Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Last Rose of Summer ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

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: Second chapter, and that in less than a week! It's a miracle!!!! *gasps* Anyway, I had fun with this one, although Aya's getting a little bit out of character at the end of the chapter. Now one more chapter to go and then the story's finished! Woohoo!!! *bounces around* Sorry, I'm a bit hyper today. I don't know why. Probably because I've got all this inspiration and I need to write it down somewhere, but I can't, 'cause once I start writing it down, it all goes away. Poor me.

Anyway, enough nonsense coming from me. Enjoy the second chapter.

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

I'll not leave thee thou lone one
To pine on the stem,
Since the lovely are sleeping
Go sleep thou with them;
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

Chapter Two

"Lost. I had lost them all. Next to my family, fate had cruelly decided to leave me bereft of my friends and teammates. I was all alone now and the awareness of that crushed upon me. I had no other memory, except that I floated somewhere. Perhaps it was the universe, perhaps it was my imagination. I didn't care, I just let myself float as I grieved over the loss of those I had come to care about.

I was all alone, but I was dying. For some reason, I didn't mind that. I had lived to long anyway. I should have died together with my family. Then I wouldn't have to face all the grieve and loneliness. I certainly wouldn't have to face it for a second time.

Keiko…The name alone was enough to cause pain in my heart. What made matters worse, I'd never taken the trouble to tell her I liked her. That I viewed her as my friend. It was too late now, though. She was dead, like the rest of Weiß, and it wouldn't take long before I would follow her. I would finally see my parents again, if I came to heaven. But after all those crimes I had committed in the name of justice, I doubted if I would even have a chance to stand before the gate to heaven.

I didn't know if I should mind. I guessed that, as long as I was together with my friends, things wouldn't be that bad. If I only wanted to die…

A bright, soft purple light appears before me. I stopped floating, blinking in confusion. I had always thought the light to heaven would be white. Apparently, I was mistaken. There was a soft feminine voice I ought to know, but for some reason I couldn't remember it. I had heard it before, I used to know her, but my memory was failing me.

'Come, lone one. Come to me. Let me stay with you.' Two hands extended from the light, two pretty and small hands. I grasped them, unable to ignore the command in her voice. Our hands linked together, and the light started to dissolve, showing the woman's face. Two dark red eyes looked pleadingly at me. I wanted to extend my hand to touch her face, but the moment I let go of her hand, the world around me faded away, leaving me alone once again.

* * * * * * *

His head throbbed with pain. That was the first sensation he became aware of as his conscious slowly returned. His mouth was dry, with his tongue sticking to the upper part of his mouth. Breathing was difficult, hurting his throat with every inhale. His arms and legs seemed to hurt as well, but it hurt definitely much less than the rest of his body.

Somebody was sitting next to him, holding his hand and hovering anxiously over him. In a reflex, he tried to take hold of the small hand, but although he did his best, his fingers didn't want to bend. They bent slightly, then straightened again.

It was enough, though, to alarm the person holding his hand.

"Ken-kun?" A familiar voice filled the air and he winced inwardly at the violation of the silence. His ears, it appeared, were very sensitive at the moment for loud noises, and so was his head. The headache became worse when she spoke.

"Ken-kun? Aya-kun's finally waking up. Will you look at him? You're healing skills are better than mine."

"Sure, I'm coming in a minute. I need to finish Omi's wounds first."

Aya opened his eyes, staring blankly at the white ceiling above him for several moments as he listened to the conversation. Each word sent new pulses of pain through his whole body, it seemed, but he still had to listen to it. When the voices died away, he slowly turned his head.

In the doorway stood a young woman, with long purple hair, a white nightdress and bandage around her head. It took a while before he realised who she was. He wanted to call her, to ask her what had happened, but there came no sound over his lips. When he noticed he was unable to speak, he just laid, watching Keiko until she turned around to let Ken in.

