Disclaimer: Kitai, Hotaru, and Kuri are mine. So is the Perfume Shop. The
guys are not. I don't even own the computer I'm writing this on.
A/N: thoughts This is a story I started writing awhile ago but am just now putting up. Mainly 'cause I just found it again.
=+=+=
"YOHJI!!!" Ken Hidaka yelled from outside the oldest Weiss member's room. "Hurry up or you'll be late!"
Yohji groaned, but he got out of bed. After getting dressed he walked downstairs to find three people in the kitchen. Aya Fujimiya was drinking tea as he read the paper and Ken was pacing around the table, checking his watch every so often. The third person, Omi Tsukiyono's twin sister, Kuri Takatori, was frantically trying to finish her homework.
"Hello everyone," Yohji Kudou greeted as he grabbed a few pages of the newspaper out of Aya's hands, ignoring the redhead's glare. "Why am I up so early?" He asked around a yawn as he leaned against the counter and opened the paper.
"You're picking Kitai up from the airport," Ken answered. Yohji grinned. Finally! He had missed Kitai a lot in the three and a half months she had spent visiting friends in Italy. He had never thought he would miss his cousin. However, after an entire summer with just Weiss and Omi's sister, he wanted the blonde back.
"Calm down, Kidate[1], her plane doesn't arrive for another two hours . . . you woke me up at 5:00 in the MORNING!?!" Yohji yelled as realization sunk in.
Ken glared at him. "I do NOT have a temper! OMI!!!! GET DOWN HERE NOW!!" Yohji raised his eyebrow at the younger assassin. "What?" Ken asked. His only response was Yohji shaking his head. When Omi finally arrived in the kitchen Ken was ready to strangle him.
Aya, Yohji, and the twins left for the high school thirty minutes later. When they arrived, Omi and Kuri got out and headed for the brick building. "Bye guys," Yohji called. "We'll be here to pick you up at 2:00, okay?" After they nodded he drove off.
|~|~|~|
"Come on, Aya," Yohji said, trying to convince the temperamental redhead to accompany him into the airport. Aya just shook his head and held onto Yohji's car tighter.
"I'm not going in there!" Aya said for the third time in five minutes. Earlier, they had agreed that Aya would wait in the car while Yohji collected his cousin. Once they arrived at the airport, however, Yohji had changed his mind. Finally running out of patience, the older man grabbed Aya's wrist and pulled him out of the vehicle. "Don't touch me!" Aya growled after being propelled into his teammate's chest. When Yohji didn't release his wrist, Aya hit him.
|~|~|~|
"Hey Yohji! Hi, Aya!" Kitai Kudou greeted as she left the terminal. She purposely ignored the state the two young men were in. Both were covered in bruises and scratches, their hair was disheveled and their clothes were torn. "Did you miss me?" she asked as she hugged Yohji. She briefly put her hand on Aya's shoulder in greeting, knowing he hated to be touched.
"Yes," Yohji answered. "But, why didn't you ask how we got hurt?" he mock- pouted.
Kitai grinned and answered, "I figured you touched and/or hit Aya. My suitcase is at Baggage Claim #3."
"She knows us too well," Yohji announced to no one in particular. Aya grunted.
When they arrived home, everyone was waiting. "Omi! Kuri! You got out of school! How have you been?" Kitai exclaimed as she tossed her bag into a corner.
"They got into a fight," Ken told her. It was only then that she noticed Omi's black eye and the Band-Aid on Kuri's cheek. "Not each other," he continued. "Someone was picking on Kuri and Omi couldn't handle it. When one of the guys hit him, Kuri attacked. The principal wondered where they had learned to fight like that."
"Guess what I learned about in school today!" Kuri said, touching Aya's inner thigh. He began backing away.
"What?"
"Sexual harassment!"
"Stop touching me."
"Why?" she asked, as if she didn't already know.
"I don't like it," Aya told her.
Fifteen hours, two meals, and two LONG summer stories later, Kuri and Omi were curled up on the armchairs, sleeping. Ken was asleep on the couch. Next to him, Aya was beginning to find it difficult to stay awake. Couldn't be from getting up at three o'clock this morning he thought sarcastically, yawning. Or not falling asleep until midnight last night
Two hours later, everyone but Kitai was asleep. I hate jetlag she thought to herself. Then she looked up and laughed. The twins were both curled up on their respective chairs, but Yohji, Ken, and Aya were sharing the couch. Ken had curled into a ball on the far side of the couch and Yohji was stretched out on the remaining area. Somehow during the night Aya had ended up lying on top of Yohji. Well she thought. This is going to be interesting when everyone wakes up.
|~|~|~|
The next morning was interesting, to say the least. Aya was ready to kill Yohji for touching him until it was pointed out that Aya was on top. Everyone was still tired, but since it was a Friday, they had things to do.
