Disclaimer: Weiβ Kreuz is owned by its owners…my guess it would be Koyasu Takehito and his gang…I do not, in any circumstances, own it. This is for ENTERTAINMENT purposes only. Suing me won't do you good. I have no money…. I'm only in college, please…on scholarship…

Note: I've heard some rumors that in the final drama CD, all Weiβ assassins were killed–except for Omi. Since I have no means of ever acquiring that CD to verify it, I'll base my fanficton by the anime, OAV and a little of the manga…. Any discrepancies feel free to e-mail me. Sorry for Yaoi fans, there isn't any Yaoi here…I still believe the guys are straight…oh, wait…I think there is a Yaoi here….

Sleeping Beauty

By

Yue no Miko

Part I: Black Cat's Meow

Chapter I: A Wake

It looked like a wake rather than a reunion.

At least, that was what Ken Hidaka thought as he entered a small house. It was very dim inside, with only a candle illuminating the room. A faint scent of flowers caught his attention, but he ignored it.

Ken looked at the faces staring at him. He was the last one to arrive, he noticed. All of them were already there. All of them were wearing black and serious expressions on their faces, made grimmer by the mellow light cast on them by the candle's light. They were sitting on some crude stools.

"Hello, Ken," Manx said in a deadpan voice when she saw him enter. She was also wearing her usual black dress, which, Ken had always thought, was a startling contrast to her fiery hair. She looked sober, but at the same time, alarmingly pale.

Yes, it was certainly more of a wake than a reunion.

"Good evening, Manx," he greeted back in a subdued but nonetheless cheery voice. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" He took a seat beside her.

She nodded, then sighed. "It's been a long time, Siberian. Far too long."

"Now that he's here," Ran Fujimiya said in his firm voice. "Can we get to the bottom of this? Why were we called back?"

The members of Weiβ Kreuz were called back into a secret meeting. Ken was more than stunned when, after going home from soccer practice–Ken is a soccer coach in a prominent private school–he found Birman standing in front of his door. She wordlessly handed him a note, then left. The note told him to go to this place, on this time. Idly, Ken wondered how the others were contacted.

"I thought it would be all over, when we left," Omi Tsukiyono said from behind him. His voice sounded like those of a full-grown man now. He sounded more confident, more sure of himself.

"Yeah," Youji Kudou echoed. His voice still sounded the same–lazy, seductive, teasing. But there was still something different about it, a different but subtle change in tone.

"I thought so too," Manx responded. "I didn't want this…but it must be done. All of us are it great danger."

"There's nothing new about that, Manx. We've always been in danger. After all, we are assassins, are we not?" Youji pointed out a little sarcastically, shifting in his seat.

Manx's eyes flashed. Ken couldn't tell whether her reaction was because she was angry, or because she was hurt. "I know that, Balinese," she snapped. "But we're not the only ones. The whole organization is in danger."

Omi emerged from the shadows. He looked younger than his 23 years. His tawny hair was a bit shorter now, and he wore an elegant black suit. Omi had become one of the richest men in Japan–all thanks to his computer software and security company. "When you say 'organization', you mean Kritiker, right?" he wanted to know. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"

Manx nodded. "Yes." She paused for a moment. She looked away, not being able to stare straight into their eyes. "As we all know, Him-" she stopped for a moment to painfully swallow a huge lump on her throat. "Himalayan was working on a special mission to discover who Kuroneko is."

"What about Kuroneko?" Ran asked suddenly in a menacingly quiet voice. Manx glanced at him for a moment, startled by the sudden change in his voice. She did not dare look into Ran's eyes.

"Well, before…Himalayan died…Himalayan left some of the data gathered from the mission on Kuroneko. It seems that Kuroneko managed to penetrate deeply into Kritiker," Manx added, pausing to take a few deep breaths. "Himalayan collected more data but–"

"Himalayan was murdered before the data could be handed down to others," Ken finished for Manx, his voice losing all its cheerfulness.

Manx finally managed to look at them. "Kuroneko's back. He's been taking down several agents and assassins of Kritiker from all over the world. Recently, a deep penetration agent of Kritiker in a Mafia family in New York was murdered by Kuroneko."

"How can you be sure it is Kuroneko?" Youji asked, lighting a cigarette. Youji closed his eyes as he inhaled the bitter smoke. His voice had taken a serious note at the mention of Kuroneko and that made Manx slightly uneasy.

"The black pawprint was found on the DPA's neck, and his heart was cut open–Kuroneko's signature."

"Could be a copycat," Omi mused.

Manx shook her head. "No, it's Kuroneko. Carved in the victim's chest was the words: 'I have returned to destroy those who judge themselves above the law.'"

The four men exchanged glances. "That's him all right–still full of contradictory shit," Youji growled. Adjusting the collar of his black leather jacket, he asked, "So, what do you want us to do? You want us to find Kuroneko?"

Manx eyed him warily. "Not quite. Someone has already been assigned to that. All Angora–that's the assigned agent's code name–needs is a bit of help."

"So it's Angora now. I wonder who the hell this one is?" Ken muttered.

"What kind of help does Angora need?" Ran wanted to know, standing up from his seat. His red hair was longer now, reaching up to his shoulder blades.

