If only a smile
Chapter 3 - A kiss is just a kiss
by ~Solaris~
Warnings: AU, OOC, shounen-ai moments and a couple of scene jumps
Pairings: Ran+Ken, Youji+Schuldich and Nagi+Omi
Aki's Disclaimer: Wouldn't you believe it, they give this job to the sick person! *sniffles* We don't own nothin' and wouldn't even dream of it. I'm too sick to write anything else at the moment, so if you don't believe me then tough. We're broke, stupid and sick (I am anyway), we don't want anyone suing our asses off.

Notes:
"Speech"
'Telepathy/thoughts'
Through Telephone/communicator

"So Fujimiya will be covering for Hidaka?" Crawford asked, stern eyes looking at Ran.

"Ran will take care of him, don't worry." Schu said, as he leaned against Youji. Omi resisted the urge to grin. It seemed that the German telepath of Weiss was doing wonders to Crawford's temper by testing it every which way that he could.

The said 'victim' aka Ken was shaking his head as he surveyed the scene. It would be only Fujimiya and him. How on Earth would he be able to pull this one off? He was nervous enough as it is. But despite his tendencies to have a klutz attack at home, he never ever slips during a mission.

'Will you be alright Ken-kun?' Omi asked for the umpteenth time that day. Ken grinned at the younger boy.

'Now who's acting like the mother hen, Omi?' He teased, prompting the blonde to blush slightly. But the indignant glare that he placed on caused Ken to sober up slightly. 'Don't worry, chibi. I'll be on the lookout.' Ken promised.

'You better be, Ken-kun! You promised, remember?'

Ah, how could Ken forget? The vow he made a long time ago to Omi, when they were starting out as an assassin group, as Schwarz. He promised that he wouldn't die on Omi, not before he said goodbye anyway. And Omi always holds on to that promise, never failing to remind Ken about it every single mission.

"How do we know the killer would go after Ken-kun, though?" Omi asked suddenly. "There must be a lot of guys around Ken's age with brown hair."

"The killer has attacked in areas around here. We have a strong suspicion that he or she would strike here next." Nagi said simply.

"But how would we know who's the killer? There are a lot of people out there and they're bound to come close to Hidaka. How do we know who's the real killer?" Youji asked.

"That's where the telepaths come in." Crawford said, looking at Omi and then glaring at Schuldich. "You tap into other people's minds to get a clue on whether or not the killer is nearby."

"Aa."

"And Omi?"

"Hai Crawford-san?"

"When I mean other people, I do mean other people." Crawford said with a stern voice. Omi smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"What the hell did he mean by that?" Youji asked to Ken, who happened to be standing nearby. The brunette smirked.

"In the last mission, when Brad ordered Omi to tap into the mind of others, Omi tapped into Brad's mind." Ken explained.

"Crawford hurt God good that day." Farfarello said, causing both Ken and Omi to snicker.

"Most definitely. Bradley Crawford, leader of Schwarz, terrified of spiders." Ken said, chuckling. "And here I thought the only thing Brad would be afraid of some sort of blood-sucking banshee."

"No, Ken-kun, that's what YOU'RE afraid of." Omi said, giggling.

"Oi!" Ken said, whacking the blonde playfully on the arm. Weiss could only watch the exchange with interest. This brotherly bond between the two, after all that they've been through, it must be all they have left.

"You know chibi, I think you're right, I do fear blood-sucking banshees." Ken said thoughtfully. "After all, we're ALL scared of Manx, ne?"

That comment however, caused Schuldich to start howling with laughter, knowing his tendencies to annoy the redhead secretary. Youji was chuckling and Nagi had a grin on his face. Omi covered his mouth with his hands, trying to subdue an oncoming train of giggles. Even Ran was trying hard not to smile.

"Manx is going to kill you if she finds out you called her a blood sucking banshee." Omi pointed out.

"Aw hell, Manx tried to kill Farf when he said she looked like a drowned rat after she got caught in the rain one time, remember?"

"It was a compliment. Rats hurt God." Came the statement from the resident psychopath. Everyone sweat dropped.

Ken weaved through the crowd, knowing he would need to find a secluded area where he could make himself most noticeable as a target. He hated the plan but, pardon the cliché, someone's got to do it. He finally positioned himself at the entrance of a small alley, not too far from the crowd.

"You look nervous." A voice stated. Ken nearly jumped, but luckily, he recognized the voice before he did anything drastic. Needless to say, Fujimiya Ran is a lucky man. If Ken hadn't recognized his voice in time, he would have been smashed on the wall.

