Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Last Rose of Summer ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Weiß Kreuz. They all belong to Project Weiß and Takehito Koyasu. I also don't own Hashishita Keiko, she is an original character from Chisha. I only borrow her for this story with her permission. As last, I also didn't write the song, it belongs to Clannad.

Author's Note: I had found the song The Last Rose of Summer somewhere and when I read the lyrics, I had to think immediately of Aya. That's what caused me to write the story. I only didn't have an idea with who I had to pair up Aya, so I asked that to Chisha and she said as a joke I had to write one with Keiko. I only thought it was a good idea. Sometimes, jokes can be a good idea as well. ^_^

Warnings: Original character is paired up with Aya, heterosexual relationships

Pairing: Aya/Keiko

Gift-fiction for Chisha, because she always corrects my mistakes and because I was allowed to use her character.

T H E L A S T R O S E O F S U M M E R

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone.
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flow'r of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes
Or give sigh for sigh.

Chapter One

"It was summer, the day it all happened. It was the day before Aya-chan's sixteenth birthday. She was looking forward to it, and so was I. I loved my younger sister, who knew how to charm me and who always cheered me up. She had a habit of pouting whenever she didn't get what she wanted and which I didn't mind. It made her only more loveable.

Demo, that day was the day my whole life turned upside down. It was that day I lost everyone I cared about. I came back with Aya-chan from a festival. We were looking for a present for her. Water dripped on the floor as I quickly closed the door. It was raining again, though the weather forecast had promised a sunny day tomorrow.

A high yell from my sister got my attention and I quickly ran to her, asking what was wrong. She pointed into the room, unable to speak. In the room lay my father and mother, unconscious, with a bomb ominously ticking. It took me less than a second to understand what was going on and what I had to do. No matter what happened, I had to protect my sister.

'Quickly, Aya, run!' With those words, I pushed her towards safety, just a few seconds before the bomb exploded.

All intelligence vanished when the house collapsed on me. All I could think of was the pain throughout my body and that at least my sister was safe. Or that was what I assumed.

She stood only a few yards away from what had been once our house, frightened and frozen to the ground. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the bright light of a car. I opened my mouth to warn her, to tell her to run away, but only a faint whisper passed over my lips, not hard enough for her to hear it.

I heard the sickening sound of bones breaking as the car hit her. I watched her helplessly as she flew through the air and listened how more bones broke when she fell on the ground.

Even though my brains refused to think, I knew one thing for sure. This hadn't been an accident. This had been done on purpose. I only failed to understand who wanted us dead.

I lost my conscious soon after that without realising I was the only one left. It was after the doctors told me the chances for Aya-chan to wake up were minimal, I knew what it was to be left alone. It was that moment I stopped living as Fujimiya Ran, the happy son of the banker Fujimiya, and started living as Fujimiya Aya, who only lived to take revenge for my family."

* * * * * * *

"Aya-kun? Aya-kun! Wake up, you sleepyhead!" Before him stood Hashishita Keiko, the only female member of Weiß. She stood slightly bent forward with a concerned look on her face as she looked at him.

Aya blinked, trying to remember what he had been doing before dozing off. Dozing off? He had been dozing off?! He tried to suppress a blush as he pushed Keiko away from him and straightened his back. He ignored the hurt look on her face and concentrated on the flowers scattered on the table before him.

That was right, he had been doing flower arrangements, as usual. From the five members of Weiß, he was the best in doing flower arrangements. As Omi had once commented, 'It's like there's some magic around them, Aya-kun.' The kid would probably be right. He didn't know. But he liked to do it anyway, even if they were horrible enough to scare even the demons out of hell. With flower arrangements, he was able to create his own world, to tell others how he really felt.

He suddenly became aware of four pairs of eyes looking at him and he looked up with a faint glare on his face. "What?" he demanded of the others. Omi promptly started snickering, which seemed to trigger of some chain reaction among the others since Ken chuckled as well, Yohji smirked and Keiko smiled, though her eyes were alight with some inner fun.

"Had a tough time last night, Aya?" the tall blond asked him as his smirk broadened to a huge grin. "Tell me, was she good?"

Aya would swear to see Keiko's expression darken for a second, but he was too busy glaring at Yohji to notice it. "I'm not like you, Kudou," he replied stiffly, returning to his flower arrangements.

