Liebe und Tot (Love and Death)
By: Princess of Planets and Angel
E-mail: princessofplanets@hotmail.com and taura12@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Fandoms: Tokyo Babylon / Weiss Kreuz
Hokuto continued to chatter as she sat down, pulling Omi with her. "… And Subaru-chan refuses to go on a date-that-doesn't-have-to-do-with-food with him! It's sooo sad! And he refuses to admit that they're going out! I mean, by now they should at least have made out a few times! What can you do with a guy like Subaru-chan?!"
Omi blinked. "I'm sorry," he managed to insert.
"But they haven't done anything! I mean, I lock them in Sei-chan's apartment, but nothing happens!!!! He's a teenage boy! You'd think he'd have some hormones somewhere!!!!!!!"
"Wait a second," Omi interrupted. "Your brother's a teenager, but his boyfriend has an apartment?"
"Sei-chan's twenty-five."
Omi choked. "And how old's your brother? He's older than you, right?"
"No, younger. By two minutes," Hokuto said, nodding. "They're such an adorable couple."
"They're nine years apart!!!! Aren't older sisters supposed to be protective?"
"I am protective, Omi-chan! But Sei-chan's protective too, so it's okay! He's so sweet to Subaru-chan!"
Omi's head hit the table. "I think I give up."
"Give up what?"
"Trying to understand you."
"I'm a girl, Omi-chan! You're never going to understand me! You're a guy!"
"Thank God," he muttered.
"I heard that."
"Good, you were supposed to."
There was a pause for a moment. "Omi! Look! A rare flower! What's it mean?"
Omi didn't even bother to look. "Oh no. I know you have pepper in your purse, for God knows what reason."
"But… But…."
"No."
"Meanie. But, speaking of flowers, are there any flower shops around here? Subaru-chan really loves camellias, so I think Sei-chan should get him some to soften him up."
Omi rubbed his forehead discreetly. Occasionally, trying to keep up with Hokuto gave him a headache, and this was one of those times. "I work at one. Koneko no Sumu Ie. We have tons of camellias, potted and cut."
"Ooooh, really?! That'll be so much fun! Sei-chan and I'll go today, then, and then Sei-chan and Subaru-chan can go have fun and a real date, with a candlelit dinner and some music and more flowers… and stuff that I really, really, REALLY don't want to associate with my little brother."
"Well, come over when I'm working, and I'll try and give you a discount." Hopefully, Aya-kun won't be anywhere near the register at that time.
"REALLY?! Thank you thank you thank you!!!" Hokuto said, hugging him tightly. Several of the nearby girls gave her an evil glare. "Of course, I won't be paying for them, but I'm sure Sei-chan will appreciate it. When are you working?"
"I'm working today right after school until closing, so just come over anytime today!"
"Ok! I have to stop and pick up Sei-chan, but then we'll come over." She paused, a worried look coming over her face. "I hope Subaru's not …no, he has a job today until six, so we should be fine." Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of their lunch hour. Omi sent up a silent prayer of thanks. "Ja ne, Omi-chan!"
***
"Come on, Sei-chan! A friend of mine works at this flower shop and he said he'd give you a discount if you came today! Wasn't that nice of him?!" Hokuto babbled happily as she dragged the tall veterinarian towards the large crowd of girls congregated in front of the flower shop.
"Ano, Hokuto-chan, are you sure that this is the shop? How can you see inside?"
"Don't be silly! Girls love flowers, especially when the florists are four hot guys!"
"Oh, I see why you're taking me to this flower shop…. Looking for a boyfriend, Hokuto-chan?"
Hokuto blushed a bright red. "No! Subaru's love life comes before mine! I can find a great guy any time I want, but Subaru's more insecure than I am, so he has to have a boyfriend first. And one day, when I'm not here anymore to take care of him, I have to make sure that he's being dressed by someone I trust to get it right."
"Don't worry, Hokuto-chan, I'll make sure he wears a hat every day."
"Good." They entered the flower shop, shoving aside the many screaming girls gathered around the entrance.
