Weiss II, Arc I

#1: Bishounen at the Koneko

By: Aries Draco

A/N: Yet another "new Weiss" story. I hope this will gain some people's interest. It sounds very much like a rip-off of the original at this point in time. I hope it'll get better. Please read and enjoy. I shall bore you no further with my author's notes.

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It was a busy day at the flower shop. As usual, there was a large crowd of girls at the storefront, drooling over the guys. Fujimiya Ran shook his head. Some things never change. Like girls and bishounen. What did change these past five years was his job and the management of the Koneko. It had been five years, five blissful years after Weiss disbanded. He was free to live life as a normal person again, together with Aya-chan. Speaking of which…

Aya was trying to shoo the girls out, unsuccessfully. Wisps of her dark blue hair had escaped form the braids they were in and she looked somewhat panicked. Desperately, she looked to her employees for help.

Shirokawa Setsuna sighed softly. He turned the hose he was operating onto the girls. "If you're not buying anything, go away!" he said firmly, spraying the now-hysterical bunch of girls. His dark green eyes were shards of ice.

"Hidoi, Set-chan!" chorused the girls, running away from the water. Fortunately for them, the spray died down.

Setsuna glared at the person who turned off the hose but did not comment. He retreated into the shop and nodded to acknowledge Aya's thanks. Then he started on a flower arrangement.

Nakata Kushin shut off the water, making sure the tap was tightly shut. He sighed as he watched his red-haired colleague start on the flowers. "Why must you always be so difficult, Setsuna?" he muttered, going in to get a mop to clean up the mess. He brushed a few stray strands of dark brown hair from his violet eyes and got to work.

Looking up, he noticed Ran standing in front of him. "Ah, Ran-san. Aya-san was wondering if you would drop by today," he commented. "Sakura-san is coming later too."

"Aa," replied Ran, walking past the young man and into the shop.

Kushin raised an eyebrow, sighing again.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think the two of them were twins, don't you, Kushin?" drawled a voice. "Fujimiya Ran and Shirokawa Setsuna."

Kushin wrinkled his nose. "Put out that cigarette, Yami-kun," he ordered without looking at the source of the voice. "It's bad for the flowers and worse for you. If Yue finds out…"

"If I find out what?" interrupted a new voice. It belonged to a fairly young looking boy with bleached blonde hair. The boy was currently glaring daggers at a tall, slim black-haired man who was trying very hard to hide the cigarette in his hand.

"Er… nothing, Yu-chan!" said Yorusora Yamifuu, laughing nervously, dropping the incriminating evidence and stepping on it. Blue eyes glared at him. "Honestly!"

Matsui Yue narrowed his eyes. "Really?" he asked suspiciously. "Then why do I smell cigarette smoke, Yami-kun?"

Kushin tried to stifle his laughter. It was hilarious. The older man was backing away from the boy who was starting to look very angry. Then again, an angry Yue was a scary Yue.

Ran broke off his conversation with his sister as an explosion of noise came from outside the shop. He looked out the glass window at the scene outside. Aya followed his gazed curiously, then burst out laughing.

Yue was currently pulling Yami's ear and dragging him toward the shop while lecturing him on the dangers of smoking. Kushin was doubled over with laughter, clutching onto the mop to keep himself standing. All in all, it was very funny.

Ran felt a smile tugging at his lips. Yes, how it reminded him of the happier times spent in this flower shop. However, the good memories always came with the bad ones. That was why he made sure that he had nothing to do with it. Aya-chan was the current owner of the shop and she was running it quite well. She even had four employees working under her. Of course, with bishounen, there would be girls so their business soared. It was great to see the flower shop flourish. Even if there still were four bishounen manning it, at least they were normal kids and not assassins using the shop as a front.

Setsuna glanced out the window, feeling a little annoyed at the distraction. At least he finished his arrangement. "Fujimiya-san, I shall be leaving early today, as arranged. Please take the payment for this bouquet from my pay," he said, getting up. Removing the apron he wore, he walked out of the shop and away.

Yue turned to look at the departing man. "Where's Setsuna running off to now?" he wondered aloud.

Yami took the chance to escape from the boy's grasp. "Just playing mystery man as usual," he remarked, rubbing his ear. "Idiot. I hope he remembers tonight's… party."

"Don't worry," said Kushin, all traces of mirth wiped off his face. "He hasn't failed us."

"Yet," added the older man. "We've only known him for what? Six, seven months?"

"I believe in him," said Kushin faintly. "I trust him."

"Kushin-kun, do you like Setsuna-kun?" asked Yue innocently.

Kushin spluttered, turning very red. "N… n… no! Of course not!"

Yami sniggered, making the poor youth blush even harder.

