"He is still not here," Jargerno muttered as he tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. "Time and again I tell him drag his ass here on time, and he still has the gall to be late!"

"Sorry for being late, elder brother," Dandiero said quietly as he came in through the balcony window.

"You better be," Jargerno mumbled. "Father was asking for you."

"Father? What does the old man want?"

"Us dead," came the flippant reply. "Why are you late?" Dandiero touched the side of his nose slyly. "None of your business, elder brother."

Jargerno scratched the side of his own nose. Both brothers looked alike, Jargerno slightly shorter and brawnier. Dandiero topped six feet by a good two inches, but both brothers had the same classic features; eyes supposedly in the 'dragon' style, eyebrows just over their eyes. Their broad foreheads were topped by silver hair that shone in the moonlight. Dandiero's eyes were a luminous green, while Jargerno's were blue.

But once in a tussle, Jargerno had his nose broken, therefore his nose was slightly out of joint, unlike Dandiero's, still straight and narrow. Their chests were broad, testimony to their rough life in the darker alleys of the slum. Still, they lived in some measure of comfort when in their guild headquarters, headed by one of the more dastardly kingpins in the city. Most of the time, though, they lived in the more run-down parts of the city, where jobs were easy to get, and reputations easier. Jargerno was a known smuggler and good at his job, though no police would admit that they never could catch him. Dandiero was a good assassin-for-hire, an excellent vocation for someone as trigger happy as himself.

But Jargerno was not ignorant of his younger brother's activities when not on a job, mainly running drugs back and forth, poisoning the slum folks with toxic chemicals. Jargerno was actually against such activities, but Dandiero was ambitious in his zeal to rise up the ranks of their guild.

"You try that crap yourself, Dan?" Jargerno asked his brother as they went down the staircase to see their father.

Considered a 'mad scientist' by many of the people, Zemmo was an obsessive man who spent his days tampering his telescope to get a better view of the stars and making contact with alien beings. Jargerno had seen more than once his crazy father actually communicating with aliens. He was crazy. Both brothers thought so. And so he was.

"Doesn't make sense, why Father would want to see me," Dandiero did not appear perplexed, his face a mask.

"It makes perfect sense," Jargerno replied. "He is our father." "But-"

"DANDIERO!!!!"

"Trouble," Jargerno snickered with a smirk. "Did you do anything?"

"I solemnly swear I didn't," Dandiero said a straight face. His lips twitched. "All right, I admit, I touched one of his glass tubes."

"You touched," Jargerno repeated.

"Yeap."

"Yeah, Danni, you and your magic touch."

"DANDIIIEEEERRRRROOOOO!!!!!!"

"Fireworks, man, fireworks!" Dandiero said with a quirked grin.

"DANDIIIEEEERRRRROOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

"That must've been one hell of a touch."

"Yeah. It was. Big bang." Dandiero nodded meaningfully. "Big bang."

Both brothers nodded as if they were two wise men agreeing.

Zemmo slammed the door open, wild eyed, his hair askew due to his occasional electrical experiments. Some of his tests had left permanent marks on him, such as the wart that grew on his left cheek when once trying to extract certain chemicals from swamp water. On his right cheek, his skin seemed to stretch over a small leaf, a failed experiment, due to Dandiero and Jargerno's mischief.

"DANDIIIEEEERROOOOOO!!! YOU!!!! YOU!!! YOU…" he sputtered, trying to find proper words. "YOU STUPID BOY!"

"I'm not a boy, Father," Dandiero replied calmly.

"YOU ARE AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED! LOOK AT WHAT YOU"VE DONE!!!"

Jargerno and Dandiero looked into the messy room which their barmy father called a lab. It didn't look like anything out of the ordinary.

"Looks normal to me," Jargerno commented. "Messy as usual."

"DON'T YOU SEE????"

"No," both brothers said. It was a bad answer, they knew but they winked at each other, waiting for the bigger version of their father's current tantrum.

"'NO??'" their father roared. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'NO'????"

"Exactly. We don't see what's wrong."

Their father howled like a mad dog and began lacerating them. They relaxed quite used to all this wild lectures. They never made any sense, anyway.

"Well, that one was fairly quick," Jargerno said after their father had fainted from lack of breath.

"Should we do something about that?" Dandiero asked, looking down at the nearly blue face of the madman.

"No. He'll come about. But we wouldn't want to be around when he does, right?"

"Good thinking. I've got a job, by the way. What say we wipe out the Kakero Twins?"

"You're crazy, of course," Jargerno said.

"But the Head is offering big-time money, and we could use the cash."

"Dan, we don't have enough skill to fight those two mid-town crashers. You wanna die early?"

"But-"

"Yes?"

"They've been weakened."

Jargerno was now surprised.

"How is that?"

"There's a new girl in town if you haven't heard," Dandiero told Jargerno as they walked upstairs to their shared study, where pictures of their victims hung all over the place. The two brothers were quite macabre in their assignments, and proof to that were heads that hung from the ceiling. It was ghastly for the faint-hearted, but the Mitsushita siblings were famous for their great skill in disposing of their own enemies.

"What's a new girl got to do with the Kakero Twins?"

"What else?" Dandiero asked exasperatedly. "Haven't you been listening to the gossips? She's the girl, got it?"

"I see. So you think the Kakero will relax themselves around her?"

"Naturally."

Jargerno took up a sketchbook and began drawing. Dandiero lazed in his chair, his feet up the table. The heavy boots thumped loudly.

"Who you drawin'?"

Jargerno showed the picture to the younger brother. Then he tore out the page, put a dart through it and sent the dart, picture and all to the southern wall. The well-drawn sketch of the Kakero Twins swung side to side.

"Let's go."

"You know, Jargerno?"

"Yes?"

"We make a great team, don't we?"

"Yes."

"And you know what?"

"What?"

"Sometimes, being an assassin-for-hire really rocks."

Jargerno grinned at his younger brother's exuberance. "Yes, Dandiero, it does."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Areena Gains was new to town. She had wide, dewy green eyes and a small face with a sweet turned-up nose and a slightly pouted mouth. Petite and fond of pink, she walked among the customers of the little tavern, her extremely thick brown hair swishing gently behind her.

At first she didn't notice the two large men who had entered the tavern, since the two lean, mean looking men kept on getting her attention and making veiled remarks at her.

"You!" Jargerno shouted. "Give us two glasses of vodka, and go easy on the spice."

"Yes, sir!" Areena replied as cheerfully as she could without losing her patience. She ran quickly to the bar and got the orders.

"Areeeeena! Areeeena!" the two mean men called again.

"Coming, coming!"

"What did I tell you? They're infatuated with her," Dandiero told Jargerno. "And check her out…"

Areena ran to their table and placed the tray down. "Your vodka, good sirs," she said. It was then she noticed. The two of them were large, and one was staring at her. He looked rough and dark, as if he had spent much time in the sun. The other one looked younger, more fair and… to her disappointment not looking at her.

"You see 'em?" Dandiero still hadn't seen Arena's face. Jargerno wasn't listening. He was doing what everyone else was doing, which was staring at Areena.

"Jargerno? Jargerno?" Dandiero asked.

"Is there anything else you want, sir?" Areena asked, tilting her head slightly to get his attention and a better look at his face. If the frontal view of his face was as handsome as his profile, she'd be happy to serve him anything else.

Dandiero turned to look at her, his voice stuck in his craw. "Ah… ah… Never mind. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks!"

Areena giggled and left.

"Thanks!!" Dandiero called after her.

"I think…" Jargerno said, his voice trailing away. "We shouldn't do this here…"

"Why not?" Dandiero asked, still looking.

"Obviously…"

"Yeah, sure beautiful."

"Distraction…."

"And serves damned good vodka too."

Actually he hadn't even touched his vodka.

That guy is so handsome, she thought, looking over her shoulder shyly.

That gal... that gal..., Dandiero thought incoherently, still staring.

"Dan?" Jargerno barely managed to shake himself out of it. "Danni?"

Dandiero didn't hear.

"Hello?" Jargerno waved a hand in front of his brother's eyes.

"Hmmmm?"

"The Kakero Twins?"

"Yeah. She sure is beautiful."

Jargerno decided to act. He grabbed Dandiero by the arm and dragged him out of the tavern. "Dandiero!" he smacked his younger brother's cheeks with both hands. "Snap out of it! She didn't even cast a spell!"

"Huh? Oh! Elder brother! Did you see her? Wasn't she something?" Dandiero asked enthusiastically.

Jargerno sighed. "This is going to be one long assignment."

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Areena hummed as she hung up her apron. "My! Were those boys so taken with you!" the bartender's kindly wife gushed. "I don't think I've ever seen the men so well-behaved!"

Areena blushed. "It wasn't anything. They're just being polite."

"Oh, no, my dear, they're never polite!"

Then an idea occurred to her. "Mam Dresden, who was that tall man? The one with silver hair that ordered the vodka?"

"Lots of men ordered vodka, dear. Which one?"

"The one with those strange green eyes."

"Oh, that one! Well, I've never heard his name before, but his elder brother is usually referred to as the Juggernaut. They're two dangerous men, you know. Just as bad as the Kakero Twins."

"Oh, Mam Dresden, I don't like them at all!" Areena pouted. "They keep on saying nasty things to me."