"I know. If you were me, you wouldn't fall asleep during the day," Yohji smirked. Omi got a laughing fit of that, almost rolling over the floor. Ken soon followed Omi's example, then Keiko. Only Yohji managed to keep smirking as he leaned towards the redhead. "Don't worry, we're glad to know you're still human after all."

"I did not have sex, as you are implying," Aya managed to say through clenched teeth. Without knowing it, he crushed the stem of a rose as he got up and glared dangerously at the blonde. Yohji managed to look back for ten seconds before turning his head away to avoid looking into those piercing amethyst eyes.

A tense silence fell in the shop, as the three remaining members of Weiß watched the exchange of anger and hatred between the two oldest members.

"As you say, almighty leader," Yohji finally mockingly said. "I leave the conclusions and that sort of things to you. After all, that's what you are here for, right?"

Aya chose not to answer that, but slowly sank down on the chair again, keeping an eye on the other. Yohji turned away from him and started to pay attention to the female customers. While remaining silent, Aya continued working on the flower arrangement he had been busy with.

* * * * * * *

Hashishita Keiko, eighteen years old and for some reason the only female among Weiß, glanced at the redhead. It had all been meant as a small joke, something you could laugh at. But somehow it turned out as a huge disaster, with once again Aya and Yohji hating each other. This was not what she had meant when she woke up the leader of Weiß.

"Do you think Aya-kun's angry with us now?" she asked timidly to Omi, the youngest of all and her best friend.

Omi took a look at Aya, who had his back turned towards the rest of the shop and shook his head. "I don't think so. You know Aya-kun, he's just a bit annoyed about Yohji. I bet that at the end of the day, he's the Aya-kun again we all know." Omi smiled at her. "Don't worry, Kei-chan. He won't be angry with you."

She felt her cheeks turning red and she gave Omi a friendly push. "I'm not worried about that. It's more that… what if Manx comes and we have a mission tonight?"

"Then Aya-kun'll be there, as well as Yohji-kun. They care too much about us 'kids' to walk away from any mission, just because they've had an argument again."

Keiko nodded slightly, knowing her friend was right. Even though Yohji was sometimes a bit unreliable, he always showed up for the missions, because he didn't like the idea of having friends being hurt. And Aya just always had been there, taking the lead, making decision, and always making sure no one got hurt. She only didn't agree with the 'being kids' part. After all, she was only two years younger than Aya and four years younger than Yohji! She was hardly a kid anymore!

She sighed and turned back to her work, gazing at the hordes of schoolgirls, all around fifteen years old, swarming into the little flower shop. The only reason why they came was because of the four boys working in the flower shop. And no one, of course, had any interest in her. She was just a girl. She wasn't even good-looking, like the rest of Weiß. She was a nothing, just good enough to do the little jobs like cleaning the floor and moving the flowerpots.

"Keiko?"

She started when she heard Aya's voice. He almost never called her name, especially not when he was in a bad mood. She turned around and gazed at his back.

"H-Hai?"

"If you've got nothing to do, you can help with the flower arrangements," he stated quietly, not even taking his eyes off his work.

Keiko hesitated for a moment. Sure there was work enough for her to do. It had more to do that she didn't want to stand among all those girls, watching them gathering around either Omi, Ken or Yohji and only using her to get information about the four boys. She didn't really mind doing flower arrangements with Aya, as long as he wasn't angry or irritated.

"I guess I'll have to do that then," she replied a bit nervously, moving reluctantly towards the table where Aya was working. The redhead did not look up, but continued his with his work as she slowly sank down on the free chair. She took a look at the flowers scattered over the table and at the flower arrangement he had been working on. Like all the flower arrangements before, this one was simply breathtaking and beautiful. Just as to be expected from Aya. Now it was her turn to create one as well.

She picked up a few flowers and put them a bit clumsily together. She knew how to do it, but her silent partner at the other sight of the table scared her to death and she was feeling just a trifle too nervous. And it was her nervousness that made her clumsy.

She worked on her flower arrangement for about half an hour before she gave it up. It just didn't work. The flower arrangement looked with one word horrible. She took a quick glance at the nearly finished flower arrangement of Aya. Compared to hers, it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She winced slightly. Compared to her work, almost everything was beautiful. Keiko guessed doing flower arrangements was in way copying yourself.

