Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Kuroi ~ Shiroi ❯ a new fighter ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: PikaChan 
A new group of assassins challenges Weiß to a rumble, but Weiß is outnumbered.
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 299 | Status: Completed
A new group of assassins challenges Weiß to a rumble, but Weiß is outnumbered.
Anime/Manga: Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Self Insertion | Uploaded On: 08.21.2002 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 299 | Status: Completed
kuroi -- shiroi
by flyingpinkbunny
- chapter 1 -
"So. Dolphin. Do you have the files, or don't you?!"
Dolphin, a woman around the age of 20, smacked a manila folder on the small round table where the five assassins sat. She was quite tall, sporting lilac-coloured hair which was held back by a bandanna. A long scar ran across her right eye.
"That's 'em, Manta. Weiß. There's four of 'em, look like a bunch o' hicks to me." Her British accent was thick and heavy.
The well-built man opened the folder, shuffling through the papers within the folder. "Hn... cat's out of the bag now. Abyssinian, Siberian, Balinese, and Bombay. Poor little kitties..." His ebony eyes shone as he quickly scanned the papers. "Excellent work, Dolphin."
"What der I get for gettin' these for yeh?" the woman asked.
"A raise in pay," Manta said.
Dolphin nodded in satisfaction. Manta's eyes darted from Dolphin to the three other members of the assassin group Schabön. Manta was the leader of the group, tall and stocky. His hair was a deep burgundy in colour.
Swordfish, a slim blonde man, narrowed his eyes as he skimmed over the files. (So, we'll finally be rid of Weiß?) he signed. His hearing was perfect, yet he was mute.
"Yep. 'Been waiting a long time..." Hammerhead said from next to him. He was short yet muscular in form; a single lock of navy hair waved in front of his face.
The last -and youngest- member of Schabön, Piranha, cracked his knuckles. He was a weak and frail little boy, no older than fourteen. "Too bad for them, really. We'll have nobody to kill after we're done with them."
"Don't be too sure of that, Piranha... it may take more than the five of us to be rid of them. Now, assignments... Swordfish. You take... Kudou Youji. Hammerhead, you'll square off against Hidaka Ken. Piranha, Tsukiyono Omi. I'll deal with the leader, Fujimiya Aya, myself." Manta said.
"Yer forgettin' someone," Dolphin said, crossing her arms. She was obviously annoyed.
"Not to worry, Dolphin. I have a feeling that you'll be scuffling with someone... more in your league." Manta said. His eyes narrowed into onyx-coloured slits.
*********************************************************** ********
"Oi! Omittchi! Keep those broads away from the petunias!"
Tsukiyono Omi attempted to shoulder through the small crowd of girls that had gathered around him, carrying a small pot of petunias. "Gah!"
Youji sighed, reaching over a few girls' heads and grabbing the pot from the youngest Weiß member. "Geez, sure is crowded today..." He set the pot down on a small shelf.
Hidaka Ken sprayed some irises with a small squirt bottle, then turned to look at the older man. "Tell me something I don't already know..."
Fujimiya Aya sighed as began spraying the front windows of the small shop. He, like the other three guys, had a small group of girls surrounding him. *What IS it with all of these girls...* he thought.
Without warning, the door to the Koneko no Sume Ie opened, and in walked a young man. He was quite small in composition, and had a long black ponytail hanging down his back. Several of the females invading the shop turned to look at him.
"Say, isn't that Kanzaki Shiro?"
"Yeah... what a bishounen, ne? He should work here."
"Wow, he's kawaii. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?"
Shiro ignored the slight buzz of the girls, and picked up a small pot of blue-and-violet snapdragons. "I'd like to buy these," he said. A few of the girls swooned; his voice was soft and breathy.
"Finally, an actual customer..." Aya said. "Look, if you're not buying anything, clear out. We DO have limited space in here."
Shiro quickly dug one thousand yen out of his pocket, and handed it to Youji, who was now manning the counter. He then turned on his heel and walked out of the Koneko no Sume Ie.
"... Wow, the guy didn't even get his change," Youji said, blinking.
"I'll take it to him," Omi offered, glad to have an excuse to get away from all of the girls. He grabbed the five-hundred-fifty yen out of Youji's hand and ran out the door after Shiro.
Akari looked down at the flowers in her hand and sighed. "Damn. Why did I buy these? If they mean strength, and I have none, what the hell kind of use are they to me then?" she whispered to herself. "Oh well... at least they're pretty..."
"Yo! Dude!" a voice called from behind her.
She stopped walking, startled, and put on the boy act again. She whirled around to see who it was. "What?"
"Hey, you forgot your change in there," the boy said, dropping five-hundred-fifty yen into her left hand.
"Er... arigatou," she said, deepening her voice like she had in the shop.
"No problem," the boy said, smiling. "Hey, don't you go to my school?" he asked.
Akari blushed. "I think so... you're Tsukiyono Omi, ne?"
"Hai."
"... Kanzaki Shiro," Akari said, shifting the pot of snapdragons to her left arm, and extending her free hand.
