TITLE: Song of the Gentle Wind

CHAPTER: Three

BY: Simply Kim

GENRE: Yaoi (Angst/Humor)

CAST: The guys from Weiß and Schwarz… who else? ^_^

DISCLAIMERS: The series I'm referring to do not belong to me… ^_^

* * *

CHAPTER 3: Kami Wa Taisetsuna Mono O Kizutsukeru

He could not breathe.

"Ohayo, Ran-kun!" Omi called out, waving at him as he sauntered with obvious unease towards an overcrowded table. "Come, let me introduce you to these people!"

He complied, nodding his head in agreement... but still... he could not breathe.

He lowered his eyes to the ground, unable to look up at the cheerful faces gazing expectantly at him... well, almost cheerful faces looking up at him. There was one particularly shocked face peeking out from the sea of creamy flesh surrounding his normal line of sight...

It was the same face of the one who had helped him when he was lost yesterday.

He could not breathe.

* * *

Ran...

His name is Ran.

Crawford's initial shock faded as he scrutinized the man standing before them. Ran... I wonder what it means... It's probably something beautiful... as beautiful as he is...

He finally had a name - and with that, he was fully contented.

"Watashi wa Fujimiya Ran, desu." Came the deep and hauntingly melodic voice. It would not come as a surprise to him if this man would be enrolled in the Conservatory as a vocalist.

"Uh, hi, man!" Schuldig grinned awkwardly, slapping his hand playfully against the newcomer's back. "Nice to meet you - very nice, in fact! I'm Schuldig -"

"Guilty? Of what?" Ran looked at him with confused eyes.

Schuldig's eyes widened as he discovered that the new guy could speak German. He turned happily towards the others. "Hey Halteseile! Er spricht Deutsch!"

"Uh, Schuldig... come again?" Farfarello asked, looking quite clueless as to what his friend was saying.

"Schu-kun, even if Ran-kun knows German, it doesn't mean that we all do!" Omi sighed, exasperatedly.

Schuldig slapped his forehead soundly, letting the parted fingers slide down his face in irritation. "Okay." He said, taking in a deep breath. "Translation: "Hey guys! He speaks German!" Okay now, satisfied?" He glared at Farfarello. "You should know those sentences - I taught you a Deutsch!"

Farfarello just tipped his head to the side and smiled smugly. "I was just teasing - and you fell for it."

"Let me at him! Let me at him!" The hotheaded German yelled, trying to punch the blonde in the face. "Stop holding me back, Omi - Nagi! I'll - eep!" he squeaked as a newspaper swatted him forcefully at the back of his head. He rubbed his mop of orange hair and glared at the one who whapped him vehemently.

"Thank you, Crawford." Farfarello grinned, his golden irises twinkling as he surveyed the damage it did to the grumbling musician.

"You're webcom." Crawford said, finishing his sentence with a sneeze. "Ow! It hurtd my lungbs..."

"Ouch." Nagi murmured, his eyes straying worriedly towards the dark-haired American.

That did it.

Soon, Crawford erupted into huge bouts of uncontrollable laughter. He clutched his sides, trying to alleviate the pain from laughing out too hard. He was so sure that everyone was looking at him as if he was insane, however, he was somehow surprised as a chuckle bubbled up Ran's lips, and he knew he was not the only one affected by the unexpected sound. Omi was looking up at Ran, very much teary-eyed, Nagi too... and he couldn't help seeing Farfarello and Schuldig's eyes looking at him rather fondly.

Who wouldn't look at him like that?

It was as if he laughed for the first time in years!

After his laughter subsided, Crawford made a promise to himself...

I WILL make you smile… as often as I could…

That's a vow, Fujimiya Ran.

* * *

"I think he's pretty cool, don't you think, Brad?"

Crawford nodded, unable to make a coherent statement, deciding to just stay silent to avoid saying things he did not want to say aloud.

"Er ist etwas, den Sie aufwärmen konnten... Ich gerade weiß nicht, warum er sich versteckt unter dieser Schablone von seinem..." Schuldig supplied, his features a mask of amazement, patting the seat at his side, silently inviting Farfarello to join him in his afternoon break. "Ahh... Ich hasse Montag Nachmittage! Professor Flutesnoot gibt uns seinen Mörder Aufbautests! "

"You know Schu... I'm starting to hate that German part of you..." Farfarello grimaced as his friend went on with his Deutsch tirade. "When you start speaking it, you turn creepy!"

