Disclaimer: Flame of Recca is the property of Nobuyuki Anzai as Weiβ Kreuz is owned by Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiβ.

WK/FOR Crossover: Beautiful Alone

Chapter 8: Contact

My line of sight was focused on the blood drops on the floor. I was able to avoid the guards in the area but unfortunately my target had lured them towards his direction. I can't believe Manx sent that novice to do a simple retrieval job and turns it into this fiasco of a rescue mission. I was pissed as hell and to make it worse, this was actually unapproved by Persia.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Ken laid back on the couch as we were waiting for Manx to arrive.

"Dunno…" Youji shrugged and took his place on the couch beside him. "I just really want to get a break from this. We just finished a job last night."

Omi descended from the spiral staircase with the red-haired woman following behind him.

"Hello boys," She greeted with a suspicious grin on her face. By just the tone of her greeting, I knew that I wasn't going to like what she had for us tonight. "I need a favor from you guys…"

'A favor?' I was already dreading what she was about to ask us.

"So this isn't from Persia?" Omi looked at her with a surprised look on his face.

"Well, kind of..." She answered vaguely.

'What does she think she's doing?'

Waiting for an answer, I shifted places to see her face. She looked a little troubled.

"Actually, I sent someone to do an intelligence gathering job last night in the Takeda Corps. Facility. The problem is, my agent hasn't reported back to me for the last 12 hours."

'Oh lord…it's a…'

"A rescue mission?" Youji raised his brow with a look of curiosity. "Wow, haven't had those in a while, ne?"

"Why is it that you asked us to do this?" I asked irritably.

"Because I don't want Persia finding out about this. I'll take full responsibility for it if it goes wrong but I need this person back here as soon a possible. You guys can finish the job faster than the other agents. It's important that you find this person. I'll answer all your questions later. Right now, time is of the essence."

Manx seemed very serious about it. Who ever this idiot is, he seemed to be important to Manx. "Fine. As long as we're not liable for this." I immediately replied. The faster this is over with the better.

"You have to leave now. I'll send you the details when you're on the road."

It was fortunate that I came across the target because I didn't get all the details. Youji and Ken were up here first but I haven't seen them around yet which is a good sign meaning they haven't been seen by the security.

The annoying sound of the alarms was still on. I wish Omi would hurry up with them because the other guards were calling for reinforcements.

It was that time that everything went black. I stopped running out of caution.

'That Omi…' He apparently turned everything off. The emergency lights clicked open, allowing me to see the dimly lit halls. Even with the lights, it was still hard to see the tracks. 'He's probably near already. I should just look around.'

I stealthily made my way through the halls, so as not to be seen.

"That intruder may not have gone far. I saw him go this way before the lights went out," I heard one of the guards up ahead say.

THUD!

The audible sound of something that fell was heard through the halls.

"He's over there!"

I decided to follow them from behind. There were also footsteps coming up from behind me. Apparently four other guards were alerted as well. I readied my katana for a surprise attack. I took them out using the hilt of my sword.

BANG!

Gunshots were fired. I ran to the direction of where the other five men who were chasing my target. I passed the three who got knocked out by picks. 'So he's not completely useless after all.'

I kept following the direction of the two guards who were left.

"You're not getting away again!" One of them exclaimed. I noticed that I was being lead towards a dead end. 'I spoke too soon…'

My target took out one of them. "Argh! This is so messed up!"

I heard him growl in frustration. 'Wait… that is not a man's voice…'

"Give up already! Surrender quietly so I won't have to kill you." Her pursuer stopped shooting. I was already a few meters away from them. I got myself ready to strike him.

"Crap"

I knew she had reached the dead end.

"Just stop running and come with me." He had caught up with her. I ran faster.

She collapsed in front of the guard. "You're not so tough after all…" He approached her motionless body to look closer. "You're just a girl!" He exclaimed in shock.

I had reached the dead end and immediately struck him unconscious.

