Imperfection By Yui Seta ^_~ Ken looked up in surprise to see a figure standing outside the shop. In a few minutes they would be closing, and these were one of the rare times that he gets to close it down personally. Persia seemed to be quiet these days, not sending any of them to missions. Ken wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. But he was glad that he could take some time off from his darker responsibilities. The bells that hung overhead the door tinkled as the figure decided to come in. Ken looked up. It was a young lady, with a serious look on her face and was her clothes were all black, except for a light blue cardigan thrown around her shoulders. Ken approached her, to tell her that the shop would be closing soon, but she could always come tomorrow. But the girl walked right past him and towards the displayed flowers. Ken was not far behind. "Anou..." he began. "Excuse me, miss, but we're closed." The girl ignored him and took a survey around the shop, as if looking for something. Ken repeated what he said, but she ignored him. She walked towards one shelf. "These flowers will still be here," he reassured her, and stepped in front of her. "I can reserve them for you. I'm really sorry, but this shop is really quite particular about it's closing hours." He glanced at the clock. 10:20. He wished Yohji would come and charm the girl into leaving. But he knew that the others were probably asleep. The girl didn't seem to see him, but after a few seconds, looked up into Ken's face. Her dark eyes seemed to be boring holes into him but she said nothing. She stepped past him and went her way towards the flowers. Ken, although being a gentleman, couldn't let this girl have her way around the shop. Rules were rules, female or not. "Look, miss, if you're afraid to go home..." "You have time for girls who go here and buy nothing, but have no time for customers who can pay?" the girl finally said, her voice quiet but adamant. Ken hung back. She glared at him and went on looking closer to the flowers. Well, a voice in his head finally said, what harm could a girl do, and what harm could closing the store later than usual do? So he let the girl be and sat down the desk, picking up a book named A Bag of Marbles. It was a very interesting book, about two Jewish boys, aged 10 and 12, and how they survived WWII. Ken liked it extremely, but he never really got the chance to finish it, except for now. He liked to read about struggles, and sometimes got too absorbed in reading it. Somehow, his life also seemed like a war that made no sense at all, and he was like a ten-year-old, trying to survive and dodging danger that came to him. He was trying to read it now, but he was also watching the girl at the corner of his eye. What a strange girl, he mused. And he was in a flowershop were girls who after him were always hanging out. He always thought that it was weird that simple schoolgirls should know so much about them. But this girl, dark haired, dark-eyed and wearing black clothes...she was very unusual. She seemed to ignore all the other pretty flowers that were in full bloom and focus much attention to those which were just leaves. There was a point where she stayed on a plant too long that Ken got bored and went back to his book. And, as predicted, he got absorbed, and was almost annoyed when she came up to the counter. He didn't like to be interrupted when reading. "Are you through already?" He asked. She nodded and he glanced at the pot that was in front of him. It was a dying orchid, which Omi was tending to. "You're going to take this?" "Yes." She replied. He shook his head. "I'm afraid you can't take any plants that aren't on the shelf." He told her. The plants that were in need of special tending were put in another box. "I want to take this orchid, please." She said firmly, and handed her money. But Ken shook his head. "It's not a healthy plant," he admitted. "There's a lot of others that could flourish in any garden, but I'm afraid we're not ready to sell this orchid right now." She didn't seem to hear him. "You sell plants, don't you?" she asked, in which he nodded. She looked at the orchid. "This maybe dying, but it is still a plant. Therefore, it is still up for a sale, is it not?" "If you want it that much..." he shrugged, and took her money. A dying orchid wasn't much, so he handed her the change. At least he'll have something unusual to tell the others the next day. The girl promptly signed the receipt, took the orchid, and left the shop. Ken picked up the receipt and saw the name neatly written: Akiko Yamada. ~~**~~ "Yeah, that was weird." Yohji agreed as he went about arranging the flowers carefully on the shelf. Ken had narrated the strange meeting and Yohji was wondering if Ken had just dreamed it all. But the latter was sure that it really