Author's Note: A few quick notes for this chapter. First things first, here's some quick flower symbology:
Monkshood – Beware, a deadly foe
Yarrow – Health, healing
Periwinkle (blue) – Early friendship
Feverfew – Protection
All right, second chapter down. Excellent, good, all that jazz. I don't know when chapter 3 will be up. I've barely started typing it up.
Chapter 2: Plotline
Why did this kind of shit always have to happen to them?
Everything was perfectly normal that evening, everything was going fine… until Youji and Ken came back with two injured kids in their arms. Suddenly, their perfectly normal evening, the first night off they'd had in a while, was thrown into utter chaos, with shouts for makeshift beds to be set up on the floor of Omi's room and first aid kits and towels to be brought out. And here he had actually thought that he was going to have a quiet evening… ah, well, what can you do?
Youji was explaining the situation as he set a girl who couldn't have been that much older than Omi down on the first bed, before helping Ken load the comatose boy, who appeared several years younger, onto the second. Apparently the girl had been running, carrying her injured comrade in her arms, and then tripped. Other than that, very little was known. The young female was continually slipping in and out of consciousness, only able to say short and cryptic messages before darkness would claimed her for five minutes, and then the cycle would repeat.
"Ne, Omi-kun, how is she?" Ken asked, as their youngest member quickly looked over the girl.
"She's got some shallow scratches on her back, but aside from that she's perfectly fine, physically," Omi replied, "Though she seems really tired, so I'd recommend she get some rest. I'm much more worried about her friend. That's a lot of blood." Before all the words were even out of his mouth, the youngest member was beginning to look the boy over, noting every injury as he cleaned off the blood.
"Will Yuo-kun be okay?" The soft question startled them. They hadn't expected her to be awake at this point. According to her five-minute intervals that had been occurring as of yet, she had another minute or so of unconsciousness.
"Don't worry," Omi assured with a smile, "He'll be fine! You should get some rest, all right?" She nodded weakly, before falling back into the oblivion of unawareness, and it seemed that, finally, she'd be out for a while. Omi sighed a bit and continued to clean up the young boy's, 'Yuo' she had called him, multiple wounds. It was going to take some time, but after a quick assessment the teenager gave the impression that the injuries were not fatal. This was further proved when Youji yawned somewhat falsely, announced he was going to bed, and left the room without any protests being voiced after him.
Ken sat next to Omi, ready to help in any way possible. Already the younger had him helping in washing off the crimson that stained Yuo's skin.
"Aya-kun," Omi finally spoke to the final member of the group, the one who had been just sitting in the chair in the corner watching the entire thing without making a sound, "Would you go get another bowl of hot water? This one's become too dirty to use anymore." That much was pretty evident. The once clear water was now so red that it could easily be mistaken for cranberry juice. Not that anyone would want to drink it… In fact, doing so would probably put you off cranberry juice for a while.
The redhead stood up, not saying anything, but left the room, returning a few minutes later with what the teenager had asked for. Omi thanked him happily, before turning back to the task at hand. Aya returned to his chair and sat silently, just like before.
An hour passed and Ken wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead, as Omi packed up the first aid kit and went to put it away. Finally, the injuries of both guests had been cleaned and bound.
"Ken-kun, Aya-kun," Omi called to the two of them, finished with returning the first aid kit to its home in the bathroom cabinet, "You can go to bed, if you want. It's late." Ken yawned widely at this suggestion.
"All right, wake me if anything happens," the brunette said, walking out of the room as he stretched his arms. Aya, however, did not move from where he was sitting.
"Are you going to stay and watch over them with me, Aya-kun?" Omi asked, noticing quickly that the redhead had not gone back to bed like Ken had.
"Ahh," was Aya's simple response that told Omi that the older man indeed planned to stay. He didn't know the reasons behind the desire, nor did he ask. There was no need to treat Aya as a child, after all.
"Thank you, it will give me some company while watching over them," Omi beamed, clearly happy to have someone there with him despite Aya's bored and suspicious manner. It was nothing the high schooler wasn't used to, by this point in time.
Another hour passed in strangely comfortable peace, with Omi occasionally checking on his two patients and Aya sitting in his chair, as silent and still as ever.
"Ne, what do you think, Aya-kun?" Omi questioned, his sudden curiosity catching the redhead off-guard.
"About what?"
"About this whole thing," Omi clarified, once again moving to check on the two people in his care, "About why they were out there in this condition, about what they were trying to escape from, about who they are."
"I don't know," Aya sighed, "We'll have to wait until one of them wakes up to find out."
As if on cue, a groan alerted them to the fact that the girl was waking up again, hopefully this time better rested. They wanted some answers, if possible.
