Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Last Rose of Summer ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

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: The third and last chapter. ^_^ Things are going fast right now. Will Aya find someone to help him out of his own, lonely world?

I've used a bit of flower language in this chapter, but you'll be able to find them at the end of the story. Enjoy it!!

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

So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,
And from loves' shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown
Oh! Who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?

Chapter Three

"I had the feeling my life was changing before my eyes. It was going to fast to follow it and I couldn't prevent it. Everything I had lived for the last two years seemed far away and unimportant. A new feeling was slowly taking me over, a feeling I had never felt before and that I didn't understand yet.

It was as if I had lived in a dark room all those years, unable to find the switch to turn on the light. Alone, in the dark world, with nothing but my hatred and thirst for revenge to continue. In this dark room, I had transformed from Fujimiya Ran to Fujimiya Aya, from an open, friendly and kind young man to a cold, silent and distant assassin.

Or that was what I wanted the world to believe.

In fact, Ran was still alive, deep inside my heart and beneath all the layers of ice I had wrapped around my heart to prevent I would ever be hurt again. For two years, this sociable young man had remained silent, perfectly content within the safety of the icy barriers. But from the moment I had entered this world, someone had started to pierce his way through my shield in a rather effectively way. I couldn't stop it and I was loosing control of Ran, who gradually started to take over from Aya.

I had been alone in this dark world and suddenly, someone had turned on the lights, blinding me with it. I felt naked and vulnerable and completely helpless. Then there was this feminine voice, familiar, yet at the same time sounding completely alien to me.

'Oh who would inhabit this bleak world alone?'

I didn't know. I honestly didn't know. But who was there to live together with me in my gloomy world?"

* * * * * * *

They sat all together in the large, luxuous dining room. Everyone except Yohji was present. The looks on Omi's and Ken's face were enough to tell Aya that the tall, blond assassin was planning something stupid again, but he decided to ask about it later. He first needed to hear what the mission was about.

Keiko sat on a huge chair, wearing still her wet socks. Aya wondered when she was planning to change her socks, because he knew for sure she would a catch a cold if she continued wearing them. She must have felt his disapproving look, for she slipped from her chair, quietly muttering something to Omi and left the room. He guessed the wet footprints on the floor explained the rest.

"If Yohji-kun is not back over five minutes, we'll just have to start without him." Omi hopped anxiously to the window, searching the view for a spot of the flippant man. "You're sure you can't contact him, Ken-kun? I'm sure he has to be somewhere not to far away from the tower. I can still feel his presence, which means he has to be within ten miles."

"Omi," Ken said with a pained voice, "I don't know if you have any idea how much a circle of ten miles is, but that covers a lot of ground with a lot of people and to be honest, I start to get a headache of all this people." The brown-haired boy was sweating profusely and he sat sprawled in his chair.

Aya wondered if there was something he could do, but he didn't ask. He hadn't been trained in using his powers, he didn't even know how far his magic went. All he knew was that he could play a bit with fire and apparently create illusions in the air. The last thing seemed to be more appropriate for Keiko's power, but he didn't think about it. As a matter of fact, he didn't care about his powers. All he wanted was to find a way back home.

Keiko returned, with dry socks and boots in her hand, and sat on her chair again. Omi turned away from the window. "I guess Yohji-kun isn't coming. Which means we four have to listen to the mission and that one of us has to inform Yohji-kun about it."

"Wait. Who's going to give us a mission then? Who knows we are here?" Ken asked as he wiped his forehead clean with a sleeve.

"You'll see," was all the young boy mysteriously said. "You'll see. Follow me."

Curiously, the other three followed him through a dim hall, which was decorated with paintings of grim looking men. Aya frowned at the sight of the last one before they went down. The man on the last painting had looked strikingly familiar to him, though it was hard to tell where he had seen him before.

"In here." Omi opened a heavy door and they all walked quietly into the room. "You'd better take a seat," the boy suggested. "It might be quite a shock for you."

Aya frowned, but did as Omi said. He could see Ken's face was one of complete bafflement, whereas Keiko appeared to be a little bit frightened. For some odd reason, he noticed he wasn't either puzzled or afraid, not even curious. He had no idea what would happen, and he didn't care about it either. Was this was Ken had meant with being too cold sometimes?