"No one does, m'dear, but we have to live with them. Well, look at the time! You'd better move along, dearie, before your father starts to worry."

Areena bid her kind-hearted employer good night and left the tavern, making her way to the block of buildings owned by her father. She didn't really have to work, but she'd felt so bored the first day with nothing to do, and anyway, this was a good way to associate with other people.

"Pretty, pretty birdie," someone jeered. Areena gasped.

"Ton and Kon Kakero!"

"She recognises us, Ton. How sweet of her," another voice sneered right behind her. Someone grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. "Now, pretty birdie is going to entertain us on a one-to-one basis."

Areena screamed as loudly as she could. And only one block away, two men heard her.

"Did you hear that?" Dandiero asked Jargerno.

"Girls scream every now and then, Dan."

"It was her, Jargerno. I swear it."

"Now, now, Danni, I know you're infatuated with her, but- Dan, come back here!"

Dandiero didn't reply. He was already running off up the building and jumping as nimble as a cat through the shadows. "The Kakero twins!" he realised. "And that's the girl! They're attacking her!"

"You got an ear for the lovely ladies, don't you?" Jargerno panted behind him. "Whoa, you're right! It is her!"

"I'm going to rescue her," Dandiero said in a very determined tone and without warning, he jumped down from their perch on the building top down… down… down… "Dan, you fool! We're three floors up!!"

Jargerno decided to follow suit, even though it was a crazy idea.

Dandiero's boot landed squarely on Areena' attacker, literally falling on top of him. He grabbed Areena' by her slim waist and drew out a dagger from his boot quickly just as one of the Kakero twins tried to side-kick him.

Areena screamed again, clinging to whoever it was that rescued her. He was large, she could almost hide in him under his cloak.

"Dandiero, you ass! How many times do I have to tell you…" Jargerno swiftly delivered a hard punch to the face of one of the Kakero twins, breaking the latter's cheekbone. "Never start without me! And watch out behind you!"

Dandiero swung about, still cradling Areena in one large arm and a dagger in the other hand and struck out blindly with his only weapon. The blade sunk into flesh, relieving Dandiero, who wasn't sure whether it would hit anything at all.

"Well, they're dead," Jargerno said with satisfaction. "No more Kakero twins to plague us."

Areena couldn't believe her ears. They were talking about the deaths of two men so calmly as it was nothing. She felt herself being let down and staring into the appealing face of the man she'd seen earlier.

"Are you all right?"

He had the most unusual eyes, she noted. They seemed to glow in the dark, and his brother's glowed blue. She smiled charmingly. "Yes. Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome, Miss…?" he asked, fishing for a name to call her.

"Areena Gains," she replied. "I just moved here."

"So I heard. I'm sorry you had to endure this, um, dreadful experience only a few days living here," Dandiero said with a half smile that was apologetic.

"Cut the jabber into half, Dan, we've gotta go," Jargerno yawned. "The prize money on the Kakero twins must be big."

"Dan?" Areena asked.

"Dandiero. That's my name. And this is my brother, Jargerno," Dandiero didn't feel like sharing her company with anyone else, but he didn't want to appear rude, either.

"Charmed," Jargerno drawled. Then he had a revelation. "Miss Gains, your father is the scientist Professor Gains, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," she answered modestly. "Do you know him?"

"Our father speaks of him occasionally," Dandiero gave the quick reply. Although not much he says is nice, he added mentally. "Why don't I walk you back to where you live? It's not really safe for a nice girl like you to be out on these streets alone at night."

"Dan…" Jargerno began, but Dandiero gave him such a mutinous look that he gave up. "Fine," he muttered. "I'll do it myself." Aloud, he said, "I'm off now, younger brother. Why don't you escort her back to her home first? I'll see you later."

"Yeah, sure."

"Do you mind?" Areena asked sweetly.

"With such charming company? Oh, no, not at all," was the speedy answer. "So tell me, what is your father up to nowadays?" he asked conversationally, not really wanting the walk to end.

Jargerno was following them, watching from the rooftops. Dandiero tended to get cocky if no one was watching him, and Jargerno also wanted to find out what would happen. Dandiero was a besotted young man, all calf-eyed and at attention to this new girl in town.

Jargerno covered his mouth to prevent a snicker from coming forth. She was lovely, he'd give her that. He'd go for her, too, if he wasn't already attached to someone else. He wondered for one moment what the guild masters would make of this infatuation, but decided not to brood on such dark thoughts now.

"Here we are," Areena said as she reached the door of her father's house. "Well," she said shyly, "I just want to say thanks for saving me just now near the tavern. It was very nice of you, I mean, well, no one else came to my help, despite my shouting for help, but you did."

"The Kakero twins are feared. Were, I guess."

The two of them stood in awkward silence for a while, not really knowing what to do.

"Are you free-" both of them began at the same time, then Areena blushed and said, "You go first."

"Are you free on Sunday afternoon?" Dandiero asked. "We could go for luncheon and maybe even watch a play."

The heavens are smiling on me, he thought when Areena smiled radiantly and replied, "I'd love to go."

"Great! Sunday, then! I'll come pick you up."

She nodded, eyes sparkling, at least he thought so. "All right. See you then. Good night, Dandiero."

With that, she turned and went in the house. Dandiero blinked. No kiss? he thought in disappointment as he, too turned and began walking down the street back to his own run-down home.

From inside, Areena Gains watched the large young man walk away. His legs set like tree trunks, his shoulders huge and broad. His flowing silver hair almost glinted in the foggy lamp-post light. She touched the side of her waist, remembering the large hand that had quickly rescued her from trouble and she smiled as she went off to bed.

"Just right there, young lady!" her stern housekeeper ordered.

"Oh, Morna, I have a date!" Areena ran up to the skinny woman and hugged her so hard the she gasped for breath. "With the cutest guy I've ever seen! Morna, did you see him? He's gorgeous! He saved me just now, you know, from the Kakero Twins, Morna, I'm so excited!"

Morna didn't feel like telling Areena who she was going to date anymore, seeing the lovely girl so happy and delighted. Then she considered the girl's words carefully. Dandiero going out of his way to save a young woman? Maybe the young assassin-for-hire wasn't so bad a man, after all.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"OoooOOooooh, somebody's got a date with the cutest girl in town!" Jargerno began ribbing him first thing Dandiero entered their study. The heads of the Kakero twins were already hanging, and there was a big bag on the table, out of which bundles of money had tumbled out.

Dandiero smiled and sat down, leant back and put his feet on the table. And he kept on smiling.

"DANDEEEIIIIRRROOOO!!!!!" their father howled and burst into their room.

"Hmmmm?" Dandiero's head was still in probably outer space even while his father went on with his tirade.

It was long, long, long, long while before Dandiero stirred to ask his brother, "I just realised that I don't know where to take her, she's such a nice girl. Can you ask Kinora where's a good place to go?"

"I tell you where's a fashionable place to go, Danni. The Golden Cup Restaurant is the best place to take a lovely girl like her, and whenever Kinora feels like acting like a snob, we go there. I'm sure she'd enjoy it. Here, take a wad of money with you when you go. The bill can be pretty steep."

"Thanks, elder brother."

"Anytime, Danni."

Dandiero didn't respond to the childish-sounding nickname his brother had called him for once.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Yo, Danni?" Jargerno asked, entering his younger brother's bedroom.

Dandiero was, to Jargerno's disgust, still wearing that silly smile even in his sleep. He occasionally rolled over, mumbling Areena's name in his sleep.

"Dan?"

Dandiero just rolled over and muttered Areena's name again.

"DANDIERO!" Jargerno yelled into his ear this time.

"WAAAAHHH!!!" Dandiero yelped as he sat up in shock. "Who? What? Where?"

"It's me, your elder brother Jargerno, and you have an assignment to steal Professor Gains' notes from his lab, which is under his house, and you know where that is, right?"

"Professor Gains? That's…"

"Areena's father."

Dandiero was quiet for a long while, so much so Jargerno felt that he wouldn't take the job at all. Then he said quietly, "I wonder how she looks like when she's sleeping."

Jargerno blinked. "Man, you just spent what, the last eight hours dreaming about her?"

Dandiero sat up, pulling his knees to his chest. "But I was just dreaming about her. It's not the same as the real thing."

"By the way, Sunday's three days away."

"I'll steal the notes tonight, then."

"Ah, what about her? Aren't you going to, like, have to apologise?"

"I'll buy her some jewellery, then. Women love jewellery. Anyway, it's some crazy scientist notes. Why would she care?"

Jargerno scratched his head. If he had stolen something from one of Kinora's family, she'd be after him and screeching into his ear, and if not that, she wouldn't be talking to him for weeks on end. Then he shrugged. Dandiero always did his own thing, anyway.

Dandiero went about his usual morning grooming routine quickly. Feeling more light-headed than before, he couldn't believe he was actually singing as he took a shower. Then he dressed up to the nines and went downstairs. Jargerno had just finished his breakfast, which they had like any other ordinary family, and even their father was in one of his rare sane moods.

Jargerno choked, seeing Dandiero dressed in such style. Black vest over white shirt, with a grey coat and matching trousers, and even a grey cravat thrown in. "Good grief! I never would have thought of it!"