She was just about to stare helplessly at the table - or the ground, it didn't really matter - when Aya asked, "Need some help?"

Before she could answer, he stood next to her and pointed at the flowers, quietly explaining what she could change for a better result. She listened silently, staring at Aya's hands and the flowers, nodding from time to time when he asked if she understood it.

When he was done with his explanation, he remained silent for a second, then said softly, "But what you had wasn't that bad at all as well." With that, he walked back to his own chair, leaving Keiko surprised behind.

She continued to stare at the flower arrangement before her, then gathered all her courage and asked softly, "Are you… Are you still angry with me, Aya-kun?"

There was a long silence from Aya's side before he answered, "I've never been angry with you."

* * * * * * *

I've never been angry with you.

The words echoed in his mind after he had said them. Strangely enough, it was true as well. He had never been angry with Keiko. He also couldn't imagine himself being angry with Keiko. Actually, he never noticed Keiko when she was around. Or at least, he didn't notice her enough to get angry. He knew he would notice it when she was gone, though.

He glanced at the purple-haired girl, who sat across the table, and frowned. Why did she ever think he would be angry with her for waking him up? If he had any feeling towards that action, it would probably come closer to being thankful. After all, she saved him more embarrassment by waking him up.

If there was anyone he was angry with, it was Yohji. He gazed darkly at the flower arrangement before him as he replayed the sentences Yohji had said to him in his mind. How dared he? How dared he to suggest he, Aya, had sex while he had spent the whole night next to his sister? Had he no respect for the grief of others?!

Of course, Yohji didn't know about his sister. No one did of Weiß. Only Manx and Persia knew about her existence, because they provided a place for her to stay. But no one else knew about Aya-chan. And they didn't have to.

He felt a questioningly gaze directed at him and when he looked up, he saw two dark red eyes looking at him. He frowned. What did she want this time?

"What is it?"

She seemed startled when he spoke to her. She always seemed startled when he spoke to her. He didn't know why and he didn't know if he cared enough to find out. She was like that, there was nothing he could do about it.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, bending over her flower arrangement while she tried to hide her face behind her purple bangs. Aya's frown became deeper, wondering what Keiko had wanted to ask. Then he shrugged, pushing the thought away and concentrated on his work again. It was none of his business. If she didn't want to tell him, he should just forget about it.

His eyes fell upon a small, white flower with a pink hue. It was a lily, he saw. His sister would've loved this. She had always loved lilies, together with lavender and roses. And cherry blossom, of course. They always went to the Sakura festival on spring equinox. The next Sakura festival would be over two weeks. He wondered if he would go it. The last time he had gone to it was two years ago, before the accident. After the accident, he had carefully avoided all festivities which could bring too many sad memories to him. Perhaps it would be a wise idea not to go at all.

He looked quickly around to make sure no one was looking at him, then slipped the small flower carefully in his pocket and continued with the flower arrangements.

* * * * * * *

The swarm of schoolgirls finally left the small flowershop. Yohji firmly pushed the last lingering girls out of the shop, then shut the door and pulled the roll-down shutter close. Omi and Ken had devoted their time in bringing the last flowers inside and were now busy in some sort of fight, which consisted of twe brooms, a dirty floor and the two boys trying to tackle each other. No one knew where Aya was.

Keiko looked a bit jealously at her two teammates, wishing she could join them. As usual, she was left out again in the daily cleaning. The pots had been already watered that morning and the table, used for flower arrangements, had already been tidied up. All she could do was standing aside and watching what the others were doing.

Omi seemed to sense her discontent - or maybe her face showed it very well. No matter how he found it out, he walked over to her, easily evading Ken's attempts to tackle him, and stopped before her, leaning casually on the broom. He smiled sunnily at her. "Do you want to join, Keiko? You and I could team up against Ken, you know. He's awfully good at this and I don't want to be under the bruises tomorrow."

Keiko smiled shyly, pushing a lost strand of purple hair behind her ear. "I don't know," she said hesitantly.

"Of course you do! Please? You don't want your best friend to be black and blue, do you? Please?" Omi looked at her, his ocean blue eyes wide open and beggingly. The look he gave her reminded her of a young puppy and she had to stifle her laughter.

