title: Precious
author : cluelesspsycho
fandom: Weiss Kreuz
characters/pairing: Crawford/Ran, Ken/Aya-chan
rating: NC17
warning : AU Fantasy, a little crack, OOCness, OC, weirdness, slash, cross-dressing, some kinks, pirates, guest appearances, lemons, I'm sure there are more.
disclaimer : I own nothing but my crazy writing talent.
summary : Fujimiya Aya was ordered by the Emperor to marry Count Crawford, a nobleman from the other side of the ocean. However, Ran, her big brother, heard that Count Crawford was a cruel man with strange gift. He didn't want Aya to suffer. Ran arranged for Aya to escape with Ken, and showed up at the wedding as the bride.
Author notes: ATTENTION! ATTENTION! This is the most important part of this story. This story is written for spiritaway, as a gift for her upcoming wedding showers her with sparkly confetti and rose petals

Special credits go to seraphimgrace for the basic idea and the beta, and Hanna FL for her endless inputs.

Part One: The Count from the Other Side of the Ocean

"He's ugly!" Fujimiya Aya exclaimed loudly.

That got Ran, her big brother, to lift his face from the book he was reading and turn his head to look at Aya. Aya was standing near the window, looking out, using a telescope Ran got as a gift from one of his father's many trips to Edo. With the telescope, they could see as far as the sea shore where ships and boats docked.

They were in Ran's room, on the second floor of the Fujimiya's house. It was a little after lunch time, Ran was having some spare time before his kendo practice, and as usual, Aya gave him company. Ran did not mind that. He loved Aya so dearly. Besides, they would not be able to spend time together in the very near future, as Aya was engaged to be married- With the gaijin she was looking at through the telescope now.

"Let me see," Ran got up from his sitting, the fabric of his hakama rustling with his movements. He put the book neatly on the low table, and walked towards Aya.

"I'm scared, aniki," Aya squeaked like a wounded mouse as she handed the telescope to Ran. "He's big, he must be as tall as the house… and he's hairy and his hands are very big…"

Ran put his palm on Aya's back, hoping that his smile was reassuring enough. "You'll be fine, Aya-chan, you'll be fine."

Aya batted her eyelashes, as if fighting back tears which had suddenly started to form at the corner of her eyes. "Aniki, he's really scary… I don't want you…"

Ran put a finger on Aya's lips to stop her from babbling uncontrollably like she always did when she was nervous. "Shush now, we have planned everything, and you'll be happy and that is what's important the most."

"Thank you, Aniki," Aya threw her body to Ran and hugged her brother tightly and began to sob quietly.

Ran cuddled Aya's head, breathing slowly, making his best effort to calm down and not give away his own feelings to Aya. Everything was planned, he had seen into every detail to make sure that the plan was flawless. It was Aya's happiness that he concerned the most and he would make sure that was what was going to happen.

After Aya had calmed down, with his left arm still embracing Aya, Ran lifted the telescope to his right eye and peeked through the cylinder. He saw a huge ship he had never seen before, with flags he had never seen before too. He could make out the name of the ship, though. Persephone. He had to admit that the ship was beautiful, as well as sturdy enough to ride the waves, his heart raced at the thought of traveling with her.

Then he shifted his gaze to the group of people at the shore. There were two groups, differed by the way they dressed. The first group was Lord Reiji from the Takatori Castle and Fujimiya Senior, Ran's father, and their respective guards and servants, all wearing assortment of kimonos and hakama and haori and zori with their hair done in complicated styles. No one remember his father's first name, he had always been called Fujimiya, as far as Ran remembered that Ran suspected that his father did not really have a surname, or a family name, in that matter. Only when Ran was born, the name Fujimiya became a family name, and his father became Fujimiya Senior. No one protested, because Fujimiya Senior was very rich as he was a high merchant who had lots of deals with the Emperor, making him as respectable as Lord Reiji, their ruler.

The other group was the people from the Persephone ship. They were westerners. Barbarians, Ran thought sourly. They wore pants and coats and shirts and boots. Some of them had their hair tied at the nape of their necks, the rest were bald. One man dressed meticulously, his pants made of suede, his coat fine wool and his shirt silk. His leather boots were polished perfectly that the leather glinted under the sun, just like his diamond-studded buttons along the shirt. He was wearing a pair of glasses, and his hair was combed back neatly, not too short, but not long enough to have to be tied.

And he was not ugly.

He was handsome, with chiseled feature and golden, smart eyes and thin lips that did not seem to move at all when he spoke to Lord Reiji and Fujimiya Senior. He was tall, and Ran guessed that he was muscular enough beneath the layers of clothes, yet he did not look bulky. And his hands looked really strong as he shook hands with Lord Reiji and Fujimiya Senior.