From a shadowy corner, a woman stepped further into the room. She had stunningly bright red hair, much like Aya's hair, and piercing green eyes. Her crimson hair fell down in large, elaborate curls. She wore a red silken robe and she carried an ornated crafted staff. But she was still the same Manx they knew from the other dimension.

"Manx!" Ken exclaimed with a startled gasp. "What are you doing here?!"

"As a matter of fact, I live here. But that's another story. You've come here to do a very important mission. A part of it has been told to you by the one you know as Manx in the other dimension. Here, you will get the rest of the story. Listen carefully and think of the risks involving in it before you agree to take the mission." There was a familiar directness in the way this woman acted and how she addressed them. It made them all feel a bit more comfortable. The greatest shock, however, came when a wavering colomn appeared before them.

"Weiß.There is a new mission for you. A group of Shadow Wizards is trying to create chaos and death all over the world. We have long managed to suppress them, but they have grown powerful and beyond our capacities to defeat them. As you will have noticed, you all possess a certain power. These powers of yours are higher than that of most wizards here. That is one of the reasons why you have been transported to this world.

White hunters of a dark world, destroy these dark creatures to create a better and safer place for the rest of the people."

They all sat rigid in their chairs, but the shock had hit Omi the worst. His face had turned pale, his blue eyes were wide open and tears were running down his cheek. "This… this can't be…" His voice was filled with emotions and he trembled heavily.

Ken and Keiko both held his hand in a comforting way and Aya decided he'd better leave that to them. He wasn't good in offering comfort and someone had to listen to the extra instructions of Manx from this world.

Manx, who noticed the distraught caused by Omi, wisely decided to tell the rest to Aya. "I trust you will inform the others about this when they've calmed down."

Aya gave her a mild glare. "Of course." What was she thinking about him?

"Good. I'll leave you all alone then." She turned around and started to walk away, but Aya had a few questions for her. Since Ken and Keiko were too busy with Omi about the sudden appearance of Persia, who appeared to be alive in this dimension, he could easily ask whatever he wished to know.

"How come you are in two dimensions?" It was a bit blunt, he had to admit that, but he couldn't come up with a better introduction.

Manx stopped, but she didn't look at him. "I don't think this is the right time to discuss that."

"I think it is. Tell me."

Manx sighed and gave in. "There are different dimensions. The one you live in and this one, however, appear to be almost parallel to each other. There are some differences, of course, but it's basically the same. That's why I'm here… as well as in the other dimension."

Aya had to think about that before he could ask his next question. "If the two dimensions are parallel, then what happened to the Weiß of this dimension?"

There was a long, disturbing silence from Manx's side, which unnerved the redhead a trifle. If she was even a bit like the Manx he knew - and she had already proven that when giving the mission - she wouldn't hesitate telling him. Unless…

Unless she thought the news would be too much for him to handle. That meant it had to be very shockingly, because otherwise he didn't see why he wouldn't be able to cope with the information. He wasn't a child anymore, after all.

"Come with me. I don't want the others to hear this." Aya nodded quietly, wondering why the rest wasn't allowed to hear it. He followed her through a door, which was hidden behind a heavy, dark curtain. The room was small and dimly lit. In the middle of the room was a large circle, with intricate symbols carved in it. Aya suspected it had to do with magic, but decided not to ask any questions about it. Or at least, not yet. Not until he knew the complete story.

"You want to know what happened with the Weiß of this dimension?" Aya nodded once. "There was never any need of an assassination group like Weiß here. And even if we had, we wouldn't be able to use you for this."

It took a while before Aya understood what was said. "Does this mean… that my sister is still alive?" Hope flared up in his eyes, but died almost immediately when he saw the look on Manx' face.

"No. I'm sorry to tell you this, Aya, but your sister is not alive. Like in your dimension, there was an explosion here. The only difference is that the Fujimiya family didn't survive it. Your sister is dead, Aya, like your parents and yourself."

* * * * * * *

Keiko looked helplessly at Omi, then at Ken. The usually energetic and optimistic boy was crying as if his heart had been broken and it hurt Keiko to see her best friend in such agony. She understood it, it had been a shock for her as well to discover Persiawas alive in this dimension. She could only vaguely begin to imagine how it was for Omi to discover his uncle was still alive.

Gradually, the sobbing became less and Omi wiped his face dry with his sleeve. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to cry. It's just-"

"We can understand it," Keiko said quietly. She glanced at Ken for support and the soccerboy nodded. "Don't worry about it." She squeezed Omi's hand gently and gave him a timid smile.