The brown-haired guy crossed the room, followed closely by Keiko, and sat down on the chair. Aya watched their movements in silence, his features as cold and emotionless as possible. He had, after all, a certain reputation to keep up. But the reasons were more personal than that. He knew he was somehow seriously wounded, if he was lucky, and that in his current state, he would easily tell the others things he'd rather keep to himself. Like the presence of his sister. Therefore, he did his best to conceal his feelings behind the mask he had worn since the accident.

Ken didn't say a word as he gently, but professionally started to change the bandage. It was then Aya notice his whole arms had been bandaged and large wounds were covering his arms. Ken applied salve to the wounds and Aya turned his head away to hide the pain from his teammates.

"It's alright, Aya-kun," Keiko said softly.

For the first time since Ken was in the room, he spoke as well. "She's right, you know. It doesn't matter if it hurts. In fact, you're lucky to be still alive." He efficiently began to wrap fresh bandage around Aya's arms. "Keiko, why don't you get a glass of water for Aya? I imagine he can use that."

Keiko nodded and left the room quietly. Now Ken was ready with his arms, Aya turned his head back to the soccerboy. "What… happened…?" he croaked. Ken stopped for a moment and he frowned. Then, deep in thought, he picked up some more bandage and started tending his legs.

"I don't exactly know what happened. Do you remember the mission we had? The one Kritiker had already planned for us?" Aya nodded quietly. "Well, I think that we were all transported to another dimension when we were there." Ken fell silent again, as he examined the wounds. "Hold your legs still, this will only take a minute." Aya waited, wondering what Ken wanted to do. A peculiar, tintling feeling spread over his legs. It was, strangely enough, rather pleasant. Curiously, he pushed himself a little up to see what Ken was doing.

He blinked when he saw a bright greenish glow surrounded Ken's hands. Aya wanted to ask what he was doing, but a coughing fit interrupted him and weakly, he let himself fall back again, coughing until he thought his lungs were torn apart.

"Easy, Aya. Don't force yourself." The soccerboy helped him getting up again. "Keiko? Where's the glass of water?" he called to the purple-haired girl. Aya winced again when Ken shouted next to him. Although it didn't hurt that much as before, it was still painful to his head.

"I'm coming, Ken-kun." A moment later, Keiko entered the room, carrying an exquisitely blown glass filled with water. Aya frowned, wondering since when they had such glasses. They must've been very expensive. Besides, what had been wrong with the other glasses? What was going on?

Keiko pushed the glass in his hands and he decided he'd question about it later. More important at the moment was to get the dryness out of his mouth, so that he could speak again. He drained the glass, nearly drowning himself and Ken had to stop him before thing got out of control.

"Easy, Aya. You're drinking too much in one time. Don't try to drown yourself." Aya reluctantly did as Ken advised him, since logic told him the soccerboy was right.

"The story." The words came out painfully, but a lot easier than before. He looked at Keiko, who still stood beside his bed. That nightdress stood her very good. Then he frowned. What was he thinking? To prevent his mind from wandering off again, he asked, "Could you get some more water?"

Keiko nodded, smiling shyly at him and walked away again. Ken waited until she was gone before he continued with explaining what had happened. "That building where we were, was most probably some kind of insubstantial portal." The soccerboy flushed slightly. "That's at least Omi's explanation. He used a lot more difficult words, but I didn't understand that, so he simplified his theory. If you want to know his true explanation, I'm sure he will tell you that."

Aya shook his head. "It's alright. Go on."

"Well," Ken continued, "since it's an insubstantial portal, being teleported to another dimension happens rather irregularly. Omi tried to explain me how that whole process works, but I believe he gave up after two hours. Anyway, this portal moves around and somehow came across us and zipped us to this place." Aya was almost certain Omi hadn't used the word 'zipped'. "And that's actually what happened."

"But what happened after that?"

"You got burned." The two boys looked startled up at Keiko's voice. "That's what happened and that's why you've got all this bandage."

* * * * * * *

She stood still in the doorway, the requested glass of water in her hands, as she blurted out what had happened. Now she wished she had never said anything, for the attention of both Ken as Aya were directed at her. A slow red blush crept over her cheeks and she lowered her gaze.

