It feels like I’ve met you…such a long time ago… A time so distant… Can’t remember it…
"Youji?"
A breath escaped his nose and mouth as he reached to touch the red hair that defied the wetness in it. The red head that owned that hair touched the pale hand and sighed, pulling himself closer to the other man.
"Nothing…" Youji answered, entangling his fingers in the red hair, "I was just thinking…that maybe I have met you before…this all happened…"
You feel the same way, don’t you?… That haunting déjà vu that just won’t let go… Clinging to the back of your head…
********************
Ran had just finished grocery shopping for the day and was on his way home. He was a bit glad that his senior year was almost over, it meant more time to devote to his job and more money for his sister’s tuition. Waiting on people in a hustle-bustle restaurant wasn’t his ideal job, but it paid well for a high school student like him who needed the money. He almost felt bored at the routine shouts of complaints from the customers, even though they varied everyday in levels of harshness.
Tucking the bag closer to his bosom, Ran began to jog home, hoping he didn’t stay out too long for his sister to start worrying. The September breeze chilled his unprotected hands and he sped up the jog. He still needed to find the bastard who stole his gloves at the restaurant. His leather loafers stepped over the dried and crumpled leaves on the sidewalk as he passed dark alley after dark alley on the nighttime streets of Tokyo.
Suddenly, a piercing sound was heard through Ran’s ears as he passed another alley. The sound was unfamiliar to the teenager’s ears, but it was unpleasant. It sounded of a splattering splash, like the time he saw a hen get butchered at his grandmother’s house in the countryside. His heart thumped against the bag, making the contents in it jump and dance in excitement. The sound was too mysterious to not look for its source. Ran stopped in his tracks and peeked into the last alleyway he passed.
A young man stood in the alleyway, his face grim with several droplets of blood on it, his eyes shielded by sunglasses. At his feet laid a corpse, mutilated by some strange weapon wound. A streetlight close by shone onto the thin object in the man’s hands, revealing its long flexible shape.
Hair…? No, wire…
Ran gasped quietly at the sight in front of him; his arms catching the almost slipping bag. He wanted to scream, but screaming would mean drawing attention to himself, drawing attention from this murderer. The man turned his head slowly towards the sound like a cat to its prey and glanced at Ran. It was then that Ran noticed that the man’s eyes were a dark green, despite his dark hair. The green eyes beheld a shimmering tint of gold in them, making them look cat like. Ran gasped again at the abnormality of the man and the murder and ran off. The man’s eyes followed him, but he didn’t move from his spot.
*******************
"Kudo," a voice interrupted Youji’s thoughts through his earring, "What’s wrong?" Youji shook his head of the blood on it before answering, "A citizen saw me, Persia-sama."
A humph, much like a puffing of a cigar, came through the transmitter and Youji perceived his next "mission."
"Kill him," Persia whispered, "Get rid of witnesses."
"Yes sir…"
*******************
The door slammed harshly as Ran smashed his back against it, gasping for breath. "Ran-Ani?" Aya peeked her head out from the kitchen to look at her shaken brother, "What happened??" Ran set the grocery bag down and patted his chest, trying to catch his breath. "I…saw…something…" he wheezed, "I…don’t know…what it…was…" Aya nodded and frowned at how frightened her brother was while helping him with the bags.
"I just hope…that it was an illusion or a movie shoot…" Ran muttered under his breath as he began to cook dinner. "Ran-Ani," Aya suggested, "Why don’t you go to sleep after dinner? You don’t look so well…" Ran nodded and let the small TV next to him flicker away. The screen crackled from twins to candy to shampoo and so on. It was monotonous, just like his life.
*******************
"Good morning, Fujimiya!" a classmate waved to Ran the next morning at school, "Have you heard? We’re having a transfer student coming!" Ran raised his head and looked at the boy, disinterested. It was never much of big news when new students came, cuz they flooded into this school almost every month. The bell sounded, indicating the start of class, and the teacher walked in.
"Class, today we have a new student coming here. He just transferred from England, so everyone be good to him," the young teacher announced. A tall man, as if on cue, walked in then, his long black jacket covering over his waist and connecting to his pants by two belts in the front. His brown hair was tied in a short poofy ponytail in the back of his head. As the student turned to face the class, his green eyes flashed a golden tint within.
"Hello," he said coldly, "Pleased to meet you. I’m Youji Kudo."
A smile.
Author’s rants: Another new and BORING fic from yours truly, Youko. Ah…this was inspired by maybe Team Bonet’s fic "Funny Little Mushrooms…" Don’t ask why, it just is. During this time, Aya (Ran) is around 17 or 18 (not in Crashers yet…), and Youji is probably 19 or 20, but he looks young enough to be in high school. At this time, Aya (Ran) is mellower; he is a bit more cheerful and rash whereas Youji is a bit bitter. You’ll see the reason of Youji’s changed when this fic ends. A note on the Japanese school year… A Japanese student starts a new school year in April, and it ends somewhere in December, and winter break is like summer vacation to them. At least that’s what I know… I may be wrong, so correct me if I am. This fic is going to go slow since I’m on finals right now and I’ll be leaving the county on the 10th of June… So please don’t kill me! (Although I think you’re cheering cuz you won’t have to ! put up with me…) Okay, ranted enough. Flames to youkofujima@hotmail.com. Weiss standard disclaimers apply.
