die Folge version eins
Part One; Dramatic Image
Chapter One; Back
to Heaven
"Weiß" - sie kämpfen statt des Gesetzes.
Für die Geliebte oder als eigene Rache, für Wahrheit,
oder um Spuren vom eigenen Leben zu hinterlassen-als schwarze Henker
hin,
denen es gelang, durch die Maschen des Gesetzes zu schlüpfen
und in der Unterwelt unterzutauchen.
"Weiß" - sie kämpfen zur Verteidigung des "Weißes",
das in unserer Zeit noch erhalten bleibt.
The sender was immediately recognized by his neat hand and the crisp folds of his letter. The address was written out in legible black pen. It was also recognizable because it was from the only one that ever sent letters.
Sakurachan, are you well?
I'm taking a break from my studies to write you a letter. I hope
you are well. My school in Hokkaido is very good- they keep me busy. The
snow has fallen today, and it's very pretty.
Recently I began shopping for Christmas gifts. It's difficult because
I can never decide what to get everyone! (Can you think of anything for
Nagikun??) I've always enjoyed Christmas. I just wish I knew how to get
in touch with Manx this year...
Have you heard from the other guys? Youjikun stays in touch with
me whenever he can. So does Kenkun, although he's very busy coaching. Did
you hear he's been scouted for J-League again? That's very rare, I'm happy
for him.
I have not heard from Aya-- Rankun. (haha- old habits die hard)
I got a postcard from him once; congratulating me on getting into university.
(How did he know?) There was no return address, but the postmark said a
small town near Yokohama.
I hear Nagikun and Ayachan are starting school after the new year.
Ayachan sounded excited in her last letter. I hope that she stays healthy
for it.
But, I should get back to my work. Give my regards to everyone at
the Koneko.
Tsukiyono Omi
Sakura slowly closed her letter and looked around the waiting room idly. She had been here many times already, and nothing ever changed. The paintings on the wall (all of Mount Fuji) were all perfectly aligned. The receptionist went about her business quietly, and the other patients sat reading magazines and sipping water from the cooler in the corner.
The white-painted door opened and Aya emerged from the back, sunny as ever. She smiled when she spotted Sakura before turning to face the man behind her. Bowing slightly, she said, " Arigatou sensei! " Sakura frowned at the middle-aged man across the waiting room who seemed interested in the view.
Aya's doctor smiled pleasantly. " I'll see you again in a two weeks, Fujimiyasan. "
" Hai. "
Another two weeks? Sakura sighed. When would they be satisfied that Aya was healthy?
Aya moved to where Sakura was. " Let's go, Sakurachan. Is that a letter from Omikun? Can I read it? "
" Un, " Sakura stood up. " On the bus, okay? We have to pick up supper on the way back to the store. "
Aya looked perplexed. " Supper? "
" Yeah, " Sakura shook her head slightly, " Okaasan is convinced you and Nagikun can't handle being by yourselves. She made you supper, it's hard enough on her without dreaming up all sorts of horrible sexual fantasies. "
Aya laughed, but Sakura detected a slight flush on her cheeks. " That's just silly. Argh- but I can cook! Oniichan used to make fun of me though... " She looked a little sad as she said that.
Sakura quickly changed the subject. " Ne, what do you think Nagikun wants for Christmas? "
" Nagi? " Aya blinked. She fell deeply into thought.
Sakura chuckled slightly. " It's difficult, ne? "
" Sou da nee... "
Sakura gazed up at the sky while Aya thought and they waited for the bus. Omi was schooling in Hokkaido, citing that he needed a change of scenery. Sakura couldn't blame him, she felt sometimes that she could use one too. Certain sights around the city were... She squared her shoulders and pushed those thoughts away.
It had been bad enough before, no sense in dragging that horrid feeling on now.