"At least, that's what we assume," she mumbled. "When we found you, the grass was black and some trees were still burning. Since you were covered with burns, it was only logic there had been a great fire, right?"

Ken rescued her by taking over the explanation. "She's right. We don't know exactly what happened, since we weren't there when it took place, but Omi thinks there has been some kind of great fire when you arrived here. Which means your element is fire."

"What does that mean?" asked Aya.

"That you can control fire," Keiko muttered quietly as she slipped into the room, handing over the glass to him. "Right, Ken-kun?"

Ken nodded. "We appear all to have certain 'magical' abilities, because we are in another dimension. Magic seems to be rather normal in this world. When we all got here, we were all somehow affected by our element. Yours is fire."

There was a long silence. "So I've been burned by my own fire. And the rest? What happened to you?" Aya directed his gaze at Keiko and she flushed again.

"Well, I simply stumbled over a stone," she mumbled embarrassed. The redhead stared blankly at her, clearly not understanding what the relation was with one of the four known elements. That was probably because she didn't have one of the four known elements, but a rather special one. "M-my element is light," she continued softly. "I was temporarily blinded when I got here. I couldn't see the stone lying just in front of me, so I tripped."

She half expected laughter, but Aya remained silent, and deadly serious. She was somehow offended by his reaction, since there was actually no reaction at all. It looked as if he simply ignored what she had told him. At least Omi and Yohji had laughed when she told her story. It was perhaps rather embarrassing, but it was a reaction.

"I ended up in a tree," Ken continued. "Which seems to make my element earth. Next to that, I appear to have some skills in healing people magically. Everyone can do that, but I'm just a little better in that. Yohji ended up in a lake, I believe. He was at least very wet when we found him on the shore. His element is water, by the way. Omi is the only one without any injuries, probably because his element is air and you can't stay at five hundred feet in the air."

Aya nodded solemnly, slowly draining the crystal clear water. When it was empty, Keiko took it away from him, and the redhead lied down again, looking very tired. "Is there anything else I ought to know?"

There was a long silence. Then Keiko blurted out, "You've been unconscious for five days. We were almost afraid you wouldn't wake up again."

Aya nodded once and turned his head to the window. "I think I'd like to be alone now. I feel rather tired."

"Of course. Come, Keiko." Ken stood up and motioned to her to follow him. Keiko, still feeling rather shaky and shocked by her own courage, slowly turned around and walked away. She had rather stayed with Aya, like she had done all the days before, helping him whenever it was necessary, but the redhead had made clear he wanted to be left alone. She was almost at the doorway, when Aya's voice held her back.

"By the way, nice nightdress, Keiko."

She stopped surprised, turning red for the third time in a short period. Shyly, she glanced over her shoulder. "You really think so?" Aya nodded, his eyes fixed upon her. She gave him a timid, little smile. "Thank you." Happily, she walked on, softly closing the door. He had liked her nightdress. Keiko could almost explode with happiness.

* * * * * * *

The following days passed in some kind of haze for Aya. Most of the time, he slept, but his dreams were troubling and confusing. When he was awake, he was taught about his powers, the city, the house and all kinds of other things. And when Omi was finished with that, Ken was there to tend his wounds and to check if everything was still alright with Aya.

All in all, the redheaded assassin found there was very little time left for himself and this made him bad-tempered and pensive. Since it was almost impossible to be in a bad mood and pensive at the same time, the feelings conflicted inside him, leaving him disorientated behind. There were even times he had the feeling he was going insane.

The only comfort he had was the ever presence of Keiko. She was not always in his room, but she stayed close enough to help him whenever he needed something and she also spent a lot of her time in his room, quietly reading books while he stared through the window.

He had just woken up from another rather disturbing dream, which had left him sweating and shaking in his bed, when someone tapped softly on the door. He heard Keiko putting her book aside and getting up, to answer the door.

