All right. I'm sorry for not updating this thing in like, three months. I got stuck on what weapons to give the FAKE guys. I wanted each one to be just right. Hopefully, this works for the story. And as a condolence for making everyone wait so long, this chapter is a little longer than the rest of my previous chapters. 11 pages in 12 Times font, minnas. Hope everyone enjoys it! Oh! And I'm sorry is I messed things up here and there. Blame it on John Ashcroft (inside joke).
Warning: Slight, and I do mean slight moment between Aya and Yohji and mentioning of Ryo and Dee's relationship, but nothing really big. I haven't decided if I want to put a lemon in here or not…
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Is this guy part eel or something?! Dee thought. I can't land a punch on him! Dee's world had shrunken down to nothing but swinging punches, aiming kicks, and just trying to land a blow on Ken, who had been paired with Dee to test out his fighting skills. Actually, Ken had been paired up with everyone to test out their combat abilities. Granted, he had an hour rest period in-between each little fight, but it was still quite a bit for one guy to take on. But Ken hadn't made any sort of protest, so the cops didn't make any either. At least, none that were spoken out-loud.
The brunette had already taken on JJ and that was something the gray haired man didn't want to dwell upon. Ken had ended that fight rather quickly, within 10 minutes of starting JJ had ended up flat on his back with Ken holding up a fist just inches above his face. The brunette had only smiled sheepishly at the stunned expression on the gray haired man's face, and then he helped JJ to his feet. He said he was done testing JJ and that the guy could go watch the rest of the fights with the others. Then, without too much of a rest period in between, Ken called Dee over and began testing the dark haired about his fighting skills.
Which is why Dee had spent the last 45 minutes trying to land a blow somewhere on Ken's body. He had even gotten desperate and tried to pull off a low blow, but Ken had dodged that as easily as he had dodged every other hit Dee aimed his way. From the sidelines, the others watched with no amount of surprise and admiration.
"I knew Dee could swing a punch, but I didn't think he was this good," Drake commented.
"Dee…" Ryo didn't really know what he could say about this. He knew Dee had a rather rough side, but to see him fighting like this was a tad bit unexpected.
"I'd agree with you if I didn't know that KenKen was just playing around with the guy," Yohji remarked. Somewhere along the way, Yohji had lit a cigarette and was holding it between his fingers mostly. He took a puff every now and then, but it seemed as if he wasn't really interested in smoking. It just gave him something to do with his hands as he watched the fight.
When Drake heard Yohji's words, his eyes widened and he snapped his head around to look at Yohji with a surprised expression on his face.
"He's only teasing Dee?! Just what are you guys capable of?!"
"We don't know," Omi's voice answered coming from behind the group. They all turned to see the blond haired boy walking up to them with a smile on his face and a clipboard in his hands. "Things have happened and we don't exactly know what we're capable of anymore." Omi must have said a little too much because Aya's eyes narrowed and he glared at the young man.
"Omi." That was all it took before Omi looked abashed and a sheepish look came across his features.
"Ah, gomen Aya-kun. I wasn't thinking," he amended. "Anyway, I checked in with Kilter and I have all the information now."
Aya nodded and Yohji grinned. "Oh, I can't wait to find out what Kilter has assigned for these guys."
"Ken!" Aya barked. "Stop goofing off and come over here. Omi's done reporting in."
As soon as Aya's words reached Ken's ears, the brunette turned to look at the red head. Aya gave a nod to which Ken blinked, and then nodded back. While this was going on, Dee saw his chance.
Score! He he… Kenny-boy shouldn't have let his guard down. Dee thought smugly, sure in the fact that he would hit the brunette now. Ken didn't seem to want to follow the logic in Dee's head however. He blocked the blow Dee had aimed towards the brunette's face and twisted Dee's arm up and around, so that Dee couldn't get another punch in. The dark haired man grunted and winced at the strong and sudden grip Ken had on his arm. He was just about to retaliate, when his brain caught up to the situation. Ken, without even trying, had not only blocked one of Dee's attacks, he had also managed to disarm Dee in the process. Dee's eyes widened and his body tensed. This naïve looking guy had just proven to Dee just how strong he could be, and this was after getting into a scuffle with JJ. Just what was Ken capable of if he tired?