"Thank you very much," Omi said grateful. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I guess we'd better get ready for mission. Where's Aya-kun?"

They all looked around, surprised to find that the redhead had left them. "Perhaps he has already gone upstairs?" Keiko suggested uncertainly.

Ken thought about it. "Possible, but then, we would've felt is presence. Well, we'll see upstairs. Perhaps he has gone searching for Yohji. Anyway, I think we all need some nice, hot drink. It's damn chilly down there."

Keiko nodded mutely, shivering at the same time. It was indeed very cold in the room, only she hadn't had the time to notice it yet, because of Omi. But now she didn't have to worry about her best friend, she could feel her bones had turned stiff from the cold.

She welcomed the warmth of the living room with open arms and she immediately walked to the fireplace, where a fire burned cheerfully on some blocks of wood. The radiant warmth coming from the fire greeted her enthousiastically and she put her hands towards the fire.

"Umm… Keiko? Be careful not to burn yourself, will you? I've had enough trouble with Aya's wounds."

Keiko pulled her hands back with an embarrassed, little smile. "Sorry, Ken-kun. I won't burn myself." She decided to pick up a book from the huge library and to spend her time reading. There was little else for her to do. They couldn't do anything until Yohji and Aya were back.

She had read perhaps a few words when Omi entered the room with a worried expression on his face. "There's no sign of Aya here. Ken, have you already tried to contact him?"

The soccerboy shook his head. "Not yet, I wanted to wait with that until we were sure he's not here anymore." His expression grew wry. "I guess it's a bit of laziness from my side, but it honestly takes a lot of energy to search for someone with your mind."

Ken closed his eyes and Keiko watched him silently. She wished she could help Ken and Omi in finding someone, but she could feel anyone's presence or detect someone with her mind. In fact, there was very little she could do. If only she was as good as Ken or Omi when it came down to using her magic.

"Ne, Kei-chan, you can do this as well. You've just never tried it." Omi flashed a grin at the startled Keiko. "And you really ought to try to shield your mind when you're with other people in one room. Those thoughts about Aya-kun can be really distracting."

She blushed furiously. "I… I wasn't thinking about him… What about you staying out of my mind?" she retorted at a chuckling Omi. Then she smiled as well, glad to see her best friend was laughing again.

"This is weird," Ken said with a frown, obviously unaware of the conversation that had just been held. "Aya seems to be somewhere in this house, but his mind is magically blocked and I can't enter it or pinpoint the exact location where he is. Do you know if we have any rooms that are magically sealed, Omi?"

The blond boy shook his head. "Not that I know of. Well, if he's still here, he'll show up some time soon, right?"

* * * * * * *

Long stood Aya in the small, dimly lit room after Manx had left him. The news she had told him had shocked him, and he knew he was not easily upset. He also finally understood why Yohji wasn't among them anymore and he also had a vague idea where he had to look for the tall assassin.

His thoughts went back to the conversation he had with the red-haired woman. So his family died in this world. And not only his family, but he as well. No one had survived the bomb attack, which Takatori Reiji so carefully had prepared for them. Manx had shown him illusions of the remnants of the house. They had all been brutually maimed, but he could still recognise himself and his sister. At least he had tried to protect her…

He had also asked about the others. Perhaps that news had astonished him even more than about himself. Aya admitted he was really hoping his sister would be alive in this dimension and that there was perhaps a chance of seeing her, but to hear that they had all died somehow satisfied him.

No, it was the news about the other that had left him stunned and shocked. In his mind, Aya ran through the casualties Manx had told. He already knew that Omi had been captured when he was younger, but that Persiahad saved him when his parents didn't want to pay. He also knew Omi was in fact Takatori Mamoru, Takatori Reiji's youngest son. In this realm, however, Persiahad arrived to late to save the young child and Omi had been murdered by his kidnappers.

Ken was a knight of the king, son of a noble family and a promising swordsman. In fact, his life had been quite pleasant, with all the courts and training. His death, it seemed, was only an accident. When he was with a friend, a group of knights, young men as well, had challenged Ken for a duel. Ken couldn't refuse that, and although he had drank a bit too much and was quite unsteady on his legs, he had accepted the challenge. It proved to be fatal when a sword slit through his armour and through his heart.

