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The Favor: Part One
By Mirrordance
They've all moved on.
Once in awhile, they would come across each other. But it ended at that. It was as if all those years they've spent watching each other's backs hadn't happened at all. A dream, no aspect of which was ever real.
Omi Tsukiyono graduated from college, zuma cumlaude in his course, computer engineering from a state university, which placed him among the ranks of the country's most sought-after in the business world. At the tender age of twenty-two, he held one of the highest positions in the country's branch of Microsoft.
Yoji Kudou, playboy extraordinaire, became what he enjoyed best… an idle socialite. After having saved enough from his multitude of jobs--after all, Weib was paid well, not to mention his work before, Yoji bought an apartment in a singles' block in the expensive part of town. He went to party after party, dated one woman after another, and was rumored to have been engaged a very impressive seven times, therefore leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. He kept up his lavish lifestyle through owning very well-placed stocks.
Ken Hidaka, whose name has been cleaned up by Kritiker, went to professional soccer with gusto, and is enjoying his celebrity; he had several ads, not to mention his own line of cologne and clothing, as well as a huge fan-following.
They were all very busy people with very promising lives to live. And exceptional futures ahead of them.
But there are days when you have to return to the past, and one Christmas, they did.
December 23, 2003
It was snowing.
There was something so poetically macabre at the thought of being in a cemetery in the middle of winter. All gloomy white and gray. Mounds of snow and slush showered over the well-kept graves, some old and some new marble posts jutting out with names and dates and dedications on them.
One was a very characteristic, practical black.
Ran Fujimiya. Loving friend and brother.
There were flowers there; roses. There would never be anything else but roses. The red of them bled on the snow. Like his hair, against his skin when he had lived.
It was a difficult face to forget, and, looking down at the grave, Yoji thought about the mysterious man who had brushed in and out of his life, touching odd places in his soul that defied human comprehension.
Uneven footsteps alerted him to the arrival of Ken, who was limping and in crutches from his latest ordeal in the field.
"Glad you made it" Yoji told him, without turning around.
"Almost didn't" Ken huffed.
"How's the leg?" asked Yoji, misunderstanding.
"Oh, no. Not because of the leg" said Ken, "I almost didn't make it because of my contract. The leg was a blessing in disguise. Gave me the time-off that I needed"
Yoji didn't bother to ask if the injury was deliberate or not. The answer would terrify him. Ken Hidaka would go to great lengths to fulfill a promise.
Silence, as each man was left to his own thoughts. It was almost eternal and relaxing, interrupted only by more welcome footsteps.
"Hey, Omi" Ken greeted.
"How's the leg?" Omi asked, having watched the fateful game on television.
"I'll live" Ken said, and Yoji could hear the smile there.
"Nice flowers" Omi commented, looking down at the roses upon the grave. "I wasn't able to stop by any shop on my way here"
"Neither were we" said Yoji, "These are from Aya. She stopped by earlier.''
"Did you talk to her?" asked Ken, shifting uneasily.
"No" came the reply, "I waited 'til she left"
"She's still manning the shop" said Omi.
"I know" said Ken, and it was obvious that Yoji has been keeping an eye on the young woman too.
"Wouldn't want her to get married behind our backs" added Yoji with a chuckle. The other two didn't seem to share his humor; they were looking down at the grave, and he found that he himself looked, as if awaiting a reaction from the deceased man.
"Damn it, Ran" muttered Ken, "What was your point?"
No answers came.
The three figures walked out of the cemetery, near the imposing iron gates where their cars have been parked.
There was Yoji's well-kept Jalopy, with the top up and looking like a blast from the past. Flamboyant, like its owner. There was a chauffeured black limousine, which was assigned to the soccer league's most valuable player. And there was also a sleek, silver Jaguar, a company car that was Omi Tsukiyono's for as long as he held an executive position in Microsoft. He too, had a driver of his own.
Ken was immediately tended to by his overprotective chauffeur, asking at once if he needed assistance.