"Do we have to go?" Omi whined as Ken poured his third cup of coffee. When he received three identical glares from his guardians, he grabbed his backpack.
"Come on, Kitai, don't you want some coffee?" Ken asked as he held it under her nose. Kitai grimaced and moved away.
"That stuff tastes like crap," she informed him. When he didn't back off, she began growling at him. "I told you, Ken, stay away from me with that stuff!"
"Why? Don't you like it? It tastes so good!" he said, trying to convince the girl to drink it. "Just one li- AAHHHH!!!!!" He began screaming as Kitai grabbed his cup and dumped the cooling coffee all over her tormenter.
"I thought I told you not to do that," Aya said to Kuri, who was rubbing his thigh again.
"You still haven't given me a real reason so it doesn't count!" she exclaimed happily. "So . . . why should I stop?"
"Because . . . it's sexual harassment," he finished lamely. Luckily for him, she got bored and stopped.
"AHH!! Put me DOWN!!" Aya looked up to see Ken holding a very angry Kitai over his head. Ken had several bruises from where he had been attacked with the emptied coffee cup, but that didn't seem to be affecting him in the least.
"Only because you asked so nice," he told her, tossing her. She landed on top of Aya, sprawled over him. Aya glared at her before telling her to get up. She did, but when he began yelling at her for knocking him over, she got angry.
"Of course! I can't believe I was so stupid as to touch the famous Aya Fujimiya. What could I have possibly been thinking. Forget the fact that I had no control over what direction I was going in. Please, forgive the crimes I accidentally committed!" she screamed at him. Yohji and the twins stepped back. Yohji because he had seen her this angry very few times, but those times had been scary. The twins stepped back because if Yohji was unwilling to go near his cousin, there had to be something more to it than just a yelling match. "If you can't handle getting hit every once in awhile, you're more uptight than I thought possible! Why don't you pull the stick out of your butt so we can go on with life!?"
"Pull the-" Aya repeated before completely blowing up. "You're the one that's making it hard to live here. Everything was fine until you came. You think just because you're related to Yohji you can get away with yelling at me?! Why don't you go back to wherever you came from? Yohji's the ONLY one that would miss you!!"
"AYA!!!" Yohji interrupted.
"What?" Aya screamed, still angry.
But he received no response. Kitai walked back to her room and closed the door. No running, no slamming doors he thought, beginning to get worried. He sighed in relief when she exited wearing her work apron and smiling. "I'll open up today," she announced as she headed downstairs.
"Well," Ken said, breaking the tense silence, "Come on you two, it's time to go to school. I'll be taking your car today Yohji." At Yohji's nod, Ken led the twins to the garage.
When they got home that afternoon everything was almost back to normal. Ken and Aya were watering the flowers, Kitai was working the cash register, and Yohji was pretending to be working. The only difference was that instead on the group's usual talking, laughing, and joking, there was silence and tension that could be cut with a knife. Aya and Kitai stayed on opposite ends of the shop from each other, and Yohji was obviously not happy with either one of them. Omi changed and started helping with the shop while Kuri shut herself in her room.
Before anyone could question her behavior, the after-school rush began. It still amazed Weiss how many girls came for them, but the new amazement was how many guys were now stopping by after school, hoping to get a glimpse of Kuri or Kitai. Kitai stayed strictly business the entire time, no matter how flattering the comments were. No one noticed how, with every comment, a certain redhead got more and more angry.
After a week, things were finally returning to normal. Kitai and Aya had been forgiven by everyone but each other. The guys were amazed that they had made it through almost a month without a single mission.
|~|~|~|
"Do you have any dying flowers today?" Ken looked up, hearing a familiar but unknown voice. Ah he thought. It's the owner of the perfume shop next door. Yohji brought out two boxes of wilting flowers and grinned.
"So, next week?" he asked, obviously trying to finish an earlier conversation.
"Sorry to disappoint you," she answered, "but I told you last month I'm looking for someone," she stopped and looked around Kitty in the House, almost as if she was looking for something. ". younger," she finished, picking up one of the boxes and heading for the door.