Dandiero adjusted his cravat again. "What do you think, Dad?" he asked his father.

"The boy has fashion sense!" Jargerno chortled merrily.

Their father just stared at him with a strange look in his eyes, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Where do you think you're going looking like that?"

"I'm going to see the most beautiful girl in the entire city."

Zemmo blinked owlishly until Dandiero made a move for the door. "Wait just right there, young man! You're not going out looking like that!"

Dandiero ignored him and walked out. First he went to the florist shop and bought as many roses as he could hold in one hand, and having a large hand, it was a large bouquet of roses he bought in the end. Everyone stared at this large, usually dark, hostile looking young man walking up the streets with a large bouquet in his large hand, crowds giving large berth for him to move, until he reached the large house where the new, petite girl stayed.

"You know," Jargerno mused to Kinora as they watched him from the building tops. "This is actually quite embarrassing to watch."

"But you find it amusing, don't you?" Kinora asked, a grin on her cheeky face.

"Naturally. Why would I want to miss out on watching my brother making an ass of himself?"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

It was the Gains' housekeeper who answered the door. As soon as she saw who it was ringing the doorbell, she promptly swung around and called, "Areena, a young man is here to see you."

Areena had been combing her hair still, undecided on whether to go to work today or just stay home. On one hand, Dandiero might go to the tavern to look for her. On the other hand, he might come here.

"Areena! I said a young man is here to see you!!" Morna called again, even louder than before.

"Huh? Oh, coming!" Areena quickly rushed about her toilette.

"Why don't you just give this to her first, ma'am," Dandiero suggested helpfully, handing over the large bouquet. "I'll wait for her."

"Why, yes, of course, wait in the morning room over there," Morna indicated a door to her right, still struggling to get a grip on the bouquet. Then she went upstairs, mumbling to herself, "With him here, at least I won't have to worry about any other fops calling on her." She glanced out the window at the crowds looking in curiously. "No, definitely no other male callers for her today," she concluded.

"Oh my gosh! Are those for me?" Areena gasped when she saw the huge bouquet. She doubted she could carry it herself. "Who bought these?"

"Who else?" Morna put the flowers on the bed. "Dandiero himself."

Areena swung around. "Dandiero?"

"Yes, now get dressed and-"

"He's here!" and all she did was to grab her morning robe and run downstairs.

"Areena! Come back here! You're not properly dressed yet!"

Dandiero leant back on the sofa, looking through a newspaper he saw on the table. He didn't usually read the newspaper, since everyday life was quite mundane to him, but he felt annoyed with those people staring at him from outside. All he could do was pretend this was just some ordinary visit; not an ordinary affair for someone of his reputation.

"Dandiero?"

He put down the newspaper and stood up. "Good morning, Areena," he greeted as cheerfully as he could. Years of being serious had definitely cramped his style. He then had a good look at her. Good grief, she's not dressed yet, he thought, taking in the rose pink robe tied up with only a sash and the barely visible pink lace of her night-gown. Her brown hair was tied loosely only with a pink ribbon, making some sort of messy ponytail, the luxuriously long, silky locks cascading down her back. Wow.

"Oh, gods, it's gonna get embarrassing," Jargerno mumbled to Kinora. They were watching from outside at the back of the crowd. Jargerno was taller than everyone else, and Kinora, only four feet tall, was perched on his shoulders.

Areena ran to Dandiero and practically smashed into him, hugging him as hard as she could. "I got your flowers. It was very sweet of you," she said, looking up at him, green eyes twinkling. "But don't you think it was a bit overdone? I mean, I can't carry all that many flowers, you know," she teased him.

"Well, I didn't really care much about that, just wanted you to have… as many flowers as I could hold in one hand."

She looked at his large hand. "That's still a lot of flowers. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Ah… I think I should be the one apologising, after all, you… um," he looked down at her, or, more likely, her dressing, "you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Well, no, would you care to join me at the dining table?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

She conversed gaily with him as she ate and offered him breakfast as well, which he accepted graciously, since he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Her company was charming and vivacious, making him wonder if he could fit her into his schedule today and take her out, maybe for the entire day.

Areena realised belatedly, just as they were finishing their breakfast, that she'd eaten an entire morning meal in just her night-gown and morning robe. She quickly shot out her chair and blushed. "I'm so sorry for making you wait again, but I'll be down in five minutes," she apologised and ran out. Morna was at the door and received an admonishment. "Why didn't you tell me I wasn't dressed properly?" Areena hissed at her, so loudly Dandiero chuckled.

Morna came in, rolling her eyes, to clear the table. "Why don't you wait some more in the parlour, young man? She doesn't usually take very long to dress."

"Jargerno, I want to join their party," Kinora was pouting and acting the pampered brat with him. "Please, Jargerno? You can have your close-up of them if you go along with me, please?"

"But, it'd get too embarrassing if I'm in the same room," Jargerno protested. "After all, Danni is my brother."

Kinora pouted and turned away sulkily.

"Oh, all right," Jargerno finally conceded, unable to resist his girlfriend anything.

Dandiero stirred his tea, not really wanting to drink it. He was unused to tea, having been born on the boondocks. He breathed a sigh of relief when Areena came downstairs, finally!, and continued to entertain him with her amiable chatter. She liked pink, and knew how to use magic, which put her all the higher on his list of priorities.

He told her about his crazy father, and his brother who 'really wishes he could make it today, but he had to take his girlfriend out somewhere'.

And that girlfriend was the next caller Areena received. Morna couldn't believe it. The Juggernaut was in the house with his extremely small lover, Kinora Jamera.

"Is Miss Areena Gains in?" Kinora asked eagerly. "I just wanted to welcome her into the neighbourhood and call on her, having heard she moved here not too long ago, and I thought she'd enjoy some company."

"Miss Gains is also entertaining guests at this moment in the parlour," Morna replied, a bit leery of Jargerno's height.

"Oh really? So quickly? Well, considering what I heard about her, it's no wonder, then, I'll just join them, is all."

"Do come in, Miss Jamera," Morna invited. She took them to the parlour. "Miss Areena, Lady Kinora Jamera is here to see you."

Dandiero muttered a low oath under his breath.

"Hello, Miss Gains, my name is Kinora, and this is my fiancé, Jargerno," Kinora gushed, "You look absolutely lovely, why I can see the reason everyone is talking about you when I was making my way here to see you."

"Thank you, Miss Kinora," Areena said graciously. Kinora was actually shorter than her, and behind her, Jargerno towered over her like a giant. She was quite pretty, with her dark blond hair and tilted grey eyes. "And pleased to meet you again, Jargerno."

"Jargerno told me all about what happened last night, Miss Gains. You know, it was most fortunate that Danni saved you, otherwise who knows what might have happened! Oh, there you are, Danni!" Kinora exclaimed as if she just saw him.

"Just call me Areena, and yes, Dandiero was most kind to call on me this morning to, err, see how I was."

Dandiero had a quirked eyebrow. "Kinora is your fiancée?" he asked Jargerno. "Is that official?"

"It will be soon, Danni," Kinora told him. "Don't feel left out just because you don't know."

"I didn't say I felt left out."

"Whatever you say, Danni."

"Kinora, will you please stop calling me Danni??"

"Sure… Danni."

Jargerno and Kinora chuckled when Dandiero gave up and leant back into the sofa, drumming his fingers on his knee. He took up more than half the entire sofa length, meant for three people.

"Please, Kinora, why don't you and Jargerno sit down?" Areena asked before Dandiero could blow up. He looked more than annoyed and his eyes were dangerously lit. To calm him, she sat next to him. "Dandiero was just telling me about your vocations as merchantmen."

"Merchantmen?" Jargerno blinked. Then he replied, "Oh, yes, we deal in general merchandise. It actually pretty unhealthy business, but as you can see, neither me nor Dan have died yet." He decided not to mention the drug-trafficking and smuggling.

"She's leaning on him," Kinora murmured to Jargerno.

Jargerno didn't need to look. Dandiero was trying to monopolise her attention again, Morna noted disapprovingly, and he had his arm about her waist. The old lady nearly felt like laughing when she noticed the look on his face. Perhaps Areena could bring him back to the straight and narrow? It looked like it.

After an hour or so of chatting, Jargerno stood up and said, "Oh well, we've monopolised your company for long enough, Miss Gains. Come along, Dandiero, we have chores to do," he said pointedly.

Dandiero opened his mouth to protest, still reluctant to give up Areena' company, and that point, seeing it, Kinora suggested to Areena, "Since Jargerno is going to be busy for the rest of the day, dear, and so will Dandiero, why don't you and I go for a girls' day out in town?"

"I-" Dandiero began.

"Have debts to collect," Jargerno finished for him. "You will come by to see her after you're done, anyway. Have a lovely day, dear," he told Kinora. "Come on, Dan."

"Was there an ulterior motive to that visit?" Dandiero growled as the two brothers went out the door.

"Actually, no," Jargerno admitted truthfully. "It was Kinora's idea, actually. Did you get a good look at the house? You still have to steal the notes, you know."

"I'll get around to it," Dandiero snapped, his good mood ruined when Jargerno and Kinora stepped through the door.