"It looks like we're going to have to cut our little sparing session short Dee," Ken said. Dee tensed even further. After all that and Ken didn't even sound that winded. Dee himself was panting and his breathing was quite heavy. Ken sounded as if he had just gone out on a brisk jog and not a fight where he was on the defensive all the time.
"Now, lets go see what Kilter has planned for the four of you."
"Uh… Yeah."
Giving the older man a smile, Ken let the man's arm go and set off in an easy lope towards the others. Dee let his arm fall limply by his side and gazed at the back of the brunette's head. This was proving to be a very interesting day.
"Everything's been cleared with all the officials and the right people have been told about the situation," Omi began, leafing through his clipboard. He was, more or less, reading straight off from the information he had gathered, but he kept the information to a 'need to know' basis. The others were all seated back in their original places on the various couches and chairs that they had used when the cops had first arrived.
"I have to say, you Americans sure do have a lot of red tape to work through. Anyway, without taking your personal lives into account, this is how the situation is going to be from now on and this is what your cover is going to be. First off, they're sending someone in from another department to act as your outside cover when you don't have an assignment. With this, you'll always have an alibi. Second, while we are stationed here, you'll be getting your assignments from us, and until we think you're ready, there will be no solo missions. Finally, there's the matter of your codenames."
"Codenames?" JJ perked his ears up and sat up a bit in his seat. This part of the job sounded cool. He always wanted to have a reason to have a codename. It was like the people in the movies who all had a codename and you only knew them by that codename.
Omi nodded and looked up from his notes. "We can't have
anyone learning the truth of your identities from your names. You're going to
have to come up with codenames."
"Consider yourselves lucky," Yohji interrupted. "We didn't get to pick our
codenames. Once we joined with Kilter, they gave us our codenames."
"This is a different sort of operation Yohji," Aya pointed out. "Besides, the codenames were specific to each group."
"Then tell me, O' Wise One. What does the German word for 'white' and felines have in common?" Omi and Ken shared a look. This kind of banter was normal to them, but they didn't know what their new little recruits would think of it. Truth be told, it put each of the cops in a more relax state of mind. This little display reassured them that the people they were dealing with were still human, regardless of how dangerous they seemed to be.
"I never said that the group names were related to the codenames Kudo."
"Ouch. Stung by the ever, and all-knowing logic of Aya. I bow before the master. Tell me Aya, what other words of wisdom do you have for me?"
"What are your codenames?" Ryo interrupted. This was getting rather silly and slightly embarrassing. Here he was watching two full-grown men flirt and banter with one another like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Well, maybe for them it is. Ryo thought. Maybe they're like Dee and JJ and they're comfortable with who they are. I know Dee wishes I was a bit more comfortable with open displays of our relationship, but it still makes me shy. Still, we're in a meeting here. I thought this was serious.
It seemed as if Aya and Yohji weren't done with their flirting just yet. Instead, they settled for staring at each other with all sorts of gazes and there seemed to be a million different meanings to each little gesture they made. So it was up for Ken to pick up Ryo's question.
"As a group, we're called Weiss. As for what our codenames are, well, I don't know if I should be the one to tell you."
"Something to do with cats right?" Drake recalled Yohji mentioning something about felines. Nodding, Ken decided that it wouldn't hurt any to tell them. As Ken opened his mouth to tell them, Yohji decided at that moment he had had enough of flirting with Aya and turned to give the brunette a glare.
"Don't you dare tell them our codenames."
"Huh? Why not? Yohji, it's not like it's life or death information really. Why would you… Oh, I get it," Ken ended with a snicker. "Yohji! Your embarrassed about what your codename is!" The lanky blond sputtered and a purely indigent look crossed his features.
"I am not!"
"Then why don't you just tell them?" Ken teased.
"Yohji's codename is Balinese, Ken's is Siberian, Omi's is Bombay, and I'm Abyssinian." Aya intoned out of nowhere. Omi snickered, but did his best to hide it by biting on his bottom lip. Ken, however, out-right laughed at the expression of injustice on Yohji's face.
"Aya!"
"Are those all types of cats?" Drake checked with the giggling blond, doing his best to not pay any attention to the acts going on around him. With each second that passed by, these people confused him more and more. What were they really like? Were they dangerous or friendly? He couldn't tell. They switched between each so quickly, it made Drake's head spin. One thing he could tell, however. The four men sitting around him were close. Closer than any other sort of group that Drake had ever encountered. They acted like…
They're like a family letting people see a certain side of them. Drake realized with a start. You'll never get to see everything about them, but what they want you to see. It's to protect the members of the family. He tried not to let it show as he listened to Omi answer his question. If anyone noticed, they have him no signal that they did. All went on as if nothing had happened.
