Our World

Disclaimer: I don't own anything concerning Weiß Kreuz. Once again, this was written for the 30 Kisses community on LiveJournal. The themes are #6 - the space between dream and reality, #8 - our own world, #10 - 10, #11 - gardenia, and #19 - red. And I'll say this right now: this is a one-shot. There will be no additional chapters. Use your imagination with the ending. Enjoy!
Dream or reality. Which was this? Was there even a difference? Or was this just some space between dream and reality?

He had no idea where he was. He didn't even know if he was alive or dead. He vaguely remembered a gun, but he couldn't be sure if his memory. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore, except for one thing.

Red.

ººº

For the past few months, Tomoe Sakura had volunteered every other weekend at the hospital. She still helped out at the Kitty in the House, but Momoe had suggested that she try out new things. Sakura had agreed and hadn't regretted it.

Just when these hospital visits were about to become routine, something unexpected happened. A man named Fujimiya Ran had been put into intensive care. Sakura had no experience with working with patients in intensive care, but she had to check up on this patient. She was worried that it could have been him…

"Aya-san?" Sakura asked meekly, cautiously stepped into the hospital room of this certain patient. Her fears were confirmed. The man who lay unconscious in that bed was Fujimiya Aya, her best friend's brother and the man she loved. It took all of her willpower to stop herself from falling to her knees and crying.

Sakura didn't know how long she had before her help was needed in another section of the hospital, but she knew she could stay for just a few minutes. She pulled up a chair next to Aya's bed and sat down. "Aya-san, can you hear me?" she asked. She felt foolish as soon as the question had left her lips. Aya couldn't hear her. He was unconscious.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

Sakura lifted her head and saw Kudou Yoji standing in the doorway. "Oh, hi Yoji-san," she greeted, slightly surprised. "I'm a volunteer here."

Yoji smiled. "I leave for just a few minutes and a pretty girl takes my place. I'm sure Aya would prefer that."

Sakura couldn't suppress a weak chuckle. "So, what happened to Aya-san?"

Yoji suddenly seemed uncomfortable. "Um, I'd rather not mention that here," he replied. "You know his job."

"Oh right," Sakura mumbled. Yoji's light-hearted attitude had worn off, and Sakura felt depressed again. She glanced at Aya. "Aya-san," she whispered quietly.

ººº

There was someone calling out to him. Aya was sure of that. The voice was faint, but it pierced though the blood-red darkness.

The voice was gone before Aya could figure out whom it belonged to. He was all alone again. The crimson darkness was attempting to consume him once more. He didn't try to scream out. He knew he wouldn't have been able to.

The darkness felt like blood on his skin. It slid off like a liquid, and it left a dark red stain. He had a metallic copper taste in his mouth, and he couldn't get rid of it, no matter how many times he swallowed.

Aya tried to reach out, but he hated the sight of his hands stained in red. Why couldn't he break free of his imprisonment? If this was just the space between dream and reality, why couldn't he just wake up?

"Help…" Aya's plea wasn't even a whisper.

ººº

Over the course of the next few days, Sakura visited Aya whenever she had a chance to do so. Sometimes his sister came with her; other times she went in Sakura's place. They couldn't often come together; one of them frequently had to help with the flower shop. Usually a member of Weiß was with Aya; Sakura was rarely alone with him. In some ways she was thankful for that, but she still wished she could have just one moment alone with him.

Today Omi was with Aya. "Hello, Sakura-chan," he greeted as Sakura stepped in the hospital room. He tried to sound cheerful, but he failed miserably.

"Hi, Omi-san," Sakura replied. "I got Aya-san some flowers." She awkwardly held up a bouquet of white, layered flowers.

"Gardenia!" Omi noticed. "But there's only ten…"

Sakura blushed. "Well, I couldn't afford any more. I couldn't even afford a vase…" She sighed heavily. She had always wanted to do something nice for Aya. She had gotten him ice cream one, but he hadn't seemed to like that very much. She would've liked to have gotten him more expensive and beautiful flowers, but she had very little money. She couldn't even do that simple act of kindness properly…

"That's all right!" Omi said, seeing how depressed Sakura had become. "I'm sure Aya-kun will love them."