"Hotaru! Wait up!" Kitai yelled, running downstairs. Ken thought his eyes would pop out of his head. Kitai always wore tight pants and tanktops, but that hadn't prepared any of the Weiss members for the sight of Yohji's cousin wearing only a towel. Yohji covered Omi's eyes and turned around. Ken decided to follow his example. "I saved these from Omi's wreaths," Kitai said, handing Hotaru a bouquet of wilted yellow roses.
"Um . . . thanks," Hotaru muttered, looking at the flowers.
"You said awhile ago that you wanted yellow roses. Omi likes using them for the wreaths, so I took some when he wasn't paying attention. I gotta go!" the blonde announced as she turned to go back upstairs.
The red-haired girl shook her head at her friend. "Welcome back!" she called to Kitai's retreating back. She was rewarded with a tiny wave and a slammed door.
"_What_ was that all about?" Ken demanded. Hotaru Kitada looked at him questioningly. "We could have had customers! She wasn't even dressed . . . she knows better!! What was she thinking!?!"
"She was thinking she'd better give these to me before she either forgot or the flowers were too dry for me to use," Hotaru answered. At Ken's still blank and angry look she sighed, "Help me bring these boxes next door and I'll explain."
Ken was grinning when he returned. "Well," Yohji drawled, pulling out a cigarette, "that must have been some explanation."
Ken was about to reply when a completely dressed Kitai walked downstairs. When she saw Yohji smoking, she grabbed an empty pot and threw it at him. "I told you! No smoking around the flowers!" she announced as she threw the cigarette out an open window.
"It wasn't the explanation. That was boring." Ken finally said. At Yohji's look, he continued, "I'm not going to be able to work on Friday. I have a date!"
|~|~|~|
"Where are you going?" Kuri asked as Ken straightened his tie. Again. He picked up a small bundle of flowers from his dresser and looked at the 17- year-old.
"I," he said, smiling, "am going on a date." Before she could respond he walked downstairs and next door. He stood in front of the perfume shop for five minutes before knocking.
"Hi . . . " Hotaru said after she opened the door. Ken just stared. She was wearing a forest green evening gown. Her red hair was piled on top of her head and held with diamond clips. She's . . . beautiful he thought, finally stuttering through a greeting and handing her the flowers.
Ken got home that night close to midnight. Only Yohji was still awake. "Did you have a good night?" he asked, leaning against the staircase. When Ken nodded, Yohji sighed. "I guess that's good, but I wouldn't suggest going out with her again. That's Manx's sister. Well, half-sister," Ken was stunned, but Yohji was right. If Manx found out he was dating her sister, Ken would be dead in no time.
After he told her that the next day, Hotaru laughed. "She won't kill you," Hotaru said between giggles. "If you die, it'll be because of your job."
"I'll die because I work in a flower shop?"
"Wrong job."
"Huh? . . . OH! How . . . ?"
"My sister gives you the assignments, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Um . . . wanna go out again next week?"
"Where are we going?" she asked. Noticing his confused look, she continued. "So I'll know what to wear."
"Oh! Something casual, I can't afford too many more formal dinners," he told her. "So, next Friday?" Hotaru nodded her agreement and Ken returned to Kitty in the House.
|~|~|~|
It had been two weeks since that conversation. Ken and Hotaru were going steady, Aya and Kitai still avoided each other, and the twins were preparing for Thanksgiving Break [2]. Yohji . . . was just Yohji. All seven of them were at Kitty in the House talking as Yohji opened the door. "I know those legs!" he exclaimed, pulling the door up. "It's Manx! Long time, no see."
Manx nodded hello to everyone and headed up the stairs. "You have three new members," she told them. After waiting for them to finish asking why and guessing who they were, Manx spoke again. "The new members of Weiss are . . . Kuri Takatori, Hotaru Kitada, and Kitai Kudou." Manx smiled at the looks on the original Weiss members' faces. Omi was congratulating his sister, Ken was hugging Hotaru, Yohji had his arm around his cousin, and Aya was glaring at her. Oh she thought. Aya doesn't want to work with them. I wonder why. Aya turned his glare to Kitai, and Manx had her answer. I've got to do something about that she thought. If I don't then during the next mission they'll be trying to kill each other instead of the target.
Two days later she had a solution. "Carnival tickets?" Yohji asked, not quite believing his ears. She had told him that it would get everyone used to spending time together. "But a CARNIVAL?!? Besides, you said you wanted to get Aya and Kitai alone together; how does that work out? And who won't have a date."
