A/N: Hello! Thank you for your lovely reviews. Youkai Girl, pat yourself on the back. I was feeling kinda bleh, saw your review and started typing. THANK YOU! Just so the rest of you know, reviews do encourage me and get me to write. Anyway, back to the story. I hope you all like the next chapter!
Complications
By:Neko-chibi-faithkitty
Raenef stared in awe at the people bustling around the mall. Ken watched as the small blonde's eye flew from store to store as though trying to see it all in a moment's time. "Wow!" he finally gasped. "I-I think I've seen this somewhere before."
"So you've been here before?" Ken asked, hoping to find some clues as to who Raenef really was.
Raenef looked at the two assassins. "I honestly don't know. I only know what book told me."
"Book?" Asked Aya, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yeah. My picture book. It tells me things I need to know, or if I forgot something. Eclipse made it for me so that when I get lost I don't get hurt or end up in a church again. When I'm home book stays in the library, but if I leave, even for a second, Book has to come with me so they know I'm gone."
"What did book tell you?" Ken asked, ignoring the last half of what the boy had said.
"Not much, I haven't asked it anything yet. But I can tell you everything I remember." He looked over at Aya to see what he should do. The tall man nodded silently, telling him to continue. "I remember when I was little people hated me. I had to live in the streets, stealing. They called me 'demon child' and chased me away whenever they saw me. Then I don't remember anything. There's a big blank spot that's been there for as long as I remember. He might, but he won't even talk about it. And the other one gets whenever I ask. He says it was for my own good and then he won't say anymore." Raenef seemed to forget where he was. Aya and Ken watched as he seemed to get lost in a place that was only in his mind. "The next thing I remember is pain, like being cut into with a dull knife. When the pain stops I remember being back where I was when I was a child, on the streets in Pulhel. I was hungry, so I nicked some bread, but I got caught. The guard was going to cut off my hand." The boy's bright blue eyes teared up as he stopped speaking, his right hand held protectively to his chest.
"Then what happened?" Aya asked gently when it looked like the little blonde wouldn't go on.
"Boss found me. He stopped the guard. Said I was too cute to loose." Then the child seemed to slip into street slang, not realizing he was no longer a gutter rat. "Boss took me in, made me part of the guild, and taught me how to get stuff without getting' caught. But the guard knew I was a thief so they were always tryin' ta catch me. Got real good at runnin'. Then they found out where the guild was. I remember that day real good 'cause I met Eclipse. They say if you meet the same person three times in one day by accident, its Fate. The third time I met Eclipse that day was when I found out that the guards caught Boss. I tried to save 'im, but they stopped me. One of 'em tried to kill me, but 'fore he could he just sorta, exploded. Then Eclipse showed up and made 'em let Boss go. When Eclipse said who he was, they all ran, even Boss. Next thing I knew, Eclipse took me to Raenef Castle. Him an' Odin an' Freya asked me to live there. Then later Euritis came, then Chris, then Leeche, and then all the others."
"What others?" Ken asked, excited by this new information.
Raenef looked at Ken, then he looked around. He blinked a moment and the seemed to recall where he was. "I don't know!" He smiled innocently. "I'm hungry. Do they sell cookies here?"
"Yeah, sure." Ken said stunned, trying not to notice the death glare Aya was giving him for snapping the teen out of his trance. The three of them made their way to the food court. When they reached the Cookie Company Aya winced, prepared to spend a fortune on the overpriced sweets. But to his shock and surprise, when they got closer to the front of the line, the cookies were on sale.
"Impossible." He whispered stunned. Cookies are never on sale fifty-for-a-dollar."
"They are to day!" Raenef beamed. "Besides, Ken said you like cheap stuff"
The redhead turned furiously to his friend. "Cheap stuff?" he hissed dangerously.
"That's not what I said!" Ken yelped, trying to defend himself. "I said you like it when stuff is cheap." Aya continued to glare at the brunette all the time they were in line and even after they had gotten their cookies and were leaving. In fact he didn't stop glaring until the reached The Gap.
"No way." Ken said, stopping in front of the store.
"Uh-uh." Aya growled, still glaring. "Too expensive. Abercrombie Fitch and there only."
"It's not too expensive today." He answered pointing to a sign that read 'EVERYTHING 95 OFF!'
Aya's jaw dropped and he walked into the store to talk to the clerk. A moment later he came back out. "It's a real sale."
"Should we go?"
"I want this one!" Both assassins turned at the sound, and were speechless when they saw Raenef at the entrance of the store, holding up a bright orange shirt covered with green and red sunflowers.
"Maybe Omi should have brought him." Ken mused aloud.
"Hell no!" Aya yelped. "Then they would both look like girls. And you know how Omittichi likes to dress people up like dolls."
"Yeah, but they do seem to have the same taste."
A few short hours and three toy stores later, the bubbly blonde noticed a gothic looking clothing store. His demeanor changed slightly and he turned to glare at Aya. "I want to go in there." The he thrust his bags into Ken's unsuspecting hands and strode confidently into the store. In no time at all he came out wearing a slim fitting trench coat; leather collar; leather bands around his wrists, upper arms, and calves; and soft leather boots that almost looked like paddock boots… all of the bands were in black, but the rest was white. In his hands were more bags.
"How did you afford all that?" Ken asked, knowing that Aya held the money.
Raenef glared at him. "Unlike him, I have no problems with stealing. Get in my way, and you'll learn I have no qualms about the cold-blooded killing of innocents either."
"Who are you?" Aya snarled.
"Not someone who makes idle threats, and certainly not someone to be taken lightly. Beside, I was only doing my job. What were the three T's Eclipse taught us…Oh yes…I remember now." He paused to shoot a glare at the store he had just come from, then he turned back to Ken and Aya. "Terrorize, torture, and terribly terminate." With that Raenef turned on his heal and started to walk away. He had gotten no more than a few steps when someone screamed inside of the store. Ken ran inside to see what had happened, while Aya chased down the strange blonde.
Inside the store a crowed had gathered by a display of spiked leather collars. When he got through the crowed he found an older man in a black shirt with the store's logo, ceasing on the floor. Suddenly, before anyone could do anything to stop it, the man's head smashed through the glass of the case and a silver spike of one of the collars pierced his temple. Instantly his body fell limp and Ken bent to check his pulse.
"Shit." He hissed, his eyes growing round. "Someone call 9-1-1!" he yelled. When he saw one of the other employees on the phone he ran out of the store.
After searching for a few minutes he found Aya and Raenef. "It's time to leave. Now." The redhead looked at him for a second, then grabbed Raenef's hand and the three of them hurried to the nearest exit.
About thirty minutes later they were black at the flower shop. "You're back early." Yoji observed as they came in.
"We ran into some trouble." Aya growled, glaring at Raenef. "Something very suspicious is going on. And I want an explanation."
"Can I take a rain-check?" Raenef smiled sheepishly.
"Start talking." The fiery redhead hissed, purple eyes flashing in anger. "As in I want answers before yesterday."
A/N: Ooh, cliffy. I'll update again soon. Sorry it's so short. I may even update later today, but I haven't decided yet. Anyway, I hope you like it. Yes, I know Rae was really evil in this one, but they had to now that he can be dangerous when he wants to be. Please don't hate me for making him so mean. I didn't want to. Anyway, please review!