The Newest Member (cont.)

	Days had passed since Yoji’s secret visit with Genji. Aya’s face and Yoji’s hands
healed quickly, and no more was said about Genji. They admitted defeat, but Persia didn’t
give them any new missions. It had been over a month since Persia had first given them
the orders to catch Genji. Now, they all waited for a new mission.
	Kaoru played with the blossom of a cattleya while she waited for Yoji. Ken said
he was asleep still. Two hands rested on her shoulders and she jumped around to face
Yoji.
	He smiled at her. “Those are my favorite flowers,” he said.
	She smiled back. “I really like them too.” She pulled one out and put it close to
her face. “They smell wonderful.”
	He smiled down at her, and then turned his face to the windows. People rushed by
outside, but they sky was a lovely, inviting blue. He looked at the blue sky and the sunny
day, in the warm flower shop surrounded by people he could call his friends. He smiled
more to himself than to Kaoru.
	“Say, Yoji,” Kaoru began. He looked down at her. She blushed, holding the
flower close to her face. “I... I’d really like to go out with you sometime...”
	His eyes widened as he looked at her. Although he wanted to agree with her,
something held his tongue. Another face flashed into his mind, one with devilish eyes that
smiled mischievously at him. With a start, he realized that he had feelings for that
mysterious person who taunted him and hurt him yet loved the same flower as he did.
	“I - I’m sorry,  Kaoru,” he said, his mouth moving without real thought. “I think
I’m in love with someone else.”
	She lowered her eyes, tears brimming to the surface. “I understand,” she said
softly. She took his hand and put the flower into it. “Thank you.” With a quick turn, she
raced out of the flower shop.
	“Yoji?” Omi asked. “What’d you say to her?”
	Yoji looked at the flower in his hand. He smiled weakly at Omi. “Ahh... nothing.”
He put the blossom back into the pot with the others. Uniting his smock, he hung it on the
peg and disappeared behind the curtain.
	He walked down the long, narrow hall. Opening the door at the end, he emerged
out in the sunshine. Turning to his right, he started up the steps that led to his apartment.
He entered and leaned against the door after he shut it. 
	He liked Kaoru. She was so mature for her age of seventeen and she could easily
counter the lines he used when flirting. It was like she saw through his act and could see
the real Yoji that hid behind the flirting and the women. 
	But he had told her that he loved another. A mysterious beauty he wasn’t even
sure was female. He slammed his fist into the door. 
	“Damnit!” he yelled. He was enchanted by Genji, but he also had developed deep
feelings for Kaoru. Something about that girl. He had never had such feelings before,
except for Asuka. And she... He closed his eyes tight. He didn’t want to think about it. He
might start crying again.
	Knock, knock. 
	“Yoji?” came Omi’s voice. “Are you all right? I thought I heard a noise.”
	Yoji turned and opened the door. “Ahh... I kicked a book and it hit the door, that’s
all.”
	“Oh.” Omi’s quick eyes didn’t see a book at all. He looked at Yoji, but Yoji
impassively returned his gaze. “Just making sure.”
	Yoji closed the door again and returned to his bed. Removing his shirt, he lay
down on the bed. Burying his head in his arms, he began to think.
	Hours later, a light step sounded outside his door. He jerked up, alert for any
danger. A slip of paper was slid under the door. He hauled himself out of bed and grabbed
for the door, flinging it open. No one was there. Turning, he picked up the paper and
closed the door. 
	Meet me at the Mizu’umi Koen at eleven tonight.
	Although there was no name to it, he knew it had to be Genji.

	He sat impatiently on a bench smoking cigarettes. One was finished, another
began. He wore his long black assassin coat, and his eyes constantly shifted over his
sunglasses, looking for signs of movement.
	“My, aren’t you nervous,” came a voice near his ear. 
	He jumped up and turned around, dropping his cigarette and drawing his wire. 
	Laughing, Genji hopped over the bench and sat down. Yoji retracted his wire into
the cuff of his coat and pulled out another cigarette. He offered one to Genji.
	Genji laughed. He pointed to the scarf that covered his face. “I’m not giving this
away just for a smoke.”
	Yoji smiled. “Are you ever going to tell me who you are?”
	Genji sat for a moment in silence. “I heard that you refused a girl today.”