"Keiko." There was a startled silence when he said her name. He paused, unsure how to put his wish in words. There was a second knock on the door and Aya heard that Keiko was moving again to answer it. "Tell them I'm asleep."

"Aya-kun?" Keiko sounded puzzled. He understood it, but chose not to explain himself any further as he rolled up in his blanket, closing his eyes.

"Tell them I'm asleep."

Keiko remained silent, not asking for an explanation. For the first time, Aya realised Keiko never asked a second time for an explanation. He thought about that, while he listened to the conversation behind him. Would that be the reason why he could stand Keiko's presence in these days, whereas even Omi's always happy nature nowadays set his teeth on edge?

Keiko closed the door and walked back to her chair. He could feel she was still wondering why he didn't want to see anyone. He was willing to explain it to her, but for some reason, the words got stuck in his throat.

"Keiko." She looked up, he knew it for sure, although his eyes were fixed again on the window next to his bed. Two dark red eyes were gazing at him questioningly and anxiously, in case there was something wrong with him. A delicate hand must be pushing a lost strand of purple hair behind her ear as she waited for him to continue.

But Aya couldn't continue. The will to express his troubling feelings was there, but the words vanished the instant they entered his mind. He struggled, closing his eyes, frowning deeply. He felt guilty for not being able to express himself, that he couldn't explain it to Keiko, so she didn't need to be confused like he was.

A hand touched lightly his face and he glanced up at Keiko's beautiful face. Their eyes met for a moment, then she turned her head away, flushing slightly. She pulled her hand back, but Aya grabbed it, drawing her closer to him. He needed company, but not the company of someone who could talk on endlessly without wondering how Aya felt. He needed company of someone who would listen, who would try to understand him. And he knew, deep in his heart, that next to Aya-chan, Keiko was the right person.

"Keiko, I…" Lost in words, in too many emotions. He couldn't speak to someone sitting next to him. Aya-chan had been different, she had been his sister and apart from that, she had been in coma. Aya had no idea how much she heard when he talked to her. But Keiko wasn't in coma and she would hear every word he said to her. It terrified him, and yet he wanted to tell her what was wrong with him. Conflicting feelings over conflicting feelings. Aya had the idea he was truly going insane now.

"Aya-kun…" Keiko's voice was soft and enquiringly, as if she wanted to encourage him to continue with talking.

And still the words didn't want to come out. He started to feel desperate and cursed himself for his reticence. Had he been like Omi or Yohji, he wouldn't have had any trouble describing his problem.

He suddenly reached out for her other hand, ignoring her surprised gasp, and closed his eyes. Without really knowing what he was doing, he transported all his feelings over to Keiko. No word could describe his problem, but he hoped she would understand it when she felt it.

He gasped, finally letting go of her hands. He was transpiring profusely and a sudden exhaustion overwhelmed him. He would've nearly toppled over if Keiko hadn't supported him.

"Aya-kun… It's alright, don't worry. I think I understand your problem. I'll talk about to the others, alright?" Aya felt relieved and he nodded solemnly. He knew she would understand it.

"I'm tired… I'm going to sleep." While he turned back to his personal shelter, shielding all his thoughts and emotions again, he laid down. A cool, soft hand brushed gently and timidly over his cheek and slowly, he fell fast asleep.

* * * * * * *

Keiko continued sitting next to Aya, even though he had fallen asleep. Her hand still rested at his cheek, although it was not necessary anymore. He wouldn't notice it. But this was the only time Keiko dared to touch him.

She stared pensively at the young man. Keiko had to admit his sudden exposure of his feelings had been a shock. Aya never showed any sign of his true emotions and now he engulfed her with them. What was more a surprise, though, was the fact he had used magic to make her understand. That was what had exhausted him.

Keiko reluctantly got up. She wanted to stay with this mysterious and beautiful young man, who she secretly feared and adored. But if she wanted to help him, she had to find one of the others to explain his situation. The solution for his problem was rather simple, and she knew it. All he had to do was to get out of bed and start making himself useful again. Because under all his feelings, there was a sensation of being useless. But how could she ever tell him that?