"Irasshaimase!" A young, brown-haired teenager called, balancing a cactus in his arms.
"Hokuto-chan! Is this your friend?" Omi said, from the cash register. Hokuto made her way over to him, Seishirou in tow.
"Yup, this is Sei-chan! Sei-chan, this is Omi-chan!"
"Is your shop usually like this?" Seishirou asked, taking in the hordes of girls forcing their ways into the shop.
"It depends on who is working on what days. If Aya-kun's working, he can usually scare most of the girls away. If Youji-kun's working, it's worse."
"…worse?" Seishirou and Hokuto stared at him.
"You don't want to know. So, Hokuto-chan said you wanted camellias?"
Seishirou started at the mention of the flowers, but then smiled. "Yes, I understand they're Subaru-kun's favorite, so I thought I'd surprise him. Can I have one dozen, please?"
"Of course! KEN-KUN!!!!!!!!!"
"Omi, I have enough to do handling this crowd without you yelling at me, especially since Youji's decided to sleep in again."
"But, we have a real customer, who wants a dozen camellias. Can you get them, please?" Omi looked at Ken with huge, innocent eyes.
Ken rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. Give me a second." He wove his way to the camellias, fighting off a few of the more enthusiastic girls. Returning, he handed Seishirou a dozen red camellias. "Sorry, that's the only color we have in stock right now. If you want a different color, we can order it, but it'll take a few days."
"No, this is fine. Thank you." A small smirk flickered over Seishirou's face, but disappeared just as fast, making both Omi and Ken doubt it had even been there in the first place. Handing Omi some money, he dragged Hokuto after him, the mob in the store parting for him without realizing it. Omi and Ken stared after him.
"I wish I could do that," Ken muttered, admiringly.
"What, get a boyfriend nine years younger than you or have enough money to pay for the flowers twice over and not realize it?"
"No, get through those girls without getting attacked."
"Oh. Yeah, me too."
***
"Weiss, you have a mission." Manx walked into the back of the flower shop after the last customer had left. (Or, more accurately, Aya had thrown them out. Same result.) She calmly inserted the video tape into the tape player. Persia appeared on the screen, laying out the details of the mission. He started by describing and showing pictures of the unexplained murders, which had been connected to the target. Finally, he showed a picture of the target, Sakurazuka Seishirou, and Omi and Ken gasped.
"Weiss, deny this dark beast his tomorrow!"
"He came into the shop today!" Omi exclaimed as the tape finished.
"What? Why?" Manx asked, startled.
"He came in with one of my friends. He bought a dozen red camellias for her brother."
"…For her brother?"
"Yeah, they're apparently dating." Omi made a face. "Even though there's a nine year age difference between them."
"Well, we don't need to go into detail about his perversions. You said that you know the boyfriend and his sister? Become better friends with them. Find out all you can about Sakurazuka. He's been killing people since he was fifteen, with his first victim being his own mother, and seen murders since he was born. He's a very dangerous person to go after, but we're confident that you four can handle him." Manx stood up, done with her briefing. "Well, I'll leave you to start your research."
"So… Omi, we'll let you do that research," Youji said boredly. "I have a date. You find the address, then we'll go scout it out."
"Youji-kun! Don't you dare leave this all – " Omi stopped as he realized they all had left the room. "I hate you all," he muttered, and went over to his computer.
***
"Mata ashita, Omi-chan!" Omi waved back at Hokuto, turning to walk towards the flower shop. Hokuto continued bouncing along to Seishirou's office, idly creating new outfits, complete with hats, for her brother to wear. Suddenly she noticed that she had been surrounded by a group of girls that she recognized from school. "Um, hi?"
"Sumeragi Hokuto, right?" One of the girls stepped forward, almost threateningly.
"Yes, who are you?" Hokuto asked, slowly reaching for the lipstick she always carried in her purse.
"It's not important who we are. The question is, who are you to Omi-kun?"
"Omi-chan? Isn't that obvious?" Hokuto blinked, puzzled.
"Omi-chan?! How dare you address him like that!"
"I have every right to call him that!"