"Just get my bags from the car, Leo" he ordered with a slight smile. "I'll be staying with a friend for a few days. Go back to the house. I'll call when I need you"
"But sir--"
"No arguments" Ken said lightly, "I have personal matters to attend to. There are just some things I have to take care of. I'll be okay"
With a little hesitation, Leo did as he was told and delivered the bags to Yoji's car, while Omi's driver did the same.
The three then stepped into the car and left.
They were going home.
"Talk about living the high life" Yoji teased them, once inside the Jalopy. "Drivers, my ass. To think you two used to cruise around Tokyo in scooters and Harleys"
Omi chuckled. "Hypocrite. You haven't exactly been living the rustic life either, Yoji. Not from what I heard"
Yoji laughed. It was good to be with these two. Things will never be the same; there will always be some funny, underlying pain of remembrance of who wasn't there, but it didn't completely take the joy away from a reunion.
"Yeah" agreed Ken, "who's the fiancée this week?"
"No one" Yoji replied, "I had to make myself single, remember?"
Ken frowned, looked out the window. "How can I forget?"
It's almost five years to the day now.
A mission.
A death.
A favor.
A promise.
He got shot in the stomach. It was a long, painful way to die. There was nothing you could do but watch for approximately eight minutes until he died.
And the eight minutes, in that dismal, rickety building had been enough for Ran to ensure his sister's safety from the rest of the world.
He had asked for any one of his friends to marry his sister if she was still single five years from the time of his death.
And they had agreed.
The question now, five years later, was who?
"Ken," asked Omi, "If you don't mind my asking, whatever happened to Yuriko?"
"Happy" he replied with a slight, immature pout. "Married. Three kids. Lives in suburban Australia. One dog. White picket fences. I've been forgotten. The chances of even a short, lewd affair is very small"
Yoji snorted. "As if you were ever considering breaking up a family"
"A man can dream" Ken said wearily.
"What are we going to do?" Omi asked, worried as they started nearing the flower shop.
"I have no idea" admitted Yoji, parking his car along the curb.
"Oh, my God!" Aya exclaimed, running past stunned customers and dashing straight into the arms of a blushing Omi, who was standing by the door.
He laughed, raising his hands to envelope her in a hug. He's been at it for all of a second when she tore from his grip and did the same thing with Yoji, then with Ken.
"Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God!" she couldn't seem to stop saying, pulling away from Ken and regarding the three men with tears welling up in her pretty eyes.
Yoji, ever the gentleman, pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.
She sobbed right into it.
It was then that Sakura, who had been helping out at the shop, started ushering away puzzled customers. All of which were male.
Ken laughed. Of course! Things had changed. When the boys of Weib left, so did their female following. It was the beautiful Aya and Sakura who attracted male customers now.
Sakura, after flipping the sign CLOSED, was going to leave too, but Ken put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"I didn't want to intrude" she whispered.
"You're part of this family too" he said quietly, and Sakura stood contentedly next to him.
"Some welcome this is, Aya!" Omi teased, "Aren't you happy to see us?"
"With Ran gone…" she said, composing herself, "you were the only ones I had and when you left…I thought you forgot about me!"
Ken felt a twinge of guilt there. Yes, they had stayed with her for awhile after Ran had died. But they got preoccupied with their own lives soon after. There wasn't anything wrong with that, Ken knew. But it bit at him.
He decided to tease her. "I think you're the one who forgot about us" he said, nodding to the men who were pressing their faces against the glass, eager to find out who these men were and what their beloved Aya and Sakura had to do with them.
She just laughed and pulled down the metal blinders over the bewildered faces.
They looked more alike than ever now, though the difference in hair color was still prominent.
Same sculpted features, but with figures now very wonderfully feminine and mature. Glittering eyes, generous smiles. It was no wonder that men regularly flocked to the shop to see them. Aya, who'd almost always seemed like such a child before, had blossomed into a fine woman, and Sakura, who was slightly older than she, paced her age perfectly.
"What a portrait you two make" Yoji said, looking at the two women who were setting up dinner.