Manx smiled, she knew he would ask. "First of all," she started, "a carnival was the first thing I could get tickets for. Second, Aya and Kitai get along with -to some extent- everyone but each other. Everyone's already used to Aya, and Kitai is friends with everyone but Aya. They need to get over their little argument if they're going to work together. Third, I'll be going too."
All Yohji could say was "Oh."
|~|~|~|
"No!" Aya said. He had just been told that he and Kitai were to spend the day with each other. Just each other. He looked at the 18-year-old. She had her head against the window, an almost wistful expression on her face.
"What are you thinking about, Itóko [3]?" Yohji asked from the front seat. Kitai smiled at him. He almost always called her 'cousin' instead of her by real name.
"Nothing important," she said softly, glancing at Ken and Hotaru before quickly looking away. Yohji turned back around. If they don't work this out . . . he threatened in his mind. They pulled into the parking lot before he had a chance to finish his thought.
After ten minutes in the park, the group split into four pairs. Aya and Kitai had been pushed toward the Ferris Wheel, Aya angry and Kitai quiet. Omi and Kuri ran to the arcade, each determined to beat the other. Ken and Hotaru wandered around, playing games and looking at the shops. Yohji and Manx decided to ride the roller coaster.
|~|~|~|
"What do you want to do?"
" . . . Hn."
"You could be a little more helpful," Kitai said after receiving more silence. "Fine!" she yelled as she turned around and walked away. Aya let her go.
|~|~|~|
"HA!" Kuri screamed. "That's twelve guys I've shot and you've only gotten three!" Kuri began jumping up and down in excitement. Omi smiled at her.
"True, but you're better with guns that I am. Besides, you were standing in front of the screen the entire time," he told her. Kuri looked at her brother, her head cocked to one side.
"Alright then," she said, putting the gun back in its holder. "Let's go. I'm going to beat you at darts!" She ran to the other end of the arcade, Omi following.
|~|~|~|
"Hey Ken, look at this!" Hotaru called from her place next to the sports display. She was looking at a figurine of a young man holding a soccer ball. He had a first place ribbon around his neck. Ken walked over holding a stuffed orange turtle. "Ooh . . . that's so cute!"
"It's for you," Ken told her, blushing as he held out the stuffed animal. Kuri and Yohji were always teasing them about their 'sappy relationship', but Ken didn't care. And if Yohji was making gagging noises and Ken's elbow just happened to find its way into Yohji's ribs . . .
"Come on! The swings are open!" Hotaru yelled, pulling Ken toward the ride.
|~|~|~|
"They need another roller coaster," Manx announced after her and Yohji's thirtieth time riding the carnival's only roller coaster. Yohji nodded his agreement. "Wanna go again?" Manx asked, bored already. Yohji nodded and the two of them ran back to the end of the line. Again. They had been at this ride for almost two hours. The line wasn't overly long and they both loved roller coasters, but only one roller coaster at a place this size just wasn't enough. When they got off the ride, they headed to the main entrance. Before they had even gotten in the car, everyone had decided to meet up every two hours.
Ken and Hotaru were already waiting for them. Omi and Kuri ran up about five minutes after Yohji and Manx did. When Aya and Kitai still hadn't arrived after twenty minutes, everyone accepted that they would be there for the next one and went back to their previous activities.
|~|~|~|
Kitai wandered around the field aimlessly. After her fight with Aya The second one she thought miserably, she hadn't stayed in the carnival, but had gotten her hand stamped and left. At that moment she was walking through the empty field next to the carnival grounds. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the mud puddle until it was too late.
She slipped and fell in, surprised when she sank up to her neck. Kitai frantically grabbed at a few roots, but they simply fell out of their places in the dirt. Great she thought. Just great! Now I'm stuck in a stupid mud puddle and- Her train of thought was cut off as she began sinking again. She reached out hoping to grab something, anything, but only succeeded in making herself sink faster. She tried to scream as the mud reached her chin, but it was too late. Before she knew what was happening, the mud had completely covered her nose and mouth, and she was still sinking.
~*~*~
[1] - Temper/Temperamental. Basically, Yohji making fun of Ken
[2] - Okay, I don't know if they celebrate Thanksgiving or not, but it fits my story so they are.
[3] - Cousin/Female Cousin. BTW, if these are wrong, please let me know so I can correct me translator.