"Ah!" Schuldig smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head apologetically. "I was just carried away..."

"You usuaby arb." Crawford retorted, pulling on the brakes, honking at the stupid stoplight, and sneezing in rapid succession. "Ow..." he muttered darkly, frowning.

"Maybe you should get something for that cold, Brad."

He glanced with surprise at the apparent concern his otherwise apathetic friend showed him. He gave him a wan smile. "Thanks for the concern Jei." He said softly, his eyes misting over from contentment, and of course, from the blasted cold. He was secretly glad that Farfarello gave him permission to address him by his name. He knew how hard it was for him, and it came with a huge amount of surprise that the Irishman actually allowed it... He allowed him and Schuldig to call him by it... when he would scalp anyone who would utter the word even in its minutest sound.

He was truly lucky that he considered him a friend.

"Don'tb dworry tboo mub boub nmeb - I'b gwoingb do bed fineb tbomorrob, trustb nmeb."

Silence.

"You know, Farf, I have a bad feeling about this trusting thing." Schuldig's jade eyes narrowed as he stared hard at Crawford.

Farfarello shook his head, one corner of his mouth quirking in a semblance of a smirk.

"Tell me about it."

* * *

"Oi, Nagi-chan." Omi said tiredly. "What do you want to do now?"

He was lying on a huge four-poster bed, an arm slung to cover his eyes from the stinging light of the overhead chandelier shining directly down at him.

Nagi, on the other hand, fiddled with the green bedsheets, gazing at Omi with unreadable eyes. "I don't know, really... I'm too tired after all that -" He blushed, unable to continue.

Omi suddenly straightened and gave him a lingering look, then, quietly reached out and touched his hair. "I don't know either. It became too intense, and we couldn't help but push through... Sorry for being so rough."

"Iya, it's alright. It wasn't a big deal - the pain was worth it... very much worth it." Nagi smiled batting the hand fingering his bangs gently. "Maybe we could just lie here and sack out for awhile, and maybe later..."

The boy's words were suddenly cut off by a particularly loud thud behind the suite's door. They both exchanged glances and crept quietly towards the direction of the sound. Omi was in the lead, motioning Nagi to follow. Once there, the blonde swung the door open, and gasped to find a familiar body lying swirly-eyed on the carpeted floor.

"Uh... Ken-kun? *Poke* *Poke* Are you alright?" Omi called falteringly, poking the boy on the ribs.

Nagi's gaze was full of worry, as he hovered around his elder friend. "Ken-san?"

Without warning, Ken's hand shot up in the air, making the two of them jump back in surprise.

"Ack!"

"Yikes!"

Then, the hand stiffened, after a few moments of complete silence, it dropped down the owner's side...

Nagi could not make much out of the words being uttered by the fallen boy...

Except...

"Hentai..."

* * *

"Aya-chan..."

There was much loneliness in that voice.

Youji crept up closer to the door in an effort to know what was going on. He had been searching for Ken for over half an hour when he heard someone crying. He investigated; being the busybody that he was...

... Well, not exactly busybody... I was just concerned...

Yeah right, go on; convince yourself that you're doing this to help.

But I'm really -

Tomorrow, by the time the cock does the traditional cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning, I would bet that everyone knows of what you're gonna discover tonight!

You know what?

What?

You suck - so just shut up!

He was at the end of his internal debate with his conscience when he heard the cried getting louder.

What the -

"Aya-chan... Why did you leave me? You're the only family I ever had..."

"When otousan and okaasan left us alone as orphans, you were the only one left for me to protect - the only one I could acquire support from...

I vowed to protect you - but I didn't... I was too weak to protect you, I -"

And Youji could not bear to hear anymore.

He ran away to his room.

Inside, he plopped on the bed and closed his eyes. "Ran went through a lot... and still he remained strong, if not nonchalant, about it. He shows great courage - and I admire it in him."

It was in the past - and yet, why does it feel like the shadows that governed their lives before is still there in his?

* * * * * * * *

TBC

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait people, got my midterm week coming up, so I'm really sorry to come up with just this for the next chapter. I promise to do well on the next! Please review! THANKS! ^_^