Poster's Note: Not my fic! Posting it for a good friend!

Author Note: Based off the awesome paranormal thriller, 'The Changeling'. I don't own the concept, but I did make some adjustments. I don't own Weiß, and I made some adjustments there too. If ghosts scare you, look elsewhere, cause I've creeped myself out writing this fic, more than once.

Revenge in Reflection

Chapter 1.

Pink blossoms sailed on a gentle spring breeze, littering blood-red hair with decorative intent. The owner of the hair didn't notice the petals as he absently looked around himself. Trees had cloaked themselves in lime-green new leaves, the flowering ones showing off their blossoms of multiple colors. His feet crunched on a light scattering of gravel as he followed the trim brunette ahead of him.

"We're so glad you agreed to this house," the brunette was saying as he reached for keys in his pocket. "It's such a lovely house and it's sat empty for eight years."

Ran turned lavender eyes upward at the three-story home, looming large and whitewashed above him. Dusty windows draped with pale curtains looked back at him blankly. The brunette stepped up the three-tier stairs to the patio of the house, unlocking the front door.

"Come on in, I'll give you a tour," he waved cheerfully despite the bland look on Ran's face. Ran followed him numbly. A large foyer boasting a dusty chandelier greeted them, echoing their footsteps on the polished, wooden floor now covered with dust.

Ran looked around, taking in the elegant staircase leading upwards to the second floor and the hallways to each side.

"The rooms are so spacious, I'm sure you can turn one or more of them into exercise rooms," the brunette said cheerfully in the pale light, turning to the solemn redhead. Ran nodded his head once in assent.

"Come on this way."

Ran followed robotically, his body reacting, but his mind miles away. His mind was in a hospital room in town, with the still body of a girl. A girl with dark braids curling around her delicate face, and long, dark eyelashes resting on pale cheeks. A girl walking the line of life and death as the EKG monitor by her bedside counted out every beat she clung to life with.

Ran was aware of walking through large rooms with arched doorways, sheet-draped furniture, and large picture windows, but all it did was remind him of quiet, marble hallways and that sterile odor all hospitals carried.

"When I thought of you and how you taught martial arts, I immediately thought of this house." His guide's voice refocused him back to the house. Ran blinked and looked into bright, aqua-colored eyes that looked back hopefully.

Ran looked around the room again, taking in the spaciousness. If he removed some of the furniture...

"It will do," he said quietly.

"Good!" the brunette grinned. "I'll get the papers ready today. The Historical Society will have a crew over tomorrow to clean the place up for you, dust, and all that."

Ran nodded, not really paying attention, gazing out the filmy window at the front of the house, where blossoms littered his car.

"Um," the brunette bit his lip. "I see you're still trying to adjust."

Ran turned lilac eyes on him, and saw pity in those ocean-colored eyes. It angered and saddened him at the same time.

"I'll be fine. I'll sign those papers when you have them ready."

The brunette held out a small business card. "You can sign them when you're ready. Just give me a call."

Ran took the card, glancing over it. It declared the young man as Hidaka Ken, and gave a phone number. The background was a light blue, and that was it. Ran nodded assent, and looked back out the window.

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The cleaning crews had come and gone, cleaning the windows of grime, the halls of cobwebs, and the floors of dust. Ran was unpacking boxes of the few things in the world he held onto. He'd already chosen his room on the second floor, placing his clothes in the closet and drawers neatly. If it wasn't for the furniture already in the house, it would have been utterly empty.

Placing the last of a few books in a bookshelf, he kicked the box aside, lifting the last box onto the oak living room table to open.

The door opened behind him, squeaking slightly on its hinges, and Ran turned, ready with a cold glare at the intruder for not knocking. His eyes found no victim to chill. He stared at the doorway for a few moments, waiting for someone to enter. When his patience grew thin, he walked over to it, looking out into the foyer hallway.

The hallway sat quiet and undisturbed. Ran looked both ways down the hallway, irritated.