Before she left the room, she looked up at Aya's katana. It was the same as in the other dimension, with the only difference it had a large red ruby on the hilt. She always watched it when he was asleep and before, the ruby had flickered with a restless fire. Now, however, it shone serenely down on the redheaded assassin.

Keiko smiled and quietly left the room, looking for Ken. If there was one person Aya was willing to listen to, it would be Ken.

She found the soccerboy in the garden, surrounded by a greenish aura. Several animals were sitting around him and Keiko was ready to run away when she noticed there were also wolves and bears among the animals.

"Don't worry, Keiko, they won't hurt you," Ken said. "They are our guardians and they would rather die than attack us." The green light disappeared and Ken turned around with a friendly smile. "Is there something I can help you with? You seem to be troubled."

Keiko approached the group of animals apprehensively. No matter what Ken had said about those savages not attacking her, she rather didn't try it out. "Can we uh… talk somewhere privately?" she asked nervously.

Ken understood her fear and looked at a fierce grey wolf. No words were spoken - this was a conversation held at a higher level than with just words - and the wolf loped away, followed by the other animals. Ken waited until they were all out of sight before he turned to Keiko. "What's your problem, Keiko?"

Keiko hesitated, but the friendly smile Ken gave her and her concern for Aya made her speak. "Well… it's not really my problem. You see, Aya-kun umm…" She floundered for a moment, not sure how she had to describe the redhead's problem. "He… he feels umm…"

"Useless? Too much occupied by Omi and me to solve his own personal problems?" Ken helped her.

She stared at him in disbelief. "You already knew it," she accused him.

"Keiko-" The Earth mage interrupted himself to sit down on a tree trunk, pulling Keiko next to him. "Keiko, everyone knew about Aya's problem. His thoughts are echoing throughout the house, because he still refuses to shield his mind. I'm surprised you hadn't noticed it yourself already."

"Well… I did, but…" Ashamed, Keiko stared at the ground. She had never paid much attention to it, thinking Ken would be able to solve it or that it would go away when the redhead got better. "Why didn't you do something about it, Ken-kun?"

"Because Aya has to learn to open himself to us," he replied. "As long as he doesn't say something, there's no way we can help him."

There was a long silence in which Keiko let the words sink into her mind. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible. "He showed me his feelings, Ken-kun. Aya-kun's in a lot of trouble right now. Will you please talk to him?"

Ken put a hand on her shoulder. "I will, Keiko. Don't worry." He looked up at the black clouds drifting towards them. "You'd better go back inside. I expect it's going to rain very soon."

"Hai. Arigatou, Ken-kun." Feeling much better after this talk, she hopped back inside.

* * * * * * *

After Ken had left him, Aya gazed through the window, listening to the threatening thunder and raindrops falling on the roof. Although the brown-haired boy had said a lot of things Aya didn't like, he was Ken grateful for doing it. The internal conflict had subsided during the conversation and he clearly saw what he had to do.

He pushed himself in a sitting position, stretching himself for the first real time since he had regained his consciousness. It felt peculiarly good after all these days of lying down in bed. He swung his legs over the brink of his bed, amazed to discover that the floor, although it was made of white marble, was pleasantly warm. It was as if something invisible kept the floor heated.

He needed clothes. The shirt he was wearing at the moment was perhaps good enough for in bed, but he was barely presentable to meet the others. He glanced around, searching for a closet. He felt ashamed that he had no idea what his room looked like, even though he had been more than week already in it. The walls were a soft light green, with golden shells and lines decorating it. One wall was replaced with huge windows, through which bright sunlight shone in. Dark green curtains, held back by golden embrasses, fitted perfectly with the walls.

He slowly walked through the room, his hands touching lightly the mahony writing desk and chair, following the lines on the walls, exploring everything. It was much more spacious than his last room had been, and more luxuous as well. He didn't know if he minded it.

