II. strange…twice strange

23 years later…

"Bombay quick with it!" Youji shouted. He shot a wire at the pursuing guards as he rounded the last corner.

"We're going to get trapped here if you don't get that door open soon." Ken said following closely behind, slashing out with his bugnucks taking out two guards out. The desperation in his voice was so strong that it carried through the heavy metal-reinforced door to where Aya stood.

The mission was the usual, to destroy the labs of a drug lord and to eliminate the said criminal, but obviously something had gone wrong. There had been more guards than been previously reported or the target had been tipped off, either way they had barely managed to take out the main target and set the explosives with the guards hot on their trail. Aya had been left to guard the escape route and had managed his job admirably despite everything and was waiting for the rest of the team to make it through the door.

"Ch! There's a corresponding lock on the other side. Abyssinian would you try…"

"Hai." Aya said moving in on the door.

"Hurry!"

"Hn." Aya set to work on the lock. He wasn't the expert Bombay and Balinese were but he did learn a thing or two in his time as a freelance assassin. He barely put a pick on the lock when it clicked open to spill his teammates out into the corridor. Then they went into full flight though he spared a moment to look back. There was no pursuit though there seems to be a hint of something…something burning.

Peculiar, I though Omi's explosives weren't going to go up for twenty more minutes…good thing they got out then…

***

Aya woke up feeling strange. First of all, no matter what he did he couldn't stand up. Not only that, he felt really warm, warmer than usual with his thin blanket. Everything seems to look oddly distorted and large, much larger than usual. He was surprised to note that he felt something sway behind his back. He heard a strange sound and tried to find its source, it sounded like a puppy whining. He heard it again and realized that the odd noise was coming from his own mouth.

He wondered if the drug lord was experimenting with genetic manipulation like the younger Takatori or perhaps diseases. It felt like he had caught something from last night. He crawled on all fours to the side of the bed to face the mirror and got the shock of his life. Everything faded into black.

***

Aya glared at his reflection in the mirror. It didn't change. He had stared at it since he had come to from his faint of surprise but the image in the mirror didn't change. It still showed a red purple-eyed fox with three tails. A small fox, not as small as a toy dog breed but small, sitting on a blue and white bedspread. He wagged his tails. He hated that. It was so undignified. He held them still. If he had to change into some canine, a kawaii little fox would be his last choice. He looked like some little girl's lapdog or a stuff toy.

A mastiff maybe, a great Dane, a guard dog breed not a small pathetic little fox…

Disgust colored Aya's thoughts, then he noticed that he had more urgent things to think about.

How do I take a leak around here, the comfort room's outside in the hallway and I'm…too small…to reach the doorknob…Omi's headed on out already and won't be back until the afternoon. I won't be able to get anyone's attention till then. Besides that I need to prove that I'm sentient and I'm me! Hmmm…

***

Aya looked around the room from where he sat on the desk, a ballpoint pen in his mouth. He was annoyed and bruised from doing what he thought of as the preliminaries of his plan. He had gotten banged up while trying to get here on the desk. It took him five tries before he managed to judge the height of table properly, he managed to hit his ears on his first try, his nose on the second, landed on one of his tails in the third try and so on. He looked for something to make a loud noise with to alert his teammates to his predicament.

Another thing to destroy… Now I know why cats bury their…waste. It's so smelly.

Aya had started to notice that his nose was more acute in this form after he had gone over his panic. He looked in askance at tipped laundry basket and the orange sweater he had…eliminated on…in distaste. He didn't really wanted to do that but it was the first available thing on the laundry basket that he could drag out. It took a lot of time to do things with human sized furniture when you’re a small fox.

If I end up in this form permanently I got to get a fox-sized desk, a bed and… What am I thinking of? There has to be an antidote to this situation… I refuse to spend my entire life as someone's pet!

A mastiff's growl sound loudly through out the room making Aya jump a little until he found to his chagrin that it was his own little tummy that was making the sound.

I'm so hungry… Oh, it's going to be a long wait…

***

It was well into the afternoon when he heard Omi and Youji pass by his door.

"Are you sure we shouldn't try to look in Aya-kun to make sure he's all right? He hasn't come out since we turned in for the mission, he might have a wound or something from last night." Omi said.

"You know that wouldn't be a bad idea. Omittchi, why don't you try the door? " Youji said.

"Why don't you try, Youji-kun?"

"No, it was your idea, you do it, I insist."

Aya sighed, he knew that the two Weiß members would be arguing till nightfall if he didn't intervene.

Honestly, I wouldn't run them through with my katana if they knocked nicely or even barged in to see how I am.

Aya decided on his tin penholder. He swiped it with his little paw. It flew into the air clatter hard upon the floor hurting Aya's newly sensitive ears.