"Just get moving, Dan," Jargerno said patiently. "You have plenty of time to make amends before Sunday. Did you see the latest shipment of jewels, by the way? I think you should check out the new collection."

Those words initially had no effect, then Dandiero's lips curled upwards slowly.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

A shadow slipped its way down a window into the large house, then made its quiet way down to the basement, opening doors so silently it was like a movie without sound.

Professor Gains was snoring at his desk, the remnants of his papers still on his table. The shadow slowly made its way towards the black briefcase next to the table.

Dandiero very gently moved away and as quietly as possible went back the same way he came. Professor Gains snorted in his sleep, waking himself up and immediately reaching for the briefcase.

Time to run.

"STOP, THIEF!" Professor Gains shouted, running after Dandiero, but the young man was already running off too quickly. "Guards!! After him!!"

Dandiero ran among the dark hallways, looking for a window to jump out of without giving away his identity, since the roads all around the house were lit. He found no such satisfactory window. Finally he decided to brazen it out and quickly, like a shadow melting into the darkness, opened a door and went in.

A window! He ran to it and opened the balcony window.

Areena gasped and sat up on her bed, turning on the light. "Dandiero!"

Oops, he thought and made up something on the spot. He rushed up to her bed, kissed her, shocking her and himself, then said, "I'll buy you anything you like on Sunday. Please cover for me." With that, he dived under the covers of her bed and switched off the light.

Her door slammed open. "Miss Gains, are you all right? Where's the perpetrator?" one of the servants chasing Dandiero asked.

Areena, still dazed from the kiss, simply pointed at the opened window.

"Professor, he's gone out the window!"

"Well, don't just stand there! Go after him! He couldn't have gotten far!"

Areena leant forward to watch the servants run past her door. She felt something being pressed into her hand. One of them was good enough to notice her and kindly closed the door.

She held up a box and opened it.

"Are they gone?" Dandiero asked from under the covers of the bed.

"What's this?" Areena asked, looking at the large ruby pendant which fit neatly into the palm of her small hand.

Dandiero grunted as he got up, his feet hitting the board at the bottom of her bed. "Your bed's so small."

"More like you're too big for it," she replied testily, looking at him up and down. He was wearing snug shoulder plates and form-fitting shirt and trousers with large soft-leathered boots that fit his large feet perfectly. "What are you doing in my house at this time of night, Dandiero?" Then her eyes widened. "You didn't come to steal my father's notes, did you?"

"Ah… well…."

"You did!" Areena cried, seeing the black briefcase. "How could you? And why?"

"It's a job. My guild master says that it contains some dangerous information and he wants them destroyed. Otherwise this city could be put in jeopardy," Dandiero lied.

"And what's this?" Areena asked, holding up the pendant. "Something by way of apology?"

"I don't apologise for doing a job, Areena. I just thought I'd slip by and leave it by your bedside, but I didn't have enough time to go wandering about looking for your room." That one wasn't a lie.

She sat in silence for a long while. "I think," she said quietly, "I'm going to cancel our Sunday date."

"Oh, no, Areena, you can't!" he was too shocked to say anything else. "Hey, look, my stealing your father's notes, it was nothing personal, just-"

"Oh, shut up, Dandiero. And get out of my bed."

"Well, if you say so. But I'm still coming to pick you up Sunday." Dandiero stopped just at the balcony window and grinned. "By the way, you look really cute with your hair mussed up. And I like your night-gown."

"Get out!" Areena snapped.

"I love you too, Areena!" he called out just as he jumped out of the window into the dark night.

She paused and stared at the pendant, admiring its fine quality. The gold around it was encrusted with small diamonds. She put it around her neck, admiring how well it looked on her. She then looked into the box and took out the small ring also inlaid with rubies and tried on the earrings.

Secretly, she felt delighted at the gift. The rubies were pink in the moonlight. How nice of Dandiero to remember her favourite colour!

She quickly put away the jewels and went back to bed. Dandiero's huge body had left a great depression in her soft bed and she rolled into it, pulling over the covers.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"All right, how did it go? I see you don't have the jewels anymore. I suppose you managed to leave it by her bedside, as per the romantic plan you first had?" Jargerno said when Dandiero entered the study through the window.

Dandiero sighed. "She says she wants to cancel."

"She… oh, boy, what happened?"

"Her old man woke up when I got his briefcase, so I ran through the house and the very room I tried to hide in? Well, it was hers."

"Whoa! Talk about destiny!"

"Yeah." Dandiero sat down on the table.

"So what'd she say?" Jargerno took a swig of the beer he held in his hand.

"I didn't notice it was her room at first, but I did get to hide in her bed."

Jargerno spit out the beer he had been drinking. "Wow! And? And?"

"I gave her the jewels after the guards were gone and left."

"That's it?"

Dandiero sighed again. "She figured it out and said she wanted to cancel."

"Bummer."

"Yeah."

"What, that's it? Dan, you were in her bed! Her bed!" Jargerno slapped his forehead. "Why didn't you take advantage of that?? You really are stupid!"

"Hey, look, Areena is a nice girl," Dandiero said warningly.

"Yeah, I get it, you're in love," Jargerno drawled.

"I didn't say that." Dandiero actually shifted uncomfortably. "I wish I could make it up to her, though."

"Why not buy her some flowers… again? Tonight, I mean. If you like, I could cover for you while you sneak into your ladylove's room and make lo- make up to her." Jargerno bit his tongue as Dandiero shot him a look. "I didn't say anything."

"And you had better not," his younger brother muttered.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Somewhere in the upper class commercial sections of the city, a kingpin was contemplating the latest mission which, as usual, had good results. Looking over the notes of Professor Gains, he saw plans for wondrous weapons, plans he could use.

But if he were to go ahead and manufacture those weapons, the nosy professor would eventually find out. He would simply have to send someone to dispose of the old man.

"Areena Gains," he muttered, staring at the computer screen where an entire profile of the beautiful brunette was shown. Then with a click, the screen changed; Dandiero's face, serious and cool and all information ever gathered in this slightly mysterious assassin appeared on screen. "You're on your way to lieutenant, boy. Too bad you met her."

A snarling sort of laughter emanated from the kingpin's lips. "With the notes of Professor Gains, boy, you won't be the most dangerous weapon in the city anymore. So I guess you can pay the lovely girl assiduous court, anyhow. If, of course, I decide to let her live."

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jargerno was awakened by the loud sounds coming from downstairs, like two men yelling at each other. It was too much for him not to investigate.

"I'm telling you, Zemmo, those plans are dangerous!!" Professor Gains was shouting.

"I don't care," Zemmo bristled. "If the Shesiutsu wants them you can't do anything about it unless you want to get killed."

"But your boys are part of the guild! Can't they do something??"

"Would you like to ask them yourself? Shesuitsu holds great power over his soldiers, Jargerno and Dandiero are no different, and you realise that!! Anyway, they do no obvious action. They're only runners on the drug circuit. They do the dangerous jobs only when they have to, and usually Dandiero's the logical boy to do it, anyway. I made sure of that."

Jargerno blanched, seeing Areena by her father's side, eyes wide open in innocent dismay listening to all that dirty laundry. He ran upstairs into Dandiero's room. His younger brother was not going to like this new development at all…

"I'm sorry, Areena," Dandiero muttered in his sleep. "Gods, I'm so sorry."

Jargerno stopped himself just in time. Maybe...

He ran back downstairs. "Professor Gains!" he exclaimed as if he'd just seen him. "What are you doing here?"

"Is this one of your sons, Zemmo?" Professor Gains said apprehensively. Then he turned back and the two old men were back to arguing for all they were worth.

Jargerno beckoned to Areena, signalling for her to follow him upstairs. "I know how you must feel right now, which is probably really angry and betrayed, but I swear to you, Dandiero was just doing his job. It's either he did it, or it's his life on the hang."

They walked upstairs, Jargerno explaining how Dandiero got into the wrong crowd and the wrong line of business, which was actually caused by their mother taking drugs when he was in the womb, which somehow made him stronger and her weaker. Dandiero had been born close to invincible, and though invincible, he was not invulnerable.

"Areena, knight in shining armour he ain't. And that's only one thing I wanted to tell you. Here's his room. Just… don't wake him up."

"What is it?" Areena asked cautiously.

"Something he'd probably want you to know, but he's also probably too chicken to acknowledge."

She went inside a bit warily, wondering whether the elder brother was pulling her leg. Dandiero was so large for his bed he had to lie on his side in a almost curled up position. He mumbled her name and rolled over onto his back, his feet on the foot-board of his bed. He wasn't wearing any shirt, just having his thin sheet of a blanket up to his waist.

Suddenly, his mumbling became more fervent. "Areena, I'm sorry, Areena."

Areena peeked at his face, his silver eyebrows drawn together in a frown. She touched that dark frown gently. "Is he really asleep?" she whispered to Jargerno.

Jargerno rolled his eyes. "He's been doing that for the past few nights since he first met you. I don't think he even knows he does it, but it's bloody annoying."

She didn't reply to that. Dandiero was fascinating to look at when asleep. She sat next to him, just watching him sleep. The sheet was tangled between his legs, due to his constant movement.

"Forgive me, Areena," Dandiero then muttered. He rolled over again.

"That's a new one," Jargerno commented. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Gains, I promised Kinora I'd give her something."