	For one of the rare times in his life, Yoji flushed red. “I... I’m in love with
someone else. Someone with beautiful eyes.”
	Those eyes turned to him. “You don’t know these eyes.”
	Yoji grabbed his hand. “But I want to! I can’t live without seeing those eyes
anymore!”
	The eyes took on an amused look. “And what if I really am a man?”
	Yoji looked at Genji in horror. “You can’t be...!”
	Genji laughed and stood, walking away from the troubled young man. He perched
on the railing that bordered one of the many small lakes. “I was thinking of joining
Weiss.”
	Yoji bolted straight up. He hurried over to Genji. “You have to! Please!” His eyes
begged him as did his voice.
	Reaching over to him, Genji pulled his sunglasses off. The sunglasses were folded
up and put away under the black cloak that Genji wore. Yoji started to protest, but a hand
to the side of his face in a caress made the words stick in his throat. Mysterious gray eyes
gazed at him.
	“Emerald eyes,” Genji whispered. “So beautiful to gaze into.”
	Yoji was made speechless by this. All he could do was stand there and stare back
into the eyes that had captivated him. 
	Genji’s eyes became heavy lidded. “Do you want to kiss me?” Genji whispered
softly.
	Yoji licked dry lips. “I do,” he said hoarsely. Never before had he felt this
nervous. He cursed himself inside; he acted like a little boy getting his first kiss.
	Genji’s eyes closed and his head was tilted up towards Yoji’s. Yoji looks down at
the sensuous face that presented itself to him. Now, something trifle, like a scarf, could
not stop him. 
	Gently taking the face in his hands, Yoji pressed his lips against Genji’s, separated
by only a thin piece of cloth. He could feel the warmth of the face below his, the
willingness of the lips, the desire to kiss his own. With his emerald eyes half open, he
watched as the misty gray eyes slowly opened to gaze into his tenderly. 

	He woke slowly, drowsy, from a deep sleep. He hauled himself up from bed and
walked across the room, pulling on a pair of pants as he did so. As he caught sight of
himself in the mirror, he stopped and took a closer look. His fingers made their way to his
lips, where he felt the kiss of last night. A confused light came into his eyes. Was it truly
real? Had he really kissed Genji? He dropped his hand and gazed at his reflection. No
answers were held there.
	He made his way down to the flower shop. It was already early afternoon. He sat
downstairs and tended shop while the lunch crowd came in, overpopulated with adoring
cute girls. He flirted with them half heartedly, his eyes searching for mysterious gray eyes
that he didn’t find.
	Sunset came, and Omi came home. For once, Kaoru wasn’t with him. She had
begged off, saying that she had to go somewhere immediately after school. She had left in
direction of the subway, so Omi wasn’t too sure as to where she was going.
	Yoji left the shop and went to his room, laying on the bed thinking his troubled
thoughts. A light tap outside door alerted him again, and he raced silently to the door and
threw it open.
	Kaoru looked at him in surprise, as if she hadn’t wanted to be caught. Her hands
were clasped around a cattleya that she held close to her chest. 
	“Kaoru!” Yoji said in surprise. He ran a hand through his long hair as he looked at
her. His emotions raced, and he tried to figure out what exactly he felt for her. He failed
though, as his emotions were too confused for him to sort out in that short moment.
	“I... uh...,” she faltered, looking down at the ground and blushing. “I wanted to
apologize... for the other day. I didn’t mean to say that. I just didn’t know about... about
that other woman.”
	He smiled at her. She was so sweet. “It’s all right. You didn’t know. It’s not like I
went and told everyone. You were the first person I told.” He laughed and she looked up
into his face. “In fact, I didn’t even know it myself until I told you!”
	Kaoru’s eyes darkened slightly and she lowered her face again. “But...” She
laughed softly. “I know it sounds foolish, but...” She looked up at him, her startling blue
eyes searching his. “Could we still be friends?”
	Yoji smiled down at her and gathered her in his arms, pressing her against his bare
chest. “Of course we can still be friends. I wouldn’t want you to leave me now.” He tilted
her face up towards his and smiled gently at her. “Who else am I going to flirt with?”
	She grinned up at him. “True. No one can flirt right back like I do,” she agreed.