"You never change, Yoji" Aya said with a laugh over her shoulder. "Christmas dinner with you three. I never dreamed of it!"
"Where's Granny?" asked Omi, looking around and suddenly remembering the old lady with the cat.
Sakura giggled. "She got remarried in the tropics. Living in Hawaii now. Writes once in awhile. She is very, very happy"
A smile tugged at Ken's lips at the thought. "I wish I had been there"
"You missed a whole lot of things" said Aya, hesitated, then changed the topic to lighter issues. "This is really a nice surprise, you guys. How long do you plan on staying?"
"This is going to sound funny," said Yoji, giving his two other friends a significant look. "This girl I'm trying to impress in my apartment block asked me if her mother could stay in my place for the holidays, and, of course I said yes. I forgot that I actually promised Omi he could stay at my place while he gets his house remodeled, so we're both 'homeless' for awhile. We were on our way to Ken's, but he was just leaving his house because it was getting fumigated. And here we all are"
Aya's eyes narrowed a little in assimilation of the information, looking suspiciously like Ran. "I see. You're here by default"
"Surprise!" exclaimed Yoji lamely.
She frowned a little. "It's just as well. You can have your old rooms upstairs"
"Are you sure we wouldn't be a bother?" asked Omi.
"Of course not" she said, "we never cleaned them up. Everything that is yours is still there"
She hadn't spoken the painful and apparent part, though.
The rooms were never cleared of their belongings, because she always assumed they would come back.
There was only one room in the building that was 'cleaned up' and that was the one that belonged to Ran.
Not that it had changed much; but it was a suite shared by Aya and Sakura now, despite the great amount of available space in the building.
Omi peered through the room, undetected by Aya who was sitting by one of the few things she added to the place; a vanity.
He cleared his throat to announce his presence, and she favored him with a gorgeous smile through the mirror.
"Hello" she greeted, slipping on dipped diamond earrings. She was wearing a long satin dress of the color of pink roses, and her hair was up in a complicated looking bun.
"How long since Sakura moved in?" Omi asked, looking around the room. Another one of the few changes was that the large bed had been replaced by two single ones.
Aya's brows furrowed in thought. "Well…You moved away nearer to your university and never came back. Ken moved closer to his team and Yoji got lonely around here with everyone gone and me having to go away to school, so he left too. When I graduated I realized how alone I was and invited Sakura to stay with me and she agreed. Soon after, Granny left too. And there's just been the two of us since then"
"How are the shop's figures?" asked Omi.
She smiled a little to herself. There seemed to be some secret joke there.
"Well," she pondered it over, "let's just say we do your sales records proud"
Omi chuckled. Male customers in exchange for female ones. Right.
"It goes even higher, once in awhile" she added, slipping on a matching diamond necklace. "when Manx and Birman come in to help"
Now this was a surprise.
"They do that?" asked Omi.
"They find the time" Aya said wryly, clearly implying that he, along with Yoji and Ken should have too. "How do I look?" she asked brightly, changing the topic.
"Fantastic" replies Omi, but frowns a little. "Though I don't get it. We just had supper. Where are you going?"
"I have a date" she replied, "He's from England, and they keep weird hours there. It's a very late function at the Shangri-La"
"Is this the party Lady Crossing is hosting?" asked Omi, remembering that he too had been invited to the event by the aging socialite, but wasn't going because he wanted to spend the holidays with Ran's sister. If he remembered correctly, Yoji and Ken also declined the invitation. It irked him a little that they opted not to go because of her, and she was ditching him.
"Yes" replied Aya, "I'm dating her grandson"
The wealthy and powerful, no doubt spoiled heir and famous playboy Mick Cromwell. Omi was acquainted with him. What little he knew, he disliked.
"How did you meet?" Omi asked, unknowingly stepping into the role of protective big-brother, though Aya could see it clear as day.