"Jargerno?"

"Yes?"

"You love Kinora, don't you?"

"Of course. She's a complete angel… even if she's got underground contacts. Why?"

"Doesn't your job get in the way sometimes?"

Jargerno thought for a while. "We're deal with absolutely different things, so, can't say it does."

"Never mind, then."

Suddenly, Dandiero was actually trashing around. "Areena! I'm sorry! Wait, Areena!"

"Dandiero! I'm here!" Areena shook his broad shoulders as hard as she could, not an easy task, considering how heavy he was. "Wake up, Dandiero!"

His eyes, wild and frantic, opened and he grabbed her shoulders. "Areena! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I love you so much, I'd never do anything hurt you, I'm…" then it dawned on him.

Jargerno turned away to laugh.

"I'm awake," Dandiero said in confusion. "I'm…" he looked at Areena with the tiniest bit of horror in his eyes. "Areena?"

Jargerno was gasping for breath as he laughed and laughed and laughed so hard, he doubled over with the tickles in his belly.

Dandiero's face sank into his hands. "I'm so sorry, Areena. Oh, geez…"

"Wait till Kinora hears this one!" Jargerno himself sank to the floor in laughter. "Oh, boy, I can't move at all…" and he went off in another round of chuckles.

"Dandiero?" Areena asked, lowering her face to get his attention.

"Yes?" he was still too mortified to look back at her. "Oh, gods, what an utter ass I've made of myself."

"You can say that again!" Jargerno hooted from his fetal position on the floor.

"Shut up, Jargerno."

"Dandiero, look at me," Areena said softly.

"I don't think I can. You did say you wanted to cancel Sunday. And yes, I did steal your father's notes. It was a job, Areena, I'm sorry, but-"

"Dandiero, I won't cancel Sunday if you just look at me," she told him as calmly as she could, being on the verge of impatience.

It happened slowly, but he did finally lift his face from his hands and looked at Areena straight in her green eyes.

She started to say something, but found that she didn't really have anything to say. Finally she hit on something to say. "I forgive you, Dandiero."

"You do?" the words tumbled out quickly.

"Yes."

Dandiero blinked once, twice, then a brilliant smile appeared on his face. "You do?"

"Yes, Dandiero, I forgive you."

"So… is Sunday cancelled?" Jargerno wanted more details.

Areena didn't get a chance to answer. Dandiero had pulled her to him in a crushing embrace, holding her tightly as if there was no tomorrow. She looked small against him as she hugged him back, and to Jargerno's alarm, Dandiero was quite, quite… naked. He winced, waiting for Areena to notice.

"Good grief, Dandiero, you're barely dressed!" she shrieked, jerking away from him.

"Whew! I was afraid it was going to get even more embarrassing," Jargerno sighed in relief.

"Shut up, Jargerno," Dandiero snapped as he leapt out of bed and grabbed a pair of trousers.

"Well, I'm off now. Tell me how it worked out, okay?"

"I said, shut up, Jargerno."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Jargerno was holding a piece of paper in his hands, deeply troubled. The latest news from their guild masters had come in for the Mitsushita siblings, and it was not something Dandiero was going to be happy about.

Jargerno stared at the calendar. Monday morning. Dandiero was probably still too happy to get up from bed. He'd come home yesterday all smiles, happy that the debacle with Areena had smoothed over.

He's known her only a week, geez, Jargerno was distressed by this new turn of events. And her father'd be dead by this morning.

The elder brother went inside Dandiero's room, trying to make a decision whether or not to save this unpleasant task for later. Then he noticed a hair on Dandiero's coat, the coat which he'd worn the night before. He held up the long brown lock in his fingers.

Jargerno decided to keep quiet and went downstairs to make some preparations for the inevitable. Almost done, he heard Dandiero coming downstairs, cheerfully humming. Their cantankerous father was also at the breakfast table.

"What is it now?"

"Nothing, Dad. Absolutely nothing."

"Well, that's good. Because the Gainses are in trouble."

The humming stopped. "What?"

"Shesuitsu has sent a man to get rid of your girlfriend's old man, and she could be next, unless she's smart enough to leave the city."

"You're pulling my leg," Dandiero said without emotion.

"Yeah, sure, like I'd do that to my own son. You warn her, boy, and warn her good."

"I don't believe you!" Dandiero shouted.

"Too bad."

Dandiero banged his hands on the table and left without saying a word. Jargerno still carried on his work. With enough patience, he could pull this off…

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Dandiero ran, anxious to see Areena. As soon as he started banging on the door, frantically calling for Areena, their dour housekeeper answered.

"Is Professor Gains here? Is he?"

"Whatever is the matter, Dandiero?" Areena came downstairs.

"He's in danger!" he rasped.

"What??" she exclaimed. "When? How?" "Come in, quick, before one of the Shesuitsu see you," Morna ordered him. "Young man, I understand that you stole Professor Gains' notes, but to allege that he is in danger is-"

"Heard it from my father. If he isn't dead by now, he will be soon, and if he is, then Areena is in deep trouble, too." Dandiero stopped for breath.

Morna called a servant, telling her to call Professor Gains down. Areena went to Dandiero, pushing away the unruly locks of silver hair from his sweaty face. "If my father is still alive, I don't think he'd want to stay, hearing this news from you," she told him quietly.

"Either way," he said, holding her small hand in his. "You can't stay. It's too dangerous."

"But Dandi-"

"No, you can't," he said more firmly. "What if I were to be sent after you? I can't betray my guild master, otherwise he'd kill me. And I can't kill you, either. I love you too much to do that. And if you and I were to leave together, we'd have to do so before I receive the order, and I could get it any day now."

"Why would it be you who'd receive the order?"

"Why else? I've been the one who's been close to you since you first came. Whenever we went out, everyone had a good chance to see us, and that could easily get back to my superiors. I'm also the best assassin-for-hire and on my way up the ranks." Dandiero shook his head. "I should've been more careful. I…" He sighed.

"You shouldn't have fallen in love?" Areena ventured a guess.

"I wish I could say that," he said ruefully. He drew her into his arms. "But I am and I wouldn't change it for the world."

"I love you, too, Dandiero," Areena said softly. "If worse comes to worst, would you come away with me?"

"I… I don't know," Dandiero hesitated. "Jargerno is here, and he told me recently he wants to marry Kinora, and if I leave, the Shesuitsu will only send men after me and put a price on my head."

"But if you could?"

That one had no other answer. "Yes."

She looked up at him brightly. "Then-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as a scream from upstairs confirmed exactly what Dandiero had been dreading. Areena pulled away from him and ran upstairs. Morna was waiting for her, eyes sad when she arrived at her father's study.

"No…" she whispered. She looked inside and saw her father slumped over his desk, a dagger protruding from his back. "It can't be…"

Dandiero came just as she burst into tears. It was simple murder to him, so he himself didn't feel the horror, but he felt her anguish, and her tears on her stricken face drew more emotion from him than his more gruesome crimes ever did.

"Dandiero…" Areena cried, running to him and collapsing into his arms. "Oh, Dandiero… He's dead…"

He took her into his arms, saying the same mindless rubbish used to calm women throughout the ages, words that never worked, but tried to, anyway. If her father was gone, she would probably go too, unless he could help it.

But he couldn't, and he cursed himself for his inability to ensure her safety. All he could do was comfort her for now… then send her away despite what pain she still felt.

Sometimes, being an assassin-for-hire really sucked.

"Dandiero," Morna said, the only calm voice in his irrational mind.

"What is it?"

"You must hide Miss Areena. I saw one of the intelligence spies of the Shesuitsu, Dandiero. You are in trouble yourself. And the arm of the Shesuitsu is long. You've got to get moving."

"Yes, Morna. Come, Areena, I'll take you back to my place and we'll decide what to do there."

"I'll pack for her," Morna offered, seeing how incapacitated Areena was still.

Dandiero was left with the upsetting chore of comforting Areena. He was utterly helpless in this; could only hold her close and tightly. "Areena, Areena, it's going to be all right."

After what seemed like an eternity, Morna came back with a small bag containing necessities for Areena. "Thank you, Morna," Areena heard Dandiero say.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To my home. You'll be safe there for the time being. I'll take you the long way, to shake off anyone who might be following." He held her small face in his hands. "Will you trust me in this, Areena?"

She swallowed down her tears hard, nodding.

Dandiero pulled his heavy cloak over the two of them. "Report the murder of Professor Gains to the authorities. Tell everyone that Areena will be moving due to the upset of her father's death." He thought for a moment. "Mention that we were supposed to be going out today."

"But Dandiero, we weren't-"

"Hush, I know. But it makes things sound better. Let's go."

It was a beautiful day, Dandiero noted ironically. Lovely for a Monday, but totally inappropriate for such a terrible occasion. Still, he wasn't about to complain with Areena clinging close to him.

Jargerno and Kinora were out walking, discussing seriously concerning Professor Gains' incipient death. It wasn't too hard for them to spot Dandiero, tall as he was.

"Dandiero!" Jargerno hailed his younger brother.

"Jargerno!"

"Areena! Oh, your eyes are so red!" Kinora gasped, seeing the petite young woman hiding under Dandiero's cloak. At first, Kinora merely thought Areena was simply holding close to Dandiero affectionately, like she did to Jargerno.

