Kon'nichi wa Minna,

Okay, okay, here it is! It's not as good as it could be, but it's moving things along and, hopefully, delaying my demise. I apologize for how long this has taken, but I've been uber busy lately. You know how it is.

I'm just going to take a moment to tell you all how grateful I am to my reviewers for sticking with me, even when it takes a while for me to post the next chapter. (I'm trying, I really am!) Okay, now for the necessary evils:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Weiß, though I wouldn't be adverse to inheriting them.

WARNING, ETC: If you are not into yaoi or shonen-ai, you will not enjoy this fic. Do not read it. If you do not enjoy blatant fanservice, you will not enjoy this fic. Do not read it. If you do not like humor, you will not enjoy this fic. Do not read it. If you do not like bishounen, you are a freak. Go away.

The Koneko Wars

By: Whisper

Chapter 4: One Man Mission

Yohji entered the Koneko humming and grinning like a fool, at least that was Aya's observation as the blonde came in, two hours late for his shift. "You're late." The winter of Aya's voice couldn't chill the smile off of Yohji's face.

"Are you surprised?" the wire-wielding assassin laughed, trotting over to take his apron off of it's hook. True, he hadn't seen any action with Ken last night, but he had managed to sneak an arm around him while they watched the light show, Ken too enraptured with the color display to notice until it was too late. Yohji's grin widened at the memory of Ken smiling and leaning into his arm, watching the children play around in the park until their parents took them home.

"Ohayo Yohji-kun!" Omi chirped as he came into the shop from setting up the sidewalk display.

"Good morning bishounen, did you sleep well? I know I did." Yohji waggled his eyebrows at the youth and cast Aya a smug grin.

"Get to work Kudou," the redhead snarled. Yohji felt Omi tugging on his sleeve and looked down to see the youth nodding toward the street. Yohji obediently followed, pulling out a cigarette. "What is it?"

"Aya-kun's been awfully moody this morning, don't do anything to upset him, we're supposed to have a mission tonight. Manx phoned and said she'd be over at noon. I have to go to class so tell Ken-kun when he comes in for his shift, ne?"

Yohji took a drag from his cigarette and lazily exhaled. "Hai, I'll let him know." How wonderful, an opportunity to talk to Ken and I didn't have to come up with it. Maybe I'll even be paired with him on the mission. Another drag. Ah, this is the good life; a cigarette, fresh morning air, and Ken within my grasp.

*******

Inside the shop Aya was planning several painful ways to kill one Yohji Kudou and snapping several flower stems in the process. In an hour Ken would be down to begin his shift, at that point Aya would have one hour to secure a date before Manx came and delivered their mission. Though no smile graced his lips, Aya's eyes twinkled in conspiratorial glee. He'd called in one of several favors Manx owed him and had secured Ken as his partner on the mission. They would be the strike team, Yohji and Omi would be backup. Before Aya had time to be too smug, Ken came racing through the door.

"I'm not coming in today!" he said through sobs, dashing through the door that lead into the back stairway.

"Kudou, watch the shop," Aya said, dropping bits of flower onto the floor and walking purposefully after the brunette. Aya strode through the kitchen and up the stairs to Ken's room, opening the door without bothering to knock. Ken would just tell him to go away anyhow.

"Go away!" came the muffled cry from the vicinity of Ken's bed.

Despite his concern, Aya couldn't help but smile. So adorably predictable. Schooling his expression, he approached Ken, who had thrown himself down on the bed in a fit of despair. "Ken." Aya set a hand to Ken's shoulder.

"Aya?" Ken sniffled, turning to face the redhead, a beacon of calm in the maelstrom of his despair.

"What's the matter Ken?" Aya stuck to tried and true dialog, not wanting to sound too detached but unwilling to show the true extent of his emotions.

"N...nothing." Ken was blushing. How am I supposed to tell Aya that Shinichi broke up with me? He doesn't even know I had a boyfriend. He doesn't even know that...God Aya, please just go away.

"Ken." Aya insisted, sitting down on the side of Ken's bed. "Tell me what's wrong, Ken, I won't say anything to anyone. My word." A pale hand slid from Ken's shoulder down to clasp his arm in reassurance. Aya took in the warm, silky feel of the younger man's skin, the way it seemed to burn his own flesh at contact, like touching the sun itself.

"Sh...Shinichi broke up with me," Ken cried, tightening his grip on the pillow his face was still buried in.