"Don't pull that act on me, Omi" she said, standing up. "I can't put my life on hold for you. Besides, it would be pretty rude of me to stand him up at the last minute, right? So, be nice and just tell me I look so good I'll knock his socks off"
It, thought Omi, was a vast understatement. Being of the privileged class, Omi had seen his share of beautiful women. But Aya surpassed them all, having Ran's timeless enigma and a grace of her own amounted to a woman tantamount to a goddess.
"You'll knock his socks off" Omi conceded, stepping out of the room. He needed to speak with Ken and Yoji.
"She's dating that jerk?" exclaimed Yoji, "but he's…he's…"
"Say it, Kudou" teased Ken, "I dare you"
"Well I'm not as promiscuous as he is" Yoji said defensively. "Either way, Ran is going to have a heart attack with this latest development"
Ken nodded. "And it's our duty to protect her"
"I'm glad we understand each other" said Yoji with a gleam in his eye. "Since we all declined her invitations, I'm sure Lady Crossing will be very pleased we changed our minds about coming"
"Now all we need are dates" said Omi thoughtfully.
Aya didn't even say goodbye.
Her date just honked the horn on his fancy Mercedes, and she sailed down to the ground floor and stepped into the car.
Yoji tsked as he, Ken and Omi watched from the window.
"Didn't even open the door for her" he said with distaste.
"Didn't even get out of the car to ring the bell" said Ken in complete disapproval.
"Didn't even wait until she had on her seatbelt before starting the car" said Omi in dire tones.
Sakura, from behind them giggled. "Now what could the three of you be doing there?" The three whipped around guiltily. How could they have not noticed her sneaky arrival?
"Getting old?" she teased, reading their telltale expressions.
"Whadya think of that guy Mick?" asked Ken.
"Jerk" Sakura waved off the issue. "Jerks come and go. Aya will figure it out soon enough"
"How long have they been going out?" asked Yoji.
"Three months" Sakura answered. "He's very sexy"
"Not soon enough" muttered Yoji.
The doorbell rang, and Omi went to answer the door, where he was met by a fastidious valet and several other men carrying suits.
"What's this?" asked Sakura.
"We're going to crash a party" Ken said, visibly delighted. He raised up one of the clothes, which turned out to be a beautiful couture gown by Lacroix. "For you"
Sakura blanched. "No way! I'm not made for that kind of thing!"
It took them several phone calls to fix this, and a needlessly insecure woman was not going to hamper the plan.
Ken took her shoulders into his hands. "We're going to get rid of a jerk, Sakura. Help us"
"Aya is not going to like it" Sakura warned, though from her tone Ken knew he had already succeeded in convincing her to join them. After all, three bachelors in one party could get pretty messy, with all the girls there looking for eligible husbands. If they brought dates, it would be…'safer' for them.
The doorbell rang again, and in a pretty pose by the ledge were Birman and Manx, looking unattainable and perfect in their gowns.
The gorgeous group of six piled into Ken's limousine.
Sakura's heart bled, wishing Ran would see how nice they looked, going out like this at night, and going to a party, of all things. All dressed to the nines, to protect his sister from a scumbag.
"What a kick he'll get out of this" said Omi, as if reading her thoughts.
She chuckled sadly, tears stinging her eyes.
Sakura was not used to upper-class parties like this one.
The ballroom was alive with aimless chatter and the sparkle of jewels. People kissing the air by each other's cheeks saying 'dahling' and things like that. It was overwhelming; much more so when there seemed to be a pause in the animated murmur the moment their group entered the door.
They looked fetching, she knew. Omi had wanted to take pictures before they left the flower shop: the three men were in fancy Armani suits, with Ken ditching his conspicuous crutch for an ornate cane to aid his walking. She pulled on her Lacroix dress of infinite and misty deep-green lace and Manx had a slinky, blood-red Gucci as Birman was decked out in a golden Versace. But she hadn't expected a reaction quite like that.
Her grip tightened on Omi's arm, in her anxiety, and he patted her hand reassuringly.