	She pulled away from him. “I have to go. I just... I just wanted to say that I’m
sorry. For saying that.”
	He shook his head. “If you ever apologize for that again, then  I’ll... I’ll... flirt with
someone else!” he threatened with a grin.
	She laughed. “Thank you,” she said softly, leaning up and kissing his cheek.
Putting her mouth close to his ear, she whispered, “I’ll still love you though.” She looked
at him once more with a smile, then turned and ran away.
	He watched her go, his heart leaping  with joy from the kiss. He almost regretted
his decision for a moment, for choosing a mysterious wind instead of this constant, loyal
friend. Turning to reenter his apartment, he grabbed a shirt and went back to the shop.
	Omi tossed him the crow bar. “Here, pull down that shutter,” he said, pointing to
the western shutter. Yoji pulled it down as Ken pulled down the eastern one. Aya entered
from the back with a pot of flowers. 
	“We need to contact Persia,” he said suddenly. The other three turned to look at
him.
	“Why?” Ken asked. “We’ve never had to contact him before.”
	“We’ve failed our mission,” Aya reminded him. “We can’t capture Genji because
he’s too good. We need to move on, but we can’t if Persia doesn’t give us any new jobs.”
	Omi nodded in agreement. “I can contact Manx, and she’ll get in touch with
Persia. I’ll do it tomorrow during my lunch break.”
	“Failing your mission. Tsk tsk. What bad boys you are.”
	The four of them turned. Right inside the door of the flower shop stood a black
cloaked figure. Genji picked up a cattleya and placed it in his hair, right about his right
eat. His eyes were covered with Yoji’s stolen pair of sunglasses.
	Genji pushed the sunglasses up and his eyes smiled at the boys. “Perhaps you
haven’t failed after all.”
	“You’re going to join us?” Ken asked excitedly. Omi nodded and smiled happily.
Aya looked on, his eyes slightly widened still from the sudden shock of Genji’s
appearance. Yoji watched him intently, looking for any small sign that the other night had
been real.
	Genji pulled off his black scarf that covered his mouth to reveal an exact same
scarf, only of the color blue. His hands, uncovered by gloves, moved to the neck of his
black cloak.
	“If I join you, I suppose I must tell you who I am.”
	Aya smirked. “That might be nice. I don’t want to be calling you Genji all the
time if it’s not your real name.”
	Genji’s eyes became sharp. “And Aya is your real name?” he asked with a bite in
his voice.
	Aya flushed slightly and turned his head away. His hand that held his smock
clenched with the memories that flooded through his mind.
	Genji laughed softly. His eyes went to Yoji. They shared a brief stare where Yoji’s
eyes searched his for an answer.  Who was he? And was last night truly real, or was it
only a dream?
	Genji dropped his cloak. All four boys eyes widened in surprise. Blue to match the
scarf was a dress that hugged her hourglass figure. He became she in their minds.
	“I knew it!” Yoji cried. “I knew you were female!”
	“You knew?” Ken asked in surprise. “I thought...”
	Omi nodded. “So did I.”
	Aya began to laugh softly. “It all seems perfect somehow. It just seems to fit.”
	Genji’s eyes smiled broadly at the stunned boys. Her hands moved behind her
neck in preparation to undo the scarf. 
	“A girl,” Omi said. He stared at her and shook his head. “I haven’t a clue as to
who you could be.”
	“A girl, yes,” Genji said. She untied the scarf, and with a flourish pulled it off. Her
face obscured by the flying scarf, when it settled around her shoulders, they finally saw
her face.
	“But a very special girl,” Genji concluded, winking at the boys.
	“K...!” Omi stared with his mouth open. Even Aya’s eyes widened. 
	“Kaoru!” Yoji cried in shock.
	Kaoru grinned at them and walked closer to them. Flinging the scarf around
Yoji’s neck, she pulled his face close to hers. “Aren’t you happy?” she asked with a
smile. She tilted her face up to his, freely offering her lips to him to kiss again. 
	Yoji nervously untangled himself from the scarf, pulling away from her. His mind
spun and his emotions raced. In his heart, Kaoru and Genji just couldn’t be the same
person. It wasn’t possible! He could love one, but not both. Now she had revealed that he
didn’t have to be just friends with Kaoru, but could love her as he loved Genji.