"Did he say why?" Aya's voice was quiet and calm though he was, in actuality, devising several creative ways to end Shinichi Igarashi's life. We told him to wait until tryouts, he is ruining my plans. The "plan" had been to seduce Ken away from Shinichi so that, when Shinichi broke things off with Ken, the brunette would be rejoicing, not weeping forlornly into a now soggy down pillow.

"He...he said that he didn't want our relationship to influence his performance in League if he were accepted." Ken took great heaving breathes, turning his head to face his teammate and gain air before the pillow suffocated him. In the small silence that followed, Ken took a moment to marvel at how gracefully Aya was handling the situation. He's not prying, or acting disgusted, or leaving me. Ken sighed. At least I still have my friends.

"He is not worth your time. Anyone who would toss your feelings aside so carelessly is not fit to breathe." Aya looked into Ken's eyes, softening his expression to show that his words were heartfelt. The pale assassin squeezed Ken's arm and allowed a bit of a smile to flash across his features. "Don't let his poison taint your heart, Ken, you're worth so much more than that." Aya's other hand ran through Ken's scattered hair, endeavoring to tame the wild locks. In the midst of all this Ken lay frozen on the mattress, lost in Aya's tender gaze. "Manx will be over with a mission in two hours. If you like I can brief you later so you can rest."

"But I have to work." It was the only coherent thought Ken could manage at the moment, but it worked as a base to build others upon. Slowly, he regained his wits.

"Yohji owes me two hours from this morning and I can cover after that. For now, rest. I'll be in the shop if you need me." Aya got up, untangling his hand from Ken's hair and giving his arm a final pat before heading to the door.

"Aya?" Ken asked, his voice still hoarse from crying. Aya turned and looked expectantly at the brunette. "Thanks." Ken was rewarded with a dazzling smile.

"You're welcome. Thanks for listening." was the quiet reply just before Aya slipped out of the door. Ken lay back on his bed, feeling significantly better. It still hurt that Shinichi had just let him go so carelessly, but things weren't so bad, Ken mused, he had friends who were willing to help him. Ken grinned at the memory of Aya's smile. Any time you want, Aya.

*******

Omi gawked as Aya helped one of the regulars in the shop. Usually, the moody assassin would yell at the girls and tell them to leave, but today he was being polite, even agreeable. Yohji, on the other hand, was sulking near the cash register, telling everyone under 18 to leave the shop and not return until they were of age. Sighing, the youngest member of Weiß went over to the tall blonde and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Yohji-kun, you don't have to stay those extra two hours, I can manage until Aya-kun comes back."

"Yohji will stay and cover the two hours he missed this morning." Aya's voice frosted over the shop and the girl he was helping shrunk back.

"Arrogant asshole," Yohji muttered under his breathe.

"Where's Ken-san?" Megumi asked, trotting into the store. Behind her, a throng of Ken's followers waited expectantly to see their bronzed god.

"He's not feeling well today," Aya said, stepping towards Megumi, endeavoring to remember that it wasn't her fault that her brother was an idiot. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Instantly Ken's fan club swarmed around Aya, requesting bouquets to be delivered to their infirmed Adonis.

"What's wrong?" one girl asked, frantic.

"How long is it going to last?"

"Is he in pain?"

"It's a 24 hour bug, he should be better tomorrow," Aya replied, doing his best not to scream. "Omi, some help please."

"Hai Aya-kun," Omi said with eyes wide- he'd never heard Aya say more than a forced sentence, and none of them ever ended in "please." Between Aya and Omi's efforts, Ken's fans were dispersed in short order and the Koneko had had a wonderful sales day. As the last of Ken's club left and the Koneko was about to close for lunch, a familiar pair of red pumps and white socks came into view.

"Manx!" Yohji chirped, straightening his slouch and donning his "Kudou charm."

"You have a mission," Manx said, walking in and heading towards the mission room.

"And here I thought you'd come to accept my offer for a date," Yohji put a hand to his heart. "Manx, I'm crushed."

Manx gave Yohji a glare then smiled. She knew his passes were only for show, she'd trailed him to the Onyx Room one night, and caught him dancing rather intimately with one of his conquests. "You'll just have to hunt down some other lucky girl after your mission Balinese." Looking around, Manx frowned. "Where's Siberian?"

"Sick." Aya replied, leaning against the wall, waiting for Manx to play the mission tape. "I'll brief him later."

Manx arched a red brow at the comment, knowing full well how Aya wanted to "brief" Ken. "Let's get started, then." She popped the tape into the VCR and observed the three assassins in the room as they watched the tape, noting that Yohji seemed more high strung than usual and that Aya was almost...happy. Manx sighed and turned off the tape.