Sakura forced a small smile and place the bouquet of gardenias on the table next to Aya's bed. "Aya-san, I got you some pretty flowers," she began, her voice quiet. "If you open your eyes, you can see them."

ººº

"Aya-san, I got you some pretty flowers. If you open your eyes, you can see them."

"Sakura, is that you?" Aya screamed out. "I'm right here! Where are you? I can't see you!"

Aya's voice was lost in the crimson darkness. His whole body felt as if it was drenched in blood. He hated that feeling. He hated being trapped in this blood-red darkness.

Ten white spheres of light appeared in front of Aya. They were faint and weak, but Aya could still see them clearly. "Purity and sweet love…" he whispered without thinking.

"Well, I have to get going now. I have so much homework to do…"

"No, don't leave me!" Aya protested, fully aware that all his efforts were in vain. "Sakura, stay with me!"

The ten glowing lights vanished, and Aya was more alone than ever.

ººº

A week passed, and Aya remained unconscious. His sister could barely stand to see him in such a similar state that she had just recently been in. She knew that his state wasn't "comatose," but that fact didn't help ease her of her misery at all. Sakura now visited him everyday in hopes that he would finally wake up, but everyday was the same.

Today was no different. Sakura had gotten Aya a new bouquet of gardenias, but nothing else had changed.

"Sakura, you should really get some rest," Ken suggested, laying his hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"I know, but I'm too worried," Sakura admitted. "Aya-san should've woken up by now. What happened to him?"

Ken quickly glanced around, as if making sure he and Sakura were alone. "Okay, I'll tell you," he decided, lowering his voice to a whisper. "He was injured on a mission. Our target was a powerful drug lord. When we were going after him, Aya got separated from the rest of us. We're not sure what exactly happened, but we do know that Aya encountered the drug lord. When we finally found them, the drug lord was dead and Aya had been shot several times. Luckily, none of his vital organs were hit, but he did lose a lot of blood." Ken paused uneasily. "You're right; he should've recovered by now. Maybe it's just the shock of having nearly been killed."

"Thank you, Ken." Sakura laid her hands on Aya's. "Aya-san, why won't you wake up?"

Ken appeared uncertain. "I don't know."

Sakura sighed heavily and clutched Aya's hand slightly tighter. "Aya-san, please wake up," she begged. "I can't stand to see you like this. Open your eyes, please."

ººº

The red darkness was stronger now, and Aya barely had any desire to fight it. He wanted the darkness to consume him, but a part of him refused to give up.

"Open your eyes, please."

With those words, the ten spheres of light returned, and Aya's heart felt stronger. Sakura was with him! "Sakura, don't leave!" he yelled. This was his last chance. If he didn't escape now, he would forever be trapped in this crimson darkness.

"Ken-san, he's alive! His hand moved!"

Aya felt Sakura's warm hands enclosing his. As long as that link wasn't broken, he would be able to following the glowing lights. He reached out, but the lights were too far out of his grasp. Still, he couldn't give up. He had to escape the bloody darkness so that he could be in the same world as Sakura again. In their own world, together.

"Sakura, can you hear me?" Aya called out, his voice becoming hoarse. "Don't let go! I'll find my way!"

"Aya-san, please come back to us. We're all worried about you."

Aya could hear Sakura's voice clearly. He knew Ken was with her, but Aya couldn't hear his voice. While Aya was escaping mainly for Sakura, he knew that his teammates were also there for him. Ken, Yoji, Omi… They were such wonderful friends. If only Aya had accepted their help, he wouldn't be caught in this space between reality and dream, fighting for his sanity and his life.

The red darkness still covered Aya's skin like blood. It was his own blood and the blood of everyone he had ever killed. It was holding him back. He couldn't be saved when he was stained in blood. He could never hope to reach the ten lights with his bloody hands.