Youji was still in Tokyo, though they rarely saw him. He hinted that he was working with the Shinjuku Police, but doing what- she didn't know. Ken was back to doing what he loved; coaching soccer at a sports centre and playing on a local team. She too, had received a hurriedly scrawled letter from him about being contacted again by J-League. He'd sounded mixed about it, possibly worried about his previous problems resurfacing.
But Aya- or Ran, as they were all trying to get used to calling him, had disappeared. Not even Aya, his own sister, knew where he had gone. It made them all sad, and worried. What would he do now?
Aya exhaled. " Aiyaaahhh... nothing comes to mind. I hadn't even thought of Christmas yet. I guess I'm still a little confused about time. It was just summer last thing I remember. " The subject was quickly changed again, as had become customary when tangents went to unpleasant places. " I suppose we could ask Nagi... but that takes the fun out of it. Maybe he'd like a fish? No, Nagi's not a fish person. He likes cds, but I don't know what music. "
" That's not good, " Sakura said despairingly. " If you don't know, how are Omikun and I going to know? You're the only person Nagikun really talks to. "
" He doesn't talk much. " Aya peered down the busy street. " Where's the bus, anyway? "
Sakura looked at her watch. " It should be here soon. "
" Ah sou. "
The autumn wind whistled through the buildings, bringing with it a few stray leaves that had been blown in with the cars. Sakura shifted her weight from foot to foot. She watched the crowd across the street shift and move; a separate and yet solid force. It never ceased to amaze her how people could so easily meld into each other and become indistinguishable in a crowd. Abruptly in that crowd, across the river of cars, a man stood out clearly against the businessmen; obvious only because he seemed to have noticed her. He stopped moving, gazing across at her. Sakura offered a wan, embarrassed smile that he didn't return.
Her smile dropped as soon as he started moving again.
The man lurched off the sidewalk into the street. There were shouts and the sounds of screaming tires as people reacted and cars tried to stop in time. As if he didn't even notice, the man continued to stagger across the street. He reached out his hand, and not to Sakura. She realized this as he gaped and his fingers grasped and ungrasped the air. He was reaching for Aya. With a wet-sounding and gravely voice he rasped, " An...gel... "
Aya didn't say anything. She just gripped her handbag tightly and watched him with wide eyes.
" Angel... " he cried again, with more force. He took steps closer to them.
Sakura moved closer to Aya, holding on her to schoolbag; ready to use it as a weapon if need be.
" Angel! "
" Nan de? " Aya whispered.
Sakura suddenly screamed, the sound intermingling with squealing tires and more horrified gasps. The man who was approaching them in a daze was suddenly hit by a car that braked too late. He staggered, made one last desperate lunge for Aya... and was promptly hit again by the bus as it finally arrived.
Both Sakura's hands flew to her face.
Aya fainted.
Sakura spun, the wind catching her skirt. She dropped to her knees, crying, " Ayachan! "
Almost immediately the door to the medical clinic opened and the doctor rushed out with an assistant close behind. " Fujimiyasan! " The doctor stopped briefly to check on Aya, then moved on to the body in the street. The man was already surrounded by heavily congested onlookers, but the doctor pushed his way through.
The assistant yelled, " Somebody call an ambulance! "
Sakura's heart was hammering in her chest. She could see the doctor through the forest of legs. She could see him shake his head and pass his hand over the eyes of the man. He was dead.
(@)
There was a certain feel to places, an air about them that never quite left you. And so when he entered the kitchen through the back room to the store and left his keys on the side counter, it felt just as though he'd been doing it for the past few months every day, just as he used to. Indeed, he even looked the same, but for the fact that today was one of those rare days in which he'd managed to get (almost) all his hair into a thick ponytail at the back of his skull. His choice of dress hadn't changed, being attired in tight denim pants and a shirt that hugged his torso but revealed a little of his midriff.
" Oh, Youji, you came too, na? " Ken greeted, entering from the back entrance.