"Un. Yohji hates his because a Balinese is a type of cat that's most commonly known for being vain and lazy with long blond hair. I think it makes him mad because they described his personality so well using a type of cat."
"Omi!"
Aya had apparently had enough of Yohji's playing around. Just as Yohji was about to get up and pummel the other man for making fun of him, Aya reached out and grabbed the front of the blonde's shirt. He pulled the other man harshly towards himself and slammed his lips over Yohji's in a harsh kiss.
Ryo and Drake blinked while JJ and Dee's jaws practically dropped to the ground. This was not something they had expected to see on the first day of meeting their new bosses. Not that it wasn't hot as hell to see people like Yohji, who seemed to ooze of sensuality, and Aya, who had to be the hottest thing on two legs, making out right in front of them.
Yohji moaned into the shorter man's mouth and just as he was really getting into it, Aya put both hands on Yohji's chest and pushed in backwards. With an ungraceful 'plop,' Yohji fell back into the floor and he had a dazed, lustful expression on his face. When his mind caught up to the situation, Yohji's demeanor changed once more and he was about to say something, when Aya beat him to the punch.
"If you want to continue that where we left off, I suggest you keep your mouth shut for the rest of the evening, unless you have something useful to add."
That shut Yohji up, but his eyes still glittered with a lust filled look aimed at the red head that he wasn't bothering to hide. Smirking, the blond adjusted himself so that he was still sitting on the floor, but now he had an arm thrown over the red head's lap. He did indeed, look like a contented cat.
"Mou… Dee, what am I going to tell Bikky about all this?" Ryo complained as the two men drove back home at the end of the day. They had been brief on the rest of the information that Omi had gathered and what was really expected of them now. After that, Ken said he was ready to test out the skills of the Ryo and Drake out back. Ryo didn't think he did too badly. He had certainly lasted longer than JJ, that's for sure. But he couldn't find a way to last as long as Dee and Drake had. However, there was a gleam of pure satisfaction on Ken's face when all was said and done. He had muttered a few words to himself in Japanese that Ryo could barely hear and seemed to be thinking about something.
Ryo had been unable to ask Ken what he was thinking about because it was at that moment that Aya had spoken up and told the men that they could go home. He said that they would be working out a few last kinks on their end, so that meant that the others had to do the same as well. The redhead had given them 3 days to settle affairs before they were to report back to him with results.
"What are you talking about? Bikky can take care of himself." Dee stated, lounging back in the seat. After having Ryo complain one too many times about Dee's driving skills, the two men decided that, for both their peace of mind, Ryo would drive when the two of them had to be in the same car.
"But what am I supposed to tell him about our new assignment?" It was at times like this that Dee was sure that Ryo's favorite hobby was to worry about every little thing that could possibly go wrong. He was such a mother hen, but that was one of the reasons why Dee was in-love with the other man.
"Ryo, remember what that Aya guy said? We're not supposed to tell anyone outside the group just what we're really doing," Dee reminded him. Ryo bit his lip. His worries were still not completely settled with just that.
"Then what do I tell him instead?" Ryo questioned.
"You're going to have to stick with the story that Omi and that chick gave us."
"Bikky knows how the police stations works, Dee. He's not going to fall for it," Ryo pointed out. The fact that Dee was shooting down each one of his worries like they were of no importance, both aggravated and soothed Ryo at the same time. The end results were that Ryo had a bit of thinking to do now. His worries were eased, but he still had to think everything over.
Dee blanched at Ryo's last statement. That was true enough. Bikky was at the police station almost as much as he or Ryo were, or at least, he had been in the beginning. The mixed teen had cleaned his act up as time went by, but he was still a familiar face at the police station. That was something he had forgotten about. "We'll deal with that rock when we cross it."
Ryo snickered. "Um, I think you mean 'bridge' Dee."
"Rock, bridge, whatever," Dee made it seem like it was no big deal, but inside, he was pouting. How was he supposed to know all those phrases? "Point is, we'll figure things out when they happen, not spend all our time worrying about it now."
"I still don't feel right about this Dee."