"Natsu?" he called the name of the groundskeeper he knew was about. The name echoed in the utter largeness of the house.

Ran waited for a response, then closed the door again, going back to the box. As he picked up the utility knife to cut the tape on the box, he heard the door squeak open again and whirled, meaning to catch the intruder in the act. The door was still sliding open on its hinges before stopping the slight movement, but no one stood in the doorway.

Fully irritated, he stomped over to the door, glaring down the hallways.

"Natsu!" he yelled. "Natsu!"

After a few moments, the grounds keeper stepped through the front door, heavy work gloves dripping soil.

"Fujimiya-san?" he asked. "Do you need help?"

"Were you just in here?" Ran demanded.

Natsu looked surprised at his tone, blinking rapidly. "No. I was replacing the sprinkler pipes."

Ran wondered a moment whether to believe him, taking in the dirt smeared on the man's face coupled with sweat and the dirt particles still falling to the floor. He looked down at his feet, seeing no dirt on the floor in front of him.

"It's nothing," he said finally, and Natsu raised an eyebrow before nodding, and walking back out.

Ran left the door open this time, returning to the box. Upon opening it, his eyes fell upon a small red ball resting at the top, a white star painted on its side.

Gently, he picked it up, the smallest of smiles tugging at his lips.

-----------

"Niii-chan!"

Ran looked up from balancing his checkbook to see his sister grinning at him.

"Let's play handball!" she challenged, and bounced a small red ball with a white star on it at him. He caught it easily, grinning at her.

"But you always win," he tried to complain.

"Oh pooh!" she pouted happily. "All work and no play makes Ran a dull boy!"

Ran grinned at her, closing his checkbook, and she stopped pouting.

"You might win this time!" she challenged, knowing full well he often lost on purpose.

-----------

Ran bounced the ball once, catching it again before placing it on the table.

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A heart-rending scream tore the early spring air as the frail figure of a girl flew through the air to land limply in the street as the car that had struck her drove on. The man in the back of the car looked back through his rear windshield to grin at Ran coldly as the sunlight reflected off of his glasses.

"Aya?" Ran crept forward toward the crumpled figure in the street. A light breeze ruffled strands of hair touching her forehead, skin gone pale as death.

"Aya..." he dropped to his knees, trying to gather her up into his arms. She was limp as a rag doll, seeming devoid of bones.

"Aya!" He clutched her to him, the sound of her slow heartbeat reaching his ears, blocking out all other sound.

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Lavender eyes jerked open, and clenched closed again in the sunlight streaming through his bedroom window. A loud pounding echoed through the house, sounding almost metallic, as if someone were rhythmically banging on a large metal box. He blinked at the sound, trying to figure out what was causing it as it echoed through out the house.

The pounding fell silent, leaving him bewildered.

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Natsu banged on the metal pipes in the basement with a hammer, echoing loud pinging sounds.

"Did it sound like that?" he asked.

Ran shook his head, looking down at the floor with his arms crossed. "Much deeper, and louder."

Natsu scratched his head. "It might just be the water heater. Sometimes it makes noises when it's starting for the first few times. It's a brand new heater, the house is old, you're bound to have strange noises."

Ran nodded, accepting that fact. "Thank you."

"No problem," Natsu shrugged. "Give it a couple days, the noises should stop."

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"Aya-chan."

Ran paused in the doorway to look at the pale girl in her bed. So still. So quiet. So unlike the girl he knew.

"Aya-chan, nii-chan is here." He stepped forward, sitting on the edge of her bed and taking her hand. Her face remained serene, not acknowledging his presence. He leaned forward to brush a few dark strands from her forehead.

"Look what I found yesterday, Aya." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the red ball, pressing it into her hand. "Your ball."

She gave no response as the EKG continued measuring every beat of her heart. Ran leaned forward to brush his lips across her forehead.

"You always win," he whispered in her ear.