Youji smiled, shifting his sunglasses so they rested atop his head. " Good to see ya, Ken. "
Ken chuckled a little. " How've you been? "
" Not bad, " Youji said, still smiling in a way that told he would say nothing more, " Not bad. You? "
Ken mimicked his foppish behavior. " Not bad. " He nodded at Youji's hand. " Flowers? "
Youji's grin became mischievous. " I paid for 'em. "
Ken raised his eyebrows and hung his bomber jacket on the back of one of the chairs. He was dressed in grass stained jeans and a navy shirt that had some designer name written in kanji across the front in white- not that Ken cared about brand names. He would have either grabbed the first thing he saw or the most comfortable thing he found, depending on how much time he had. It was one of those things that set him and Youji very far apart.
Nagi came downstairs then, and entered the kitchen behind Ken. " She's awake, if you want to go see her. " He opened the refrigerator and emerged with a pitcher of water. " Sakura is attempting to get Omi on the phone. "
" What happened? " Ken asked.
Nagi poured water into a tall glass as he answered. " Ayachan fainted after she and Sakura left her doctor's appointment. A man was hit by a car and a bus on the street. He was apparently calling Ayachan an angel and attempting to reach her. "
Youji produced a cigarette. " An angel, huh? "
Nagi gave him a deadpan look. " Please don't smoke in here. "
" Hah?! " Apparently some things did change.
Ken and Youji followed Nagi up the narrow, creaky stairs. On the top floor, they headed for the room at the back and on the right.
Youji whistled. " Ken, you finally got a girl in your room! "
" Shut up Youji. "
Aya was sitting on the bed, recovered with a pale yellow and blue quilt since Ken's absence. Her hair was unbound, trailing over her shoulders in chestnut brown waves; and her bangs obscured partly her wide blue eyes. There was very little resemblance to her brother, but for when she smiled at them. It was small, wan, and the way her eyes crinkled was exactly the way Ran's had when they had reunited.
Youji nudged Ken. Ken nudged back.
" Konbanwa. I'm sorry these guys called you over something so little. I keep telling them I'm fine, but, no one believes me. " Aya gave a short laugh and fingered the quilt. " Do- Do we know anything about him, that person? "
Youji shook his head 'no'.
" I see. "
Ken pushed his hair back from his face. " Nagi tells us he called you an Angel. " When she nodded, he looked even more uncomfortable. " I hate to be the one to voice this, but... it might have been someone from Esset. I mean, if we survived... we're just normal guys... "
" Many of the Esset followers evacuated when the fighting began, once they came to after Nagi's display of power, " Youji pointed out, finishing Ken's thought for him.
" But that's all theory, right? " Aya looked at them pleadingly. " Right? Maybe, maybe I looked like someone he used to know. Or- or maybe he thought I was pretty. I'm not naive, lots of guys used to think I was pretty! " She looked between the three men in the room desperately, looking for validation to a weak theory. " I don't want it to be Esset! I don't want any more of that. Who knows what those people did to me! "
" Ayachan... " Nagi moved closer to her, the glass of water shaking in his hand.
" I'm sorry. " Aya took a shaky breath. " I'm sorry. I just don't like to think about it, that's why- I'm sure that's why Oniichan's gone away. I want a normal life. I'm going to go Christmas shopping with Sakurachan, I'm going to go to the New Year's festivals, get a uniform, and go back to school in April. "
" I'm not sure... " Youji began hesitantly.
Aya gave him a sharp look. " I'm going to have everything Oniichan fought for me to have, Youjisan. "
(@)
Youji was chuckling later when he leaned against the shop door and lit up. " I'm now totally convinced they're related. For awhile there I thought she was too sweet to be the same blood as our Fujimiya 'Aya'. "
Ken kicked a stone and watched it bounce out into the street. " I never should have mentioned Esset. "
Youji's shoulders visibly relaxed as he exhaled smoke into the late afternoon air. " No, you were right to. She's gotta know what's going on. I'm sure Kritiker disagrees. "
Ken smirked, watching Youji get his fix. " Kritiker... I wonder how Manx and everyone are. "
" Not our problem, Ken, " Youji said gruffly.
