CHAPTER ONE
The Engagement

It was raining cats and dogs outside. Only a few cars roamed the city. Most of the people had gone home and majority of them were already having dinner with their respective families. The night seemed peaceful except for the thunder and lightning which disrupted it. But unlike any other people, one man stood right in the middle of a parking lot of an abandoned warehouse. Others tend to shelter themselves in this kind of weather, especially considering that it was already late, but this man is, well, unique.

He embraced this element. This was his refuge, his very own sanctuary. This was the time for him to reflect and gather his thoughts. This was the only time he found peace and solitude. He loved how the water fell from the sky towards the ground. He loved how the water drenched his hair and his clothes. As he cocked his head, he loved how the water pressure itself upon his face. As he opened his arms wide, he loved how the droplets gently caress his palms. He just loved everything about it.

Although this man stood here, he had a different explanation as to why it rains. It was not because of condensation or gravity. It was because of the angels. The angels crying over the sins of the world. The angels crying over the people suffering of poverty and hunger. The angels crying over the people who died. The angels crying over the worthless people he killed. Why they cried for them, he will never understand. But here he is now, accepting their grief with open arms. Hoping that somehow their tears would cleanse him. Rinse him of all the foreign blood which spattered to his being. He wanted to be free...

"So, do you have any plans of going inside and warming yourself up?" A soothing voice sliced through the solemn silence. "No, I intend to stay" the man didn't even have the chance to finish his sentence because the owner of the voice literally dragged him to the entrance of the warehouse. "Wrong answer." She simply said as she walked towards the door.

The warehouse may be abandoned but it surely was not unstable. Well, actually, it was more than stable, it was just plain fancy. If you looked outside, it just looked like some big old building looking like it was going to fall apart any time soon. But as soon as you get inside, it's a whole new story.

The building is made up of two stories. The ground floor being like a candy store and the second floor being somewhat like an apartment.

Why a candy store, you ask? Because it was pretty much packed with all the "candy" you can ever dream of. From the entrance, you can find yourself face to face with a few cars and even fewer motorcycles. But though they are few, these cars were the latest model of their kind and were rarely made. It was still a mystery how these models got to Japan in the first place. On the far right of the entrance, there is a room almost filling at most one-eight of the ground floor. The room had bullet-proof glass walls and a door which only opened after a retina scan, meaning it can only be opened by specific people, in this case there are two of them. Because the walls are made up of glass, one can easily look through them. The room is packed with computers, all sorts and all kinds of them. The monitors hung on the walls while the keyboards and a few more monitors laid across the table. Using these kinds of equipments, one could control the traffic control of almost all major cities in Japan. The live camera feed coming from the wireless cameras located at the junctions of the streets of Japan made it possible to monitor the movement of different vehicles as they travel. Also, these things can help you legally tap into telephone wirings, therefore interfering with telephone conversations without being caught. Now let's get to juicy part. On the far left of the entrance are guns, guns, and more guns. Snipers, machine guns, ammunition, grenades, pistols... you name it, they've got it. At the far left corner, just behind the guns section, is a wide mat laid on the floor and at least three Samurai swords made of very strong and very sharp Japanese steel hanging on the walls. Here one can practice his own skills in sword-fighting. It was small but it could still benefit whoever used it. A mini-gym is situated on the far right corner of the warehouse. Just a few weights and some cycling and running machines. Just enough to keep the muscles toned and in shape.

Now whoever said that this warehouse is just a big rusty old thing, is definitely mistaken. As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover.

Enough with the ground floor and let's settle to the second floor. The apartment is huge, considering the fact that only two people live there. Two separate bedrooms with their respective bathrooms, one guest room, one separate bathroom, a spacious living room with a kick-ass entertainment system, and of course, a kitchen with a counter right in the middle. Instead of having glass windows, the apartment has two-way mirrors as its windows, which benefits the onlooker a clear view of the city of Kumamoto.