A/N: So what do you think? Should I continue or leave romance/drama to someone else? Please review and let me know!
A/N: thoughts This is a story I started writing awhile ago but am just now putting up. Mainly 'cause I just found it again.
=+=+=
"YOHJI!!!" Ken Hidaka yelled from outside the oldest Weiss member's room. "Hurry up or you'll be late!"
Yohji groaned, but he got out of bed. After getting dressed he walked downstairs to find three people in the kitchen. Aya Fujimiya was drinking tea as he read the paper and Ken was pacing around the table, checking his watch every so often. The third person, Omi Tsukiyono's twin sister, Kuri Takatori, was frantically trying to finish her homework.
"Hello everyone," Yohji Kudou greeted as he grabbed a few pages of the newspaper out of Aya's hands, ignoring the redhead's glare. "Why am I up so early?" He asked around a yawn as he leaned against the counter and opened the paper.
"You're picking Kitai up from the airport," Ken answered. Yohji grinned. Finally! He had missed Kitai a lot in the three and a half months she had spent visiting friends in Italy. He had never thought he would miss his cousin. However, after an entire summer with just Weiss and Omi's sister, he wanted the blonde back.
"Calm down, Kidate[1], her plane doesn't arrive for another two hours . . . you woke me up at 5:00 in the MORNING!?!" Yohji yelled as realization sunk in.
Ken glared at him. "I do NOT have a temper! OMI!!!! GET DOWN HERE NOW!!" Yohji raised his eyebrow at the younger assassin. "What?" Ken asked. His only response was Yohji shaking his head. When Omi finally arrived in the kitchen Ken was ready to strangle him.
Aya, Yohji, and the twins left for the high school thirty minutes later. When they arrived, Omi and Kuri got out and headed for the brick building. "Bye guys," Yohji called. "We'll be here to pick you up at 2:00, okay?" After they nodded he drove off.
|~|~|~|
"Come on, Aya," Yohji said, trying to convince the temperamental redhead to accompany him into the airport. Aya just shook his head and held onto Yohji's car tighter.
"I'm not going in there!" Aya said for the third time in five minutes. Earlier, they had agreed that Aya would wait in the car while Yohji collected his cousin. Once they arrived at the airport, however, Yohji had changed his mind. Finally running out of patience, the older man grabbed Aya's wrist and pulled him out of the vehicle. "Don't touch me!" Aya growled after being propelled into his teammate's chest. When Yohji didn't release his wrist, Aya hit him.
|~|~|~|
"Hey Yohji! Hi, Aya!" Kitai Kudou greeted as she left the terminal. She purposely ignored the state the two young men were in. Both were covered in bruises and scratches, their hair was disheveled and their clothes were torn. "Did you miss me?" she asked as she hugged Yohji. She briefly put her hand on Aya's shoulder in greeting, knowing he hated to be touched.
"Yes," Yohji answered. "But, why didn't you ask how we got hurt?" he mock- pouted.
Kitai grinned and answered, "I figured you touched and/or hit Aya. My suitcase is at Baggage Claim #3."
"She knows us too well," Yohji announced to no one in particular. Aya grunted.
When they arrived home, everyone was waiting. "Omi! Kuri! You got out of school! How have you been?" Kitai exclaimed as she tossed her bag into a corner.
"They got into a fight," Ken told her. It was only then that she noticed Omi's black eye and the Band-Aid on Kuri's cheek. "Not each other," he continued. "Someone was picking on Kuri and Omi couldn't handle it. When one of the guys hit him, Kuri attacked. The principal wondered where they had learned to fight like that."
"Guess what I learned about in school today!" Kuri said, touching Aya's inner thigh. He began backing away.
"What?"
"Sexual harassment!"
"Stop touching me."
"Why?" she asked, as if she didn't already know.
"I don't like it," Aya told her.
Fifteen hours, two meals, and two LONG summer stories later, Kuri and Omi were curled up on the armchairs, sleeping. Ken was asleep on the couch. Next to him, Aya was beginning to find it difficult to stay awake. Couldn't be from getting up at three o'clock this morning he thought sarcastically, yawning. Or not falling asleep until midnight last night
Two hours later, everyone but Kitai was asleep. I hate jetlag she thought to herself. Then she looked up and laughed. The twins were both curled up on their respective chairs, but Yohji, Ken, and Aya were sharing the couch. Ken had curled into a ball on the far side of the couch and Yohji was stretched out on the remaining area. Somehow during the night Aya had ended up lying on top of Yohji. Well she thought. This is going to be interesting when everyone wakes up.
|~|~|~|
The next morning was interesting, to say the least. Aya was ready to kill Yohji for touching him until it was pointed out that Aya was on top. Everyone was still tired, but since it was a Friday, they had things to do.
