Disclaimer: I do not own any of the many (possibly many...) anime that will eventually appear in this fic, I just borrow the characters and places is all.
Title: Death of the Orchid
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze
Beta Reader: Ryoko Kashino
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?
Pairings (Eventual and/or current): Youji x Aya (Ran). Shuichi x Yuki. Towa x Atsuro. Dee x Ryo(Randy). Others possible will consider all requests.
Anime Involved So Far:
Weiß Kreuz
Yami no Matsuei
Gravitation
Kaikan Phrase
FAKE
Any requests?
A/N: Sorry this took so long, people! I'm a bad girl…When I have nothing to do I do nothing, yet when I have stuff to do, I actually write….Bad me, bad! ^_^ This comes to you with a me in a lot of pain…I've got the bruise on my neck to prove it *sweatdrops* I hope you enjoy!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 5: Foreigners Arrive to Assist in the Case
Youji stood there, completely dumbfounded. Not only had he come across Aya on his bed, willing to talk, two days ago, but it had happened again. The redhead seemed to be in a bad mood, though, and he wasn't so sure that was good or not.
"Hey, there, Aya," he smiled, trying to convey how happy he was to have him there.
"Hn," was the response. Not at all surprising.
The blond walked over to the bed and sat down on the side. "Is something wrong?" Despite the fact that grumpy was his normal attitude, he couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong with the redhead.
He sighed and shifted about so that the blankets covered him and he was curled into a ball. "Aya~! I don't think that's helping!" Youji yanked at the covers and was snarled at. "Geez, did you come here to take over my bed and make me sleep on the couch?"
The words served to remind the redhead that it was nighttime. He let the blond pull the covers from his head and drag him onto his lap. He was tired of thinking and just let the man do what he wanted, within reason, of course.
Youji gently stroked his hair, trying to comfort the man. "Now, what's bothering you?" The question earned another sigh and the man tried to become smaller, snuggling closer.
"I got into a major fight with my teammates," his voice was soft and almost went unheard. Youji blinked, the words making it sound like a high school fight among friends. He wondered how serious the fight was, to make Aya so depressed. "That sounded stupid, I know."
He shook his head and hugged the smaller man close. "No it didn't. Not from you. What happened?"
The fight wasn't what bothered him. It was all of the reminders of his past. "It was pretty stupid, but it had been building up. I don't blame her for flipping out."
"Okay, now you're making it sound as if you don't care about the fight. What is it that's actually bothering you?"
"My past."
That didn't sound good. Whenever Aya thought about his past he always became depressed, often suicidal. He hugged him again and dared to kiss the top of his head. "What about your past?" He was never told anything out-right, made to put the pieces together. All he had gathered was the man loved his sister and loathed his parents.
"My high school friendships. Or rather, the end of such," he sounded as though he wanted to talk about it, but at the same time didn't.
Youji moved so that he was laying down with his back against the headboard, Aya on top of him. He tucked the man's head under his chin and the silky crimson strands that were hair tickled at his neck. "You know you can talk to me, right?" He felt the nod. "Good," he twisted his head so that he could plant a kiss on Aya's forehead.
The redhead began to tell the story, starting from Kaori's death.
~*~*~
"Ne, Yuki?" Shuichi spoke tentatively, hating to disturb his lover while he was writing. The blond stopped typing, an indication that he could ask what it was he wanted to. "What do you think of that band, Tamashii no Ryoushi?"
He set down his coffee mug after taking a sip, glancing at the pink-haired man. "What of them?" He said with his cool voice, finger tapping the 'hu' key.
"Don't you think they're suspicious?" He jumped up from his seat and wandered over to the blond. He sat on the floor beside Yuki and stared up at him, watching for his reactions.
Golden eyes disappeared as he shut his eyes, wondering why his young lover always had to pester him. "Considering the strange happenings around them, yes. However, since the police aren't involved, I don't think you should worry about it." The last sentence was to get him to go away, and something Yuki completely did not believe.