Then there was Yohji, an orphan - was he an orphan? Aya didn't know that - who earned his money by doing odd jobs for adults, like thievery and spying. When he was fifteen, he decided to make an end of all the misery, and together with a girl, called Murase Asuka, he started an espionage network. Aya had heard some things about it before, but he had never heard the complete story. It appeared that on a mission, things went wrong, and both Yohji and Asuka were killed during their flight.

And then there was Keiko… Although Aya didn't want to admit it, it was her story that left him outraged.

Keiko was born in a relatively rich and powerful family, the Mashishitas. Aya had always thought Keiko's surname was Hashishita, but after he had heard the story, he had already guessed she had changed her name to get rid of all the contacts with her family. Lord Mashishita was what you could call a psychopath and he desired to have only sons. Then he got Keiko.

Aya clenched his fists. Since Keiko was a girl, Lord Mashishita arranged with his family to have her beaten up every day and to make her life a complete hell. He suddenly understood her shyness against people and why she was always silent. When she was eleven, her father decided he had looked after his daughter long enough and had her killed. The assassins he had hired were pretty thorough and Keiko didn't have a chance to survive it.

If it was possible, he'd gladly kill her father with his own, bare hands.

The redhead sighed and quietly walked back to the others. He shivered slightly, absently noting his hands were cold and so was probably the rest of his body as well. But that shouldn't be a problem for a Fire Mage, right?

He opened the door to his own room, setting the blocks of wood on fire with a negligent wave of his hand. It would be perhaps a wise decision to start searching for his mission clothes. It was only a few hours before it was dark and they also had to find Yohji.

Aya turned around to the closet, then froze when his eyes fell on a small, pink flower . Tenderly, he picked the flower up. It was an azalea, Azuma-kagami, to be precise. In the flower language, it would mean take care of yourself for me. Although there was no card or any other way to identify the person who had put this on his desk, he knew with absolute certainty it had been Keiko. She had been the only person who had been upstairs before they went to listen to their instructions.

A slow smile crept over his face for a moment. Then he straightened his back and started looking for his mission gear.

* * * * * * *

"Did you find any trace of Yohji?"

The three members of Weiß almost got a heart attack when Aya stood suddenly behind them. Especially Keiko, who had been completely absorbed in her study of the map of the city and the neighbourhood, gave a short startled exclaim. She cast a guilty, ashamed look at the redhead, who had so suddenly appeared behind them.

"No, not yet," Omi answered. "Ken has given up on finding him with his mind. There are just too many people in a radius of ten miles and…" The young boy glanced at Ken and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I think he starts getting a headache of all this searching, although he doesn't want to say it."

"Hm. And what were you two doing?"

"We were trying to find Yohji with the map," Keiko blurted out. "We uhm… discovered that… if I'm concentrating on someone, there appears a light on the map." Her voice trailed off and she hid almost automatically behind her best friend.

"The only problem is, it seems," Omi added, "that mages like us can hide ourselves from other mages. With other words, Yohji is invisible to us."

Aya nodded once. "You'd better get ready for the mission. If Yohji doesn't show up, we have to do it with the four of us."

They all nodded and got up, ready to leave. Keiko glanced at the redhead and noticed he had found the flower she had put on his desk. A warm feeling filled her heart and with a little smile, she hobbled out of the room.

"Keiko?" Aya's deep voice made her turn around at the doorway and she looked questioningly at him. "See if you can mark all the taverns this town has on the map, so I can look for him." Keiko nodded mutely and wanted to turn back, but his voice held her back a second time. "And Keiko?" Another curiously glance. "Thanks for the flower."

Keiko blushed furiously and managed to mumble a 'no problem' before she fled the room. Her heart was pounding and she trembled slightly. She didn't know whether she ought to be happy that Aya knew the flower came from her. But he had thanked her. That was all that counted at the moment.

* * * * * * *

In fast gallop, Aya rode through the dark streets of the city. In his hand was a map, with little dots of light scattered around it. Each light represented a tavern and in each tavern, there was a possibility Yohji sat there, probably drunk. Aya was grateful for the fact he could feel Yohji's presence outside the tavern, which saved him the time of getting off his horse and walk into the place.

After he had tried the taverns of the better part of the town, he moved inside the lower class district. The suspicious and hateful looks the commoners gave the young man made him quickly decide to slow down to a wary canter. His hand never left the hilt of his katana as he passed tavern after gloomy, foul smelling tavern.

A sudden tug at his mind notified him of Yohji's presence. He had descended to the worst part of the town, where criminals and cutthroats lived. How did Yohji ever manage to end up in a place like this? But there was no doubt Yohji was located in this tavern.

