Mission #1: Ein Neues Mitglied

The closing hour of the 'Koneko no sumu ie' had arrived. Aya was putting a last hand to the account book, while Omi was moving all the plants inside the shop. Ken was helping one last customer, while Yohji of course was flirting with a few of his fans. Just another day for the four guys one would think. Fate however had different plans.

Just as Ken was pulling down the grille after their last customer just left, a red haired young man stepped into the shop. "Surimasen, but we are closing now. Please come back la…"

"Nan da, Ken? Did you see a ghost or something? " Yohji asked and joined Ken on examining the stranger.

The guy stepped into the lights, being helpful to his spectators. He stood slightly shorter than Aya, slender and yet muscular. His simple outfit consisted of a plain pair of black jeans and a simple black shirt, but dressing down didn't hide the presence he radiated. A presence that would have made him stand out of any crowd. His long crimson red hair, dancing wildly and challenging, was tied into a ponytail. Mocking eyes stared from underneath a curtain of red bangs. His face bore an amused smile, waiting for the examination to be over. Though it wasn't a wildly
handsome face, the eyes caught you, dark as night, darkness that would
swallow you whole if looked into for too long.

"Konbanwa Weiß. Apparently, we are having ourselves a redheads' reunion here." He grinned at Aya.

Aya was the first one to react, or rather, attack. He tackled the stranger and held the account book pen against his throat.

"Who are you?!" hissed Aya, while grabbing onto the other's collar.

"Hold it, tiger. I dun think being doodled to death is a great way to go!" The stranger held his hands in front to show Aya. " See? I don't have any weapons."

"Ja matta ne, Abyssinian!"

"Manx!"

The assistant came into the shop, looking fabulous in her new yellow suit. Red and black stripes ran down the front and back of the suit. A black belt hugged her slender waist.

Aya released his prisoner, with much detest. One could only guess what would happen the moment Manx leaves.

The stranger slowly stood up and grinned sheepishly.

"Boku wa Sky." He held out his hand to Aya and earned a cold glare as response. "Wow, touchy. Konbanwa Omi, Yohji and Ken!" Sky greeted the other members of the team.

Handshakes, quite hesitantly and unwilling, were exchanged. Yohji was the bright one who popped up with the one million-dollar question. "Who are you? You look umm familiar"

"Meet Yozora. He will be your newest team member." Manx answered.

"Nani?!" Came the response out of three very much shocked and one very irritated person.

Five minutes later, the five guys and Manx had gathered in the basement where an explanation was given.

"This is Yozora as I have said"

"Call me Sky!" Yozora grinned.

Manx looked irritated at the interruption, but resumed her story. "As I have said. He will be the new member of Weiß. There's an empty apartment next to Aya's. He will be living there from now on."

"Why? We don't need a new member." Aya simply stated.

"You are not being given any choice on whether or not to infiltrate him in your group." Manx said snippily, and she told the story that was to be given to the outside world, in order to explain the sudden appearance of Sky, that is.

"I think she looks a lot better in that yellow suit, than the old red one, ne Yohji?" whispered Sky.

"You bet, it brings out her *cough* feminism a lot better"

"Yohji! Sky!" Manx rolled her eyes as the two grinned at her.

"We're just bonding, baby!"

"Whatever,Sky! Now. I have business to attend. Since there isn't any assignment today, you can take this opportunity to get familiar with each other." Manx was already about to open the door, when she turned and said:" One more thing, he's telepathic and telekinetic."

And with those words she left the five guys to 'bond' or rather…trying to bond….

And then they all became good friends and lived happily ever after and… *gets whacked on the head by Yohji and stares into a VERY pissed Aya * Or not…

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The basement was silent and remained that way for ages after her words. Actually it was like a min, but it DID seem like ages for me. All the others were staring at me and I was starting to feel uncomfortable under their gazes. "Am I wearing anything of you guys?"