He finally stopped at a large chair. Like the curtains, it was dark green and made of the smoothest velvet. Small, colourful cushions brightened it up and the chair itself was most comfortable. Aya knew this was the chair where Keiko always sat when she was looking after him. Although the girl hadn't been in his room for more than an hour, he could still smell her scent on the chair. It was clear to him Keiko liked to sit in this chair. Perhaps, when he had the time, he would move it to her chamber. But that was something for later to decide.

The red-haired assassin noticed there were two doors in his room. One door, actually consisting of two dark brown doors, led to the main hall. He had often seen Keiko opening it when either Omi or Ken knocked on it. The other door, however, was single and cream white. Puzzled, he crossed the room and opened the white door.

Behind it was his own personal bathroom. There was a huge bath and several towels, coloured in all tints of green, lay neatly on a small shelf. Other selves contained different kind of soaps and bath oils. On one wall hung a mirror and the equipment for shaving.

Aya decided it would be a good idea to take a bath. After all, he hadn't bathed since the morning of the mission and he didn't want to offend his friends with his odor. Besides that, he figured a bath would be able to wash away the last remnants of his internal conflict.

He turned the tap on and went back to his room. With all his strength, he opened the heavy doors of the closet. Inside it lay all kinds of clothes, but nothing he usually wore. How could he expect it? They were in some fantasy world, after all. At least, if he had to believe Omi, they were. Aya immediately decided he would never wear a robe, even if his life depended on it. Ken had made a habit of wearing dark brown robes, since that seemed to strengthen his powers, but Aya thought they were ridiculous and he absolutely refused to wear one. He had no idea what Yohji wore, since he hadn't seen the tall, blond assassin for more than a week, but Omi always wore a linen shirt with a simple tunic and trousers. It seemed to Aya that would be the best choice.

He carefully selected his clothing, then walked back to the bathroom, where the bath was nearly full. He turned the tap off and undressed himself. Although he had never really liked soaps and oils, he suddenly felt a need to use them. His eyes scanned the labels, until he found a bath oil with the smell of roses. He meticulously measured the amount of oil, put the flask back and slipped in the warm water. His muscles relaxed and Aya felt how the worries were washed away.

* * * * * * *

"Very good, Kei-chan. You're definitely getting better." The cheerful blond boy walked to her and Keiko gave him a tired smile as she sat down on a chair.

"I still don't understand my power, though," she confessed in a small voice. "I mean, the powers of you and Ken-kun and Yohji-kun and Aya-kun are understandable. But why do I control everything of the light? I don't understand it."

Omi drew a chair closer to hers and sat down as well. For a moment he looked as if he wanted to say something seriously, but instead of that, he started to laugh. "You know," he said chuckling. "I believe we had this conversation before." Keiko gazed blankly at him. "When we were at the Koneko, just before the mission," Omi explained. "You said you were confused and that you didn't understand anything of it. This is a similar situation. You don't have to understand it. All you have to do is to learn how to use it. The reasons of your power will probably be relieved later on. Can you understand that?"

Keiko smiled and nodded. "I think I can live with that. Thanks, Omi."

The young assassin looked more closely at her. "There is something else, isn't there?" he asked. "Do you want to share it with me? Perhaps I can help you."

Keiko smiled timidly and shook her head. "It's not necessary. It's nothing important and you've got other things to do." She wanted to get up and walk away, but Omi pushed her back on the chair. She gave an astonished shriek. "Omi!"

He looked at her, his blue eyes filled with sympathy and friendship. "Tell me. Even though it is nothing important. I'm your friend, Keiko. Nothing is unimportant enough not to tell a friend about it. Has it to do with Aya-kun?"

Keiko turned red at her friend's question. "Well… not really…" She turned her eyes away from Omi and corrected herself. "Partially, yes. You see… his feelings…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Aya-kun shared his feeling with me magically. And now I don't know what to do with them. I… I want to make him happy, you see."

"You're in love with him," Omi stated calmly."

"N-No! Well… not really… I don't know." She let her head hang, trembling nervously. Her confession about her wish to make Aya happy and Omi's statement that she might be in love with him had somehow drained all her energy and all she wanted to do right now was to sink through the ground and disappear.