" You must be curious. I know you liked Manx a lot, " Ken stuffed his hands in his pockets and added slyly, " and not just because she was a woman. " Nothing followed that for awhile. " Naa, Youji? "
" Hm? "
" Where do you think Ran went? "
" Away Ken, " Youji replied. " He just went away. "
" We'll see him again. "
" You think so? "
Ken watched the clouds scuttle across the sky. It was as sure as the sun set and rose to him. But he didn't know how to explain it, so he simply said, " kitto. "
(@)
He'd bought a new trenchcoat. This time it was white. In a way, he supposed, it signified a culmination of the lives he had been, and how this was possibly the best that he could be-- Weiß. White. The new, cleaner colour was offset by the dark red of his hair. The eartails by his face spilled onto his chest, longer now than they had been. As were his bangs, which had a habit of falling into his eyes and deepening the shadows underneath them.
He hadn't been getting much sleep.
He hated himself for going back to them. But the stark reality was that... unlike the others, who all had other skills they could rely on, this was the best way Fujimiya Ran knew how to make money. This was the best way he could ensure that, now that she was back to normal, she could have a normal life. She could have everything she ever wanted, so long as he did this. But he hated most of all the fact that it was this very job that kept him from being close to her. From being the 'Oniichan' she had fallen into the coma knowing.
The lights in the airport were low, and the hour was approaching three a.m. Some high profile politician had sanctioned the airport specifically for his arrival. All the better, it made his job easier. Ran removed his sheathed sword from it's vinyl case and let the shell drop to the ground. As soon as the target and his entourage entered he was off running. The approach echoed through the vast, empty room, but he was too fast for it to matter.
He dodged bullets and drew his sword; moved with a speed and agility that could not be matched. In a dazzling sequence to behold he zigzagged through, cutting down every obstacle, clubbing the bodyguards down with the blunt edge of his sheath even as they died. Always his cold eyes were on the target, and once he reached him he swiped the blade in an upwards arc, dropping under it to his knees. The politician, for whatever he had done, was sliced from right hip to left shoulder. Ran didn't move until he'd dropped to the floor.
The brand new white trenchcoat soaked up the blood of his victims.
Of the many things Ran thought he'd be growing up, an assassin; a killer had never been one of them. And yet... looking at all this carnage he'd created... he couldn't help it when his vision blurred and tears slipped down his face.
Why?
Why couldn't he go back to what he'd been?
The well-worn katana and it's sheath dropped to the red-splattered ground as he gripped his head with both hands. It wasn't fair... all he wanted was to go back to the way things had been. Had he believed it would happen? He didn't know... but...
Kurushii ne?
Ran gasped and straightened up, looking around. That voice in his head... he knew it... " Schuldich! " But there was no response... only an eerie silence. Had he imagined it? He took a step first one way, and then another. It wasn't his imagination, he knew that voice, the Schwartz member had been in his head.
But if he had been there, he was gone now.
It reminded him of another time Schuldich had teased him like this.
" I don't believe in destiny. "
Then the voice returned, sultry and with that same sly undertone rippling through the words that eased themselves into his head. Sou ka? I'll be sure to change your mind, Rankun.
~(@)~
Translation notes;
Arigatou - Thank you
Sensei - in this case, 'doctor' It's used to address anyone proficient
in their proffession, such as doctors, politicians, etc. Not just teachers,
although the world does literally mean 'teacher'
Hai - yes
Oniichan - big brother
Sou da nee - yeah, you're right
Ah sou - I see
Nan de - 'why' or 'how come?'
Konbanwa - Good evening
Kitto - surely
Kurushii ne - It's painful, isn't it?
[Written by Inseiko, 2002]