"You are too much trouble…" I bent down to check her injuries. She had a bullet wound in her right thigh, several bruises on her bare arms, and cuts on her face. I looked closer at her face.

'She's that messenger girl…' Her deathly pale face looked peaceful but her injuries could leave her worse for wear. 'She's barely Omi's age. Why the hell would Manx send her for this job?'

I was alerted by running footsteps heading in our direction. I didn't have time to patch up her bullet wound. I lifted her legs and supported her back to carry her out before we got caught.

"Aya!"

It was Ken, followed by Youji and Omi close behind. They looked at the bundle in my arms in surprise.

"Eh? It's a girl?" Ken exclaimed in hushed tones.

Youji got nearer to take a closer look. "She's kinda cute…"

"You carry her then," I said in annoyance and handed her to him.

He raised his brow at me and smirked. "You really have it in for me today ne, Aya-kun?"

"No, I'm just extremely pissed off. Let's get out of here already. The job's done," I walked ahead, leaving them to catch up.

"Hai… I'll be on my way… Iie… Definitely… Yes, I know…"

I was hearing a faint voice as I stirred from what I felt was a very long slumber.

'Where the fuck am I?' My head was pounding like crazy and the strong scent of isopropyl alcohol was filling my senses. I opened my eyes slowly only to be blinded by light. I blinked rapidly to clear my vision.

I was in the hospital. A familiar red-clad woman was standing by the door with her back facing me. I was about to open my mouth to speak only to feel the dryness of my parched throat. I let out a cough to catch her attention.

She spun around with a look of relief. "Oh finally you're awake. You've been out for a couple of days. You're severely lacking of nutrition and you lost a lot of blood." She took the pitcher of water on the counter and poured some on a metal cup. "Here," she handed me the cup and I drank all of it as if I hadn't drank in a week.

"Arigatou…" I lifted my back to sit up. I held the empty metal cup in my hands, while an uncomfortable silence loomed in the room. I felt a little confused but very relieved to be alive. But the question was hanging like a white elephant so I decided to blurt it out.

"Anou, I thought you said I was on my own if I screwed up. Why'd you come for me?"

I looked up and met with eyes with both anger and worry. "Fuuko, what you did was costly. I get it, you're still a rookie and I suppose that you're just too young for this but I really trusted you to be smarter than tha..." She couldn't finish her sentence as she sighed.

"No… Gomen. It's not your fault… It was a lapse of judgment in my part… I overestimated your ability, I suppose." She let herself collapse on the couch with a look of remorse.

I felt a little disappointed at myself. She really believed I was good enough for this job. It's a little shady but I really thought I could do it by myself. I mean I know my track record in stealth isn't that impeccable but having experienced life and death situations before, I was sure this job was a walk in the park. 'Maybe I lived through those times because I had friends who fought beside me.' I hated submitting to the harsh truth.

"I suppose I did too…" I meekly replied.

She got up from the couch and leaned on the foot of the bed, grappling the metal edge. "You almost lost your leg. That bullet luckily only hit muscle. Rehab will be a bitch but you know you need it. They'll probably hold you here for a few more days."

I looked up at her with a half-hearted grin. "I have to go back to school. I don't think I'm allowed to miss anymore days."

Her eyes met mine with a playful glint. "Yeah, I know… I saw your school record. By the way, you'll need a back story for this," she said and without hesitation patted my bad leg.

"Itai!" I exclaimed as the pain stung from the contact. "Hey, don't just go and touch a person's injured body parts! And yeah, I'll just tell them I got shot at by a bunch of gun-wielding maniacs while illegally infiltrating private property." I shot back with a fury of playful sarcasm.

She grinned even more. "Then after that, deal with the foster family whose going to take you after child services find out that a minor is working as a secret agent for the police," she retaliated with an equal amount of sarcasm.

"Fine." I pouted childishly and glared at her with fake anger.