"We have no choice here Ryo. As much as I don't like the sound of what we're doing, you have to keep in mind the bigger picture here."
"And that would be?" Ryo glanced at Dee out of the corner of his eye and watched as Dee's face grew serious and his tone changed to fit his new mood.
"All those people that get away with crimes we know they committed just because there's no hard evidence are finally going to get what's coming to them. We'll be helping keep the city safe this way. More so, than when we had been cops."
"But to kill them?" That was the sore spot with them. It was one thing to know that you were keeping the streets safe, but it also know that, in doing so, you were taking the life of another human.
"…"
"Dee?"
"…Maybe it won't have to come to that…" Dee said quietly. Ryo could barely catch what the dark haired man said, but he did catch it. That was something that Ryo seriously doubted, but he did hope for it nonetheless.
"…"
By now, the atmosphere of the car had taken a turn down depressing lane and both men had a lot to think about. In its own way, the amount of things that had changed in their lives weighed more than anything else that had happened to them so far. However, Dee knew that if the two of them went home with such serious looks on their faces, Bikky would instantly know that something was up. They need to elude his suspicion for as long as they could, so Dee decided to try and lighten the mood a bit.
"Anyways, if today was any guess about what we're going to have to go through, we're in for a major world of hurt here Ryo," Dee began. Ryo glanced at him again out of the corner of his eye. Dee had the most pained look on his face and was wincing at some imaginary pain. Then again, after what had happened during the test, maybe it wasn't imaginary. "Our next problem's going to be how we're going to hide all the bruises we're going to be getting."
"What do you mean?"
Wincing slightly, Dee rolled up his sleeve and Ryo saw what the other man was talking about. On Dee's wrist and upper arm, there was a nice light bruise. It would heal in a few days, but that didn't stop Ryo from staring at it while it was there. "I don't think he meant to, but when Kenny-boy pulled that little finishing move on me, he left a nice little present behind. It's going to be sore tomorrow for sure at this rate."
"He did that without even trying?!" Ryo exclaimed, eyes widening. "Mou Dee… What have we gotten ourselves into?"
"A world of hurt Ryo. A hellhole of hurt."
I can't believe I'm putting myself through all this again. Drake thought, just wincing at the imagined torture that he was going to go through. As if one day of twist and turns, having my world turn upside down, and getting my ass handed to me by someone who looks like they just got out of college isn't enough, I'm going back for more. Oh well, a job's a job, I suppose. Might as well get on with it. Taking a deep breath, Drake raised his hand and was about to knock on the door when it opened and revealed a smiling Omi.
"Ah, Drake-kun. We were just waiting for you," Omi chirped in greeting. Welcome and happiness just seemed to bubble up from the younger man and Drake could help but feel a bit more at ease. "Did everything go alright?"
"Well, since I really didn't have too many loose ends to tie-up, things went pretty smoothly Mr. Tsukiyono," Drake stated, rubbing the back of his neck. At the use of the formal title, Omi frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Do I really look that old Drake-kun?"
"Well, no," Drake admitted sheepishly. "Actually, you look like you're in college or something." As he was about to say more, Omi cut him off with a smile and a wave of his hand.
"Then feel free to call me by my first name, Omi. And just so you know, I'm 22 actually. I had just finished college before getting reassigned here. Now come on, everybody's waiting." With that, Omi turned to leave, but Drake halted his steps by grabbing onto his arm. Omi turned around to face the other man with an inquisitive look on his face.
"Whoa. Wait a moment here. You're 22? How long have you've been doing this? How old are the others?" Drake paused here to take a breather. As he did so, Omi freed his arm and began ticking off the answers on his fingers.
"Yes, I'm 22. My whole life almost, and Yohji-kun's the oldest at 26. Aya-kun's a year younger than Yohji-kun, and Ken-kun's a year older than me."
"I don't believe this. I'm the oldest one here and JJ's not the youngest for once." That knowledge was a blow to Drake's ego in a sense, but it was more of a shocker than anything else. The answers only served to make Drake even more curious about the other members of Weiss. "And the others? How long have they been doing this?"
"Not nearly as long," Omi stated. "Come on, Drake-kun, the others are waiting for us."
And, as if to wrap that up, Omi turned once more and this time, proceeded to jog at a light pace into the apartment, causing Drake to follow the blonde and momentarily forget about his questions and his shock. When they reached the others in the living room, Dee looked up at Drake and broke into a cheesy grin.