Silence. Ok…no sense of humor. "Look. I promise I won't go make things fly around. And it is true that I can read your mind and control it, but it doesn't mean I'll be doing it…not really at least. It takes a lot of energy to actually mess in someone else's mind. How about if I promise not to do that?"

More silence. Great, really great.

"You look familiar."

Well…the good news was that Aya broke the silence and actually talked. The bad was…well everything, I suppose. I didn't even need to read his mind, just to know that he was ready to grab his katana or any other sharp object at hand and do some serious dissection job on me. What the heck is this guy's problem?

"I've been told that a lot of times. Personally, I think I look more like T.M.Revolution than anyone else"

Some grumbles, some snickers. Gee, ain't they just a happy bunch. "Now, how about I go to my room and let you people talk? See ya all lata." I gave them one of my brilliant smiles and left. Things would be interesting from now on. Weiß, be prepared for tornado Sky.

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Aya looked puzzled at the disappearing figure of their supposedly new member. The new guy seemed somehow familiar. Long red hair, running wild. A smile that provoked the world. His instinct told him to keep an eye. He had learned to trust his gut feeling. In the line of the business he was in, sometimes, all you got was instinct. It could mean the difference between life or death. So if and when the new one struck, at least he should be prepared.

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11:18 am. Would it be time to get up? Oh well.. I'll just stay in a little longer.

The room was simple. A simple white bed, a white lamp. I could describe the color of the room with one word: white. Great..I know they're called Weiß, but isn't this just a BIT exaggerated? How comfy… I sighed.

My new team members were just SO fucking friendly, particularly that redhead. I wonder how they'll react if I told them that I scanned all their minds the moment I stepped into the shop.

First of all we had the sentimental sucker mister Hidaka Ken. He was a cool guy, nothing from there. Too much of a goody two shoe's for me. A kind character matching a kind appearance, defender of the weak, a big brother for the kids. Just mister perfect. He sure trusted one easily. The guy apparently did not learn from his mistakes.

Next we had Kudo Yohji. Now he most definitely was my kind of man! Carefree, a fellow appreciater of the female species. We sure had a lot in common. Maybe we'd become great friends. Hey! You never know, ne? He could hide all he wanted behind that charming smile of his, but there was little you could hide from a telepath.

Omi or rather Taketori Mamoru. A child that had seen more death and experienced more then a lot of old men or women. His mind was a bit…..clouded. Broken images. He seemed to have experienced some trauma or something.

Maybe I should go dig deeper when I have the time. The jumpy, happy 16-year- old who seemed to be the one is keeping the group together in his unique way. Totally opposite to someone else…a certain redhead.

Aya…. Or was it Ran? I wouldn't know. In a way he was both, I guess. I could already imagine the fun I'll have, digging into his mind and maybe more. The guy obviously was the king of mockery. Did he fall into a pit of grouchiness or something? He did have a good reason for it, I guess. Hell, I could have turned out like him! Lucky me!

He obviously forgot the last time we met. Interesting.

I wondered what they were doing in the shop. They spent most of last night talking. Probably the whole night. I wasn't curious enough to eavesdrop any longer than 5 minutes. Besides, I already knew what the subject of their 'meeting' was. The newcomer, me.

They seemed puzzled why mister cathead Persia, or rather his replacement, would assign them a new member. Suggestions such as.. maybe I was just another test for their loyalty or maybe I was supposed to watch their moves etc. etc. were made. These people really did have a trust issue! I mean, couldn't a new member just be a new member??

It's not like I actually volunteered to join their pathetic group. It was more like an either this or jail situation for me.

Oh well… Might as well get downstairs and continue my integration process.

I put on the jeans and T-shirt. A little rummaging through the pockets.

Keys to my apartment, some small pieces of paper, my ring and my wallet. This was everything I owned at the present moment. Hmm… I needed to go on a shopping trip today. The check I got from Manx was hardly anywhere near enough, but I guess I could buy something. I splashed some cold water on my face, put on my ring, ran a hand through my hair and went out.