In the living room, the man drenched in water sat quietly on the leather sofa. Although the sofa invites anybody to just lay flat on it, this man was in no mood to have a nap. He wanted to get out. Of course, he felt warm and cozy because this is his home, but tonight was just one of those nights that he wanted to get out. Out in the cold. Out in the rain. Why does this just have to happen to him over and over again?

"Here. Drink this." A woman in her early twenties said as she motioned a hot cup of tea in front of the man he just dragged into the said building.

The man took the tea and sipped a little. Letting the warm liquid fill his cold body with warmth. "You shouldn't have done that. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to spend time" for the second time that evening he was cut off by the calming voice of the woman. "You know it's dangerous. People could still be looking for us. We should lie low for about a few weeks or so." The woman said calmly as she took a sip from her own drink.

"We are lying low." The man said in a monotone voice. "You know how much I love the rain. Why do you deprive me of it?" The man simply said, still sounding cold and at the same time confused. The woman just stared at her cup for a few moments before finally saying, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... It's just... well... I'm worried."

The man was now facing towards the woman across the table. She was just kneeling there, her hands firmly holding the cup of tea as she stared at it, intentionally hiding her eyes behind her dark brown bangs. The man just stared at her. Then without any warning he kneeled across her, also setting his cup on the coffee table before both of them.

"Kat," the man began, "I'm worried too. But we already promised each other that that was going to be our last job. Our last call. We can leave Kumamoto and start a new life, wherever it is, I don't really care. The important thing is we have each other. We're the only family we've got." He said while smiling at her.

At saying those words, she titled her head so that she can face him. "Family, huh?" she asked, a little smile slowly lightening her pale face. "I like the sound of that, bro."

The man just smiled back at her. "Always remember that I'll do anything for you... So please, don't bother me when I'm out in the rain. Don't worry about it. When I'm hungry, I'll just come bouncing back to your loving arms. Do we understand each other, sis?"

Kat chuckled at her new pet name but slowly nodded. "That's my girl!" The man said as he stood up and headed towards the kitchen to get more tea.

"Yo, Jed..." Kat said barely audible. "Yeah?" Jed turned around to face her. "Thanks... a lot. Uhm, I know I ask this question a lot of times but I would just like to confirm. Is it really alright if I refer to you as my brother?" Jed simply smiled at her and nodded, "Whatever suits you, sis." Kat just smiled at his retreating back. She stood up and retrieved the two cups of tea on the coffee table and followed her brother to the kitchen.

A few hours ago, in an outdoor café, sat a very enraged and very annoyed Eiri Yuki. "Are you fuckin' kidding me?" he almost shouted at his companion across the table.

"Certainly not. Look Eiri, this is for you. You know how crazed fans act out these days. They could hurt you. You need this. Mika and I simply seek out your safety." Seguchi Tohma said in a soft tone.

"So what? You expect me to walk around the city having some over-muscled guy dressed in a black suit with sunglasses and ear pieces follow me wherever I go? Do you really believe that I'll be safer that way? Do you really believe that, huh, Tohma?" Yuki said to him as he stood up. He was already drawing attention from other customers.

Tohma inhaled deeply, trying to be rational over the situation and not lose control. "Sit down, Eiri." Tohma said as he glared directly into Yuki's eyes. Yuki knew better than to mess around with this side of Tohma. So, he hesitantly obeyed. "You cannot back away from this, Eiri. You will have a bodyguard whether you like it or not. And yes, he will follow you wherever you will go. And yes, he will live with you. And yes, you're going to have to deal with every second of it. And don't you even try to mess around with whoever it is I am assigning to you because you'll deal with a lot more problems if you do. Do I make myself clear, Uesugi Eiri?"

Yuki was dumbfounded. Who could have thought that the composed and poised NG President could be this harsh. He's more like a military general than a brother-in-law right now. And like any obedient officer, Yuki just answered his question in a single word. "Yes."