Knowing he was lying about not needing to worry, Shuichi was tempted to persist. Only the fact that the blond started typing again, appearing to be in a very inspirational mood, kept him from continuing to bother him.
He sighed, wishing his lover was in a more talkative mood. He snuck into bed, waiting for Yuki to retire for the night. He fell asleep before the blond finished, but at least he was there when he woke up.
~*~*~
"Atsuro, wake up," Towa said, shaking the boy. He groaned and lifted his hand to cover his face. The light hurt. "Atsuro, you have school."
The words produced another groan, as the redhead did not want to go. Then again, who ever did? He sat up, blanket falling down to show his bare chest. Towa smiled to him, thinking about how he used to have similar reactions. "C'mon, you have to at least finish high school, Atsuro."
The red head sat up, nodded and groaning. "Didn't get much sleep," his voice was slurred but Towa had become an expert at translating the boy's morning speech. The blond just grinned and held out a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip muffin.
"Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but hopefully the combination of sugar and caffeine will help you get through the day," he was thanked for the meal briefly before it began to disappear at a high-paced rate.
Atsuro got up and grabbed his clothes before heading off to take a cold shower. Towa smiled and went back into the kitchen, pouring himself some coffee and pulling out the newspaper he had grabbed before waking up his friend. As he was going through some ads, Atsuro came in towel draped over his head as he weakly dried it with one hand, the other holding his school bag. His uniform was a wrinkled mess and Towa got up to straighten it.
The redhead blushed, his face beginning to match his hair. Towa finished and looked up at him, staring at him intensely. They stayed like that for a few minutes until the blond noticed the time. "You should be leaving," he said in his calm voice, startling Atsuro.
"R-Right. School. Uhmmm," the youth leaned forward and kissed Towa chastely on the lips before blushing even more ferociously. "I'll see you later, Towa!" He ran out the door, leaving a lightly blushing Towa behind.
While the blond had been hoping for something like that, it was completely unexpected. He never imagined it would be Atsuro to kiss him first, but he was pleased none the less. He raised two fingers and tentatively brushed them across his lips before smiling and setting about his day. It was looking to be a great one.
~*~*~
"YOU IDIOTS," the chief screamed at the two investigative officers once again.
"When will you EVER be on time?!"
Ryo winced at the loud voice before turning to glare at Dee, whose fault it was that they were late, yet again. The dark-haired man just looked disinterested in what was going on, causing the chief to go off on another raging tangent that left the blond's ears ringing.
When done, he slammed a manila folder down on the desk for the two to take. "Read this and get to work on it NOW! You lazy bastards! Get out and get to work!" He growled, turning around in his seat to try and relax himself.
Ryo took the folder and left behind Dee, who was anxious to get out of the office. "Geez, you'd think that was the first time we were late with the way he acted."
"If you would just TELL me when he calls for us instead of stalling, then suddenly 'remembering' he'd have less excuses to yell at us like that! Geez, Dee! You can be so irresponsible, you know that?" Ryo was exasperated, it had happened enough times to wear thin on his nerves. He was a patient man, normally, but this was getting out of control.
Entering their office, Dee closed the door and pinned Ryo against the wall, leering at him. "Oh, come on, now, Ryo. You can't tell me you weren't enjoying that kiss. How about we pick up where we left off, hm?" He licked his lips suggestively and growled when he was pushed aside.
Muttering under his breath, Randy made his way to his desk, still holding the folder. "We have work to do, Dee, don't you remember? That's why we got called into the chief's office. Honestly, now!"
Dee rolled his eyes and snatched the folder from Ryo, leafing through the sheets boredly. His eyes widened as he noticed the location of the case. No wonder the chief was pissed, they'd be gone for so long and so far away, he would have to find someone to replace them for their absence. Ryo sighed and tried to get a look at what had caught his partner's interest before the man closed the folder.
"Hey, Ryo?" His voice was curious.
"Yeah?" Was the nervous reply, hating it when Dee appeared to be innocent about something.
"How good is your Japanese?"