"Do we have to go?" Omi whined as Ken poured his third cup of coffee. When he received three identical glares from his guardians, he grabbed his backpack.
"Come on, Kitai, don't you want some coffee?" Ken asked as he held it under her nose. Kitai grimaced and moved away.
"That stuff tastes like crap," she informed him. When he didn't back off, she began growling at him. "I told you, Ken, stay away from me with that stuff!"
"Why? Don't you like it? It tastes so good!" he said, trying to convince the girl to drink it. "Just one li- AAHHHH!!!!!" He began screaming as Kitai grabbed his cup and dumped the cooling coffee all over her tormenter.
"I thought I told you not to do that," Aya said to Kuri, who was rubbing his thigh again.
"You still haven't given me a real reason so it doesn't count!" she exclaimed happily. "So . . . why should I stop?"
"Because . . . it's sexual harassment," he finished lamely. Luckily for him, she got bored and stopped.
"AHH!! Put me DOWN!!" Aya looked up to see Ken holding a very angry Kitai over his head. Ken had several bruises from where he had been attacked with the emptied coffee cup, but that didn't seem to be affecting him in the least.
"Only because you asked so nice," he told her, tossing her. She landed on top of Aya, sprawled over him. Aya glared at her before telling her to get up. She did, but when he began yelling at her for knocking him over, she got angry.
"Of course! I can't believe I was so stupid as to touch the famous Aya Fujimiya. What could I have possibly been thinking. Forget the fact that I had no control over what direction I was going in. Please, forgive the crimes I accidentally committed!" she screamed at him. Yohji and the twins stepped back. Yohji because he had seen her this angry very few times, but those times had been scary. The twins stepped back because if Yohji was unwilling to go near his cousin, there had to be something more to it than just a yelling match. "If you can't handle getting hit every once in awhile, you're more uptight than I thought possible! Why don't you pull the stick out of your butt so we can go on with life!?"
"Pull the-" Aya repeated before completely blowing up. "You're the one that's making it hard to live here. Everything was fine until you came. You think just because you're related to Yohji you can get away with yelling at me?! Why don't you go back to wherever you came from? Yohji's the ONLY one that would miss you!!"
"AYA!!!" Yohji interrupted.
"What?" Aya screamed, still angry.
But he received no response. Kitai walked back to her room and closed the door. No running, no slamming doors he thought, beginning to get worried. He sighed in relief when she exited wearing her work apron and smiling. "I'll open up today," she announced as she headed downstairs.
"Well," Ken said, breaking the tense silence, "Come on you two, it's time to go to school. I'll be taking your car today Yohji." At Yohji's nod, Ken led the twins to the garage.
When they got home that afternoon everything was almost back to normal. Ken and Aya were watering the flowers, Kitai was working the cash register, and Yohji was pretending to be working. The only difference was that instead on the group's usual talking, laughing, and joking, there was silence and tension that could be cut with a knife. Aya and Kitai stayed on opposite ends of the shop from each other, and Yohji was obviously not happy with either one of them. Omi changed and started helping with the shop while Kuri shut herself in her room.
Before anyone could question her behavior, the after-school rush began. It still amazed Weiss how many girls came for them, but the new amazement was how many guys were now stopping by after school, hoping to get a glimpse of Kuri or Kitai. Kitai stayed strictly business the entire time, no matter how flattering the comments were. No one noticed how, with every comment, a certain redhead got more and more angry.
After a week, things were finally returning to normal. Kitai and Aya had been forgiven by everyone but each other. The guys were amazed that they had made it through almost a month without a single mission.
|~|~|~|
"Do you have any dying flowers today?" Ken looked up, hearing a familiar but unknown voice. Ah he thought. It's the owner of the perfume shop next door. Yohji brought out two boxes of wilting flowers and grinned.
"So, next week?" he asked, obviously trying to finish an earlier conversation.
"Sorry to disappoint you," she answered, "but I told you last month I'm looking for someone," she stopped and looked around Kitty in the House, almost as if she was looking for something. ". younger," she finished, picking up one of the boxes and heading for the door.