Omi took it and shook it warmly. "The shop's been really busy lately, sorry about all of those girls. They're in here every day, only a few of them actually buying something. And even then, they're buying them as a gift for me or something. Ever had that happen to you?" he asked.
Akari blushed. "Er, no."
"So... who're the flowers for? Secret girlfriend?"
Akari turned a bit redder. "Um, kinda..."
"Ah. Well, I guess I'll see you at school, then. I'd better get back to the shop."
"Uh... okay..."
Omi grinned. "See ya!" With that, he turned around and ran back in the direction that he came.
Akari watched his retreating back, turning an even deeper crimson. *He has a nice personality, Omi... poor guy, it must be hard on him to have all of those girls swarming all over him.*
Akari looked at her free hand, and smiled. She turned around and continued walking in the direction of her apartment.
She passed by a dark building, which was seemingly abandoned. She stopped for a moment to look in the window, seeing a small round table with a single light hanging overhead. "Wow... what a creepy place..." The front windows were tinted black. She quickly ran past the building.
******************************************************** ***********
"So. We're doing it tonight, then?" Hammerhead asked.
"Hai. We'd better prepare good, rumour has it that Weiß is quite strong. Better grab your weapons," Manta said.
"One step ahead o' yeh, boss," Dolphin said, holding up a pair of nunchucks.
Swordfish grinned smugly, twirling his javelin.
Hammerhead began loading his pistol with bullets, as Piranha took out a small pocketknife. Manta sneered, drawing a katana, much like the one that belonged to Abyssinian. "Then we're all set to go? Any questions?"
"Yo," Piranha said, sharpening the larger blade on his knife. "I saw some guy walking by here earlier. He stopped for a minute and looked through here, as if he knew what we were..."
"Good observation, Piranha. We'll get him too, if we have time."
(Let's go already, I'm getting impatient,) Swordfish signed.
With that, the five members of Schabön started to their destination, all cloaked in black.
*********************************************************** *********
"Guys," Aya began, "we have a mission."
The three other Weiß members all turned to look at the redhead as he replaced the phone.
"That was Manta, the leader of an assassin group called Schabön. I don't know how he got the number, but he sounded really pissed. He and his men want to fight, for some reason."
"So what you're saying is, there's this group of fish that we've never heard of out to kick our asses? Geez," Youji said.
"More or less. Omi, see if there are any files on them," Aya said to the youngest member of the group. Omi nodded and turned to his laptop.
"I've heard of Schabön... Supposedly, they organized way back in the 70's. The founder of the group was Akai Houou, a then-famous assassin," Ken said. "Rumour has it that he had killed 471 people in fourteen countries..."
"Sounds like a real bloodhound," Omi said. "Ah. Here it is, Schabön." The three older men crowded around Omi and peered at the screen of his laptop. "There are five members. Dolphin, Swordfish, Hammerhead, Piranha, and the leader... Manta. That's all the info listed here, but they're wanted in three major cities."
"Damn. The five of them, versus the four of us? That's not very even, is it?" Youji complained.
"Wait, there's more... Dolphin is a woman, so she shouldn't be too tough."
Youji immediately perked up. "She's mine, then."
*********************************************************** ********
The front windows of the dark building shattered as a tall figure leapt through them. The face was shadowed by a disheveled mass of silvery-violet hair. Slender hands probed the many surfaces of tables and filing cabinets, finally coming to rest on a small manila folder labeled "top-secret". The tall figure picked up the folder, briefly flipping through it's contents. The folder disappeared into the royal-blue trenchcoat upon the bandit's back. In it's place came a small Swiss army knife.
The largest blade of the knife plunged into the preserved wood on the table, carving deep gouges that formed two letters: NE.
A flip of the knife, and the thief was quickly out of the room. Moments later, it returned, this time holding a wad of bills that had been carelessly left in the other room. Stuffing the bills into the trenchcoat, the figure again leapt through the front window, quickly scrabbling to the rooftop of the building via the downspout. From there, it leapt from roof to roof, in the direction of the upcoming rumble.
********************************************************** *********
Violet eyes met black as the leaders of the two gangs drew their weapons.
"I take it you're Manta?" The crimson-haired man queried.
"And you must be Abyssinian," the other replied. "Men," -a faked cough from the female- "... and lady... assume positions! It's time to clash."
Bombay shot an array of darts at the tiny boy standing before him. The small figure dodged them easily, due to his agility and small build. He charged Bombay, knife in hand.
Piranha raised the knife over his head, ready to slash his opponent. Bombay countered by raising his bowgun to block the blow. He shot a single dart at Piranha, who quickly veered out of the way. The younger boy winced as the dart grazed his leg, sending a light spray of blood into the air.
He landed quickly, delivering a swift kick to Bombay's jaw.
"What's the matter? Afraid to speak to your opponent?" Balinese asked the silent man as his wire wrapped around the wrist of Swordfish. Swordfish sneered, driving the butt of his javelin into Balinese's hip.
Balinese quickly countered by tugging on the wire, pulling his adversary to the ground. Swordfish's eyes darted to the area behind Balinese, where a slender figure dove toward him.
Balinese's eyes followed Swordfish's, and he quickly ducked out of the line of fire as Dolphin came upon him with her nunchucks. She crashed into the pavement where Swordfish lay.