happened. Yohji sighed. "Well, feisty girls might be my type, but not weird ones." "She must be a biologist or something." Omi concluded. "I mean, people won't usually look closer to plants like that. When they see it's pretty, they buy it." "Well, if all people liked to buy dying flowers like she did, we'd have an easier job." Yohji laughed. "But of course," he eyed the next woman that went in the door, "pretty flowers for pretty ladies." Ken wasn't really worried about the girl, but he hoped she got home safe, as the streets were dangerous in that time of the night. But before he got the chance to ask her, she had already disappeared. "Oh, Ken..." Granny was shuffling towards Ken, the cat trailing behind her. She gestured towards the door. "Something arrived for you." "What could it be?" Ken thought to himself as he mentally went through all the other things he should do, and what he might have asked to be delivered that slipped through his mind. Omi was helping Granny sit down again and Ken stepped out of the shop. It was still early morning, so the usual crowds of girls weren't here...yet. He looked around, and his eye fell on the table standing outside the shop. On the table was an orchid plant, and he recognized it as the orchid that the Yamada girl bought. But he almost did not recognize it. For now, it was in full bloom, with three branches of purple orchid blossoms hung heavily, their sweet scent filling the air. Ken picked it up, almost reverently, and saw a small note attached carefully on one of the branches. In neat handwriting it said: Now it could flourish in any garden. It was not signed. Ken went in the shop, carrying the orchid. "Wow!" Omi's eyes grew wider. "That's a nice one! Where'd you get it, Ken?" "Believe it or not, it was one of the dying orchids. The girl who bought it sent it back." He replied, still a little surprised. Granny just nodded her head absentmindedly Yohji was still flirting with the girl to notice. "She must be so good to improve that such into this!" Omi said thoughtfully. "Yes, she most probably is a biologist. We could benefit from scientists if they made more improvements using their knowledge." Ken was silent, still looking at the orchid, the scent starting to fill the room. Then he heard the door open, and he expected it one of the girl hordes, but it was just one of their regular customers, Michiru. "Good morning, Ken-kun, Omi-kun, Yohji-kun!" she called cheerfully. She greeted Granny, and exchanged smiles with Ken and Omi. Then she saw the orchid. "Oh my, that's so pretty!" she gasped, and hurried towards the beautiful blossoms. She looked at the two guys. "My hat's off to you guys, you really outdone yourselves this time. I'll take it, any price you ask!" "Oh, wow, that's quite an offer." Omi began, but, seeing the look on Ken's face, shook his head. "But, we just got this orchid, and we're not going to sell it for now. Why don't you just come back later?" Michiru's face fell, as she wasn't used to being refused by her friends. But she immediately brightened up again. "Oh, well if you say so. Anyhow, I'm here to get the daisies I reserved the other day." "Oh, right this way," Omi replied. "They've been waiting for you..." The noisy laughter of schoolgirls woke Ken up from his reverie. They were all heading towards him, Omi and Yohji. He groaned inwardly. Here, the real challenge begins. "Good morning, Ken!" one of the girls called out. "Oh, that orchid is so beautiful, is that for me?" "Huh? Oh this." Ken grinned, and held it up. "Oh this? No, it's not for sale." He put it up on a shelf, and turned back to the girls. He tolerated them, because sometimes they bought flowers, but sometimes they just get on his nerves. He looked past them for a moment, and then saw Akiko, looking into the shop. She then met his eyes and backed off. Ken suddenly pushed his way through the crowd of girls and sprinted towards the door. He ran out and scanned the street. She was gone. Akiko ran as fast as she could, and almost knocked down a passerby in the process. She stumbled back, and looked at the man. It was a red-haired guy wearing an orange turtleneck. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, my fault." With that, she hurried on. The guy just went on walking. "Aya! What took you so long to buy coffee and a loaf of bread?" Yohji complained as Aya put down the bread and coffee on the table. They were gathered around a little room they agreed to be their kitchen. No one cooked much, except for Omi, but he didn't, because they assigned Aya to buy food instead. "You may do pretty well in missions, but you're really, really bad with chores, you know what I mean?" "Where's Ken?" Omi asked, looking around. "He doesn't want to eat breakfast?" "Breakfast? It's almost lunch!" Yohji replied as he bit into a piece of bread. "Anyway, I think Kenny-boy's been too caught up with the weird girl he met last night." "Anyone who can make a plant healthy again in that short a time is kind of strange." Omi agreed. "I wonder what she did." "I wonder if she's cute." Yohji commented. "If she's as cute as she is weird, maybe I could change my mind about her." "Well, if she's as pretty as you're a womanizer, she'd be gorgeous." Ken's voice cut in through the conversation. "Well, look who's back from the dead." Yohji grinned. "I lost my appetite, with all the girls a little while ago." Ken admitted but got himself a cup of coffee. "Ken has a thing for girls with strange green thumbs, now." Yohji announced loudly. He poked Ken with his elbow, smiling mischievously. "Admit it. You've been researching on her, haven't you?" "Well, yes." Ken admitted. "But not with the reasons you think!" "Are you wondering how she did that thing with the plant, although you've never heard it before?" Omi cut in helpfully. Ken nodded. "Ken's right. It really is pretty weird." "So, what. You're trying to make more jobs for us?" Yohji shook his head. "No, siree. I'm not going anywhere unless I'm paid." "Or fed." Ken added wryly, Yohji reacted, and Omi laughed. Aya was still silent. ~~**~~ Akiko had finally reached her home. For some reason, she felt terrified when Ken saw her. She felt like a culprit of some sort. She opened the gates and ran the walkway to the great oak doors leading to the mansion. Usually, Akiko would rather have walked the walk, lined with Sakura trees, but now she felt like she had to escape something. As she was climbing up the stairs, she tripped, and crashed to the cold marble. A knifelike pain stabbed her heart and she clutched her chest, breathing hard. She had no time. "But...I can't! I can't!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. She never felt being so alone till now. The pain subsided and she stood up. Before entering the doors, she glanced back to the walkway. And she knew her time would soon come and she would have no other choice. There were no others she could trust. ~~**~~ "So, is everybody here?" Manx's low voice asked, as she surveyed the dark room. Seated around were now the members of Weiss Kreuz, and she nodded as they played the tape. Persia's silhouette appeared on the screen. "Weiss Kreuz, I have a mission for you." Persia began. "So what else is new?" Yohji muttered under his breath, but he kept listening. "Her name is Yamada Akiko." Pictures of the girl Ken had just met flashed on the screen. "She's a biogenetic engineer, and been living alone here for sometime, in the famous Sakura mansion." The picture of the mansion appeared on the screen. "She has been making some breakthrough discoveries these last three years, but for some reason, has not released it to the press. It seems that these discoveries can change many lives for good." Ken remembered the dying orchids. "For this reason, Takatori is after her. She has asked the help for Weiss to keep these discoveries in secret, and preventing it to fall into wrong hands. Manx will give you the details, and I give the rest up to you." Then the screen went blank, and Omi approached it to take the tape. "You mean we're doing a BODYGUARDING mission?" Yohji asked, appalled. "Has Persia's opinion of us gone so low?" "Yamada Akiko..." Omi muttered, and he turned to Ken. "Isn't she the girl we were talking about? The one who had improved the condition of a dying orchid plant dramatically?" "What's a mission is a mission." Manx shrugged her shoulders at Yohji. "You'll get paid for this, anyway." "How does Yamada know the existence of Weiss?" Aya suddenly asked. The room went silent as what he said began to sink in. "Has she asked Persia for the protection of Weiss or has Persia be the one who has volunteered us?" "Are you trying to imply that Persia is not as trustworthy as before?" Manx narrowed her eyes, but Aya remained as he was. "Just answer the question, Manx." Ken said. The coincidence of meeting Akiko before the mission was given was too much of a coincidence for him. Apparently the others were thinking the same thing as well. Manx, seeing the looks that the guys were giving her, sighed heavily. She threw her red hair over her shoulders before speaking. "We're kind of wondering of that ourselves." She crossed her arms and surveyed the room. "For some reason, Yamada was able to contact Persia, and she said that she knew of Weiss' more detailed existence, and how he was connected to this group." "So Persia had no option but to agree with what she asks for." Omi concluded. "She wasn't really threatening us." Manx said slowly. "But she's also an important person. She knows that Takatori is after her, press release of her discoveries or not. She's heard that Takatori's been into biogenetics and of what monstrous things