"Alright, I'll help you." Glad to be able to do something, she walked over to the cupboard to get a broom and then she joined Omi with his fight against Ken. The soccerboy realized he couldn't handle the two on his own and asked for the help of the tall, blond assassin. Soon, the four of them were involved in the fight, receiving bruises and minor scratches, but nothing serious enough to make them stop. When Ken finally fell against Yohji, who promptly fell against Omi and Keiko, they all had to laugh, unable to stop and get up. Keiko had pain in her stomach from all this laughing, but she admitted she had never felt as good as before.

All the fun ended abruptly when the backdoor opened and Aya entered the shop. He glanced at them and at the still uncleaned shop. Ken and Omi coughed nervously, quicky getting up and continued with the task that had laid upon them. Keiko got up as well, blushing furiously as she put back the broom and hurried to the living room. Only Yohji managed to pretend nothing had happened and act like always.

Keiko stared glumly before her. Everything had been wonderful until Aya came home. It was always the same. Just when they were having a bit of fun, the redheaded assassin came to spoil it all. He didn't say anything, but the look he gave them said more than any word could've expressed. Why did he have to be that cold? Why weren't they allowed to have a bit of fun?

She remained silent, while she listened absently to the sounds coming from the kitchen. She was feeling rather petulant and refused to help the others with laying the table. It didn't happen often that she was in such mood, but she thought it was all a bit unfair. Besides, she wouldn't be of much help anyway, she'd better stay in the living room until dinner was ready.

Finally, Omi called her and she shuffled reluctantly to the cosy kitchen, which was filled with all kinds of scents. Keiko let herself fall onto a chair next to Omi and scanned the table. Apparently, Aya had been to some takeaway, since everything was stalled in carton boxes. She peeked in every one of them, trying to find out if it was really worth eating it. Then she found a small box next to her plate, filled with tempura. Her eyes widened in astonishment. How did Aya know she loved tempura? She glanced shyly at the young redhead, who was busy with filling glasses, and smiled to herself. Perhaps Aya was less cold than she thought.

* * * * * * *

Aya was in a pensive mood. He wondered if he should go see his sister tonight or if he ought to wait until tomorrow. Common sense told him he'd better visit her tomorrow, because he didn't have anything to bring along. But his heart longed to see her peaceful face again, to touch her soft hair and to be himself again. He couldn't be himself when he was among the others, not even when he was in his own room. It was a restriction he had laid upon himself when he first came here. He was an assassin, and they were his teammates. That was all. They didn't need to know how he really was, or how he had been a long time ago.

The ringing of the bell interrupted his thoughts and he automatically got up to see who would visit them this late. A flash of bright red hair, much like his own, answered for him and he let the woman in, quickly closing the door behind her. Although it was nearly spring, the evenings were still cold and every evening, the weather forecast warned for ground frost.

"Manx," Omi exclaimed surprised, jumping on his feet when he recognised the woman. The reactions of the others were more or less similair, though remarkably less obvious. Manx greeted them all courteously, then came to the point.

"Persia has another mission for you guys." She showed the tape, handing it over to Omi. The young assassin sprinted to the video recorder and a moment later, they all listened intensely to Persia's orders.

"So that's it?" Yohji sounded slightly surprised. "That's all we have to do? Most missions Persia gives to us are more difficult." He raised his eyebrows and gazed expectantly at Manx.

"If you want to say it that way, yes, this is all you have to do. But," she said in a warning voice, letting her gaze wander among the members of Weiß, "don't underestimate it. You might find it more difficult in the end than any other mission you've had so far."

There was a stunned silence for several moments. Aya frowned suspiciously. How could a mission as simple as this one turn out into a difficult battle? All they had to do was to plan everything perfectly, look up the target and kill him. They had all done it before.

She must have seen the expectation for an explanation on their faces, but for some obscure reason, she decided not to clarify what she had meant with her mystical words. Instead, she handed over the envelope with all the necessary information to Aya. He tried to read her face, hoping to find out more about this mission, but she kept her face straight and unemotional. Highly unlike Manx, he thought.

"You'll find all the information in the envelope. I think everything will be clear, especially after you've read the additional information." She hesitated for perhaps less than a second, but it was clear to Aya she was afraid to answer he usual question.

Manx straightened. "Are you all in?"

They all nodded their silent agreement. Even Yohji chose not to protest about it, although the puzzlement stood clearly on his face. Manx took a deep breath.