"You…" the rest of the girl's insult trailed off as a shadow fell over them.
"Hokuto-chan? Is something wrong?" Seishirou looked between Hokuto and the girls standing around her.
"Sei-chan! No, there's nothing wrong. They just wanted to ask me something about Omi-chan!" Hokuto slipped out from the middle of the group while the girls were distracted, and latched onto Seishirou's arm. "What are you doing here?"
"My office is just across the street, remember? I looked out for a second and saw you and these girls, so I thought I should see if anything was wrong."
"Aww! Sei-chan! You're so sweet! If only Subaru-chan would see that!"
Seishirou nodded. "Hopefully soon." The group of girls collectively blinked in confusion. Glancing around at each other, they decided to leave. Seishirou shrugged and escorted Hokuto into his office, adding, "Speaking of Subaru-kun, he's been here for a while waiting for you. He got off a job about fifteen minutes ago."
"He came to see me?!" Hokuto exclaimed. "I don't think so! He better not have!"
"We've been talking since he came, and one of the cocker spaniels has just had puppies, so those have pretty much occupied his attention." Seishirou sighed.
"Have you given him his flowers yet?"
"I figured you would want to see his reaction."
"Of course! But you know, he might be embarrassed to do anything in front of me, which he shouldn't be, but…."
"You can hide in the back room."
"Okay!!!"
Hokuto snuck through the back of the clinic and peered through the opening of the back room door, where Subaru was cheerfully playing with the litter of puppies. Seishirou went in with the flowers behind his back.
"Subaru-kun?"
"Hai?"
Seishirou extended the flowers. "I saw these and I thought you would like them."
Subaru blushed. "Um…. T-thank you…."
A pained expression crossed his face. "I don't get any other forms of thanks? Not even a kiss?"
Subaru turned reds previously unreachable by most of mankind. "S-s-s-seishirou-san!!!"
Seishirou sighed melodramatically. "I know, I know. A humble veterinarian is nothing to the head of the Sumeragi clan. I should just stop, but I guess I just can't give up the hope that you might love me…." He turned away, a tortured expression on his face.
"No, Seishirou-san, I didn't mean that! It's just that…I didn't realize that people usually kiss others to thank them."
Seishirou smiled. "Don't worry, Subaru-kun, we have plenty of time!" About two months, but you don't need to know that.
Hokuto decided that it was high time that she put in an appearance. Sneaking back out of the room, she bounced into the room through the front door. "Subaru!!! Did you miss me?!"
Subaru started at the appearance of his sister. "Nee-chan! Weren't you supposed to be here ten minutes ago?"
"Well, I got held up a little on the way here. Don't worry about it! It gave you some quality alone time with Sei-chan, didn't it?!"
"N-nee-chan!!!"
"Well, I see he got you flowers, Subaru! So, now you have to go out to dinner!"
"What?! Where did that come from?!"
"Well, when a guy brings you flowers, you have to go out to dinner with him! Don't you know anything?! I thought I raised you better than this!"
"N-nee-chan! I… but… I…"
"Yup! Sei-chan, you have to take Subaru-chan to a very nice restaurant! And you have to bring him back home and plan another date that doesn't have anything to do with food! And you give him a good night kiss, and make sure he eats well…. But first, we have to take him home and get him changed. Subaru-chan, I can't believe you left the house dressed like this! I can never run late to school again, because then I don't have time to dress Subaru-chan, and he leaves the house looking like this!!!!!!!!" She wildly gestured to his plain, black and white clothing. "It's horrifying!!!!! You see why he needs you, Sei-chan? He needs a good boyfriend to make sure he dresses well when I'm at school. How could you leave the house like this?!"
"I'm very sorry, Nee-chan!"
"Come on, I'm going to take you home and get you into good, proper clothing. AND YOU FORGOT YOUR HAT!!!!!!!!!!"
Subaru hid behind Seishirou, clutching his camellias as an additional shield. Seishirou smiled. "Subaru-kun, I'm touched." Subaru's head fell forward and hit Seishirou's back.
"Sorry!" he wailed.