"How long have I been out?" the girl asked, not yet opening her eyes, but reaching up to massage her forehead with her hands, as though she had a headache. Omi rummaged around though his pockets, quickly pulling out a small bottle of aspirin, in case she needed it.
"Only about two hours," he answered, opening the bottle in his hands, "Do you have a headache?"
"Just a bit," came her honest reply. Omi helped ease her into a sitting position, "Aya-kun, could you get a glass of water?" Once again, Aya stood silently and left the room, returning within a minute with the desired object.
"Thank you, Aya-kun!" Omi smiled, before turning back to his patient, "Here you go."
"Thanks," she spoke, before quickly downing the pain medication with a gulp of water, "How's Yuo?"
"He'll be fine. He's sleeping now."
"Why were you running?" Aya's unexpected question that cut through Omi's kind assurances caught the girl off-guard. It took her several seconds to find her voice again, with Omi attempting to protest in the background about his teammate's rather harsh treatment towards their injured patients who still needed some rest.
"Yuo-kun was injured and needed help," she eventually replied, "I was simply trying to find someone…"
"Then why not go to the hospital? Why go and look amongst the civilians?" Aya interrogated, "What were you running from?"
"I can't tell you." Her reply caused Aya to narrow his violet eyes more than usual. She was being uncooperative. Did she not realize how dangerous she was making this situation for herself and her companion at this point?
"What can you tell us?" Omi asked, trying to stop an ice storm before it started. The girl paused, as if thinking everything over.
"There's something after us," she whispered finally, looking rather guilty about spilling the information to them, "There are some people trying to keep us safe, but we got separated a while ago. Yuo was injured, I couldn't fight by myself and protect him, and we needed to get somewhere safe. That's really all I can say. In fact, I've probably already said too much."
Omi and Aya looked at each other, gazes serious. It was obvious that she was hiding something, and it was more than likely something big and important. They understood that the girl was trying to tell them everything she thought she could and was clearly trying to keep them uninvolved in her and her companion's problems. However, all the holes she was leaving in what she told them spelled trouble, and a lot of it. How should they proceed at this point?
"Ano…" The wavering uncertainty in her voice caused the two of them to look at her.
"I need to call our protectors and make sure they're all right," she explained quietly, looking down at the floor as though she were extremely embarrassed by all this, "May I use your phone?"
Aya nodded once in affirmation, "Follow me."
He led her to the kitchen and grabbed the phone from where it rested. He held it out to her and the girl took it with a grateful smile. It took her a moment to figure out its exact working process, but it was not long before she had dialed the number she need and positioned the device comfortably between her right shoulder and the side of her face, her fingers only barely resting against it's surface.
There was a long pause as she just stood there with the phone pressed against her ear, apparently waiting for someone to pick up.
"Eeto, Tzusuki-san," she finally spoke, her voice extremely hushed, "It's Rei. Please, answer the phone. Yuo-kun is hurt really badly and… I'm really scared. Where are you? Are you and Kurosaki-san all right? Why won't you…?"
She was cut off as Aya grabbed the phone from her, his eyes narrowed in annoyance at her ramblings, "They're safe and being taken care of. Call this number back when you get this." And with that he hung up.
"Eh?! What was that for?!" the girl asked, a streak of anger finally showing itself in her character. Aya was not surprised. She had to have some kind of strength to have gotten her companion and herself so far.
Not feeling the need to answer such a pointless inquiry, he simply walked from the kitchen and into the front room. The girl trailed close behind him.
"I asked you a question," she huffed, as though that somehow explained everything.
"Your babbling wasn't helping anything," Aya finally sighed, figuring that it would just be better to give her a quick answer that lacked explanation. He sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, a clear indication that he wanted to be left alone.
"I'm scared, damn it! Can you show some understanding of that?!" Apparently she wasn't going to take the hint: ignoring it must be working better for her mood.
"Quiet your voice, Rei, you'll wake the neighbors," was his only reply. He refused to sink so low as to get into a meaningless fight with a teenage girl. A frightened teenage girl whose friend was currently injured and lying unconscious in the other room and had two protectors who were currently MIA. He would not do something so immature as to bicker with her. Let her let off some steam, and then there could be some peace.
Rei, seeming a bit surprised that Aya had used what he guessed was her name, paused for a brief moment and, when she spoke again, it seemed that she had actually listened to him, "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful. I guess, I just…"
A sudden knock at the door interrupted them before Rei could say anything more. Aya looked at it with hard eyes. Something didn't feel right.
"Maybe it's Tsuzuki-san!" Rei sighed in relief, making her way quickly towards the door. Aya's hand on her shoulder stopped her, "Eh? What is it, Aya-san?"