Omi laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it slightly. "Your secret is safe with me. I won't tell the others about it, if that's what you wish." Keiko glanced thankfully up. "Now, I'm going to scout the neighbourhood. You have fun with Aya-kun." He laughed when she blushed again and took a few steps back. Then he blurred and a moment later, a snowy white bird flew away.

Keiko remained in the training hall for a few moments, trying to regain her composure again. She got up, smoothing her skirt and walked back to Aya's bedroom. Ken was training again and she had no idea where Yohji was. From the first day on, the tall, blond assassin had left the house early and always got back late. He always refused to talk about his excursions when he got home and they were all a bit worried about Yohji's abnormal behaviour.

The girl sighed and pushed a purple strand behind her ear. If this only hadn't happened, then everything would be alright. And she didn't even care that they were in this weird world, as long as she knew what she was supposed to do. No matter what Omi told her that she would understand it when the time was right, she wanted to know it now.

Keiko tapped timidly on the door, then waited patiently. When there was no answer, she pushed the door carefully open, ready to close it whenever it was necessary. But the room was empty.

Taken aback, she pushed the door further open, forgetting about being cautiously. When she had left the room to find Ken, Aya had been sleeping. That had been perhaps two hours ago. And now he was gone!

She checked the bed, to make sure it was really empty. His katana still hung above the bed. Keiko knew he couldn't be far then. But even if he was somewhere in the house, it could still take her hours to find him. Why she wanted to find him, was a mystery, even to her. It seemed as if Omi had somehow woken something up inside her, and that part of her wanted desperately to be with the redheaded assassin.

The glimmer of the ruby got her attention and curiously, she moved closer to it. The reddish glow intensified and it seemed as if it wanted to tell her something. Keiko hesitated. The katana was from Aya and he was rather protective about it. She was sure he wouldn't like it when she took it off the wall. But ruby's red glow pulled at her mind, almost compelling her to pick up the katana.

She stretched out one hand, then froze in her tracks. The katana would be too heavy for her to lift. She had tried it once before and the remembrance of the dead weight was still fresh in her memory. Then there was another pull at her mind and almost obediently, she enclosed her hands around the hilt, lifting it off the wall.

The katana was surprisingly light, as if it had no weight at all. A chain of visions flashed through her mind and she blushed furiously when she saw Aya getting in bath. The problem with visions was that she couldn't turn her head away or close her eyes. Well, she could do it, but it didn't work.

Finally, she saw Aya standing in a field of flowers. So he was in the garden! She almost dropped the katana, but there was a whining pull at her mind when she wanted to do that. Amazed, she stared it, then she understood it. The katana wanted to go to its master. Even better, she thought. They could both go to Aya.

The rain had stopped and the air smelled to a wet forest and damp grass. Keiko inhaled it deeply, enjoying the nature's scent. Suddenly feeling happy without any direct reason, Keiko hopped further into the garden. That her feet got wet was not of her concern. Life was for once feeling good to her.

All her happiness left her, however, when she found Aya. First, she was awed by the look of him. Although he stood with his back towards her, she could clearly see his dark green tunic, with under it a cream white linen shirt. A broad, dark brown leather belt was seated around his waist and the dark brown trousers with leather boots finished it all. All that missed right now was a cap with a red feather and a bow and arrows.

When she moved closer, though, she sensed a great sadness coming from this handsome young man. It seemed to her he was grieving over someone very important. When she stood next to him, she noticed he was holding a primrose. Suddenly unsure if she was still welcome, she quietly wondered who was important enough to Aya that he had the feeling he couldn't live without her.

"Aya-kun?" Aya looked up, mildly puzzled, but he said nothing. He must be wondering what she was doing here, with his katana. She coughed nervously and held his katana to him. "Your katana is missing you," she said in an attempt to cheer him up. He stared at her, then nodded slightly and took over the katana. For a moment, he was surrounded by flames, but he muttered quietly something and the fire died away.

