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Garden 02: The Border Blurs
Part A: When Reality Takes A Bow
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The music was almost hypnotic; winding threw the small flat on silvery-feathered wings to dance about Ran’s ears. He leaned his chair back onto two legs to stare into the living room where Setsuna was standing, violin pressed into the nook of his shoulder, bow gliding across the strings to tear a wonderful melody from the instrument. The brunette seemed to fall into the music, throwing everything into it, pressing his entire being into the notes that broke threw the room.
Slowly, the longing song ended, leaving Ran feeling vaguely empty. One of the few things at effected him. Music. Setsuna’s music always sent him into emotional spurs, no matter how small.

In a detached voice, Ran asked, “Do you still miss him?”

“Yes.” The brunette looked away. He chuckled dryly. “Its kind of ironic. My boyfriend for three years runs off to bang my bestfriend’s little sister.” He sat down, long legs folded under him. Ran unconsciously slid his power threw his friends psyche, offering comfort.

“I’m going out.” Ran stood swiftly, grabbing his coat off the hook. “I’ll be back in a while.” He stared hard at the slender brunette, asking silently if Setsuna wanted him to stay. The younger man grinned and nodded, flipping on the TV.
Ran slipped into the corduroy of his jacket before opening the door and leaving. He didn’t bother to grab his car keys; the store was only a couple blocks away.
His shoes clicked against the sidewalk, breaking a steady rhythm only when he walked over an uneven area. He burrowed lower into his coat, the heat of his breath curling into a white puff of smoke when he exhaled. There were dark clouds lacing the sky and the red head kicked up his pace so he wouldn’t get caught in the rain if they were to suddenly burst.
He froze suddenly; watching silently as a black raindrop fell to the ground. His violet eyes followed it down gazing on with a blank stare as it shattered into itself when it smashed against the cement. Another fell next to it, then another and another; piling utop each other till the liquid was a wavering pair of feet, encased in two high-heeled dress shoes.
He cocked his head, plum irises holding in spot as the water piled upon itself till it was just above the knees, when a short navy blue skirt began to unfold.

Patter. Patter. Patter.

It was a short dress, stopping suddenly at the middle of her thighs; the arms appearing at her sides as breasts took shape. She was obviously a teenage girl, probably 14. The dress had spegettie straps with a white line down the center. Her face took shape, planted utop of a newly formed neck. She was pretty, with regal features and a defined look. Her eyes were closed, dark mocha bangs blossoming on her head suddenly, breaking out to her shoulders, framing her slender body.
Ran blinked and stared at the computer screen flashing in front of him. An instant message from Setsuna had popped up, asking him if he had gotten the brunette’s message about the essay due on Tuesday. A light chuckle brushed against the red head’s senses before his window exploded. Almost in slow motion the glass fell, slicing threw the black v-neck he wore.
The glass was tinted a flaming orange, speaks of poison green flicking back at him, running abusive fingers down his skin, leaving red marks on his pale skin. The man’s orange hair trickled down against his bare shoulders as the water pelted against their skin. Soft, rosy lips slid over his flesh, making him lean back into the warm body and moan.

“Wheee, Ran?” A slender hand waved in front of his face and he shook his head lightly, blinking in confusion at Setsuna. The younger man motioned at the letter with his mug before sipping at his cocoa.

“What’s it say?” He asked as he put the drinking utensil down. Ran opened the pink envelope and quickly scanned its contents.

“Another love letter from Midori.” His lips pulled into a thin line.

“Maaaa, doesn’t that girl know when to quit?” Yohji asked. Setsuna Asked. Who asked? Ran put the envelope down and sipped lightly at his espresso.

“I guess not.” He murmured lightly to himself as he looked across the street. He put his chin in his hand, letting his body relax. Something he didn’t do often, but it was nice, he had to admit.

~End of Part A~

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Part B: Puddled Dreams of Fever
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Ran stumbled over the break in the sidewalk, his head reeling with the images tearing threw it like a demented angel hell bent on destroying him from the inside out. He crashed to his knees, long, pale fingers grabbing at his head, a pained noise breaking past his lips.
The clouds burst and rain poured down upon him, quickly drenching his clothes and running threw his flesh to wrap zombie fingers about his bones. His entire frame shivered almost violently, as a cold crystal of ice seemed to form in the center of his being. He stood and began the trek back to Setsuna’s flat.
The world appeared to shift and his head felt heavy and full of smog. He leaned against the small fence outside Setsuna’s house; the sharp metal edges of it slicing threw his skin. He called out mentally to his friend before crumpling to the ground as drums were beat in his brain.
His head was like an amphitheater and nothing but blaring heavy metal was being played. Round the clock nothing but that abusive sound, beating him inside, breaking his psyche, throwing him across a distorted plane like a ragdoll in its mad attempt to crush him.

“Now make a wish and blow out the candles!” His mom’s lips were stretched into a large smile, watching her young son with blissful plum eyes. Ran grinned back at her, revealing three missing baby teeth before standing on his tiptoes. He closed his eyes in fierce concentration before, after taking a mighty breath, releasing it and putting the room to darkness. The six candles surrounding the big green “7” candle went out just before their bigger cousin.
The TV was distorted and the young man before it watched on. He was sitting in the large chair, slumped in it, the very picture of defeated pride. He watched with tormented eyes as the news anchorwoman spoke:

“Two people are left dead today, a third in critical condition as their small house in the Miwa area exploded. The family of four was celebrating their daughter’s birthday when it happened. One person was standing in the door way and not seriously injured.” The dying set finally flickered from life. A silvery tear holding more agony and sadness than a million others scampered down the young man’s cheek, sliding over the peach Band-Aid stuck to his skin.

