disclaimer: Weiss is owned by Koyasu Takehito and others
Beta'd by Sybil Rowan
Like anyone, Fujimiya Ran had had moments of daydreaming. But not as sudden and complete as this, when he was suddenly plunged into rapidly passing memories (Doing well in the exams, but not well enough, working in his father's bank, in the holidays, at kendo, parents' pleasure at his lovely well connected girlfriend, her discussing where to have 'their' apartment, looking at him lovingly, I'm so sorry Keiko). And not walking from a busy Tokyo intersection, either. He lost direction, was jostled in several directions at once, staggered on the edge of a busy street...
A strong hand pulled him back from the brink and someone murmured in fluent but accented Japanese, "Think of all the dry cleaning bills everyone'd have to pay...Hey, you're Fujimiya's kid, aren't you?" It was said quite inoffensively, but Ran found himself bristling at the allusion to his colouring. "I work for Takatori Reiji, well, my boss works for Takatori, really. I have as little to do with him as possible."
It was totally unJapanese, that honest dismissal of someone above you in the food chain, but Ran found himself smiling back. The gaijin was taller than Ran, who sometimes felt freakish just from height, and his hair was a flame that made Ran's look shadowy, which Ran had always wanted. Ran had heard of foreigners with blue eyes, but the few he'd met had theirs dark as Japanese or a muddy indeterminate colour. This man had purely blue eyes.
He was also about the best looking man Ran had ever seen. For just a moment Ran forgot about the crowded street, his father waiting for him, and the security guards glowering at him from the front of Takatori Towers, more hostile than ever.
Probably well used to having Japanese stare at him, his rescuer didn't take offense at the time it took Ran to collect his manners at least up to a ten year old's level to say, "My father works for Takatori too, managing one of his banks."
The gaijin had a very wide smile. Ran decided it must be a gaijin thing. "We're practically family, then."
"But I don't know your name."
"Schuldig." Smiling at Ran's determined expression before tackling the word he said, "But Takatori calls me Shoga, so you can too."
Ran thought Takatori showed an unexpected poetic streak by naming Schuldig after the flame-coloured, flame-tasting spice. He ducked his head and said, "Shoga-san, I am called Ran." Schuldig/Shoga had a very nice smile, he thought.
"My being a relative from out of town, don't you think it's your duty to show me around the big city?"
Ran might even be better for it than a real native. Some of the mistakes he'd made were fresh in his mind. Wouldn't his father would want him to help a fellow worker feel at home? Ran felt something bright in his chest and opened his mouth.
Someone shouted. "Schuldig!"
A tall man in a white suit strode up to them, with a sneer for the world in general, and Ran in particular. He talked with a strong foreign accent. "I have work for you!" He dragged Shoga away.
Ran looked after them, wondering if that was just an excuse. Was there something obvious about Ran, so the white suited foreigner was warning Shoga now. It would be terrible to see those blue eyes cold, that smile sharpen into a smirk. Then he saw his father.
He was at his side before he thought. "Tousan!" Then he controlled himself. His father told him a wise man gives more time to listening to the answers than asking the questions. Tousan seemed to have enough trouble without his pestering.
For once Fujimiya leaned on his son. Ran helped him sit on a forecourt bench, instinctively moving his body to screen him from the sneering gaze of the guards. The staff grapevine had told them Fujimiya was out of favour, and Fujimiyas would get no mercy from Takatori staff.
Seated, his father continued to hold Ran's shoulder. "Ran, Takatori-san is angry with me. I think he means to fire me. I know you expect to go to college, but I don't think we can afford it. Even with a scholarship there are expenses..."
"That's all right," said Ran quickly. "I'm old enough to work full time as a waiter, and there'll be lots of overtime - "
"I don't think they'll hire you, now we're not people of influence." Ran thought of his workmates at the café and swallowed. The sooner he adjusted to the harder facts of life, the easier for his family. He told his father, "I'll work in construction or something. I'll bring money into the family somehow."
"Thank you, Ran." Fujimiya looked at his son's curious face and smiled. "Thanks for not badgering me, too. I'm not telling anyone anything until I've worked out my obligations." He let Ran help him stand, perhaps to steady the boy more than himself. "This is hard on you, but it's even harder on your mother and sister. It's Aya's birthday tomorrow. Let's give her one perfect birthday before we tell them."