~*~*~
Kaori stomped around in her room, still furious. She could not believe the nerve of Ran, excuse me, Aya, for doing what he did. The man was never late to anything and his completely unapologetic attitude made it that much more frustrating. Did he not realize how important completing the mission was? Didn't he say he had been an assassin? One would think that would have taught him some ethic but no, of course not.
She growled in frustration and continued stomping around before heading to the kitchen to cook. Cooking always helped relax her as she could think of nothing but her task if she did not want to mess up, and she hated spoiled food.
As she gathered the ingredients for okonomiyaki, she thought about his attitude. He had the nerve to tell her to back-off when it was he who was in the wrong. A few minutes late is one thing, over an hour was inexcusable. And he looked like he had been sleeping, too, which was even worse. Especially since he only slept so much when depressed and had seemed fine enough before.
Finding the last of the ingredients she would need, she paused in her actions to contemplate her train of thought. Now she found herself worrying about the often suicidal idiot, and started cursing herself for it. She had enough of the anxious feelings he stirred within her, causing her to be less than care-free. Life was enough, now that they were dead, she should not have to deal with him.
She began cooking the Japanese-style pizza, ending her thoughts. It was bad when she got to worrying about him. Whenever he pushed her that far, it usually meant he was going to pull something stupid. Kaori had the feeling that she would have to be as relaxed as possible when that happened, to avoid joining him in his stunt.
~*~*~
Youji held the sleeping Aya close to him, stroking the red hair absent-mindedly as he thought about what he had been told. The reserved man had never confided in anything to him, and now he didn't know what to think about what he'd been told. No wonder it was hard to get the man to open up the slightest bit, though, if his best friends had been unable to tell silent grief from indifference.
What he wanted to know, though, was why had the man not corrected his friends? Did he want them to leave him alone? Seeing as how it was Aya he was referring to, that was a possibility. The man always blamed himself for tragedies, and had a feeling he took Kaori's death to be his own failure. He probably wanted to distance himself from his friends so he would not cause them any further harm. Youji wondered, though, just how that had worked when he was declared dead before joining Kritiker. Had the man's friends attended his funeral, grieved the loss? Or did they decide not to, out of spite?
The blond was filled with questions, and none of them he could really ask Aya. It bothered him, though, and he really wanted to know. He supposed he would have to question the man after all, despite how painful the prospect seemed. For now, though, he figured he should just enjoy the feel of the man in his arms. Things were looking good for him in some ways.
Aya's body was a real, living one, even if the man was technically dead. While that seemed strange it made sense, in a warped, supernatural fashion. He had kissed and hugged the man and was not killed for his presumption, and assumed the man had feelings for him after all. He hoped he did, as when the redhead woke up, he was going to be met with confessions he probably had never thought he would hear.
As for the redhead, he was in a dead sleep, no dreams as he was too tired for them. Mentally and emotionally he was drained, being with Kaori had got him to start acting like his old self and he had forgotten just how tiring dealing with feelings was. He was still very much like Abyssinian, but Ran had started resurfacing the slightest bit, more so than he had when Aya-chan had awakened from her coma.
~*~*~
Aya sat in school, staring blankly at the chalk board as the teacher droned on. She had decided to finish high school, as her body was still that of a 16 year old, so it wouldn't be so awkward. Since her brother had died, the rest of the boys had the flower shop had been doing their best to sustain her, and she appreciated their efforts, but was too stubborn to allow them to do so. She had taken up a job since she was technically 19, and used it to pay for her schooling.
Thoughts of her brother always left her depressed, but she knew he wasn't gone. Despite the fact that he was dead, she knew that he would be seen again before she died. That thought always made her happy, although Aya had no idea why she was so sure of this. It was the only thing that kept her from falling into a depression, though, so she allowed herself the thoughts.
Weiss was playing as a band in clubs for their new mission. Smiling at the thought of Youji singing and the others playing instruments, she decided to check it out one night. It might be fun, to go to a club, listen to live music, and mingle with normal people her age. High school was nice and all, but she found it too trivial, the false cheerfulness of the students too tiresome.