"Gains is dead," Dandiero said unemotionally.

"And where, pray tell, are you going to take Areena?" Jargerno asked calmly.

"To our home, where else?"

"Take her to mine, it's secure there," Kinora quickly proposed.

"No!" Dandiero retorted sharply, so sharply Kinora backed away. "No," he said more peaceably.

"I sense trouble," Jargerno murmured to Kinora. To his brother, he said, "Watch out for Father. He might just blow the two of you up in his zeal to stay on Shesuitsu's good side."

"Great. Just what I need. More bad portents of death."

"Just go, Dan," Kinora said.

"Where are you two going?" Dandiero thought to ask.

Kinora blushed. "To the registrar."

"What, no formal wedding?"

"With the Shesuitsu breathing down my neck, hell, sure," Jargerno shot back.

Dandiero managed a small smile, and Areena, too, finally had a small smile on her lips as she congratulated Kinora on her upcoming wedding.

"Oh, it's really nothing. Jargerno and I have been in love a long time, anyway."

"Great time to get pregnant, too," Dandiero put in.

Kinora shot him a look.

Areena looked at Kinora and noticed the small changes. "How did you know she was pregnant?" she asked Dandiero as they walked away. Her eyes narrowed. "You've never had a girlfriend before, have you?"

Dandiero's grin was lop-sided. "Jargerno told me how to see a pregnancy. I'm afraid I was too busy with the guild missions to worry about girlfriends."

Areena smiled a little.

Dandiero was a bit apprehensive while walking. It was like the lull before he made a kill. He knew the feeling. He couldn't shake it off. He looked around, feeling more than wary. Where was the feeling coming from?

Using eyesight made keen from constant practise, he scanned the roads they passed, the windows, the doors, looking for suspicious people, though it was rather stupid to do so, knowing death could come from anywhere; a little lost-looking boy, a frail old woman, a robust honest looking blacksmith.

He spotted the sniper at a window at a distance. It's going to shoot!

Madly, he jumped into a nearby deep drain, holding Areena by the waist as the sniper shots nearly missed them by inches as they fell. Areena screamed, feeling this was the last of them.

"Areena, do you trust me?" Dandiero asked right into her ear. "Because I'm going to be doing something really crazy, and you may be frightened. Do you?"

"I'm frightened, anyway," Areena managed to say between her chattering teeth. "What's happening?"

"An attempt on your life was being made. Dammit, the Shesuitsu will never forgive me." Dandiero gritted his teeth and said his goodbyes to a promising life of riches. He tightened his grip on her waist. "Ready? Let's go!"

He jumped up from the drain, and began leaping up the walls in order to avoid the bullets. Behind them, the snipers shot over and over again. Dandiero had spent years honing his stamina, and he was faster than the shooter could aim.

A jeep screeched before them just as they were about to make a dash to the next corner. "Get in," Jargerno ordered.

Dandiero hesitated, knowing full well how closest friends could become killers.

"We're going to Sanctuary, get in!" Jargerno repeated.

"Dandiero, we don't have much time. The snipers are moving," Kinora urged.

Dandiero, still holding Areena' waist leapt into the backseat. "Sanctuary?" she asked. "Why there? And what is it?"

"Sanctuary is a kirk, and it's as good as it sounds. Kinora's father is the new Reverend," Jargerno said, swerving to catch a bullet on the side of his car instead of his head. "Dammit, and I just given this one an overhaul, too."

"Your father's the new Reverend?" Dandiero asked Kinora.

"Don't say it!" she snapped back at him. "Areena, are you all right?"

"I think so," Areena replied, her voice muffled, since she was hiding her face against Dandiero's chest.

Kinora glanced at Dandiero, who was looking down at Areena and holding her tightly. "You keep that thought in mind, honey," she told him just as Jargerno swerved again, causing her to almost fall out of the jeep. "Jargerno! Are you crazy??"

"Sorry, love." And his jeep screeched around another corner. Kinora bounced about the seat. "Sorry, love," Jargerno said again. "But you still have to hang on. We're crossing the highway bridge."

"JARGERNO, THE BLOODY BRIDGE IS HAULING UPWARDS!!!!!"

"Exactly."

The jeep zoomed up the bridge and more gunshots flew through the air, some hitting the jeep. It soared across the busy highway below, and Kinora closed her eyes and screamed, not daring to look downwards.

"This is fuuuuuuuunnnnnnn!!!!!!" both brothers hooted.

"We're flying?" Areena asked him, looking out wide-eyed at the many other cars below.

"Something like that," he told her.

"Dandiero, keep your damned head down!" Jargerno yelled at him.

Dandiero ducked his head just in time and more bullets broke into the hard armour of the jeep. Areena clung to him underneath him as he shielded her body from any shots that might break through into the interior.

"JargernoOooOoOoo!!" Kinora shrieked as they went down… down…. down…

The jeep crashed onto the ground just at the edge, people looking at them curiously. They recognised the Mitsushita siblings at once and began hurrying away. Jargerno simply drove the jeep towards the tall building that loomed over most of the other buildings in that precinct.

"Sanctuary," Dandiero breathed, looking at the gothic structure of the kirk. "It looks the same way it did last time."

"It's a church," Areena marvelled. "It's so lovely!"

"This is the oldest part of town," Kinora explained to Areena. "It hasn't been changed in over a hundred years, and there's very little development. Now it's like a little village in the middle of a big city."

"That sounds odd."

"It is. There it is! Sanctuary. This is the only part of town where none of the guilds will touch, since there's sort of like an unspoken deal between the church and the crimelords. Anyone in this part of the city claims sanctuary," Kinora pointed out the high steeples of the kirk. "You'll be safe here, you and Dandiero."

"Yeah, with me doing the worse jobs in the world. The Shesuitsu will never forgive me," Dandiero said cheerfully.

Areena turned to look at him to see whether he really was sincere about that statement. He still had a small grin on his face, then suddenly it was gone as he looked out of the jeep at nothing in particular. She leant against him, feeling a little sorry for him.

"Are we to stay here for the rest of our lives?" Dandiero then asked his brother.

"Get real. Sooner or later someone is going to pick up the price on your head, and deal or no deal, the kirk can be a damned haven."

"Then how the hell are we going to get out without bringing notice to ourselves?"

"You mean yourself."

"Yeah. That's what I meant."

Jargerno turned to smile at his younger brother. "Wrong time to be tall, huh?"

"Shut up, Jargerno."

The jeep stopped in front of the kirk. Kinora jumped out. "Father!" she called. "Father, it's your only daughter, Kinora!"

"What are you going to tell him?" Dandiero asked.

"That I'm going to get married," she said adamantly. "And he's not going to stop me."

The four of them went inside.

"Kinora! Why, you haven't come by in such a long time, I thought you'd forgotten your own dear father," the gentle man said, holding out his arms to embrace Kinora.

"Father, I know this is a bad time, but I just wanted to introduce my fiancé, Jargerno. You remember him, don't you, Father? He and Dandiero used to come by so often."

Reverend Father Jona Jamera looked up and down nervously. "Well, boy, it seems you've done quite good for yourself, have you?" he finally said. He smiled and hugged Jargerno. Then he turned to Dandiero and Areena. "And this is?"

"It's me, Dandiero. Don't you remember me, Reverend Father?"

"Of course I remember you. It's hard to miss you. You were tall and big then, so no wonder you should be tall and big now. I'm just asking who is she?"

"Areena Gains, Father. She's seeking sanctuary. Her father was killed, so Dandiero's taken her under his protection," Kinora explained.

Kinora's father blinked. "Dandiero?" he asked. "I would've thought Dandiero would be the one to-"

"Can it, Dad! Can she stay here?"

"Of course she can. The rooms Jargerno and Dandiero once used should do nicely. They're in the second tower. Do you remember the way?"

"I'm afraid I lost your bag," Dandiero rather shamefacedly told Areena.

"It's okay," she replied shyly. "Thanks for bringing me here, Kinora."

"No problem, hon. Since you'll be absolutely safe here, we'll see to getting you some clothes. It's a good time to be here, you know."

"Ah, yes," Jargerno said a little raggedly.

"You will accompany me, won't you, Jargerno?" Kinora asked him pleadingly.

"Naturally," he responded a little grudgingly.

"Where to?" Areena asked.

"The Matta Festival. Lots of dancing, feasting and all that nonsense," Dandiero answered her. He grinned. "It's a great place to have fun."

"Even when there are people after you?"

"Yeap." Dandiero smiled down at her. "Don't worry," he said softly. "It'll be all right. You'll be safe." He kissed the side of her head.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"So, with Kinora and Areena shopping for clothes, yours truly got to clean up the furniture to make the place liveable? Never thought it was possible to get you to do that," Jargerno said to his brother, earning a scowl.

They were in the second tower of the kirk, in small rooms which they used not so many years ago. Dandiero had a room facing out the sunset, the last rays of the day shining in. There was only one bed in the room, a bed large enough to fit both Jargerno and Dandiero. More than once they shared the same bed in their youth, but when Jargerno and Kinora started 'stepping out' more often than not Dandiero had found himself sleeping alone.