"Aya-kun!" Omi said breaking off the argument with Youji.

"Aya, are you alright in there?"

Of course, Aya couldn't answer the question.

Come on guys break down the door, I'm tired, hungry and thirsty…

Aya held his paws over his ears as his teammates battered the door down and whimpered as a particularly loud bang got through his improvised earplugs.

***

"Aya-kun-- Kawaii, a small fox! I wonder where he came from?" Omi said as the two Weiß came in the room.

"Obviously, Aya had acquired a new pet without telling us." Youji said lazily coming in closer to see him.

New pet indeed…

Aya jumped up with the piece of paper in his mouth as soon as Youji was in range. He landed on the blond operative's face, inadvertently felling the blond.

"Oi he likes you." Omi said leaving the blond to deal with the fox as he noticed the mess in the room.

"Mmph!" Youji said as Aya tried to cram the piece of paper into Youji sight.

"What is his name? I think we need to get him a litter box…" Omi said as he held up the ruined orange sweater.

"I think his name is…" Youji said as he pulled Aya away from his face taking the paper out of Aya's mouth.

Yes, tell Omi that it's Aya, Fujimiya Aya, Abyssinian, your old teammate… Come on…

"Ayan." Youji said squinting at the piece of paper.

Huh? He can't read my writing?

Aya stared Youji then at the paper--at the crumpled and saliva-moistened bit of paper--and realized that the words must have become indecipherable. He frowned ferociously, about to raise a yap of protest when his stomach grumbled again to the smiles of his teammates. He can almost see what they were thinking.

"What a loud sound for a small tummy!" oh well, at least, I'm going to get something to eat… I'll think about convincing them about my sentience later…

***

Aya found himself frowning on the bowl of doggie mush that Omi bought from the supermarket.

Ugh! What they do make this out off moldy old bread crusts…

Aya glared at his teammates.

"I don't think Ayan-chan wants the food you bought him, Omi, he's not eating too much." Ken said catching the glare that Aya threw them all.

"It's the best dog food in the market, Kenken. It's probably because Aya fed him a different brand of puppy chow. He'll get use to it or maybe it's because it's such a large portion for such a tiny thing." Youji said lifting Aya, up to nuzzle him.

Ack, the dangers of being a kawaii fox… And there was something…

Aya noted Youji's scent it was a mix of cigarette smoke and cologne that he never smelled before and it was…it was…

Hatchoo! Irritating to his sensitive foxy sinuses…

Youji put him down on the table being temporarily blinded by assorted liquids, best left unnamed.

Bingo!

"Oh, really now, like he's not snarfing down the sashimi and sushi on your plate!" Ken said trying hard not to laugh but miserably failing in the attempt.

"Ayan! Bad fox, bad fox…" Youji said, starting on a long lecture that Aya ignored in favor of finishing the rest of the food on the playboy's plate. Seeing himself ignored by the fox, the blond playboy decided to complain to their other teammates, both of which were laughing so hard they hardly paid attention to his griping.

"Stands to reason, he eats Japanese food if Aya had him for awhile. How else did Aya keep his existence to us as a secret?" Omi said chuckling as he did so.

"I get no respect around here." Youji said, throwing his arms about theatrically but getting no sympathy from the others.

"And don't you have anything to say for yourself you furry bandit?" Youji said sitting down so that he was eye-level with Aya.

Aya just burped into his face.

***

Cough, cough.

Aya choked on Youji's second hand smoke making a funny sound as his eyes and nose watered. He glared at the blond's legs since it was the only portion of the tall man's anatomy that was in his eye level, contemplating giving the playboy a bite.

I told him time and time again not to smoke in the shop. It makes the flowers wilt and makes them stink. Nah, I'll probably get a kick for my trouble…

It was then when Omi entered the shop carrying a large dipper full of water. He began to refill the vases around the room. It was a goodly three-fourths of the way full when the youngest Weiß member put it on the counter.

Eureka!

Aya measured the height of the stool and the height of the counter. He jumped on to the stool.

So far so good…ah, how convenient…

The dipper handle was conveniently facing Youji who was leaning on one of the flower stands. Very perfect, I couldn't plan it better.

Aya jump hard and flipped landing neatly on the handle hard. Throwing the remaining water like a catapult drenching the source of offending smoke with a huge splash. Youji sputtered and started towards him menacingly.

Oops! It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Aya didn't need a reminder to know how vulnerable he was in this form with a looming angry human towering him. He did a strategic retreat towards the register and Ken.

"Youji! It's a fox. You can't expect it to know what it's doing! Besides you really shouldn't be smoking in the shop. Take that outside." Ken said as Aya hid behind him. Ken let out a bellow of laughter when Youji was out of sight.