On a piece of paper, she jotted down some words, trying to come up with lyrics. Ken had gone to her and asked her to come up with some songs for them after having found and read one of her poems. She had agreed, unable to refuse the handsome brunet, and wrote down whatever she could whenever inspiration struck her. Wrapped up in the work, she didn't hear the teacher calling on her to answer the question.
~*~*~
The same day as receiving the case files, Dee and Ryo were sent packing and to the airport. It was no wonder the chief was pissed, since they had a flight to catch and guns to get through security. It had been a long process, but they were finally on a plane to California, would stop for the night, then continue on to Japan.
In the window seat was Dee, who had fallen asleep. Ryo sat next to him, reading a book he hadn't looked at in years. It was in Japanese, and he decided that he ought to refresh his memory on the language if they were going to that country. It was a good thing he was asked to learn both languages, and that his aunt had allowed him to continue with the language even after being put in her care.
The dark-haired man rolled over so that his head was now resting on Ryo's shoulder. He blinked at the action, then mentally shrugged it off and continued reading his book, struggling through it as he recalled the kanji and every so often referred to the dictionary on his lap. His head tilted towards Dee's until the side of his face was resting on the top of his head.
Deciding to give up for the moment and follow his partner's course of action, Ryo set the books back on the floor in the bag there and turned off the light above him. He returned his head to where it had been moments before and drifted off to sleep, a content smile on his face as he did so.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Well, hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get out (honestly, I haven't started it, but once I start, I have a tendency to get it finished quickly). ^_^;; Erm, yeah. I hope that was enjoyable enough, and I hope you enjoyed.
(Little side note: I think the month of September is going to mark a new age of pain for me. In Jujitsu grappling, I refuse to give up. I'd rather pass out than say Matei or tap out….So, my Sensei is starting this deal: For the month of Sept. whoever gets me to tap out or give up during grappling, wins a month of free kenjutsu classes. Of course, if no one manages, then I get the month ^_~. So, I have a feeling my throat isn't going to be functioning properly this next month, so if I don't add more then….It's probably partially due to that. Oh, and I may have a sponser for martial arts! Wish me luck on that!! ^_^ Well, bai~!)
Title: Death of the Orchid
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze
Beta Reader: Ryoko Kashino
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?
Pairings (Eventual and/or current): Youji x Aya (Ran). Shuichi x Yuki. Towa x Atsuro. Dee x Ryo(Randy). Others possible will consider all requests.
Anime Involved So Far:
Weiß Kreuz
Yami no Matsuei
Gravitation
Kaikan Phrase
FAKE
Any requests?
A/N: Sorry this took so long, people! I'm a bad girl…When I have nothing to do I do nothing, yet when I have stuff to do, I actually write….Bad me, bad! ^_^ This comes to you with a me in a lot of pain…I've got the bruise on my neck to prove it *sweatdrops* I hope you enjoy!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 5: Foreigners Arrive to Assist in the Case
Youji stood there, completely dumbfounded. Not only had he come across Aya on his bed, willing to talk, two days ago, but it had happened again. The redhead seemed to be in a bad mood, though, and he wasn't so sure that was good or not.
"Hey, there, Aya," he smiled, trying to convey how happy he was to have him there.
"Hn," was the response. Not at all surprising.
The blond walked over to the bed and sat down on the side. "Is something wrong?" Despite the fact that grumpy was his normal attitude, he couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong with the redhead.
He sighed and shifted about so that the blankets covered him and he was curled into a ball. "Aya~! I don't think that's helping!" Youji yanked at the covers and was snarled at. "Geez, did you come here to take over my bed and make me sleep on the couch?"
The words served to remind the redhead that it was nighttime. He let the blond pull the covers from his head and drag him onto his lap. He was tired of thinking and just let the man do what he wanted, within reason, of course.
Youji gently stroked his hair, trying to comfort the man. "Now, what's bothering you?" The question earned another sigh and the man tried to become smaller, snuggling closer.
"I got into a major fight with my teammates," his voice was soft and almost went unheard. Youji blinked, the words making it sound like a high school fight among friends. He wondered how serious the fight was, to make Aya so depressed. "That sounded stupid, I know."