"I'm in," Aya said, a grim light washing over his features.

"Me too." Omi's voice was haunted.

"Same." Yohji's fists were clenched, his fingers reaching for wire that wasn't there.

"I thought that was the case." Manx watched Aya out of the corner of her eye. "I want Abyssinian and Siberian to take the target out. Balinese, Bombay, I want you to wash out the perimeter and make sure no personnel are left alive. Are we clear?"

"Aa."

"Hai."

"So, Manx, about that date...."

Manx ignored Yohji's comment and collected her things. "Good luck Weiß."

*******

Ken and Aya were crawling through a ventilation shaft and Aya was having difficulty keeping his mind on the mission and off of Ken, who was crawling in front of him. If there were to be a conflict when they emerged, Ken's weapon was better suited to defend them quickly. Suddenly Ken stopped and pointed down, indicating that they were above the target's office. Aya's muscles tensed in anticipation of the kill, his adrenaline rising. He wondered if Ken felt the same way.

"Commence mission," Aya whispered into his earpiece. Moments later an explosion was heard outside, giving him and Ken the distraction they needed to lower themselves out of the vent and into the office shadows. Aya drew his katana and ran at the target while Ken quickly disposed of the target's supposed guards. It was a quick job and their orders were simple; kill everyone and level the building. Outside, Aya knew that Yohji and Omi were fairing well with external cleanup, there were only a few extraneous individuals outside the building anyhow.

"Target down, Abyssinian and Siberian are making their way to the check-in point," Ken called into his ear-com before flipping it up away from his mouth. "Come on, let's get out of here so Omi can detonate."

"Aa." Aya debated his next move as they walked down the halls, still on alert for any personnel that had been missed on their sweeps of the building. "Ken," he said finally.

"Hm?" Ken asked, wondering why Aya wasn't referring to him by his code name.

"I'm hungry, would you like to join me for something to eat?" Aya scowled at his poorly given invitation.

"Sure." Aya was rewarded with a quick smile from Ken, before the brunette's eyes were lost to Siberian and the assassin raced forward towards the suited figure trying to run out of the building.

*******

Ken and Aya sat at the diner, waiting for their drinks to come and glancing over the menus. "Have you heard from Aya-chan recently?" Ken asked as he looked back and forth between the pictures of the chicken fried steak and the double cheeseburger.

"She called me last night." Aya closed his menu-- he was having the caesar salad.

"And?" Ken prompted, leaning onto his right arm, his chin resting on his palm as he gazed expectantly at his companion.

Aya allowed a small smile to show at Ken's concern for Aya-chan. "She's having difficultly in Chemistry and she believes her principle is an alien."

Ken broke out into unrestrained laughter, his face falling to the table as his body shook. "Looks like the Fujimiya rationalism has skipped over her." he said once he had composed himself. "Or do you grow into it?" The waitress came and placed Aya's iced tea and Ken's cherry Coke on the table. "Double cheeseburger," Ken said, smiling up at the girl.

"Caesar salad, extra croutons," Aya ordered, handing both his and Ken's menu to her. A few quiet moments passed before Aya spoke again. "When Aya-chan told her friends she knew you she grew in popularity. It seems your fan base extends quite a bit."

"Wow," Ken whistled around his straw. An electronic rendition of the Pink Panther theme cut off any further conversation. "Moshi moshi," Ken said into the cell phone, a Nokia with a soccer ball covered faceplate. "Aa." Ken looked over to Aya, who quirked an eyebrow at him. "Iie, Shin-kun, you're not forgiven. If you wanted lessons you could've just asked and not played with my emotions. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy." Ken turned off his phone and threw it against the cushion of the booth before burying his face in his hands.

"Ken," Aya whispered, putting a hand to Ken's arm and giving a light squeeze. "We can get the food to go if you want." Ken looked up from his hands, his eyes full of tears that threatened to fall from quickly reddening eyes. Silently he nodded. Aya hesitated a moment then, after a deep breathe, he spoke again. "If...if you like, we can go to my room and talk." A short pause. "If you think it would help."

Ken's expression brightened at the unexpected offer. "Hai, arigatou Aya-kun."

Aya's face went serious for a moment and he idly stirred his iced tea. "Ran," he said finally. "Before the... accident, my name was Ran." Without another word he stood to find the waitress and have her change their meals to takeout. The ride back home was silent.

FROM WHISPER: *dodges tomatoes* Gomen, gomen, it's not quite as good as it should be and doesn't exactly end in a convenient place, but if I promise shameless fanservice in the next chapter will I be forgiven? *down on knees* Please?