When I arrived at the shop, there was quite a crowd both inside and outside the shop. Apparently there were four fan clubs. The Yo-tan fanclub, apparently the largest one, was crowded around their idol. A smaller crowd consisting of Ken-fans besieged KenKen, while another surrounded a scolding Aya. Outside there was the Omi-chan fan club, apparently on the look-out for any signs of Omi. Interesting. Maybe I should get a fan club too.

I flashed a brilliant smile at the crowd outside and immediately I became the subject to talk about. Wow, those chicks must be horny. The fan club establishment sure wont take long. I was busy scanning a girl's fantasy about her and a certain redhead, when out of the blue a white apron landed in my face accompanied by the single word "work". Three guesses who threw the damn thing. It's NOT like we actually needed the money, why do we have to work?!

I walked to the counter where he was occupied with arranging one of those fancy and expensive flower arrangements. Hmmm……. Change of plans. I actually put on the apron, which was surprisingly brand new, and gave Aya a big smile. "Why Aya! That arrangement looks absolutely beau-ti-ful! You must have won prizes!" I said sarcastically.

"Water the plants." Was his cold reply. How I just love his commands! I rolled my eyes.

After three hours, I was a professional flower man. I watered the damn flowers for three hours! Three freaking hours! I could have done it in a min with my powers, but I'm not allowed to do it since the flower shop is a cover up. My mood was definitely improved though, when Omi came home. The fact that he came home was nothing much to be really happy about. The fact a huge crowd of girls came along with him was a brightening factor. Especially since they also established the Sky fan club by the end of the afternoon. I was happy and pretty proud to say that my fan club was as big as Yohji's, if not even bigger. With a little help from my outstanding flirting skills of course and a little touch of telepathy.

Girls were like kittens. You gave them a taste of what they wanted and they'd follow you around till you gave them more. Compliments for the one, a small kiss for the other…

And being a telepath came in handy at times such as this. Their wishes and desires were so superficial that anyone who knew how to look, would see it practically written on their faces.

6pm. I nonchalantly threw the apron in a corner, announced that I was leaving and began my assignment: To shop till I've used every cent I had. Mission accomplished after two hours of hopping from one shop to another, since I had to actually buy EVERYTHING.

I snuggled a little deeper in the collar of my new leather jacket and started to head back to my apartment.

People seemed to walk faster. Some men were hurrying home to their wife and children after a long day of work. Couples were hurrying to their favorite restaurants, the theater or another such kind of entertainment place. Whether they're young, old, men or women, they were all hurrying. Were they afraid of the night? Afraid of the things that might happen to them in the dark?

A flash of orange hair disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. I called out his name. There was no response. I hurried to the direction, but the only thing I found was more disappointment. It was just my screwed up mind playing tricks with me again or could it…? Naw.

I laughed at myself. I laughed so hard, other pedestrians were staring at me like I was nuts. I wanted to break down in sobs, but instead I just laughed.

The wind grew silent as the night grew colder.

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A few hundred miles away a private jet just landed on the ground. Several minutes later, a middle-aged man stepped out, followed by his bodyguards. His Japanese secretary, a seductive woman with long purple eyes and matching eyes, greeted him. She started to inform him, speaking English fluently. "Mister Yamoto, the mansion has been prepared like you ordered. A meeting of the elders will take place in about two hours and here are the files you asked for."

He leafed through the files. "Arigatou Mina. Do you know their whereabouts?"

She answered in Japanese, following his lead."Yes, sir. They are in Nara. But since they're moving around a lot, it is a bit difficult to pinpoint exactly where they are at the moment."

"Find out where they are within the next 24 hours and get them on the first plane available. That would be all. Now, let us go to the meeting."

"Hai."

A new member, a new arrival. Time of turmoil and changes had arrived. Once it was started…. Nothing could stop it…

TBC

"The art of loving is keeping it."