Writer's note: Sorry for the delay! My fault, my fault! No, it wasn't a "writer's block"… quite opposite. ^_^;; I couldn't make up my mind… all you guys gave me good reviews and also asked good questions about this fic, which also made my think about new ideas for this story!
Not to mention that I've been designing a new look for my home site… and to EACH original artwork & fan-page in it! Orooo… @.@x All you who've reviewed this fic so far: thank you!!! Keep it coming!!
Pairings: Ran + Omi / OMC x OMC / others may appear in later chapters
Rating: PG-13 (for now. This fic will turn into a R-rated in later chapters!)
Category: Multi-part, shônen-ai, yaoi, definitely an AU, slight of angst in this chapter
Fiction note: Takes after the ending of the anime. Remember, that this is a sequel to the prequel "Something Much More"-fanfic. Every soul has someone. Every soul needs someone. Ran is becoming more his old self again… and less the Abyssinian of Weiß.
Warning: This fic contains mild male x male relationship. If you're bothered with that please, leave! Those who aren't bothered and are matured enough, enjoy reading the fic! ^_^
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A Weiß Kreuz Fanfiction
LONELY SOULS
Chapter 5: Three Men, a Brother and a Sister
Written by M.K. a.k.a. Fall Angel © 2003
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Because the fact that Aya - Ran's little sister - couldn't live by her own after two years' coma, the Weiß had to move away. At first, Ran thought to get an apartment for him and Aya, but then came to other thoughts. Remembering that almost all the money he had went to Aya's hospital bills and so, there was not enough money left for him to get an apartment.
So they came to a decision that they will all move together to a new place (with plenty of room to each of them) and re-open 'Koneko no Sumu Ie' elsewhere. (They still have to live undercover.)
With the help from Manx and Birman, the Weiß (and of course, Aya-chan) were able to move the 'Koneko's' to its new location, a bit far from its old one. It was resembled close to the old 'Koneko' but with one exception: there was enough room for all five of them - and Yôji's room will not be the only biggest room in the building. Each five rooms they found from the upstairs are equally big and roomy. (To which Aya squealed joyfully, remembering how small her room was back home.)
Omi sighed happily as well. At least all his stuff will fit into his room.
"Okay then," began Ken, "who will get which room?"
"I will take this room," Aya claimed her own room quickly across the hallway. "I would like the sun shine first thing in the morning."
"How will you know that the sun will shine there the first thing in the morning?" Ken scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Because, since the sun is shining at that room where Omi-kun is in now," Aya huffed, pointing at the honey-blonde youth, "it means that the sun will shine here in the morning."
Ken laughed at his own silliness. "You're right, Aya-chan."
"I will take the room next to you, Aya." Ran claimed the room on the left side of his sister's.
"I claim the room next to Omi's!" Ken entered into his new room.
"Mou, Ken-kun… I don't even know if I want this room…" 'Since it's directly on the opposite side of Aya-kun's…'
"Don't do this to me, Omi! I don't want to sleep next to Yôji anymore! He snores!"
"I object to that!!" The lanky blonde snapped at the brunette. "I don't snore!"
"Yes you do!"
"No, I don't!"
"Ken-kun! Yôji-kun! Stop fighting you two!"
Aya turned to her brother, "Are those two always like that?"
"Sometimes, unfortunately."
"You know, Ran-niichan? I think I going enjoy living with you guys!" Aya smiled brightly, observing how Omi stopped the two older men's mindless spat. Ran looked at his sister from the corner of his eyes, his eyes shone with happiness. He is glad to have his sister back.
About four hours or so, they have managed to move most of their stuff into their new home and into their rooms. (Since Ken claimed his room next to Omi's, Yôji will be sleeping next to Ran, away from Aya.) The first thing they did, was to place the flowers into their places and water them before they die.
They also made the shifts as well: who will be with whom at what time. Since Omi was had graduated from the high school, any time of day was fine to him. Hearing that Omi have already graduated, Aya pouted at him and to the fact that she has to continue studying since she was left behind because of the coma. (And she's a year older than Omi.) This is where Manx have stepped in. She contacted with the school near to their new home and made few arrangements so that Aya will be able to continue her studies from where she was left off.
Any case, Aya will be helping out her brother after the school when Yôji's shift has ended.
Couple of weeks later, after theirs moving, the new 'Koneko' was full of fans - girls and boys, which surprised the four male florists. They came to the shop right after they found out that there was a cute looking girl working at the flower shop on evenings.
Ran didn't like it. Not one bit.
The scarlet-haired sword-wielder glared at every boy who stared at his sister, giving them his famous 'shi-ne'-glare. Aya found out about this, and made his stop, telling him that she can handle them by herself and that she didn't need her brother watch her back all the time. Ran muttered quietly about 'ungrateful-little-sister' and went back to work. Trying to ignore his fans and also kept glaring at Aya's fans.
