A New Beginning for All of Them
Letitia
This is a fic for Melis' birthday. Sorry but I don't really know the characters in Ayashi no Ceres and CCS – but you still have good taste – hope you like this! I tried for a Ken+Aya-chan but failed miserably... there's still sort of a plot though.
Note: I don't really remember what happened after Schwarz and Weiss went under the sea, and didn't watch the OVAs so I'm sorry if something contradicts with the plot.
Chapter One: An Old Acquaintance
"Aya-chan, kore o misete kudasai!"
"Hai, Fukase-kun!"
"Aya-chan, kono bara ikebana wa mou hitotsu onegai shimasu…" ¹
"Un, chotto matte kudasai!"
Momoe-san smiled contentedly as she watched the young girl handle the shop. Ever since Weiss' disappearance, Aya-chan had taken over, attracting large crowds of teenage boys to the Koneko no Sumu Ie.
"Aya-chan! How many arrangements of baby's breath can I get for 800 yen? Aya-chan?"
"I think – oh my god. It can't be… It – can't be!" the pigtailed girl was staring dazedly out the store's glass window, to the grove of trees that grew along the sidewalk ². She'd thought… she'd thought she saw someone she knew.
"Aya-chan? Daijoubu ka?"
"Nan desu ka, Aya-chan?"
"Anou… betsuni. I… just thought I saw someone I knew."
"Don't you remember me? Onii-chan!" Aya woke in a cold sweat. It was nii-chan again. He would keep visiting her, even after death. Not that she didn't want him to. Only he seemed to be so icy in the dreams; refusing to acknowledge her. So cold… ~Ai shiteru…~
Aya slipped out of bed, hoping that a glass of warm milk could wash away the nightmares. It was an optimistic metaphor, she knew, but she couldn't help but take comfort in the thought.
"Manx! Tell me the truth!" The voice was undeniably Birman. She and Manx had the key to Aya-chan's apartment, and were like elder sisters to the young Fujimiya.
And she was currently barring no holds, her innate fiery temper surfacing as she confronted the ex-secretary. "I know it was him! Weiss must still be alive!"
Aya's heart skipped a beat. ~Weiss… Wasn't that the organisation nii-chan was in? Who was that 'him' Sakura-chan saw? Could nii-chan still be alive?~ She was bursting with questions but willed her restless self to stay still, hoping the two wouldn't notice her pressed up against the wall behind the stairwell.
"I don't know," the redhead said carefully. "We have no information at the moment."
"I know you know. Why do you still think I'm inexperienced? Please, just don't lie to me."
"Birman…" Manx gave Birman a patient look. Then she sighed, relenting. "This is his address… But I'm warning you, the one you want has changed." ~I hope this isn't a mistake.~
¹ "One more rose arrangement please!" (This may not be accurate… what can I say, my Jap sucks.)
² You know those trees Schuldich always hides behind?
Chapter Two: Caught!
Ken shifted uncomfortably from his position behind the tree. He could've sworn Aya-chan had caught a glimpse of him yesterday… Strangely, she wasn't here today, and groups of boys left the Koneko no Sumu Ie in disappointment after seeing only Momoe-san at the counter.
Ah well, not like it was his problem. He could just make up something to Aya. The man may have begun to put on an icy exterior when it came to Aya-chan, saying that the Ran she knew was no more, but obviously still cared for his sister. That was the whole purpose of avoiding her and causing Weiss' disappearance from the face of Tokyo: to protect her from his gory past. That was also why he had sent Ken to check on her periodically.
~Doesn't look like they'll be here today… I might as well go home.~
"…yes, yes, they're both fine! Like anything could change in one day! You're too uptight, Aya. I gotta go now. Bye." Ken switched off the phone, and flipped on the lights… to see a blushing Aya-chan in his apartment.
"It really *is* you. I thought I was dreaming, Ken-kun." Upon seeing the bewildered expression on Ken's face, she explained. "I could still hear things when I was unconscious, Ken-kun. You carried me out of that closet, didn't you? Please. I want to see my brother."
~Damn. Caught! Aya's not gonna like this…~
"How long more, Ken-kun?" Ken looked behind his back to see his young passenger pouting up at him.
"Mada mada, be patient Aya-chan."
Within what seemed like forever to Aya, they arrived in front of a modest one-storey house. A *very* familiar figure in a florist's apron and shorts stood in the garden, and he almost dropped his watering can at the sight of them.
"A-Aya-chan? Ken-kun? How – ?"
"You must be Omi-kun! I heard you too!" Aya-chan leapt towards the boy, enveloping him in a crushing hug. "You still haven't broken your voice, I see."
"Ehehe… but how did you – "
"Manx told you." An intimidating figure appeared in the doorway, looming there before slowly making his way down the steps.