His horse moved restlessly and he understood the uncomfortable company of unseen eyes made his horse a little fearful. He didn't feel much either for leaving it behind, but horses were simply not allowed in an inn, not even in this part of the town.

"Don't worry," he told it quietly as he slipped down. "Nothing will happen to you." He concentrated for a moment and there was a brief flicker of the shield he had placed around his horse. No one else except for him and Yohji would be able to get near his horse. The horse snorted once, bowing his head to its master, as if it understood it was safe now.

The tavern wasn't much better inside. It reeked to spilled, stale beer, sweat, vomit and even blood. The dim light made it almost impossible to see anything at all, even with his hightened senses and sharp mage eyes.

Yohji? He sent out a careful probing thought, while he walked carefully further into the room.

Aya? Yohji's reply was slurred and unsure, but Aya was glad the blond had at least intelligence enough to know how to reply to him.

Where are you?

There was a long silence, before Yohji managed to answer back to him. Get out of here, Aya. Leave me alone.

That was the last thing Aya planned to do. The reply had been long enough to track the blond down and he walked with huge steps to the irresponsible young man. "What do you mean with that?" he hissed lowly. "Have your friends become that unimportant that you're willing to spend the rest of your life is some dark tavern? Have you sunk that low?"

Yohji didn't reply nor gave any indication he had heard Aya. The enraged Fire Mage grabbed the Water Mage at his shirt and lifted him up from his place. "You traitor."

That was enough to pull back Yohji from the drunken state he had been in. His fierce, green eyes flashed with anger and he pushed Aya away from him. "What did you call me?" His voice had dropped to a low, threatening tone.

"Traitor," Aya's deep voice repeated slowly. There was a silent contest between the redhead and the drunken blond man. Yohji finally raised his fist to smash it in Aya's face, but drunk as he was, he staggered backwards and he had would've fallen over the chair if Aya hadn't grabbed his wrist.

"Yohji, I know the story. It's sad, but this isn't the time for mourning over such things. There's a mission and if we succeed that, we can go back home."

Yohji blinked, then his expression grew one of deep guilt and sadness. "She died again, Aya. You don't know it. You don't understand it. She died. I'm responsible for her death… again."

Aya's bare hand slapped Yohji in his face and two amethyst eyes glared angrily at him. "Stop drowning in this self-pity!" He panted slightly of this outburst and regained his self-control. "We don't belong in this dimension," he continued in his normal, emotionless tone. "What happened here isn't your fault. We're only here to solve a problem."

Yohji looked away. "Do you really think so?" He let his gaze wander through the gloomy place. "Let's go, then."

Aya helped the blond getting outside. "Where's your horse?" The blank stare Yohji gave him told the redhead he had no idea of a horse anymore. He searched briefly for traces of Yohji's horse, but it ended dead at a slaughterhouse. "Never mind, your house is dead." He motioned for his own horse and the chestnut obediently approached them. It took one look at Yohji, then gazed accusingly at Aya. The redhead could not help but to smile faintly at the chestnut's malcontent of having to carry Yohji.

The unsteady blond assassin needed some help with mounting the horse, but finally they were ready to ride back to the tower.

Ken, Aya sent his thought to the Earth Mage.

What is it, Aya? Do you have problems?

No, no problems. I have found Yohji. See if you can find something to get him sober within an hour. His horse glanced at him and snorted once. And fill a bath. Yohji needs a bath.

Understood, Aya.We'll see you here soon, then.

* * * * * * *

It was nearly midnight when the five assassins rode away from their house. If everything went well, they wouldn't return to it anymore. If everything went well, they would be back home in the dimension they belonged to. It was a rather appealing prospect to Keiko.

She glanced first at Aya, then at Yohji. The sight of the tall blond had frightened her, because she hadn't expected him to be in such a sorry state. But what surprised her even more was the mild, almost friendly way Aya had towards Yohji. And that scared her even more, because… Well, it was Aya, and he wasn't supposed to be friendly towards anyone, especially not towards Yohji. It was… scary.

The purple-haired assassin rode further on in silence. Too many things had happened today and there seemed be no time to deal with it all. Aya had told something about his past to her, they had received a mission and then Aya had thanked for her flower. How he even knew it was hers was a mystery for her. No, it wasn't really a mystery. Yohji hadn't been there, and Ken and Omi were not the kind of guys to do something subtile like that. She could've known he would figure it out before she put the azalea on his desk. Stupid, stupid her. But he had thanked her. He had liked it.