What happened next happened in a whirl of sparkly colors: she was introduced to what seemed like fifty million people from one end of the room to the other, before the six finally sat down at a table, joined by Mick and Aya, who had a disapproving look on her face.
"Surprise!" Yoji exclaimed lamely. "We decided to go after all"
"Good for you!" she snapped, settling on her chair.
Yoji tsked; couldn't help it. Mick didn't even pull the seat for her.
Ken too spotted another error; he hadn't offered her his arm when they were walking.
Omi thought that Mick's tie didn't flatter Aya's dress, as it was supposed to if he had thought to consider what she was wearing.
Sakura, seeing their faces, thought they were all crazy.
When the dancing started, Ken decided not to burden his friends with his injured company and just go home early. Sakura, who knew this was one social skill she couldn't 'fake' as she had with the rest of the night, decided to join him.
They settled comfortably in the limousine, the city lights of a Saturday night going by the window.
"Manx and Birman are fantastic, aren't they?" Sakura asked, thinking of the two women who tore up hearts at the party and still had the energy to go dancing with Yoji and Omi, not to mention most likely get to serious work early the next morning.
"Yes" agreed Ken. "Persia's Amazons. They can dominate an office, a crime scene, a party…anything at all"
"I had fun tonight, Ken" said Sakura, "thanks for the dress"
He smiled. "It looked terrific on you"
She laughed at him; it was a genuine laugh that warmed his heart. "But how uncomfortable it is! We had to hide pins in my back because the…uh…upper part was a bit loose"
She blushed. So did he.
"The last time you offered me clothing," she said, looking out the window at the poignant memory, "it was an orange sweater"
Ken remembered it too. They've just rescued her, and Yoji thought that she might have been uncomfortable in the flimsy gown they found her in, so he suggested Ken lend her the jacket he had around his waist.
"I've graduated into giving you better things now" he said, intending it as a joke.
"It meant a lot to me" she said softly.
Silence.
Memories. So crippling.
"Why did you really come back?" she asked, not looking at him, not knowing what she would find there or if she would like it. "And Aya doesn't buy that fumigation story either"
Ken deigned to reply.
It made her face him angrily. "Come on, Hidaka! Why? Why come back now, after leaving her alone for so long? Why guard her now, you've lost all rights to that years ago when you deserted her! If you look past your lives long enough you'll se how hurt she is! Why? WHY?"
It was his turn to avert his gaze and look out the window.
"I can't apologize for leaving, Sakura" said Ken, "we've all got our own lives to lead and I'm glad I chose what I did. However, I'm sorry if I got too caught up in myself to neglect her. But I never forgot what I was and what I had to do. I never deserted her. Never--"
"So you sent her money" seethed Sakura, "and gifts on Christmas, her birthdays…but what she lost and needed was a brother, not a damn…benefactor! What are you doing back here?"
He rubbed his eyes wearily. "How about you? Why did you stay? After everything that has happened? Why did you decide to look out for her when you yourself had your own job, your school, everything! Why give them up for her?"
"I promised Ran," she replied, "I would take care of his sister should he never return from a mission. Technically, it was a different mission then, but a word is a word…" her voice drifted as a realization struck her, making her eyes water. "That's it, isn't it? You're here because, when he died, he made you promise to take care of her too"
"In a manner of speaking" muttered Ken, shifting weight.
"But why so long after his death?" asked Sakura, "why just now? What did he tell you, Ken?"
"Driver, stop" Ken commanded, and the chauffeur immediately complied. They pulled over, and Ken stepped away from the car and looked at a night-market that caught his eye.
Christmas season was equated to sale season, and particularly, markets that were alive with people all the way until sunrise.
"Aya loves going to night markets" Sakura said reflectively. "You know those earrings the siblings share? Bought from stalls like these, when she turned sixteen"
"I didn't know that" Ken admitted; he wanted to stop to distract Sakura, but the revelation was enlightening. Of course, Ran would never have said anything about it.