"Hokuto-chan, you can't hurt my boyfriend before we complete our date!" Seishirou said calmly. "Take him home, get him changed, and I'll pick him up in about an hour and a half. Does that sound good?"
"Great." Hokuto dragged Subaru from behind Seishirou and pulled him out the door. "See you later!"
***
Seishirou finished locking up his office, and began to walk towards his apartment. A shadow disengaged itself from the opposite street, and began to follow him. Ignoring the presence, Seishirou ran over all the things he needed to do that evening. Change, date with Subaru-kun, take him back home after teasing him a little, change again, go after Tanaka, see if I need to feed the Tree anymore, though I shouldn't need to. Spoiled shrub. After that, figure out who the hell is following me. Do they really think I'm that stupid? Seishirou rolled his eyes, then began to walk faster, giving the impression he was nervous, and sent his Shiki to see the face of his stalker.
Ken slid between the shadows, keeping his eyes trained on Seishirou as the older man went into an apartment building. Slipping into the building after him, Ken quietly followed the man up to his apartment. Noting down the number, he turned to go back home, not noticing the silent eagle flying above him the entire way back to the shop.
***
Subaru inwardly sobbed as he stared at himself in the mirror. At least this one is normal by Nee-chan's standards. He thought, looking at the white outfit he had been forced into, complete with hat. Sighing, he resigned himself to his fate, and turned away from the mirror to wait for Seishirou. Right on time, there was a knock from the hallway. Hokuto pulled open the door and welcomed Seishirou into the apartment.
"Sei-chan! Subaru just finished getting ready, so you two have fun! Sei-chan, don't forget the good-night kiss!" She shoved her brother out the door, and closed the door before he could realize what had just happened.
"So, where should we go for dinner, Subaru-kun?" Seishirou asked with a smile.
"Um…."
"Well, I heard there was this new restaurant nearby. Would you like to go there?"
"Um, ok." Subaru let himself be escorted to the restaurant, with Seishirou happily telling him all the latest things that had happened at the clinic. Entering the restaurant, they were sat next to a tall blonde man, and his date.
I think this one's coming home with…is that the target? Youji moaned silently as he realized that it was, indeed, the target. Studying the couple, his eyes widened as he took in the age of the young, green-eyed boy quietly sitting next to his date. That kid looks like he's younger than Omi! What kind of pervert is this guy?! His own date called his attention back to her, and he obediently began talking to her, sending occasional glances to the couple next to them.
Subaru squirmed uncomfortably as the man looked at them again. "Seishirou-san?" he asked quietly, unintentionally interrupting his speech.
"Yes, Subaru-kun?"
"Is there a reason that blonde man keeps looking at us?" he whispered.
Seishirou looked at the man Subaru was talking about. "He probably thinks you're cute." Subaru squeaked. "Don't worry, Subaru-kun. I'll fight for you!" Subaru's blush deepened.
"S-seishirou-san! You don't have to do that!"
"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't try to protect your honor?"
"…." Subaru blinked at him. "My honor?"
"Yes, of course!"
"Seishirou-san!" he whispered in a horrified tone. Seishirou just smiled angelically.
"I have to prove my love to you somehow, don't I?"
Subaru shook his head and bent over his food, hoping that his blush would eventually fade before his job tomorrow morning.
I do wonder why he's looking at us though, Seishirou thought, continuing to tease Subaru. Does it have to do with my being followed earlier?
As they finished their meals and Seishirou paid, he suggested, "Why don't we go for a walk in the park?"
Subaru blushed again. I'm never going to stop being red! "O-okay…."
Seishirou smiled. "Great!" He grabbed Subaru's arm and led him to the park, much to Subaru's embarrassment.
Behind them, Youji murmured to his date, "Why don't we go to the park?"
The woman glared at him. "You think after ignoring me for the last half of dinner that I'd want to spend more time with you ignoring me?!" She hit him over the head with her purse and left.
"Damn target," he muttered as he paid the bill. "It's his fault I'm not getting laid tonight." Striding out of the restaurant, he looked around for the two men. Spotting them further down the street, he quickened his pace to catch up to them.