Kitada-san slid by my side and patted my head. "Da-i-jou-bu… I already reported that you were found at the Shinoda territory and deduced that you were one of the civilians that innocently got involved in a territorial battle. You were on your way home and a stray bullet hit your leg as you were passing of what appears to be a feud between Yakuza groups. All of the involved people from both the Shinoda and Yamada clans have been taken in."

"And this fight actually happened?" I skeptically raised a brow.

"Of course. It's not that hard to cover up your tracks. We have those undocumented procedures ready for any type of alibi just for times like this." She said a matter-of-factly.

"What we do isn't really for people your age Kirisawa and it was my mistake to have gotten you involved…" She stroke my hair gently and I was oddly not feeling awkward about the sudden touchy-feely-ness.

But she really shouldn't patronize me this way.

"Hey, I said I needed the money… and I still do. Plus normal kids my age hadn't really had to go through death matches, weird power wielding weapons, or parents being murdered. So secret agent doesn't really feel different at all."

She chuckled a bit and got off the bed. "Yah, and we really can't let go of you because we'd have to kill you if we did," she said jokingly. Although at the back of my head, I think it does go like that. I suddenly shuddered at the thought.

"Anyhow, I'm expected to be back in the office in 10 minutes. I'll stop by again later or tomorrow. I'll send someone else if I can't make it later." She got her coat. "Ja ne!"

"Ja." I lay back down, feeling the strain from sitting without back support. "Itetete..."

'So much for staying alive…'

"Hai. Arigatou Gozaimasu!" I bowed politely at the last customer who just purchased a bouquet of lilies. He said he bought it for his sister who he was visiting for her death anniversary. He seemed a bit touchy about it when I asked who the flowers were for.

I was about to go in to close up when my cell phone rang.

"Kitada Hanae" was on the caller ID.

"Hai, moshi moshi?"

"Omi-kun, can I ask a favor from you?" Her tone was a bit fishy. I felt a bit apprehensive on saying yes.

"Anou… nanda?"

"I need you to personally deliver an arrangement to room 501 at Magic Bus Hospital. Then call me when you're there, okay?"

I was a bit skeptical about it but I already had a hunch on what this favor was about.

"Uh, okay. By the way, anything particular you want on the arrangement?" I decided it wouldn't be any harm if it was about the thing I think this was.

"Ie. I trust your ikebana skills," she said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I have to go. No missions for you guys tonight so I suggest that all of you rest easy."

"Ah, yes, but it seems I have a special task from you so technically, I do have a mission," I retorted jokingly.

"But this one's a personal favor so you're only getting paid for the flowers." I can sense her smirking on the other line.

"Hai, hai…"

"Honto ni Arigatou, Omi-kun! Just remember to call me when you get there. Don't forget, Room 501, okay? Ja ne." Then she hung up.

'Aiya… got baited again…' I sighed as I flipped closed my cell.

"Yo! Omi, close up already! We're waiting for you so we can start the game!" I heard Ken-kun barking from the basement. We were supposed to have a GT tournament. They already setup the Playstation as I tended to the last customer but then this came up.

I got on the first steps of the staircase and shouted back, "Gomen! Just go ahead without me! I have to deliver a special order pronto!"

"Eh? Let Aya do that! How can we beat the champion if he isn't here?" Youji-kun spat back.

I rolled my eyes. "Youji-kun, I'm sure there'll be other times when I can kick your ass at Gran Tourismo. Aya-kun's not here, okay. I'm sure you guys can manage by yourselves."

"Fine!" He childishly replied.

I looked around the room to find some remaining materials for the arrangement but my eyes landed on a finished arrangement that was made by Aya-kun earlier. It was an order that got cancelled because it seemed that it wasn't what the customer wanted. It was a beautiful arrangement though.

I just grabbed the arrangement from the table and got the keys to my scooter.

"Ittekimasu!" I shouted to them letting them know I was leaving.

"Itterashai!" I chucked hearing them shout back in unison.

I got in the elevator and pressed the 5th floor button. There were a few people with me but the ride up was uneventful. As the lift stopped on my floor, I got out and was greeted by a chaotic chase lead by a patient on a wheel chair followed by a couple of nurses.

