Chapter 2
"Bye!" Sakura called to her best friend, Reiko. It was the end of the school day. Sakura smiled at Aya who had been waiting for her in the schoolyard. Even though they were friends, Aya was not in Sakura's homeroom. She was in her last year there before she would go to college.
They walked out of the schoolyard and began the four block walk to their apartment. Walking side by side, they looked almost identical. People often asked them if they were twins. "Do you have a lot of homework today?" Aya asked her. "not really. I have less math then I thought." She looked towards their apartment.
Suddenly, she saw a tall young man with red hair and blanched. "what's wrong, Sakura?" asked Aya, concerned. Sakura didn't seem to hear her. "Ran!" Shouted Sakura. She began to run after him. 'Ran?' Aya thought, looking up, thoroughly confused.
Aya (Ran) turned his head when he heard his real name being called. At first he thought he was seeing his sister, but some small details gave away her true identity. "Sakura?" She stopped. "So it is you?....How......?" She faltered. Suddenly, she burst into tears. "No, I must be seeing things. Ran is dead!" She sobbed before dashing off, almost knocking people over in her haste.
"Ran?" Aya whispered. Ran had spotted her. "Aya." He said. Suddenly he smiled. "what are you doing here, Ran? We heard you were dead." "Not here, Aya. Lets go to your apartment." Surprised that he knew where she lived, she arched an eyebrow, but asked no questions. She simply hugged him, as she tried to suppress her own tears. One escaped, despite her efforts. Seeing this he hugged her back. "I'm sorry for making you believe I was dead." "I think it did more damage to Sakura, somehow. I think she thought you were a hallucination." She smiled through her tears. They walked to the apartment in relative silence, just glad to be together after so long.
Aya was the first to break the silence. "She loves you, you know. I don't know if you guys were together, since I wasn't awake, but...." "we weren't." Ran said, looking away. "She told me how she feels .....but.....we're too different. I can't, Aya." His voice was pleading. " You dork." She grinned at him. " Most guys would kill to be with a girl like her. What's not to like?" Ran flinched at the word "kill", but Aya hadn't noticed. They had reached the apartment and went into the lobby. "Its really not that, Aya." Sighing, he went inside.
They found Sakura lying on her bed, crying. "She's been doing that ever since we heard. Every night." Aya whispered in his ear. "She has?" He asked, looking shocked. "You had better talk to her. Go on." She poked him in the back. He had forgotten how pushy she could be.
"Sakura?" She looked up. "ahhhh!" She scooted into the corner of her bed so her back was pressed against the wall. Aya suppressed a laugh, and went into the kitchen to make dinner. "Its me Sakura. Don't be scared." He sat down and took her hands in his. "See?" Her eyes started to water again. " I thought you were dead." Her emotions astounded him. "I'm sorry. But I had to keep you and Aya out of danger." "WHY?!?!?" Sakura yelled suddenly. "Wha......?" Said Ran, startled. "I don't care about your job, Ran. Or about what you are. I DON'T!" Ran flinched ,slightly. "I am an assassin, Sakura...you've seen me kill. You know I'm dangerous." He said, getting to his feet. He turned towards the door, and came face to face with Aya, whose mouth was agape. "An a...as...assassin?" She just stood there in her shock. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it. Ran reached out for the door's handle. "Oh no, you don't." Aya said, grabbing his arm. He stopped, defeated. "You're going to stay for dinner, and you're going to explain, everything." 'Uh oh.' Thought Ran to himself.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but that just the beginning. Will Aya be forgiving? Or is Ran gonna catch it?(so to speak, of course.) I love the next chapter, which I will not even give a tantalizing hint of besides that, I'm afraid. Why ruin the surprise? sorry if my chapters are short, that's my rustiness for you. But it seems to fit, anyway. And don't worry, I've got up to ch.6 already written out. It just needs to be typed.