Aya wrapped his arms tightly around his body. On the surface, he was the member of Weiß who had best accepted his fate. But below, he was still struggling with the mere idea of becoming an assassin. His body had long since accepted that fact, but his mind was still trapped in the past.

"Aya-san, everyone misses you! Aya-chan, Yoji-san, Omi-san, Ken-san, and me! Please, just open your eyes…"

Aya felt tears on his hand. He still hadn't accepted who he was. He had caused many people grief. But if he could just save a few from sorrow, he believed, there was a chance, a very small one, that he would be able to live with himself.

The ten white lights seemed to shine brighter. "My own world with Sakura," he thought, almost peacefully. "That would be nice."

ººº

Sakura held Aya's hand close to her face. "Aya-san…" she whispered, unable to say any more. She was praying with all her might. She knew that Aya wouldn't be able to stay with her for too long after he woke up. Even so, she wanted to speak with him, if only for a few minutes.

"Aya-san, I've accepted who you are," Sakura began, her voice quiet yet shaky. "I believe in you. I just want to see you again…" Her eyes watered and a few tears escaped.

"That's very kind of you, Sakura," Ken remarked. "Aya is lucky to have someone like you care about him." He reached out and touched Aya's face. "Weiß is like a single unit. When one falls, we all fall with him."

Aya stirred slightly. "Sakura…" he forced out.

"Aya-san!" Sakura exclaimed. "Ken-san, he's waking up!" She clutched Aya's hand tighter. "Aya-san, come back to us! You're almost here…"

It felt like hours. Aya continued to speak Sakura's name and nothing else while Sakura prayed even harder for him. Finally, Ken picked up Sakura's bouquet of ten gardenias and shoved them under Aya's nose. "Here Aya, smell these," he ordered firmly. "They are from Sakura. She's suffering because of you. If you want to ease her pain, then wake up."

Aya's eyebrow twitched, and he finally opened his violet eyes. "Ken?" he said softly, slowly sitting up. "Sakura?"

"Aya-san…" No words could describe Sakura's joy. She threw her arms around Aya, but she was careful not to hurt him. He would probably get embarrassed and try to push her away, but she didn't care. This was the only way she could express her joy.

Surprisingly, Aya returned Sakura's embrace. "Sakura, thank you," he said, brushing his lips against her hair.

Sakura's eyes became more filled with tears, but she held them back. "I'm so happy. Aya-chan will want to see you again."

"So will Yoji and Omi," Ken added, laying his hand on Aya's shoulder.

Aya turned to face Ken. "Ken, thank you. You, Yoji, and Omi are such wonderful friends. I shouldn't forget about you guys."

Ken smiled. "Should I go get Yoji and Omi?"

Aya nodded. "And my sister."

Ken also nodded, and then left the hospital room.

Aya's arms went slightly tighter around Sakura's body. "Sakura, I can't thank you enough," he admitted. "I was able to find my way back because of you. I finally found our own world."

Sakura's smile became wider and lovely tears slipped out of her eyes. "Aya-san…" She still couldn't find the right words to say.

"I love you, Sakura."

"I love you too, Ran." The words were out of Sakura's mouth before she could think about them. Using Aya's real name had lifted a heavy burden, and her heart felt much lighter. She knew that she didn't have to say those words, but she was sure they sounded pleasant to Aya's ears.

After another breathless moment had passed, their lips met. With this kiss, Aya and Sakura felt like they were truly in their own world, finally together.

After the kiss, Aya rested his head on Sakura's shoulder. He was a bit heavy, but she wanted to continue to support him. He had supported her many times before. Now it was her turn. They weren't sure how long they had stayed like this, silent with Sakura supporting Aya. It was probably a few hours, and it felt like a few hours of peaceful ecstasy.

"Aw, don't they make much a cute couple," commented a certain blond playboy.

Ran and Sakura jerked their heads up in surprise. Standing around the entrance were Yoji, Omi, Ken and Aya.

END