"I'm not nervous. I'm agitated. I hate waiting." Ken muttered, knowing that he merely rephrased the redhead's words and threw him a sideway glance. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Protecting you, remember?"

"Not this close. You know damn well that you should keep a good distance or this trap won't work." Ken commented. Usually, he's able to see past masks pretty easily. But Ran's mask was too difficult, although not impenetrable.

"Did you know who I was?" Ran asked, completely disregarding Ken's earlier words. Ken's eyes widened for a moment, knowing what he meant.

"No, I didn't. Weiss and Schwarz never met, remember? Not until two days ago anyway." Ken reminded him. He looked away, letting out a bitter laugh. "I may look stupid, but I'm not. I wouldn't go up to a member of Weiss unarmed, despite the fact that he's been knocked by a soccer ball."

Ran glared at him. "How am I supposed to know you didn't do that on purpose?"

"Oh, sure, I asked Yuko to render the leader of Weiss unconscious by kicking a ball at him." Ken said sarcastically. "If I wanted you unconscious, I would have sent you into a tree, not have you hit on the head with a ball."

'Or get my assistant coach, Naoko to take you out. She might be a girl, but she can kick a hardball.'

There was an uncomfortable pause as the two assassins glared at each other. Luckily, Crawford was positioned at the other end and Schuldich and Omi were too busy with surveying the minds of the people around the area. And lucky that Nagi was with Youji, in a car not far from where Crawford is, looking around for suspicious characters. If their teammates weren't occupied, they would have to witness this little exchange.

"I'll be on the rooftop." Ran stated suddenly with narrowed eyes. Ken shrugged.

"Whatever." He muttered. After Ran left, he switched on his mike, just in case the killer was around somewhere. He resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that the others would pick it up on their headphones. Damn communicators.

Anything? Crawford's voice crackled slightly with static through the headphone.

Nothing yet Crawford-san. All I'm getting is just random thoughts. No murderous thoughts yet. Omi said through the communicator. Schuldich-san, how about you?

A few ecchi thoughts here and there but nothing special. The German replied.

Now I know someone is having some fun. The amused voice of Youji came on.

I didn't do anything, these people are naturally dirty-minded, they don't need my thoughts as well.

Ken shook his head, smiling slightly. Weiss isn't really that bad, at least, the three members of Weiss weren't. Fujimiya is another story.

Ken-kun, having fun?

"Tons." Ken said, shaking his head. "No one making a pass at me yet."

Don't worry Ken-kun! I'm sure some girls would try and flirt with you!

"Omi, remind me to smack you later." Growled Ken.

Pay attention!

"We love you Bradley!" Chorused the voices of Omi and Ken, echoing on the line, drawing chuckles and snorts of laughter from the others and a growl from Crawford.

I might like you yet, bishounen. Schuldich said to Omi. Ken could picture Omi blushing at the comment and shook his head. Strands of chocolate hair covered his vision slightly and he wanted to brush the strands away from his eyes, but found that he was unable to move.

His eyes widened, urging his unresponsive limbs to move. He felt his breath caught and words slipped out of his mouth before he could even think. "What the hell?" He whispered. The others caught the words, however.

Ken-kun? Daijoubu ka?

"Kuso!" Ken hissed. "I can't move!"

What do you mean you can't move??!! Omi shouted.

"I said I can't move! Someone placed a block on me!" Ken exclaimed, trying desperately to stay calm.

A block? Youji's confused voice came through the communicator.

A psychic block. Nagi said, tone serious, a hint of worry there. He's never seen one done on anyone but he knew enough about them. Anyone who is placed under a block will not be able to move, practically a sitting target.

Throw it off. Ordered Crawford. Ken cursed under his breath and focused all his powers together. A telekinetic block can only be thrown off if there's a counter-force to it. Finally gathering enough powers, he unleashed most of the attack. But to no avail.

Siberian, status?

"Negative."

Where's Fujimiya? Asked Crawford.

"I don't-" Ken didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as his eyes caught a glint of silver. His eyes widened suddenly when he realized what the object was, but was too late to react. The knife sliced through the air and struck him on the shoulders. He cried out in pain and was thrown to the ground.

KEN-KUN!!!!

Ken bit his lip in pain, finally regaining control of his limbs. He had been struck in the left shoulder, the knife sticking deep into the flesh. He drew his shaky right hand out, in an attempt to pull out the knife, but a slender arm stopped him.

