Shikaeshi, Part 2
Weiss belongs to Koyasu Takehito-sama (WAI!)and some other people. But not me. ;.;

"What?! Why you creep!" The attractive young woman was apparently not impressed with Youji's proposal, punctuating her displeasure with a hard slap to his face that knocked his sunglasses off, sending them bouncing onto the counter. She turned and left, slamming the door shut after her.

"Youji, that was the third sale we lost this week thanks to you!" Ken exclaimed from behind a huge pot of freesia, where he was currently weeding out dead stems.

Ran turned off the watering hose and leveled Youji with a scornful stare. "I warn you, Kudou, one more lost sale and you'll be doing inventory in the back forever."

Youji made a face at both of them and retrieved his sunglasses, which were thankfully in one piece. "I can't help the fact that the lady was a prude." He said, checking his face in a mirror he kept beneath the counter.

"Maa…maa…maybe she was only looking." Omi piped up from the front, where he was sweeping. "It's no big deal."

Behind him, the three other members of Weiss grumbled and then returned to work.

The bell on the door tinkled and Omi rushed to greet the customer.

"Welcome to…." His greeting died. Manx greeted him with a smile, ignoring the look that flashed over his face. He didn't seem pleased to see her, not that she blamed him. She never brought good news and today was no different.

"Hello boys, long time no see." She said cheerfully.

"Mission?" Ran asked tonelessly.

Manx nodded. "And how. There's a problem that we need to discuss. Why don't you close up shop?"

Omi flipped the open sign to closed and Ken went to turn off the lights.

None of the members of Weiss said a word as they waited for Manx to begin. It had been months since their last mission and they had foolishly begun to hope that maybe they would be free.

"I have some news. Kritiker has assigned another agent to help you all deal with this mission." Manx said, leaning against the banister of the spiral staircase.

"It must be important." Ken said, looking up at Manx with interest.

The redhead nodded, "The entire existence of Kritiker and the lives of its agents are at stake." She produced a tape and popped it into the VCR. Omi leapt up and flipped out the lights and the boys waited apprehensively for the tape to begin. There was a hiss and a few seconds of black and white static before an unidentifiable figure appeared on tape. It was almost like Persia, except this figure was slimmer and sat with a relaxed air in a large chair.

"Good afternoon, Weiss. My name is Korat and I will be helping you with your mission. Here's the information we have managed to gather." She began in a strident but markedly female voice. The members of Weiss exchanged brief glances before returning their attention to the television.

The screen went white and then a picture of a handsome young man appeared on the screen. Hard gray eyes glared out of the screen, framed by long black hair. Korat continued to explain. "This man's name is Kuro Akira. He is a former Kritiker agent who disappeared four years ago after betraying us. He has resurfaced as the leader of a terrorist group called Koketsu. Under his leadership, the group has attacked Kritiker bases in Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and Yokohama. They appear to be interested strictly in information and so far have left Kritiker members incapacitated, but not dead."

The screen went blank again and then four pictures appeared. Three men and a woman. The three men were ordinary looking, but the woman was beautiful, with long glossy brown hair and bright brown eyes. She smiled coyly from the screen, red, pouty lips and an alluring gaze seeming to promise a pleasurable time. Yohji let out a wolf whistle. "I'll handle her!" He exclaimed, leaning closer to the screen. The other members of Weiss rolled their eyes.

"These four people are Kuro's top agents. They implement his commands, having control over the fifty or so members of Koketsu. Their names are Kano Seiji, Arato Kei, Genji Hideo and the woman's name is Fujiwara Reiko. Weiss, your mission is this, eliminate these four and break the back of Koketsu. Kritiker is depending on you." The tape ended.

Manx flipped the lights on. "Who's game?" She asked cheerfully. One by one, all four of the men agreed and Manx passed out folders containing the necessary information.

"Hey Manx?" Yohji said when she handed him a folder.

"What?" She asked, looking at him warily.

"That Korat chick…is she hot?"

Manx swatted him with the folder before tossing it onto his lap.

"What?" He asked, rubbing his head.

Korat rubbed her forehead with exhaustion as she set down the phone. Manx had just reported that Weiss had accepted the mission. The first step had been taken. The living room suddenly seemed too bright, too confining. She turned and rushed to the bathroom, turning on the cold water full blast and splashing her face with it. Gods, she was tired. She looked up at herself in the mirror and frowned. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin looked pasty in the harsh illumination. She looked older than her thirty-one years.

Kuro Akira. When was the last time she had seen him? She closed her eyes.

When she opened them she was four years younger, staring at herself in the mirror of someone else's bathroom. There was a rustle behind her and Akira appeared, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck. "Hey, Hanae…what do you want to do tonight?" He murmured.

She blinked and she was back in her own bathroom. She had been such a fool. She was a trained spy and yet she couldn't even see what he was doing to her. Irritably, she swiped at her face with a hand towel and marched through her living room into the master bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and flopped into bed. Four years and his eyes still haunted her dreams.

Her hand made its way to her neck, fingering the long scar that circled the pale flesh. A reminder of him and how close she had been to death. She sighed. Four years and she had come full circle. Kuro Akira's days on earth were marked.

"Good afternoon, Ran-san…I'll tell your father you're here!" The pretty young secretary greeted sixteen-year-old Ran Fujimiya as he entered his father's office suite. A moment later, the door opened and his father came out, smiling at his son. Ran rushed to greet him. "Father!" His smile turned to an expression of horror as his father's chest blossomed red with blood.

"You have fulfilled your mission well, Abyssinian." The young secretary said with a smirk. Ran looked down at his hands and realized that he was holding his sword and that it was streaked with his father's blood. He opened his mouth to protest, to scream, but nothing came out. The secretary leaned towards him conspiratorially, "You know, he never suspected a thing. Congratulations." Ran opened his mouth again and this time, he did scream.

"Ran! RAN!"

He sat up suddenly, eyes wide with horror. "I…I killed him! She said… she said I did a good job…"

Ken and Omi exchanged worried looks. "Who said you did a good job?" Ken asked gently, laying a hand on the red head's shoulder.

Ran blinked. "Masako-san." He whispered.

This time, Omi was the one who asked the question. "Who is Masako?"

"She is…was…my father's secretary. Takatori killed her too." Ran looked at both of them, realizing that he had been having a nightmare. "Never mind." He muttered.

Ken and Omi seemed to realize that he wanted to be alone and they retreated, leaving him to think.

Why did I think about Masako? I haven't thought about her in years… He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging gently on the longer strands in front. Something about this afternoon had made him uneasy…

"Good afternoon, Weiss…"
"Good afternoon, Ran-san…"
That woman…Korat…her voice…he could almost swear it was the same voice that greeted him warmly whenever he called his father's office.

He shook his head. Impossible. Narita Masako had died four years ago. It couldn't be… Ran did not sleep the rest of that night.

Notes, Explanations, Etc.
How many WK stories begin with Youji getting slapped for propositioning some woman? Hee hee. Okay, let's see...
Dictionary of Japanese Terms...
Maa..maa..-Think of it as saying, Ok, ok...it's sort of a calming noise. Kenshin from RK says it A LOT!
Koketsu means tiger's den, dangerous place, jaws of death
Hanae is Korat's real name. It's pretty, ne?
I'm messing with the WK world a bit, but it's never really explained in the anime why Ran's parents died. All you know is that his father crossed Takatori somehow and the entire family ended up paying for it. So, I'm going to play with that some. More installments soon!