"Drake! So glad you could finally join us! We were waiting for you!"
Again, before Drake could reply, he was cut off. This time, however, it was by JJ.
"Are we going to get some more stupid lecture or are we actually going to do something here? I'm not getting any younger over here," he complained, slouching into his seat and Drake swore he saw a pout on the gray haired man's face. To answer his question, Ken nodded.
"Today, we decided that we're going to begin you training. I've tested each one of you out and have decided on a few things. Dee and Drake are going to be the close-range team while JJ and Ryo are going to be the long-range team."
Ken didn't need to go into details about the teams or anything because he had been told that the ex-police had already heard about that from their earlier briefing. However, the brunette did wait until he received their confirming nods before going on.
"Which means, you'll need suitable weapons."
Here, Dee failed to understand what Ken was talking about. "What? We can't just use a gun or something?"
"You're assassins now," Yohji answered easily. "A gun would make too much noise."
"Plus, Kilter doesn't promote the use of guns as a primary weapon," Omi added.
"Why? They're certainly effective aren't they? Don't you guys just go in and axe the guy, then leave? You would think guns would be the most effective way to get the job done," Dee protested. Anything else he might have also said died on his lips as Dee caught sight of the serious looks he was getting from such an innocent question.
It was finally Omi who broke the silence that seemed to stretch on and on.
"Dee-kun…" he began hesitantly, gaining more confidence as he went on. "If a person used a gun on all the missions we've done, there's no way to tell how long they would remember the most key part of all this."
Dee swallowed audibly, but he still managed to press on.
"And what's the key part in all of this?"
"The people we kill are just that. People. They might have done some terrible
things in their lives, but they are still human. With the weapons we do use,
there's not a day that goes by that we don't remember that. Not a single day…"
"Oh…" Dee didn't know what to say to that. Omi had a point. He did reveal, though, just how the members of Weiss were still able to act like humans despite their job situation. At this point, Yohji decided to pick up from where Omi had left off. He was getting some serious vibes from Aya and the redhead was getting rather close to losing his cool, though none of that showed on his face.
"And that's the reason why we had Ken test each of your skills the other day. We needed an idea of what we're dealing with. And from the looks of it, we have our work cut out for us," the older blonde teased. "With that being said, let's get to work! Men, follow me to get your new friends."
Hopping out of his seat with an energy that he didn't really feel, Yohji got up and waited for the others to copy his example. When everyone was on their feet, Yohji lead the group down the same hallway they had gone down to get to the roof, only this time, he stopped by a door a little ways down and on the left side of the hallway. Opening the door and motioning the others to follow him inside, Yohji held open the door as everybody filed in and were led further in by Ken and Omi.
Aya was the last to go in, but before he did, Yohji grabbed the redhead's arm and forced him to meet his green eyed gaze. Words passed between violet and emerald as the two stared at each other for what seemed like hours, when it was only a few moments. Finally, violet eyes blinked tiredly and Aya allowed himself to be pulled into Yohji's comforting embrace. The red haired leader closed his eyes and sighed as Yohji wrapped his arms around the other man, using his back to keep the door opened. Placing a gentle kiss on the top of Aya's head, Yohji projected as many calming emotions as he could to the other man while his hold was steady and strong around Aya.
When Aya had regained control of his emotions and powers, the redhead pushed away from the blond, but not before leaving a soul-searing kiss on the other's lips. Then, all business once more, Aya continued on into the room like nothing had happened. Yohji followed his leader, but with an easy smirk and a slight sway to his walk. The two made it to hear JJ's cry of surprise at the multitude of weapons laid out before them. Yohji couldn't help but add his two cents in as Ken was about to open his mouth, cutting the brunette off.
"The far-range weapons are on the left and the close-range ones are on the right. Have fun gentlemen."
Dee turned to see the smirk on Yohji's lips and he couldn't help but bristle just the least bit. So far, he had a taste of Omi's skill, and actually seen Ken's, but there was nothing other than the blonde's word about how skilled he was.
"Just what do you use Yohji? You seem to be a know-it-all," Dee challenged.
"Me?" Yohji asked, in a tone that was trying to be innocent, but ended up being all the more suspicious. "My weapon of choice is my watch here." Hearing that, Dee snorted.
"A watch? You expect me to believe that you kill people using a watch?"