They suddenly stopped. Well, actually, for her, her horse suddenly stopped and she would've fallen of it if Aya hadn't seized for her arm to help her regain her balance. She blushed furiously when he touched her, and she was glad it was too dark for anyone to see it. When he was sure she wouldn't fall, Aya slided down from his own chestnut.

The rest dismounted as well and Omi walked quietly to tall redhead. "Is there something wrong, Aya-kun?"

"Iya," came the terse reply. "We walk the rest. Horses make too much noise. Besides, we won't need them anymore after we complete the mission." He turned to his own chestnut, removing the bridle and saddle, then gently pushed the horse towards the forest. The horse hesitated, seeming reluctant to leave his cold master and there was a communication between the two that didn't need any words. Keiko was touched by the care of the young man about the horses.

"Remove all the things of your horse. They'll follow the chestnut." Cold and distant as ever. Keiko sighed and did as she was told.

"Still a pity," Yohji murmeled, while he passed a hand over his forehead. The drink Ken had given the blond had made him sober, like Aya had requested. The after-effects of drinking too much, however, like having hangovers, weren't affected by the drink. Keiko giggled softly. Ken was sure sometimes a cruel guy, to do something like this.

"They would be in the way. They're better off now." Aya didn't even bother to add 'Let's go' to his short speech, but simply started walking towards the huge building. Keiko hobbled obediently after him, with Omi walking next to her.

"I wonder what these Shadow Wizards look like," Keiko confessed quietly to the genki young boy next to her.

"Probably just like us," Omi said confidently. "What else should they look like?"

Keiko didn't reply immediately. Glimpses of amorphous, spectral creatures dwelling in murky places flashed through her mind. They had no faces, no limbs, nothing that could identify them as human beings. She glanced at Omi, who still walked further with no trace of anxiety on his face. The others also appeared unconcerned, which meant only she had seen it. She bit her lip and hobbled a bit faster, until she walked next to Aya.

"Aya-kun?"

"Hm?"

"The creatures we're going to fight aren't human," she blurted out before she lost all her courage she had just scraped together.

Aya gave her a quick look. "How do you know that?" he demanded.

"I… eh… I've seen them." Now she had said the most important thing to Aya, bashfulness took her over again. "I… I caught a few glimpses of what they look like in my head."

"They could be wrong. We'll see when we're there. It's not like we can go back now." Keiko stared mutely to the ground. He didn't want to believe her. It hurt her deeply. Then she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and it wasn't Omi, who always used to that. She looked puzzled up and Aya looked as if he wanted to say something, but he finally decided to remain silent. He squeezed softly her shoulder, then walked further.

"They're all there," Omi pointed out when they were inside. "That makes things a lot easier. All we have to do is to head to that part of the building, burst into the room and eliminate them all."

"I don't understand it," Yohji confessed, squinting at the map. "Why would they all be in one room? And why that particular room?" Although the blond had been briefly informed about their mission, they didn't have the time to tell him everything.

"According to the information Manx had given us, the Shadow Wizards can't stand sunlight," Ken explained. "I think you can compare them to vampires. When they meet the sunlight… POOF! They're gone."

"It's because they are shadows," Keiko said quietly. From the moment they had entered the building, more glimpses had flashed through her mind and she was quite sure of it now. "When the sunlight falls upon them, they vanish, because then there's no longer a shadow." They all stared blankly at her. "At least… that's what I think will happen," she confessed timidly.

"Well, that makes things even easier," Yohji remarked sarcastically. "What are we waiting for?" He rose to his feet, idly testing the strength of his wire. "Let's bring in some light to those creatures."

"Wait!" Omi looked at the purple-haired assassin. "Do you know something else about them before we attack them?"

"Well…" She hesitated. "Their powers are about ten times greater at night than during the day."

"It doesn't matter," Aya decided. "We're going." He got also up and the rest followed his example. In complete silence, he led them to the room.

They were sinister, dark, and horrible. There were five of them, scattered through the room, mixing with the current shadows or glibbering over the walls and ceiling to dark places. There was hardly any light, but they made enough slithering noise to locate them.

The five assassins of Weiß stood transfixed to the ground. It was as if a spell had been cast upon them, that let fear creep into their hearts. But Aya shook it away and barked, "Keiko! Create light!" The Fire Mage lifted a hand and a flaring colomn of fire shot through the gloomy room.