Tohma returned to his smiling façade and with a cheerful voice said, "Good. Your new bodyguard will be with you in a few weeks time. I better be going now. There's a new band auditioning at the studios. Have a nice day, Eiri." And with that, Tohma stood up and gave Yuki a big smile and walked to his car.

Yuki just sat there still digesting all the news. ''Bodyguard in a few weeks time.' Some old buffed guy in a black suit, sunglasses and leather shoes with guns. Never really worked for me. But what can I do? I'm talking about the persuasion powers of the great Seguchi Tohma here. Great, just bloddy great!'

Yuki stood up, put some money on the table and proceeded to his apartment. 'I need to get some work done. The deadline's coming up.' Just getting home and finishing his work could take his mind off of things for some time. That could help him forget about everything in the mean time. He proceeded to his car, started the engine, and drove into the busy streets of Tokyo back to his apartment.

As Jed sat on the sofa, he surfed through the channels of their TV. As he was doing so, his other hand constantly combed through the hair of Kat who is now asleep on the sofa with her head resting on his lap. He stopped at a local news show.

"An American politician was recently assassinated as he was driving through the streets of Kumamoto at 7:30 p.m., exactly four hours ago. Our field reporter informed us that he was shot perfectly through his forehead. The amazing part was that the car was running while this happened therefore whoever murdered him was a pretty good sniper. The police said that they still had no leads as to whoever had done this." A young woman promptly said through the speakers of the TV.

Jed snorted at the words that the anchor woman just said. Pretty good sniper. "I could work with that, I guess..." Jed just smiled at the statement and just listened to some other important news that the show might be delivering, his hand still combing Kat's dark brown locks.

Yes, Jed and Kat were the people responsible for that politician's death and they were given the proper amount for the service that they've done. It was wrong, Jed knew that. It was not the best way to get money, Kat knew that also. They were doing this not for money, but for definition. They wanted to define their lives. They wanted their lives to have at least the slightest bit of meaning in it. The people they kill were not just some innocent men. Actually, they can't even be considered as moral. All of them were corrupt, pedophile and masochists. They only wanted the things that could satisfy themselves and no one else. They were just selfish bastards. Selfish bastards who did nothing but enrich themselves and screw every virgin all over Japan. But still it was wrong... both Jed and Kat knew that what they were doing were so wrong. That was the reason why that American was their last job... They wanted to stop. Live a new life... They have lots of money and they're young. They could enjoy themselves until their last breath. That's their dream...

Jed and Kat had only been assassins for two years but in those couple of years, they had already killed many people. They killed for a proper amount. The American politician's life alone already cost three million U.S. dollars and every penny was definitely worth it.

Whoever hires them can expect the job to be done fast, accurate, and untraceable. The duo are already popular all over Japan but nobody ever did have the chance to pinpoint them in crowds or even familiarize themselves with the duo's names. And for the duo, their names are just Jed and Kat. No family names.

Well, actually, those names are just nicknames. Jed's full name is Jedrick while Kat's is Katarina. They both used English names so that it would be common and not unique at all. Kat gave Jed his name while Jed also gave hers. Although they might be mistaken as a couple, they are certainly not. They treat each other as siblings. Both orphans and both struggling to survive life. And to their amazement, they are sometimes, too, mistaken as real siblings.

The two assassins are just plain gorgeous. Both have brown hair though Jed's is a bit lighter and have some hints of pink at the tips. Same round pale face and soft pink lips. Jed is just a few inches taller than Kat standing at 5'8". Both have slim bodies but toned muscles. The only specific thing that differentiate them physically from each other are their eyes. Kat has dark green while Jed has the most unique color of all... dark shades of violet. Both use brown contact lenses to hide the unique colors of their eyes. Another thing which discerns the two are their attitudes. Kat always has this warm aura around her. Most of the time she is friendly towards other people but the glint in her eyes can tell you that she can be ruthless if she wants to. Jed on the other hand, is a remote yet stoic person. He'll talk to others in a monotonous voice. One will really have some difficulty looking for emotion in his eyes because they are just empty... blank. But Kat knows better than to be deceived by this impression because she can break through that block of ice in an instant. She can make Jed talk at least 5 sentences in a row. She can make him smile, laugh, and even admit his own mistakes.