"Good." She glanced at them again and Aya got the faint impression she was trying to remember their faces in case she never got the chance again. "Be careful," she said, looking straight at Aya. He gazed coldly back, altogether unimpressed. They would be able to handle it. They had so far. And if they didn't, there was no point in worrying about it now.

She nodded as a way of saying goodbye and went upstairs. No one bothered to follow her. Manx knew her way around the Koneko well enough to find the exit.

Aya laid the envelope on the table and started to walk upstairs. "Where are you going?" sounded from behind him. Trust Yohji to meddle with the actions of other people.

Aya gritted his teeth and answered flatly, "I'm going to prepare myself for the mission. Persia explicitly told us to have the mission tonight. You won't need me for the planning. As a matter of fact, I doubt if you have to plan anything at all. I got the strong suspicion it's already been planned." Without waiting for a comment, he walked on, ignoring the confused silence behind him.

* * * * * * *

Keiko stared confused at Aya. It was nothing for Aya to walk away when they were about to plan the mission. And what had he meant with 'it's already been planned'? Surely, Kritiker would leave the planning to them? Or not?

"Well," Omi said uneasily to break the silence. "Let's have a look at the information in the envelope. I assume we're going to do the mission tonight. If everyone agrees."

Yohji snorted. "As if there's room for agreement. Our ice-cold leader has already decided that the mission's being held tonight and there's no way you can change his mind."

"Yohji," Ken said warningly, giving the tall assassin a push to let him shut up. "Of course we agree. The sooner we have the mission, the better. At least the target won't have a chance of getting away. You agree as well, right, Keiko?" The two puppy brown eyes gazed at her.

"Well, I guess it's not a bad idea," she said hesitantly, wondering why he needed her opinion about this. There was no need for discussion at all. No matter how unfriendly Yohji's remark was, he had been right. All she wanted to know was the reason for this rush.

"What the hell?" Omi exclaimed when he leafed through the information. "That's impossible! How did he know that?"

The others, alarmed by Omi's incredulous exclaim, looked at the paper he was holding in his hands. Keiko drew in a sharp breath and her eyes widened in surprise. The paper Omi had in his hand and what had caused all the commotion was the plan for their mission. What was even more surprisingly, though, was that the date had been set on this night.

"He probably had looked inside the envelope before he handed it over to you," Yohji scoffed. "That's just something for him, to appear to be mysterious and all-knowing. Aya had simply already seen the planning before he went upstairs."

Omi shook his head. "Iya, that's impossible. The envelope was still sealed when I opened it. And there's no way Aya-kun could've opened it and sealed it again before giving it to me. Besides, it's not something for Aya to do that."

"It's also not something for Aya to walk away and there's also no way he could've known it," Ken countered. "But besides that, I think we'd better prepare ourselves for tonight's mission. There are five copies of the planning. I'll hand one over to Aya when I go upstairs."

Keiko said nothing when she accepted her copy and watched everyone walking away. Something strange was going on and she desperately wanted to know what it was.

"Scared, Kei-chan?" The young boy walked next to her, his eyes filled with sympathy and friendliness.

Keiko shook her head. "Not scared, just confused," she confessed quietly. "I don't understand anything of what has happened in the basement."

Omi laid a hand on her shoulders. "That's alright. I'm confused as well. But then, I don't think we really have to know what's going on, right? As long as we know the target and why we have to kill him, there's no need for us what's going on."

"I guess you're right. It's just…" She floundered, lost for words to explain her feeling.

"Don't worry," Omi advised her. "I think we will understand it when it's necessary. I'll see you downstairs in a while." His hand that had been comfortingly on her shoulder left and he went inside his own room. Keiko sighed and opened the door to her own room.

She was halfway dressing herself in her mission suit when she heard someone opened and closed the front door. Curiosity welled up and since her room was located at the front, she pushed a curtain open. She gazed stunned down on the street. Surely, the man was nearly invisible in his long, dark coat, but she recognised him at his red hair.

Hidden half behind the curtain she watched Aya walking to his car and getting in. There was a moment of silence before the car drove away. Keiko let the curtain fall back to its place, her face mirroring her concern. Where did Aya go to? Did he leave them for some reason or did he plan to finish the job on his own?

Troubled, she finished changing her clothes and picked up her gunsen. She hung them absently at her trousers and went to look for Omi.