he's been doing. She's afraid that what she knows might be able to help him." "But the discoveries she has could make her an instant celebrity, with the limelight on her, Takatori can't get any nearer." Yohji said. "She's not taking any chances." Manx replied. "I've heard of what she did to that orchid. And if she could do something like that, I have to agree that she has to be protected from Takatori." "So, it's settled, then." Aya stood up from where he was seated. "Count me into the job." Ken nodded gravely. "Me, too." Omi added. "Well..." Yohji shrugged. "When it has something to do with protecting girls, count me in." Manx nodded. "I expect you to report to Persia immediately." ~~**~~ Akiko stared long and hard into the fireplace, feeling that perhaps maybe in summer, this house will always be so cold. She tightened her hold on her shawl, and folded her legs as she settled on the couch. She looked around the room, surrounded by plants, and she didn't feel so lonely anymore. It's as if she were surrounded by friends, and she felt safe. She suddenly remembered that she had asked some strangers for protection, and wondered if they had agreed. If they refused this mission, she certainly couldn't blame them. Her thoughts wandered as she loosened her hold on her book. She was woken up from her reverie by the doorbell. What she was thinking as she stood in front of the flowershop came back to her: could she trust them? Ken made sure that the mini microphone hidden in his coat was attached properly. He shifted on one leg, and tapped his leg. The Sakura walk was so steep, that the motorbike had no way of getting up here. So he walked. A few moments after he had rung the doorbell, the huge oak doors opened, and he was surprised to see Akiko's face peek out. He was kind of expecting a butler or a maidservant, as he usually met with big houses like this. But it seemed that she was living here alone. He glanced up at the mansion. It was huge. She recognized him, and blinked. "Yes?" "Delivery for Miss Akiko Yamada, 24 long-stemmed blue roses." Ken held up a phony receipt. "I never sent for any blue roses." Akiko replied. "You must be mistaken." "Nope, it says here. Akiko Yamada, up here in the Sakura mansion." Ken grinned innocently. "That must be you, right? There's only one Sakura mansion here." "Oh, all right." She could afford those, anyway. "If I ordered those, you know, they wouldn't be cut. I'd rather have them in a pot." She took the blue roses and went inside. "Come on in." Ken shrugged and made a sign to Omi, who was nearby. He made sure his microphone was attached properly one more time and went in. ~~**~~ Akiko gently put the roses in a pail with some water and smiled. "There you go." She whispered to them before going out to meet Ken. When she walked into the living room, he wasn't there. She walked outside, and he wasn't there either. Could he have lost himself? She wondered to herself, then he'd have a hard time trying to get back here. She went up the stairs. "Mr. Delivery Man? Excuse me, sir." She called out, but only her echoes answered her. "Now, where could he be?" She noticed that one of the sliding doors to the garden was open and she hurried to see if he was there. Fortunately, he was, and admiring all the beauty, illuminated by moonlight and artificial light, which she put there, so she could enjoy the flowers any time she wished. "Mr. Delivery Man..." she began, and Ken started. He turned to her, laughing apologetically. "I'm sorry," he began. "But this garden is so beautiful that I couldn't help myself..." She smiled. "It's alright. I'm glad someone can appreciate these flowers, even though you're probably surrounded by them everyday." "So, I'm here for the bill." She went on. "Oh? Huh? Yeah, the bill!" he groped in his pockets for the damned bill. He hurried up the stairs to give it to her. She scanned it and nodded. "It's more expensive than I thought. I have to get some more money in my room. Are you sure you want to stay here?" "No, I'll go inside. I don't want to intrude your privacy any longer." She shrugged. "Sure. Whatever you want." She was back to her cold front again. She disappeared into the house, and he immediately contacted Yohji, who was stationed nearest to the room. "She's going to the room to get more money. Watch out for anything weird happening. And if she's changing clothes, don't peek." "Geez, you even have to tell me THAT?!" Yohji's voice was adamant. "Okay, got it." Ken walked into the living room, and it was hard not to notice that it was decorated with plants of every kind. Some venus flytraps were even resting on top of the fireplace. "This place is almost like the flowershop..." he muttered to himself. "And almost as big, too." He went to look at some photographs resting on a small table, which was adorned by tulips. Upon