Aya's voice brought her back to reality and she flushed slightly for not thinking of it herself. As she had explained not that long ago, the shadows couldn't stand light. And light was, after all, her element.

The Light Mage rose her hand as well, and a radiating glow surrounded her, intensifying with the second. The rest broke free from their spell as well, grabbing for their weapons or using their magic. Keiko let the bright light fill the room. She couldn't use it for offensive meanings, but she could make it impossible for the Shadow Wizards to find a shadowy place to hide.

The Shadow Wizards shrieked with pain, as light threatening to evaporate them. Aya continued casting beams of fire to the creatures, and the other three had started to use their powers as well. Trees, plants and forest animals appeared out of nowhere, the Air Mage tried to blow up walls and the Water Mage created huge streams to wash away the Shadow Wizards of the room. Keiko had nearly covered the whole room with her purple light and their opponents started to panic.

POOF! One by one, the dark Wizards exploded into nothingness. When the last one disappeared, a tear formed itself in the middle of the room. It was the portal they needed to go back to their own dimension.

It wavered and flickered. "Get through the portal," Aya commanded calmly at the rest. "I'll keep it open."

"Aya-kun!You can't do that! What if it closes before you can get through?" Omi protested.

"It won't. Move!" Without waiting for more protest, he pushed the young boy through the dimension portal. Omi stumbled into it and disappeared. "Ken. Your turn." Ken nodded and closed his eyes. Then he ran into the rip. Yohji followed as soon as the dark boy was gone.

"Keiko. Go."

She wanted to protest, but Aya's piercing eyes made it impossible for her to speak. She nodded slightly, bracing herself for the impact as she walked towards the dimension portal. Before she stepped through it, she turned around. "Be careful." She gave him a nervous, little smile, then let herself fall into the tear before he could reply.

* * * * * * *

There was a sun shining brightly on his face and Aya could hear faintly birds singing outside. He was lying on a bed and that, together with the pain in his head, brought memories back of his first day awake in a new environment.

But when he opened his eyes, he saw he was no longer in the luxurious room he had slowly grown accustomed to. Instead of dark green, velvet curtains, a marble floor and wooden desks, Aya looked at the austerity of his own room at the small flowershop. Strangely enough, it felt good to know he was back home.

There was a light tap at his door, followed by Ken's head sticking around the corner. "Ah, I see you've finally decided to wake up," the dark boy said lightly with a broad grin. "Are you planning on falling on your head every time you're travelling between two dimensions? Or at least be unconscious for several days?"

"Hn," Aya replied absently, pushing himself up. There appeared to be no serious injuries, only a throbbing headache. "What happened?"

"Well, like I said, you came back from that other dimension and you fell on your head. You probably suffer from a concussion, so you'd better stay in bed the coming week, perhaps two."

Aya scowled at him. He wasn't serious about that, was he? Ken saw the look on the redheaded assassin and came quickly in defense. "Hey, it's for your own good. If you don't take it easy, you'll probably suffer from headaches the rest of your life."

Aya decided he didn't care about headaches. He would not stay in bed for two weeks.

"Well, anyway, would you want me to get something?"

"No."

"You're sure? You've been unconscious for three days. You must be thirsty."

Ken was right, Aya grudgingly admitted. "Water."

"If you want water, you shall get water, my best friend," Ken said cheerfully, and a bit too flowery for Aya's taste. The stay in that other dimension definitely had some bad effects on the dark boy. The redhaired assassin hoped the rest would behave a bit more rationally.

The others were, to his relieve, indeed more rationally and even Ken wasn't that bad. As Omi explained, the soccerboy simply had some times of poetical ingenuity and he used that to annoy the others. The day passed on with short visits of the other members - all except Keiko came. Aya began to worry about the absence of the quiet, purple-haired girl and although he hated to admit it, he missed her.

The sun had already begun to set when he heard a timid tap on the door. Aya looked up, with a short "Come in" as invitation. The door opened a bit and Keiko slipped shyly inside.

"I um… I wanted to know how you were doing," she started apologizing, but Aya cut her off.

"It's alright. You're always welcome." Keiko blushed like a red rose and a bit unsure, she started fidgeting with her shirt. "You can take a seat, if you want," Aya suggested. After the story he had heard of Manx, even if it was in another dimension, had given the necessary explanation why Keiko was shy and quiet most of the time. He had chosen for it. She was literary beaten into it. But, Aya promised himself, he would teach her how to be open and less frightened.

