Hachi No Iro

Written by Mythical Colors

Disclaimers: I think we all know this by now, but I should mention it anyway. Saiyuki and Weiss Kreuz Kapitel do not belong to me. They belong to Kazuya Minekura and Koyasu Takehito respectively. I am not making money out of this and I have no plans to. :) I am having lots of fun, though!

Author's Note: It's been a long time since I wrote fanfic and I thought I swore off the stuff for good. I usually am too lazy to write fanfic but this one needed to be done. These two fandoms are dear to me and close to my heart. :)

The setting of this story is probably not during Gluhen or Reload/Reload Blast. I am guessing this is somewhere around Kapitel and Gensomaden Saiyuki phase.

Please enjoy. :) Leave any comments if you see anything I need to fix. Thanks a bunch.

-Dea


Manx was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her the moment she saw a weird, unfathomable creature suddenly just stepped out of thin air. It threw her a hateful but lusty glance, eying her from her ankles up to her chest before dashing toward one of the darker allies. She was confused as to what was more surprising; the fact that she saw such a thing or the fact that it was just suddenly there.

Her wide pale blue eyes blinked; her long black lashes moving down before she opened her eyes again. There was nothing there; the alleyway still looked dark and hidden, but there was no trace or shadow of the thing she saw the moment she stepped out of her car. The redheaded Kritiker agent shook her head, kicking herself mentally to snap out of it. Perhaps work was just finally getting to her after all these years. Although there were instances and events that suffocated her with unbearable stress, she could handle it. At least she thought she could. After that little hallucination, she was starting to think otherwise.

Manx's heels clicked against the cemented pavement as she made her way to the entrance of the Koneko. The outside was still very spacious and devoid of admiring, smitten high school girls who went straight here in the afternoon right after school. That was expected; it was only nine o'clock in the morning after all. There were times that the giggling, squealing and endless chatter irritated her, but it was something she could ignore and brush off quite easily. They could gawk and swoon all they want as long as they didn't cause trouble for the boys or get mixed up in their affairs. That happened a couple of times before. Manx frowned at the memory; although the Weiss assassins she was tasked to "look after" were able to keep their identities hidden from the "casualties", she still considered it carelessness on their part. She ran a tight ship that way or at least she'd like to think she did.

Pushing the door open, the soft chimes resounded into the flower shop. She put on her usual cool, confident smile which had a playful hint to it and still something about it told the boys that she was here for business purposes only. She held no folders in her hand, which would be a pleasant surprise for the boys, she was sure. Her boss Persia had merely sent her over to keep things in line.

Manx couldn't help herself. Before she could step in the Koneko and close the door behind her, she found herself throwing a last and rather uneasy look at the hidden alleyway. The red haired woman felt a shiver run up her spine. She shook her head and tried to push the thought back once more. Entering the shop, she closed the door behind her.

Inside, the main room of the shop was well-lighted and everyone was busy doing their assigned chores. Ken was once more by the cashier, counting today's earnings while Omi was busy taking care of the potted plants. Aya only looked up once to acknowledge her and at the sight of her empty, folder less hands, he turned his back to the flower arrangement he'd been fixing.

"Miss Manx, how do you manage to do it?" a catty, smooth male voice came from her left. Manx glanced over to Youji who now put an arm around her. His smile, the usual coy, playful smile he always reserved for her. "You just keep looking better and better each time I see you."

"You're joking, Youji." Manx answered back with a smirk. "I haven't been here in a week. Surely, you've found some other girl to replace me."
"I wouldn't dream of it!" Youji said with a chuckle, a mock look of shock on his face. "You can ask any of the boys here, I'd been delirious to see you for days now. Isn't that right, Ken?"

The brown haired and eyed young man who wasn't more than nineteen years old shot a miffed look at Youji. "Don't get me involved in any of your cheap stunts, Youji." he muttered, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

Omi looked up from the potted plants with a bright, welcoming smile. He seemed to be the only one who was genuinely glad to see her. Or maybe it was the sight of her not holding any folders that relieved the boy and made him happy. She watched the dark blond get up from his position, dusting his hands off on his pink apron. His dark blue eyes were very warm to look at. "Manx, it's been a while! Are you okay? Been busy?" he asked.

Manx then took the opportunity of the subject change to toss Youji's arm off from her shoulders and take a step away from him. "Yes, Omi. I've been very well. Thank you asking." she smiled at him and crossed her arms; her usual stance. "It looks like you've been keeping everyone in check even without me around. I should thank you." she raised an eyebrow, the smile on her face then changing to a smirk.

Omi blushed and scratched his head, smiling. "I haven't been doing anything like that, Manx." he said. "Aya-kun and Ken-kun don't really need me to do that for them. They keep themselves busy."

Youji raised an eyebrow and blinked. "Hey, hey." he said. "I think you're forgetting someone, aren't you, Omi?"
"Nope, looks like he named everyone just fine." Ken said heading over to the board where the orders were pinned and placed. He took a piece of paper and read it silently.
"What's the matter, Ken? You seem grumpier than usual." Youji asked. "Didn't get enough sleep last night? Thinking about a girl?"
"I'm not like you, Youji. I've got other things in mind you, know."
"Oh, I get it! Gee, Ken, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."
"That's not what I meant, alright? Leave it alone!"

Omi smiled sheepishly at the sight of the usual banter and sighed. Manx then walked over to Aya who stopped from his work once more.

"Anything new?" he asked. That was usually code for "are there any new missions from Persia?". Manx merely shook her head.
"What can I say, Abyssinian?" she said, suddenly reverting to calling him by his codename. "There hasn't been a mission in weeks. I don't understand it myself, either."