closer inspection, he saw that these were baby pictures. He recognized it of course as Akiko. She was in the arms of man who closely resembled her, which he concluded was her father. He took the smallest picture of father and daughter and tucked it into his jacket. This could prove useful in the future. He was still looking at the pictures, and he was wondering why there Wasn't any pictures of her mother. Did she die when Akiko was young? He was wondering. And where could Akiko's laboratory be? His thoughts were cut by a scream coming from the direction where Akiko's room was. He sprinted up the stairs and ran towards the left wing. Smoke had already filled the hallways. "Akiko-san!" he shouted, but he heard nothing but the crackling fire. He hurried towards where the smoke was coming from, and almost choked with the thick, black clouds of smoke that the fire produced. He suddenly stopped and realized that the fire had started to spread rapidly. He immediately contacted Yohji. "Yohji! Where's Akiko?" he asked, his eyes looking everywhere, trying to locate the girl. "Don't worry, she's with me." Yohji replied. "I couldn't contact you earlier. Better you leave the house immediately. Over." "Okay." Ken nodded. He left quickly. ~~**~~ "Yesterday, a fire occurred at Sakura manor, once owned by the famed Dr. Yamada. It started at 8:00 in the evening and ended at 10:00 the same evening. The cause of the fire is still unknown, as the authorities say that the mansion was thoroughly burnt down. It's only resident, Miss Akiko Yamada, is missing, presumed dead. It is still being investigated. As for other news..." Akiko woke up with these words echoing in her head. She bolted up, and touched her face. But...that woman on TV said that she was dead! But, why was she here? She looked around. It was a bedroom, and a place she had never been before. She vaguely remembered that she heard an explosion somewhere near her room, and everything went black. "Akiko-san?" a familiar voice greeted her. She looked up in surprise to see the delivery man of last night standing at the doorway. She looked at him in confusion, before she could form the words, "What happened?" "Your house burnt down, and you're here in the house where my friends and I stay." He explained gently, to placate the girl. But she didn't seem to be bordering on hysteria. She took it quietly and got out of bed. "Are you telling me that my house really got burnt down?" she asked sadly. He nodded. She hid her face for a moment, for she considered it shameful to show too much emotions in front of a stranger. So many memories burnt down with that house. "You saved me, didn't you?" she then said. Ken was silent. "I'd like to thank you." She went on. And then she laughed a bit. "I haven't even paid for those blue roses yet." "It's okay." He shrugged. "So, will it be okay if you stay with us for a while?" Ken asked. She nodded. "Now I'm sure that someone's after me." She looked at him with her dark eyes and turned back, starting to fix the bed. "I hope you're someone I could trust." Ken grinned. "You can bet on it." ~~**~~ "So, she's awake already?" Omi asked Ken, peering into the room through a crack of the door. "Strange. She hasn't been moving from that chair for an hour now." "She has a lot to think about." Ken replied, and Yohji pushed him out of the way to look at Akiko. "Is it me or she was cuter than last night?" he whistled. "Hey, stop looking at her like she was some display!" Ken exclaimed. With this, Akiko looked up and they were discovered. She stood up and opened the door. "You could just knock if you want to come in." she said quietly. "I don't own this house, so you don't have to sneak around." "Oh...oh...Sorry for disturbing you." Yohji winked. "But we were just so worried." "I see." She gave him a half-smile. "I'm fine. Thanks to Ken." "By the way, do you know how the fire started?" Omi asked. Akiko looked at him and shook her head. "I'm not sure yet." She replied. "And I don't even know your name." "Oh me? My name's Omi." He laughed, embarrassed for forgetting something so basic as that. She shook his hand, rather seriously. "And my name is Akiko. Akiko Yamada." She said. Omi was surprised that she was talking to him in such a serious way. No one usually did. "And my name is Yohji Kudou." Yohji bowed deeply. "I'm glad a pretty lady like you didn't get caught in that inferno." "Thank you, Yohji-kun." She replied. But her eyes said, "I wish I did." Seeing that she still looked a bit depressed, Omi grabbed her arm. "Come on, I'll give you a tour of our flowershop." ~~**~~ The shop was already filled with girls, and Akiko looked a bit left out with her black clothes. Everyone seemed to be so cheerful and noisy, and Akiko literally shrank back at the sight of so many people at the same time. She took a step