He could barely make out the face of Ran Fujimiya. Ken didn't know whether it was the pain or because he used most of his energy to throw off the block, but for a moment he thought he saw worry and fear crossing the redhead's features. Any thoughts were pushed away as Ran carefully peered at the wound and pulled out the knife with lightning speed, causing Ken to cry out once more.

His vision blurred and as Ran pulled him to his feet, his knees buckled and he fainted.

When Ken woke up, it was to the loud noises that came nearby. He winced slightly at the glare of the light in the room and groaned softly at the pain in his shoulder. He could make out Crawford's voice, Manx's and Omi's. Crawford sounded pissed. No, forget that, he sounded furious, especially at the extremely loud bellow that came out just moments ago. Omi tried to calm their leader down, but Ken could decipher distress in the younger one's voice.

"What's going on?" He murmured to himself. 'Hell, I feel like shit.' He thought to himself. Apparently, both telepaths kept their mind channels opened.

"Ken-kun!" Omi cried out.

"Hidaka's awake." Schuldich stated. "And off the record, he feels like shit." Ken snorted in laughter at the comment.

'Stay out of my head, both of you.' He warned to both Schuldich and Omi.

"Ah, he's also protective of his mind." Schuldich said just as Omi burst into the room Ken was currently in and tackled the injured brunette.

"Thank Kami you're alright!" Exclaimed Omi.

"No, don't thank Kami." Muttered Ken, pointing at the doorway. Both Crawford and Farfarello had stepped inside. And Farf seemed highly interested as to why they should be thanking 'Kami'. But thanks to Manx, Farf decided to put the question on hold.

"What the hell happened out there?" She asked, just as Weiss stepped into the room as well.

"Well, we now know whoever the killer is, he or she is also a telekinetic." Ken said, grimacing slightly as he tries to shift position.

"That makes this person all the more dangerous." Manx muttered darkly. "What happened Siberian? I thought you had back up out there?"

"He did." Crawford said icily, glare directed at Ran. "But for some reason Weiss didn't seem to think the lives of one of my men important enough."

"Crawford-san, Fujimiya-san did help Ken-kun." Omi pointed out.

"Yes, after Ken was stabbed." Ken blinked, Crawford just called him by his first name and right in front of Manx and Weiss. That was a first.

"Is this true, Abyssinian?" Manx asked the redhead leader of Weiss.

"Hold on a second here! I'm sure Ran tried his best!" Youji protested, but one glare from Manx rendered him silent.

"Answer the question." She ordered.

"Manx, if anyone's to blame here, it's me." Ken spoke up. All eyes turned to the brunette, even Ran, who was looking at him with confusion. "I wasn't paying attention on this operation. I take full responsibility for my own injuries."

"But-"

"Manx-san, with all due respect," Ken began, his voice strained. "I am injured, I am in pain and I'm pissed off. However, I still have power leftover in me yet and if you don't want to come face to face with the wall, then please drop the subject." He paused, before adding, "And just leave, I'm sore and I really don't want to have to sic Farfie on you."

As if the add to the note, Farfarello pulled out one of his prized knives and proceeded to poke his fingers with it. Manx gave one look at the Irishman and decided to comply.

"Alright then." She agreed. "But I'll get one of the Kritiker med team to run tests on you to check, alright?" Both Omi and Ken tensed up to the word 'tests' and Farf seem to take this as an offense.

"There won't be any 'tests' run on the kitty-cat." He stated dangerously. Farfarello would be one of a few people who knew why Omi and Ken would react so negatively to the word 'tests', as he had been through series of 'tests' himself. That was how he came to be.

"I-I think what Farfie means is that Ken-kun is just fine." Omi said with a strained voice.

"Very well. Oh and on another note," Manx began. "We've established that the killer might want to come after Ken after this. So I'm placing a watch on you." Manx said, pointing at Ken. "You will stay here under Weiss' protection until this mission is completed."

"What?" Exclaimed Ken.

"Why is it that you're leaving Ken-kun in their care? We can take care of him!" Omi protested.

"No, you can't. You have school to attend to, Crawford has work and Farfarello isn't in any condition to look after Ken." Manx pointed out. "Here, we have three idle men that works in shifts so one of them can keep an eye on Ken at all times."

"Give me a break! I don't fucking need a babysitter!" Ken shouted.

"In YOUR current condition Siberian, you cannot argue. So sit down and be quiet while I tend to your protesting teammates, understand?" Snapped Manx.

"Perfectly." Ken said sourly.