"You know, it's this kind of quiet that I don't like." Ken suddenly said, shaking his head with a sigh. He looked out the window. "Makes you wonder if something big's coming up."
"I think you're being a bit too paranoid, Ken." Youji answered, shrugging his shoulders and heading back to the orchids. "If anything, I'm grateful it's this quiet."
Omi looked thoughtful and glanced up the ceiling. "I think you both have a point." he said decidedly. "I mean, it's good that... it's been... quiet." he paused, feeling awkward. He knew that the relief of not having to take someone else's life also lingered over his teammates. "Then again, this always happens when something really big is about to happen." the young boy suddenly laughed sheepishly. "Or.. maybe I'm just catching it off from Ken-kun."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Manx sighed and looked at the three. Beside her, Aya just threw them a quiet displeased look before going to fetch more roses. The Kritiker agent couldn't help but shake her head. Whether she admitted it or not (most of the time, she just pushed it back as something that wasn't her problem), it was almost unbearable to wonder what lurked in the minds of these four men. Here they were masquerading as ordinary florists when deep inside, they knew they were far from that. Manx knew just how much it gnawed at them no matter how hard they tried to push it back. Nothing like that would and could ever go away.

She turned to look outside.
And froze.

Her pale blue eyes widened once more. She could not move or look away from what she was seeing.
Omi noticed this and blinked, he walked over to her. "Manx? What's wrong?"

However, the red haired woman did not reply or speak. Her gaze was slowly fixed on the commotion outside; the commotion which was being blocked from hearing by their glass window. Omi looked where she was looking.

And dropped the potted plant he'd been holding.

The clash and clatter of the pot startled the remaining three.

"Watch it, Omi!" Ken called.

Aya being Aya didn't need anything more. He headed to where the two stood and took a look for himself. Just then, a mangled, bloody body of a man crashed right onto the glass window. Omi yanked Manx out of the way while Aya merely shielded his face with his arms and took a step back. Ken looked up, running to them leaving Youji staring in complete disbelief.

"What the hell? –" Ken knelt down by the thrashed body. "Hey! Hey, what happened? Who did this? –"

"He's dead." Aya said, not losing his calm. Still, he was obvious bothered. They stood there staring at the body which had twisted arms pulled out of its socket. The eyes had been gauged out and his mouth parted in a permanently cut off scream. Omi, Ken and Manx stared in disbelief. Dealing with assassinations and death prepared you for things like this, but it was not any less horrifying.

"What's going on? –"before Ken could finish, his voice drowned out from the multitudes of screams and cries that burst forth from the streets. People were running for their lives, bumping and shoving into others as unknown creatures with strange markings on their bodies, glimmering claws and pointed ears started grabbing and killing everyone who was unfortunate enough to stay too close.

"What are those things?" Manx asked, aghast. She could not hide the horror from her voice this time around. Henchmen with guns and dangerous armed gangs? That was something she could stomach and live through. Creatures with claws, fangs and inhuman strength? Definitely another thing.

Youji took a protective step in front of Manx, his eyes wide. "What there are more science experiments by some nutjob freak running around?" he asked. He'd referred to Masafumi. They've dealt with lots of crazy scientists before. Perhaps this was their doing.

"Most likely." Aya answered. He felt even more disturbed because they could not arm themselves. At least not in public view. "Let's go."

"What?" Ken barked. "We can't just leave! Look at all those people!" His thick brows met as he turned away. "I'm gonna try and help everyone I can! –"

"Ken-kun, we don't know what we're dealing with, wait! –"

The creature who eyed Manx suddenly appeared not far from the store, stopped and turned his gaze at the woman he'd been lusting over since earlier. His fangs gleamed as he leapt toward the broken glass window.

"Youji, step out of the way!" A quick reflex was needed if one was to be a Kritiker agent. You never knew when you had to draw your weapon out. A second too late could cause you your life. Manx, despite her shaken state, drew out her gun and aimed as soon as Youji moved away. She pulled the trigger. The loud bang was lost in the screams and sirens outside the street.

The creature smiled, his small ebony eyes narrowing before he disappeared from sight.

"Shit! That was fast!" Youji said. "Where is he?"

The dark blond assassin's question was answered by a force that pushed him off the ground and sent him crashing to a table of potted plants. The breakable plant holders shattered into pieces under his weight. Youji groaned. For a moment, the shock and force had been too much that his mind went blank. Pain seized control of him when he tried to push himself up.

"Youji-kun!" he heard Omi call out.

"Bastard!" he heard Ken's voice and angry cry. "Eat this!" Youji could tell that he tried to punch whatever it was and instantly failed because the brunet landed right on top of him. Both of them groaned in pain which was twice worse for Youji. Ken wasn't exactly light as a feather.

Manx's gun went off, once and twice before it completely stopped. The creature snarled striking Manx hard across the face. The red haired woman let out a short, choked cry before falling unconscious.

"Manx!" Omi cried, he tried to pull her out of the way only to be knocked down by the creature as well. Only Aya remained on his feet. By this time, the redhead assassin armed himself with a leg of a chair he'd dismantled moments ago. He didn't attack. He waited for the creature to make his move. Aya frowned at the growling monster in front of him.

Truthfully, he had no idea just how to deal with this thing. He would just have to make it up and hopefully it would work. Otherwise, he already knew how this was going to turn out.

For a second, his glance fell to the dead body that ruined their window.


I do not want anymore fangirl Japanese in my fanfics, but something felt wrong when I tried making Omi call them by their names without "-kun" attached at the end. Sorry about that, darlings.

If you got this far into the story. Thank you very much!