(Baka!) Swordfish quickly signed.
"You moron!" Dolphin countered. Swordfish flashed an obscene gesture at her.
A lone figure was perched on the rooftop above the scuffle, looking down with ice-blue eyes. Her digits tightened around the weapon in her hand, which extended to her elbow. *Not yet...*
The shortened figure of Hammerhead seemed to float in the air as he landed on the shoulders of Siberian, delivering a blow to his rival's chest with his feet. Siberian doubled over, causing Hammerhead to fall off of his shoulders.
Hammerhead hit the ground roughly, his chin scraped up and bleeding. He quickly drew a small pistol from his back pocket, and fired a few shots at Siberian.
He evaded the shots, and kicked the gun from Hammerhead's hand, then picked up the 4'11" figure, lifting him off the ground. He drew back his fist, ready to strike with his bugnuks, when Hammerhead dealed a swift kick to Siberian's stomach.
The two ruby-haired combatants seemed to fly through the air, katanas carving great arcs. Sparks flew as the cold steel of the blades collided in midair. Both men landed on the ground, backs turned away from each other. Manta turned around and glared at his opponent, at the same instant that Abyssinian did.
Manta sneered. "You're good. Very good. It seems that we are equally matched in skill... I just might lose to you." He snapped his fingers, and Abyssinian felt a chain wrap around his throat.
Dolphin smirked from behind him. "Not so tough now, are yeh, lil' kitty?"
Manta smirked equally. "Nice work, Dolphin. Now I'll finish him off!" He raised his sword, ready to strike.
Dolphin sneered as the steel katana came down on her prisoner.
But it didn't quite make it.
Dolphin and Abyssinian felt themselves pinned to the ground by an unknown force.
"What?!" Manta shouted in disbelief.
Abyssinian blinked as the small figure of Nagareboshi Akari stood before him. "Looks like I got here just in time," she said, straightening the baseball cap on her head. She briefly wiped a hint of blood from the spot where Manta's katana had nicked her. She had once again taken the identity of Kanzaki Shiro.
"You...!"
Bombay's head quickly turned in the direction of the confusion, blocking yet another blow from Piranha's pocketknife. "Shiro?!"
The leather tightened around Akari's wrist. "Not being very fair, are you? Don't you know it's rude to gang up on a person when their guard is down?!"
Manta scowled. "You little...! Dolphin, get rid of this pesky brat!" he spat.
"With pleasure!" Dolphin charged Akari with her nunchucks.
Akari began a double backflip, kicking her opponent in the chin as she went. She quickly struck with her tetsume, making three gashes in Dolphin's arm- one for each blade on her weapon.
Manta growled in anger. "Men! ..and lady. Stop. We've roughhoused enough for tonight."
Swordfish, Hammerhead, Piranha, and Dolphin quickly crowded behind their boss. "Now. Young man, you're pretty good. What say you join us? Schabön could take you far."
"I wouldn't listen to him if I were you," Abyssinian said. "Your fighting skill is far superior to any of theirs. Your speed and agility would be a great asset to our group."
Akari eyed the leaders of the two parties. "I trust no one," she said. "However... I cannot forgive anyone who brings shame to the Kanzaki name. Abyssinian, I accept your offer."
Manta's smiling face turned to an expression of silent rage. "Fine, then. We'll make you see otherwise, later." With that remark, the five assassins disappeared from view.
Akari cracked her knuckles. "Lucky I showed up when I did. You could have been hurt really badly." She turned to the four males.
Balinese crossed his arms. "I'll say we were lucky, uh..."
"Kanzaki Shiro. Call me Calico."
"Heh. Well, Calico... you'll make a pretty good addition to the team, that's for sure," Siberian said.
Calico nodded in agreement.
******************************************************* ************
"Interesting story you've got there," Aya said, setting down the teacup on the small table in front of him.
"Yeah. Six years of Judo? Pretty impressive, no wonder you're so fast," Ken said.
Akari crossed her arms and leaned back against the sofa. "Oh, I've always been pretty agile... must be in the family blood."
"So, Shiro..." Omi began, "where did you say you lived?"
Akari turned to the sandy-blonde-haired boy. "..Nowhere, really. I only recently moved to this city, and am staying with a kind old woman. Only thing is, I have to help her with chores in return for the room."
"You could stay here with us if you wanted to," Youji said. "After all, you're part of the team. And I'm sure you don't want to place a burden on the little old lady, she probably has enough troubles..."
"... I couldn't."
"Seriously, it's alright. We've already got four guys in the house, surely one more wouldn't hurt a bit!" Ken said cheerfully.
"And you could help out with the Koneko too," Omi said.
Akari pondered for a minute. Sure, it would mean dealing with all of those girls in the shop, and helping out with chores, not to mention the numerous missions. But it would also mean that she would have a better place to stay. And she wouldn't be troubling dear old Umi-san anymore. But could she really trust the four guys? *They all seem pretty friendly... I guess it couldn't hurt. But... what about...* Akari finally decided to accept their offer.
