Chapter 6 Good Mornings
I woke up the next morning with the definition of a throbbing headache. I slowly dared to open my eyes and scanned the room for signs of familiarity. After you start waking up in weird motels more often than in your own room, you develop a certain ability to sum up your surroundings rather quickly. I knew right away that I was in Ran's room, but how I had gotten there was beyond me. I remembered the girl at the bar, and the image of my keys kept popping up in my head. I was brought out of my contemplation by a harsh, shooting pain in my arm. What the hell was I doing last night?
I looked over to my left and saw that Ran had fallen asleep next to me. Most of this was news to me in the morning. It took me a while to remember as much as I do now. He was lying down on his back with one arm over his head and the other resting on his stomach. My attention was then brought to the fact that I had my fingers entangled in his hair. How I managed to do that without getting the katana shoved down my throat, I'll never know.
I watched him until he woke up. Partially because Ran never looks angry when he sleeps, and partially because I felt that if I had moved, I would have just fallen over and died. "Good morning," I said when he finally looked up at me.
"You're still here?" He asked and sat up, untangling my hand from his hair.
"Want to fill me in on what happened to me last night?"
"Not especially."
I sighed and folded my arms under my head. "I didn't do anything stupid, did I?"
"Let's just say that 'anything stupid' would be an understatement," he replied and stood up.
I laughed. "Answer this one seriously, Aya. Did I do anything I'd need to apologize for?"
He took a while thinking about that as if he were evaluating my actions on a scale of his morals. "No," he finally replied.
Then I suddenly really felt like throwing up. My sincerest apologies for ruining the moment. I stumbled out of the bed and went for the door to the interior hallway. I pulled it open and felt my way along the wall until I made it to the bathroom. I'll spare you the details, but when I came back Ran was already dressed and pulling on his shoes.
"You're disgusting," he commented.
"Would it kill ya' to be just a little nice?" I leaned on the doorframe. "Morning shift, eh?"
"Hn." He pulled on his other shoe and started tying it up.
"With Ken?"
"No," he replied, not looking up from his shoe.
"Omi?"
"No."
I pushed myself off the wall to stand up straight. "Oh come on, Aya! I can't work like this."
He looked up at me and frowned. "And what do you expect me to do about that?"
I crossed my arms over my chest. "You did that on purpose to teach me some sort of lesson, didn't you?"
"Ken has practice, Omi has school, and I couldn't care less about teaching you anything." He stood up and walked past me, through the doorway. He stopped just outside and added, "You smell disgusting, too. Take a shower and come to work." With that, he walked away.
"Oi, Aya!" I called after him. "I have feelings, you know!"
"You have fifteen minutes!" He called back without turning around.
I sighed and made my way back to my room only to realize that I still didn't have my key. I cursed under my breath and reluctantly trudged outside to look for them. They should be easier to find in the daylight. As I stepped outside, the sun hit me hard. The transition from Ran's room to the early morning was just hideous. I was blinded for a good five minutes.
I walked down the stairs, shoulders slumped and feet dragging behind me. I looked down at the bushes where they could have fallen and started kicking them around. I'd be damned if this whole thing would get the better of me and have me crawling around in the dirt.
After a while of fruitless searching like that, I decided that pride doesn't matter as long as no one sees me. I knelt down and started digging through the bushes, looking for anything shiny.
"You're pathetic," said a voice from behind me. I didn't have to look up to see who it was.
"Come to watch me look like an idiot, Aya?" I asked, casually sitting down on the ground with my arms perched on top of my knees.
"No," he said, pulling something out of his pocket. "Came to give you the spare key," he said and threw a small, shiny object at me. I caught it in the air and looked at it in awe.
"You had a spare key?"
"Obviously," he sighed and turned to walk away.
I pulled myself off the ground and went to follow him. "Then why didn't you just give it to me last night?" Not that I'm complaining.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, utter annoyance written all over his face. "Are you really this dense?"