Seishirou's eyes narrowed with annoyance as he felt yet another presence tailing them. And I can't even use my Shiki, or Subaru-kun will sense it. Taking Subaru's arm, he murmured to him, "Let's go this way." Ignoring Subaru's meep of surprise, he pulled him into the darker areas of the park. Releasing him, he said softly, "Don't you think this is more romantic?" Even without any light, Subaru glowed with embarrassment. He smiled and pulled Subaru against him, resting his chin on top of the younger boy's head. After a moment, Subaru began to slowly relax against him. He allowed his innocent smile to fade into something darker as the boy allowed his arms to take all of his weight. He sat down, his back against the tree, drawing Subaru into his lap. Subaru immediately stiffened, and tried to pull away. Seishirou let him, and instead, tugged him down next to him, keeping an arm around the younger boy. Subaru hesitated for a moment, then sighed, and apparently seeing no way out of the situation, relaxed against him. "Don't worry, Subaru-kun, I won't hurt you," Seishirou whispered to the boy leaning against him.
Subaru shrugged. "I didn't think you would," he admitted. Seishirou smirked, using the lack of light to hide his predatorial expression. "It's just…I don't know, you're always so…." He paused, searching for the right word. "Intimate, I guess. I always thought people would wait for some time before they did that."
"It's just because you're so cute and sweet and kind-hearted, Subaru-kun. Only an idiot wouldn't fall in love with you." So, I suppose I'm an idiot. Oh well.
Subaru blushed, and hid his face against Seishirou's shoulder. They stayed like that for some more time, both grateful for the time to think. Eventually, Seishirou stood up and offered a hand to pull Subaru up. "We should probably go back to your apartment, or your sister will be convinced that we did some things other than just eating and talking."
Subaru blinked, then moaned. "She'll think that no matter what."
"True, but no point in giving her any more ammunition than she already has, right?"
Subaru nodded and followed Seishirou back to his apartment. Pausing outside the door, he smiled shyly at Seishirou. "Um, thank you for dinner and…dinner."
Seishirou smiled happily. "Anytime, Subaru-kun!" He leaned forward, and before Subaru could react, kissed him on the lips. Subaru froze for a moment, then pulled away. Seishirou grinned. "Ja ne, Subaru-kun!" He turned and walked down the stairs. Subaru stared after him in shock, then opened the door to his apartment.
Hokuto stopped talking, and jumped up to greet him. "Subaru! How was your date? I don't think you've met Omi-chan, right? Omi-chan, this is my little brother, Subaru, and… Subaru? What's wrong?" Subaru didn't answer, and walked straight to his room, where he closed and locked the door. Hokuto grinned. "YES! They finally did something!"
Omi blinked. "Who did what?"
"Subaru and Sei-chan! They finally did something together!" She paused. "Though they better not have had sex yet. I don't think Subaru's quite ready for that...."
"Sei-chan? Oh, your friend, right? What's his real name?"
"Sakurazuka Seishirou. He's a vet, which is good, because Subaru loves animals, so they'll get along perfectly when they get married."
"Oh. That's inter…married?! They're both guys, they can't get married!"
"That's what I keep telling her. She doesn't listen," Subaru called from inside his room. "And, anyway, Nee-chan, what are you doing in my apartment?"
Hokuto laughed. "I had to check up on my baby brother after his date, didn't I?" A groan was heard from inside Subaru's room. "Well, Omi-chan, I think I have to go interrogate my brother now, so I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
He nodded, and left, calling goodbye to Subaru, feeling sorry for him at the same time.
Well, at least we have his day job now. That'll give me something more to work with. He thought to himself as he headed back to the shop. Suddenly, he ran into someone. "Oh, gomen nasai! I wasn't paying attention and…Youji-kun?! Didn't you have a date tonight?"
"Yeah, but the target showed up with his boy-toy at the same restaurant, so I was paying more attention to them than I was to her, so she got mad and left. I followed them to the park and then back here, but after the target left, he just…disappeared. I couldn't figure out where he went, so I thought maybe he somehow went back inside. I figured I'd wait and…." He stopped as Omi shook his head.