"Great!" Youji said. "It's been kind of dull around here lately, hope ya don't mind."
Akari smiled. It really wouldn't hurt.
************************************************************ ********
"Damn it," Manta swore, "if that little bastard hadn't come in and interfered, I could've had the fool Abyssinian."
"Oh, hush. 'Least you didn't get swiped by them blades of 'is," Dolphin said, wrapping the wounds on her arm. "Lil' bugger..."
(So now what do we do?) Swordfish signed. (They probably think we're cowards now, after us running away like that.)
"We'll get them back..." Hammerhead said.
"At least now we're fairly even," Piranha said. "We're equal in numbers."
"Shut up, boy! It's alright when the odds are on our side! Who cares about equality?! That boy, Kanzaki Shiro, could be dangerous," Manta said. "There's something strange and familiar about that kid... but I can't quite put my finger on it."
(He's a woman.)
"Swordfish, what the hell are you talking about?"
(He looks enough like one. Besides, I can tell. I know women.)
Dolphin scowled. "That bloke's gone off 'is rocker..." she said under her breath.
The five assassins continued their light bickering well into the night.
*********************************************************** *********
"Hey, guess what?! The hot new guy, Kanzaki Shiro.... he's got a job at the Koneko!"
"No WAY?!"
"Wow, another cute guy! We should go there!!"
"Yeah, c'mon!"
"Five... four... three..."
"What are you counting, Omittchi?" Youji sked the younger boy.
"Two..."
The doors of the Koneko burst open as the usual group of girls ran in for the "daily glomping", as Omi called it.
"... One."
This time, however, the girls crowded around Akari, who was sweeping.
"Wow, he's so cute!"
"Isn't he though?!"
"... Are we missing something?" Ken asked, sweatdropping.
"I think all of the girls have taken a liking to the new guy..." Youji said, following suit. "I feel kinda left out, now."
"Say, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Can I have your number?"
Akari tried to block out the girls' questions and comments as she swept. "Sorry girls, but... there's more to me than meets the eye."
"Ooo, he's so mysterious!"
"I like mysterious guys..."
Akari felt a hand upon her shoulder, and lost it. "ENOUGH!" she shouted. All of the Koneko went quiet, and she could feel the burning of the stares being thrown at her. "... Sorry. I'm claustrophobic."
"... Well, if he's gonna be like that..."
"Actually, Shiro's right," Aya said. "As I've told you countless times, if you're not buying anything, leave."
The group of girls seemed surprised and a bit saddened, as they slowly filed out the door.
Youji let out a low whistle. "Whoa. How come they never leave when we yell like that?"
"Heh. Shiro-san's obviously respected," Omi said. "I like him better already."
Akari dropped the broom. "I... I think I need to be alone for a while..."
"Hey, I don't blame you. It's kind of hard to keep your cool when all of those girls keep hitting on you," Ken said, patting Akari on the back. "Go and cool off for a while."
Akari nodded. "Thanks," she said, and she quickly left the room. Omi followed her involuntarily.
"... Is it just me, or is everyone acting weirder than usual today?" Aya asked to no one in particular, rubbing his temple.
"Not just you," Youji said.
"Yo, Shiro, you okay?" Omi asked.
Akari looked at the ground.
"... Guess not. All of those girls tend to get to you. It's always like that, you'll just have to get used to it I guess..."
Akari nodded in agreement. "Sorry I'm being trouble on my first day at work."
"Hey, it's no problem. ... But what'd you mean by 'there's more to me than meets the eye'?"
Akari's heart skipped a beat. "You... you wouldn't understand."
"..Why not?"
Akari sighed. Obviously, there was no way out of this. Or maybe... "It's... it's better that... you didn't know. I don't want to risk hurting you, or the other guys..."
"Well, okay... you know that you can talk to us if you need to. We're your friends."
Akari nodded slowly. Sooner or later, she had to tell them. It would get really bad if they found out on their own. After a few minutes of pondering, she finally resolved to tell them about her in one week. *I hope that's not too long...*
********************************************************* ***********
"Stop! THIEF!"
The lavender-haired figure again ran through the semi-crowded city as the day gave way to evening. In it's arm was a loaf of bread from the nearby bakery. An extensive plait trailed behind it, like a long ribbon that moved like a cat's tail after the body's every move. It finally came to rest around the corner of a dark building.
The person let out a laugh as the owner of the bakery ran past, yelling the aforementioned phrase. The laugh itself was quite high in pitch, seemingly female in comparison to the baker's shouts.
The sunglasses tinting the person's plum-coloured eyes disappeared, as gloved hands brushed some strands of violet-hued hair away from the slender face.
"Too easy." Now speaking a bit louder, the tall figure walked down the alley, casually breaking off a bit of bread and nibbling on it a bit. "Geez, it's just one puny lil' loaf of bread... people in this city sure like to make a fuss over it." The voice was distinctly female.
Having finished off the bread, several minutes later, the bandit crept behind the bakery. She stealthily slid in through the back door, drawing a rather large knife.
Again, the knife plunged into the surface of the front counter of the bakery. There was too much of a riot going on outside for anybody to notice the intrusion. The woman carved deep valleys into the counter, again forming two simple but elaborate letters: NE.