"Go back and help Omi with your friend," the redhead ordered, glaring at her unintentionally. The look in his eyes left no room for argument and Rei soon found herself quickly padding down the hallway and out of sight without the slightest of protests.
Staring at the door as whoever was behind it knocked again, Aya moved forward, placed his hand on the knob, and turned it, his mind going through every possible guest. None came close to the real thing.
The man dressed all in white at the door was creepy to say the least. Not that he really looked creepy, unless you found someone who was unnaturally beautiful such, but the feeling kind of oozed from him in some strange vibe, causing the ever cliché prickling on the back of the neck. It was enough to put Aya on alert instantly.
"May I help you?" he asked the man, more than willing to show his annoyance at this third intrusion of the evening. The man smiled, which only furthered Aya's immediate distrust of him, for some unknown reason. Not that he would show it, of course, but still.
"I was just wondering if you have seen two children running down the street this evening?" the stranger spoke as he flipped some silver strands of hair out of his eyes, "One of them was quite injured, probably being carried by the other. I work at the local hospital, and they are two of my patients. I have no idea why, but they ran off…"
Something about the story rang false to the redhead. It sounded reasonable, really, when placed with what was already known about the two kids. Both were not in the best shape, clearly hospital worthy, and, according to Youji, the girl had begged him not to take them to the hospital. Logically, it made sense. Intuitively, however, was another matter entirely. And Aya's gut was telling him this man was lying. Besides, this did not seem like the man, Tsuzuki, whom Rei had tried to contact earlier.
"I'm sorry, but I haven't," he spoke, his facial expression never changing in the least, "We've been inside all evening."
"Of course, sorry to bother you..." The strange man's voice faded out, leaving room for Aya to supply his name, if he so chose. Figuring that it would throw of any suspicions the doctor had as to his truthfulness, the redhead did as expected, "Fujimiya Aya."
"I see. I am Muraki Kazutaka. It was a pleasure to meet you, Fujimiya-san," the white doctor smiled, as he readjusted the glasses on his face, "You wouldn't mind contacting me if you do happen to see them?"
"Aah," Aya replied, his tone clearly that of agreement. He waited with forced patience as the man took out a pen and paper and elegantly began writing out his number. As if on some sick, ironic cue, the phone rang.
"Excuse me a moment," Aya nodded, before gently closing the door and walking over to the offending party that had, actually to his relief, interrupted his conversation with the stranger at the door. He quickly picked it up, "Moshi moshi."
"Where's Rei, you bastard?" the voice on the other end sounded rather angry. He heard another voice in the background, scolding the first and telling him to calm down. Aya was positive he heard the name 'Tsuzuki' in the exchange. However, with the disturbing doctor standing outside the door, the redhead was not about to ask.
"Aah. A friend recommended you," he spoke calmly into the phone, "What kind of bouquet do you need?"
"Eh?" This confused exclamation was quickly followed by a 'give me that, you idiot' in the background.
"What's the situation?" the new voice asked, clearly demanding an immediate answer.
"Aah," Aya repeated, hoping this one would be able to clue into his code terms faster than the other, "Monkshood would be good for that and we have quite a bit of it in stock. Yarrow as well. Also, it would look nice with some blue periwinkle and feverfew." There was a long pause, and what sounded like a hushed discussion happening between the two men on the other end of the line.
"That sounds fine. Can you supply us with directions?"
"Aah. What area are you in?"
After hastily supplying the quickest direction route, Aya hung up the phone and went back to the door. Muraki was still standing there, waiting patiently for his return.
"I'm sorry," the redhead apologized for his random disappearance.
"Not at all," the doctor replied, handing him the piece of paper with his number, "I am grateful for your willingness to help me locate my lost patients. It would be a terrible loss if anything should happen to them." And, with those final words that sent a shiver up Aya's spine, Muraki bowed his head ever so slightly in goodbye.
"Of course," Muraki spoke, as he turned and began walking away, "I wouldn't mind if you called me anyway, Fujimiya-san." The man paused and turned to look over his shoulder at Aya, who was feeling more and more perturbed by the second due to this man, which he had thought was no longer possible at this point. Staring at the redhead with his silver eyes not unlike a predator would stare at its prey, the man in white continued, "Your eyes remind me of the one I love."
And then he was gone. Aya wasn't sure where, or how, he had vanished so quickly, but he couldn't say he cared. He was just relieved the man, with his entire disturbing atmosphere, was gone.
Your eyes remind me…
What had he meant?
… of the one I love.
"Eh? Aya-kun?" Omi's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to see the youngest member of their team staring at him with worry, "Are you all right? Who was at the door?" There was a long pause as the redhead continued to stare outside.
"No one," Aya finally answered, closing the door and walking away.