"No, I just want to make you say it." I grinned.
"You're a child."
I grabbed his arm as he went to walk away again, and he turned the evil ice glare from hell on me. Luckily, he didn't have the katana on him. "No nightmares when I'm there, right?"
"He doesn't like you," Ran replied, calming his voice and letting his eyelids fall over his eyes as if he were trying to picture or remember something.
"Who?" I reached up and ran my hand through his hair like before.
He looked confused for a moment. "I don't know what it means," he said and let his head fall onto my hand.
"What? I don't understand."
Ran opened his eyes as if something had suddenly struck him and pulled away from me. "His name means 'Guilty'."
"Aya.."
"Customers," he replied and walked back to the flower shop, leaving me a little worried and a lot confused.
I kind of stood there for a little while, watching him walk back into the store. I didn't really know what to make of that conversation. I don't know who this "Guilty" was, but I had a few educated guesses. If I were to place bets, I'd say it was the so-called telepath that didn't let Ran get any sleep. Then again, at this point, I still thought Ran had some major sanity issues to work out. A lot more would need to happen before I believed this telepath fairytale.
I shrugged and played catch with my replacement key as I walked back to my room. My coordination was greatly improved without the alcohol flooding my mind. Even still, I threw it too high and I missed catching it by a few inches. No fear, I watched carefully where it fell so there were no problems finding it again. As I bent down to pick it up, a bright reflection of light shone in my eyes. I looked up to see my original key resting incognito behind a few twigs. I sighed at the irony and stuffed both keys into my pocket. I had a few ideas about what to do with the extra.
After I got back into my apartment, I cleaned myself up and went down to the shop for my shift. "Good morning, ladies!" I called as I walked down the stairs. A few excited giggles, a few obsessive squeals, and a "Good morning, Yohji-san!" greeted me as I wrapped an apron around my waist.
I think it's safe to say that Ran avoided me like the plague for the whole rest of the day.
After our shift ended, I was hoping to get back to my room for more sleep, but Manx ended up visiting us instead. She winked at us and waved a folder around in the air. She quickly scanned the shop to make sure no one could hear her. "Mission," she said. Ran and I followed her down to the basement as Omi went to look for Ken.
I shot Manx a suave smile and plopped down on the couch. When everyone was present, she turned on the television set. An image of Persia appeared on the screen.
My memory isn't sharp enough to remember the comings and goings of the assignment word-for-word, but the basis was rather routine. We had two targets; the sleazy, corrupt owner of a suspiciously successful chain of car dealerships and his vice president, a scrawny pushover that was probably blackmailed into doing the dirty work. Apparently, he's had a handy blacklist of people to sell killer cars to. Very interesting method of assassination, if you ask me.
Manx turned off the TV and gave us all a collective smile. She pulled five folders out of her bag and handed one to each of us, keeping one for herself. "The basics about your targets," she said, "their profiles, photographs, etc. As well as a detailed report of the places they may be tomorrow."
Ken looked up from his folder and scrunched his eyebrows. "The mission is tomorrow?"
"Yes," Manx said as her hands went to rest of her hips. "Neither of your targets are in Japan tonight. They have a private flight back down from an extended business trip tomorrow morning. Your mission will be tomorrow night."
"Well," Omi said as he stood up and tapped the folder with his fingers, "that gives me enough time to get some more information about the locations."
"Abyssinian," Manx said, focusing her eyes on Ran, who stood against a wall and watched the entire procedure. "This is your first mission. Any questions, perhaps?"
Ran looked up at her, annoyed. "This isn't my first mission," he clarified and moved to walk out of the room. "I thought you knew everything about me."
That puzzled me, and I made a mental note to ask Ran about it later. I didn't know he had any pervious assassin experience, and, as a detective at heart, I felt the need to poke my nose further into this. Although, I decided to leave that for later, when we can be alone. He's more agreeable when we're alone.