"No, Sakurazuka wasn't in there. Maybe you're just tired. Come on, I found out what his day job is, so it'll be a little easier to figure out where he lives."
"Well, Ken followed him to his apartment, so we've got that. We just need to make sure he'll be there when we get there."
Omi blinked. "What? When did this happen?"
"Just today. You'd already left to see that girl, so we figured we'd tell you when you came back."
"Well, that makes things easier. I suppose we could go after him tomorrow night or the night after, what do you think?"
"That'll be good. The sooner, the better. Did you see some of those pictures?" Youji shuddered at the memory of the little girl with her heart ripped out.
"I agree."
***
"Ne, Omi-chaaaaaan!" Hokuto called happily, making her way over to him. "You know how you were asking about Sei-chan last night? Well, I was thinking about it, and I've decided that you two need to be introduced!"
Omi blinked at her. "May I ask why?" he asked cautiously.
"Because…because I said so! And I think he'd like you!" Hokuto stood up, and began dragging Omi behind her. "You don't have to work today, right?"
"Not until five, so it should be fine."
"Good! Sei-chan's office is about ten minutes away, and he's always working there right now, so this is a perfect time to introduce you." Omi winced as she walked faster and increased the pressure on his arm, but there was no use complaining to her. "Here we are!" Entering the office, she called, "SEI-CHAN!!!"
"Hokuto-chan, I'm right here. You don't need to yell." Seishirou waved to her, from where he was on the phone. "I'll be a minute, hold on." Turning back to the phone, he frowned. "Yes, I understand. Tomorrow? Yes, I can do that. I'll take care of it. Good bye."
"Who was that?" Hokuto asked.
"Hiroshimase-san wants me to take care of his rabbit."
"Cool! Wait, no, it must be sick. Poor rabbit!!!!"
Sure. Poor… rabbit. Except that he's going to be the one who dies by tomorrow. "Hokuto-chan, who's your friend?"
"Oh, this is Omi-chan! You remember him from the flower shop, right?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names and faces." Seishirou smiled winningly at Omi. So this is the leader of Weiss. Looks a bit young, but then again, I was young when I started killing too.
Wow, he's good. If I didn't know better, I'd never think that someone like this would be able to kill children and not bat an eye. Omi smiled back. "It's very nice to meet you again, uh…."
"Sakurazuka Seishirou."
"Sakurazuka-san."
"Would you two like to sit down? I think I have cookies somewhere…" Seishirou's voice trailed off as he turned to look for the cookies. "Ah! Here they are!" He dumped the cookies on a plate and handed it to the two teenagers. "Would either of you like something to drink? I can make some tea."
"No, thank you."
"Sei-chan, can I have some tea? Please?"
"Of course, Hokuto-chan! I could never refuse my future sister-in-law anything!" Seishirou began to heat up the water.
Subaru walked into the back room, looking warily at his twin and her friend. "Uh…. Konnichi'wa, Seishirou-san…"
"Hi, Subaru-chan!!!!!!!" Hokuto said enthusiastically.
"Seishirou-san, can you kindly inform my sister that I'm not talking to her?"
"Of course. Hokuto-chan, your brother's not talking to you. Do you know why?"
"I tried asking him about your date. A bit forcefully."
"SHE THREW THE PAN AT ME!" Subaru protested to Seishirou. "Just because I told her it wasn't any of her business. Three times."
"Well, maybe you should stay at my apartment tonight, Subaru-kun." Subaru turned bright red.
"Uh…. I…. don't think that's necessary. She does have her own apartment, after all."
"Then maybe I should come over to protect you?"
"T-t-that's okay, thank you," he mumbled, turning darker shades of red.
Seishirou sighed. "If you're sure….."
"I am."
"Oh."
Omi choked. Oh dear….
"Sei-chan…?" Hokuto started sweetly. "Will you tell me what happened on your date?"
Seishirou sighed. "If Subaru-kun's embarrassed about us, then I won't tell either."