	His eyes wild, he pushed her away gently. “I’m sorry Kaoru,” he said, the words
coming without thought. “I think we should do what we said earlier and just stay friends.”
	Kaoru’s eyes reflected her pain. She visibly flinched away from him. “H-how
could you? Didn’t you just say last night that...?” Her face collapsed into disappointment.
Tears came into her eyes. “Fine!” she cried. She turned, plucked the flower from her hair
and stomped on it. “We’ll just be friend then!” Marching past them, she pushed aside the
curtain and made her way to the apartments.
	“Uh, Kaoru!” Omi called. “Where are you going?”
	She threw over her shoulder, “I put my stuff in the extra apartment last night.
Since I’m working with you now, I suppose I should live with you too.”

	Kaoru slammed the door to her apartment and flung herself on her bed. How dare
he! She raged, picking up small things and flinging them around the room. How dare he!
Hadn’t he just told her last night that he loved her, no matter who she really was? Hadn’t
he shared that sweet kiss with her, gazing into her eyes and commenting later on how
attractive they were?
	She punched her futon and then lay still on it. He couldn’t do that to her. She
loved him. Didn’t he see that? She just wanted to be near him, that’s why she joined
Weiss. Just so she could be closer to Yoji.
	She sighed and curled up. Well... If he wanted to stay friends right now, she
supposed she could accept that. With time, he would come to realize his feelings for her,
of course. She smiled to herself. Yeah... He’d soon realize that he was in love with her.
	She turned her head and listened to the steps that came towards her door. She
looked at the clock. She’d been up here alone for more than an hour. A soft knocking
came on her door.
	Kaoru opened the door to find Yoji standing there. He rubbed the back of his
neck, obviously uncomfortable. She turned indifferently and sat on the small step that
marked the end of her entrance way. 
	“Yes?” she asked, acting as if she didn’t care about him.
	He sat down next to her and took her hand. “Kaoru...,” he began. He faltered when
he saw her cool gaze. “I... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just... It’s hard accepting the
fact that you’re Genji. I never thought...”
	He looked at her, a startled expression coming onto his face. “Your eyes...,” he
said. “They were blue when you came to see me earlier.”
	She smiled. “Contacts do wonders.”
	He put his hand on the side of her face. “Don’t cover them up anymore. I prefer
the gray eyes.”
	She blushed slightly and lowered her eyes. “You called them... ‘mysteriously
misty gray’ last night,” she said softly.
	“I meant it,” he said, equally as soft. “I can’t tell you how I feel now,” he
continued. “I don’t know myself. It’s just... with Asuka and all...” He sighed. “You don’t
her though.”
	Her eyes darkened. “Asuka, your ex-partner.”
	He looked up at her in surprise. “How did you...?”
	“I know your past. I know everyone’s past. I know the present you don’t know,
and with a good chance, I can guess your future.” Her cool eyes burned into his.
	He put a hand to the side of her face. “Please let me sort this out before I tell you
how I truly feel. I need to know before I tell you. I don’t... I don’t want to ever hurt you.”
	She leaned her face into his hand. “I’ll wait,” she whispered. “If you’ll only...”
	“Only?”
	She tilted her face up to his. “If you’ll only kiss me once more before you go.”
	He smiled gently and cradled her face in his hands. Leaning down, he pressed his
lips against her willing warm ones. Her arms encircled his neck, pulling him closer to her.
The scent of cattleya filled him, and her misty gray eyes swept him away. He could live
with this, kissing his face every morning, always looking into those eyes. He kissed her
again. He could stay with her forever. He didn’t mind this, if this was what he could see
everyday.
	With a sigh, he pulled away from her. She slowly opened her eyes fully and
released his neck. She smiled sweetly. 
	“I’ll wait,” she repeated. “However long it takes you, I’ll always wait.”
	He smiled back at her and stood. “Thank you,” he replied, “For understanding.”
	He walked to the door and pulled it open. In the sky behind him, the sun had set
and only a faint orange marked the sky. He turned to look at her once more. She smiled
and raised a hand. 
	He closed the door and walked downstairs to his apartment. He smiled to himself
as he walked. Yes, he could definitely live with that for the rest of his life. Her last words
still rang in his mind.
	“I’ll always love you.”

End Part 1