back. "Come on, Akiko-san." Omi invited. "I'd like you to meet some of our friends. That's granny, over there, with the fat cat." He pointed to the darling old lady on one side of the shop. "And that's Michiru-san, one of our daily customers." And he gestured towards a brown-haired girl with some of her friends, laughing and talking. Akiko nodded, rather weakly. She was looking all around her in confusion. "Omi-kun..." she began. "I'm not really used to...being around so many people at one time." Her vision was beginning to blur, and she sat down on the nearest seat. "Are you okay, Akiko-san?" poor Omi didn't know what to do. She nodded, but swiveled away from the people, staring at the doorway. "Ayaaaa-kun, please tell me!" one of the blondes pleaded with Aya. She pointed to Akiko, who was sitting behind the counter, motionless. "Who's that girl?" "That's none of your business." He replied, his voice surly. "Just one of Omi's..." "Omi's what? Omi's girlfriend?" one of them wailed. "Oh no! Omi-kun has a girlfriend already!" "What?!" "Omi-kun??" A group of girls were already gathering around Omi and Akiko. "Omi-kun, who is she? Omi-chan, is she really your girlfriend?" Akiko was ready to cover her ears and bolt out of the door. But she glanced at Omi, who seemed to be at a loss for words. Trying to override her fear, she stood up and pasted a smile on her face. She turned to the girls. "Hello, how are you?" she asked, in the most charming way she could. "My name's Aki, I'm Omi's sister." She patted Omi on the shoulder. "You have to excuse my brother here, he's not used to too many people." "Sister? You don't look related." One of the girls commented. Omi sweatdropped, but Akiko, or Aki, just laughed easily. "I...I got my looks from my dad." Omi told them. "Ne-chan got hers from mom." He put up a fake smile. "I didn't know that my little brother had so many admirers!" Akiko went on. "Oh, you have no idea!" one girl agreed, and blushed. "Hey, she most probably is his sister." One girl whispered to another. "She looks way too old to be Omi-kun's girlfriend." "Hmm, that's right." "But we look alike, don't we?" She leaned towards Omi to show whatever resemblance they had. "Ha ha, that's right." Omi laughed nervously. Soon the girls dissipated and went to their respective crushes. It seemed that only Yohji was fully entertaining them. Omi grinned at Akiko, who was seemed to be more comfortable now. "I didn't know you were such a good actress!" he whispered to her. "I used to act a lot when I was little." She whispered back, but she said that in a matter-of-factly way. How friendly she could be when she chose to, Omi thought. But being a cold person is her natural personality. "I'm going back down now." She told him, and left. Omi nodded, but kept his eyes open to whatever she might be doing downstairs. After a few minutes, though, she went back up. Omi almost dropped the rag he was using cleaning the shelves in surprise. She had cut her hair, the shoulder-length ebony hair gone, replaced by a ragged look. "My hair got burnt during the fire." She explained. "So I cut it." For disguise, most probably. Aya thought to himself as he cast a glance over Akiko. Was she conscious that they were the people whom she had hired? But her empty eyes said nothing, so he put these thoughts away for now. ~~**~~ Now it was Yohji's turn to get dinner for everyone. He wanted to get back early, to prove Aya that it was so much better to be prompt than fashionably late. Well, he liked being fashionably late, but not when it included food. "Hehe, I love after school hours." He grinned to himself. "Then the girls could all hang out again." He was trying to remember one especially cute girl he met that morning, and what her name was. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that when he opened the door to the flowershop, his jaw suddenly dropped in shock. "What...what the hell is going on here?!!?" he exclaimed, looking around. Kitty in the House flowershop was always full... but always full with GIRLS. And now he can see no girls, but it was filled with men. He approached Ken, who was manning (pun not intended) the counter. Yohji still couldn't get over his shock. "What's the meaning of this? Suddenly MEN are interested in us?" "Not with us." Ken informed him and pointed towards a group of guys. "With her." And, true enough, Akiko was the one who was getting all the attention this afternoon. "And what's the name of this one?" one guy asked. Akiko's voice was so soft, however, that Ken and Yohji didn't hear the answer. "I can't believe this!" Yohji groaned, slumping on the chair, looking at the guys who were all eyeing Akiko. "Just a few hours and she's a heartthrob ALREADY?!" "They came way earlier than the girls. It's kind of nice, actually." Ken replied. "But the girls couldn't get