assignments wil NOT be so easy next time. Got it?"

Mei and Nagi looked at each other and nodded. They had all but tuned out the other assassins' tasks, but were well aware of their own, for they had heard it twice before. "Got it," Mei said.

"By the way," Mikiri started, "do you two have other aliases you can go by? It won't be very wise to go around calling you by your last names on missions."

Mei and Nagi looked at each other again. Mikiri had a point. They had used codenames before, they couldn't see how it would hurt to use them now. "Starfi-" Mei started, but Nagi pulled her aside before she could finish.

"Just a second, Mei-chan..." he whispered. "Are you really sure that you still want to go by Starfish? You know... our days in Schabön and Schwarz are over now. I'm afraid that if we remain to go by our old aliases, people will not only suspect us more than ever, but it may also bring back unwanted memories..." As he said this, Nagi remembered his old love, whom he had risked his life to save. Since he had met Mei, he had been trying to forget about her, but his past alias kept reminding him of her.

Mei thought about this for a moment. "But Nagi-kun... I've been Starfish all my life... I can't really change it now..." She looked at the expression in her comrade's eyes; they showed a trace of worry. Perhaps it was a fear that she would get caught and taken from him. "... But I'll go by something different if you want me to."

Nagu smiled at her, then the two of them turned back to their new team members. "Hai, Takenaga-san. I am Kestrel. And Mei will go by Owl."

*Owl. So I'm Owl now.* Mei liked that. She thought it was fitting of her, as she was fairly aggressive and had a sense of grace about her, like an owl.

The other assassins nodded, seeing as how the two new members were willing to go with the 'birds of prey' theme. "Alright. We will officially begin the mission tomorrow at six-o'clock sharp," Shou said. "Do not forget your assignments, because I will NOT go over the again. Use this time to prepare how you will move."

"Hai!" The others shouted simultaneously. The four older assassins began to do their own things, like sharpening their weapons. Nagi took the opportunity to lead Mei over to a more secluded area of the warehouse.

"Well... this is it, Mei-chan," he said. "Our first mission as members of Chaos. What do you think?"

"I'm kind of excited," the blue-haired girl replied. "I would be even more so if we knew that Weiß were going to be caught up in it..." She clenched her fists. She so desperately wanted to be rid of the ones who had killed the only real family she had ever known. She especially wanted to do away with Calico, and she would do that herself.

"Be patient, Mei-chan. The time will come when we'll do away with them together." Nagi decided not to tell her of the special plan he had yet. In fact, he had already began to put it into effect...

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

"WHAT?! Omi-kun broke up with you?!"

The students in the classroom all turned their heads at Kei's sudden outburst.

*She didn't have to yell...* Akari thought as she rested her head on her desk. She felt incredibly tired, even moreso than usual. She had been up half the night crying, and when she had finally been able to get to sleep, she kept having dreams of the events of the day before. "Don't say 'broke up'... he just said that he couldn't be with me. He sounded really sad when he was saying it..." Akari sighed. She really didn't want to talk about this.

"Wait, he said he COULDN'T be with you? So he wants to be with you, but he can't! It's not that he doesn't want to be with you. So technically, you're not broken up since both of you want to be with each other," Kei said, in a vague attempt to cheer her friend up.

Akari sighed. She lifted her head up and looked out the window, down at the track around the practice field for the school's soccer team. She watched the runners on the track intently, and a flash of light blue caught her eye.

The black-haired girl's eyes followed the blue blur, and she sighed again. "Akegata-san's so pretty, isn't she?" she asked subconsciously. "Her hair's such a beautiful color... she's so trim, too. And she's so nice to everyone, even though she's new." Akari swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. "I'm sure any guy wouldn't mind being friends with her..."

Kei blinked. "Akari, what are you saying?"

Akari snapped out of her trance. "Huh?" She hadn't even realized that she had been staring at Momiji for a while.

"You were just ranting about Momiji-san's appearance. Are you feeling alright?" She placd a hand on her friend's forehead.

"Relax, Kei-chan... I'm fine," Akari lied. She wasn't feeling very well at all, but she didn't want to worry Kei.

Kei saw right through Akari's reply. "Uh huh, sure." She looked Akari straight in the eyes. "You're probably thinking that Omi-kun likes her and that's why he left you, aren't you?"