"Is this our room? Look at the view! How lovely!" Areena exclaimed as she came in wearing a pretty new dancing dress. She twirled around the room, showing it off. "What do you think?"

Dandiero nearly winced, seeing the lace ruffles. The dress was white, but the underside of the lace ruffles were a soft pink. There was no doubt about it. Her wearing a dress like that meant he, too, would have to dance. "Very, very nice."

"Is that all you can say?" she pouted.

Dandiero laughed and scooped her into his arms. "You look very adorable in that dress. The pink sets off your eyes perfectly." It seemed a good thing to say. "You look like an angel."

Areena felt the tension easing away. If he felt calm here, then there was no reason she should feel so paranoid. She really couldn't believe how fast she was in making the transition from grief to light-heartedness.

"We'll have dinner at the fest, okay?"

She nodded, feeling a real smile on her face. There was a strange bubbly feeling inside her, that she would be putting all her trust in a man well-known as an assassin, but treated her so well she almost felt wary of it.

Dandiero put Areena down when Kinora entered.

"Are you ready, Danni? Don't you know that Jargerno had enough sense to pack in some of your clothes? Get dressed!" she scolded. "Come on, Areena! The fest is beginning. The beginning is always the best part!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Dandiero lay on his back on the rooftop of the kirk called Sanctuary, pointing out stars to Areena, next to him. It was after the festival, and they had left halfway through without Kinora and Jargerno, making their way to the rooftop to stare at the nightsky.

"Jargerno and I always were avid star-gazers. This was the best place to be."

"Dandiero?"

"Yes?"

"You and Jargerno are very close, aren't you?"

Dandiero smiled. "He's the best brother in the world. When we were younger, he never went anywhere without bringing me along. It was a pleasure tagging along, since I got to play with the big kids. One time, I caused a fight, so Jargerno defended me. That's how he got his broken nose. This used to be our favourite haunt until the Shesuitsu recruited us."

"And now Kinora's here, do you feel… well, separated from him?"

Dandiero shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, not at first. You see, we met Kinora about ten years ago. I was sixteen, Jargerno twenty. Kinora just turned eighteen at that time, and Father Jona wanted us to keep an eye on her for him. Actually, Jargerno still keeps tabs on me, despite the fact we're both men now. So you see, we're not exactly seperated."

"So how did Jargerno and Kinora finally get together?" Areena lay on her side, curious.

"Well," Dandiero mumbled, "when Father Jona told us to keep an eye on her, he didn't tell us to keep our hands off her."

Her eyes widened. "You didn't!"

Dandiero only shifted a bit more.

"In this church?"

He nodded, a bit embarrassed. "That's how Kinora is. At first, Jargerno was just showing me the rules of chasing girls at that time, but it turned out to be a half-time competition between us. We enjoyed it, and so did Kinora. But I dropped out not long after, since I noticed… other people."

"The three of you?"

"Ever noticed the beds are very big in the rooms?"

"Dandiero!"

"It's the truth, plain and clear."

"You don't have to tell me that!"

"I don't?" Dandiero was genuinely confused. He scratched the side of his head. "Gee, I thought that was one rule in relationships." He looked at her. "I've never told any other girl that, you know."

They stared into each other's eyes for an uncomfortable moment. Then Dandiero got up and reached to remove a roof-tile. "I wonder if our cache of treasure is still here."

"Treasure?"

"You know how little boys are. They collect some rubbish and call it treasure. Jargerno still keeps them for old times' sake. Oh, here they are. This is the medal Jargerno won in a marathon he entered once, and here's a love-letter we both composed for no one in particular."

Areena leant over the hole, smiling as she viewed the childish handwriting of obviously two different people. "What's this?" She took out what looked like an old statuette.

"Oh, this. It's a trophy I won in some singing competition."

"You entered a singing competition?" she asked, looking at the tarnished trophy in her hands. She could still read the words "1st Degree of Excellence".

"Jargerno and I used to sing. That was before we met Kinora. We followed the usual teen pop charts and memorised the words… like other kids our time."

"What did you sing?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's called 'Star In the Sky', but I can't say for sure anymore." His eyes looked a little sad as he stared at the few more 'treasures' inside the hole. "Not everyone remembers these sorts of things."

"Can you still remember the words?" Her eyes turned impish. "I don't find many guys who can sing well."

"I'm not sure I can still do it."

"Please?" she pleaded.

He took a deep breath, trying to recall the words. Then he started singing. He began softly, still trying to recall all the words, then gained more confidence as the words came back to him. His voice was particularly strong, and he knew how to control the force of his voice. He ended with soft notes addressed to her and she threw her arms about him in delight.

"Wonderful!" she giggled. "Simply wonderful!"

"Thank you," he said modestly. "But what do you think? Is there a star in the sky for us, you and me?" he teased. Putting and arm about her to prop her up, he rubbed his chin with his free hand. "Hmmm… what about that one? Over there?" He pointed at the sky.

"Where? I don't see it." Areena looked at whatever he was pointing at, but he seemed to be pointing at an empty patch in the sky. "Dandiero, I don't see anything."

"There," he insisted. "That one over there. Don't you see? Here, I'll pluck it out of the sky for you, then."

"Dandiero, don't be silly…"

Dandiero sat up and made a grasping motion, as if really collecting the star he was pointing at out of the sky. "See? Here it is! Our star."

Between his thumb and forefinger was a rare diamond that seemed to be illuminated by an inner light. It was small, but perfect in its shine and absolutely flawless in its cut. It really did look like a star from the sky, and Areena gasped when she saw it.

"You didn't!"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Dandiero said with a very satisfied tone. "Think of it as a token of my affection for you." He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then her chin, then-

"Dammit, looks like our place's been taken, Kinora," Jargerno said. "Hey, Dan!"

"Damn." Dandiero leant away and both he and Areena sighed. "Hey, Jargerno." He didn't sound very happy. "What're you doing here?" it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"I see you've found your old trophy. You know, Areena, he used to act so ridiculously protective over it. First few days he had it, he wouldn't even let me touch it," Jargerno seemed cheerful. "Had a nice time, Danni?"

"Yeah," Dandiero mumbled, disgruntled. Suddenly, he had a bright idea. "Areena, it's getting late. Do you want to go to bed yet?"

Kinora pinched her lips. "Ah, Danni? You may want to voice your intentions to the confessionary first… you know, to clear your conscience. This is a church."

"Me?? What about you??"

Jargerno and Kinora laughed at Dandiero's indignant expression. "Let's go to bed, Areena," Dandiero told her, putting an arm about her, feeling a cold breeze blowing.

"I can't seem to imagine you and your brother's girlfriend together," she said softly. "Did you really sleep with her once?"

He winced. "More than once," he admitted. "And most of the time in this church too."

"Dandiero!"

"I'm just being honest," he answered quickly.

"I'm sure you must have enjoyed yourself," she continued peevishly.

"Right. Like anyone who enjoys being woken up in the middle of the night for 'another round'. I never understood how Jargerno kept up with her."

They had reached their shared room by that time. "I wonder," she began teasingly. "What if I did that, too?"

Dandiero didn't answer to that.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The noise was terrible, and it showed no signs of letting up. It woke Areena up, and she was lying in bed, cuddled against Dandiero, yet unable to sleep. She sat up, trying to discern exactly what the sound was… then immediately started blushing.

She looked at Dandiero, who was sleeping peacefully. Well, he would be used to it, wouldn't he? He stirred in his sleep then, as if realising she was sitting up, he opened his eyes groggily.

"Areena? What's wrong?"

"It's the noise."

"What noise?" he asked sleepily, before pausing, then saying, "Oh… that noise."

"Can't you do anything about it?"

"That depends on what you want me to do, I guess. Shall we interrupt them? They interrupt us often enough." He grinned.

"Dandiero!" Areena hushed.

"But it'll be fun," his green eyes were lighted with a luminous, mischievous light. "Okay, I'll interrupt them if you don't want to join me."

"I just want to get back to sleep."

"Imagine. Not too long ago, we were enjoying the exact same sport."

"Dandiero, I just want to go back to sleep!"

Another pause. "Well," Dandiero said slowly, "I could always make you more tired again."

Areena squealed when he pulled the blankets over them.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

It was small lovely ceremony, attended only by a few friends. Dandiero really couldn't believe it. Jargerno was getting married. In the space of a few short words, he had lost his brother's entire attention. Dandiero felt a small pain in his heart, but while the few women who attended Jargerno and Kinora's wedding were crying openly, Dandiero himself was sobbing in his heart.

But after the ceremony, he felt much, much better. Jargerno was happy. Kinora was happy. And the ritualistic kiss they exchanged was so sweet Dandiero squeezed Areena' hand and she leant against him.

Winding down, while everyone had gone out to celebrate at a nearby restaurant, Dandiero found himself wandering about the great chapel, his thoughts very much on what happened the night before. Areena had decided to join the celebration, but Dandiero had wanted some time alone.

What for? he wondered. It never made any difference before. Dandiero had tried his best to cut ties from his brother as soon as he turned twenty-one, as soon as he had become a man.

Why did it feel like his brother was being ripped away from him?

He stared at the small door in the corner of the chapel. The confessionary. Without thinking, he went up to it and went in.

"Reverend Father?" he asked.