Keiko gathered all her courage. "Who are you thinking of, Aya-kun?"

Aya gazed at the primrose, still saying nothing. She took that as a hint that she was unwelcome and was already turning around, when Aya said, "Please, stay."

* * * * * * *

In silence, Aya stood there in the field of flowers, with Keiko next to him. A glance at her direction told him she was feeling rather uncomfortably, although he could not think of any reason what could cause her nervousness. It was not entirely true, Aya did have an idea what caused her tenseness. She wouldn't be the first one who felt unwelcome in his presence.

In hope to ease her mind, he told her, "Don't worry, you're not disturbing me." He paused for a moment, discovering it didn't really reassure her. "You may leave as well, of course, if you prefer that." He turned his head away, so that he did not have to look at her as his voice dropped to a whisper. "But I would like it if you stayed."

There was long silence before Keiko spoke. "I'll stay… if you want me to." Her voice quavered with tension and Aya suspected it had taken all her courage to make this decision. After all, Keiko wasn't notorious for being straight forward or blunt.

He gazed at the primrose in his hand. "You wanted to know who I was thinking of, right?" He took the silent answer as a yes. "It's my sister." He wondered what he was doing. It wasn't in his character to tell people about his past. His fist clenched more firmly over the stem of the primrose and he took a deep breath to calm himself a bit.

A small hand timorously touched his arm. "You don't have to tell it, Aya-kun. I… I shouldn't have asked it. I'm sorry." Keiko's voice faltered and she removed her hand, taking a few steps back.

Aya shook his head. "It's not your fault." He hesitated a moment before he continued. "I'll tell you about my sister. About what happened to the Fujimiya family." He turned his gaze to her. "If you are interested, of course." Keiko nodded once, almost frightened, as if she was afraid her answer would annoy him. As a matter of fact, he was relieved.

"My family…" He broke himself of, trying to find a better way of starting his story. "My sister and I…" He paused again. "Give me your hand." Startled, Keiko extended her hand and Aya enclosed it protectively in his own big hand. Her hand was petite and warm and the touch of it was comforting. With his other hand, he gripped his katana, lifting it, with the hilt upwards. The ruby began to glow and the surroundings changed.

"It was summer when it all happened," Aya said softly. "It was the day before my sister's birthday. She would turn sixteen." The face of his sister appeared in front of them, like he had remembered it. "I admit I loved, and still love, my younger sister. She always managed to cheer me up." Aya closed his eyes, while before them, the story continued.

"Ne, ne, onii-chan! Can I have that, please?"

"We'd better hurry up then, wouldn't you say?"

"Onii-chan, you're really the best."

"We got home. It was quiet, too quiet. I didn't notice it at first. A scream of my sister alarmed me." The redhead winced involuntarily when he heard it again and he had to gather all his will to continue. "As you can see, my parents were unconscious. A gas bomb was placed on a shelf. All I could think of was getting Aya-chan to safety, so I pushed her outside.

"The bomb exploded and the house collapsed on me. It hurt, but I didn't care as long as my sister was safe. I thought she was, I really thought she was. But I was wrong."

The girl looked shocked at them. Then there was a blinding light as a car rode towards his sister. The memories were painful, to see it all again hurt him even more, but Aya knew he wouldn't be able to tell this. He had turned his head away, unable to look at it any longer.

"In one day, I had lost everything that was precious to me. My parents were dead and my sister is in coma. I was the only one left."

Aya lowered his katana and the scenery turned back to its original state. He continued, however, to hold Keiko's hand in his, finding solace in the touch.

The purple-haired girl was silent for a long time. "I'm sorry about your sister," she said finally quietly. Then she shivered and it was the shiver that brought Aya back to the present.

"You're cold." It wasn't a question, it was a statement and he looked down at her feet. "You're not wearing any shoes. You'll catch a cold this way. Let's go back inside." Keiko nodded and obediently followed him inside.

"Aya-kun? Kei-chan?" Omi's cheerful voice welcomed them when they approached the door. "We've got a mission tonight."