As I stepped off the elevator, the person on the wheelchair zoomed pass me, almost running over my foot but thanks to my fast reflexes, I was able to avoid it.

"Kirisawa-san! Yamete!" One of the nurses hollered across the hall. Several people inside the rooms peaked out as the chase passed their way.

I walked my way towards the signs on the wall indicating where the rooms are. I passed by the nurses' station and heard them gossiping.

"Didn't that patient just wake up a few hours ago?"

"Oh, you mean the teenager from 501? Yeah, I think she was one of the casualties in that clan feud the other night."

My head turned at the mention of the room number.

'Oh boy… Aya-kun was right about her then…' I remembered Aya-kun cursing on our way home from the rescue mission about her being a troublemaker.

I got my phone and dialed Manx's number.

"Hai? Omi-kun? Are you there already?"

"Ah, hai. Kitada-san, anou…" I trailed off, not sure how to begin to explain the situation.

"Yeah, I know. Gomen, I really need you to look after her for tonight. I'm tied up here in the station. She just woke up a few hours ago and she could really be a handful when she's awake so…"

"About that… ehe… you see…" I was cut off when she started speaking again.

"I'm really sorry Omi-kun but I just need someone to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. It's just for tonight, okay. Even for a few hours…"

I was debating with myself whether to tell her that her charge was creating chaos in the 5th floor or not.

'I suppose I shouldn't let her worry about her…'

"Anou, daijoubu. I'll take of her. She's sleeping right now so I'm sure you'll have nothing to worry about for tonight," I said hoping that I sounded convincing.

"Thank you very much, Omi-kun! But I suggest that you be on your guard though. She's really stubborn even when she's injured."

'Don't I know it.'

"Ah, hai. I will."

She finally hung up and I had a feeling things are going to take a turn for the worse. I resolved myself to the inevitable that will follow through this "small" favor that I had agreed to take.

I shifted my feet to where I had come from and broke into a run, following the direction of the chase. I really wasn't sure what I planned to do when I caught up but for the moment I'll just have to play it by ear.

"Kirisawa-san! Yamete!"

I wound the wheels faster as the nurse in-charge of me was gaining ground.

I woke-up an hour after Kitada-san left me. After sleeping for days, I didn't feel the need to get more rest. I eventually disliked the boredom of being awake and cooped up in a hospital bed. It simply just wasn't what Kirisawa Fuuko is.

I decided that I just can't stay here, no matter how incapacitated I am. So when my nurse came in with a wheelchair saying that I was to go for some tests, I quickly took the reins of the wheelchair and sped off.

Right now, I was finding a way out of the floor but the elevator just wasn't the right place since I could get easily caught.

I made a sharp turn only to be met by the flight of stairs. I didn't hesitate to push ahead.

"Kirisawa-san! Don't!"

The male nurse had almost grabbed the handles of my wheelchair as it rode down the flight of stairs. I felt a sharp pain from my leg wound as I cascaded downwards, being bounced around by my bumpy ride.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the landing. Then it stopped.

The chair was suspended slanted against the stairs and I opened my eyes meeting a pair of warm brown eyes and a heavily breathing teenage boy with brown hair with a face of a child. His arms were pushing the armrests of my wheelchair. I felt his energy focused on the keeping the chair and me from going further down. The pull of gravity was making me slip off the chair.

"I… don't… think… you… thought… this… through…" he said in between breaths.

My widened eyes didn't look away from his. My mind wasn't working as it was still processing what happened.

'IS HE AN IDIOT?'

…to be continued.

A/N: And scene. I left this chapter alone for a very long time. This was written 3 years ago and it was unfinished until a few minutes ago. I don't expect that people are still reading this. It took a while before I found that place where I felt that I can still write this after being detached from it for so long. I'll try to make it go somewhere but I'm not gonna promise that I'm finishing it. It might take another 3 or more if I lose my groove again. Anyway if anyone's out there, make yourself heard.

Ja!

Anna-san