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Ran walked across the petal-strewn gravel to the door, adjusting his keys in his hand, searching for the house key. Just as he lifted it to unlock the door, he heard the sound of glass breaking from above him. He turned back to hurry off the porch and look up, in time to see several small objects strike the gravel.

He hurried down the steps, looking up at the top of the house. A medium-sized stained-glass window on the top most floor had a small pane broken out. He looked to the gravel near his feet and knelt to examine what had fallen. Small pieces of red glass gleamed dully in the light, amid the pink and white petals and pale gravel.

He slowly picked the pieces up, looking back to the stained glass window. He estimated its location in the house and hurriedly unlocked the door.

Running to his exercise room, he dropped the glass pieces on a small table and grabbed his katana from its stand next to it. He started up the stairs quickly, but cautiously. He passed the second floor, taking the second staircase to the third floor, scanning for any signs of intruders.

All was silent in the house as he crept down the hallway, heading for the first door that faced the front of the house. Each door he opened turned out to be an empty bedroom, complete with a naked bed. The door in the middle of the hallway was nothing but a storage closet. None had a stained glass window.

Biting his lip, he almost jumped to hear a loud and insistent knocking on the front door. He trotted down the stairs, katana still in hand.

Upon opening the door, Ken blinked at him, spotting the katana and the tense look on Ran's face.

"You okay?" he asked.

Ran took in the red athletic jersey and high socks Ken wore, coupled with red cleats.

"I think someone is in the house," he said quietly. Ken's eyes grew large.

"How?"

Ran pointed upward. "Something busted out an upstairs window as I can home."

Ken looked past him at the top of the stairs, and Ran turned in case Ken had spotted something. Seeing nothing, he turned back to the young man.

"Where is the room with the stained glass window?"

Ken frowned at him. "Stained glass window?"

Ran pushed past him back into the driveway and Ken followed.

"That window," he pointed. Ken stared and turned back to him in bewilderment.

"I've never seen that room," he admitted. "And I've been all through the house."

"I can see it right there," Ran jabbed his finger at the window.

"I see it too, but I have no idea how to get to it," Ken protested, lifting his hands in helplessness.

Ran frowned. "It's part of the house. There has to be a way into it."

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They went back up the stairs, opening all doors on the third floor, then going down to search the second floor for good measure.

"Nothing," Ken rubbed his forehead. "How is that possible?"

Ran looked at the doors, guestimating the position of the window. "It should be right about here."

He pointed to the storage closet and the two rooms on either side of it. Ken blinked at looked to Ran, who looked back.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ken asked. In answer, Ran grabbed a shelf attached to the back wall of the storage closet and yanked on it.

"Secret door, there's always a secret door," Ken mumbled, grabbing onto the shelf with Ran and pulling. The shelf stayed in place and Ran narrowed his eyes at it.

"I'm going to get some tools."

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They unscrewed the shelves from the wall, throwing the shelves out into the hallway and feeling along the blank wall for a trigger or nitch that might indicate a hidden door.

"Finding anything?" Ken asked, frowning. Ran looked at the wall calculatingly, then picked up the hammer. He smashed it straight into the wall, knocking the plaster out.

"Umm, Ran," Ken frowned. "I'm sure no one could have gotten back there. No need to destroy the wall."

Ran ignored him, knocking out more plaster to reveal boards crossing a smooth wooden surface. As more plaster was removed, support beams and a doorknob were also uncovered. Ran pulled back the hammer to knock out the support beams and Ken spoke up.

"You'll bring the closet down on our heads!"

Ran knocked out the short support beams anyway, ignoring Ken's cries of worry, and the young man had to dodge the flying pieces of wood.

"Watch it!" he scolded, but Ran was already prying at the cobwebbed boards nailed across the door.

"Um, Ran..." Ken hesitated. "I think that door was shut off for a reason."

He sighed as Ran pulled the first board loose anyway, with a loud crack. The other boards followed shortly afterward, and they stood looking at the revealed door.