"Nusutto Eiki was here... heh." Eiki put away the long knife, and turned around to walk out the door. "See you, space cowboy." With that, she was out the back door.
by flyingpinkbunny
- chapter 1 -
"So. Dolphin. Do you have the files, or don't you?!"
Dolphin, a woman around the age of 20, smacked a manila folder on the small round table where the five assassins sat. She was quite tall, sporting lilac-coloured hair which was held back by a bandanna. A long scar ran across her right eye.
"That's 'em, Manta. Weiß. There's four of 'em, look like a bunch o' hicks to me." Her British accent was thick and heavy.
The well-built man opened the folder, shuffling through the papers within the folder. "Hn... cat's out of the bag now. Abyssinian, Siberian, Balinese, and Bombay. Poor little kitties..." His ebony eyes shone as he quickly scanned the papers. "Excellent work, Dolphin."
"What der I get for gettin' these for yeh?" the woman asked.
"A raise in pay," Manta said.
Dolphin nodded in satisfaction. Manta's eyes darted from Dolphin to the three other members of the assassin group Schabön. Manta was the leader of the group, tall and stocky. His hair was a deep burgundy in colour.
Swordfish, a slim blonde man, narrowed his eyes as he skimmed over the files. (So, we'll finally be rid of Weiß?) he signed. His hearing was perfect, yet he was mute.
"Yep. 'Been waiting a long time..." Hammerhead said from next to him. He was short yet muscular in form; a single lock of navy hair waved in front of his face.
The last -and youngest- member of Schabön, Piranha, cracked his knuckles. He was a weak and frail little boy, no older than fourteen. "Too bad for them, really. We'll have nobody to kill after we're done with them."
"Don't be too sure of that, Piranha... it may take more than the five of us to be rid of them. Now, assignments... Swordfish. You take... Kudou Youji. Hammerhead, you'll square off against Hidaka Ken. Piranha, Tsukiyono Omi. I'll deal with the leader, Fujimiya Aya, myself." Manta said.
"Yer forgettin' someone," Dolphin said, crossing her arms. She was obviously annoyed.
"Not to worry, Dolphin. I have a feeling that you'll be scuffling with someone... more in your league." Manta said. His eyes narrowed into onyx-coloured slits.
*********************************************************** ********
"Oi! Omittchi! Keep those broads away from the petunias!"
Tsukiyono Omi attempted to shoulder through the small crowd of girls that had gathered around him, carrying a small pot of petunias. "Gah!"
Youji sighed, reaching over a few girls' heads and grabbing the pot from the youngest Weiß member. "Geez, sure is crowded today..." He set the pot down on a small shelf.
Hidaka Ken sprayed some irises with a small squirt bottle, then turned to look at the older man. "Tell me something I don't already know..."
Fujimiya Aya sighed as began spraying the front windows of the small shop. He, like the other three guys, had a small group of girls surrounding him. *What IS it with all of these girls...* he thought.
Without warning, the door to the Koneko no Sume Ie opened, and in walked a young man. He was quite small in composition, and had a long black ponytail hanging down his back. Several of the females invading the shop turned to look at him.
"Say, isn't that Kanzaki Shiro?"
"Yeah... what a bishounen, ne? He should work here."
"Wow, he's kawaii. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?"
Shiro ignored the slight buzz of the girls, and picked up a small pot of blue-and-violet snapdragons. "I'd like to buy these," he said. A few of the girls swooned; his voice was soft and breathy.
"Finally, an actual customer..." Aya said. "Look, if you're not buying anything, clear out. We DO have limited space in here."
Shiro quickly dug one thousand yen out of his pocket, and handed it to Youji, who was now manning the counter. He then turned on his heel and walked out of the Koneko no Sume Ie.
"... Wow, the guy didn't even get his change," Youji said, blinking.
"I'll take it to him," Omi offered, glad to have an excuse to get away from all of the girls. He grabbed the five-hundred-fifty yen out of Youji's hand and ran out the door after Shiro.
Akari looked down at the flowers in her hand and sighed. "Damn. Why did I buy these? If they mean strength, and I have none, what the hell kind of use are they to me then?" she whispered to herself. "Oh well... at least they're pretty..."
"Yo! Dude!" a voice called from behind her.
She stopped walking, startled, and put on the boy act again. She whirled around to see who it was. "What?"
"Hey, you forgot your change in there," the boy said, dropping five-hundred-fifty yen into her left hand.
"Er... arigatou," she said, deepening her voice like she had in the shop.
"No problem," the boy said, smiling. "Hey, don't you go to my school?" he asked.
Akari blushed. "I think so... you're Tsukiyono Omi, ne?"
"Hai."
"... Kanzaki Shiro," Akari said, shifting the pot of snapdragons to her left arm, and extending her free hand.
Omi took it and shook it warmly. "The shop's been really busy lately, sorry about all of those girls. They're in here every day, only a few of them actually buying something. And even then, they're buying them as a gift for me or something. Ever had that happen to you?" he asked.
Akari blushed. "Er, no."
"So... who're the flowers for? Secret girlfriend?"