Akari twitched. "No! That's not it at all. It's not a crime to admire someone, okay? I mean... I wish I could be as nice as she is." But she still had that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she did when Omi showed Momiji to her class only days before. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit regretful for encouraging Omi to walk Momiji to class, she could tell that they were getting along.

"You are nice, Akari-chan," Kei said, "I could tell that last year even when you were in your tomboy stage. Well... before that, you were just as bubbly and peppy as Momiji-san is." She lowered her voice so other students wouldn't here. "I guess that kinda changed after your rape, huh?"

Akari nodded. Kei had been one of the only people that she had confided in after the event. She agreed with her; she had become less nice and trusting after it, but she still wished that she could have been like she was before. She sighed again. "What am I gonna do, Kei-chan? I miss Omi-kun... he's helped me so much. I was always happy when I was with him..."

Kei looked at Akari in concern. She took her friend's hand in hers. "Don't worry, Akari-chan," she said, showing her more sensitive side. "I'm here for you. I'm your friend. If you ever need anybody to confide in, you know that I'll listen." She smiled. "Besides, you have the other guys in the Koneko, too. I'm sure that they'll help you get through this, too."

Akari smiled lightly, in spite of her sadness. She thought about the day before, how Ken and Eiki comforted her.


[flashback]

"Aw, Akari." Eiki rubbed the younger girl's back in comfort. "C'mon, don't cry. I'm sure Omi just wants some space for himself for a while."

"Yeah," Ken said. "Even the closest friends need some time apart sometimes."

"I know..." Akari said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "But... then wouldn't he have just said he needed some time for himself?" She sniffled. "I would have accepted that, but... he said that he couldn't be with me... it hurts..."

Eiki sighed. "I know, Akari. I know the feeling." She thought about how she had felt when Aya had left the Crashers and the two hadn't seen each other for a long while. "Just give him some time, Akari. You'll be like rice and tempura again in no time!"

Akari had to giggle a little at Eiki's statement, but it didn't really do much for the sudden bout of depression that she had lapsed into. "I hope so..." She looked down at the ground, feeling the tears begin to well up again. Her hands balled up into fists again.

Ken frowned. He didn't like seeing one of his friends upset. "Hey, come on, Akari... you're a lot stronger than this. You're a part of Weiß. Have you gone soft on us?"

"Ken..." Eiki started.

Akari rubbed her nose with her wrist. "I'm sorry... I guess being with Omi-kun has taught me to be nicer and more open... and I can't bear it, knowing that he won't be here to help me be like that... I don't like being cold, I really don't... I want to be more like I was before my..." She didn't have to finish her sentence for the two older florists to understand what she meant.

All of a sudden, she began to think about her brother. She knew that if he was alive today, he would help her get through this. She felt the tears begin to spill from her eyes as she thought about him. She missed him terribly; he had been such a big help to her. "Ryu... I want to see Ryu..." she whispered. But she knew that she couldn't see him. Now, he existed only in her dreams.

At this point, Ken felt about ready to just give the girl a big hug. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey... I know you miss your brother, too... I'm sure he would have been able to make you feel any better. But he's gone now..." He looked up at Eiki, who gave him a slight nod. He then wrapped his arms around Akari, and said quietly: "...so I guess I'll have to try and be like a big brother to you."

Eiki grinned. "And I'll be like your big sister, if you want. Y'know, I've always wanted a younger sister..." She ruffled Akari's bangs.

Akari blushed slightly. "Th-thank you... thank you both..."

[/flashback]



"... You're right, Kei-chan ..." Akari smiled a bit. "I'm not alone..."

Kei grinned widely. "See, Akari? You'll be fine." She flashed a thumbs-up. She then got an idea. "Say, Akari-chan... why don't we go for a girl's night out tonight?"

"Eh?" Akari blinked, not quite getting it.

"How about you and me and Momiji-san all go to the mall together? We can show her what shops are cool, and stuff. Plus, you need a good pick-me-up. A good dose of shopping is what you need!" Kei punched the air.

Akari laughed. "Sure, why not... maybe it'll help take my mind off of Omi-kun for a while..."