He shook his head and hugged the smaller man close. "No it didn't. Not from you. What happened?"
The fight wasn't what bothered him. It was all of the reminders of his past. "It was pretty stupid, but it had been building up. I don't blame her for flipping out."
"Okay, now you're making it sound as if you don't care about the fight. What is it that's actually bothering you?"
"My past."
That didn't sound good. Whenever Aya thought about his past he always became depressed, often suicidal. He hugged him again and dared to kiss the top of his head. "What about your past?" He was never told anything out-right, made to put the pieces together. All he had gathered was the man loved his sister and loathed his parents.
"My high school friendships. Or rather, the end of such," he sounded as though he wanted to talk about it, but at the same time didn't.
Youji moved so that he was laying down with his back against the headboard, Aya on top of him. He tucked the man's head under his chin and the silky crimson strands that were hair tickled at his neck. "You know you can talk to me, right?" He felt the nod. "Good," he twisted his head so that he could plant a kiss on Aya's forehead.
The redhead began to tell the story, starting from Kaori's death.
~*~*~
"Ne, Yuki?" Shuichi spoke tentatively, hating to disturb his lover while he was writing. The blond stopped typing, an indication that he could ask what it was he wanted to. "What do you think of that band, Tamashii no Ryoushi?"
He set down his coffee mug after taking a sip, glancing at the pink-haired man. "What of them?" He said with his cool voice, finger tapping the 'hu' key.
"Don't you think they're suspicious?" He jumped up from his seat and wandered over to the blond. He sat on the floor beside Yuki and stared up at him, watching for his reactions.
Golden eyes disappeared as he shut his eyes, wondering why his young lover always had to pester him. "Considering the strange happenings around them, yes. However, since the police aren't involved, I don't think you should worry about it." The last sentence was to get him to go away, and something Yuki completely did not believe.
Knowing he was lying about not needing to worry, Shuichi was tempted to persist. Only the fact that the blond started typing again, appearing to be in a very inspirational mood, kept him from continuing to bother him.
He sighed, wishing his lover was in a more talkative mood. He snuck into bed, waiting for Yuki to retire for the night. He fell asleep before the blond finished, but at least he was there when he woke up.
~*~*~
"Atsuro, wake up," Towa said, shaking the boy. He groaned and lifted his hand to cover his face. The light hurt. "Atsuro, you have school."
The words produced another groan, as the redhead did not want to go. Then again, who ever did? He sat up, blanket falling down to show his bare chest. Towa smiled to him, thinking about how he used to have similar reactions. "C'mon, you have to at least finish high school, Atsuro."
The red head sat up, nodded and groaning. "Didn't get much sleep," his voice was slurred but Towa had become an expert at translating the boy's morning speech. The blond just grinned and held out a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip muffin.
"Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but hopefully the combination of sugar and caffeine will help you get through the day," he was thanked for the meal briefly before it began to disappear at a high-paced rate.
Atsuro got up and grabbed his clothes before heading off to take a cold shower. Towa smiled and went back into the kitchen, pouring himself some coffee and pulling out the newspaper he had grabbed before waking up his friend. As he was going through some ads, Atsuro came in towel draped over his head as he weakly dried it with one hand, the other holding his school bag. His uniform was a wrinkled mess and Towa got up to straighten it.
The redhead blushed, his face beginning to match his hair. Towa finished and looked up at him, staring at him intensely. They stayed like that for a few minutes until the blond noticed the time. "You should be leaving," he said in his calm voice, startling Atsuro.
"R-Right. School. Uhmmm," the youth leaned forward and kissed Towa chastely on the lips before blushing even more ferociously. "I'll see you later, Towa!" He ran out the door, leaving a lightly blushing Towa behind.
While the blond had been hoping for something like that, it was completely unexpected. He never imagined it would be Atsuro to kiss him first, but he was pleased none the less. He raised two fingers and tentatively brushed them across his lips before smiling and setting about his day. It was looking to be a great one.
~*~*~
"YOU IDIOTS," the chief screamed at the two investigative officers once again.