Omi sniggered quietly at the sight. Aya sure is fun to know. The honey-blonde boy liked her sense of humor and the way she handles the boys with her wit and cleverness. He remembers one day, how Aya handled Yôji while he was flirting with a customer (again) and got annoyed of the lanky blonde's laziness and lack of interest in work.
He saw it to happen and thought it funny. Yôji didn't.
Aya pretended to be Yôji's girlfriend, hugging and placing small kisses over Yôji's cheeks, which made Yôji's next-to-be-date walk out of the shop, after paying for the flowers. When that happened, Yôji helplessly stared after the woman of his dreams (as were the others in the past) leave. After snapping out of his daze, Yôji glared at giggling girl next to him, ready to revenge her when he found himself being glared by a pair of amethyst violet eyes.
At this point, Omi gulped down his snigger.
From that day, Ran made it very clear to all how protective he is of his sister. Heck, with Aya around, made them all to be protective of her. Even Omi.
The honey-blonde stretched arms high above his head behind the counter, feeling how his muscles were sore from work. A day after their moving-in, Ran came to him and told him that he hadn't told Aya the whole truth about the Weiß. He didn't tell her about Omi and his origin. Because it wasn't Ran's right to tell Aya about Omi's origin. It was Omi's decision alone.
A sigh escaped from Omi. There's that dilemma. He has thought about it more than once, and came to conclusion that he won't tell Aya. At least, not for a while. Let her get used to the information Ran gave her since the day she woke up.
"Ne, Omi-kun?"
"Huh? Aya-chan?"
"You were spacing out, Omi-kun. What's up?"
Omi laughed nervously. "Nothing. Just thinking stuff, that's all."
"Oh? Well, I thought to snap you out of it 'cause it's almost closing time," Aya pointed at the clock. "You want to go out today?"
"Eh??"
"You know, go to the movies… stuff like that. You really need to go out once and a while, Omi-kun. You can't just sit around the computer all the day long."
"Well… I…" 'I really don't want to… not since what happened with Ôka-chan…'
"Ran-niichan will come with us, too!" Aya smiled.
A pink hue appeared over Omi's face.
"Right, 'niichan?" Aya turned to look at his grumpy-looking brother who was chasing away the last of their fans out. "'Niichan??"
"What?"
"That's not the way to ask the customers leave the shop," she frowned.
"So? It works."
"'Niichan!"
"Anoo, Aya-chan… perhaps you and Aya-kun will go out and have fun… I've some stuff to do around here… checking our orders and how many money we made today."
"But…"
"Besides, Aya-chan… Don't you have any homework to do?" Ran raised his eyebrow at his sister, who was trying to avoid her brother's gaze. "Hmm? Well?"
"Oh, alright! I have some undone homework!"
"I thought so," Ran hummed.
"Mou!!"
'I have never seen Aya-kun like this before', thought Omi, sweatdropping at the scene before him, 'I have never seen him so… so… playful… Then again', he muses, 'we don't know what kind of a person he was in the past… before the Weiß and before Aya-chan's coma.'
Watching the siblings continuing their playful bickering at each other, Omi felt his heart skip a beat at the tiny smile that appeared on Ran's lips, as the scarlet-haired man was amused of Aya's pouting. Omi have once seen him smile, just before Aya woke up from the coma and when Ran gave him a lift to 'Koneko' from the park weeks ago.
'He should smile often…' Omi gasped quietly at his thought and turned away from the Fujimiya siblings, ready to leave to his room. Hoping that neither of them would notice him leave. He thought wrong.
"Omi-kun? Where are you going?"
"Er, I… I'm just going to my room, that's all." Omi weakly smiled at Aya. "See ya!" Quickly, so that Aya couldn't ask anything else from him, Omi had a hasty retreat to his room, trying to fight off the blush, which was threatening to appear over his face, his mind dwelling on Ran's smile.
The youth sighed deeply and fell over his bed. Why him? Why was he "cursed" with these feelings for the older man…? If only he was brave enough to tell his feelings for the scarlet-haired man…
"Omi? You're in there?" Ken knocked on Omi's door.
Minute later, Omi opened the door and looked at his brunette friend, who was still few inches taller than him. (Even though he had grown, he was still the shortest of the Weiß… except for Aya.)
"Yeah? What is it, Ken-kun?"
"Nothing much, just to tell you that the dinner is ready."
"Now that you said it, I am a bit hungry," Omi frowned as his stomach started to grumble a bit.
Ken 'tsk'-ed at his young friend. "Omi, Omi… you really need to go out once and a while…"
The honey-blonde frowned. "You too, huh?"
"Eh? What do you mean, 'you too'?"
Sigh. "Nothing… It's just that Aya-chan said the same thing earlier… that we could go out to have some fun…"
"Well, she's right you know. So, what's the problem then?"
Omi blushed. "Nothing, I guess… it's just that… I don't know how to put it…? It's… weird."
