Weiss: A Sudden Dose of Reality (chapter 1)

[Penybright]

~ Okay... I've been pretty much dead to the world of fanfiction for
a while now. -_-;;; I got sidetracked by school and life and stuff. *sigh* I'm
trying to get back on track, so... I'm starting to post this fic. If
you're a frequent visitor to ff.net, you may have already read it,
but if not... I'll be posting the second chapter soon, and the third
is about halfway done. Oh, if you don't like OC's... you might not
wanna read.
Warning(s): There's a smidge of swearing, but otherwise it's not too bad. PG - PG-13 rating
Disclaimer: He's not mine! They're not mine! I wish they were, but
they're not...

A Sudden Dose of Reality

Chapter 1

By: Penybright

Orchid eyes flickered about the crowded room, taking in the details.
His eyes caught on a figure wrapped in shadows before sliding over
to the ballroom entry doors. As he had suspected, he was still being
watched. He'd managed to infiltrate the group easily enough months
ago, but they still distrusted him. It was beginning to get
irritating. Did they think he didn't know he was being followed
everywhere he went?

Vibrant red bangs fell over lilac irises, shadowing them from view
as his expression darkened. They had reason to distrust him; even
fear him. Fujimiya Ran, and the lethal blade of his katana, would be
the last thing they saw before the fires of hell consumed them.

'If they ever stop watching me,' Ran sighed mentally. This mission
was not his cup of tea. It was more along the lines of something
Yohji was suited for. But as luck would have it, Yohji was stuck in
bed with two cracked ribs from their last mission, Omi was too
young, and Ken would never be able to pull the undercover aspect
off.

"Abyssinian."

Ran glanced over at the man who had stated the name he was using.

"Imari-san," Ran nodded respectfully.

"Why don't you go have a little fun?" The older man smirked, a gleam
in his cool gray eyes.

"My priority is your protection... Imari-san, not having fun."

"Very well," he sighed. "I just wish you'd enjoy the finer points of
life."

Ran internally seethed as he watched his Boss saunter away. The man
was so... arrogant. It didn't help that he thought nothing of taking
another's life. Imari Hoji was a ruthless man.

Once Imari was lost in the sea of people, Ran flipped his wrist to
glance at the face of his watch. It would only be a few more minutes
until the hit went down. He surveyed the room once more, looking for
anything suspicious or out of place. His eyes caught on a young
woman making her way to the balcony. If she went out there now...
Ran quickly began to weave his way through the masses, trying to
reach her before she saw too much. Just as he reached the balcony
doors the man who had been following him all night, Torshi, stepped
in his way.

"Where do you think you're going, Abyssinian?"

"Outside."

"You're suppose to be heading out to the parking lot."

"I'm just checking to make sure there are no loose ends before I
go," Ran deadpanned. Torshi seemed to consider his explanation.

