Chapter 2-
Ran looked at Aya as she stared at their family’s home. Her eyes were wide as she opened the iron gate. He could clearly see her amazement as she went up the cement walkway. He, himself, could vividly remember their mother working in the garden while he blew bubbles for Aya to chase. He heard Aya’s steps on the porch and inhaled sharply. "Are you sure you want to stay here?" he asked quietly.
Aya turned to him with a worried expression. "Are you okay?" she asked in the same tone. When he didn’t answer, she left the door and went to his side. "You’re remembering what happened, aren’t you?"
"I can’t forget," he said simply.
Both siblings turned to the street as a sleek roadster pulled up to their house. Ran protectively stepped in front of Aya as a tall blonde male got out of the car. Violet eyes narrowed as the stranger easily approached them. "Who are you?" Ran asked.
The blonde looked at the redhead through dark sunglasses. He would know that scowl anywhere. Shiori gave it to him constantly. "I’m the executor of this estate. Who are you?" he asked in his usual suave nature. His smile soon turned into a look of amazement when he saw innocent indigo eyes look over her brother’s arm.
Aya looked at the stunned man and stepped from behind Ran. "You must be Mr. Kudoh," she said politely. When Ran looked at her, she smiled. "I told you about him," she said softly. "He’s an old friend of Mama’s and he’s been looking after the house and our family’s finances."
Ran’s frown deepened as he turned critical eyes to the blonde. "I would think that any friends of Mother’s would be older," he said barely keeping the growl out of his voice.
Kudoh cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "Actually, my uncle and Shiori were close. Since I met her a few times, I took my uncle’s place," he said easily. He saw the way Ran’s glare hardened and removed his sunglasses. "I’m Yohji Kudoh."
Ran’s entire body froze as he looked into deep green eyes. He could see the same face from years back... only the stranger had short corn yellow hair, not the long honey blonde locks that were in front of him. Ran could remember the same smooth voice laughing carelessly with his mother and fought not to tremble.
Aya caught a glimpse of the catatonic state her brother was in and stepped around him. "I’m Aya, and this is Ran," she said politely. She shook his hand and cleared her throat when Ran still hadn’t moved. "I hope it won’t be too much of a bother. Us coming back to Tokyo, I mean."
Yohji waved his hand dismissively. "Think nothing of it. Shiori would be happy to see you both back where you belong."
Something about that statement struck Ran as odd. He blinked at Aya as she easily guided Yohji to the front door. "How would you know where we belong?" he asked rudely.
Both Aya and Yohji looked at him. Yohji looked from Aya to Ran and mused. Aya inherited Shiori’s innocence, while Ran seemed to embrace her temper. "Shiori would want her children to live in their rightful home," he said with a shrug.
Aya glared at Ran for a moment. "Mr. Kudoh, I don’t know what’s gotten into my brother. Please accept my apologies."
Yohji smiled and kissed her hand. "Call me Yohji. And there’s no need to apologize." He handed her the keys to the house and moved away from her. "In all honesty, I should be apologizing to you. I can’t stay to show you around. I own a club downtown, and we’re in the middle of a minor crisis."
Aya smiled as Yohji pulled out his wallet and gave her a business card. As she read the name of the club, her expression faltered a bit. "Garu? That’s a rather unusual name."
Yohji shrugged carelessly. "My partner’s a rather unusual man," he countered. When Aya looked at him, he smiled charmingly. "Feel free to come by at any time."
Indigo eyes ignored the glare Ran was giving her and Yohji. Something about the blonde, and the German name of the club bothered her. "I’m sure we will," she said with a pleasant smile.
The siblings watched each other as Yohji moved away from Aya. Ran couldn’t explain the odd feelings that were going through him as the blonde brushed past him. His jaw tightened and eyes narrowed as he recalled the name of his mother’s friend. "Yotan," he said lowly.
Yohji paused. He didn’t expect Ran to remember him. He covered his eyes with this glasses again and looked at the redhead. As eyes the color of amethyst glared at him, he smiled. "That was my uncle’s nickname," he lied easily. When Ran’s frown deepened, he didn’t waver from his relaxed stance. "You know, you’d be great at the club. You wouldn’t be looking for a job by any chance, would you?"
"No," Ran growled.
"Ran," Aya hissed as she approached him. She stepped around him and looked at Yohji. "Again, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into my brother."
"Don’t apologize for me," Ran said hotly.
Yohji looked at the pair, knowing that things were going to become very interesting. "Don’t worry about it Aya-chan. There’ll be a day when Ran will apologize to me all on his own," he said looking directly into violet eyes.