"Hotaru! Wait up!" Kitai yelled, running downstairs. Ken thought his eyes would pop out of his head. Kitai always wore tight pants and tanktops, but that hadn't prepared any of the Weiss members for the sight of Yohji's cousin wearing only a towel. Yohji covered Omi's eyes and turned around. Ken decided to follow his example. "I saved these from Omi's wreaths," Kitai said, handing Hotaru a bouquet of wilted yellow roses.
"Um . . . thanks," Hotaru muttered, looking at the flowers.
"You said awhile ago that you wanted yellow roses. Omi likes using them for the wreaths, so I took some when he wasn't paying attention. I gotta go!" the blonde announced as she turned to go back upstairs.
The red-haired girl shook her head at her friend. "Welcome back!" she called to Kitai's retreating back. She was rewarded with a tiny wave and a slammed door.
"_What_ was that all about?" Ken demanded. Hotaru Kitada looked at him questioningly. "We could have had customers! She wasn't even dressed . . . she knows better!! What was she thinking!?!"
"She was thinking she'd better give these to me before she either forgot or the flowers were too dry for me to use," Hotaru answered. At Ken's still blank and angry look she sighed, "Help me bring these boxes next door and I'll explain."
Ken was grinning when he returned. "Well," Yohji drawled, pulling out a cigarette, "that must have been some explanation."
Ken was about to reply when a completely dressed Kitai walked downstairs. When she saw Yohji smoking, she grabbed an empty pot and threw it at him. "I told you! No smoking around the flowers!" she announced as she threw the cigarette out an open window.
"It wasn't the explanation. That was boring." Ken finally said. At Yohji's look, he continued, "I'm not going to be able to work on Friday. I have a date!"
|~|~|~|
"Where are you going?" Kuri asked as Ken straightened his tie. Again. He picked up a small bundle of flowers from his dresser and looked at the 17- year-old.
"I," he said, smiling, "am going on a date." Before she could respond he walked downstairs and next door. He stood in front of the perfume shop for five minutes before knocking.
"Hi . . . " Hotaru said after she opened the door. Ken just stared. She was wearing a forest green evening gown. Her red hair was piled on top of her head and held with diamond clips. She's . . . beautiful he thought, finally stuttering through a greeting and handing her the flowers.
Ken got home that night close to midnight. Only Yohji was still awake. "Did you have a good night?" he asked, leaning against the staircase. When Ken nodded, Yohji sighed. "I guess that's good, but I wouldn't suggest going out with her again. That's Manx's sister. Well, half-sister," Ken was stunned, but Yohji was right. If Manx found out he was dating her sister, Ken would be dead in no time.
After he told her that the next day, Hotaru laughed. "She won't kill you," Hotaru said between giggles. "If you die, it'll be because of your job."
"I'll die because I work in a flower shop?"
"Wrong job."
"Huh? . . . OH! How . . . ?"
"My sister gives you the assignments, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Um . . . wanna go out again next week?"
"Where are we going?" she asked. Noticing his confused look, she continued. "So I'll know what to wear."
"Oh! Something casual, I can't afford too many more formal dinners," he told her. "So, next Friday?" Hotaru nodded her agreement and Ken returned to Kitty in the House.
|~|~|~|
It had been two weeks since that conversation. Ken and Hotaru were going steady, Aya and Kitai still avoided each other, and the twins were preparing for Thanksgiving Break [2]. Yohji . . . was just Yohji. All seven of them were at Kitty in the House talking as Yohji opened the door. "I know those legs!" he exclaimed, pulling the door up. "It's Manx! Long time, no see."
Manx nodded hello to everyone and headed up the stairs. "You have three new members," she told them. After waiting for them to finish asking why and guessing who they were, Manx spoke again. "The new members of Weiss are . . . Kuri Takatori, Hotaru Kitada, and Kitai Kudou." Manx smiled at the looks on the original Weiss members' faces. Omi was congratulating his sister, Ken was hugging Hotaru, Yohji had his arm around his cousin, and Aya was glaring at her. Oh she thought. Aya doesn't want to work with them. I wonder why. Aya turned his glare to Kitai, and Manx had her answer. I've got to do something about that she thought. If I don't then during the next mission they'll be trying to kill each other instead of the target.
Two days later she had a solution. "Carnival tickets?" Yohji asked, not quite believing his ears. She had told him that it would get everyone used to spending time together. "But a CARNIVAL?!? Besides, you said you wanted to get Aya and Kitai alone together; how does that work out? And who won't have a date."