"Uh… Hn…" Keiko nodded and scanned nervously the room. There were a few chairs, which he usually used for reading books, and she already moved to one of them to pull it closer to his bed. Aya, however, had other plans.

"You can sit here, if you want." He moved over to make some room for Keiko on his bed. She blushed even more, but she did as he suggested.

Silence fell in the room, since neither of them knew what to say. There was almost nothing to say. They could talk about the weather, but that'd provide a five-minute conversation. Besides, it was getting dark outside, so there was not much to talk about it.

"What really happened, Aya-kun?" Keiko suddenly asked in a subdued voice. "After I went through the dimension portal, I mean."

Aya stared in thought through the window. What had really happened? He wouldn't know. Omi had filled in on what happened when he fell through the dimension portal back in this world. But he had only a vague idea of what really happened.

"The portal was starting to close right after you disappeared," he finally said, letting his thoughts wander through the haze of memories. "It was sort of what I expected. From what I understand, dimension portals are instable and small. That's why I insisted on having you four going through it first. I wanted to have you on the safe side."

"There's no way out now," a hissing voice said from behind him. "The portal is closing and all your friends have left you behind. Now you will become one like us."

I turned around to watch at a dark, hazy figure standing right behind me. I recognised it as one of the Shadow Wizards, but that wasn't possible. They had been all destroyed. Right?

The creature laughed. "You fool. You think you can eliminate us. But as long as there is light, there are shadows. You provided a perfect hiding place for us, friend." More and more slithering and hissing sounds emerged from my own shadow.

I took a few steps back, drawing nearer towards the closing portal. It was futile, the Shadow Wizards simply moved along with me. I cast a glance over my shoulder. It wasn't completely futile. Yet. If I only could use my power to hold the portal open…

"Welcome to our group… Fire Mage!"

A Shadow Wizard leaped forward, but I quickly raised a shield of fire. Dimmed cries of agony and choking sounds reached my ears, but I ignored them. The portal was almost gone now. In a desperate attempt, I hurled all the power I possessed towards it, then pushed myself through it, with only one thought flashing through my mind.

Keiko…

"Aya-kun? Are you alright?" Two big, sad, red eyes looked up at him and Aya nodded once.

"I managed to use my power to hold the portal open," the redhead continued matter-of-factly. "I walked through it and I ended up here. That's what happened." He had decided she wasn't ready for the whole truth. In fact, he didn't know if he was prepared to handle what happened after he was left alone by his friends.

He pushed Keiko away, and laid down. "I'm tired. Leave me alone." A brief glance on Keiko's face told him all her hopes were suddenly crushed and he smiled faintly to himself. She had no idea yet what waited for her in her own room.

"Okay. Sleep well, Aya-kun." Disappointed, the purple-haired assassin turned around and shuffled away. Aya waited silently for a few moments, then got up to follow her.

He opened the door to her room and peeked inside. In her hands, she held a small flower arrangement, consisting of a red rose, a purple lilac, petunia, primrose, blue violet, hydrangea and the same azalea she had used for him. He was almost certain she would get the message.

Keiko slowly turned around to gaze up at him and he permitted himself to give a small smile while he walked slowly towards her. "I hope you don't mind," he said softly, reaching out to touch her hair. Keiko's eyes widened even more with surprise and a little, timid smile formed on her lips as she leaned closer to him.

"I don't mind it," she confessed quietly. "It's something I've always hoped for."

Then, without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. With great care and tenderness, he kissed her on her lips. Keiko turned bright red, but she did her best to copy his movements.

After what seemed an eternity, he forced himself to say the words that had been on his heart for a very long time - only he hadn't been aware of them. "I love you, Keiko."

She gave him a radiant smile and hugged him closely. "I… I love you too… Aya-kun."

Aya smiled, knowing that, after all those years of waiting in his own, bleak world, he had finally found his Light and love. He tucked a small flower in her purple hair, a Baby's breath, sign for everlasting love. And then he kissed her again.

T H E E N D

* * * * * * *

redrose = I love you

purplelilac = first love

petunia = your presence soothes me

primrose = I can't live without you

blueviolet = I'll always be true

hydrangea = thank you for understanding

azalea = take of yourself for me

baby'sbreath = everlasting love