Ran scoffed and went to the house. "Hell will freeze first," he said over his shoulder.
Aya was about to scold him again when she felt a strong hand on her arm. "I think he likes me," Yohji said in a slightly awed tone. He then winked at her and smiled. "Famous last words Ran," he called out. When Ran turned to glare at him again, he nodded at Aya and went to his car.
"I don’t believe you," Aya said as she went to where Ran was standing. As he looked at her she shook her head and sighed. "Yohji is simply an old friend trying to help us out."
"I don’t believe that for a second," Ran countered as he snatched the keys out of Aya’s hand. Before she could protest, he had the door open and was inside of their family’s home. "There’s something about him I don’t trust."
Aya watched him as he took off his shoes and went deeper inside. She had never seen him react so strongly to anyone. The young woman inhaled slowly, bracing herself for what could be a rather nasty shouting match. "Something about Yohji, or about yourself?" she asked quietly.
And right on cue, chips of amethyst glared at her. "What?" Ran growled.
While normally, Ran’s tone would scare her, something inside was giving her the strength to continue. "I have never seen someone get you this riled up in such a short amount of time. Maybe he’s right and you do like him." At her brother’s scoff, Aya frowned and followed him down the hall. "It is possible Ran. You’re only human."
He quickly turned on her. "No I’m not," he said clearly. "I’m a monster Aya. I cannot love, or be loved in return." His eyes took in the way she glared at him and his jaw tighten.
"What about me Ran?" she asked as tears filled her eyes. "I trust you. I love you. What does that make me?"
The answer spilled out before he could stop it. "A damnable fool." His eyes widened as he heard his voice. Never in Aya’s entire life had he even thought of something so cruel. It didn’t take him by surprise when her hand connected with his face.
Aya roughly wiped the tears out of her eyes and glared at him. "If I am such a fool, I’m sorry for unconvincing you," she snapped before turning and walking back to the door.
"Aya," Ran called as he moved to go after her. Just as she reached the door, he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "Aya, listen...."
She pulled her arm out of his grasp and glared at him. "No, you listen," she said in a hiss. "You are my older brother. We are all we have left. There’s no one else Ran. So, please forgive me if I think that you have a right to be happy."
He lowered his head and took a slow breath. "I don’t think I have that right," he said in a whisper.
Aya looked at him and wiped her eyes. She could tell this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. The way his shoulders slumped told it all. There was also the way he hid his face by using the shadows of his hair. She sighed and looked at her watch. "You have to report in soon," she said, changing the subject. When he looked at her, she painted a smile on her face. "Let’s just get my things, and then you can go."
"I don’t know Aya," he blurted out. He averted his eyes to the side when he caught a glimpse of her confused expression. "I don’t know about love. I know possession. You’re mine, and I’d kill anyone that would try to take you away from me."
She reached out and touched the cheek she had slapped. "You don’t have to explain yourself to me Ran." She moved away from him and started for the car they rented.
Ran could only watch her as she easily climbed across the passenger seat and popped the trunk open. She always amazed him. She took care of him when he wouldn’t. When the children of the orphanage would back away from him in fear, she would ease everyone’s fears. Part of him hated the thought of someone as caring and selfless as his sister leaving the church. But his possessive side was thrilled that she still wanted to be near him.
The Vampir was brought out of his thoughts by Aya’s laugh. As he looked at his sister, he saw her talking with a young man. From a distance, he could see messy chocolate colored hair, a lean athletic build, and a genuinely friendly smile on the stranger. Violet eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. Something was off. The Hunter in Ran couldn’t deny it. The stranger stood completely relaxed with a large dog at his knee. From the shape of his legs alone, Ran would say that he was either a track runner, or s soccer player.
Aya laughed as she looked over at her brother. A sigh escaped her as she recognized the assessing look Ran wore. "My brother’s a little over-protective. But a good guy when you get to know him," she said quietly. She then turned to Ran as he stalked over to her. "Ran, this is Ken Hidaka. He lives right across the street."
Ran looked into large coffee colored eyes. "This isn’t across the street," he said coldly.
Ken’s smile faltered a bit. "Yeah, I know. But Siberian and I were just coming back from our run and saw Aya," he explained. His eyes glanced at the suitcase the young woman had been trying to get out of the car. "I stopped by to help." Before either Fujimiya could say anything, he easily pulled out the piece of luggage.
Aya smiled happily and gently nudged Ran when he started to growl. "Thank you so much," she said to Ken. She looked at Ran and frowned. "Be nice," she hissed.
Ran frowned at her before going to pull out Aya’s other two suitcases. As he placed them on the sidewalk, he glared at Ken. "Thank you, but you’re not needed."