Manx handed him a thick manila envelope. The others crowded near Ran as he pulled out the contents of the envelope. They briefly scanned the contents.

"Angora wants you to be at the specified place in the envelope on time. Any questions you might have, the answers are already in the envelope," Manx told them.

"We didn't say 'yes' yet, Manx," Youji pointed out, looking up.

"You don't have to. Your expressions already told me what your answers will be." With that, Manx picked up her handbag and headed for the door.

There was a sudden silence a few minutes after Manx's departure. The four young men stared at the contents they held in their hands, then at each other.

"So, we're back in business, aren't we?" Ken remarked dryly. He gave a humorless laugh. "It's been quite a long time, hasn't it?

It had been almost five years since Weiβ Kreuz disbanded. Five years of almost no contact with each other. Of course, they would sometimes see each other, perhaps in the newspaper or on the street but they never ended up in the same room, until now. Ken wondered just how much had changed.

The light of the candle sputtered, indicating that it would soon go out. "Why don't we go to a more well- lighted place?" Omi suggested.

*******

The well-lighted place Omi suggested was a small coffee shop just around the corner. It was open 24 hours, and they were lucky that only a few people were there when they entered. As Ken glanced around, he felt that the place was somehow familiar to him, although he couldn't put his finger on why it was so.

The group seated themselves on a booth near the window. A friendly waitress with long blonde hair and a generous bosom asked them what they wanted. All of them ordered regular coffee although Youji, when persuaded by the waitress, bought the special mocha latte.

As Youji's eyes followed the swaying hips of the waitress, Omi remarked with a frown, "You haven't changed one bit, Youji. Still a playboy."

Youji grinned at him. "Did you expect me to?" Youji raked his eyes on Omi, who suddenly blushed. "So, how's the life of the richest man in Japan?"

Omi wagged his finger at him. "Not the richest. Just one of the richest," he corrected.

Cocking up one eyebrow, Youji turned to Ken. "Modest, isn't he?"

Ken laughed. "So, what are you doing now, Youji?" he wanted to know.

Youji ran his fingers through his long maple brown hair for a moment. "Well, if you read fashion magazines–which I rather doubt you guys do–I'm an image model for a prominent jeans company."

"Honto?" Ken's eyes widened. "So that is you! I mean, you're the guy in the billboard across my apartment. I thought I was imagining stuff when I saw that billboard. How in the world did you land that job?"

Youji winked at him. "It's all in the hips, Ken-ken. It's all in the hips."

They stopped talking when the waitress returned with their order. As expected, Youji flashed the girl a sexy smile. She shyly smiled back, then walked away, glancing back at Youji every now and then.

Youji then turned to the ever-silent Ran, who was busy studying the contents of the manila envelope as he sipped his coffee. "What about you, Ran? What are you doing now?"

Ran did not bother to look at Youji when he answered, "In my first year as a medical student."

The three choked on their coffee. "Nani?!? You, a medical student?" Youji demanded, wiping away his suddenly teary eyes. "Wha–what–" The three of them were stunned. Ran Fujimiya–Abyssinian–a doctor? The possibility of that happening was beyond reason, but it did.

Finally, Ran looked at them. "Yes."

Omi thought for a moment. "I heard your sister, Aya-chan, got married to…" Omi's voice trailed off, unsure if he was going to continue what he was going to say. He dared not to provoke Ran now.

Ran's violet eyes were boring into Omi's eyes when he replied, "She's been married to Patrick for two years. They're expecting their first child two months from now."

Ken observed Ran's face as he spoke. He didn't look angry, but neither was he happy. His voice was neutral, not giving away whatever he felt about his sister's marriage to Patrick. Ran's eyes, however, for a very brief moment, showed a flash of pain as he mentioned Patrick's name and of the child they were expecting.

After all these years, Ken wondered. Does it still hurt, Ran? I wouldn't blame you if it still did. I still feel the pain, even after all this time.

Kuroneko. Black Cat. The sign of coming misfortune. His identity was never known. He was, as Youji described once, a psycho. He killed the agents of Kritiker with astonishing skill and accuracy. Kuroneko had been thought to disappear five years ago, probably after getting his fill of Kritiker agents' hearts and blood.

And now Kuroneko was back, taking more lives.

"I'm not doing this because I want to help Angora," Omi said quietly, breaking through Ken's thoughts. His blue eyes were penetrating as he looked at them. "It's because I want to help in finding that son of a bitch Kuroneko and make him pay for what he did to her." He clenched his fists, jaws tightening.

With sudden clarity, Ken realized why the place was familiar. It was the place where they first met her. They were sitting on the same booth they sat on years ago.

Ohayo. I'm an agent of Kritiker.

Ken could almost hear her voice. Feel her presence and her warmth.

I'm going to work with you for a while.

Tears suddenly welled up on his eyes. He saw for the first time the source of the flowery scent he detected a while ago. It was from the flowers Ran brought with him. Ran laid those flowers on the table.

Yes, Ken decided, it was indeed a wake.

~To be continued~

So, what do you think? This is my first fanfic, so please, be gentle…suggestions can be posted through my e-mail.