"Why did you cover for me?" Ran asked. Ken snorted. It just had to be some sort of karma that Ran would take the first shift in the morning, didn't it? It couldn't be Schuldich, Youji or Nagi...No...It just had to be Ran. And of course, the first thing the redhead said to Ken were those very words.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't do it for you." Ken said. "I did it for Crawford."

"Crawford?"

"Hai. He'd blame himself for leaving me in the care of someone he doesn't trust." Seeing Ran's unconvinced face, Ken smiled slightly. "Our great leader might act as an uncaring bastard, but trust me, he cares. More than he lets on."

"And how would you know?"

"I can read through other people's masks. You don't need to be a telepath to be able to see through people's masks, you know."

"So you can..."

"See through yours? Not really, but I can make out some stuff." Ken replied, but he suddenly found the urge to knock himself out. Alright, so he is attracted to the redhead. But what's the use in trapping yourself into this web of heartbreak anyway? Everyone knows that Fujimiya Ran would never succumb to the enemy and Schwarz is considered to be an enemy.

There was a pause and Ken tried to read the indescribable expression on Ran's face. Finally, he whispered,

"Can you see through this?" And before Ken could ask what he means, he found warm lips pressed against his own. His mind finally registering the shock, he finally found the sense to react to the sudden actions and moved his lips to respond to the kiss. Almost too soon, the contact was broken.

Each looking into the other's eyes, trying to decipher the emotions. But whatever it was that Ran saw in Ken's eyes, either he didn't like it or he didn't care to see. He stood up and left, leaving behind a confused brunette.

"Will you take care of Ken-kun?" Omi asked, Crawford and Farfarello had left earlier but the young blonde insisted on staying. 'Matters of obtaining information', he had told Crawford. Knowing the stubborn teen, Crawford let him stay. Nagi regarded the older boy for a moment before nodding.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. You've gained Schuldich's trust and it seems that both Schuldich and Youji likes Hidaka-san." Nagi said. Omi smiled.

"Aa, I've noticed." Tilting his head to the side, he asked, "How about you?"

"N-nani?" Stuttered Nagi.

"Do you like us? Any of us?" Omi asked. Nagi blushed a crimson hue at the question and gulped.

"I-I don't k-know." He stammered.

"Hontoo ni? Not even a tiny bit?"

"A-anno, Hidaka-san seems alright. Farfarello-san, I'm unsure about, but then again he is a psycho. And Crawford-san, he-he cares for all of you, I can see..."

"How about me?" Omi asked carefully, only prompting Nagi to blush even more.

"I don't think I want to answer that." He muttered.

"Iie? Why not?" Nagi's eyes widened in panic. Whatever happened to calm, collected telekinetic of Weiss? It seems that the mask dissolved away when Omi broke through his defenses. Damn it! Telepaths!

"You probably know." Muttered Nagi.

"I do? How's that possible? I've never even read your mind." Omi said.

"You...you've never read my mind?" Omi shook his head.

"No, I only read when I'm on a mission or when I want to piss off Crawford." Omi said, shrugging.

"So right now..."

"I haven't a clue what you're thinking." Nagi grinned, at least he had some advantage in this.

"Would you like to?" He asked, his calm demeanor finally back. This time, Omi blushed.

"It's up to you."

"Then go right ahead." Nagi said, even as he leaned forward to capture Omi's lips with his own.

Two kisses shared. Four confused assassins. The question now is, which kiss is real? Which two will establish something between themselves and which two will falter and step back?

To Be Continued

I blame the Nagi-Omi scene ENTIRELY on the dose of coffee that I had. OK, maybe not entirely. It's just so bad! I know that I've got to fix it up or something. But Aki already wrote up most of the stuff last chapter and I'm pretty much idle. Less insights on Ken or Ran as well. Blame Wai for that please, she takes full responsibility. She wanted more interactions next chapter.
- Kyoko

The scene jumps weren't my fault! Aki was suppose to write this with me, but since she dropped out because of her 'disease' (It's not the flu, it's taking too long for her to get better!) Looks as though I'm catching it too. Ick. Plotline is my fault though, so if you don't like the plot...Just shoot me. Kyo-nee-chan usually chips in with thinking of the main theme, I write the plot and Aki and I both write the stuff up. Kyo-nee-chan was just helping us out. So, forgive the lack of...whatever...in this chapter.
- Wai

Last note: This was written when Aki was still sick and we really didn't want to re-write it. We just hope that this chapter is OK.

~Solaris~