Akari turned a bit redder. "Um, kinda..."
"Ah. Well, I guess I'll see you at school, then. I'd better get back to the shop."
"Uh... okay..."
Omi grinned. "See ya!" With that, he turned around and ran back in the direction that he came.
Akari watched his retreating back, turning an even deeper crimson. *He has a nice personality, Omi... poor guy, it must be hard on him to have all of those girls swarming all over him.*
Akari looked at her free hand, and smiled. She turned around and continued walking in the direction of her apartment.
She passed by a dark building, which was seemingly abandoned. She stopped for a moment to look in the window, seeing a small round table with a single light hanging overhead. "Wow... what a creepy place..." The front windows were tinted black. She quickly ran past the building.
******************************************************** ***********
"So. We're doing it tonight, then?" Hammerhead asked.
"Hai. We'd better prepare good, rumour has it that Weiß is quite strong. Better grab your weapons," Manta said.
"One step ahead o' yeh, boss," Dolphin said, holding up a pair of nunchucks.
Swordfish grinned smugly, twirling his javelin.
Hammerhead began loading his pistol with bullets, as Piranha took out a small pocketknife. Manta sneered, drawing a katana, much like the one that belonged to Abyssinian. "Then we're all set to go? Any questions?"
"Yo," Piranha said, sharpening the larger blade on his knife. "I saw some guy walking by here earlier. He stopped for a minute and looked through here, as if he knew what we were..."
"Good observation, Piranha. We'll get him too, if we have time."
(Let's go already, I'm getting impatient,) Swordfish signed.
With that, the five members of Schabön started to their destination, all cloaked in black.
*********************************************************** *********
"Guys," Aya began, "we have a mission."
The three other Weiß members all turned to look at the redhead as he replaced the phone.
"That was Manta, the leader of an assassin group called Schabön. I don't know how he got the number, but he sounded really pissed. He and his men want to fight, for some reason."
"So what you're saying is, there's this group of fish that we've never heard of out to kick our asses? Geez," Youji said.
"More or less. Omi, see if there are any files on them," Aya said to the youngest member of the group. Omi nodded and turned to his laptop.
"I've heard of Schabön... Supposedly, they organized way back in the 70's. The founder of the group was Akai Houou, a then-famous assassin," Ken said. "Rumour has it that he had killed 471 people in fourteen countries..."
"Sounds like a real bloodhound," Omi said. "Ah. Here it is, Schabön." The three older men crowded around Omi and peered at the screen of his laptop. "There are five members. Dolphin, Swordfish, Hammerhead, Piranha, and the leader... Manta. That's all the info listed here, but they're wanted in three major cities."
"Damn. The five of them, versus the four of us? That's not very even, is it?" Youji complained.
"Wait, there's more... Dolphin is a woman, so she shouldn't be too tough."
Youji immediately perked up. "She's mine, then."
*********************************************************** ********
The front windows of the dark building shattered as a tall figure leapt through them. The face was shadowed by a disheveled mass of silvery-violet hair. Slender hands probed the many surfaces of tables and filing cabinets, finally coming to rest on a small manila folder labeled "top-secret". The tall figure picked up the folder, briefly flipping through it's contents. The folder disappeared into the royal-blue trenchcoat upon the bandit's back. In it's place came a small Swiss army knife.
The largest blade of the knife plunged into the preserved wood on the table, carving deep gouges that formed two letters: NE.
A flip of the knife, and the thief was quickly out of the room. Moments later, it returned, this time holding a wad of bills that had been carelessly left in the other room. Stuffing the bills into the trenchcoat, the figure again leapt through the front window, quickly scrabbling to the rooftop of the building via the downspout. From there, it leapt from roof to roof, in the direction of the upcoming rumble.
********************************************************** *********
Violet eyes met black as the leaders of the two gangs drew their weapons.
"I take it you're Manta?" The crimson-haired man queried.
"And you must be Abyssinian," the other replied. "Men," -a faked cough from the female- "... and lady... assume positions! It's time to clash."
Bombay shot an array of darts at the tiny boy standing before him. The small figure dodged them easily, due to his agility and small build. He charged Bombay, knife in hand.
Piranha raised the knife over his head, ready to slash his opponent. Bombay countered by raising his bowgun to block the blow. He shot a single dart at Piranha, who quickly veered out of the way. The younger boy winced as the dart grazed his leg, sending a light spray of blood into the air.
He landed quickly, delivering a swift kick to Bombay's jaw.
"What's the matter? Afraid to speak to your opponent?" Balinese asked the silent man as his wire wrapped around the wrist of Swordfish. Swordfish sneered, driving the butt of his javelin into Balinese's hip.
Balinese quickly countered by tugging on the wire, pulling his adversary to the ground. Swordfish's eyes darted to the area behind Balinese, where a slender figure dove toward him.
Balinese's eyes followed Swordfish's, and he quickly ducked out of the line of fire as Dolphin came upon him with her nunchucks. She crashed into the pavement where Swordfish lay.
(Baka!) Swordfish quickly signed.
"You moron!" Dolphin countered. Swordfish flashed an obscene gesture at her.