"'Atta girl. It's gonna be a blast!"

But somehow, Akari felt like it wasn't going to be so great.

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

"Whaaaaaat? We have a mission? Damn, I was gonna go clubbing tonight," Youji said in despair, as he descended down the stairs that led to the briefing room.

The five other assassins were already there. "Youji, we can't be off work ALL the time," Ken said matter-of-factly.

Youji sighed. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to flirt with Birman instead," He winked at the tall pale brunette that stood near the screen where they recieved their missions. She was carrying a stack of papers.

"This isn't the time for flirting, Balinese," the woman said, "we have a big mission on our hands tonight." She took the stack of papers and handed one each to Aya, Ken, Youji, and Eiki.

Akari blinked, wondering why neither she or Omi recieved one. She started to say something, but then stopped as the lights dimmed and the image of Takatori Shuuichi was projected onto the screen.

"Weiß. Your mission tonight will be put into effect at the local shopping mall," the image said. The two new assassins still found it weird that the man on the screen was dead, yet he continued to assign the missions.

Akari's head suddenly shot up. She had been a little upset that she had to do a mission instead of missing out on the shopping trip with Kei and Momiji. "Nani?! But... that's where Kei and Momiji will be tonight!!"

Omi's ears perked up upon hearing this. *Oh no... they're going to get caught up in this...*

"You will be looking for these six people," Persia continued. An image popped up on the screen: one of a man with long dark blue hair, styled oddly similar to Akari's own hairstyle; a woman with long, curly green hair; a man with black hair and a blue bandanna around his head; and a younger-looking guy with spiky blonde hair tied back with a red strap. Aside from them were two shadows, two that looked oddly familiar to Omi and Akari.

The other four assassins looked on the papers that they had been handed, to see that those were the same people shown on the screen, with some statistics listed.

"This is Chaos, composed of Hyoukan Shou, Takenaga Mikiri, Suji Akuba, Gekiretsu Yuuki, and two new members on whom we have no data. They have been known for bombings of various government buildings in major cities across Japan. Since the arrival of their two new members, they have moved on to less important establishments. Their target for tonight is the local shopping mall. White hunters in the night, hunt the tomorrows of these dark beasts!" The screen went blank.

Akari quickly stood up, knocking her chair over. "They're going to bomb the mall?! But... Kei and Momiji..."

"We've got to do something! We can't risk them or anyone else getting hurt," Omi said.

"Why do you think that we're going after them, Omi?" Eiki said. "We're going to stop them before they can hurt anyone."

Akari clenched her fists in anger. "I'm going early. I don't care what you guys say, I have to get them out of there!" She then turned on her heel and ran out the door.

"Akari, wait!!" Omi called, uselessly reaching out to her. He then remembered that phrase that was becoming all too familiar.

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

He lowered his hand, clenching his fist. *Damnit, why won't this voice go away...*

"Omi."

Omi looked up at the caller. It was Youji.

"Go with her. Those two are your friends too, right?" he asked. The younger assassin nodded. "Then go and protect all three of them."

"Don't worry about us, Omi," Ken said, grinning. "We'll be there shortly."

Omi smiled back. "Arigatou," he said, then ran up the stairs.

"Those two have been acting strangely lately..." Aya commented.

"Ran-kun, please tell me you know what's going on between them..." Eiki said.

"I'm not blind, Eiki-chan. I know." The redhead looked at the stairs where the two youngest assassins has ascended. "It's hurting the both of them. I can tell. I'm not completely insensitive."

"I hate to break up your little discussion," Birman began, "but you really should get ready for this mission. It's going to be a tough one."

The remaining four members of Weiß nodded.

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

Calico, now in full assassin gear (sans her tetsume), ran as fast as her feet would take her. *I have to get there... I have to get Kei and Momiji out of there! I can't let them...*

No matter how fast she ran, it felt like every step she took became shorter and shorter. She was losing energy as she ran, but she was determined to get to the mall before something terrible happened to her friends.

She became so lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice Bombay following close behind her, in full assassin gear and carrying both of their weapons.

Almost.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing the exact same look of determination as she was. Calico smiled lightly. Maybe it would be all right after all.

The two of them ran as fast as they possibly could, not knowing of the danger that lay ahead of them.