"Kawaii, Ayan-chan. Smart move, I see you don't like secondhand smoke anymore than your namesake, ne?" Ken ruffled Aya's ears as Aya let out his own foxy version of a grin, tongue lolling with his tiny mouth open, a pink triangle in the redness. The soccer smelled of clean sweat and a natural salty smell that Aya was coming to associate with humans in general.

Thank goodness…

***

A half hour later…

Aya was on the floor where Ken had left him for the moment when he noticed that the begonias at the right of the shop were in need of watering. Omi missed them again on his way to school and forgot that he did so when he came back. Both Ken and Youji assumed that he had watered them and let them alone. He frowned at the omission, scrunching up his face oh so cutely as he thought. Then he noticed that the hose was propped up on the wall. It had been coiled neatly but not put away.

Oh well, maybe I could open it and water the plants… It'll help convince my teammates that I'm not what I look…

Aya managed to grab the hose head on his mouth and get half across the room before remembering…

I got to turn on the water or else it'll take forever to get enough pressure to the water the plants.

Aya opened the hose head's water valve with his paw and lurched suddenly at the surprisingly strong whoosh of water. Maybe it was just the exception to every rule but in this case it wasn't, it was that someone had forgotten to close the faucet head since last night.

Uh…oh…I'm in trouble…

He had barely time to think before the hose lurched one more time and he was lifted up by the strong stream of water jetting through the hose and carried pell-mell across the room.

Ken and Youji floundered about the shop, trying to catch the hose head as the water flooded the entire shop. They caused more damage than the water itself, felling vases and flower stands and other items. The water level had reached catastrophic when Omi walked in from his deliveries and turned off the water from the source itself.

"What a mess…Who left the hose open?" Omi said in his lecture voice.

"Well it was Ayan who opened the hose head…" Youji said moving a little uneasily under the Weiß tactician accusing gaze.

"Don't give me that! He's just a fox."

"It was true, Omi-chan. I saw him too." Ken protested.

"Hatchoo." Ayan sneezed, he had gotten wet in the ensuing flood and his fur stood out in miserable clumps.

"Well, who left the faucet open? This mess wouldn't have happened if it wasn't open!" Omi said as he took a towel from the backroom without stopping his scolding. It was evident that he wasn't buying their story, no matter how true it was.

"Um."

"Er."

"I think I'm going to close shop."

"No me."

Youji and Ken fell over themselves to escape Omi's critical gaze as the youngest member of Weiß toweled down the red furred bandit who caused all this.

Ayan gave Ken a contrite look as he passed by the counter to give him a dagger look before going to the back to get rid of the damaged leaves and flowers. He came up to put his paws on the latter's shoulders and gave him a big lick.

"Ayan, kawaii!" Omi said and even Ken cracked a smile at the demonstration of affection even if the fox was the current source of his trouble.

***

One hour later…

"Hey anyone know where the shears are?" Omi was creating one of the few arrangements they managed to sell that day.

Aya decided to sit this one out. It was bad enough that he caused a mess at the shop, he didn't want to get everyone to thinking he was a dumb animal.

But Youji and Ken are so hopeless…

Both the other assassins were fumbling about in the shelves for the implement in question when Ran could see it easily enough from the stool he was "seated" on. The rest of Weiß found out quickly enough that he caused less trouble when they could keep an eye on him.

Yohoo! It's over there Kenken…

Aya tried to point at the upper drawer, they had put on the table to rifle through, using his snout but to no effect.

Oh well, just this one time. Maybe, I'll convince them of my intelligence.

Aya gathered himself to somersault on to the worktable. He missed it completely. He hit the open drawer on the edge. For a heart stopping moment he dodged the shiny sharp implements that fell with him, whimpering with fright. Then it was over.

That was a close call…

He felt himself being picked up and smelled that it was Ken who was feeling him over for injuries. He looked up to find see that Omi had been not so lucky. Some of the implements flew through the air to clatter at the other wall narrowly missing where Omi's head would have been. And one hadn't quite miss his teammate. It was, ironically, the shear concerned. It grazed Omi's arm, opening a long bloody wound.

I was only trying to help… He whimpered.

"It's okay Ayan-chan. No harm done…" Ken muttered soothing noises as he ruffled the red fur that was lying flat with fright.

Youji was tending to Omi with a first aid kit from one of the other cabinets. Aya cuddled to Ken for comfort.

I guess I shouldn't try to be helpful in the shop anymore…

~tbc~

Author's Notes:

Ayan: do you have to insist on using small and little to describe me all the time…You know I hate that silrayn-chan.
Silrayn: You're so kawaii Ayan-chan, I couldn't resist. *wags tail and wiggles wolfy ears at Ayan kitsune-chan*
Ayan: *bites Silrayn's tail*
Silrayn: *runs around with a red fox firmly attached to her tail* ow, ow!

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