Aya shook her head in disbelief. She was used to Ran being cold towards people, but she had never seen him so rude. "Actually, since you have to work, and I don’t know where too much of anything is, I was thinking that maybe he could show me around."
Ken looked at the siblings and inhaled when he saw the glaring match they were having. He turned his eyes to the Husky at his feet and shrugged.
Finally, Ran growled and gave Aya a wad of yen. "Be careful," he said before getting into the car.
Aya could only giggle as Ran sped off. She looked at Ken’s wide eyes and shrugged. "Like I said, he can be over-protective."
"Over-protective?" Ken echoed. "He seemed like he’s two steps from locking you in a dragon guarded tower."
"Don’t give him any ideas, please," she laughed. She then grabbed two of the lighter bags and started for the house.
Ken smiled as he watched Aya go up to the house. He looked at his dog and mused. "Yohji and Schu did say they’d be interesting," he said grabbing the last suitcase.
@--->---
Ran let out a sigh as he pulled up to the cemetery his new team was based out of. His eyes caught a glimpse of the woman that was now his superior and frowned. She was a small voluptuous redhead that stood just outside of the house on the main grounds. Ran got out of the car and made his way over to her.
She allowed a small smile to cross her face. "Good evening Ran," she said ignoring the cold look he was giving her. "I take it Aya is settled in."
"She’s fine," Ran said simply. He didn’t want to think about Aya. He never did before a hunt. She was too much of an innocent to be tainted with his work. Ran turned his attention to the woman in front of him. "You’re Manx?"
Viridian eyes glittered as she nodded. "Yes, I am. The rest of your team, as well as contacts are inside." She motioned for him to follow her, and turned to the large house. "We were never told of your living arrangements. Will you be staying here or with your sister?"
"Here’s fine," Ran stated as he started for the place that would be his new residence. He could feel mildly curious eyes on his back as he easily walked inside.
Manx came up behind him as the entire front room paused. Inside were two women and five men. "Everyone," Manx started as she moved around Ran. "This is our newest member, Ran Fujimiya. Abyssinian."
Violet eyes looked across the room and saw a number of raised eyebrows and frowns. His attention was caught by a man with cinnamon colored hair, and teal eyes. "What?" he asked, barely keeping the growl out of his voice.
He shrugged as he looked directly into violet eyes. "I’ve heard stories about you," he said simply. "I thought you would be bigger."
One of the women frowned openly. "Shut up Yuushi," she said standing. She looked at Ran with deep blue eyes and bowed her head. "Hello Ran. I’m known as Queen. You’ll be under my direct command."
Ran nodded as he continued to take in the appearance of his new team.
Queen glanced over her shoulder, to the man with short blue hair. "From left to right, we have Botan and Birman. With Manx, they give us our information and keep the lines to Kritiker open. Next we have Masato, Ryuichi and Naru. Don’t let Naru’s age fool you. He was raised by Kritiker, and is an excellent Hunter."
"As long as it doesn’t interfere with my classes," the orange haired teen said happily.
Queen sighed as she shook her head. "Naru is also taking classes at Tokyo U.," she added dryly. "And finally, we have Yuushi."
Teal eyes sparkled as Yuushi folded his arms over his chest. "So, now that we’re all introduced," he said, still never taking his eyes off of Ran. "How many of those stories are true?"
"What stories have you heard?" Ran asked in turn.
"That most of the teams you’ve worked with would rather have killed you."
"Knight, that was uncalled for," Ryuichi scolded. He adjusted his glasses before looking at Ran with knowing green eyes. "You don’t have to tell us about that. The Crashers unit is more open than most of the other teams Kritiker has. We welcome your addition."
Ran nodded as he looked Ryuichi over. He was lean, with an almost lanky build. But from the neat business like appearance he wore, and by the way he spoke, he was the team’s tactician. Ran glanced at his side and saw Manx nod. "Which way is my room?" he asked.
Naru nearly jumped to his feet. "I can show you. It’s right across from mine."
Manx fought a smile as Ran followed the eighteen year old out of the room. Out of everyone in the room, she knew Naru would be the safest. He seemed to have the same pure and innocent heart that Aya did, and that would protect him from the strange half-breed. "Despite what you may think of his attitude, he is good," she said to the others.
"If he’s so good, why keep moving him around? Why not make him a solo operative?" Masato asked as he lit a cigarette.
"Ran Fujimiya is dangerous. If left to his own devices, there would come a time when you all would have to hunt him," Manx confessed.
Botan looked at the three confused faces and cleared his throat. "Let’s just say, we’re keeping an enemy closer."