"Masaka…" It was him, finally in real life after all those dreams that made her grasp out for nothing. It was really him. "Nii-chan!!" ~Ai shiteru…~
"Baka!" the redhead barked sharply. "Leave. The man you knew was Ran. I am Aya."
Despite her vow to stay strong, Aya-chan felt the dampness on her cheeks. "This must be another nightmare…"
Aya went back into the house, seeing as how Aya-chan wouldn't leave. And also because he knew that his love for her would lead to his relenting, and eventually, her doom.
A knock on the door.
"Leave me alone. I don't care about her."
"You do," Ken said, stepping in anyway. "That's why you don't want to hurt her. But don't you see; you're hurting her even more like this."
"And how will we explain to her what we do for a living?"
"…" the brunette was silent for a moment. Then he said one thing before leaving the room. "Acceptance will come in time." Aya didn't know if he meant Aya-chan's acceptance of him… or his of himself.
Chapter Three: Ken and Aya
"How is she?"
"Ah, Ken-kun… oh, she just passed out after too much crying. It's an exhausting pastime, I should know." ¹
Ken smiled slightly at that, as the smaller boy got up from Aya-chan's side and made his way out of the room. He closed the door and sat beside her on the bed, just watching her.
Suddenly, her body convulsed violently and she awoke with an anguished cry of "Onii-chan!!". Ken was shocked, but instinctively put his arms around her in a comforting embrace.
"Ran-nii?" He could feel wetness seeping through his T-shirt. "I had an awful dream! You didn't love me anymore!" the girl sobbed, clutching at him as though he were the last thing in the world.
"Hush… he loves you. He loves you."
~Nii-chan, ai shiteru…~
"He loves you."
Aya-chan was jolted by that remark. ~He?~ She pulled apart from the warm body she had been seeking comfort in.
"Ken-k-kun?" she blushed upon seeing that she had been hugging the handsome soccer player. "G-gomen, I…"
"It's okay. He really does love you."
Forgetting all her embarrassment, Aya-chan's eyes welled with tears again. She prayed they would evaporate soon, and tried to make conversation to distract herself. "Where am I?"
"In the house of Weiss," Ken winked, snapping back into his usual cheerful mood.
"Anou… who's… um… *bed* is this?" she asked, feeling her cheeks go red again. ~Please don't let it be his please don't let it be his…~
"Oh don't worry about it. Youji's away for the weekend with some new chick so he won't mind," Ken laughed. ~He looks so cute laughing…~ Aya-chan's lips curved into a smile too.
"You should smile more."
"Eeto… arigatou." Aya-chan resisted the urge to swoon like the boys in the shop did around her.
"Oh well, let's have lunch."
"It's so late already?"
"What do you expect? You're a sleepy head," Ken teased, swatting her head playfully as he said so.
"Hidoi yo!"
Chapter Four: Ai Shiteru
The tension was unbearable. Aya-chan had never felt so uncomfortable in her life. And around her very own brother too.
"I thought I told you to leave," Aya said coldly. It was as if someone had just gone and poured liquid nitrogen into his vocal chords.
~Or his heart~, Aya-chan thought. She hated how detached he sounded, as if nothing mattered. It had mattered enough for him to kill for her…
"If you are still here tomorrow, I will kill you." The nonchalance in his tone as he sipped his coffee would have lessened anyone else's fear of the threat. But for Aya-chan, it became worse.
"Doushite, Ran-nii? Watashi… watashi o ai shiteru ja nai ka?" ² ~Ai shiteru.~
Aya was silent. His two younger teammates watched as he struggled with whether to break his sister's heart, or to supposedly cause her horrible, tragic death.
"I… don't… love you," the redhead grated through his teeth, then got up from the table, not wanting to see her tears. It was too painful.
Ken gaped. He hurried after his taller leader, grabbing his arm roughly, pulling him back. "Aya no baka!"
"Ken-kun…" Aya-chan stopped the hot-headed young man. She knew it was now or never. "Ai shiteru, nii-chan! Please come back to me. Don't do this to yourself. Why?"
"You can never understand what I do, Aya," the violet-eyed man encased his emotions in steely words.
"I do! And I don't care! They're all bad, aren't they nii-chan? More innocents would be killed if they weren't!" Aya-chan blurted without thinking. All three Weiss members slowly turned to look at her.
"You… know?" Omi asked incredulously. He looked like he was about to cry, but of course, didn't.
"Ken…" Aya growled, advancing towards the brunette with murder in his eyes.
"It's not him," Aya-chan interrupted. "I heard everything that went on even though I was in a coma, nii-chan. Don't leave me by myself, nii-chan! Not after we're finally together!"
Ran closed his eyes as he felt the little bundle of warmth and love embrace him.
Ken's voice rang true as he and Omi placed one hand on each Fujimiya's shoulder. "We can all start together, Ran."
¹ Omi *does* cry a lot, doesn't he? But that was why I felt so much for him in the first place.
² "Why, older brother Ran? Do you not love me anymore?"