Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Hope Diamond ❯ Gem-Stealer - 29 ( Chapter 29 )

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Thank you! And please come again!" Aya-chan handed the customer the change with her bright sunny smile. With the flower shop empty once more, she began cleaning up the worktable, humming softly under her breath.

She still couldn't believe that she had been in a coma for ten years. The redhead lady had explained a lot of things to her. But recuperating in a strange country where she didn't recognize a single thing, it didn't felt real. It was only when she returned home and discovered everything looked different, did the shock finally sank in.

Her family was gone, parents dead and brother presumably dead as well. Her home was long razed to the ground, her friends all grown up and moved away. Even the familiar landmarks looked different, older and more worn somehow. There was nothing left from her past. She was a stranger in her own land, and the only thing that was familiar was the single gold earring she held on somehow during her coma.

The first night back in her country, she broke down and cried, mourning the loss of time and people she loved, painfully aware that she could never bring them back. It had all been too much for her. If Ken and Omi hadn't stayed and supported her, she honestly didn't know if she could cope.

A year on, Aya-chan was getting a better grip on things. She had settled in comfortably in the three-story shop-and-apartment building they owed, performing well in school and all the rehabilitation programs she had to go through in order to be re-assimilated into society. She made new friends and was close and equally protective of Ken and Omi.

But still...

She missed her brother and parents.

She had visited her family's grave. It felt odd to see her name on the tombstone, sobering even. It brought home the cold hard fact that she could no longer lead a life under her own name. The people whom Ken and Omi used to work for told her that both Fujimiya siblings had been declared legally dead for reasons they refused to diverge, and that it was too risky for everyone, including her, to legally resurrect her.

They told her many things, including how Reiji Takatori had been caring for her during those years, and that Ran worked for him to pay off her hospital bills and waited patiently for her to wake up. She couldn't help but cry when she heard that.

Her beloved nii-chan never gave up on her. But where was he now? And what did he do during those ten years?

She asked Ken and Omi several times but they always evaded her questions. She could tell her questions made them uncomfortable and sad. All they would say nii-chan sacrificed his life to save hers, and strangely enough, neither Ken nor Omi knew her brother well.

The situation was odd. There were so many questions she could not get answers to. Even the redhead lady had balked when she inquired after her brother, and Aya-chan no longer saw her after she left Magnopolis. And the most frustrating thing was there was nothing she could do about it. Except to accept the situation as it was and tried her best to get on with life. But it was so hard - because she couldn't believe her brother was dead.

The entrance bell tinkled again.

Aya-chan looked up, her sunny smile ready to welcome her next customer and blinked.

Standing at the entrance was a handsome and the most outlandishly dressed man she had seen in some time. He was tall and practically oozed charm and sensuality. He took off the brown cowboy-looking hat, revealing short-cropped blond hair and a sensually handsome face. Verdant green eyes sparkled with humor and cheer, and an unlit cigarette dangled from the corner of his well-formed lips. The man wore a hip-length brown coat, shirtless, open to reveal his broad well-defined chest. His brown pants were leather, clung low to his hips and decorated with two belts. Brown boots completed his outfit.

"Welcome," Aya-chan greeted. "Can I help you?"

The man walked, no, sashayed (she couldn't find a more apt description) over to the counter and gave her a very charming smile. "Certainly, little missy. I like to buy a dozen of your best red roses."

"Would you like them in a bouquet?" Aya-chan inquired as she walked over to the vases containing roses.

"Yes. It's for me and my lover's anniversary."

"Congratulations. How long have you been together?"

"A year. It hadn't been easy getting to where we are now."

"But you love each other, right? That should be all that matter."

"Yes, I agree." The man smiled and pointed to his ear. "That certainly is an odd earring you're wearing, missy."

"This?" Aya-chan reached up to her own ear to finger the gold earring. "It was my sixteenth birthday present from my brother."

"Shouldn't it be a pair?"

Aya-chan's smile turned wistful. "I don't know where the other half is."

"You lost it?"

"No, I never had it." Aya-chan finished the bouquet and handed it over to the man. "Here you go, sir. That will be twenty dollars."

"Here," the man handed her a folded bill. "Keep the change."

"Thank you. And please come again."

The man smiled broadly at her. "Live well, little missy. Life's too short."

What an odd man, Aya-chan thought. Friendly and nice, but odd.

Shrugging, she unfolded the bill to place it inside the cash register. Something hard slipped out from between the folds, falling to the countertop with a light metallic ring.

Aya-chan's heart skipped a beat. She stared wide-eyed at the single gold earring glinting on the countertop; the tiny engraved words 'For Aya-chan' on the metallic surface leapt out to her instantly.

Involuntarily, her hand flew up to her ear. Her earring was still there.

Realization dawned upon her in the next heartbeat. Snatching up the earring, she dashed out from the behind the counter. "Sir! Chotto matte!"

Aya-chan burst out of the shop, staring wildly in all directions, searching for the outlandishly dressed man. He was nowhere to be found. The street was empty and the few passer-bys on the pavement did not resemble the man she was looking for.

It was as though he had disappeared into thin air.