She found the young assassin in the kitchen, studying the plan the carefully. Keiko sank down on a chair across of him. "Omi?" The boy looked up questioningly. "Do you know where Aya-kun went to?"

"Is Aya-kun out?" he asked surprised. "I didn't know that. No, I have no idea where Aya-kun went to, then."

She hesitated for a moment. "Do you… Do you think he has left us? He was acting very strangely this evening, when we got our mission."

Omi gave her a fake glare that spoke volumes. "Kei-chan, you really have to stop thinking Aya-kun or Yohji-kun are going to leave us. I believe I told you this morning they both care too much about us to simply leave us on our own during a mission. I think Aya-kun didn't want to wait for two hours in the Koneko and decided to have a little walk or something. Trust me, Aya-kun will be back in time for the mission."

He gave her a reassuring smile and Keiko smiled back, though she didn't feel that sure about the situation herself. The possibility Aya had left them behind was not something she could shake off.

* * * * * * *

Monotone beeping welcomed him when he opened the door. The scent of flowers was everywhere in this small room. The moon shone brightly through the window on the face of a young girl. One could look at her and assume she was asleep, wich sounded reasonable since it was nearly ten o'clock in the evening. But she wasn't asleep.

Aya softly closed the door and crossed the room to his sister. Her chest moved regularly up and down, one of the few indications that she was still alive. A strand of chocolate brown hair had fallen over her face and moved with every breath. Aya pushed the lost strand gently away before he sat down on the chair that was always next to her bed.

He remained silent for ten full minutes, feeling all his troubles being lifted from his shoulder while his mind eased. The incident of this morning was erased, like all the other little incidents, which allowed him to produce a small smile at his sister.

Then suddenly, he began to talk, his deep rich voice filling the room. "I brought something for you today, Aya-chan. It's a lily, a white one with a pink hue. You always liked lilies, you remember? Especially if they were orange. And I kept telling you orange lilies stand for hatred and that is not a suitable flower for you."

He fell silent, staring through the window. Memories of him and his sister flashed through his mind, of times when they walked together to a flowershop, where they would buy lavender, roses or lilies. It was their weekly ritual and the house was always filled with flowers.

He dug in his pocket, tenderly lifted the small flower out it and placed it in Aya-chan's hand. "Here. Can you feel it? Can you smell it? It's lovely, don't you think? It's means 'it's heavenly to be with you'." He fell silent again, afraid to tell her the news he had heard this evening. Uncomfortably, he pulled at his mission suit in a vain attempt to straighten it.

"I've got something to tell you," Aya said softly and rather wistfully. "There's a mission tonight. Although it seems a fairly easy one, Manx already told us it will be rather difficult." He hesitated. "I may not return alive from it."

The sentence hung heavily in the air and Aya had to swallow hard. "Be careful. Manx will look after you when I'm not here anymore. She's rather direct, but nice enough, I suppose." He rose from the chair and kissed her softly on her forehead. "Farewell, Aya-chan."

He turned around and quietly left the room. He did not shed a tear, in fact there was not a single emotion written on his face or lingering in his eyes. Deep inside, however, he cried as if his heart was broken. He didn't want to leave his sister behind.

It was nearly eleven o'clock when he got home. The others were waiting for him anxiously.

"Aya-kun, where have you been?"

"Couldn't you at least have told us where you went to?"

"Aya, are you alright?"

All kinds of questions were fired at him, four pair of eyes looked at him with a mix of concern, annoyance and relieve, but he ignored them all. It was not of their concern what he had done or where he had been. The voices behind him fell silent and a worried and angry silence filled the kitchen.

"We'd better get ready for the mission," he told the others, his back still directed at the rest. "They've planned the mission at midnight and it will take us half an hour to get there." He walked further, upstairs to his room to fetch his katana. He knew the others half rose up from their chairs to follow him, but for some reason, only Ken actually went upstairs with him.

"Aya, are you alright?" the soccerboy quietly asked when they were alone.

"Of course." Aya opened the door of his room, leaving it open in case Ken wanted to enter his room as well. He went to a corner of his room, where a long, polished katana stood, shining brightly in the moonlight.

"You do understand we were worried about you when you suddenly left, don't you?" Ken stood uncomfortably at the doorway, uncertain if he was allowed to enter and feeling rather nervous for starting such a delicate topic to Aya.