Ran felt an uneasy churn in his stomach, reminding himself, reminding him that Count Crawford, no matter how handsome he was, was still a barbarian. And a barbarian did not deserve his sister. Even if it was the Emperor who ordered Fujimiya Aya to marry the count from the other side of the ocean. How could the Emperor order such a horrible things? Aya-chan deserved a better husband, someone who respected her and knew how to protect her and take a very good care of her.

Ran lowered the telescope to stop his mind from wandering aimlessly. He put them on the windowsill, then he ran his palm along Aya's long, braided hair. "You want to come to kendo practice with me?" he asked softly.

Aya lifted her face, her eyes had suddenly grown bright like the sun in the middle of a day. "Yes, aniki, yes," she nodded with an enthusiasm of a five years old given a candy, as she let go of her brother.

"I'll fetch Momoe-san," said Ran, "while you tidy up your hair."

"Aniki!" Aya pounced Ran's arm playfully. She was blushing deeply, and Ran thought that she looked really pretty like that. He always thought that it was good that Aya was the pretty side of their parents' offspring. As a girl, Aya had just the right skin complexion, dark eyes, and dark hair and lips the color of rose petals. She had an average build which made her look perfect in layers and layers of kimono.

Meanwhile, Ran looked completely different. His skin was even paler than Aya's, yet he had hair the color of blood, and violet eyes. Fortunately, he was a boy that nobody looked twice at him, or gave him more thoughts than just 'he looks rather weird, don't you think?' He was also much taller than most people, skinny, yet his fingers, just like his skin, were like baby's, soft and delicate, as if they were created to hold paper fans and not to swing a sword. Yet he could use a sword very well, and he loved the sword arts, that was why he never missed his kendo practice.

Leaving Aya to tidy up her hair, Ran went to fetch Momoe-san. Momoe-san was the old woman who had been their nanny. Ran did not recall having seen Momoe-san looking younger than she looked now, or older. Momoe-san always looked exactly like that, for as long as he remembered, a short, chubby woman who wore dark kimono all the time, loved tea and had a cat as fat as she was. Ran also did not remember the cat to be younger or older and he did not remember when Momoe-san was without her cat. He found Momoe-san and her cat in the kitchen as usual, Momoe-san nursing a cup of tea, the cat snoring at her feet, oblivious to the busy kitchen around them. The air was thick with delicious aroma of food being cooked.

"Aya-chan wants to go to the kendo practice with me," said Ran, attracting attention to some of the servants and cooks. Aya was planned to get married in seven days' time, she was not supposed to leave the house and play around anymore. Yet, as long as Momoe-san was with her, nobody may have a say about it.

"All right, my child," said Momoe-san, putting the cup on the table. "Can you carry little Shiro for me?"

Shiro the cat was barely little. He was about seven kilos in weight and was a pain to carry around. Yet, without any protests, Ran crouched down to get the cat from the floor, and carried him as he walked back to his room with Momoe-san.

Aya was ready, her hair was redone in several ties, secured with colorful ribbons, like a Heian princess, and she added several more layers kimonos to the ones she had already worn. She smiled broadly as she saw her brother and nanny. Ran handed Shiro to her, and she hugged the spoiled beast affectionately. "How's your day, Momoe-san?" he heard Aya speak cheerfully as he went to get his bag and other things he needed for the kendo practice.

The dojo was owned by an old warrior named Sion. He was not a samurai, he was a ronin, a warrior without master, as he always claimed himself to be. Yet he was a very skillful swordsman that lots of young men admitted themselves to the dojo, in the hope they could learn Sion's expertise and become an even better warrior than he was. Every year, only a few survived the Spartan-like, tough training. Ran was one of them. He really liked Sion, and he really liked kendo , and the fact that he also did not come from a samurai family made him even more eager in becoming the best at the dojo.

When they entered the dojo, there was only one student practicing with Sion's assistant. Sion was sitting by the wall, paying attention, shouting orders between the loud tack tack sound of wooden swords hitting each other. Ran bowed at him curtly, so did Aya and Momoe-san, then the two females and the cat went to take their places at the far corner of the dojo, while Ran prepared himself.

"Isn't she supposed to stay at home until the wedding?" asked Sion as Ran sat down next him.

"Yes, but she is bored, and besides, she's accompanied by Momoe-san, the cat and me," Ran answered curtly.

"I heard the Count had arrived today."

"Yes. He will be staying at the Takatori Castle until the wedding day, then he will stay with us until they leave to go back to his country."

"It's a pity, isn't it?" Sion rubbed his chin. "Aya-chan is such a rare beauty and we're going to lose her to some barbarians. It's a big waste, I tell you."

Ran steeled his heart when he said, "It's the Emperor's order."

"Yes, and the one getting the most benefit from this is the Emperor himself," Sion commented, then he yelled, "Ippon!"

The two fighters stopped, and bowed to each other and then to their teacher.

From across the room, Ran saw Aya's face lit up with the sun, the moon and the stars when Sion's assistant, Hidaka Ken, took off his mask. Once again Ran vowed that he would do everything, at any cost, to keep Aya's happiness eternal.

tbc