The action was fast and done with the utmost professional skill. Yohji didn't waste any moment, nor did he move from his spot. But when he was done, the trap had been laid. To the untrained eye, it looked like Yohji had just raised his wrist to his mouth and done a few fancy gestures with his arms, but the members of Weiss knew better.
"Did you do anything Yohji-san?" Ryo asked politely. He wasn't one to write off Yohji just yet, but he was curious what that arm movement had been about. Yohji leaned provocatively against the doorway and waved his watch arm around as he spoke.
"Well, maybe if I had said I use wire it would have been more accurate, and I wouldn't move right now, if I were you. You might cut yourself on something. Actually, the real name of my weapon is called a garrote. Maybe you've heard of it."
Thinking that it was all a bluff, Dee tried moving forward and he was instantly rewarded by a cut on his arm as something tightened around it and pierced the skin. Dee froze mid-step and his eyes grew to the size of saucers. It was only after flexing each muscle that he could carefully and slowly, was Dee able to assess what had been done. To put it mildly, he was a bug trapped in Yohji's web and too many careless movements would also get the others in the room hurt as well.
"Ah! Damn it Yohji! Let me out of whatever it is you've got me in!" That was the only way that Dee would acknowledge the fact that he had underestimated Yohji. He acknowledged the blond in his mind, but his pride wouldn't let him say that out loud. It appeared to be enough for the blond however as he nodded and gave Omi the 'v' sign with his fingers. Omi flicked his wrist once and a dart appeared in his hands. Throwing it at a spot on the ceiling, Omi freed Dee from the trap that Yohji had ensnared him in.
"I'm guessing that you use darts," JJ remarked, blinking at the younger man. He was trying to guess where Omi could have hidden that dart without anyone knowing about it.
"Darts, needles, pins, crossbow, and I have a bow and arrow," Omi corrected with a shrug.
"What? No throwing stars?" Drake joked. He didn't expect Omi to take him seriously however, nor was he prepared for his answer.
"I haven't quite got the knack for those down yet." Stating this, Omi pouted as he remembered his failures at getting the metal star to go where he wanted. Ryo paled and JJ swallowed audibly. For the millionth time in those few days, they wondered what they had gotten themselves wrapped up in.
"What do you two use?" Ryo asked of the other two men, both curious and nervous at the same time.
"Hm?" Ken looked at Ryo from his contemplation of the ceiling and it took him a moment before he caught up to Ryo's question. The brunette acted more like a blonde ditz at times. "Oh! They're called bugnuks*, but I guess you could just call them long, metal claws."
"Right…Aya?" Great. Claws. What next, a retractable spear?! Ryo thought with growing concern. While their choices of weapons were certainly different, Ryo could see the pattern that was arising. All their weapons kept each assassin within range of their target, Omi having the longest range, allowing them to witness each death firsthand. Also, if Ryo had guessed correctly by how they had been assigned, then Aya's weapon would be something of a close-range type.
"Hm." Was all the redhead would say on that matter; either he was refusing to answer the question, or he hadn't heard the question Ryo concluded. Opening his mouth to try once more, Ryo was cut off by Ken's light-hearted answer.
"Aya use a katana and word of advice, don't ever get Aya pissed if there's a sword nearby. Not if you value your life anyways."
Ken had tried to make it seem like a joke, but all his answer seemed to do was cause Ryo to pale and for Drake to swallow. Ken was Aya's teammate and he was warning them about losing their lives to Aya's temper?! And he made it appear that something like that was no big deal. If the brunette had been going for casual to relax them, he had failed miserably.
Deciding that if he wanted to take his mind off all of this, Ryo had better start looking at the weapons that were lying in front of him. Taking a step closer to the wall, Ryo took a deep breath to calm his nerves and began studying the assorted tools he had to choose from. Dee copied his lover's example, but not before he shot Yohji a light scowl. His pride had been hurt and it would take a little time for it to heal.
Drake quickly scanned the whole room, and scanned his side of the room once more afterwards. He wanted something he could at least feel comfortable with, and so far, he had seen nothing that appealed to him. Well, that was not completely true. When the man had laid eyes on the various swords, he had felt an urge to go over and try one out himself. Although he didn't know how practical that would be. He had never even touched a sword in his life. What made him think that that would be a good weapon of choice? Yet, as he scanned the area for a fourth time, his gaze continued to be drawn to the swords. Aw, what the hell. A person only lived once and with his new job, it might not even be a long life at that. Choosing a rather nice looking one, Drake made his selection. He knew it was a katana, it didn't have that slight curve to it at the end like a katana did. It was just straight and was sharp on both sides, which meant that it was a little thicker in the middle, but it felt fine in Drake's hands.