"When will you EVER be on time?!"
Ryo winced at the loud voice before turning to glare at Dee, whose fault it was that they were late, yet again. The dark-haired man just looked disinterested in what was going on, causing the chief to go off on another raging tangent that left the blond's ears ringing.
When done, he slammed a manila folder down on the desk for the two to take. "Read this and get to work on it NOW! You lazy bastards! Get out and get to work!" He growled, turning around in his seat to try and relax himself.
Ryo took the folder and left behind Dee, who was anxious to get out of the office. "Geez, you'd think that was the first time we were late with the way he acted."
"If you would just TELL me when he calls for us instead of stalling, then suddenly 'remembering' he'd have less excuses to yell at us like that! Geez, Dee! You can be so irresponsible, you know that?" Ryo was exasperated, it had happened enough times to wear thin on his nerves. He was a patient man, normally, but this was getting out of control.
Entering their office, Dee closed the door and pinned Ryo against the wall, leering at him. "Oh, come on, now, Ryo. You can't tell me you weren't enjoying that kiss. How about we pick up where we left off, hm?" He licked his lips suggestively and growled when he was pushed aside.
Muttering under his breath, Randy made his way to his desk, still holding the folder. "We have work to do, Dee, don't you remember? That's why we got called into the chief's office. Honestly, now!"
Dee rolled his eyes and snatched the folder from Ryo, leafing through the sheets boredly. His eyes widened as he noticed the location of the case. No wonder the chief was pissed, they'd be gone for so long and so far away, he would have to find someone to replace them for their absence. Ryo sighed and tried to get a look at what had caught his partner's interest before the man closed the folder.
"Hey, Ryo?" His voice was curious.
"Yeah?" Was the nervous reply, hating it when Dee appeared to be innocent about something.
"How good is your Japanese?"
~*~*~
Kaori stomped around in her room, still furious. She could not believe the nerve of Ran, excuse me, Aya, for doing what he did. The man was never late to anything and his completely unapologetic attitude made it that much more frustrating. Did he not realize how important completing the mission was? Didn't he say he had been an assassin? One would think that would have taught him some ethic but no, of course not.
She growled in frustration and continued stomping around before heading to the kitchen to cook. Cooking always helped relax her as she could think of nothing but her task if she did not want to mess up, and she hated spoiled food.
As she gathered the ingredients for okonomiyaki, she thought about his attitude. He had the nerve to tell her to back-off when it was he who was in the wrong. A few minutes late is one thing, over an hour was inexcusable. And he looked like he had been sleeping, too, which was even worse. Especially since he only slept so much when depressed and had seemed fine enough before.
Finding the last of the ingredients she would need, she paused in her actions to contemplate her train of thought. Now she found herself worrying about the often suicidal idiot, and started cursing herself for it. She had enough of the anxious feelings he stirred within her, causing her to be less than care-free. Life was enough, now that they were dead, she should not have to deal with him.
She began cooking the Japanese-style pizza, ending her thoughts. It was bad when she got to worrying about him. Whenever he pushed her that far, it usually meant he was going to pull something stupid. Kaori had the feeling that she would have to be as relaxed as possible when that happened, to avoid joining him in his stunt.
~*~*~
Youji held the sleeping Aya close to him, stroking the red hair absent-mindedly as he thought about what he had been told. The reserved man had never confided in anything to him, and now he didn't know what to think about what he'd been told. No wonder it was hard to get the man to open up the slightest bit, though, if his best friends had been unable to tell silent grief from indifference.
What he wanted to know, though, was why had the man not corrected his friends? Did he want them to leave him alone? Seeing as how it was Aya he was referring to, that was a possibility. The man always blamed himself for tragedies, and had a feeling he took Kaori's death to be his own failure. He probably wanted to distance himself from his friends so he would not cause them any further harm. Youji wondered, though, just how that had worked when he was declared dead before joining Kritiker. Had the man's friends attended his funeral, grieved the loss? Or did they decide not to, out of spite?