I woke up the next morning with the definition of a throbbing headache. I slowly dared to open my eyes and scanned the room for signs of familiarity. After you start waking up in weird motels more often than in your own room, you develop a certain ability to sum up your surroundings rather quickly. I knew right away that I was in Ran's room, but how I had gotten there was beyond me. I remembered the girl at the bar, and the image of my keys kept popping up in my head. I was brought out of my contemplation by a harsh, shooting pain in my arm. What the hell was I doing last night?
I looked over to my left and saw that Ran had fallen asleep next to me. Most of this was news to me in the morning. It took me a while to remember as much as I do now. He was lying down on his back with one arm over his head and the other resting on his stomach. My attention was then brought to the fact that I had my fingers entangled in his hair. How I managed to do that without getting the katana shoved down my throat, I'll never know.
I watched him until he woke up. Partially because Ran never looks angry when he sleeps, and partially because I felt that if I had moved, I would have just fallen over and died. "Good morning," I said when he finally looked up at me.
"You're still here?" He asked and sat up, untangling my hand from his hair.
"Want to fill me in on what happened to me last night?"
"Not especially."
I sighed and folded my arms under my head. "I didn't do anything stupid, did I?"
"Let's just say that 'anything stupid' would be an understatement," he replied and stood up.
I laughed. "Answer this one seriously, Aya. Did I do anything I'd need to apologize for?"
He took a while thinking about that as if he were evaluating my actions on a scale of his morals. "No," he finally replied.
Then I suddenly really felt like throwing up. My sincerest apologies for ruining the moment. I stumbled out of the bed and went for the door to the interior hallway. I pulled it open and felt my way along the wall until I made it to the bathroom. I'll spare you the details, but when I came back Ran was already dressed and pulling on his shoes.
"You're disgusting," he commented.
"Would it kill ya' to be just a little nice?" I leaned on the doorframe. "Morning shift, eh?"
"Hn." He pulled on his other shoe and started tying it up.
"With Ken?"
"No," he replied, not looking up from his shoe.
"Omi?"
"No."
I pushed myself off the wall to stand up straight. "Oh come on, Aya! I can't work like this."
He looked up at me and frowned. "And what do you expect me to do about that?"
I crossed my arms over my chest. "You did that on purpose to teach me some sort of lesson, didn't you?"
"Ken has practice, Omi has school, and I couldn't care less about teaching you anything." He stood up and walked past me, through the doorway. He stopped just outside and added, "You smell disgusting, too. Take a shower and come to work." With that, he walked away.
"Oi, Aya!" I called after him. "I have feelings, you know!"
"You have fifteen minutes!" He called back without turning around.
I sighed and made my way back to my room only to realize that I still didn't have my key. I cursed under my breath and reluctantly trudged outside to look for them. They should be easier to find in the daylight. As I stepped outside, the sun hit me hard. The transition from Ran's room to the early morning was just hideous. I was blinded for a good five minutes.
I walked down the stairs, shoulders slumped and feet dragging behind me. I looked down at the bushes where they could have fallen and started kicking them around. I'd be damned if this whole thing would get the better of me and have me crawling around in the dirt.
After a while of fruitless searching like that, I decided that pride doesn't matter as long as no one sees me. I knelt down and started digging through the bushes, looking for anything shiny.
"You're pathetic," said a voice from behind me. I didn't have to look up to see who it was.
"Come to watch me look like an idiot, Aya?" I asked, casually sitting down on the ground with my arms perched on top of my knees.
"No," he said, pulling something out of his pocket. "Came to give you the spare key," he said and threw a small, shiny object at me. I caught it in the air and looked at it in awe.
"You had a spare key?"
"Obviously," he sighed and turned to walk away.
I pulled myself off the ground and went to follow him. "Then why didn't you just give it to me last night?" Not that I'm complaining.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, utter annoyance written all over his face. "Are you really this dense?"