"Very well," Torshi replied, sending a suspicious glance back Ran's
way as he melted into the crowd. Ran leveled a glare at his
retreating form before slipping out the balcony's double doors. As
soon as the door softly clicked shut behind him, he heard the muted
sound of a gunshot, and knew he was too late.

`````````````````````````````````````

The harmonic notes of Faure's Berceuse floated softly through the
open archway, framed by dark, carved mahogany doors. Sounds of muted
chatter drifted to Iriai's keen ears as she approached the entrance
of the large ballroom. With a resigned sigh, she straightened her
back, squared her shoulders, and stepped into the dimly lit room.
Green eyes flecked with amber surveyed the mass of people, darting
around the room and coming to rest on one person. He seemed an
oddity among the sea of black tuxedoes, red hair contrasting
brightly against the morbid black. Her eyes slid from the unusual
man, to the people surrounding him. Iriai's eyes narrowed in
recognition, before returning to normal as she skirted the buffet
table and disappeared into the crowd. Tonight was going to be a very
long night indeed.

Mita Iriai was a young woman of 20 years. She had been invited to
the posh party that evening due to her recent success. She was now
the author of a national bestseller, and possibly an international
bestseller. She had been reluctant at first, knowing that she wasn't
a very social person. Her friends had pushed and prodded her until
she had given in, and here she was. She was miserable, her feet were
killing her, and she could feel a migraine approaching ominously. To
make matters worse, several young men in the room had decided to
make her their target for the evening.

'With fame and fortune comes leeching men who want your money,'
Iriai groaned mentally.

"Excuse me miss, but---"

"I'm terribly sorry," Iriai cut in. "But I need a breath of fresh
air."

The young man nodded, melting back into the sea of people. The first
notes of Warlock's Cariol Suite picked up as Iriai wove her way to
the balcony, letting out a breath of relief as cool air touched her
warm skin. Once safely outside, she allowed her arms to uncross and
relax. Formal dresses were always to revealing for her taste, and
the one she was wearing was no exception. It was a sleeveless
ordeal, cut to low for her taste, with a rather form fitting bodice
and floor-length skirt. The color was about the only thing she liked
about the dress. It was made of a satiny material that shimmered in
the dull light, sometimes appearing black and sometimes a deep blue.
Her long reddish-brown hair had been pulled up to show off her back,
which the dress showed plenty of. She couldn't remember how her
friend had managed to convince her to get the thing. The more she
thought about it, the more she loathed what she was wearing.

A scuffle below interrupted her inward thoughts, and she peered over
the chiseled balcony to see better. Iriai clapped a hand over her
mouth as she saw the dull glint of metal, and recognized it to be a
gun. Eyes wide with horror, she watched as the gun was fired on a
man being held down by three other men. Swallowing convulsively, she
took several steps back, letting out a strangled squeak as she
bumped into something. Whirling around, she saw the red head she had
noted from earlier. His cool lavender eyes sent chills down her
spine, and she did the first thing that came to mind; she tried to
flee.

A yelp of pain permeated the evening air as he caught her arm,
yanking her along with him. Tears sprung to Iriai's eyes at the
painful grip like a vice on her arm. Thoughts ran through her mind
in an incoherent jumble as panic began to eat away at her. She
stumbled along behind her captor, a small whimper of uncertainty
escaping her lips.

"W- who are you?" Iriai stuttered, trying to twist free. "What do
you want?"

She was answered with silence and the grip on her arm tightening.
Why wouldn't he speak? How long had he been behind her on the
balcony? What was going to happen to her?

Iriai stumbled forward as her arm was released, maintaining her
balance just before she would have toppled to the pavement.

"What have we hear?" an oily voice rasped thickly.

"She saw."

That was it, two words. Two words that let Iriai know her life was
hanging in the balance. She glanced quickly between the two men,
trying to glean some insight as to what was to be done with her.

"It's unusual of you to let someone live that's witnessed one of our
jobs," the man said thoughtfully. An unsettling pair of gray eyes
scrutinized the young woman standing in their midst.

"Do you have some use for her?" he asked with a leering smirk. Iriai
choked, her eyes blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. Surely
they wouldn't...

"Hn."

She felt her knees go weak as she sunk to the pavement. Death was a
far better option. She didn't want to be... This couldn't be
happening!

"Please..." Her voice was barely a whisper, choked and strained. The
gray eyed man laughed at the pitiful display she made.

"You expect us to let you go?" he mocked, chuckling darkly.

"I don't expect anything from murderers," Iriai spat venomously, a
few tears spilling down her cheeks.

Without a word, the red head grabbed her arm once more, hauling her
to her feet.

"Show respect to the Boss," he intoned, before yanking on her arm
and dragging Iriai away with him. She found herself roughly shoved
into the back-seat of a car. A nice car, too. The seats were
leather, and it appeared to be fully loaded, along with the added
bonus of a sunroof. She could have cared less about the car though.
Her mind was furiously thinking of ways to escape. She knew that if
she didn't at least try, there would be no hope for her. If she knew
who her captor really was, she would never have even consider
escape, but Iriai was unaware of his true identity. To her, he was
an enemy and her executioner.

`````````````````````````````````````

Ran slid quietly into the drivers seat. He hadn't heard a sound
escape the young woman since her little outburst. She shouldn't have
been out on the balcony. He had tried to intercept her before she
went outside, but had been waylaid by a fellow member. By all
rights, she should be dead. He should have killed her, like the Boss
said. But, she was an innocent. He was supposed to protect people
like her, not murder them. And that was where his problem lie. How
was he going to keep her safe after she had witnessed one of their
hits? He had half a mind to drop her off at the Koneko with a note
for the others. He didn't want to have to deal with a hormonal
female while on an undercover assignment. Taking her to the Koneko
would draw attention there, though, and he couldn't afford that. He
couldn't chance the possibility that he would be discovered. Too
much rested on this mission.

A quick glance in the rearview mirror revealed that she was...
glaring at him? He almost smirked at her naivet?. Did she honestly
think that glaring at him would do her any good? She had no idea who
she was dealing with... Their gazes connected in the mirror and
sparks flew, amethyst clashing with emerald. Ran had finally met an
equal in the glaring department. It was like a slap in the face and
blow to his pride.

"You should watch where you're going," she intoned without breaking
her gaze. Ran blinked and pulled his eyes back to the road.

'Damn...'

~Well? Chapter two will be up soon! Promise...