A lone figure was perched on the rooftop above the scuffle, looking down with ice-blue eyes. Her digits tightened around the weapon in her hand, which extended to her elbow. *Not yet...*
The shortened figure of Hammerhead seemed to float in the air as he landed on the shoulders of Siberian, delivering a blow to his rival's chest with his feet. Siberian doubled over, causing Hammerhead to fall off of his shoulders.
Hammerhead hit the ground roughly, his chin scraped up and bleeding. He quickly drew a small pistol from his back pocket, and fired a few shots at Siberian.
He evaded the shots, and kicked the gun from Hammerhead's hand, then picked up the 4'11" figure, lifting him off the ground. He drew back his fist, ready to strike with his bugnuks, when Hammerhead dealed a swift kick to Siberian's stomach.
The two ruby-haired combatants seemed to fly through the air, katanas carving great arcs. Sparks flew as the cold steel of the blades collided in midair. Both men landed on the ground, backs turned away from each other. Manta turned around and glared at his opponent, at the same instant that Abyssinian did.
Manta sneered. "You're good. Very good. It seems that we are equally matched in skill... I just might lose to you." He snapped his fingers, and Abyssinian felt a chain wrap around his throat.
Dolphin smirked from behind him. "Not so tough now, are yeh, lil' kitty?"
Manta smirked equally. "Nice work, Dolphin. Now I'll finish him off!" He raised his sword, ready to strike.
Dolphin sneered as the steel katana came down on her prisoner.
But it didn't quite make it.
Dolphin and Abyssinian felt themselves pinned to the ground by an unknown force.
"What?!" Manta shouted in disbelief.
Abyssinian blinked as the small figure of Nagareboshi Akari stood before him. "Looks like I got here just in time," she said, straightening the baseball cap on her head. She briefly wiped a hint of blood from the spot where Manta's katana had nicked her. She had once again taken the identity of Kanzaki Shiro.
"You...!"
Bombay's head quickly turned in the direction of the confusion, blocking yet another blow from Piranha's pocketknife. "Shiro?!"
The leather tightened around Akari's wrist. "Not being very fair, are you? Don't you know it's rude to gang up on a person when their guard is down?!"
Manta scowled. "You little...! Dolphin, get rid of this pesky brat!" he spat.
"With pleasure!" Dolphin charged Akari with her nunchucks.
Akari began a double backflip, kicking her opponent in the chin as she went. She quickly struck with her tetsume, making three gashes in Dolphin's arm- one for each blade on her weapon.
Manta growled in anger. "Men! ..and lady. Stop. We've roughhoused enough for tonight."
Swordfish, Hammerhead, Piranha, and Dolphin quickly crowded behind their boss. "Now. Young man, you're pretty good. What say you join us? Schabön could take you far."
"I wouldn't listen to him if I were you," Abyssinian said. "Your fighting skill is far superior to any of theirs. Your speed and agility would be a great asset to our group."
Akari eyed the leaders of the two parties. "I trust no one," she said. "However... I cannot forgive anyone who brings shame to the Kanzaki name. Abyssinian, I accept your offer."
Manta's smiling face turned to an expression of silent rage. "Fine, then. We'll make you see otherwise, later." With that remark, the five assassins disappeared from view.
Akari cracked her knuckles. "Lucky I showed up when I did. You could have been hurt really badly." She turned to the four males.
Balinese crossed his arms. "I'll say we were lucky, uh..."
"Kanzaki Shiro. Call me Calico."
"Heh. Well, Calico... you'll make a pretty good addition to the team, that's for sure," Siberian said.
Calico nodded in agreement.
******************************************************* ************
"Interesting story you've got there," Aya said, setting down the teacup on the small table in front of him.
"Yeah. Six years of Judo? Pretty impressive, no wonder you're so fast," Ken said.
Akari crossed her arms and leaned back against the sofa. "Oh, I've always been pretty agile... must be in the family blood."
"So, Shiro..." Omi began, "where did you say you lived?"
Akari turned to the sandy-blonde-haired boy. "..Nowhere, really. I only recently moved to this city, and am staying with a kind old woman. Only thing is, I have to help her with chores in return for the room."
"You could stay here with us if you wanted to," Youji said. "After all, you're part of the team. And I'm sure you don't want to place a burden on the little old lady, she probably has enough troubles..."
"... I couldn't."
"Seriously, it's alright. We've already got four guys in the house, surely one more wouldn't hurt a bit!" Ken said cheerfully.
"And you could help out with the Koneko too," Omi said.
Akari pondered for a minute. Sure, it would mean dealing with all of those girls in the shop, and helping out with chores, not to mention the numerous missions. But it would also mean that she would have a better place to stay. And she wouldn't be troubling dear old Umi-san anymore. But could she really trust the four guys? *They all seem pretty friendly... I guess it couldn't hurt. But... what about...* Akari finally decided to accept their offer.
"Great!" Youji said. "It's been kind of dull around here lately, hope ya don't mind."
Akari smiled. It really wouldn't hurt.
************************************************************ ********
"Damn it," Manta swore, "if that little bastard hadn't come in and interfered, I could've had the fool Abyssinian."
