TITLE: Transcendence
FANDOM: Weiss Kreuz
AUTHOR: Simply Kim
GENRE: AU/Yaoi/Angst/Drama/Humour
PART: 00
WORDS: 1,353
DISCLAIMERS: The series solely belongs to Koyasu Takehito and Ohmine Shoko. Although I aspire to have endless dump trucks of cash, I unfortunately do not get dibs on the fortune generated by this series.
NOTE #1: Blah or Blah is for emphasis. /Blah/is for conversations over the phone or flashbacks (if any). /Blah/ is for the conscience or whatever inner voice there is talking. Blah is for thoughts or random Japanese words.
NOTE#2: This series fic, though mostly Kryptonbrand Side B, shows much of the former parts of the Weiss Kreuz series, especially Crashers, Knight & Ran and Glühen. This one's pretty ambitious, but I'm sure I'll be able to try making a decent piece out of a very twisted plot. Please be aware that since Weiss Kreuz is an underground-based plotline, this fic would carry much of the violence and evil that is true to the series' setting. That's about it. Enjoy!
00: Zero
"Checkmate!"
Mihirogi Nana's triumphant declaration jarred him from his peace. Startled, he turned around and watched as she gloated in true British fashion, hand partially covering her mouth as she laughed mockingly at the poor guy who had lost for the third time in a row.
"You can't be serious!" Hidaka Ken screamed, fingers digging deep into his scalp, gripping his hair as he stared, dumbfounded at the chessboard that was void entirely of white pieces. "Kudou Youji, the Master of Board Games never won against me, and you, a woman, actually beat me? This is insane!" He threw his hands up and stood abruptly, bumping his legs against the underside of the table and upsetting the chess set.
"Never underestimate the power of the female mind, Ken!" The esteemed secretary crowed. "Just face it, your skills in playing chess is just as poor as your gardening!"
"Ken-Ken lost!" Michel Conrad joined in, dancing around and bumping into Yuki numerous times, prompting the bespectacled boy to grab his wrist to keep him still – all to no avail. "You are such a loser when it comes to this game, Ken!"
It was quite amusing to see such semblance of normalcy playing out before his eyes, and Ran thought it would never get better than this, considering the fact that they kill people in their spare time. A small smile tugged on his lips and he leant against the doorframe, the wooden beams' pattern digging into his upper arms, but he didn't care – after all, he constantly experienced much extreme pain than this.
And experience taught him that Ken was a sore loser when it came to anything except soccer. Rubbing his face in it wouldn't be such a good idea. Maybe he should tell...
"Must be because you're so unrefined."
There it was, the dreaded remark. Trust Chloé to say something verbally dreadful to irk the perpetual hothead even more.
Ken let out a war cry and turned towards the offending miscreant who had the audacity to cross him further. "What did you say?" He growled.
"I said it must be because you're so unrefined that you lost." Chloé retorted. "Against such a lovely lady, how could you even hope to win?"
"Chloé...!!!"
Ran was about to step in and break the impending fight when the phone rang. Caught unawares, the group was stunned into silence, eyes staring at one object currently adorning the decorative table nearby – the phone. It wasn't as if there was something so surprising about the phone ringing, it was just the fact that the phone ringing was not the house phone but...
Mystified, and virtually thrown off by the fact that his mobile was meowing, probably the effect of Yuki's constant tinkering, he reached for it quickly and stared at the name of the caller blinking mockingly at him.
Sweat beaded his brow and his eyes widened.
Why is he calling? He thought, a momentary panic attack assaulting him, making his hands shake. "Yes." Ran answered.
It took a few moments before the conversation was terminated, but in that span of time, all he could do was stare off into space and let his hand fall to his side, dropping his mobile phone in the process. Silence reigned in the manor's living room as countless pairs of eyes gazed quizzically at him.
"Aya?" Ken asked. "Are you okay?"
That was a good question.
Was he okay?
No.
He straightened and stood stiffly. The tension was thick, until finally, Ran's voice cut through.
"Mihirogi-san, I need to talk to you."
OxxxOxxxO
Fujimiya Ran was someone who didn't believe in ghosts.
He may believe that there were unspeakable creatures that plague the world, but never did he brand them as ghosts. To him, they were merely the remnants of memoirs people leave upon death. For him these memories were the true mystery, the true ghosts, and the ones that should be feared.
Solemnly, he watched the sun set down the horizon, watched as the entirety of the city that provided him with enough terror to last any normal person a lifetime, light up. Segment by segment, the place stained mostly in monochrome erupted into gay lights and lively song, as if celebrating rebirth. As seconds passed, the mosaic of neon lights scarred the eyes... and the bitter truth rose up, as bitter as the bile that was trying to escape from his throat.
He detested this city.
He detested Tokyo.
Closing his eyes, he leant forward, arms folded on the sturdy guardrail that lined the edge of the mountain road. And yet part of me can still admit that I love it.
He felt heavy.
It felt almost like a million painful thorns were wrapping around his body. He didn't want to return...
But he was here.
Purple eyes showed themselves to the world once again and he found himself staring at one familiar point, that place he called home even for a little while.
A place that was once filled with happy memories, those wherein it was part of his life to shun the way of the sword... the time when he still felt, even for just a bit, that his soul could be salvaged. That short time he spent with a group of people who cherished and accepted him as much as a true family would.
It was still standing, that huge fortress that was the pride and joy of one of the most important people in his life. The same person who was the perpetrator of this unexpected return.
"Aya?"
Startled out of his reverie, he turned, meeting the concerned faces of the ones who had desired to accompany him back to this place filled with much bloodbath and history. "Yes." He finally answered.
Yuki stood there, seemingly uncertain, so much that Ran had to wonder how he must look like to the young boy. With as much energy as he could muster, he gave a small smile of reassurance. "What is it?"
Relief flooded the bespectacled boy's face. "Well, we haven't booked a hotel yet..." Yuki fidgeted, slipping his hands inside his jacket pockets in supplication. "And I was wondering if you plan on making us stay elsewhere for the next couple of days... you know, so the others would know where we are just in case...?"
Ran gave the boy a thoughtful look before he nodded and raised a hand, pointing straight to the point he had been gazing at for a while now. "We'll be staying at my place." He declared reassuringly. "At that clearing over there."
"Wow, that's big... like a palace!"
Ran's eyes softened as Yuki said the words he himself uttered years ago. "It was – it is my home..." He murmured, a fond smile stealing into his rueful features.
"Honjou Manor."
OxxxOxxxO
The mansion felt empty as it looked.
For the first time in so many years he was back here, in the same place where he had spent blissful days of being home with people who accidentally became part of his world.
But they weren't here now.
There wasn't a single soul who greeted his return. Upon opening the huge oaken doors, he half-expected a smiling elderly butler to help him with his luggage. Upon his first step inside, he half-expected a man his age telling him to change into something a little less 'vulgar' before he threw him out of the house... And upon his first glance at the grand staircase, he was half-expecting a beautiful young woman calling out her own words of welcome accompanied by the shy giggling he knew so well.
But there was only silence.
And the slight noise made by sneakered feet.
Turning towards his young companion, he gave another strained smile. "You can come in and rest, let's make things a bit more comfortable later, alright, Yuki?"
Quietly, the boy nodded and decided to crash on the embroidered sofa in the living room, possibly still uncertain of the sheer size of space within his view.
As Ran closed the front door, it was only then that he was overwhelmed by unwanted emotions he had effectively kept hidden to the world.
He set his bags down, sat on them, and inwardly wept.
TSUZUKU