The blond was filled with questions, and none of them he could really ask Aya. It bothered him, though, and he really wanted to know. He supposed he would have to question the man after all, despite how painful the prospect seemed. For now, though, he figured he should just enjoy the feel of the man in his arms. Things were looking good for him in some ways.
Aya's body was a real, living one, even if the man was technically dead. While that seemed strange it made sense, in a warped, supernatural fashion. He had kissed and hugged the man and was not killed for his presumption, and assumed the man had feelings for him after all. He hoped he did, as when the redhead woke up, he was going to be met with confessions he probably had never thought he would hear.
As for the redhead, he was in a dead sleep, no dreams as he was too tired for them. Mentally and emotionally he was drained, being with Kaori had got him to start acting like his old self and he had forgotten just how tiring dealing with feelings was. He was still very much like Abyssinian, but Ran had started resurfacing the slightest bit, more so than he had when Aya-chan had awakened from her coma.
~*~*~
Aya sat in school, staring blankly at the chalk board as the teacher droned on. She had decided to finish high school, as her body was still that of a 16 year old, so it wouldn't be so awkward. Since her brother had died, the rest of the boys had the flower shop had been doing their best to sustain her, and she appreciated their efforts, but was too stubborn to allow them to do so. She had taken up a job since she was technically 19, and used it to pay for her schooling.
Thoughts of her brother always left her depressed, but she knew he wasn't gone. Despite the fact that he was dead, she knew that he would be seen again before she died. That thought always made her happy, although Aya had no idea why she was so sure of this. It was the only thing that kept her from falling into a depression, though, so she allowed herself the thoughts.
Weiss was playing as a band in clubs for their new mission. Smiling at the thought of Youji singing and the others playing instruments, she decided to check it out one night. It might be fun, to go to a club, listen to live music, and mingle with normal people her age. High school was nice and all, but she found it too trivial, the false cheerfulness of the students too tiresome.
On a piece of paper, she jotted down some words, trying to come up with lyrics. Ken had gone to her and asked her to come up with some songs for them after having found and read one of her poems. She had agreed, unable to refuse the handsome brunet, and wrote down whatever she could whenever inspiration struck her. Wrapped up in the work, she didn't hear the teacher calling on her to answer the question.
~*~*~
The same day as receiving the case files, Dee and Ryo were sent packing and to the airport. It was no wonder the chief was pissed, since they had a flight to catch and guns to get through security. It had been a long process, but they were finally on a plane to California, would stop for the night, then continue on to Japan.
In the window seat was Dee, who had fallen asleep. Ryo sat next to him, reading a book he hadn't looked at in years. It was in Japanese, and he decided that he ought to refresh his memory on the language if they were going to that country. It was a good thing he was asked to learn both languages, and that his aunt had allowed him to continue with the language even after being put in her care.
The dark-haired man rolled over so that his head was now resting on Ryo's shoulder. He blinked at the action, then mentally shrugged it off and continued reading his book, struggling through it as he recalled the kanji and every so often referred to the dictionary on his lap. His head tilted towards Dee's until the side of his face was resting on the top of his head.
Deciding to give up for the moment and follow his partner's course of action, Ryo set the books back on the floor in the bag there and turned off the light above him. He returned his head to where it had been moments before and drifted off to sleep, a content smile on his face as he did so.
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A/N: Well, hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get out (honestly, I haven't started it, but once I start, I have a tendency to get it finished quickly). ^_^;; Erm, yeah. I hope that was enjoyable enough, and I hope you enjoyed.
(Little side note: I think the month of September is going to mark a new age of pain for me. In Jujitsu grappling, I refuse to give up. I'd rather pass out than say Matei or tap out….So, my Sensei is starting this deal: For the month of Sept. whoever gets me to tap out or give up during grappling, wins a month of free kenjutsu classes. Of course, if no one manages, then I get the month ^_~. So, I have a feeling my throat isn't going to be functioning properly this next month, so if I don't add more then….It's probably partially due to that. Oh, and I may have a sponser for martial arts! Wish me luck on that!! ^_^ Well, bai~!)