"Weird?" Ken asked on their way to downstairs. "How weird is it to have fun… Oh." The ex-soccer blinked as he realized something. "It's because of all the things we've been through, right? After all that… killing we have been doing and then suddenly, we're living a 'normal' life, right?"
The younger man nodded, the blush vanishing from his cheeks. "Not to mention that… the last time when I was out was since…"
Omi didn't finish his words, but he didn't have to because Ken knew where he was getting at. Ôka.
"Omi, Omi… you really shouldn't live in the past anymore. You should enjoy this time of peace now that we have a chance," Ken heard Omi sigh at that, "it's true that Manx hasn't come to tell us about our status as Weiß, but that doesn't mean that we can't have fun."
"I guess, you're right Ken-kun," Omi finally smiled after thinking through Ken's words as well as those what Aya said to him earlier.
"By the way, your friend, Ryoji from your old school, called earlier. Wanted to know if you wanted go out with him on this weekend," Ken remembered as they went to the kitchen where the others were waiting for them.
"Ryoji-kun? I haven't seen him since the day I graduated," Omi mumbled audibly. "Perhaps I should call him…"
"I'm against that idea."
Everyone blinked, turning their heads at the speaker. Ran.
"Eh? Aya-kun? What--?"
"I don't think it would be wise to contact with any of your old schoolmates, Omi. It's not safe."
"Mou, Ran-niichan… Don't be such a worrywart! It's not your place to decide what Omi should do or should not do!" Aya scowled at her scarlet-haired brother, who was looking annoyed as he kept eating his dinner.
"Hm."
"Mou!"
"Settle down, children, settle down," Yôji joked as he interfered the Fujimiya siblings' bicker, only found himself being glared by a brother and a sister. "Wuah!! Their glaring are similar! They definitely are siblings!!"
Ken sniggered quietly, 'That's true…'
"Maa, maa…" Omi sighed. 'I think I will call to Ryoji-kun after all… Sometimes I've this unsettling feeling to escape from all this!' The honey-blonde youth looked around the kitchen table. 'But I must confess that ever since Aya-chan moved in, our days at the "Koneko" have become more… interesting,' Omi smiled after taking a bite of his dinner. 'I don't how this have happened, but I feel… complete. But still…' he looked at Ran under his bangs, his heart beating faster in his chest, 'it's not enough…'
"Ne, minna, calm down and eat. Or else your dinner gets cold," Aya reminded them, finally deciding to stop the ridiculous bickering.
They ate in silence, well, Omi and Aya talked about the homework assignments she got from school, asking for Omi's help for them. But Omi said, as a joke, that he would help her but not do all the homework for her, to which Aya pouted playfully. The youngsters sniggered at the joke. As did the others - well, two of the three older men.
Ran was happy to have his sister, but did she have to be so… close to Omi? What is she up to? Woah! The scarlet-haired man took a breath, shaking his head slightly. Now, why did he begin to think like that of his own sister? Ran sighed inaudibly. He was being a paranoid…
After their dinner, Omi went to his room to make a phone call to Ryoji - to which Ran's eyebrow mysteriously twitched. Aya and Ran cleaned up the table, and Ken did the dishes since Yôji, well, escaped from that duty, exclaiming that he had a date.
Over a half an hour later, Omi hung up the phone after talking with Ryoji and making the plans for the next weekend. Reason why Ryoji called to him in the first place, was that he wanted to see his friend and that he would be by himself because his family is out of town and his boyfriend, Hiroshi, will be at the work all day long on that weekend.
"Hmm… It would be nice to see Ryoji-kun again," he mumbled to himself, "It's been a while since I talked with him. I wonder how is he doing lately… with that boyfriend of his?" Omi chuckled, smiling softly. "I wish… I had enough courage to tell Aya-kun… about my feelings… perhaps, I should ask Ryoji-kun for more tips…" Omi snuggled against his arms, which were folded behind his head; closing his eyes in deep thought and sighing softly.
When will be the right moment; to confess his feelings for the scarlet-haired god of Weiß and… to tell Aya-chan the truth about his origin? And when he does that, what will be the consequences? Good or bad? Hopefully, not the latter part.
He really doesn't want to break up the friendship he had created with both Fujimiya siblings.
"Aya-kun…" Omi mumbled softly… not realizing that his room's door was left slightly open, and that he was being watched.
To be continued…
Next: Chapter 6: Friends and Flirting
1. Koneko no Sumu Ie = Kitty in the House
2. -chan = a suffix meaning cute or little, a common endearment; used to address children, (close) younger friends and relatives, mainly females
3. -kun = a suffix used for people of equal/younger age and equal (social) standing
4. mou = a mild curse, or an expression of frustration or anger; drat, rats, geez, gawd
5. (o)niichan = elder brother; 'Ran-niichan' can be translated as 'brother Ran'… if you want to
6. shi-ne = die
7. ne? = eh?, right?; a very common supporting word
8. anoo = an interjection; well, um
9. maa, maa = now, now
10. minna = everyone
Second draft: October 13, 2003