I think I've decided that this will sort of follow the anime, but only loosely. There will be entire chapters, I'm sure, that will have nothing from the cannon story, the anime. Those will just be character building and the building of their relationship. Hope you enjoy!
001. Beginnings
Fire. Yelling. The heat and the smoke had filled his lungs, pulled him towards the floor, along with the blood dripping from the hit he'd taken before. Ken had yelled for Kase before passing out. He could have sworn Kase fought off his attackers, yelling for Ken to get out of there.
Hospital bed. Sterile smells and colors. The pretty nurse had smiled at him. "Welcome back to real life, Hidaka Ken," she had intoned before turning to get the doctor to explain to him what had happened.
Wasn't he supposed to be burned up? And why shouldn't he be? Wasn't his life over? Soccer was his life, and that was torn from him by the allegations that he'd thrown the game. Ken still wasn't sure exactly what had happened to him that game. He had been dizzy and seeing double, near to passing out right there in his net. It's obvious he was drugged, but by whom?
A woman in a red mini-skirt and tight jacket came to his bedside instead of the doctor. She had leaned over him almost threateningly and told him that she had saved him, that he was believed dead by the rest of the world, including his family, and that he now belonged to some company called Kritiker. That he had to use his past martial arts training from childhood and learn to fight correctly, learn to do the many things Kritiker would ask of him.
In time he was allowed to leave his bed and walk. He limped due to the scars and pain in his hip and buttocks where the fire had licked close enough to set his clothes on fire as he lay on his stomach in the warehouse. His body ached, but more than that his heart ached. There was no way he could see his family again. Even though all he had was a father left over, he wanted to see that man more than anything. He couldn't imagine his father wracked with grief over an urn of ashes that never belonged to his son in the first place. First dad had lost his wife, and now his only son only 10 years later. Ken had cried himself to sleep for a few nights in a row before resolving himself to his fate.
Vengeance will be his. This is only the beginning of Hidaka Ken, assassin and protector of the innocent only.
---
The fair, the rides, the sweet smells of cotton candy mixing with the slightly sweet smell of soy sauce, dumplings, and gyoza. Those earrings were perfect, golden and shiny, a lot like his brightly smiling little sister. Ran had smiled, though he worried about their parents getting angry for staying out so late. He bought the earrings for her and brought them home with them as the hurried through the unexpected rain.
The gas, the bodies, the small bomb to ignite it all and send the fire all the way to hell. And hell it was to simply lay there and watch the expensive car hit his bright little sister, her light slowly fading as she lay in the mud. The car had stopped and the man in the back spoke to another man outside of the car who was gesturing and looked panicked. Then blackness.
Death feels so cold and wet.
Hospital bed. Sterile smells and colors. The pretty nurse had smiled at him, happy that he had awoken, "Oh, my goodness! It's nice to see those eyes open, Fujimiya-kun!" He immediately asked about his sister and her smile faded a bit, just as he'd watched Aya's light fade.
Seeing as he only had a bit of a concussion and a gash on his cheek and a few on his legs, the doctor allowed him to get dressed and check out before visiting the comatose girl. His body ached, but more than that his heart ached. His only family left was now reduced to a hospital bed and heart monitor, very little hope of those beautiful eyes opening again. Ran had cried himself to sleep for a few nights in a row before resolving himself to the fate he'd chosen for himself at her bedside.
Vengeance will be his. This is only the beginning of Fujimiya Aya, assassin and brother only.
002. Middles
Tsukiyono Omi was a nice boy. He and Ken got along great, in fact. It was like having a brother finally, like having a kindred spirit, laced in the same guilt and doubt, the same fear and sadness. Both boys had lost their families and could never go back, it seemed. Both boys struggled with their job and their morals.
Ken had an even harder time with this, as he had been raised a stout Catholic. Breaking a few Commandments didn't seem to appeal to him at all. Breaking the 6th and 8th, and sometimes the 4th Commandments was just beginning to weigh on his soul and mind. He'd only been killing for a few months with his new teammate and it was hard work. They were promised two more to join their happy little assassin group and they would be needed if they kept getting these tough assignments.
Finally, a taller blond man with a disarming smile came to the flower shop with Manx, the woman in the tight skirt that Ken had "spoken" to in the hospital. The man's name was Kudou Yohji and he was to be the third member of Weiss. Both of the younger boys got along with the easygoing and lanky man. He explained outright that he was doing this job for all the women out there, and that he would likely go out every night to "gather his reward" for it. In other words, date and have sex. Ken and Omi could put up with that, as long as the man was as good as he claimed he was with that garrote wire of his. And he was.
Just one more man to join the team. What would he be like? When would he get here?
---
A rooftop, a month later. Ken took a deep breath before jumping off the roof and onto the roof of the next building. He skidded to a halt before looking around for any guards. His eyes widened. A beautiful man stood to one side, katana drawn and a hard glare on his features as he faced Ken. Ken was speechless even as the man approached him, accusing him of being some lackey for someone else. He barely managed to escape that blade, but the onslaught continued and he was forced to raise his own blades to block. This man had the form down perfectly and was fueled by such anger that Ken found himself pushed back until both dart and wire first pushed the pretty red head back and then held him down.