“Look out!” He didn’t need the shout to know what was coming. He spun on his heel and kicked at the same time, sending the white and red soccer ball screaming back across the field. It slammed against the net, the flimsily built thing barley containing the force. The boy who had shouted the warning blinked in nearly diminished surprise. “That was cool!” He jogged up to the red head.
He had a slight build, short, but rather muscular, clad in a pair of black shorts and a red tee shirt. His hair was mocha brown, cut at his ears, while his eyes were a smoky gray color.

Scream. Crack. Smoke.

“I’m Setsuna Nakano.” He held out his hand in greeting, a large grin folding his pure tan skin into wrinkles. Ran’s violet eyes searched his appearance while his power searched his mind. He seemed flaky, but his emotions and passions ran so much deeper than most thought.

“...Ran Fujimiya.” He shook the other’s hand.

“You just transferred here right?” The brunette tucked locks of his coffee thread behind his ear, revealing a pierced lobe.

Ran seemed bored with the conversation, but inside he was almost giddy. Almost feeling. Almost living. Almost. “Yes.”

“Cool!” With that, the brunette ran back into the heat of the soccer game that was taking place on the field.
A pair of smoky eyes stared at him.

“Ran? Is that you?” Setsuna’s voice was broken and full of alarm.

“Yes.” Ran sighed in response, thankful for the cold washcloth on his head. He was cold all over, but that was a good thing. He felt fever lacing his entire body. “What happened?”

“I found you on the ground outside in the pouring rain.” The brunette had stripped the red head to his boxers and placed bags of ice around his form. “How are you feeling?”

“Hot.”

Setsuna winked at him, brushing his sweaty bangs off his forehead. “Well, there’s a surprise. The man voted most likely to go into gay porn feels hot.” Ran only made a “shut up” noise in response; his head-feeling heavy and full of spider webs.
A heavy mood settled upon them as Setsuna shifted in his seat.

“You were talking in your sleep.” His smoky eyes were clouded over.

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Part C: Start the Game
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Ran was gone before Setsuna had awoken. The red headed assassin knew his friend suspected it to happen, but even so, he would still worry. Ran quickly moved threw his dark house on silent feet, grabbing what he needed.
He darted out the door and into his car, starting the engine and pulling out of the driveway before roaring away. He aimlessly forced the vehicle threw the mindless confines of the city roads before stopping in front of a hotel usually limited to the rich and famous.
He checked in quickly, taking the pent house. Generally he didn’t give himself such luxuries unless the mission required it, which it sometimes did. But he didn’t feel like being disturbed by shouting, sex sounds or screaming children. He nodded to the young man who showed him to his room and shoved a wad of cash into the kid’s hand.
He closed the huge mahogany doors and turned to the room at hand. It was called Smashing Blue, with obvious reason. Everything in it was covered in blue. Only the wood of the bed and the nightstand was dark brown. A dark midnight blue blanket held the mattress in check while lighter sky blue pillows flattered the head stand. The carpet was thick, the type you liked to walk on with bare feet, and navy blue in color.
Ran sat down on the bed and kicked off his shoes. He sat for a few moments, staring as the morning light washed into the room, rolling over the carpet to open its wings and hold the assassin in it’s embrace. He stood and smoothly walked across the large room to close the curtains in one smooth movement, tying them with an, of course, blue rope of velvet.
He took a seat in the large easy chair and grabbed the cerulean phone, quickly dialing a number on the obscenely blue buttons.

“Wait.” The voice was thick and commanding. Ran recognized it as Persia. That meant the line was secure yet. “Alright. What is it Sense?”

“Whoever is following me has powers. Very strong telepathic powers, possibly even Hallucenpathic.” The red head’s voice was riding on a brittle undertone. “I want a team following Setsuna Nakano at all times. He may be in danger, but I think whoever it is wants me.”

Persia paused. “Do you have any idea why?”

“There are lots of reasons to kill me. Especially if you make you’re living the illegal way.” Ran’s voice was flat, even to his ears.

“All right. Where are you?”

“White Shaman Hotel, pent house.” He snorted in contempt. “The “Smashing Blue” room.”

“Report back to the Kritiker base near there as soon as you can.” Persia ordered lightly. “Bye.” He hung up. Ran set the phone down and slumped into the chair.
The overly blue room suddenly moved, like a movie where the cameraman kept jerking the camera around. It began to blur and soon it shattered from the continuous abuse, raining locks of fire as Ran dropped headfirst into oblivion.
The flaming hair curled about him, reaching into his pale skin to meld to his shoulder blades. They broke into wings, a pair of magnificent wings, beating heavily to gain altitude. The orange feathers were quickly overcome by a fire engine red, matching the assassin’s hair.
He was gazing into a pair of endlessly green eyes, staring into the confines of a soul crushed beneath the tide of time. Long, slender, agile fingers traced his cheek, the cold, glassy fingernails gliding across the skin. The man was just taller than he was, with shoulder length orange hair, wild and jaggedly cut in an oddly attractive way.
He wore a dark navy blue dress shirt that refused to end until it finally reached his ankles. The black buttons stopped at the hem of his pants, the last few undone, revealing to the world the tops of a pair of black plastic pants. The plastic dove down his lean thighs and long legs till they encased themselves in a pair of combat boots.

“You suffer so…” The man was distant, pulling Ran against his body with his other hand. The red head found himself unable to move, unable to do anything but stare into the pockets of green agony that masqueraded as the man’s eyes. “Yet you don’t know it...” His voice was far away sounding, like he was in shock.
Ran stared across the Smashing Blue room at the closed curtains, an ivory chill running down his body.

~End of Garden 02~