JJ warily looked over the left side of the room, not really thinking about anything much. However, when his eyes landed on the set of throwing knives, JJ gave a start. He didn't think that they would let them choose something so common. Then he remembered the type of weapon Omi preferred. Well, if it was all right for Omi to use something like that, then maybe he could give them a try as well. Striding over and taking the knives off the wall, JJ fingered and palmed the weapons, getting the feel of it. Something inside of JJ told him that these were the weapons that he wanted to use. There was just something that appealed to JJ about the throwing knives. Besides, he had always been secretly interested in them when he saw them at the circus and in the movies. To actually get to use them, well, that made JJ's mind up.
Dee ran a cautious hand just above the weapons, testing the air. Testing it for what, he didn't really know. It just felt like something he should be doing. Finally, something halted his hand. Dee's tan hand hovered right above a spear, but the bar of this spear had two blades that created a cross at the head**. It was a little unusual, but then again, Dee had never claimed himself to be a normal person. The odd spear would suit him, or so that was what Dee felt.
While his friends and lover were choosing their own weapons, Ryo was having a hard time coming to a decision. Nothing really appealed to him and he didn't want to pick something he didn't have any knowledge of how to handle. Truthfully, his half-Japanese blood made him want to ask Omi if it was okay if he used throwing stars, shurikens, as well. He had watched a few ninja movies when he was a child and sometimes watched them now. So he had some knowledge of the usage of the weapon. It was really the only thing that he felt he could deal with. Turning to face Omi, he caught the blonde's stare and cleared his throat.
"Anou… Omi-san," Ryo started, using the suffix trying to put himself in Omi's good graces. "I was wondering if it would be all right if I used those throwing stars that Drake joked about earlier. I know a bit about how to use them, and I wouldn't mind also having to learn how to handle another weapon, in case that's not enough."
"You really want to use throwing stars?" Omi repeated, his wide eyes blinking in slight surprise.
"Hai."
Beaming, Omi nodded. "Un! I don't see anything wrong with that. Maybe you'll even get the hang of them better than I can. I just can't seem to make them hit the target on the spot where I want to. You can even use the shurikens I bought to use."
"Arigato Omi-san," Ryo replied happily.
Mou! Ryo-kun, you don't need to call me '-san,' you know. Just Omi is fine with me, Omi stated, unknowingly switching back into Japanese. Ryo chuckled, but nodded in understanding. For a moment, Ryo forgot about what Omi did and who he was and just enjoyed the young man's company. There was just something about Omi's personality that made a person smile.
"Now that you have your weapons gentlemen, let's get to the roof and see what you're really made of," Aya declared when he saw that everyone had chosen a weapon. "You can leave your weapons here. When we think you're ready to handle the added danger, then we'll fight with weapons, but not until then. We don't need the hassle of having to replace someone who was stupid enough to get themselves hurt during training."
{Do we use our little 'gifts' now or should we take it easy on them?} Yohji mused, half to himself, and half to the others.
{From what I've seen, they're going to have a hard enough time without us throwing in any surprises. We play it normal for now,} Ken answered, projecting the feelings he got when he had sparred with each man earlier that week. They were sorely lacking in some areas and it would be a total slaughter if they used their powers on the unsuspecting men.
{Aya-kun?} Omi checked with their 'leader.' He didn't think Aya would have a problem, but it was better if he knew for certain.
{You were the one to test them Ken,} Aya stated flatly. {You would know what to expect.}
*I have no real idea what Ken's weapons are called. I tried to remember from my memory, but it's worth shit. Anyone want to correct me on things like this, I will very much appreciate it.
** I blame the last two weapons on watching waaay too much Naruto and having just finished watching Samurai Deeper Kyo. Kick ass series! I love Sasuke! (The one in Kyo, not Naruto.)
*sighs* I need an editor (is that what a beta is?). Anyone interested? I'll write something special if anyone wants the job. Cause with fics this long, I forget what I typed in the beginning and don't often catch my mistake when I edit it myself.
