Date

By Mahou Lina

Mid-morning sunlight streamed through the shop on the corner. Such an innocent name, Cat in the House. So many secretes lie beneath it.

The clean, sweet smell of flowers filled the tiny shop. Yoji snipped off another thorn of the attractive rose he held, his green eyes unfocused and staring at the soft petals. Snip. Another thorn fell to the ground. A flash of wire. Snip. Another body falls before his feet, his mission accomplished. Another woman hurting bastard wiped from the earth. Snip. Another glint of a memory. She was falling. Snip.

" Moouuu! Yoji-kun! When are you going to finish with those dozen roses? You've been at it nearly all morning!"

Crucify my love, if my love is blind, Crucify my love, if it sets me free. Never know, never trust, " that love should see a color" Crucify my love if it should be that way.(1)

The short blonde puffed out his lip as he put his hands on his hips, glaring at the older boy.
" You know the lunch crowd is going to come in soon enough!"

Yoji blinked out of his trance loosely realizing that he had spent nearly all morning snipping at flowers. Reflexes took over and he put on a lazy, devil-may-care grin that came so easy to him. His index and middle finger pushing his black tinted sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.
" Can you really blame a guy? What I wouldn't do to be outside-"
" Chasing women?" Finished the newly emerged Ken, with a pot of flowers.

Yoji grinned, thinking about the hot little number that had been here the other day.

Swing the heartache, feel it inside out. When the wind cries, I'll say goodbye. Tried to learn, Tried to find to reach out for eternity, Where's the answer? Is this forever…

Yoji smirked. " Am I becoming so predictable ?" No one had time to reply because then came the inevitable chatter of dozens of school girls, rounding the corner and flooding into the shop. " Ahh! Here they come! Ken-kun you take over the register,ne? I'll help Yoji-kun with the flowers. Where did Aya-kun go?"

Ken stood behind the register and with a shrug said, " Dunno, he disappeared a while ago. Aahhhh! Here they come!"

Like a river flowing to the sea, You'll be miles away, and I will know I know I can deal with the pain, no reason to cry. Til the loneliness shadows the sky, I'll be sailing down and I will know I know I can clear clouds away, Oh is it a crime to love

Yoji straightened his apron, pushing a hand through his hair. " Well boys, you know the deal, all ladies over 18 are mine." With that said, and Omi and Ken shaking their heads in the background, Yoji put a hand on his hip as the older girls flocked to him with the usual " Yoji-kun, you look so good today!" or the " Yoji-kun, didn't you say you would take me for a soda?"

A shot. She was still falling, a look of surprise and shock still ever so clear on her face, ever so clear in his mind.

Crucify my love, if my love is blind. Crucify my love if it sets me free. Never know never trust " that love should see a color" Crucify my love if it should be that way

They stayed for as long as their lunch hour would allow them, buying and chatting as only school girls are able too.

Rei was a medium height girl with stylishly short cut hair and a blouse that was open two buttons down revealing more then her parents would probably appreciate. For that day she was mostly on Yoji's mind. Not overly loud, but she had a biting sense of humor that he found most attractive.

The sun's light now fading, turning honey colored, shone vibrantly on the stock of flowers and through the shops windows.

" So I'll meet you tonight at the coffee shop on Onsen street, ne? I'll be waiting for you."

She departed with a flirtatious wink and a slight wave of the hand. Yoji leaned against the counter, flipping a cigarette into his mouth lighting it. " Nice girl huh?" His tone held a bit of smugness.

" Right, right. Just don't be late this time, that last girl nearly tore my hide out when I told her I didn't know where you were!"

Yoji breathed out a puff of smoke, sitting up from the counter. " Couldn't be helped! I got caught up in something." Omi hid his smirk, knowing exactly what he had been 'caught up in'. No doubt more women troubles, leaving one for another. Omi wondered why he drifted from one to another so often but he figured it was Yoji's business.

Night fell gradually, covering the sky with dots of stars mostly concealed by the smog and flashing lights that made up Tokyo. Yoji stretched his arms, his designer jacket rising with his movements. He pushed his sunglasses on his forehead taking another cigarette out and lighting it.

" When are you going to quite smoking!? Jeez Yoji, you know how bad that is for you?"

Her voice still in his head, still so clear as if she was standing beside him, ready to go out to coffee with him. Or go in a ride in his car, her voice ringing with laughter and excitement as he would take a turn too fast.

He pushed his legs into motion, the coffee shop only a short block away. Rei was waiting outside the door of the two story coffee house, people bustling in and out. She turned and saw him coming and straightened then waved, adjusting her rather short skirt and fixed him with a sly smile. " Your on time! I'm amazed, perhaps I should award you." He chuckled with the implications of that and offered his arm, ever the gentlemen. " Shall we go inside?"

The night passed quickly. He talked and joked and flirted, a routine that was like a second skin to him. Soon she had to be home, though, her parents giving her a strict order that if she were out too late they would make her spend the night on the porch. They walked in somewhat silence. Only a few remarks here and there. Yoji slid his hand into hers, taking her warm fingers in his. He always loved that feeling, such a feeling of closeness, that someone was there.

Falling, falling. She was still falling, right before his eyes.

They stopped a block before her house, the cool breeze teasing the hair on his neck as he stooped down and closed his arms around her waist. Soft lips, smooth skin. But not her, it would never be her again. After a few minutes he straightened, brushing a stray hair from her face trying to ignore the heat in his body that cried out for more. He turned on his heel with an " Oyasumi." And walked back to the apartments he shared with his teammates. An empty room, an empty bed. Yoji took a deep breath and let it out, settling into the cool sheets, waiting for his own body heat to warm them. No, no matter how long he waited she would never come back.

Falling. She was gone.

-END- heere!For some reason my fics keeps coming out really depressing and dark. Really, I didn't mean them to turn out like this! The next one will be really funny I promise! Yoji mourns over his lost partner.

awww jeez, I'm sorry that my first fics are so depressing. Soon as I come up with another idea I'll make a more humorous one, really! Hope it wasn't to bad! oh yea, if my footnote didn't work, those lyrics are from X Japan

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