"Hn." Aya lifted the katana, unsheathing it to inspect it for any problems.

"Keiko was concerned that you might have left, you know," Ken blurted out.

Aya froze in the middle of his inspection for several seconds before he continued. "She doesn't have to. She knows that." He sheathed his katana and turned to Ken. "Let's go down."

* * * * * * *

Keiko didn't know if she ought to be relieved or annoyed like Yohji was. A part of her was exuberant that Aya hadn't left them, that he was back, but there was also a part of her that felt slightly angry for Aya's cold behaviour and refusal to answer their questions. If there was something wrong, she wanted to help him. But how could she ever think of helping him if he didn't speak to them?

Aya and Ken came down again. This time the redheaded assassin was carrying his huge katana. Keiko had once tried to lift it, a long time ago, when she had just joined Weiß. She could just lift it, but only for a few moments. It would probably be different now she had been trained intensively and with all the missions, but she still wondered how he was able to carry it that carelessly.

"Let's go," Aya told them in a flat, yet commanding voice. Keiko wondered if he was even aware of his commanding attitude as she rose from her chair and followed the group outside. She examined him from the corner of his eyes. As far as she could tell, he wasn't aware of it.

Ken walked to his motorcycle. Yohji would go with Omi in his Seven and she would join Aya in his car. She felt rather nervous about the prospect she would team up with Aya for this mission. Once again, she was overwhelmed with an internal conflict. A chance to work together with Aya and to show him what she was capable of filled her with excitement. Perhaps he would finally start to notice her. On the other hand, the quiet, mysterious young man terrified her. She wasn't much of a talkative person herself, but Aya was even worse and his silence always worked on her nerves.

Keiko slipped on the chair next to Aya and quickly closed the door. As soon as she sat, Aya started his car and drove away, not even giving her a proper chance to fasten her seat belt. She snorted quietly, carefully making sure Aya would not hear her. Such a manners! Not even waiting until she was ready. This was really a case of bad behaviour.

She struggled a bit with the seat belt, since Aya's way of driving was usually very hard and carelessly. Keiko insisted, however, on having her seat belt fastened, as a silent protest against him. She wondered if he would even notice it, but it was the idea that counted for the normally shy girl.

Keiko glanced at the silent redhead, noting he hadn't fastened his seat belt himself either. She was surprised he hadn't had any serious accidents. They were driving far above the maximum speed and the smallest thing could have them both flying through the window. Yet Aya handled the wheel with calm confidence. Not even Yohji dared to drive that fast and still being all self-confident and calm. The blond usually drove fast when he was angry or upset. At least, that was her suspection.

They rode on in absolute silence and Keiko stared through the window, trying to count trees, which was impossible since she hardly could see the trees because of the darkness and the high speed. She looked up when the car came to a halt. Aya's hands tightly gripped the wheel and she wondered what was wrong.

"We're here," he said curtly, finally letting go of the steering wheel. Keiko nodded solemnly and worked herself out of the car.

Ken was already there and he came to them as soon as he spotted them. "It seems to be exactly as it is said in the planning," he said to Aya without any introduction. "I haven't really had a chance to look inside, most curtains are shut, but there are exactly four guards standing near this entrance, another four at the entrance at the back, and two at each other door leading to the building. As far as I can say, there are half a dozen guards patrolling around. Every ten minutes, one of them passes this gate. That's all I've been able to find out before you came."

Aya nodded and bent over the map. Keiko decided this wasn't anything she could be helpful with and drifted off a little, hoping Omi and Yohji would be here soon as well. She stopped to look at the building. It wasn't even large or impressive. It had only two floors, but she didn't know how many levels were underground. It wasn't unusual for such companies to have immense laboratories underground.

"Keiko." Aya's low voice startled her and she turned quickly around. "Omi and Yohji have arrived. It's time to start the mission."

She nodded mutely, still unable to speak. How had he managed to sneak upon her? She hadn't heard a single sound and she had very sharp ears. At least, she had developed them during her occupation as assassin.

She followed Aya to the rest, where Omi was telling them for the last time what they had to do. It was unnecessary, of course, but the young boy was only concerned about the well-being of his friends. This was one of his ways to show that.

"You all understand it?" They nodded. "Let's go then."