"Yes, my child?" a voice answered. Dandiero knew it was the Reverend Jona's voice, Kinora's father.

Dandiero ran through his thoughts, wondering where to begin. "Father, last night I made love to the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes upon without benefit of marriage."

"Tell me more," the voice said dryly. "That's not news. Everyone seems to be doing it these days. There's nothing wrong with it. You do love her, don't you?"

"I do love her, Father, yet I'm sorry, Father, I couldn't control myself."

"Yes, my son. I understand that."

"And Father, I did it within the very walls of this Sanctuary."

There was a long pause. "That is forgivable. But I don't see the problem."

"I'm sorry for having sex in the church, Father."

"Forgiven, my son."

"Father Jona?"

"Yes?"

"I would also like to say sorry for having sex with your daughter in this very kirk as well." Dandiero thought for a moment before admitting, "Several times."

Another long pause. "I… see."

"No, it's not the act I'm saying sorry for, you see, it's the fact I did it in this kirk, you understand."

Father Jona gave out an audible sigh. "Yes, yes."

"And Father?"

"Yes?"

"I've killed many men in my life and I never once grieved their deaths. I'm sorry for being so inconsiderate and selfish. I caused their deaths in many gruesome ways, and I've never felt remorse."

"Therefore you are feeling sorry you took their lives?"

"No, Father. I'm saying I'm sorry for not being sorry when I killed them. Some of them deserved it, anyway."

Father Jona scratched his head in puzzlement for a moment, then said, "Well, if you're feeling a wee bit of guilt, then I guess it's all right. You admit that you took their lives without considering the act, and you never felt penitent."

"Yes, Father."

"Then it is forgivable, my son."

"Father?"

"What else do you want to say sorry for now??" Father Jona was getting exasperated.

"I feel like I've lost my brother," Dandiero said rather pathetically. "He took very good care of me, and all I used to wish for was to get away from him as much as possible. Now that he's gone off and married, I feel very dismal, Father."

"Dandiero?"

"Yes, Father?"

"You love Areena very much, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Since you can't spend all your time being sorry for not loving your brother as much as you think you should have, why don't you focus on loving Areena as much as you should?"

Dandiero thought about it. Then he smiled. "Thank you, Father."

Father Jona breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Dandiero had left the confessionary. "Strange boy," he muttered.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Dandiero wandered about in the second tower, still unsure of what to do next. He somehow went into Jargerno's room.

Spotting a small piece of paper, Dandiero felt curious and picked it up to read it. He paled.

"The order's come," he whispered bitterly. There was no more turning back now.

"I see you've found it," Jargerno said quietly. He and Kinora had returned from their lunch, their festivities had died down already.. "There's no chance you can go back now."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dandiero demanded.

"It wouldn't have done any good for your surly disposition that day."

Dandiero looked at the paper in his hands, then said flatly, "I will not do it."

Jargerno smiled gently. "And you won't have to."

Areena pushed into the room. "Dandiero?"

"What do you mean? You actually have a plan?" Dandiero asked his brother.

"Naturally. I always have a plan."

"That didn't seem to be the case during the time when we were supposed to be-" Kinora murmured.

"Sshh… they don't need to know that," Jargerno said. He beckoned to Dandiero. "Come along." Turning to Areena, he said, "You too."

"Where to?" Dandiero asked cautiously.

"You don't trust me?" Jargerno asked. "We won't go beyond the boundaries of Sanctuary."

Dandiero followed, Kinora and Areena close behind the two brothers. They walked past the streets, all bustling with the usual activity until they reached a house.

"Step right in. It's Kinora's," Jargerno invited. "Now, follow me to my lab."

"Lab?? Jargerno, you're getting to be as crazy as Dad."

"Naturally." Jargerno grinned. "It runs in the family, don't you know."

The four of them went down a set of stairs into a neat, clean lab… very unlike the mad Zemmo's. There were what seemed to be two large glass encasements filled with water…

"That's…" Dandiero couldn't say anything.

"That's you. And that's Areena."

"Why, Jargerno! How clever of you!" Kinora exclaimed.

"But… why me?" Dandiero asked.

Jargerno heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes, we did get a note telling us to kill Areena. However, I received a personal note… a note telling me to kill you."

Dandiero backed away. "And?" he asked with some alarm.

Jargerno laid his hands on the cover of the encasement containing what looked like Dandiero's body. "These are clones of you two. When they are ready, I will shoot them just as they live, while the two of you, the real ones, you are free to go. The Shesuitsu will never know."

A knot tightened in Dandiero's throat. "You're going to send me away?"

"You're not a boy anymore, Dan. I'm sure you can take care of yourself." Jargerno smiled. "And think… you'll have so much to do with Areena."

"The best plan is to leave now. Jargerno knows how to arrange things so they look like real," Kinora told Dandiero.

"You may want to take this," Jargerno threw a bag at Dandiero. "It's getting dark. I'll get you out of here in no time. Trust me in this."

"How about transport?"

"I'll give you an old run-down jeep that'll last you a cross-country ride. The Shesuitsu only concern themselves with this city, so they won't figure it out."

"You really figured everything didn't you, Jargerno?"

Jargerno's eyes softened. "I didn't want to kill you. And I still don't want to."

It was a long, torrid moment as Dandiero and Jargerno faced each other, unsure of what to say.

"Come on," Jargerno finally said brusquely. "Let's go."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Well, here we are. The corner of the city. There's the jeep I promised you. Now, you get your ass in there and drive off. Happily ever after."

Dandiero and Areena got out of Jargerno's transport truck. "Thanks, elder brother. I don't know how I can thank you."

"By staying alive. I've taken care of you for years. It's going to be hard for me to adjust."

Once again, the two brothers were faced with another awkward moment. At last, Dandiero got up the courage to step forward and embrace his brother tightly. Tears were streaming down his face, and on his shoulder, he could feel Jargerno's tears burning as they fell.

"They say men don't cry," Kinora said softly. "But the rare man who can is really a jewel. Can you imagine what they would be? Mother-of-pearl, that's what." She turned to Areena. "You take care of yourself, hon."

"You take care of yourself, too, Kinora. Thank you." Both of them hugged. By the time they were finished, Dandiero and Jargerno were still holding each other's arms, each looking at the other, knowing this could be the last time they would ever meet. "Take care, Danni."

"You, too…" Dandiero decided to call Jargerno something he had wanted to do so for years. "Jargon."

Jargerno smiled bittersweetly. "Get into the bloody jeep before the two of us break down again."

"Don't worry about the bodies," Kinora called after them as they were driving away. "We'll make them look real convincing that you two weren't expecting to get killed!"

Dandiero flushed right until his hairline, nearly ducking his head as if to hide behind the wheel.

"What does she mean?" Areena asked, still quite innocent.

"My bed back home may be small, but it sure can still fit you," came the disgruntled reply.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Dandiero and Areena travelled across wherever the jeep could take them, using the money in the bag Jargerno had given them. It was the reward money for the death of the Kakero twins, the men they had killed on the night Dandiero fell in love with Areena.

At last they decided to go to one of the ports and take a journey west, to start a new life with each other. They had been travelling a few weeks, and in that time, though occasionally they did have their spats, they felt much stronger together.

"I'm so glad to be on something else rather than a bloody car at last," Dandiero said as he stood at the rail with Areena. The ship was headed west, and it was a lovely sunset they were watching.

"I'm glad to be with you… wherever we're going," Areena sighed as she leant against him. Putting her arms about him, she asked, "Any regrets?"

Dandiero thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah. One. Hang on." He dug into his pocket and took out a little box. Opening it, he revealed the little star diamond he had pretended to pluck out of the sky. This time, it had been set into a ring encrusted with pink rubies.

"Oh, my gods, Dandiero…"

He took her hand and put the ring on her finger. He whispered softly, "With this ring, I thee wed." He smiled, pulling Areena into his arms for a kiss. "We can find a registrar later."

"Corny. Really corny," Jargerno muttered, watching the happy couple embrace in the sunset from one deck above… everyone else on all levels who could see them from any deck were watching them too. "I don't think I've seen anything that made my stomach turn even more."

Both Jargerno and Kinora had dropped off everything not long after Dandiero and Areena had left, tracking them until they reached the port where the latter two had booked their trip. For Jargerno, he had simply left his father to live his life out comfortably on a pension he had arranged while the Shesuitsu had assumed he couldn't bear the burden of having killed his own brother. Besides, he couldn't stand life without his brother, anyway. Kinora had left behind everything else, unable to bear life without Jargerno, even if it meant going away and never coming back.

This time, Jargerno hadn't come along to keep an eye on Dandiero. No, he wanted to share the rest of the world who those he loved dearest, and this seemed a very good way.

"Does he yet know we're on board with him?" Kinora asked in a hushed tone. She had left behind her father and was still feeling the pangs of loss. However, it seemed an exciting adventure for her, and she was always game for one.

"Wait, honey. I wanna watch him make an ass of himself again first."

Authour's Words : Well! How's that! I've always rather liked simple stories. If you haven't noticed already, I like happy endings. I know, I know, it appears to have a loose end there, but you've got one end of a string and another end of the string. Shi'Iana is pestering me for a sequel, but I prefer to leave it as it is.