"Oh, hush. 'Least you didn't get swiped by them blades of 'is," Dolphin said, wrapping the wounds on her arm. "Lil' bugger..."
(So now what do we do?) Swordfish signed. (They probably think we're cowards now, after us running away like that.)
"We'll get them back..." Hammerhead said.
"At least now we're fairly even," Piranha said. "We're equal in numbers."
"Shut up, boy! It's alright when the odds are on our side! Who cares about equality?! That boy, Kanzaki Shiro, could be dangerous," Manta said. "There's something strange and familiar about that kid... but I can't quite put my finger on it."
(He's a woman.)
"Swordfish, what the hell are you talking about?"
(He looks enough like one. Besides, I can tell. I know women.)
Dolphin scowled. "That bloke's gone off 'is rocker..." she said under her breath.
The five assassins continued their light bickering well into the night.
*********************************************************** *********
"Hey, guess what?! The hot new guy, Kanzaki Shiro.... he's got a job at the Koneko!"
"No WAY?!"
"Wow, another cute guy! We should go there!!"
"Yeah, c'mon!"
"Five... four... three..."
"What are you counting, Omittchi?" Youji sked the younger boy.
"Two..."
The doors of the Koneko burst open as the usual group of girls ran in for the "daily glomping", as Omi called it.
"... One."
This time, however, the girls crowded around Akari, who was sweeping.
"Wow, he's so cute!"
"Isn't he though?!"
"... Are we missing something?" Ken asked, sweatdropping.
"I think all of the girls have taken a liking to the new guy..." Youji said, following suit. "I feel kinda left out, now."
"Say, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Can I have your number?"
Akari tried to block out the girls' questions and comments as she swept. "Sorry girls, but... there's more to me than meets the eye."
"Ooo, he's so mysterious!"
"I like mysterious guys..."
Akari felt a hand upon her shoulder, and lost it. "ENOUGH!" she shouted. All of the Koneko went quiet, and she could feel the burning of the stares being thrown at her. "... Sorry. I'm claustrophobic."
"... Well, if he's gonna be like that..."
"Actually, Shiro's right," Aya said. "As I've told you countless times, if you're not buying anything, leave."
The group of girls seemed surprised and a bit saddened, as they slowly filed out the door.
Youji let out a low whistle. "Whoa. How come they never leave when we yell like that?"
"Heh. Shiro-san's obviously respected," Omi said. "I like him better already."
Akari dropped the broom. "I... I think I need to be alone for a while..."
"Hey, I don't blame you. It's kind of hard to keep your cool when all of those girls keep hitting on you," Ken said, patting Akari on the back. "Go and cool off for a while."
Akari nodded. "Thanks," she said, and she quickly left the room. Omi followed her involuntarily.
"... Is it just me, or is everyone acting weirder than usual today?" Aya asked to no one in particular, rubbing his temple.
"Not just you," Youji said.
"Yo, Shiro, you okay?" Omi asked.
Akari looked at the ground.
"... Guess not. All of those girls tend to get to you. It's always like that, you'll just have to get used to it I guess..."
Akari nodded in agreement. "Sorry I'm being trouble on my first day at work."
"Hey, it's no problem. ... But what'd you mean by 'there's more to me than meets the eye'?"
Akari's heart skipped a beat. "You... you wouldn't understand."
"..Why not?"
Akari sighed. Obviously, there was no way out of this. Or maybe... "It's... it's better that... you didn't know. I don't want to risk hurting you, or the other guys..."
"Well, okay... you know that you can talk to us if you need to. We're your friends."
Akari nodded slowly. Sooner or later, she had to tell them. It would get really bad if they found out on their own. After a few minutes of pondering, she finally resolved to tell them about her in one week. *I hope that's not too long...*
********************************************************* ***********
"Stop! THIEF!"
The lavender-haired figure again ran through the semi-crowded city as the day gave way to evening. In it's arm was a loaf of bread from the nearby bakery. An extensive plait trailed behind it, like a long ribbon that moved like a cat's tail after the body's every move. It finally came to rest around the corner of a dark building.
The person let out a laugh as the owner of the bakery ran past, yelling the aforementioned phrase. The laugh itself was quite high in pitch, seemingly female in comparison to the baker's shouts.
The sunglasses tinting the person's plum-coloured eyes disappeared, as gloved hands brushed some strands of violet-hued hair away from the slender face.
"Too easy." Now speaking a bit louder, the tall figure walked down the alley, casually breaking off a bit of bread and nibbling on it a bit. "Geez, it's just one puny lil' loaf of bread... people in this city sure like to make a fuss over it." The voice was distinctly female.
Having finished off the bread, several minutes later, the bandit crept behind the bakery. She stealthily slid in through the back door, drawing a rather large knife.
Again, the knife plunged into the surface of the front counter of the bakery. There was too much of a riot going on outside for anybody to notice the intrusion. The woman carved deep valleys into the counter, again forming two simple but elaborate letters: NE.
"Nusutto Eiki was here... heh." Eiki put away the long knife, and turned around to walk out the door. "See you, space cowboy." With that, she was out the back door.