That's what siblings are for, isn't it? Bring out the true colors of each other.

Now, both were here, in their living room, just enjoying the presence of each other. Jed had already turned the TV off and is still combing Kat's long hair. Then gently, he removed his hand from Kat's hair and combed his own.

He still wondered why the hell he decided to dye his hair pink. Pink is not really his favorite color nor does he hate it. He just doesn't understand why a person could dye his own hair in this color, specifically him. Well, he doesn't really need to worry himself over it. Besides, the pink dye is already wearing off. Sooner or later, it'll just disappear. But still, the thought still haunts him... Not his hair color, but the fact that even after almost seven years, he still can't...

'There's really no point in stressing myself over worthless things. I've got my sister. That's the only important thing for me right now.' He said to himself, trying his best to dismiss all the thoughts that were on his mind a few seconds ago.

As soon as he prepared his hand to comb Kat's hair again, his cellular phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated notifying it owner that someone's calling. Ever so gently, he reached for his phone and slumped back to the sofa.

"What?" he said in a grunt while being careful to keep his voice down so that he won't wake his sister.

"I've got a job for you." The man on the other line cheerfully said.

"It's late." Jed said back to the man.

"Nah... It's still early. C'mon Jed. It has a nice paycheck. Well, actually, a big one. And the greatest thing is you don't even have to break a sweat." The man said to Jed trying his best to have a sweet yes as a reply.

"No." Jed said with a finality to his voice.

"What?" the man on the other line disbelievingly said.

"You heard me, Red. N.O. No. We're done. We don't kill any"

He was suddenly cut off by the man named Red on the other line. "Kill? Nobody said anything about killing. Did you say anything about killing? I certainly did not. I'm asking you to protect somebody." Red said to Jedrick clearly emphasizing the word protect. "This is a great break for the both of you. You get to protect very famous people. This can be some kind of a repent for you guys. Just one lousy good deed." Red said pleadingly over the line.

"How can it be a good deed if there's money concerned?" Jed simply asked the man.

"Look, I can't really talk about the details over the phone and clearly I can't convince you to accept the job. Just meet me at the same place tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock. I want you and Kat to be there. This job is for the both of you. You have to hear me out, Jed. I think that this will really suit your best interest, both yours and Kat's."

Jed simply hung up and continued to comb his sisters hair with his hands.

"He shoots, he scores!" Red said cheerfully after being hung up by one of his best friends. "There's no way he'll reject this." Having known Jedrick for a long time, he already knew that Jed is already interested on an offer, especially when money is concerned.

He dialed another number on his cellular and talked to the receiver. "Hello, Seguchi-san? This is Red from Kumamoto." a pause. "Yes, I have. The siblings will be there in Tokyo within a week. Everything's settled." a long pause. "No, thank you, Mr. President. I am very happy to be of service to you. Good night." Then he hung up.

(",) tbc (",)

Author's notes:
The idea of naming the warehouse "the candy store" is from the TV series fastlane.
I know that this chapter is a bit short and for that I am really sorry... I'll try my best to lengthen the next chapters.
I know that other authors beg for reviews but I'm just an ordinary person. If you want to review, fine. I'll take them all. Positive and negative. If you won't, just continue reading the story. That's the important thing anyway.

and also, i REMOVED the story earlier. i was getting frustrated because even though i've reposted it for the nth time, it still won't come out the way it was supposed to. so i removed the story, and reposted it. this is just a trial chapter. if it came out the way i wanted it to, then i'll post the other 14.
PEACE OUT!