in 'cuz this place was already packed." "I can't believe this." Yohji repeated, but it sounded more like a complaint. "These guys are all our female admirers put together." "So, you've seen all our new customers, Yohji-kun?" Omi's singsong voice came through the door. He seemed amused by Yohji's expression. "It seems that news of my cute sister has already spread pretty quickly." "Well, I'm glad that they came for Akiko and not for granny." Yohji grinned. "What? You're possessive of granny, too?" Omi cracked. Yohji gave him the that-wasn't-funny-enough look and handed the bills to Ken. Ken saw Akiko excuse herself from the crowd of guys and hurry downstairs. After she left, the flowers were literally grabbed off the shelves and handed to the counter to be bought. "Attach a card, please." The first guy said, and cleared his throat. "To the beautiful Aki-sama." He began. "Would you like to go out with me? I'm free anytime. Love, Kagara-san." Omi hid a snicker and Yohji frowned. What a bad pickup line! He would've gladly given advice, but, well, let the man make a fool out of himself. Akiko leaned weakly to the sink, as she rinsed her mouth. She didn't know that her body would react so strongly because of her claustrophobia. She stared long and hard at her reflection on the small mirror hanging overhead. She was so pale, and if she closed her eyes and just stood still, it would look like she was dead. "Akiko-san, are you alright?" Ken peered into the bathroom, and Akiko silently cursed herself for being so stupid as not to lock it. But she looked at him blankly and walked past him. "Where are you going?" he asked. "I'm going to take a walk." She said simply and took her coat. "Don't worry. I rarely get myself into trouble unless I want to." She glanced back at him. "Well, see you." "Akiko-san, wait!" Ken hurried after her. "Is something wrong? Were those guys bothering you?" She turned to him, and was surprised to see how concerned he looked, his blue eyes bearing into hers. "How long do you plan to let me stay here with every one of you?" "As long as it takes, as long as you are safe." Ken replied, taking a step towards her. "What's the matter? Tell me, Akiko." She shook her head, mute. She slowly backed from Ken, and ran away. ~~**~~ Akiko went on walking, not caring if Ken thought it would be dangerous for her to go out or not. She felt herself shiver and she realized that the wind was colder and stronger than before. She passed by a park, and watched the sunset by the trees. It was empty now, because of the cold weather. She closed her eyes and smiled. "'Tousan..." a familiar face was now smiling before her, and he reached out a hand. She wanted to reach out to it, but knew that she couldn't. But in the past, she always took his hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw the burnt rubble which had been her home for six years. It was on top of the hill, and she remembered that she didn't even get a picture of her father. "I see you're as prompt as always, Akiko-chan." Akiko turned to see Manx walking towards her. Manx smiled. "It's been a long time." "Manx..." she breathed. She smiled at the woman. These past few days had been filled with unfamiliar faces, and she was starting to hallucinate about her father again. Seeing Manx immediately set her at ease. The red-haired woman seemed to be glad to see her as well. The two went on walking, and Manx noticed the thoughtful look on Akiko's face. "Well," she began slowly. "Have you decided yet?" Akiko smiled and turned to her friend. "I should've taken your advice, Manx. Staying with the men Persia entrusts true justice has shown me some things about what I'm trying to do right now." "And that is..?" Manx prompted. Akiko's smile faded. "About how to be human." She replied simply. Manx grabbed Akiko's hand and searched the young woman's face with anxious eyes. "You mustn't say things like that, Akiko." She scolded her. "You shouldn't be thinking that you are lesser than anyone else." "If I stop thinking about it, the mission will be aborted." She reminded Manx. She felt her friend shiver, and slowly released her hand. "They're all fighting for what they believe in!" Akiko went on, smiling again. "And here I was, living my life selfishly. I have always thought that the ends justify the means. And I have fallen so far from who I used to be. I fooled them, I am trying to fool them now. I thought that I had discarded human emotions, not being one...but I was mistaken." She reached out for Manx. "Manx...Manx, help me." And Manx hugged the young girl, whom she had always considered as her sister, ever since that fateful day she had rescued her. "I didn't even get my remaining memories of my father...what kind of monster am I turning into?" Akiko cried softly. *~* second part under construction *~* Thanks again.