Manx smiled, she knew he would ask. "First of all," she started, "a carnival was the first thing I could get tickets for. Second, Aya and Kitai get along with -to some extent- everyone but each other. Everyone's already used to Aya, and Kitai is friends with everyone but Aya. They need to get over their little argument if they're going to work together. Third, I'll be going too."
All Yohji could say was "Oh."
|~|~|~|
"No!" Aya said. He had just been told that he and Kitai were to spend the day with each other. Just each other. He looked at the 18-year-old. She had her head against the window, an almost wistful expression on her face.
"What are you thinking about, Itóko [3]?" Yohji asked from the front seat. Kitai smiled at him. He almost always called her 'cousin' instead of her by real name.
"Nothing important," she said softly, glancing at Ken and Hotaru before quickly looking away. Yohji turned back around. If they don't work this out . . . he threatened in his mind. They pulled into the parking lot before he had a chance to finish his thought.
After ten minutes in the park, the group split into four pairs. Aya and Kitai had been pushed toward the Ferris Wheel, Aya angry and Kitai quiet. Omi and Kuri ran to the arcade, each determined to beat the other. Ken and Hotaru wandered around, playing games and looking at the shops. Yohji and Manx decided to ride the roller coaster.
|~|~|~|
"What do you want to do?"
" . . . Hn."
"You could be a little more helpful," Kitai said after receiving more silence. "Fine!" she yelled as she turned around and walked away. Aya let her go.
|~|~|~|
"HA!" Kuri screamed. "That's twelve guys I've shot and you've only gotten three!" Kuri began jumping up and down in excitement. Omi smiled at her.
"True, but you're better with guns that I am. Besides, you were standing in front of the screen the entire time," he told her. Kuri looked at her brother, her head cocked to one side.
"Alright then," she said, putting the gun back in its holder. "Let's go. I'm going to beat you at darts!" She ran to the other end of the arcade, Omi following.
|~|~|~|
"Hey Ken, look at this!" Hotaru called from her place next to the sports display. She was looking at a figurine of a young man holding a soccer ball. He had a first place ribbon around his neck. Ken walked over holding a stuffed orange turtle. "Ooh . . . that's so cute!"
"It's for you," Ken told her, blushing as he held out the stuffed animal. Kuri and Yohji were always teasing them about their 'sappy relationship', but Ken didn't care. And if Yohji was making gagging noises and Ken's elbow just happened to find its way into Yohji's ribs . . .
"Come on! The swings are open!" Hotaru yelled, pulling Ken toward the ride.
|~|~|~|
"They need another roller coaster," Manx announced after her and Yohji's thirtieth time riding the carnival's only roller coaster. Yohji nodded his agreement. "Wanna go again?" Manx asked, bored already. Yohji nodded and the two of them ran back to the end of the line. Again. They had been at this ride for almost two hours. The line wasn't overly long and they both loved roller coasters, but only one roller coaster at a place this size just wasn't enough. When they got off the ride, they headed to the main entrance. Before they had even gotten in the car, everyone had decided to meet up every two hours.
Ken and Hotaru were already waiting for them. Omi and Kuri ran up about five minutes after Yohji and Manx did. When Aya and Kitai still hadn't arrived after twenty minutes, everyone accepted that they would be there for the next one and went back to their previous activities.
|~|~|~|
Kitai wandered around the field aimlessly. After her fight with Aya The second one she thought miserably, she hadn't stayed in the carnival, but had gotten her hand stamped and left. At that moment she was walking through the empty field next to the carnival grounds. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the mud puddle until it was too late.
She slipped and fell in, surprised when she sank up to her neck. Kitai frantically grabbed at a few roots, but they simply fell out of their places in the dirt. Great she thought. Just great! Now I'm stuck in a stupid mud puddle and- Her train of thought was cut off as she began sinking again. She reached out hoping to grab something, anything, but only succeeded in making herself sink faster. She tried to scream as the mud reached her chin, but it was too late. Before she knew what was happening, the mud had completely covered her nose and mouth, and she was still sinking.
~*~*~
[1] - Temper/Temperamental. Basically, Yohji making fun of Ken
[2] - Okay, I don't know if they celebrate Thanksgiving or not, but it fits my story so they are.
[3] - Cousin/Female Cousin. BTW, if these are wrong, please let me know so I can correct me translator.
A/N: So what do you think? Should I continue or leave romance/drama to someone else? Please review and let me know!