Ken watched in complete surprise as Manx came out of the shadows, gun held up and aimed at the red head. Was this all planned? Had she known this man would be here? She must have. As she started making the same demands on the red head as she had on the other three, Ken huffed and put his hands on his hips. She'd almost gotten him killed! And now this arrogant hick was supposed to be their fourth? We'll just see about that.
---
The first punch was thrown. Anger sparked between violet eyes and green eyes. Yohji and Omi stood to one side, one chuckling as the other asked them politely to stop fighting.
A fake punch was thrown, meant to throw the other off balance, but both fighters were trained well in this, the dance of hand to hand combat. Neither wanted to take the time to gauge the other's efficiency; the hard punches and kicks did that for them. Neither took the time to move eloquently or show off any fancy footwork, intending only to knock the smirk of superiority off the other's face with their knuckles or a foot.
Stands crashed, pots broke and soil was everywhere. The Koneko was trashed by the time Ken finally punched Aya one last time and the red head stayed down. Finally. Ken panted and looked down at him, mad enough to give the prone body one more kick in the ass… but something stopped him. As he looked down at the sleeping man, his new teammate now that he's initiated, something snapped in his chest. Ken lifted a hand to rub at that place, something all too familiar in the way his heart beat and his eyes couldn't tear away from the man's face.
Ken blinked as Yohji came over to haul Aya up over a shoulder, "Way to teach him, Kenken." The blond winked with a grin and carried Aya up the steps to the man's new bedroom.
Omi huffed at Ken and glared, "You are cleaning this up, you know." He took Ken by the arm and pushed him up the steps, "Tomorrow morning. Now let me take care of your wounds."
Ken was in the middle of falling in love with the red head. He silently and compliantly moved where ever Omi directed him, a dazed look in his eyes not from the beating he'd taken, but from complete surprise. Where did this come from? When did this man, who could move so gracefully and yet throw such tough punches, punch straight into his heart? Perhaps when Ken had first set wide eyes on him. Such a vengeful angel stalking towards him, promises in his eyes for pain and death. Isn't he just perfect for this job? Isn't he what Ken himself should push himself to be?
003. Ends
The next few days weren't without more fights between the two. They may not have been lowered to throwing any more punches, but words can bite just as much as knuckles and nails. Even with the feeling of love in his heart, Ken was hurt and hurt Aya in retaliation. Omi was nearly frantic in his efforts to make the two get along. So far his plans weren't working. Yohji just took it all in stride for a while before finally screaming at them that they were both childish and storming off. Fortunately for Omi, that had stopped the fight and both the red head and brunette went up to their own rooms to cool off.
Omi finally had a brilliant idea. Or so he thought it was brilliant. But he needed Yohji's help in getting the two right where he wanted them. Yohji gladly agreed to help, after Omi explained his plan, a grin on his lips and a mischievous glint in the blonde's eyes.
---
Once more angry violets glared at angry greens, which glared right back at him, "What are you doing in my room?"
Ken put his hands on his hips and cocked a hip out as he went on glaring, "Hey, it's not my fault Omi locked me in here. I'll happily leave you alone, believe me." In fact, he brushed past the red head who had come in after him, and turned the knob, only to find it locked again, "Hey! You little shit, get over here and unlock this damn door!" He pounded on the door, yelling for Omi to come back.
Aya gritted his teeth for the next minute or so, listening to Ken yell. When it was obvious Omi wasn't coming back, he grabbed Ken's shoulder, "Stop it already. He's not unlocking the door." Aya turned away from the glare that came his way and went to the window. It, too, was locked from the outside by a board placed between the sliding pane of wood and the top of the sill. Omi had thought this out very well.
"Well? I can't get out of here at all?" Ken crossed his arms over his chest, that hip pushed out again as he glared.
Aya turned back to him and looked him over before moving to sit on the bed, "No. Omi is a smart one, we both know that. Unless you wish to break MY window." He lifted a glare at the brunette again.
Ken rolled his eyes then looked around for a place to sit and get comfortable, "Then do ya have anything to do in here? No TV?" He was actually quite surprised at that fact. Aya just shook his head and pushed himself back further on the bed to lean against the wall.
Ken sighed and scratched at his head, then came over to sit beside him, leaning against the wall as well, "That little shit probably wants us to get to know each other and stop fighting, ne?"
Aya shrugged and looked down at his long fingers twined together in his lap.
The brunette looked at those fingers as well then looked back down at his own hands mirroring Aya's in his own lap, "So… uhmm… I guess we start over. I'm Ken." He smiled and lifted a hand to shake Aya's.
Aya was surprised by the sudden smile tossed his way instead of a punch. He watched Ken's new sunny face for a moment then lifted his own hand to shake, "Aya." The brightness of Ken's smile reminded him of someone. Someone special. Perhaps that's when he found himself falling.
In any case, that was the end of their outright fights. Omi's plan worked beautifully!