"No fair!" Hokuto pouted. "I'm going to have to hire a spy to keep an eye on you during your dates!"
Subaru paled rapidly. Could that blonde guy have been a spy of Nee-chan's?! …No, she wouldn't stoop that far…. Would she?
"Well, why don't I go and get us some food? Maybe you two will settle your differences." Seishirou stood up as he was talking, and headed for the door.
"That's nice of you, Seishirou-san, but I have a job to do, so I have to leave now. Sorry." With that, Subaru stood up to leave.
"Where is it?"
"On the other side of Tokyo, but I can take the bus or something."
"Well, I can drive you, and on the way back, we can pick up something for your sister and her friend."
"But, Seishirou-san, don't you have to work?" Subaru asked.
"Subaru-kun, the only reason I have this job is so that I can cut it to spend time with you!"
"That's so sweet!!" Hokuto squealed.
I'm sure…. Omi thought. The sad thing is, that might be true. Out loud, he said, "That's nice of you to offer, Sakurazuka-san, but I have work to do as well, so I have to leave now. Sorry. It was nice to see all of you again." Omi waved to them and left. That was scary. How can someone that cruel act so normal?
***
Seishirou looked down at the sleeping boy on his couch with a possessive smile. Subaru had been exhausted after his job, and Seishirou had told him that he had to come in and drink and eat something before he would drive him back to his apartment. Subaru had fallen asleep before he had even put the water on to boil. Of course, the sleeping spell Seishirou had cast probably had some effect as well. Well, I suppose I should probably figure out how to get into Hiroshimase's office tomorrow night. He glanced up at a sudden noise. Or how to get rid of those annoying florists outside. Sighing, he walked over to the window and opened it. "I know you're out there, you might as well come in." A dart flew at him, but he moved aside before it connected with him. "That wasn't very nice. I'm trying to be polite, and you shoot a poisoned dart at me! Would you like some tea? I already made it, so it's no trouble."
A wire was tossed at him, and he dodged it again. He sighed in frustration. "Look, Subaru-kun seems to tolerate you and Hokuto-chan downright adores you, so can't you just be polite?"
Ken swung in through the window, followed by Youji, who gave Seishirou a wary look. A blink-of-an-eye later, there was a knock at the door, which Aya and Omi calmly entered through. Seishirou calmly leaned against the back of the couch.
"Now," he said decisively, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You can leave unharmed and drop whatever the hell you think you'd be accomplishing by attempting to kill me – nothing, I might add – or I could kick your asses to the lowest hell and then allow you to leave with your lives, only because Subaru-kun and Hokuto-chan like you. And, speaking of Subaru-kun…." He directed their attention to the couch.
"I'm sure you would hate to have witnesses, and I can both make it look like I'm an innocent man who is being attacked, or I could just kill you, and erase Subaru-kun's memory; whichever I feel like doing. What choice are you going to make?"
Aya glared at him. Youji rolled his eyes and looked to Omi for his opinion.
Omi's eyes narrowed. "You know who we are, am I right? So, how do we know that you won't reveal our identities anyway?"
"I won't reveal your identities because there's nothing for me in it. If my research is correct, you're all dead anyway. Who would believe me?"
"Well, I'm sure there are quite a few who would, but you're correct, there isn't anything for you to gain." Omi paused, running through his options. "We don't really have a choice, do we?"
"Well, there's always a choice. Or so they say. I've found that this is not true, at least if you don't consider death a good option."
Omi sighed. "All right, we'll leave. I don't suppose you'd be willing to at least stop killing children so we can say that we accomplished something to our superiors?"
"No." Seishirou smirked at the look on their faces. "Children are people also, right? So, why should it matter if I kill them or not? They'll be killed eventually. At least this way, something benefits."
"Who benefits? You, because you can sleep with them and then kill them?!" Youji snapped.
Seishirou raised an eyebrow. "I don't go for children that young. My limit is ten years."
Ken choked. "That's disgusting!"
"I like Subaru-kun, thank you very much. You don't find that kind of innocence every day. It'll be very entertaining to break him."