"No, I just want to make you say it." I grinned.
"You're a child."
I grabbed his arm as he went to walk away again, and he turned the evil ice glare from hell on me. Luckily, he didn't have the katana on him. "No nightmares when I'm there, right?"
"He doesn't like you," Ran replied, calming his voice and letting his eyelids fall over his eyes as if he were trying to picture or remember something.
"Who?" I reached up and ran my hand through his hair like before.
He looked confused for a moment. "I don't know what it means," he said and let his head fall onto my hand.
"What? I don't understand."
Ran opened his eyes as if something had suddenly struck him and pulled away from me. "His name means 'Guilty'."
"Aya.."
"Customers," he replied and walked back to the flower shop, leaving me a little worried and a lot confused.
I kind of stood there for a little while, watching him walk back into the store. I didn't really know what to make of that conversation. I don't know who this "Guilty" was, but I had a few educated guesses. If I were to place bets, I'd say it was the so-called telepath that didn't let Ran get any sleep. Then again, at this point, I still thought Ran had some major sanity issues to work out. A lot more would need to happen before I believed this telepath fairytale.
I shrugged and played catch with my replacement key as I walked back to my room. My coordination was greatly improved without the alcohol flooding my mind. Even still, I threw it too high and I missed catching it by a few inches. No fear, I watched carefully where it fell so there were no problems finding it again. As I bent down to pick it up, a bright reflection of light shone in my eyes. I looked up to see my original key resting incognito behind a few twigs. I sighed at the irony and stuffed both keys into my pocket. I had a few ideas about what to do with the extra.
After I got back into my apartment, I cleaned myself up and went down to the shop for my shift. "Good morning, ladies!" I called as I walked down the stairs. A few excited giggles, a few obsessive squeals, and a "Good morning, Yohji-san!" greeted me as I wrapped an apron around my waist.
I think it's safe to say that Ran avoided me like the plague for the whole rest of the day.
After our shift ended, I was hoping to get back to my room for more sleep, but Manx ended up visiting us instead. She winked at us and waved a folder around in the air. She quickly scanned the shop to make sure no one could hear her. "Mission," she said. Ran and I followed her down to the basement as Omi went to look for Ken.
I shot Manx a suave smile and plopped down on the couch. When everyone was present, she turned on the television set. An image of Persia appeared on the screen.
My memory isn't sharp enough to remember the comings and goings of the assignment word-for-word, but the basis was rather routine. We had two targets; the sleazy, corrupt owner of a suspiciously successful chain of car dealerships and his vice president, a scrawny pushover that was probably blackmailed into doing the dirty work. Apparently, he's had a handy blacklist of people to sell killer cars to. Very interesting method of assassination, if you ask me.
Manx turned off the TV and gave us all a collective smile. She pulled five folders out of her bag and handed one to each of us, keeping one for herself. "The basics about your targets," she said, "their profiles, photographs, etc. As well as a detailed report of the places they may be tomorrow."
Ken looked up from his folder and scrunched his eyebrows. "The mission is tomorrow?"
"Yes," Manx said as her hands went to rest of her hips. "Neither of your targets are in Japan tonight. They have a private flight back down from an extended business trip tomorrow morning. Your mission will be tomorrow night."
"Well," Omi said as he stood up and tapped the folder with his fingers, "that gives me enough time to get some more information about the locations."
"Abyssinian," Manx said, focusing her eyes on Ran, who stood against a wall and watched the entire procedure. "This is your first mission. Any questions, perhaps?"
Ran looked up at her, annoyed. "This isn't my first mission," he clarified and moved to walk out of the room. "I thought you knew everything about me."
That puzzled me, and I made a mental note to ask Ran about it later. I didn't know he had any pervious assassin experience, and, as a detective at heart, I felt the need to poke my nose further into this. Although, I decided to leave that for later, when we can be alone. He's more agreeable when we're alone.