"I ain't opening it." Ken shook his head, backing up. Ran gave him a quick glance and grabbed the doorknob. Finding it locked, he bashed at it with the hammer till it fell off. Sticking the prying edge of the hammer into the hole, he pulled the door open. The cool spring breeze blew down through the doorway, revealing a small set of steps upward.

"We are soooo asking for an ass kicking," Ken said quietly, looking up the stairs. Ran started up the stairs, and Ken gulped hard, starting up after him.

An elegantly carved railing blocked the stairs from the room to the right. It was a large attic room, covered in cobwebs and dust, colored light streaming in through the stained glass window to shine in patches on the walls.

Ken blinked, brushing away hanging webs as he looked around the room he'd never known of. A small carved-wood bed sat against the wall in the center of the room. A matching dresser and vanity sat against the other walls. All were dark and elegant, probably antique. A cobweb-anchored, wooden rocking horse sat to the right side of the room. Near the window sat a white bathtub with little carved feet. A set of crystal wind chimes hung from the center of the room, catching the light and splitting it asunder into rainbow splashes.

"Oh wow," Ken breathed, awed by the bright colors in an otherwise dusky room. Ran stepped up across the wooden floor, looking around. Ken walked up to the rocking horse, pushing on its nose, sending it rocking back and forth.

"I'd always wanted one of these," he grinned to Ran. Ran didn't answer, stepping over to the window to examine the missing pane.

"This was a child's room," Ken walked over to the vanity, observing the tiny chair in front of it. He spotted a small music box nearly hidden by cobwebs and lifted the top, listening to the tinkling music that sang out in tiny dulcet notes.

"Somewhere over the Rainbow," Ken grinned, naming the tune. He turned to look at Ran's back.

"Why would anyone block off this room?"

Ran looked back at him over his shoulder. "Why indeed."

Ken opened a drawer in the dresser and lifted out a small set of overall shorts.

"They're so small," he held them up, dust falling out of the green cloth.

Ran didn't want to look. He only wanted to know what had broken the window. And why the room had been sealed off. He didn't like mysteries in his own house. 

"Who used to live here?" he asked. Ken put the overalls back in the drawer.

"An old man named Katsuhiro Otomo. He was a rich old guy. Used to be in the movie business."

"Where is he?"

"He died. Eight years ago," Ken said quietly. "That's when the Historical Society picked up the house."

"He had children?"

"No, I don't think even he knew about this room."

"Then who lived here before that?"

"Takatori Shuuichi."

Ran felt his blood run cold. "T...Takatori?"

"Yeah, his grandfather built the house, and it was in their family for a while. Till they sold it to Katsuhiro."

"Why?"

"I guess they didn't want it anymore."

Ran backed away from the window. "Shuuichi. Is he...in anyway...related to Takatori Reiji?"

Ken blinked at the question. "Yes, they were brothers."

Ran took a few deep breaths.

"I see, you don't want to stay in a house that was owned by a crime family," Ken sighed. "Really, Shuuichi didn't get involved in that."

Ran wanted to be furious. He was sleeping, possibly in the same bed Reiji had. Reiji, who had run Aya over. Reiji, who had to pay for his crime.

"I...I can't stay in this house," Ran walked toward the stairs.

Ken sighed, following him. "I would have told you if I thought it had mattered. Really, Ran. I didn't try to trick you."

"I know," Ran headed down the stairs.

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"I'm sorry," Ken said quietly as they reached the bottom of the steps. Ran took a deep breath.

"Reiji was the one who ran over my sister."

Realization hit Ken full force.

"Oh god, I'm really sorry, Ran, if I had known..."

He trailed off to hear what sounded like footsteps upstairs. Ran's head jerked up, looking back up the stairs, hand tightening on his katana. The footsteps seem to come down toward them from higher in the house, and they tensed, waiting for whoever it was to show themselves. They finally saw movement as the sound neared the top of the stairs they stood at.

All color drained from Ran's face as a small red ball bounced down the staircase to roll across the floor and stop at his feet. Looking up at him from the side up the ball that faced up, was a white star.