Weiss stared at him in horror, looking between him and the sleeping boy on the couch. Omi growled, "Hokuto-chan wouldn't like that much."
"Hokuto-chan has no choice. Subaru-kun's mine. I claimed him eight years ago, and not even she can break that claim."
"We'll be watching you," Aya warned, and they left the apartment.
You may be watching, but you can't do anything but watch.
Two Months Later:
Omi frowned and glanced again at his watch. 12:57. Hokuto-chan's fifty-seven minutes late!!! he thought in surprise. I wonder if something's wrong. I can see ten minutes, even a half hour, but almost an hour late? Hokuto-chan? That's a bit long for "fashionably" late. He sighed and decided to head back to the flower shop. He had some research for a mission that he could get done. If Hokuto showed up, she could call his cell phone.
"Ne, Youji-kun! Has anyone called?" he yelled as he entered the apartments.
"Nope. Why, do you have a hot date?"
"YOUJI-KUN!! I was waiting for Hokuto-chan and she never showed up, so I was wondering if she called ahead."
"She stood you up, huh? I've never been stood up."
"No. And you might not have been stood up, but you've certainly been slapped and dumped enough to make up for it. Where's the phone? I'm going to call her family, maybe she had to visit or a relative is sick or something." The phone was thrown at him from behind the couch. "Thanks." Omi dialed and waited patiently.
"Moshi moshi."
"Hello, is this the Sumeragi household?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"This is Tsukiyono Omi. I was wondering if Sumeragi Hokuto was there? We were supposed to meet today, but she never showed up."
"Ah…Sumeragi Hokuto-sama's funeral was held this morning. I'm very sorry."
Omi's eyes widened. "Her what?! How did she die? She was perfectly fine when I saw her two days ago!"
"I'm sorry, I cannot tell you. If you will excuse me, I have other things to do. Good-bye." Omi was left with a dial tone.
Shaking slightly, he hung up and stormed into the living room. "She's dead."
"Who is?"
"Hokuto-chan! Her funeral was this morning!"
Youji looked up. "Wow. I'm sorry, Omi. How did she die?"
"I don't know, they wouldn't tell me. I'll see if I can find anything."
"You'll have to research later. You're working right now."
Omi glanced at the clock. "Damn."
"Tsk. Omi, you shouldn't swear. What'll the girls think of you?"
"Shut up." Omi walked into the flower shop and stopped short. Sakurazuka Seishirou stood waiting at the cash register. Both Aya and Ken were sending him heated glares.
"Konnichi'wa. I was hoping you'd have one dozen red camellias and as many orange tulips as you have."
Omi stared at him. "Why? For Subaru-san? His sister just died, you know!"
"Yes, I know. I killed her."
"You what?!"
"You heard me. She asked for it, anyway."
"What'd she do?!"
"She asked for it."
"But, what did she do?!"
Seishirou sighed in exasperation. "She. Asked. Me. To. Kill. Her. Got it?"
Omi stared at him. "But why would she do that?"
"To wake up her brother. It was the only thing she could think of. Can I have the flowers or not?"
Omi began to pack up the flowers absentmindedly. "To wake up Subaru-san? What are you talking about?"
"You wouldn't understand it. It's beyond your comprehension. How much are the flowers?"
Omi named a price that was double the real one. Seishirou calmly handed twice that. "Keep the change. I won't need it." Turning, he walked out calmly. All three florists stared after him.
"…How could he just kill her? She was one of the nicest people I know!" Omi whispered in horror. Ken put a supportive arm around Omi.
"There's nothing we can do about it now. He's too powerful to go after; you know that, you did all the research. And either way, she's dead. There's no way to reverse that. I'm sorry you missed the funeral, though."
"Yeah…" he said faintly.
"Go lay down," Ken said comfortingly. "I'll get Youji to cover your shift. Get some rest. You can visit her grave tomorrow; I'll come with you if you want."
"Thank you," he said, and numbly walked off to bed.
The next day, Omi and Ken visited Hokuto's grave and, propped up against the enormous headstone was a bouquet of orange tulips.