"Not in that way, I mean!"

Yue looked at the both of them curiously. "Why are you laughing, Yami-kun?"

"Nothing!" yelled Kushin, running back into the shop. He was so embarrassed.

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"Onee-sama, look. I brought you your favourite flowers, and I arranged them myself, too. I hope you will forgive me for what I have done and what I will do. I'm doing this for Mei and Mirai. Please forgive me, onee-sama." There was no answer; there never would be.

Setsuna stood up, leaving the flowers by the grave. He took one last look at the picture on it. It showed a young woman, smiling happily, auburn hair cut into a bob, violet eyes glowing with the joy of living. Setsuna turned away but he was unable to stop the single tear from falling. The band in his hair snapped, deciding it had enough stress, letting his hip-length blood-coloured hair loose.

"Gomen, onee-sama. I had to break my promise," he whispered.

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"Kyaaaaa! Don't… don't touch me!" screamed the poor girl.

"Go ahead, kid, scream all you like. Only the bugs and my friends can hear you now." The man laughed sadistically.

The room was dim, lit by a single fluorescent bulb. It was run down but served its purpose well enough. A prison cell, a cage.

"Kyaaaaa!"

The three men in the adjoining room looked up briefly from their game of cards.

"He's at it again," commented one.

"I hope he leaves her intact enough for the ransom call," said another, putting down a card.

"If he doesn't, we can send a finger in the mail or something,' concluded the third. "Ha! I've won!"

The lights flicked and went out totally.

"What the…?" he never finished his sentence. The deceptively thin wire cut into his throat and severed his vocal chords.

"What's going on?" cried another. Moonlight streaming in from one of the cracks in the wall reflected off wickedly sharp metal claws. The image was seared into his mind as the last he saw, ever. The claws buried themselves into him, ripping out his life.

The last standing man in the room pulled out his gun and fired wildly into the darkness. "Don't come near me! I'm armed!" he yelled.

"You're also shitting yourself in fear," said a cold but young voice. "Plus, you cannot aim. Unlike me…"

The man spun to face the voice, a moment too late. The crossbow bolt pierced his throat and he fell with a dull thud.

The girl in the other room opened her eyes as she felt the man being pulled off her. She felt the splatter of some warm liquid on her. At the same moment her eyes opened, the lights flickered back on. She looked down at her hand… and screamed. That startled the other person in the room with her. All she saw was blood-red hair and a pair of deep green eyes before she passed out.

Setsuna cursed. Hopefully, that girl had not seen his face. He pulled his katana out from the corpse and flicked the blood off it. Well, he had better check if the girl had been harmed. He flipped her over, then gasped sharply.

"Abyssinian!" came Yue's voice over the headset. "Are you done?"

Setsuna took a deep breath in an attempt to regain his composure. "Yes. I'll be out in a minute. Over and out, Bombay." He knelt down beside the girl and examined her more closely. "Onee-sama?" he whispered. "No." He shook his head and choked back a bitter laugh. He had better just get out of there lest his team-mates worry.

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"Setsuna…"

Dark green eyes glared up at the offender, giving him the look of death. "What do you want?" deadpanned Setsuna.

Kushin winced. "You seem to have become more listless as of late," he ventured. "Is something wrong? Maybe if you shared it…" He backed off when the redhead narrowed his eyes.

"You are being nosy, Kushin," he said flatly. "Leave me alone and don't try to meddle in my affairs. Get out."

The brunette bit his lip and left the room, closing the door behind him. He was only trying to help! Why did Setsuna have to be so cold towards everyone? He could clearly see something was troubling his younger team-mate but the stubborn youth just would not say anything. Something had been troubling Setsuna since the day he join. He remembered their first mission together a few months back.

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Blood sprayed his face as he dispatched another guard. "Abyssinian!" he called.

The redhead was standing in the sea of bodies. "All clear, Siberian," he replied, voice shaking slightly.

Kushin walked over to Setsuna. He could see the youth's hands shaking. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, placing his hands over the younger assassin's. "This is your first time, isn't it?"

Cold green eyes glared at him. "What does it matter to you?" hissed Setsuna. "I can kill and I will. All I'm after is the money. I don't need your pity nor your help, Siberian." He pushed his older team-mate away roughly.

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It stung.

"Kushin-kun?" asked Yue, startling him out of his thoughts. "We have a new mission. Please get Setsuna-kun."

"Aa," replied Kushin distractedly.

"Is something wrong, Kushin-kun?"

"No, not at all." The brunette faked a smile and walked away.

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To be continued…

A/N: If I get reviews, I will continue. If not, I shall assume this story sucks and leave it alone. I patiently await your opinions.