"What are we doing here?" she asked, consciously tugging at her dress and moving closer to him. "You know," she said in a low voice, "you can get mugged and killed in this place for the cost of your tie alone. The two of us together can buy a goon a small house"
He laughed; she was exaggerating. "Afraid I can't protect you? Me? I work out. I haven't lost my touch, you know" It was ironic; never thought he would ever be insulted that she didn't think he was as skilled an assassin as he used to be.
"You're on crutches, Ken" she pointed out, "Go figure"
He just chuckled. "I need to buy Christmas presents and now is as good a time as any"
"They don't take Mastercards here, Ken" she sneered, "you have cash with you, Goldenboy?"
"You bet I do" he said lightheartedly, as the two sauntered off into the thick of things.
The night was alive with fireworks lighting the skies, and though Ken was pained by the exertion, he was delighted in having Sakura on his arm, the two of them catching stares and catcalls in their fancy clothes in the midst of a crazy night market, eating cotton candy as they shopped.
"You two look like a very sweet couple" a merchant told them for the nth time, no longer making them uneasy but instead making them laugh.
But the merchant wasn't so easily ignored this time, for her stall was sparsely populated due to particularly more expensive merchandise of antiques.
The two walked over, and looked at the random and undoubtedly overpriced bauble; tons of ornate jewelry and figurines, even small trunks and chests and cabinets.
He picked up one of the less ornate chests; a plain, burgundy one with a nice, smooth finish.
"I'll take it" he said to the woman.
Sakura frowned. "But there are other prettier ones" she argued, pointing at the other chests, which had a lot of carvings.
He laughed. "That's too bad you don't like it Sakura, it's for you"
She blushed. "Um…Yeah? I thought you were picking out Aya's present. Um…it's pretty, Ken, really, it is. And much more affordable"
He laughed even more. "Look at it, Sakura. It's called a hope chest. In the old days, when women didn't work or go to school, they bought chests like these and spent their days sewing and crocheting and things like that. They put everything in here, from blankets to table napkins. Things they can use in the future, like, when they get married and have kids of their own. They put their dreams in chests like these. And in one like this" he tapped at the one he was buying, "a serviceable, practical one like this, your dreams could seem to last forever"
She looked at the chest with awe and wonder now, as if thinking about what she was going to put in there. "It's small" she said, wrinkling her nose, and he could see a joke coming in the glitter of her eyes. "My dreams wouldn't fit in there"
"How big are they?" he asked.
She studied him up and down, pretending to be a meticulous scholar. "Well. We'll have to cut off a limb or two, fold you up a bit. It'll be a tight fit…"
Fireworks, in the near distance.
Not as bright as the one just here.
He was there before he thought about it.
His lips, against hers.
It took him a moment to realize she was returning his affection, and that his affection shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Why are you here?
He pulled away from her.
"I'm sorry" he murmured, before turning to the stunned merchant. "Never mind. Leave it"
He took her by the arm and they returned to the car, silent all the way home.
It was a long night.
After the party, everyone was still up, having tea in the basement as Aya Fujimiya began a tirade on how unfair life was.
"I can't believe you did that, really, I couldn't" she said for the nth time, focusing her rage at Yoji who had kissed her in the middle of the dance floor, laying claim, so all the other males would be discouraged into staying away, her own date included.
"If you're worried about your reputation," said Yoji idly, "tell them I thought you were Sakura"
She rolled back her eyes, stomped once in frustration. "You're having fun and I know it! I just feel like such a fool. Mick won't ever call me again and it'll be all your fault!"
Actually, it wasn't just Yoji, though it was the most obvious one. Apart from the kiss, Omi himself had cornered Mick and told him that if he didn't ease up on the Fujimiya girl, some well-placed whispers on the right ears from a boy wonder like Omi could doom his stocks. If Mick had fought for his affections, Omi might have changed his mind about the guy. But he conceded with barely a fight. It was a testament to both his lack of courage, and honorable intention towards Ran's sister.
"I can't believe this" Aya muttered, "You return just in time to ruin my life!"
Wait 'til she hears the rest of it.