* * * * * * *

Cautiously, Aya moved through dimly lit halls, with Keiko right behind him. He wasn't altogether happy with the choice - he'd rather team up with Ken or Omi - but it hadn't been his choice and he had to submit to it. It wasn't that he didn't like to be with Keiko, but he had never worked together with the purple-haired assassin. He had no idea what she was capable of and how she would react when they were standing in front of the target. Aya simply felt more secure with Ken or Omi, knowing what they were able to do and they knew exactly what he expected of them.

He glanced around the corner to see if there were any difficulties waiting for them. Then he turned to Keiko. "We're almost there. You know what to do?"

There was a brief flicker of annoyance across Keiko's face, but she didn't say anything about it. She nodded once, gripping her gunsen more firmly. Aya was actually pleased at seeing such determination, but he also decided not to spill any words about it. It simply wasn't the time for compliments and that kind of things.

He turned on the headphone. "Abbysinian to Siberian, we're in position." He waited for a reply, but the line remained dead. He repeated the sentence another time. Aya frowned slightly annoyed, but concerned as well. Ken usually replied immediately. The soccerboy was perhaps not the smartest of them all, but he was trustworthy.

He motioned to Keiko she ought to contact Omi while he tried to get Yohji's attention. "Abbysinian to Balinese, do you hear me?" He waited for half a minute, then tried it again. "Balinese, please respond."

A look at Keiko's face told him she hadn't any luck either. Aya gazed at his watch. There were only three minutes left to attack the target. "We go in," he decided. "The mission has to be finished. We can find out what happened afterwards."

Although her face betrayed she'd rather help her friends, Keiko nodded quietly. The redhead drew his katana and looked at the door at the other side of the hall. "Let's go."

They walked down the hall, their feet making almost no sound when they touched the ground. It was perhaps that reason why Aya didn't notice the disappearance of Keiko. He was almost at the door, when he looked over his shoulder, to see if she was still alright.

But the hall was empty.

Startled, even shocked, Aya stood still, his amethyst eyes scanning the hall for any movement. He half expected her to show up behind him, with a smile on his face, telling him they had to move on before their chance to complete the mission was over. But it remained dreadfully silent. He was all alone.

She could've ignored him, of course, and went down to find Omi. He knew how close the friendship was between Omi and Keiko. A glance at his watch told him he had only one minute left. There was no chance he could follow her. It appeared he had to do this mission on his own.

Feeling very troubled, he moved on, until he reached the door. Aya knew he wouldn't be able to set his mind to rest before he found out where Keiko was. Thirty seconds left. "Abbysinian to Singapura, please answer." Twenty seconds. The line remained dead. "Singapura, please respond." Ten seconds left and still no answer. "Keiko, please, answer me!" Five seconds left. He had to enter the room now, or they would be all in trouble. Switching the headphone off, he opened the door and walked into a complete darkness.

He tried to scan the room with his eyes, patiently waiting until they were adjusted to the darkness. Then, without a warning, someone began to speak. "So the last one has managed to reach me. Tell me, how does it feel?"

It took him all his wits to remain where he stood. It took even more to keep his voice cold and emotionless as always. "What do you mean?"

The voice laughed and seemed to come from everywhere. It confused the redheaded assassin as he tried to pinpoint the exact location of his target. "What do you think? But something else, since I've expected this for years to happen. Do you know by any chance your song?"

The question added only more confusion and Aya grudgingly shook his head. "No."

"Ah. It's called The Last Rose of Summer. The first passage will clear it all to you." The voice coughed once and deep and rich, it started to sing the extract.

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone.
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flow'r of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes
Or give sigh for sigh.

There was a stunned silence from Aya's side as the words silently seeped into his mind. All her lovely companions are faded and gone. Anger welled up in him. "What have you done to them?!" he shouted. Omi. Ken. Yohji. Keiko… "What have you done to them?!" he repeated again, running without knowing into which direction, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his heart when he thought of Keiko.

The voice laughed again. "Run, you fool. Run until the end of days. You'll never catch me."

Suddenly, his knees gave away and Aya sank to the ground, clutching at his chest. Breathing was difficult and he had the feeling flames consumed him, although there was not even a single spark in the dark room. "What… have you… done… to them?" he managed to say between the gasps. Before the voice could answer, Aya's mind slipped away and the redhead fell unconsciously on the floor.